Reply #27: You have the good fortune of living in a place...

[Irreverend IX]

With more rental gun ranges than just about anywhere else in the country. You can rent lots of different handguns at the local ranges and figure out which one you like best. The most important thing when choosing a gun is finding one that feels natural for you to hold and fire.

The Glock 19 is a great choice, the others not so much. The HK USP is expensive and while it's very accurate, that's just about its only good quality. It has poor balance, a mag release that's hard to reach without shifting your grip, and its internal parts are known to break much more frequently than competing guns. The Walther P99 is also mediocre compared to the Glock, with inferior (IMO) ergonomics and reliability. Glocks have the cheapest magazines and accessories of just about any pistol because they're so widespread, and they have the highest reliability of all semiautos. Their trigger pull is the same every time you fire (not the case with some other guns) so they're easy to learn.

One thing to remember about Glocks is if you carry one concealed, you must practice proper trigger discipline, meaning you should never put your finger on the trigger unless you're ready to shoot. Glocks do not have safety catches and their triggers are relatively light, so while they're fast and instinctive to use they can be dangerous for novice shooters who aren't as safe in their gun handling as they should be.

Another good option is the CZ75 P-01, a compact pistol made of lightweight alloy. It has excellent ergonomics and very high reliability. It has a heavy first trigger pull, which helps prevent negligent discharges if you're slack with trigger discipline. You may also opt for a full-sized CZ75, some of which have safety catches. You can talk to someone at a gun store to learn the difference between double action only triggers and double action/single action triggers; you may end up preferring one type over the other.

As for your ideas on gun control, it looks like you've just discovered what so many of us have: the idea of an enlightened society where no one need resort to violence is a nice fantasy, but when the rubber meets the road you need to do what it takes to stay safe. And you'll do a better job protecting yourself from murder and mayhem than any government could, especially considering that governments have been the biggest murderers in recorded history (262 million people in the 20th century alone).