dr baird to be precise <| sep |> They nod . I will . <| sep |> Regardless of what anyone recommends here , be sure to visit your LGS and wrap your sweaty palm around one to see how it feels . Everyone ' s hands are slightly different shapes and sizes , and at the end of the day , personal comfort is king . Does the handgun fit comfortably in your hand , are the functions accessible for you , do the sights work for you ? Admittedly , things like grips and sights can be upgraded or changed but if you ' re going to go this route know up front what the aftermarket is like and what it ' s going to cost you for this too . You may also want to consider the calibre , as it ' s not like we have real CCW permits here it ' ll be a range toy most likely . Stopping power is less of an issue here , but ballistics for bullet trajectories and costs are worth considering . How far out at your shooting ? Are you currently handloading stuff or not ? How much is a reasonable price per round for you ? 9 mm will work out cheaper than 40 SW or . 45 ACP for factory rounds . A lot of people recommend something in . 22 LR to get comfortable with platforms , and for cheap but you might want to just skip this step as it sounds like you already have a revolver . Either way , some options in . 22 LR GSG 1911 1911 platform , fullsize as opposed to the Browning 1911 . 22 LR option which is 80 % of the size . ISSC M 22 Glawklookalike , in fact , they look so much alike Glock sued them way back when . If you ' re going centrefire , some of the more popular and common options Beretta 92 s Glocks CZ 75 A Real 1911 , but skip the NorincrapReally though , go to your LGS . Look past the foreign cheaplymade clones which have dubious build and material qualities and see what fits your hand and wallet . You can ' t really go too wrong with any major name brand handgun and everyone else is always going to have their own personal preferences for whatever arbitrary reason . Most major LGS stock the same handgun stuff across the country anyway .