Don't you have a Luger from back when you were fighting the Nazis?

well, the number one thing is that you have to find a gun that you are comfortable with and can shoot accurately. I have never liked compact guns, I like having as many bullets as possible. I have also never cared about people seeing that I have a gun, so i have always carried full sized. This kinda depends on your state though. In Indiana, we had an open carry law, which meant you could carry your gun in full visibility. Florida, where i now live, is different. A gun store owner told me that it had to be concealed at all times. It all just goes back to what your comfortable with. The first gun i carried was a Taurus 1911, love the gun, shoots straight as an arrow but only held 8 rounds. So now i carry a Springfield XDM 9mm. One of the best guns on the market imo, should definitely try it out if you get the chance. A lot of people will say not to carry 9mm cause they are too fast of a bullet and lack stopping power, but with bullet technology today, they will easily take someone down. I would suggest going to a range and just shooting whatever they have on the shelf.

Don't you have a Luger from back when you were fighting the Nazis?

I'm a huge CZ and springfield nerd. My Springfield P9 is a clone of a CZ-75 and I love it.

If you're looking for something to carry, you can't go wrong with CZ's simple design and reliability. Reliability will save your life.

That being said, I completely agree with everyone who said that you should get a good feel for a handgun before you buy it. Make sure it fits nicely in your hand, and make sure you feel good about being able to accurately fire it.

They're extremely hard to find, but I suggest looking at a Tanfoglio Witness Carry chambered in 10mm. Tanfoglio is probably not a company you have ever heard of, but they make some amazing competition-grade firearms; a Tanfoglio handgun has won pretty much every major pistol competition in the world at least once. They primarily make CZ-clones. Oh, and 10mm is the absolute BEST anti-human pistol round on the market that you can get in a concealed-carry form factor. 10mm goes faster and hits harder than both 9mm and 45, and the recoil from 10mm is more manageable than .45ACP. The Witness Carry has an almost identical look and feel to the CZ you mentioned before, except the grip is a tad bit longer (read: higher capacity magazine): http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewIt ... =215084442.

If you can find one of those at a local gun shop, or have someone special order one for you to test out, I seriously would. The full-sized match grade version of this handgun will be my next handgun purchase.

Bottom line is: find something that you feel good about carrying and shooting. Oh, and when you buy it, if you're going to carry it, shoot it as much as you possibly can. Practice, practice, practice. Become RETARDEDLY familiar with how everything in the weapon works and know how to tear it apart and put it back together to clean it thoroughly. A clean gun is a happy gun, and a happy gun won't jam.

People always discount the .22, those are easiest to fire, heh. Can't test with em though. I'd surely go with a 40 or 45, a 9 is just enough to piss a dude off and make him charge at you in rage unless you get a head shot. (BOOM!) But you gotta do what feels right in your hands with the least recoil.

You need to find a local gun shop that'll allow you to test out different used guns at the range so you can get a feel for different types. I've shot at least 4 different kinds of 45s and I like my glock SF the best, it's why I bought one. :-)