# Looking to get my first...



## 2ndA.6thC (Nov 11, 2009)

Hello everyone, I am new to the forum and new to handguns. I am a female looking to get my first handgun for self defense and after looking at multiple forums and talking to people I've narrowed it down to two choices:

The Taurus p709 or Kel Tec PF9. I'd like your feedback as to the pros and cons of both guns. I've held both and liked how they felt, but I haven't shot either. Also, I know the Taurus is a double action/single action trigger whereas the KT is solely double action. Should that make a diference in my decision? Beyond the mechanical differences of SA/DA what should I know about the... I don't know what to say besides "practical differences" ?

Any advice/opinion is gladly accepted!! Thanks


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## ArmyCop (May 7, 2006)

Have you held/pulled the trigger/shot - each/either to compair? Either would be a fine SD handgun in my opinion - personal choice on how each feels and shoots would be the deciding factor.

Anyway you could rent/borrow both to shoot would help. If can't do that then go by feel and dry fire feel of trigger.


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## 2ndA.6thC (Nov 11, 2009)

I've held both and dry fired... I can't tell a huge difference in the trigger pull, except the Kel Tec is a little longer, which is understandable to me since it doesn't have any safties like the Taurus. I'm inclined toward the Kel Tec just because the price difference, but does $100 difference mean it is not as good of a gun? I think trying to rent/borrow both and actually shoot them would be my best bet.


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## dondavis3 (Aug 2, 2009)

Welcome from North Central Texas.

I think you'll like it here.

+1 ArmyCop a lot of shooting ranges let you rent guns to try ... Shooting a gun is different than dry firing or handling them.

I'm not trying to confuse things, but you might want to look into revolvers too. 

You can get some very small or very large revolvers in most calibers.

And they are simplier to operate for many new shooters.

Good luck on your search.

:smt1099


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## PhilR. (Apr 25, 2007)

Hello,

After reading your post, I came away with a feeling that because of the basic level of your questions, you are too far ahead in the gun purchase decision-making process. By that I mean that before you think about which gun to purchase, you need to gain some shooting experience and overall handgun knowledge. Yes, reading an internet forum will help to gain knowledge, but you really need to find some type of beginner's handgun shooting class. There you will gain knowledge of things like the differences between different calibers and actions. You wll also gain the knowledge to ask more specific questions.

Once you gain this knowledge, you will understand why I would not recommend either of the handguns you mention. The reason why for the Taurus is that brand is not known for overall reliability, and is known for horrible customer service. I have a very nice Taurus 24/7, but I would never consider using any Taurus semi-auto as a defense weapon. There are just too many better options out there to be considering a Taurus.

The reason why I would not recommend the KT is that beginners will often have problems with the lighter and smaller handguns. Lighter and smaller means more recoil. Smaller semi's also take more work to keep them running right. IOW, the smaller the semi-auto, the more fastidious they tend to be about level of cleanliness, type of lube, type of ammo, etc. Read the handgun forums often enough and you will find many posts about the low reliability of the KT's. I think that most people who have problems with them just don't know how to make them run right. Your knowledge level is not to that level as of yet.

Try to find a place where you can rent handguns, take a class or two, and then get something along the lines of a Glock 19 or S&W M&P or Springfield XD. These will be easier to learn on and shoot at the beginning, and once you have put a bunch of rounds downrange, you will then be in a better position to manage the requirements of the smaller 9mm's such as the KT (or a Kahr CW9, which IMO is a better choice in that type of handgun).

regards,
PhilR.


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## gunluver (Jul 23, 2009)

+1 Phil


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## 2ndA.6thC (Nov 11, 2009)

Thanks for all the advice. PhilR, I am signed up for a handgun safety course in which I am hoping to be able to shoot several different handguns. So far (in terms of handguns) I have only shoot the KT P3-AT the tiny little .380 and a Glock 23 which is a 40 cal. Oh, and some .22 a long time ago. My friend is completely sold on the Glock 23, but I am thinking it is too large for me to carry comfortably. I checked the Glock website and it looks like the Glock 19 has the same Height/Width dimentions as the 23 so I would be hesitant in getting one that large.

I defnitely understand what you are saying about the larger 9mm being easier to shoot/learn on, but I do not really have the budget to get both a gun to learn on and also one that I would feel comfortable carrying size-wise... I will definitely check out the other options you mentioned. 

Back to the KT P3-AT - shooting this gun was probably the reason I looked at getting the PF9. I was able to handle it easily enough and got a fairly tight cluster of shots when I emptied a magizine (according to the person whose gun it was), but I didn't like how small it was. The experience I had shooting that gun made me want to look at the PF9, so I suppose I could just as easily get sold on a diferent gun were I to shoot it. 

Thanks again for all your advice


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