Handgun buying advice wanted...
 

About 5 years ago I moved away from the big city to a pretty relaxed rural town in another state. I didn't really feel the need for protection, so I didn't get a CC permit here, and eventually gave my pistol to my little brother, as he spends a good deal of time in the nasty part of Las Vegas. It was a nice little Makarov 9x18, yes a small gun, but plenty practical for my needs.
I'll be moving back to michigan soon, and will be spending quite a bit of time in downtown detroit, getting a new CC shouldn't be very hard, and I want to get another Makarov, but was wondering if there were any other ideas of a better pistol to carry? I like its compact sizer, the fact that bullets are fairly cheap, so I can spend more time at the range without bankrupting myself, and the fact that the gun itself is pretty cheap, and is a solid decent quality weapon.

Any other suggestions?

Partially because I'm a James Bond wannabe, and partially because I'm a fanboy of German firearms, I'd recommend a Walther PP or PPK. They're both very small guns, and they can be had in at 9mm if you don't think 7.62 will be powerful enough. I've heard good things about both, except that the PPK has very limited effective range as it is such a tiny gun.

I also like compact 9mm pistols, I'm currently carrying a Keltec P11 9mm. It's small, easily concealed, inexpensive (around 250 bucks new) and reliable. I've been also looking at the Steyr S9, the Glock 26, or the Glock 19. I love my Keltec, but I wanna shoot the Steyr and the Glock. The Keltec comes w/ a lifetime warranty, and their customer service is phenomenal. They truly try to keep thier customers happy.

the makarov is a great gun value. it's cheap, reliable, and has decent power. it's a little heavy compared to the polymer receiver guns out there, but you're obviously ok with the weight as you've carried one before.

the springfield xd is a pretty good value as well. it's got a polymer frame for weight savings and can be had from 9mm to .45 ACP.

since switching to a "shall issue" state, the cc license process in michigan is pretty straight-forward, so you shouldn't have much problem there.

If I were you, I would stick with another Mak. They are great guns. I would trust my life to the one I own. Get a new one, then get makarov.com to install some good sights on it, and you will have a perfect carry piece.

I have looked at a lot of little pocket guns and though smaller, they just don't feel as good, nor as well made as a Mak.

The makarov is a fine little gun for the money. Make sure you get it in 9x18mm, NOT .380. Why? Because my experience is that the .380 will jam sometimes, and I've never seen a 9x18 jam, EVER.

Now if you're willing to spend some more money, there are a wide variety of nifty carry guns out there. The Glock 9mms are VERY nice, if you go ahead and get a light trigger. The Sigs are uniformly excellent. And the CZ-75 is a damned fine pistol, at a reasonable price. Sizes vary dramatically, so depending on your physical build, you may have trouble concealing the full-sized guns.

Before you buy, I suggest you go to a range that rents guns, and rent a bunch of them to try out. Better to spend $20 to test a gun than $300-800 to buy one only to find that you don't like it.

Good luck.

A friend of mine has a Mak 9mm, and I've put many rounds through it. I like it. It shoots well, doesn't kick back much, and is just generally a fun little gun to play with. It'd make a good personal/home protection piece for sure.

For CC, I used to carry a Glock 26. 9mm is cheap enough, and I never felt "undergunned." Plus no external safety to fiddle with in the middle of an emergency.

Yeah. Why the hell is that? I had an I-J' "pony 380" (small colt look-alike in 380) that I really, really liked, but the bloody little thing jammed on me and wasn't safe as a backup.

All these autos are great and I carry a cannon (Ruger P90). But my backup gun (ankle) is a sweet little S&W Airweight .38. 5 shot, very small and light and makes one helluva noise. Pretty acurate too.

It's because they just changed the caliber, without altering any parts of the mass equation wrt the slide. .380 (AKA 9x15mm) just isn't powerful enough to reliably function a slide designed for the 9x18mm cartridge.

There is so many "little" CCW guns out there, all the major gun manufactures make some type of CCW gun now. As long as the gun is reliable and you can shoot it go for it....

There is so many "little" CCW guns out there, all the major gun manufactures make some type of CCW gun now. As long as the gun is reliable and you can shoot it go for it....

I have used a Colt "Government Pocketlite" 380 for CC for about 15 years now. It looks like a small 1911 45 cal. auto. Have put hundreds of rounds through it without a problem. Colt also makes a slightly smaller version with two less rounds. I think its called a "Mustang".

It, along with my Browning Hi-Power 9mm, are the most reliable semi-auto guns I have owned.

My advice is to go out to a range that rents guns, and try out different options in different calibers. See what's good to carry and shoot, and then try it out in the range until you're sure. It doesn't matter how big a round you carry if you can't hit the target with it.

I want to echo all the statemets above, plus say for a good, powerful carry gun, look at the 3 inch barrel 45's like the kimber ultra carry, and many others. I carry the kimber ultra carry, and it is an amazinly accurate little gun. Also love the baby glocks.

For personal defense, I would recommend a snub nosed .38 special. I've shot one extensively. The accuracy can be a bit off with the barrel being so short (usually 2-3 inches). The bullet itself is enough to knock down large attackers. The revolver also usually guarantees that the gun will never jam or malfunction.