Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Bremner
go to the range! rent every gun thet they"ll let you.
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Agreed 100%!
Try out as many as you can and have fun - you'll get a much better feel for what you're comfortable with (single versus double action, revolver versus semi-auto, ergonomics, size, weight, recoil, etc.) This is exactly what I did years ago before buying one for myself that I loved (a Glock 17, which I still have).
As a side note, if there's any chance you'll be using it for personal protection, I wouldn't really go much smaller than a .380/9mm (well, possible exception made for the 7.62x25 Tokarev, but personally I wouldn't recommend that for a first gun - stick to something with easy-to-source, "normal" ammo...)
Anyway, lots of law enforcement guys and defense experts are just fine with 9x19 or .380. Obviously there's more stopping power with a .44, .45 or .50 but I'm just fine with any of my 9mms loaded with 147gr Winchester SXT ammo. That'll stop damn near anything. For home defense, a decent 12-gauge is always a good choice too. You can get Mossberg 500As for damn cheap these days, among others... And shotgun ammo is probably not going away anytime soon.
Best of luck - let us know what you get!