.38 or 9mm
 

Looking at the walthers. .38 gun is half the price, but 9mm is cheaper ammo (well, not that much).

Any advice would be nice.

You do mean 380 don't you? Walther does not make a 38 anything...

And what is its purpose?

I assume you mean a .380 and not a .38. .38 cal rounds are only used in revolvers. I would first start with not looking at new Walthers. They are now made by Smith and Wesson and the quality is no where near what the old Walthers were. That aside I would choose the 9mm over the .380 if pistol size is not an issue as the 9mm has more stopping power. However, in summer I carry a Ruger LCP .380 because it is small enough to carry in my pants pocket.

If there was a James bond, and he did carry a Walther, there would have only been one movie, as he would be dead. I have owned 3 of them. A PP and two PPK's one an S. All three had jamming problems no matter what ammo you used. I would not want to stake my life on any of them. They are sexy guns though.

Ok , good enough argument for 9mm.
what other reliable 9mm pistols manufacturers are out there (think VW prices, not Porshce prices).

S&W
SIg Sauer

PS, wife wanted to join local rod and gun club, I am in to archery, but time master gun safety. Like my porsche 911, I only get one and i better know how to fix it.

the s&w is nice, the sig is a winner. From a gunsmiths view. The S&W is a very simple gun. Easy to take down clean and put back together again. Almost military kind of simpleness. The sig is a bit more complex but still very easy to use and maintain.

My wife and I carry a Ruger LCP in .380 during the summer months when lightweight clothing restricts what we can conceal. I carry a Sig P239 in 9mm during the colder months and let me tell you, the .380 is much more comfortable to carry! Why is "comfort" so important? If carrying the gun is comfortable, you'll carry more often and that is the point! My father loves his Sig P220 in .45ACP, but he NEVER carries it! What good is a large caliber pistol if you don't carry it because it's like lugging around a power drill on your belt all day? My next "carry gun" will be a Sig P232 in .380, as it's almost exactly the same size/weight as a Walther PPK and I like Sigs! If I got a good deal on a used, older Walther, I'd buy it in a heartbeat!

Glock........

Springfield XD, comes in many sizes and flavors. Super reliability. They were built to have the best traits of a Glock, but be better. There are more safety features on the XD than the Glock.

9mm is a good way to go.

Really, the best thing if you want to buy a gun, go shoot as many different guns as you can. You may find a Pelican that is local that would be happy to go to the range with you, you may be able to go to a local range and rent several different guns, or you may be able to pay someone to let you shoot their guns.

I went to the range and shot about 10-12 different guns, I used that experience to narrow it down. The guns that I found the easiest to shoot and be accurate with. I ended up having to choose between the Glock and the XD. The two guns are VERY similar. There was just something about the XD that I liked better, but it was so minor that I couldn't put my finger on it.

I have owned both the PPK and currently a Sig 230 both in .380. For my big mits the Sig is the preferred gun. The deal is each pistol will feel different to a given shooter. Go to the range and test each. Remember that the feel of the weapon is key to safe use, not the complications of the maintenance procedure, that is the least of your worries when you need to rely on the pistol. They do in fact become personal.

Glock 9mm

I'll throw in another vote for a 9mm Glock. In the summer I recommend the Ruger LCP.

Glocks are not VW money but you get what you pay for.

Sig Sauer... Excellent build quality and not every second person at the range will have one.

Back in the day I used to shoot a Browning 9mm. Classic pistol that was well put together and very reliable.

browning hipower. or one of the many copies of. i have a FEG PJK-9HP, which is hungarian copy. fits nicely and points naturally.

glock17 might be a nice gun, but i don't like shooting it. the grip is too fat for my hands.

also look into cz-75, hk usp, hk p7. of all the guns in my house, the p7 is the only one i keep chambered. zero chance of accidental discharge with the grip cocker

I'm still not sure why there is no such thing as a pocket-sized .45 ACP. The cartridges are a little bigger than 9mm, but they'll fit into a fairly small handle.

Another vote for the 9mm XD... I compared it to the Walther PPS and prefer the XD. I love my XD and the only FTFs I've had were with some hand loaded ammo. I'd buy another no doubt... This thread needs pictures...
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1285000359.jpg
Springfield 9mm XD Sub compact. Has a 3" barrel, holds 13+1 or 16+1. More accurate than I am.

S&W 52 is a semi auto and a 38.

Walther P38 is a 9mm semi auto.

I don't think either is still in production but there should be loads used available.

Detonics used to make a very compact 45acp, still a little bigger than my definition of a pocket pistol.

Tactical-Life.com » GLOCK

I vote for any of the Glock 9mm pistols when simplicity, reliability and ease of maintenance are concerned. I have the longer 34 for IDPA competition, but I will likely get the "baby" Glock 26 for CCW someday. The slide/barrel on the 17 is a bit shorter than the 34 and the 19 is a bit smaller o'all than the 17. Many folks whine about the lack of a safety lever, but if one learns good trigger discipline from the get-go and uses a quality holster, they are perfectly safe IMO. ;)

Just yesterday I slipped and fell down HARD at an IDPA match and landed face first direction in stones breaking my fall with the butt of my Glock in my right hand and the palm of my left hand (several small cuts on my left hand to prove it). As I was not on target when running, my finger was naturally out of the trigger well and the internal "drop safety" did it's job and the gun did not go off. I was able to get back up and continue the course of fire losing only a couple seconds on the stage.

The more I shoot my Glock the more I come to realize that if I ever could only own one handgun for personal protection purposes, it would be a Glock.

A nice shot showing the 4 Glock 9mm pistols currently being produced
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1285001452.jpg

If price point is important, then I would vote Ruger 9mm.

I have a Sig. Love it.