A Total Breakdown Of Handguns
The 3 major and basic things to consider for people when choosing a firearm whether for self-defense or close protection should be:
Caliber - Accuracy - Reliability
Accuracy- Is a direct result of weapons training and the component you may most impact. Today's modern guns are very accurate straight from the maker. Accuracy just isn't attained through the gun but over the operator.
So you will need to train, similar website train, train to be accurate. Then together with training when you are within a stressful situation your almost certainly will not be as accurate while you are at the range. So train and train some more.
Caliber- I am a firm believer that the majority of people should consider shooting the biggest caliber and heaviest load that they can shoot accurately. Caliber has no affect if you can't shoot accurately and hit your target/threat.
I highly recommend nothing smaller then a 9mm, 9mm,.40,.45 are my favorite calibers. With one of these calibers you are provided stopping power. Accuracy should often be more important than caliber.
Reliability- Today's modern guns are built with good standards and also are mostly reliable. Choosing the handgun manufacturer can be difficult occasionally. Do your investigation and select a manufacturer who's handguns will with stand up to the pressure of everyday use for training and practice.
The final thing you want is definitely an unreliable handgun when you need it the most. So please review your handgun manufacturers and due your research. I have listed four very respectable gun manufacturers: