Hitting the gym to become a swoletariat, looking to arm myself as well.
I’ve gone shooting before, and my Dad just bought a couple guns himself because of all the pogroms he’s been seeing against Muslims in ingerland.
I’m based in the United States of Amerikkka, mods please let me know if this isn’t allowed!
This has a decocker, so it provides the benefit of not having to fiddle with a manual safety like a striker fire, while providing more control for extra safety (e.g. heavier first trigger pull (with light follow up trigger) and thumbing the hammer so it can’t go off even if the trigger is snagged accidentally). CZ is also one of the few manufacturers that still makes carry sized DA/SA pistols, but their classic full sized pistols are also good if you plan on just leaving it as a home gun; you’ll also find more DA/SA if you look for full sized. People tend to exaggerate the difficulty of DA/SA because of the two trigger pulls, but honestly just think of it as stepping on the pedal to accelerate to a certain speed then letting go and lightly tapping to cruise at the speed. 75D compact = classic cz75 design; P-01 = has a rail for light but no classic ‘ridge’
CZ is stupid with its naming conventions so I don’t remember what’s what, but these are basically the polymer versions of the CZ75. They come in decocker versions too. These will be very light since the frame is plastic.
Even when .22 is expensive, it’s still cheaper compared to 9mm. You’ll get more shots off with these which will help you be more comfortable with the explosions and practice fundamentals. You’ll likely be using this a lot when times are bad and ammo prices are ass. It won’t make you a pro with your primary weapon, but it’ll reinforce the fundamentals which transfers to most pistols. Alternatively, think of it as fitness conditioning. You won’t gain a lot of muscles from just cardio, but cardio will help you endure strength training a lot more.
Pro tip: the only American made pistol worth having from a self defense standpoint is the M&P 2.0.
Pretty much all the true and tested pistols are European.
Springfield has the XD, Hellcat, and Echelon, but these are imported from Croatia. They’re G2G.
As for ARs, you’ll find quality in US and EU. Quality AKs will usually be from Balkans, Romania, Poland, and if you can find them, Russia and China.
Only posting to echo how good the CZ-P01 is. I owned a subcompact Glock and hated it; sold it to a guy who worked at a donut shop and got a CZ and it is just so good in every way (except it’s not especially small or light, but that makes it good in other ways)
Check out the Protos M holster from BlackArch. Very comfortable and I barely feel the weight.