My initial advice to anyone new to handguns with respect to purchasing your first one is to take a good basic pistol shooting class or consult with a very knowledgeable pistol shooter, preferably an instructor BEFORE you make a purchase.

Some basic pistol courses include a lesson that addresses the factors that should be considered before purchasing a handgun and some do not.  You will be in a better position to make a smart purchase if you attend a course that does a good job of dealing with the process of how to go about selecting your first handgun.

What follows assumes that the handgun is to be used for personal protection.  If you intend to use the handgun for other purposes some of what follows will not apply.

First a word to the ladies.  It is not uncommon for females to walk into a gun store and be advised, “Since you are a female what you want is a small revolver.”  Now, it may be that a small revolver is the right handgun for you but the reason is most assuredly not that you are a female.  These pistols are generally easier to operate than are semi-automatics but they are also generally more difficult to shoot than semi-automatics and that is especially true with double action only (DAO) revolvers.  They are also likely to impart to your hand more felt recoil than a semi-automatic will and this is especially true of the very light weight models.  It is also the case that some of these small revolvers have sights that are very difficult to use.  The notion that revolvers are absolutely reliable is a fable unless you buy a new revolver and keep it in a sock drawer.  If you practice with a revolver and carry it daily it is not at all uncommon for them to develop reliability issues.  One thing about a stoppage with a revolver is this.  Many of those stoppages are a real bear to fix whereas most stoppages in a semi-auto are generally pretty easy to fix and it can be done quickly.

What caliber of a handgun should you get?  You should purchase a handgun chambered with the largest commonly available ammunition with which you can reliably hit inside a nine inch circle centered on a target at the distances you are likely to face.  For revolvers, go for .38 special, .357 or .44 special.  For semi-automatics, go for 9mm Luger (aka 9mm Parabellum, 9mm Para or 9x19), .40 S&W (ammo designation, not gun manufacturer) or .45 ACP.  There are other good defensive calibers but the ammo is either difficult to find, too expensive or both.  There are two implications here:  If you absolutely must use a .380 then you need to get a .380 but if low recoil is the reason you make that choice I suggest you shoot some pocket model 9mm Luger pistols and compare the recoil with that .380 you were thinking about getting.

With a self-defense handgun, you must be able to hit inside an eight inch circle at defensive distances BEFORE you purchase the handgun.  This means that you need to be taught the fundamentals of marksmanship to include the integrated act of firing one well-aimed shot if possible BEFORE YOU GO SHOPPING.

Second, it means that you need to shoot the gun that is your top candidate for purchase BEFORE YOU PURCHASE IT.  You can probably find a range that has a rental gun just like your top candidate or one very similar to it.  Go to that range, rent the handgun, purchase some ammo and shoot it.  There is no other way to KNOW that your top candidate is going to work for you unless you shoot one just like it.  It is much better to find out whether you will like the gun and can shoot it well before you purchase it than to find out that you do not like it and cannot hit  with it after purchasing it.

So what does the selection process look like? 

Start by doing some research online or by asking experienced shooters or instructors for suggestions of guns that might work for you and create a list of candidates.  Do not put anything on the list that will be a problem with your budget and understand that the price of the handgun is not the only budgetary consideration.  There may be taxes, transfer fees, shipping costs to consider and you may want to have some gunsmithing work done right off the bat (replace sights, trigger job, polish feed ramps, etc.).

FACTORS TO CONSIDER:

GUN FIT AND ERGONOMICS: It is important for the handgun to fit your hand and point well.  The size and angle of the grip determines whether or not a particular handgun will fit you.  You should be able to secure a good strong hand grip well up on the backstrap and for a two hand grip, your support hand should enclose the weak side of the grip.  When you raise the handgun, the gun sights should come up naturally right on or very close to your line of sight.  If the grip is too large you will not be able to reach the trigger and if it is too small you may have a very difficult managing the trigger press.

TRIGGER:  You should be able to place your finger on the trigger so that when you press the trigger to fire a shot it does not disturb the sight alignment.  Note that there should be some space between your trigger finger and the frame of the handgun.  The next consideration with respect to the trigger is that it be heavy enough to be safe and light enough for accuracy.  You will have to at least dryfire the handgun to make this determination.  It is a bad idea to have the trigger lightened but acceptable to have it smithed so that it is smoother.

MAGAZINE RELEASE:  You should be able to reach the magazine release with your strong side thumb.  If you need to reload in a hurry your weak had is going to be occupied with securing and positioning the loaded magazine.  You can use your weak side thumb to release the magazine but it takes time and if you have to do it under stress you may fumble when you cannot really afford to fumble.

SLIDE STOP:  Ideally you should be able to reach the slide stop with your strong side thumb without changing your grip.  You should also be able to lock the slide open while keeping the muzzle pointed in a safe direction without changing your grip.

SAFETYS and DECOCKERS:  If you require a safety or decocker or if the pistol has one, can you operate it with your strong side thumb and are you OK with the way it operates?

IS IT FUN TO SHOOT?  If it is not fun to shoot it is not a good candidate.  If that is the case you will find reasons not to practice as often as you should.  Practicing should not be unpleasant or  painful.

SIMPLICITY OF OPERATION:  Are you comfortable with what it takes to charge the magazine or empty and reload the cylinder, load, fire, de-cock, cock, unload and clear the handgun?

EASE OF CLEANING:  Are you comfortable with what it takes to disassemble, clean, lubricate, reassemble and function check the handgun and the time required to do it?  You can watch YouTube videos to learn about how to disassemble and assemble many firearms.  A word of caution is in order.  Be careful not to pick up bad (unsafe) habits from the way those guys handle the pistols.

SIZE and WEIGHT:  There are implications here for carry considerations and for shooting comfort.  All other things being equal a heavier gun is more comfortable to shoot and generally more accurate than a lighter gun because more weight dampens recoil.  Longer guns are generally more accurate because of the longer sight radius.  On the other hand longer and heavier guns are more difficult to carry and to conceal.  You are dealing with a tradeoff here.

RECOIL:  Felt recoil does not occur until the bullet is well out of the barrel so recoil itself does not directly affect accuracy.  How you deal with recoil can easily affect accuracy so the gun you select should not be one that will cause you any concern about recoil.  The only way to see if recoil is going to be a problem is to shoot that model pistol.  Some ranges have a wide selection of rentals handguns.  Find one of those ranges that has the pistol you are interested in and shoot that pistol.

REPUTATION:  We are talking here about the reputation of the manufacturer and of the specific model of the candidate pistol.  Just because manufacturer X has a great reputation it definitely does not mean that everything they make also has a great reputation.  Do some research on the net, keeping in mind that what you find there is worth about what you paid for it unless you independently verify it.  You can also check with experienced shooters or instructors.

WARRANTY:  Not all warranties are equal.  Consider manufacturer’s shipping policy and your cost to ship.

AVAILABILITY OF REPAIR AND AFTERMARKET PARTS: 

Find out if there is a gunsmith close by who can do repairs if they are needed. 

The stock sights need not necessarily be the ones you end up with.  If you prefer after-market sights you need to find out if they are made for the candidate gun, what they cost and what it will cost to get them installed. 

Laser sighting devices are available for many handguns.  They fall into two categories, those that must be discretely turned on and off and those that turn off as a function of taking a normal grip on the handgun.  The only tried and true product I know of out there that comes on when you grip the pistol is made by Crimson Trace.  They offer a pretty good selection in red lasers and are turning our more green lasers all the time.

The grips on the stock gun are not necessarily the ones that you will have to use.  If you are just a bit uncomfortable with the stock grips you may be able to replace them or enhance them with after-market grips to increase or decrease the size of the grip or to change the gripping surface. 

.22 rimfire conversion kits are available for some handguns and they can provide a great way to practice on the cheap using your normal handgun frame.  Conversion kits are available for Most Glocks and 1911s and some Sig Sauers.  You can expect to be able to shoot six or more rounds with the conversion kit for the cost of shooting one round with the centerfire configuration.  Smith &  Wesson has two relatively inexpensive .22 rimfire pistols, one is a clone of the full frame M&P.  The compact version is almost exactly like the M&P Shield.  Both have external safeties.

So there it is.  That is the selection process I recommend.  It is the process I used to teach in the NRA Basic Pistol Shooting Course before the NRA discontinued it.  I believe that if you follow the process I outline here the chance that you will end up with a first handgun that works for you is pretty good.  Take your time.  Do not be pressured into making a quick decision.  Purchasing your first handgun for personal protection is an important decision.  Take your time and make an informed choice.  Good luck and welcome to the world of the armed community.