Recommended SD Handgun in $300-400 range

[boomerang]

A gun without a proper hammer just isn't right. ... OK this isn't a rational reason, but there is some sort of satisfaction in cocking a hammer, just before knocking out the center of an X at the range.

There are a lot of good rifles you're missing out on.

[Liberty]

A gun without a proper hammer just isn't right. ... OK this isn't a rational reason, but there is some sort of satisfaction in cocking a hammer, just before knocking out the center of an X at the range.

There are a lot of good rifles you're missing out on.

You might have a point, but I've shot a lot of rifles in the past, but the most fun gun I shot was a a Thompson Center Hawkins, a flintlock.

[A-R]

Back to the topic, one gun to add to your list is the Stoeger Cougar.
It's a 9mm Beretta at half the price.
It has a safety/decocker, it's DA/SA, and hi-capacity.
It's rotating barrel softens the recoil.
Good shooter, well-made, and you can find them for around $349 if you shop it.

That's a great suggestion. Those are nice guns for the money.

If you are going to have to learn a new skill, you might as well learn to operate a DA trigger and control the pistol that way

Good point. This is analogous to learning to drive on a manual transmission, even if you're planning to drive/own a car with automatic transmission. You never know when you might need to drive a stick-shift or shoot a gun with a heavy DA trigger. So you need to practice on both.

[magicglock]

I second the opinion on the Stoeger Cougar. I purchased one of these in .40 and a friend purchased the 9mm version. Both are accurate, fun to shoot, and reliable out of the box. Recoil on both is extreemly managable and the wife had no problems with shooting it. I sold it to purchase my Glock 23 and really regret selling it. I picked it up for $339.00 but due to increased popularity the price has gone up. You should easily be able to find one new for $399. In fact, I am considering buying another one for the house. A little big for concealed carry...at least for me. Holsters are a little harder to find. Beretta still sells parts for these as they still have the Cougar in .357sig as part of thier line up. The .357 model is available at Academy for $399. Good luck!

[Liberty]

Good point. This is analogous to learning to drive on a manual transmission, even if you're planning to drive/own a car with automatic transmission. You never know when you might need to drive a stick-shift or shoot a gun with a heavy DA trigger. So you need to practice on both.

Which brings us back to the SA/DA with manual safety, Learn to shoot one of these and one has learned how to use a manual safety and how to shoot a DA and how to shoot a Single action.