I have never fired a P95, but I owned a P89DC in the past - nice 9mm for the price. I found a write up for you on the P95. Looks like a pretty decent sucessor to the pistol that I had. I found that here:
http://www.gunweek.com/2005/feature0820.html
I'm with the others opinion in the fact that I do not believe a .22 should be used as a personal defense weapon - unless nothing else is available. Now, don't get me wrong, a .22 can kill someone dead too, but it doesn't have the stopping power of a centerfire cartridge.
There have been many "discussions" (arguements) on various sites over the merits of 9mm v/s .40 v/s .45. My take on it is this - they are all fully capable of stopping a human being and putting them down for good. They are all also capable of fully missing the intended target and causing no harm at all. Even when on target, a dedicated perpetrator may still be hard to take down. I own two .40's (both Springfield XD's), and I'm fully confident in their ability. I'm also fully confident in my own ability to use them properly. But you just never know. I recently read a report of a policeman that confronted a suspect that was drugged up. The perp started firing at the officer and the officer returned fire with a .40, hitting him several times with a quality hollow point bullet. It took several shots to stop this particular perp, and he was hit in areas that would have stopped the majority of people. I don't think that guy would have even felt the affects of a .22.
Whatever weapon you buy - buy something quality that YOU can shoot. It doesn't matter if your buddies or anyone here on the site thinks it is the best pistol available - if YOU can't shoot it, it's a worthless firearm. But if you have a cheap pistol that most wouldn't recommend, but YOU can still put a full magazine on target effectively... well then, THAT is your pistol. Don't get talked out of what you like. That being said - buy reliable as well. If you can shoot it well, but it jams every other round, that's also a useless pistol.
For home defense, don't forget the merits of a good shotgun with buckshot either. Makes on fine stopping machine, and you can get them with pistol grips, shorter "home defense" barrels, and extended magazine tubes. Mossberg 500 makes a fine "home defender" shotgun in both 12 and 20 gauge. If you can help it though - get one (or put one together) that is made for home defense. It's difficult to swing a 28" barrel with full stock around in a defense situation.
P.S. - Biggest mistakes I see people make when buying a new personal defense weapon:
1) Buying the gun and one box of ammo. Shoot a couple rounds, see that it's "good enough" and never shoot it again unless your house gets broken into.
Solution: Buy the gun and several hundred rounds of ammo (I recommend 4 boxes of 50, with 2 boxes of one grain, and two of another - for example .40 in 165 and 180 grain). Go to the range and see how it groups with both sizes of bullet. See what your gun likes to eat.
2) Keeping FMJ rounds in your pistol for home defense.
Solution: After you settle on a grain size, buy the same size defense hollow points. Buy what you want, but if you want a suggestion - I like Speer Gold Dot HP's. I buy them in 50 count "law enforcement" boxes (available online - I can send you a link if you would like). I can buy the 20 count boxes locally, but I pay a few dollars more and get over twice the round count. Even with shipping, it comes out cheaper. I think the 20 count "Personal defense" boxes are a rip-off. Go to the range with your HP's and run at least a full box of those through your weapon to make sure it shoots the same as your FMJ's. Then keep HP's in your magazines for home defense.
3) Buying the weapon with one magazine.
Solution: Ever try reloading a mag in a firefight? It's not fun. Get spare factory mags and use every one of them at the range when you practice.
4) Not practicing.
Solution: Get your tail to the range. Practice, practice, practice. Shoot strong hand supported, strong hand unsupported, weak hand supported, weak hand unsupported, etc... You never know when you're going to have to shoot a certain way.
5) Leave it locked up somewhere where you can't get to it when "it" goes down.
Solution: Get a pistol safe of some kind. Place it somewhere that you can get to in a second or two. The pistol won't do you any good if you can't get to it.
6) Not having a "plan".
Solution: Map out your house. Know it. Yeah, that sounds kinda silly doesn't it. But by that, I mean - if someone breaks into room X, how do you navigate through your house safely, without getting shot yourself, to get to room X? Or how do you defend room Y if blocked into that room? What cover is available? Alternate routes, concealment and manueverability.
7) Not haveing a backup.
Solution: You pull the trigger. Click. Rack slide. Pull trigger. Click. Oh crud. What now? Now is a good time to have something, anything (maybe even that little .22) to defend yourself and family.
Yeah, it's a long list, and I get carried away. But it's Friday. I'm on the way to the range in a few hours. Getting into the "mindset".
:lol:
All the best,
Glenn
