My two choices would be the Ruger SR9 or the Springfield XDm depending on what caliber you want.

The Ruger P series guns are also great guys since you asked about them. Not known for being the most accurate but they are super reliable. As long as you are just shooting at cans or something they are really good however, if you want to shoot at a target and expect to hit the bullseye everytime they probably wont do it. Still great guns at a great price and super reliable. The reason I'd pick the SR9 over the P89 or P95 or even the older P85 is just that to me it feels a lot better in my hands. That being said I still really like the others and most of them can be found a little cheaper.


As for a 9mm while it's not as big as a .45 I don't think it's too small. Would I go any smaller for a self defense gun? Probably not but I just don't see how a 9mm is that bad. I've heard guys say it is but honestly I shot a 2x4 and it went in the size of the bullet and left blowning a big chunk out of the back of the board. If it does this to a board just think what it would do to an animal or if you ever had to use it in defense. It's a personal preference and it's up to you what you get as I'm not the one that's shooting it. I don't think you can go wrong with a .40 or .45 either. The other thing I like about the 9mm is they usually hold lots of rounds. The P89 in 9mm holds 15 rounds vs the P90 which is a .45 holds is it 7 or 10? I'm thiking 7 but not positive. The SR9 holds 17+1. As you can see you get a lot more shots with a 9mm usually. I'm hearing the XDm holds 19+1 but I haven't verified that myself.


Also if you look in this thread they have some pictures of some 9mm ammo expanded. As you can see it's spread out to the size of a nickel. That's not small imo.