Newbie to ccw. What to carry?

Carry what your comfortable with. I for instance carry a Springfield EMP 9mm. Can't go wrong with that one.

i carry the Sig P238 .380 im comfortable and can depend on this round to stop a threat if not with one round ill just unload all 7 rounds, that should take care of any issue

I ended up trading in my s&w sigma. I ended up with the money to buy two guns. I bought a glock 19 and a s&w m&p9c. I would skip on the Beretta. I wish I wOuld have bought the glock instead of that sigma, I just couldn't trust it. I did slot of research into gu s and the ammo. Shoot any of the xd, glock, or s&w m&p 9mm or 40. That's just my opinion for buying your first gun for self defense. That's IMO the alrOund talent. Plus it's what the police carry. I would hope they have tested more than me and would choose quality.