As the title says, this is the final push needed for me to own a gun. We live in a relatively safe area and even though I’ve never been against owning a gun, I’ve never felt the need to get one. My wife who is very middle of the road politically wants us to get one now too, but we’ve never owned one before, so I have questions! You are all like family and I trust your opinions:
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Forgive me, I don’t know much (Especially terms), but we’d probably want a pistol. Any recommendations for someone brand new to firearms?
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What is the process like to acquire 1, especially in Commiefornia?
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We would want to be safe, learn about how to safely shoot it, and go to a range to get lessons. Is it as simple as calling ahead of time and just bringing your gun in?
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Any other tips for a noob?
Thanks fam!
Your best bet for specifics is to rent a few guns at a local range, and talk to the people there, they will be able to help you figure out the legal stuff, as well as point you towards classes(if you want), and help you ingrain gun safety before you pick up any bad habits. beyond that, try as many guns as you can get your hands on before you buy, find something you look forward to putting a few thousand rounds down range with, that has ammo that is a comfortable price. and for gods sake, practice with the ammo you plan to carry, the LAST thing you want is to(god forbid) need to use your weapon, and be surprised by the different recoil. last thing, as nice as revolvers can be, for a novice shooter you should probably go with something mag fed, glock is a solid brand, glock is the mid 90's civic of the gun world, most of them are nothing special, but you can rely on it and it will get the job done without breaking the bank
Interesting I take the opposite approach, as I believe novice shooters who lack the time to regularly train with a semi auto handgun are better suited to choosing a revolver. As there is no need to worry about malfunctions if it doesn't go boom pull the trigger again, no need to worry about clearing a misfeed or jam..If the individual has the capacity and time to train properly then a semi auto is fine.. Of course this is but my humble opinion..
My thoughts were more towards reloading(not fumbling with a speed loader, or worse loose rounds) both for in use, as well as in practice, revolvers are dead simple, and don't have failures to feed, but reloading is much less simple, as I keep saying in the thread, IMO the best gun(by far) is the one you will practice with, and have handy when you need it, but so long as we all stay civil, the differing opinions just give OP all sides of the question to make an educated decision that best fits their circumstances (this is actually why I keep responding to everybody, the more info we give OP to make a decision with the better, provided we do not confuse them by making blanket this gun is better statements)
Agreed, everyone has a differing opinion based upon what experience and education they possess..Your not wrong nor am I right we may just differ in opinion..I see your logic as well, given the reliability of modern semi auto handguns the chance of a malfunction is rather small.. Though I think we can agree that this goes up when using expanding ammunition. Clearing a malfunction is relatively easy to train, I think the most important advice to individuals who have little or no experience in firearms is that of over penetration. And that their selection of weapon and Caliber needs to take this into account..
Overpenetration can be fairly easily mitigated as a problem by being aware of what you will be hitting should you miss or have a pass through, and the correct ammo helps(for example, don't load solid brass +p ammo if you don't NEED it) and yeah, hollow points don't feed as nice as a full jacket(though there is some nice expanding ammo with a polymer tip that is the best bits of both worlds, if you can afford to practice with it), you are correct though that it is a problem that should be taken into account when selecting your gun, as are malfunctions, if you plan on using crappy cheap ammo, get the wheel gun, if you want the mag fed, be sure to feed it decent ammo
Edit: also agree on caliber, probably should avoid the magnum calibers unless you anticipate needing to shoot large wildlife
I concur. I carry a revolver for a different reason. I've never been in a combat situation, so I'm not sure how I will react. I figure the easier I can make it for myself, the better off I'll be.
You just described me. Revolver here.
Consider a revolver like the S&W Governor or Taurus Judge. Both can shoot .45 Colt ammo and .410 shotshells. It's like having a small shotgun & good for home defense.
More info here: https://www.personaldefenseworld.com/2018/12/smith-wesson-governor-vs-taurus-judge/