Gun advice
Matt Marvel
Posts: 930 ✭
So, I'm starting to seriously look into purchasing a small firearm. Blue states be damned! I'm not looking for anything fancy, just a reliable, relatively affordable handgun. Something that I can enjoy taking to the range. A buddy of mine said S&W is a good place to start, and you can get one for about $150 bucks. Mind you, I've never owned a gun, and have only shot one a few times. So, if there's something you would recommend as a good 'starter' weapon, that would be appreciated. Any advice or knowledge that y'all could share would be great!
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Realistically, the best thing to learn on would be a .22. It lets you work on your proper technique without developing a flinch, which can keep you from shooting well. Also, .22 in inexpensive enough that anyone can practice frequently. A good starter pistol would be a Ruger of whatever flavor you like best.
If you decide to go with a centerfire handgun, I would urge you to go with a full sized gun. Definitely stay away from the super small pistols as they are going to hurt your development as a shooter more than anything else. There is plenty of time for them later. Here is a good gun to start off, if you insist on going centerfire. http://www.jgsales.com/index.php/smith-wesson/revolver/cPath/16_211_431 Although I see DAO as fine for a carry revolver, you might want to get one without a bobbed hammer, for the ability for the light single action trigger pull while learning. Either way, the biggest key to accuracy with a centerfire handgun is dry fire practice. This is what makes sure you don't develop a flinch and allows you to see where your sights go while you are squeezing the trigger. I know guys who burn way more ammo a year than I do, but are much worse shots, because all they do is go put a hundred rounds through their guns every weekend. I am lucky to get to the range once a month now, but when I do, the results clearly show the benefits of dry fire practice. If you are interested, PM me and I can give you some good dryfire drills.
¨Only two people walk around in this world beardless - boys and women - and I am neither one.¨
Kimbe TE /drool
Also if home defense is priority and you leave your wife home while your away on buisness or whatever I would recoment a double action revolver.... no chances to mess up with jacking a slide or anything. just point, squeeze, and destroy.
Other firearms to consider: Smith and Wesson M&P, Springfield XD, Sig Sauer, Heckler & Koch and many others. The gun market is flooded with cheap handguns right now. Truly a great time to get into the hobby.
A buddy of mine was absolutely certain from everything that he'd read in all the magazines that he wanted a Springfield xD for his first pistol; but once I took him to the shop and he actually held it and tried the trigger he didn't like it at all. (He ended up with a Sig229 just like the one I carry every day)
I'd also save up a bit more and get something more than bargain basement junk that will just frustrate you. There are a lot of decent surplus guns on the market right now, a CZ-82 can be had for under $200. I just got a Polish P64 for $170, it needs springs replaced, but it's a nice little copy of the PPK. S&W model 10 trade-ins can usually be found for under 250.
Any of the rest of you guys C&R (03FFL's)? Great to have if you're a collector!
I worked at a gun range where we had a "suicide by rental gun." That was a messed up day to work. Sadly, sometimes there is just nothing you can do to prevent it. Apparently it is fairly common.
If all you wanna do is get in some target practice and nothing more, by all means, go with a .22 - the ammo is cheap, the gun is cheap, and you'll learn how to shoot straight easily. But if you want home protection, I'd recommend stepping it up a few calibers. Just remember, only rifles and shotguns have the force required to kill in a single shot - handguns are terrible at killing because you need to be precise to do any damage (a single well-aimed .22 is more deadly than an entire magazine of poorly aimed .45), whereas a rifle/shotgun cause so much damage it doesn't much matter where you hit.
As for home defense, it kinda depends on how much you wanna invest - Glock is a nice gun, just not my personal preference (but there are a lot of guys who swear by them); and in general you really can't go wrong with any of the big name manufacturers - Colt, Smith and Wesson, Springfield Armory, Kimber - those are all the top names and pretty much everything they make is good (I like Springfield Armory due to their lifetime warranty on every new gun they sell).
If you visit any gun forums, and hear trash-talking, you really gotta take it with a grain of salt. Guns are a lot like cars - there are people who have an emotional investment in particular brands and will steer you wrong just based on their loyalties, so be careful, be safe, and have fun (and remember to keep your booger hook off the bang switch until you're ready to shoot).
EDIT - If you're gonna get a gun for home self-defense, I can't stress enough how important it is to educate yourself about your State's laws, it's carry regulations, and the general prep that goes into self-defense. Buy some DVD's, read some books and educate yourself. Massad Ayoob is retired cop who writes about self-defense - a really great author IMO; David Kenik has written some really good books and made some good DVD series as well; I'd suggest both of them as a starting point.
You can get some excellent guns at or below $500 (XD, Glock, etc - both amazing guns and superb in every respect), but there's a lot of junk in that price range as well, so you need to be more careful and do plenty of research before buying. It's a lot like cigars - you can get some amazing cigars for $1-$3, but because there's also a lot of junk in that price range, you need to be careful and know what you're buying.