I am looking to buy my first handgun. I have very little experience with guns, though I did shoot rifles when I was a kid.
Can you give me some advice on buying one or point me to some good resources?
I am looking to buy my first handgun. I have very little experience with guns, though I did shoot rifles when I was a kid.
Can you give me some advice on buying one or point me to some good resources?
I actually would like to conceal carry and learn to be skilled with using it. I’m planning to go to a shooting range to practice once I get one.
If it’s an option in your area, it’s well worth it to go to a 'rent and shoot ’ range to try several firearms. What works well for one individual’s hands and body may be very different for another. Also with handling options at a reputable local store or the firearms dept of a local big chain like Sportsman’s Warehouse or Cabela’s.
If considering concealed carry use, reliability is paramount; best to stick with trusted and proven models/brands which might cost a couple extra hundred dollars compared to a similarly featured lesser known brand/model. Lots of useful reviews on various forums and YouTube in that regard.
Practically speaking (IMO), you don’t necessarily need features like a ported barrel or a massive magazine capacity. 9mm striker fire compact models like a S&W shield/shield+, SIG p365, Glock g43 or g19, etc are all popular options which aren’t crazy expensive. .380 versions of some of those are also applicable, but some would argue the cartridge doesn’t have enough stopping power, odds are they’re citing FBI penetration guidelines which aren’t a terrible metric to reference in that regard, but I wouldn’t completely disregard the caliber based solely on that.
Read up on the reality of concealed carry and understand that if you ever have to defend yourself the gun becomes evidence for likely years so don’t spend a fortune; $300-600 is plenty, depending on model. Spend the extra $ for a cleaning kit specific to the caliber and some CLP and spare cleaning patches; if you’re trusting it to protect your life then it doesn’t make sense to depend on it in anything but a known good condition.
You’re gonna face massive police scrutiny even if it’s a textbook self defence case if you ever have to use it so while you’re researching what models to consider (and hopefully test at a rent & shoot range) spend some time reading up on legal advice. Memorize the language that’s advised to use if you ever have to call the cops after a defensive shoot and get real comfortable with some version of the phrase “I cannot answer questions without my attorney present” after which you shut up until said attorney is present, invoking your 5th amendment right to remain silent if applicable.
Finally, if you decide on a handgun to purchase, practice at what’s reasonable for the application (target size and distance, adult torso silhouette at 5-10 yds for most concealed carry applications), including with the ammo you’re intending to have loaded if carrying concealed; if the ammo doesn’t run well with the gun then it’s better to find out that it jams at the range than when it matters. Bullet type (round nose vs hollow point or similar) can be a polarizing topic with some folks (often prosecutors) portraying the use of hollow points as being intent to murder, but they plainly cause more damage on soft tissue. Gonna want to practice drawing (safely unloaded, please, unless at a facility that allows draw and shoot and even then be extremely cautious) from whatever holster you settle on as well, even if you feel silly doing so until you can reliably do so quickly; get ready to end up with a drawer of not-good-enough holsters before you find the one that suits your body/firearm best.
No offense meant but please do not concern yourself with legality or a courtroom if you need to use a firearm in self defense. You fuck that person up and deal with survivor problems later.
The intent of this post is to promote new information that has become more widespread as the gun community grows as well as my own experience.
Brand new or first time shooters should factor their own lack of experience or frame of reference into these decisions, how a gun “feels in the hand” is usually used to upsell newcomers.
The FBI’s testing was the best done on handguns ever, and was extremely comprehensive, involving barrier and bone structure elements as well as penetration. The main finding was that the bullet used in Hornady Critical Duty +P (FTX) and Federal HST +P ammunition was more important than the caliber as long as that caliber developed adequate velocity, with more velocity being preferable. Calibers that are on the edge under test conditions like .380 are likely to be ineffective under real, and the FBI adopted 9mm after .40 and 10mm based on a huge body of data. Multiple, accurate hits to the nervous or circulatory system are needed to quickly and reliably force a break in contact because handgun rounds are ballistically far inferior to rifle rounds.
Training to this standard will likely be inadequate for a defensive encounter. If your best day at the range with no combat stress reactions looks like peppering someone with a few nonlethal wounds, an actual violent encounter will go much worse. Look at all the videos of pigs magdumping people and whiffing half their rounds while they are rushed down. Statistically, they miss most of their shots and do not kill or disable most of the people they shoot one-on one. They get a full size gun and an OWB holster too! The lesson that should be taken from this is that the police marksmanship standards are completely inadequate for a single civilian with no backup to rely on.
If you don’t live in New Jersey, carry hollow points. They are night and day different from FMJ and evidence to support the commonly cited hypothetical has not been presented in all the many years it has been brought up on the internet.
If you’re in a metro area, there are likely leftist gun groups and in my experience there’s usually every type of gun under the sun at range days and people want you to try them.