My First Gun

Vanity ^ | 6/1/20 | Sharkfish

[Sharkfish]

Forgive the vanity post (my first ever) but I need advice from Freepers. I have never owned any firearm other than a shotgun for duck hunting. I feel a real need now to own a gun. I'm looking for insight into the type of handgun I should research and test. Remember, it's for a newbie. I intend on getting a Florida concealed carry permit and undergoing training.

[jonascord]

Whatever your choice of pistol, Corbon still makes the Glaser Safety Slug, as a go-to ammunition.

It's a prefragmented bullet that is mean for close quarters, and to prevent over-penetration. It won't go through a wall and hit something you did not intend.

They function in both revolvers and automatics. The bullet shatters, dumping all it's inertia, suddenly, into the target. Tried one from my .45, on my standard of stacked and filled water jugs. The result on the first jug was "impressive", and the second jug was unharmed.

[Jewbacca]

“.38 revolver. Point and click. Easy for newbies.”

I would do a .357 and load it with .38, but otherwise agree.

[nevergore]

I agree, I’ve carried daily for almost 40 years and spend considerable time at the range so my carry is a .45 auto....

But do anyone new to pistol shooting for personal defense a .38 caliber snub nose can’t be beat for its simplicity, reliability and lethality.

Plus they are small and comfortable to carry.

Regardless of gun and caliber, a clear and sober understanding of why you carry and confrontational mindset must be the first step.

Always remember, every bullet in your gun has an attorney attached to it.....

[nevergore]

I agree, I’ve carried daily for almost 40 years and spend considerable time at the range so my carry is a .45 auto....

But do anyone new to pistol shooting for personal defense a .38 caliber snub nose can’t be beat for its simplicity, reliability and lethality.

Plus they are small and comfortable to carry.

Regardless of gun and caliber, a clear and sober understanding of why you carry and confrontational mindset must be the first step.

Always remember, every bullet in your gun has an attorney attached to it.....

[Pajamajan]

Good that you will be taking classes. I imagine quite a few people are going to be either buying their first gun, or adding more to what they already have.

We've been watching a week long presentation on what the Second Amendment is all about.

Police can't protect you. They don't have Star Trek transporters, where they instantly materialize the moment you need them, or, in a case where they are simply outnumbered, they can't get to you.

And if you voted Democrat, or your neighbors did, it's possible they (LEOs) will be ordered NOT to protect you, for whatever reason the corrupt Democrat politician has, for wanting chaos in their area.

Either way, you are on your own.

Thank God for the Second Amendment.

[Jack Black]

A 4" Smith and Wesson .357 / .38 Special revolver with adjustable sights, or similar from Ruger or Taurus.

A little unconventional looking, this one, but those bright orange sights are great:

Same basic gun, if you prefer the classic look, here is a blue and steel model: Advantages of the Double Action Revolver:

• Can feed a wide variety of ammo from mild .38 Special wad-cutters for target shooting, to full-power .357 magnum rounds when hiking or camping in bear country.
• Long double action trigger pull is less likely to result in a negligent discharge, even under stressful conditions if you screw up and put your finger on the trigger before your sights are on the target.
• At the same time the single action triggers on these guns (not recommended for self-defense, or self-defense training) are amazing. Really fun for bullseye shooting.
• Incredibly simple to understand and operate. Even family members like a wife or adult daughter who are not interested in guns can be taught to safely run a double-action revolver in a couple of sessions.
• Easy to verify it's unloaded. No hidden chamber for one surprise! cartridge to hide in, unlike semi-auto pistols.

For all these reasons, and more, the 4" S&W police revolver is a great gun to learn on, and a great gun to teach people the basics of hand gunning, and will likely remain a treasured family heirloom long after plastic semi-autos have been retired.

When I got into shooting in the 1980s it was conventional wisdom that everyone should start with a 4" police revolver, and that for a lot of people, they might also finish there.

A friend in a similar situation just bought a fancy new SIG striker-fired plastic semi-auto. I think it's a poor choice for a first gun, especially since I know his wife and she will not be able to rack the slide on it, and never be able to use it, but is, in fact, one of the main people who might need it - being alone at home a lot.

What ever you decide on get some good training. Take the concealed carry class even if you aren't that interested in concealed carry.

[MHGinTN]

Rent to test a Taurus G3. The trigger is superior to the Glock; both pistols are striker fired, but the Taurus gives you a second chance if a round fails to fire. The magazines are 15 and 17 rounds. The weight is nice and it is not only accurate it is reliable. You must train with your new choice and use the ammo you will keep in the gun, although lighter weight bullets will be useful for range time, just finish the visit with the rounds you intend to keep in the gun.

Now for what I do with new trainees: I start them on a 22lr or 22 magnum pistol then step them up to 9mm, avoiding the .380 category because of recoil issues with smaller frame weapons. I carry a 22magnum revolver with eight rounds and stripper clip extra ammo. If you can handle 9mm recoil in the Taurus (it isn't that bad) then stay at the 9mm level or more. A 357 revolver can shoot 38 special ammo and there are excellent defensive 38 special rounds available now and speed loaders for extra rounds.

[MCF]

Here is the gun:
https://ruger.com/products/lcr/overview.html
Here is the ammo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k890Rio2oBY

[Oil Object Insp]

I agree.

4 inch barrel in .357

Practice with .38 until comfortable.

Box of hollow points for loading for the night stand.

[CodeToad]

If you are going to take a weapons safety class, do that first, then think of selecting a firearm.

You’ll learn far more than you’ll understand here since everyone will give you opinions that are probably not even related to your personal situation and just confuse you.

That class will teach you much about handguns, and you’ll be much more informed about them. Guns are not tricky, and, in fact, they are fairly simple, but you do need to put your hands on a few and fire them to understand them.

[Afterguard]

Good for you! You will get a million and one very good recommendations.

My recommendation is a lightweight 2”, 5 or 6 shot revolver for your first self-defense weapon. If you think that a .38 caliber is what you need then I recommend a Smith & Wesson Model 642. If you think you may want a revolver that shoots both .357 Magnum and .38, S&W has several of those too. My recommendation for that spec. is the S&W M&P340 series. The M&P340 was my first carry gun years ago and I still carry it. Because it's so small and light it ain't much fun to shoot at the range, but every time you pull the trigger it goes BANG!

Good luck with your search!

[John S Mosby]

Massad Ayoub’s texts are the best, for many years. As for a firearm... simple is best. Revolvers are simple, and always work, for the poster. Practice shot placement, and use these type rounds, and know that if you fire it you will do serious damage, or kill. Must have that conviction, pull it to fire it— not brandish.

Know that may hear from 2A FReepers on this, but, here goes.

Double action 380 or .38 Special for close in use- use MagSafe type ammo or the like. MagSafe is no more, and don’t know who makes the “name”

The concept of Mag Safe was MAGnum performance with SAFEty— that is not going through 2 apartment walls and killing someone next door. Ballistics gel on these is impressive.

Original poster: part of your learning should be the power of the round-—if you fire this at say, a shoulder, well... huge damage if not removal.

The inventor/owner of MagSafe,Joe Zambone sold his company— and then died in a motorcycle accident in Australia. The .25 ACP version of his ammo was his most successful. Guess that there are others now, hydra-shok say. Not available from the original- and the company that supposedly produces it Zambone was not happy with what they did to his rounds— changed specs.

Here’s an old page— note the .25 ACP through a Beretta 21 with velocity at 1750 fps-— small pistol, huge power. And the .357 SIG Defender round at 2150.

https://www.10-32supply.com/firearms/ammo/magsafe_ammo.htm

Appreciate suggestions from FReepers on current alternatives.

[Hugh the Scot]

FRiend, you cannot go wrong with a Glock.

For a good, concealable 9mm that’s easy to handle, the G43 is hard to top.

[yarddog]

There are lots of smart knowledgeable people on FR. Despite that, ignore nearly everything you read here.

For your first gun get a good quality .22LR. double action revolver. If your budget is tight, get something like a Taurus or Charter arms.

If you know or are kin to anyone who lives in the country, do your shooting there instead of a range.

Get a high quality ear protection and use it.

Then shoot all you can. Shoot for fun, try different things but remember, don’t just be careful, be a fanatic on gun safety. A real fanatic.

Once you get really used to shooting get a more powerful gun but in the mean time the .22 will do fine

[Hugh the Scot]

“You’re gonna get a ton of bad advice here.”

Especially from this guy.

[Hugh the Scot]

“You’re gonna get a ton of bad advice here.”

Especially from this guy.

[JimRed]

A 44 magnum “Make My Day” might be a bit much...a li’l ol’ 32 gun (in your pocket for fun*) might be too lacking in stopping power, so- somewhere in between. Rent a few different types from the range and decide with which you feel most comfortable.

*Like Leroy Brown.

[AlaskaErik]

Forget revolvers. Just forget them. They are an anachronism. They belong in museums, not on your hip. If the rioting and looting of the past few days hasn’t made it clear, then nothing will. A revolver gives you five or six rounds to neutralize any threat. After that, you’re out of the fight, permanently. You’ll never reload before the fight is over and your threats will be using semi-automatics and will have lots of rounds left to finish you off. Get a semiautomatic. My Glock 23 holds 13 rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber. So I have 14 rounds to neutralize any threats. And dropping a mag and inserting a new one and releasing the slide is a one to two second operation, so you’re right back into the fight. I carry two spare magazines at all times, so I have 40 rounds available to neutralize any threats. I’d rather face a mob with 40 rounds than five or six. So ignore all those who recommend a revolver. Their minds are stuck in a much simpler period of time when a revolver was all that anyone had or needed. Those days are over. You need to be prepared to meet criminals with semiautomatics and/or multiple assailants. Get a semiautomatic and skip the the revolver. It could literally be the difference between life and death.

[delta7]

Save your money, get your hacksaw out, measure 18” then cut your barrell down to 18.5 “. Get an ammo tube extender, 00 or #4 buckshot by the case, silver solder a bayonet lug to the muzzle, then you are way ahead of everyone else in a crowd control environment. Choice of bayonet is up to you, 8” or WW1 18”, I prefer the shorter one. Being ex military, I am amazed by the lack of bayoneted shotguns in the home defense market. A bayonet screams “ move along”, and if you have to stick one in the rear, it usually makes a bloody mess.....having the option to carry a non lethal and lethal instrument rolled into one is priceless.

[Old Student]

What size gloves do you wear? Size of your hand also matters. I wear a size 10 glove, hands are moderately large, and a 1911 grip fits my hands about perfectly: from wrist joint to tip of middle finger is about 8” long. SWMBO has tiny hands, and loves the grip on a Charter Arms Pink Lady, which is a 5-shot .38 special.

If you’ve never shot a handgun, I’d get a .22LR revolver first. As others have said, it’s the original point & click interface, and quite reliable. Placed properly, a .22LR will stop a threat, but I intend to carry the 1911 in .45acp, personally. There is slightly less need for serious accuracy with a larger bullet. For in the home use I have a .22LR auto pistol, and Ruger & S&W revolvers in .357 Magnum for my own use, the Pink Lady for my wife. .357 mag pistols can also chamber and shoot .38 Special, and I’ve got 2 boxes of Hornaday Critical Defense .38 special. It should be easier on her wrists and mine, as the Pink Lady is an light alloy frame, and with normal .38 special rounds its a handful! The same gun in a steel frame is quite comfortable to shoot for me, only a bit less so for her.

Start with smaller cartridges, and work your way up to larger ones until you find what you like, what you’re comfortable with. Some guns just feel right in your hands, and you can hit anything with them. Others, not so much. Even if your hands are exactly the same size as mine, the guns that are perfect for me may not be so for you. Length and strength of fingers, width of hand, and many other factors can make a difference. My wife is scary good with the Charter. Has been since the first time she picked one up, with only a bit of firearms experience. I need larger grips on it to fit my hands for it to be comfortable.