Getting into the world of firearms

Townhall.com ^ | September 27, 2005 | Mike S. Adams

[beaureguard]

Thanks for your following letter, Matt, which I received this afternoon:

Do you think at some point you could write a column on some of the basics of getting into the world of firearms? Specifically, I'm looking for tips on acquiring weapons for home defense and hunting. While I'm not a survivalist weirdo, I have no intention of waiting for any level of government to ride to the rescue, should bad times come along.

Since I have been hit with numerous requests (mostly post-Katrina) from people looking for that first firearm, I am pleased to respond with a column on the topic. Since you used the word “weapons” (plural) and spoke of “getting into the world of firearms” (again plural) I have a number of recommendations for you. And here they are:

Marlin .22 Magnum, Model 25 MN. We are going to start you off with an inexpensive gun you can easily pick up at WalMart. I bought my Model 25 five years ago for just $150, although they cost about $170 now. Take your new .22 magnum out to the country and fire a few shots at a paper plate taped on the side of a tree stump. Start out at 25 yards. When you get confident, you can put an inexpensive Simmons scope on it for those 50-yard raccoon shots. I have a big back yard and, for me, a part of home defense is getting rid of those raccoons that tear up everything in sight. Your varmint problems will soon be a thing of the past with this little bolt action rifle. It will also teach you patience and shot discipline better than a .22 semi-automatic. Remember, Matt, every shot counts so don’t waste ammo. In fact, make sure that you always buy more than you just shot after a day at the range. Some people call that stockpiling. I call it an investment in your future.

Smith and Wesson .357 Magnum, Model 686. I usually recommend a four-inch barrel but I want you to get a six-inch stainless model. This will help you in the realm of hunting and self-defense. For example, a 145-grain Winchester silver tip will stop that coyote you run into while deer hunting. It will also help stop any intruder (it will even stop his pit bull, for that matter). Keep this gun under your bed and loaded at all times.

Also, this is a great revolver for your wife (assuming you are married, which is another choice I recommend) to get used to shooting. Put some light 110-grain .38 Special rounds in it and see how she likes it. With a big six-inch barrel, it will be easy to handle with hardly any recoil.

Benelli Nova 12-gauge. I have a couple of Remington 870 pump shotguns. But, recently, I bought a 24-inch barrel Nova with Advantage Timber camouflage. I will use mine – a super magnum that takes 3 ½-inch loads – to hunt a turkey this Thanksgiving. You can use yours for varmint hunting, quail hunting, and a number of other purposes with the right 2 3/4 –inch load. Some light buckshot will also make this a good home defense weapon, provided you are in an open space (the barrel is a little long for this particular function).

Stoeger Double-barreled 20-gauge Supreme Coach Gun. If you really want your wife to get into this (to make it a family affair), she needs her own shotgun. I recommend the nickel-plated version because it’s so darned pretty. Let her keep it under her side of the bed and, please, stay on her good side. For more details, see this link: http://www.stoegerindustries.com/firearms/coach-supreme.tpl.

Ruger Mini-14 Ranch Rifle. A lot of people who saw what recently happened in New Orleans have concluded that every man needs an assault rifle. I came to that conclusion years ago. Go to WalMart and get this nice .223 semi-automatic for around $500 (I got mine when they were $375). Then get a scope (the rings are included with this model). I would also recommend several 30-round magazines by Thurmold. I have fired hundreds of rounds through mine without a single jam – even when firing as rapidly as possible. You might also want a flash suppressor, which will keep the muzzle low while you fire away. This is a fun gun that helps explain why I never picked up golf.

Browning A-bolt .270. And, of course, you will need a long-range bolt action rifle when you start bagging deer. My 30.06 Browning A-Bolt Medallion is probably my favorite weapon. Deer, black bear, and boar like it much less. I recommend the .270 to the novice because it has less recoil and will still get the job done. Winchester Power Point rounds (130-grain bullets) are very cheap and more than adequate. Mail me later for venison recipes.

Ruger Super Redhawk .454 Casull. I have no business recommending this gun to you, Matt. Nonetheless, buy it anyway. This gun takes Colt 45 rounds that are great for home defense. When, somewhere down the road, you feel like handling a very powerful handgun, this will provide some great entertainment with the .454 Casull rounds. Get the model with the 9 ½-inch barrel and kill a wild boar. Then kill a black bear. Then put a scope on it (the scope rings are included) and kill a deer at 100 yards. After you are done with your assignments, call me and let me know whether I have given you good advice.

Thanks for writing, Matt. And welcome to my world.

[Rummyfan]

Bump for reference!!!!

[satchmodog9]

Life is good when you own more than ten firearms.

[mbynack]

I'm sure that you're going to get a lot of people disagreeing with his choices.

I would recommend a 12 gauge pump as the first gun. You can use it for home defense and hunting.

I don't think a 22 magnum is a very practical choice. It's only good for plinking and small game. A 22 long rifle is cheaper to shoot.

A 454 Cassull is not practical for anything but medium size game hunting. It's not a good weapon for a beginner because it's expensive and kicks pretty hard.

[holymoly]

"Ruger Mini-14 Ranch Rifle. A lot of people who saw what recently happened in New Orleans have concluded that every man needs an assault rifle."

Too bad the Mini-14 isn't an assault rifle.

[papertyger]

Do you think at some point you could write a column on some of the basics of getting into the world of firearms? Specifically, I'm looking for tips on acquiring weapons for home defense and hunting. While I'm not a survivalist weirdo...

Dear Mike,

Seeing as you're already sneering and labelling the folks who are expert in the information you seek; No, go to hell.

[saganite]

Pretty good recommendations. I personally prefer the Mossberg 12 gauge pump (18 1/2" barrel) for the home and my .357 is a Ruger sp 101, good for concealed carry. Just got a .270 Savage bolt action with the accu trigger for hunting.

I wouldn't touch a .454 Casull though. That's too much gun for the average gun owner and is really only needed for very special applications, like grizzly at close range. I much prefer a standard 1911 .45 which will be my next purchase. Since I can't afford a Kimber I've got my eye on a Springfield Arms milspec 1911 .45.

[Drammach]

Banglist added to "Keywords"..

Adding Banglist to keywords insures that it gets to the "interested parties"...

And Thanks for the post..

[BooBoo1000]

454 Causal, and 357 Mag are both a lot of gun for beginners, how about a Browning 9MM High Power, the cream of the 9MM's and easy to control.

[niteowl77]

I agree that a good .357/.38 revolver in stainless steel is the best choice of handgun for the casual shooter, but I long ago gave up on revolvers with barrels longer than 4" (I like a 3" SP-101, my son prefers a 4" GP-100, and neither one of us can convince the other to change). Be that as it may, I've selected the Glock 19 as the family SHTF handgun- no manual safety levers to fumble with, easy to strip for maintenance, nearly unbreakable, utilizes common-as-dirt (and cheap) ammunition... and is eminently affordable.

[ElTianti]

Glock makes very nice .45s.

[Youngman442002]

I am a survivalist weirdo.....and I think the New Orleans fiasco proved us right..who are you going to rely on..the government to help you out ...our yourself...I choose myself....I am much smarter than a government bureaucrat.....I am SMART enough to get out of Dodge if I need to...or if I was going to stay...buy enough food, water, and supplies to survive...and not to do what the idiots did in New Orleans...and don't answer back that they were poor....they were DUMB...period..and evolution works....

[AnAmericanMother]

Well, there are as many favorite firearms as there are shooters, but here are my main beefs with this writer:

He has a thing for oddball calibers. Now, I myself have nothing to brag on in that department, seeing as how I have a couple of Lee Enfields in .303 British, a .455 Webley revolver, a Webley in .38 Smith (NOT .38 special) and a .41 mag. BUT, oddball calibers are not good for first guns because ammo is expensive and not readily available.

I would stick to 12 ga., .308 Win (7.62 NATO), .22 rimfire, and .38/.357 Magnum because if ANY ammo is available, those will be. (I am personally prejudiced against 9mm, and I prefer .45 ACP to the .38, but again not for a first gun.)

Everybody should begin with a .22 rifle (not a .22 magnum - talk about difficult finding ammo!). Ammo is available everywhere and dirt cheap, zero recoil, ample accuracy with the right selection. I wouldn't bother with a bolt action though, if you need discipline in placing your shots just load one at a time. I am very happy with my Ruger 10/22 Stainless, although the rotary magazines are a bit fiddly (I would buy a couple of spares).

A reliable .308 rifle is a good thing to have, my hubby swears by the FN-FAL but I find it too heavy and bulky to tote around. I have a little Ruger M-77 with a 4x Leupold scope on top, and it does everything I need for it to do. Probably a semi-auto would be better than a bolt action, but the M-77 has a very smooth and quick operating action. I love my Ruger and I can drive tacks with it all day long.

A good pump shotgun is the best first shotgun. Our hunting club has eight Remington 870s that we use day in and day out in training and during hunt tests. Some of them are older than I am . . . they get battered around and treated pretty roughly, but they remain reliable and accurate.

I agree with a .357 because you can feed it .38 sp for practice, but a six inch barrel is going to be very awkward for a new shooter. Four inch to me is a better compromise between recoil and ease of handling. Once this shooter gets comfortable with a revolver, he ought to look into the 1911A1.

Just my

[saganite]

I agree the .357 in a short barrel (which is what I have) is hard to control. That's why the author recommendeds a longer barrel. I simply use .38 special ammo in my Ruger if I want more control, but only for practice. When I carry it I load .357. I personally consider it the minimum caliber for sure stopping power so I wouldn't recommend a 9 mm. Each to his own though!

[AngryJawa]

Too bad the Mini-14 isn't an assault rifle.

No matter what it looks like, no rifle you're going to buy without "special dispensation" from the BATF is a real "assault rifle". No full auto or burst capability - no assault rifle.

If someone's got some breath to waste, he may want to pass that little nugget along to the likes of Feinstein, Schumer, etc.

[yarddog]

Nothing wrong with his choices but mine would have been different.

That is the nice thing about guns. Just about all of them are useful.

I ran into a bargain on .22 magnum ammo around 20 years ago and bought 100 boxes. I had a Thompson Center Contender with a .22 mag barrel at the time.

Well that magnum barrel turned out to be a dog. The only bad barrel I have ever had with the contender. I eventually traded the contender and all barrels off.

With all that ammo, I have been wanting a .22 mag for some time. I settled on the CZ automatic rifle. While saving up for the purchase, I noticed someone advertising a Marlin model 25 for only $100 in the local paper. I phoned him and he came over immediately. I think he really needed the money, anyway the rifle had a cheap but good scope and three mags.

The rifle is not particularly well made. It looks ok but nothing extra. The good thing is the accuracy. Using CCI hollow points, it consistently put all shots into one large hole at 50 yards. Really unusual accuracy.

That rifle is very useful for varmints, wild dogs etc.

All in all, tho a good .22 LR repeater is the best gun to start with, either rifle or pistol.

[CPOSharky]

I'm sure that you're going to get a lot of people disagreeing with his choices.

I would recommend a 12 gauge pump as the first gun. You can use it for home defense and hunting.

I don't think a 22 magnum is a very practical choice. It's only good for plinking and small game. A 22 long rifle is cheaper to shoot.

A 454 Cassull is not practical for anything but medium size game hunting. It's not a good weapon for a beginner because it's expensive and kicks pretty hard.

I agree with you. The 22 LR is the way to go. Mossberg Maverick is an excellent way to get into the shotgun world for a reasonable price. I'd go with a 30-06 rather than a 270. And finally a 1911 or clone for personal defense. If a semi-auto "assault" style is desired, an SKS is cheap and reliable.

The bonus is that these firearms use the least expensive ammo.

[papertyger]

Since I can't afford a Kimber...

Been there, done that. You're not missing anything, and saving money, to boot!

[Conspiracy Guy]

For home defense I have a Mossberg Maverick 88 12 gauge pump with 18.5 inch barrel, pistol grip, and tactical sling. I have a second one just like it in the tool box of my truck. It's cheap and fun to shoot clays from the hip at close range. I keep a Ruger P95DC in 9mm in the truck. The wife also carries a P95DC in 9mm. 9mm is cheap. I carry a Ruger P97DC in 45 ACP. I have a Marlin 22 semi auto in 22LR for plinking and rabbits and a Ruger Mark II for the same purpose. I have a Charter Arms 38 snubby I carry in ankle holster. The Browning A Bolt in 270 with 3X10 50mm Leupold Gold Ring scope is my favorite of all my long rifles. I have a smith and Wesson Model 3000 12 gauge pump (no longer in production) for turkey, quail, and dove. Then in my second gun safe are a variety of wheel guns, assault guns, and other goodies. The third safe is in the basement with my collectibles in it. You know like beanie babies and such. I do play golf but not often.

[xsrdx]

Reasonable recommendations. No heartburn with the .270, 686 and Benelli Nova, but the rest are a little eccentric.

And the Ruger is not a top choice in .223 semiautos.