[Prime Choice]

If you're just looking to get over being gun-shy, pick up something small like a Ruger Mark II .22 caliber semi-auto pistol.

This pup is a b*tch to clean, but fun as hell to take to the range and plink away. Plus the ammo is dirt cheap. $12 gets you a box of 500 rounds.

If you're looking for something with a little more power but not too much kick, I recommend the Beretta Brigadier.

Now this baby gets the job done with an acceptable recoil for novices. Better still, it's a favorite among lots of women I know, including my wife. The Brigadier uses 9mm bullets and is a fine piece of machinery.

Personally, I prefer to cut to the chase and my choice in firearms is no exception. That's why I like to keep my Para-Ordnance P14 .45 ACP on hand at all times.

This bad boy has a bite to go along with its bark. I use nothing but hollow-point ammunition in this trusted friend and fire nothing else but this firearm at the range. This sidearm and I go back a long ways and she's always done right by me.

...but for home protection at night, I always prefer the Original Point-and-Click interface, my modified Winchester 12-gauge shotgun.

I like to keep that one handy...for close encounters. Oo-rah.

[Zman516]

Get a Winchester .30-30

Not only an eye-pleasing classic piece of Americana beloved for over a century, but a great weapon for hunting anything up to and including deer. Easy & cheap to reload your own ammo.

Plus you can drop an Islamofascist up to about 250 yards away.

[Atlas Sneezed]

The best first gun is a book:

Boston's Gun Bible.

www.javelinpress.com

[BadAndy]

Get a 22 revolver or a 22 bolt action rifle. Ammo is cheap so you can shoot alot. When you learn how to shoot safely and accurately you can move to a semiauto.
DO NOT BUY A GLOCK IF YOU ARE A BEGINNER. IMO it is not a gun for novices.

[Recon Dad]

A Glock 23, why not start off with something with a bite.

[Blood of Tyrants]

Start with an inexpensive rifle that shoots inexpensive ammo. The Ruger 10/22 is an excellent choice for beginners. You can shoot all day long for $20. Once you start thinking of a higher powered rifle, you can graduate to a Yugo SKS. Yea, it's a Soviet design, but they are very reliable with low recoil, you can get them dirt cheap (often less than $100), and the ammo is cheap, too. Accuracy is somewhat lacking, though, but good enough for 50 yard target shooting.

Now, if you still want to get into yet higher powered, you can go any direction you want from ultimate high-dollar hand built bench rifles that shoot bullets one on top of the other at 200 yards to three gun events (pistol, shotgun, high powered semi auto) to cowboy action, to black powder silouette, to trap and skeet. It's up to you.

[mountainlyons]

A .22 caliber rifle is good for rabbits,squirrels, and target shooting as they are fairly cheap. A 12 ga. shotgun is good for birds and such. An old 30-06 Springfield is a good deer gun. Pistols are not usually good for hunting and are probably the easiest gun to get in trouble with.

[DJ Taylor]

This one's a real crowd pleaser.

[WKUHilltopper]

Pistol? Long Gun? For Hunting? Need more info...

[Rummyfan]

Oh boy! A gun thread!

For all you NoVa Freepers, the National Gun Show is on this weekend at the Dulles Expo Center, Fri - Sat - Sun.

[Eastbound]

Guns are for killing. Get one that kills with the first shot. You might not have time to pull the trigger twice.

[s_asher]

Try a .22 Ruger pistol. Accurate, reliable, and easier to shoot than a .357 mag for beginners. Ammo are inexpensive in boxes of 500.

[Barney Gumble]

I just got my first.... a SigSauer P-229, in 40 caliber. It's good for the house, but still a wee bit too big to carry, unless you have a jacket on.

I am eyeing a S&W .357 for my second.

[mbennett203]

Any accurate and reliable .22 caliber rifle will provide you with lots of inexpensive fun (.22 cal rifles tend to be cheaper than full-size-caliber rifles, and .22 ammo is dirt cheap). It also won't recoil much at all (barely noticeable), ensuring you won't develop a flinch from too much recoil, and it's not as much of a chore to clean when you finish (less powder in a .22).

A .22 caliber rifle is the best training tool for a person who's never shot a firearm, or a person that needs to re-familiarize themselves. Once you're comfortable with a .22 (and want more recoil, power, noise, fun, etc.), you can move up to larger rounds. Don't go nuts and run out for, say, an M44 (russian carbine in 7.62x54mm, short barrel, bayonet permanently attached), a semi-automatic rifle in an intermediate (assault rifle) round, like the M43 Russian (7.62x39mm), or the .223 (5.56x45mm) is much easier to handle. The russian round is available in the SKS or AK-47 variant rifles. These are probably the best bet, as they need less attention and careful cleaning than the AR-15 (semiauto M16 look-alike), plus they're much less expensive and less prone to jams. The ammo is also slightly less expensive than the .223. The AR-style rifles (Armalite, Bushmaster, and Colt are the big manufacturers) are more accurate, more ergonomic, and can reload from a magazine faster than the AK. It also recoils less (the 5.56 isn't recoil-heavy at all) than the M43 Russian, but they can cost as much as a new computer (~$1000 dollars).

[JZelle]

[Dr Snide]

like everybody else, depends on what you plan on doing with it. For home protection I got my wife a good, reliable shotgun and buckshot for when I'm away. Figure even if she's anxious she won't miss. For myself .38 revolver works just fine, although I would still grab the shotgun if someone comes into the house.

[Disambiguator]

Revolvers are a good choice, especially if smaller women may eventually be in the picture.

As an instructor, I've seen too many women who could not work the slide on a semi-auto pistol.

That could be disastrous in a life or death situation.

[stevem]

I always wanted a modern day equivalent of a Colt .45 Peacemaker, Frontier Model. When my kids moved out so the wife was less nervous about such things, she bought me a Ruger Blackhawk that shoots .45 caliber long colt ammunition. I load my own ammunition so can shoot it for about 5 cents per round. It is an extremely rugged weapon, and more that fun to shoot. My son likes it, although his hand gun is a nine millimeter auotmatic. He is in the military, and that is the firearm he must qualify each year. The Ruger is simply enjoyable. My youngest daughter thinks it's OK, but a bit heavy for the lasses. P.S. Even though my wife was nervous about firearms when my kids were young and mischievous, she did want me to teach the kids to shoot using my Dad's weapons. Also, she would make a grand Second Amendment Sister, as she has proven time and again that she is a far mor accurate shooter than am I using the hand guns.

P.P.S. Finds something inexpensive to buy and shoot (possibly a .22 revolver). You can shoot one of those all day long for about $8.00. Then start looking in the sporting good store magazines to start zeroing in on one that grabs your attention.

[wildbill]

Be the first on your block to own my recommendation for the novice gunner: the French 75, a portable mountain cannon with good range (8.5km/9300 yds)high rate of fire and plenty of firepower. Because of the power it packed in a small mobile package, a popular champagne cocktail was named for it. How many guns can claim that, huh? It has a 75mm (2.95in)bore and a recoil system that allows the gun to be fired in tight quarters such as your bedroom while remaining stationary. Imagine the surprise on a home invader's face as he comes through your door and face to face with this little beauty filled with cannister shot. For family fun it can't be beat. You can teach the whole family to serve as your cannonade crew as a wholesome family sport. Being an older model (1897), you can probably pick one up cheap somewhere in the Middle East although new ones are available. Simply firing the French 75 off in your neighborhood occasionally is sure to mark you as a man to be reckoned with. I guarantee, that as the word spreads, you'll be given a wide berth and plenty of admiring looks.

[CholeraJoe]

For home defense, a Remington or Mossberg 12 guage pump shotgun. Just the sound of the action being racked in a dark house will turn any burglar into pi$$-covered jello.