NRA?
oooops, sorry.
hehehehe
First. Move out of California and into a Free State.
Type in keyword NRA...
Find the book: HOW TO OWN A GUN AND STAY OUT OF JAIL. There are versions for each state. Very good guide to what you can and can't do, with case law cited.
Take a good course from the NRA or a qualified school/trainer.
Don't take advice from people on the internet :)
Try these two links:
http://www.firearmstraining.com/location.html
http://www.packing.org/
Rumor has it that San Bernardino Co and Orange Co. are not so difficult to get CCW permits. Wouldn't know personally.
Search on keyword "banglist" here on FR.
If you are not intimately familiar with firearms, I strongly counsel you to purchase a double-barrel (i.e., side-by-side) shotgun in 12 or 20 gauge rather than a pistol. Such arms are easy to operate and clean; not particularly expensive to shoot; much, much easier to master than a handgun; require no special permits in most jurisdictions; and, they are quite deadly at normal home defense ranges.
A used Stevens 311 or Savage-Fox model B is a good choice for a reasonable price (you can spend a fortune on an upscale double, but you don't need anything fancy). Stay away from the cheap Brazilian stuff (Rossi, etc).
1. Find a local shooting range WHERE THEY RENT GUNS!
2. I reccommend Magnum range, but they are in Upland, CA which is quite a drive if you are in LA.
3. Try a 9mm automatic, 45 ACP, 357 magnum and maybe a shotgun.
4. Decide what you are most comfortable with. The shop owner might be some help, but if you know someone who already has some guns to go with you even better.
5. Find your local Turners. www.turners.com
6. Goto turners and take the test for your California handgun card. 20 common sense questions such as:
When carrying your firearm in your vehicle it should be carried.
a) Loaded on the seat next to you.
b) Unloaded in the glove compartment.
c) Loaded and under the seat.
d) Unloaded and locked in a DOJ approved firearm container or in the trunk.
If you can't pass the test without studying you should take a think twice about purchasing a gun.
6. Fill out ardous paperwork and purchase your gun.
7. Read about gun safety on the Internet or take a firearm safety class. You can sign up for the class at Turners.
8. Take your gun to the gun range a shoot it quite a bit until you get the feel for it. At least 500 rounds in a handgun.
9. Buy a DOJ lockbox if you have kids.
Have fun.
Check out the California Rifle and Pistol Association too. They do good legislative work (the state is an absolute uphill battle) and may be able to recommend instructors.
http://www.crpa.org
In the Gravest Extreme Role of the Firearm
by Massad F. Ayoob
Amazon.com -- learn how customers can search inside this book. List Price: $12.95
Massad Ayoob grew up with weapons. His father was a jeweler who was maimed by an armed criminal--whom he killed, and whose accomplice he crippled.
Massad claims he began to use firearms at age four, and won his first of several hundred pistol awards as a teenager. He was captain of a first string pistol team at the age of twenty-two. Then he became a policeman in 1972.
In his career, he has become recognized internationally as one of the world's leading authorities on police weaponry, and regularly serves as a consultant and courtroom expert on firearms and shootings.
He has been the handgun editor of "Guns" magazine, and is a regular contributor to several other leading journals.
In this book, Ayoob advises the reader on the legal implications of firearms use in self-defense, and the whole subject of keeping, storing, carrying and using firearms.
He talks about basic gunfighting techniques, the calibers best suited for personal protection and how to choose a weapon, "common sense" as it relates to firearms use, and the deterrent effect of defense handguns.
This is a very good book, and it comes highly recommended by most knowledgeable shooters.
Now, if you are a beginner, about to buy your first handgun, or a police cadet or a new correctional officer in training, and are seeking a book which will help you to pick out a firearm, or to safely use the one you have, let me recommend a better one: "George Tooley's Beginner's Book on How to Handle Firearms Safely," also available on Amazon.com.
This is a very good book. Buy it, too. But the late George Tooley's book is even better, although less well known. He had 45 years in corrections and law-enforcement, most of it teaching firearms use.
Joseph Pierre,
Author of THE ROAD TO DAMASCUS: Our Journey Through Eternity