Posted on 12/16/2009 10:08:01 AM PST by bonillamktg
I am ashamed to say that I am 30 years old and do not own a gun. I grew up in a house without guns and never really thought about it until recently (as I started a drastic shift from being politically agnostic to a staunch conservative Constitutionalist) and now I am a new homeowner and new father and every day I think about needing to get multiple firearms. I need to start somewhere but, other than getting recommendations from a few friends I respect, I am a bit lost, having never fired a handgun before (I've shot several rifles and shotguns before).
My question is: What recommendation would you give me as the first gun I should own? I want this first gun to be easily carried concealed (I plan on getting my concealed carry permit ASAP), a good weapon for protection of my home, easily usable by my wife (who has never shot a gun in her life), and ideally, I'd like to get armed for $300-400.
I do wish that Bond would make a .45-70 Derringer, still interchangeable with the .45 and all the other barrels.
I would recommend a Czech CZ82. Standard sidearm for the Czech army. You can get one for about ~$200 used military surplus. If you get a C&R license you can have it shipped to your house via UPS. Great little gun for the money. Mine shoots whatever I feed it with 100% reliability.
YOU'LL PUT YOUR EYE OUT!
This is above your price range, but I would save up and get a 1911.
Once you get a 1911, you will never go back.
(And many here will advise getting a Glock. IMO, Glocks are overrated and accidents waiting to happen. Nobody would ever carry a 1911 in Condition Zero, yet this is precisely how Glocks are carried.)
Agreed, my sediments exactly, but to ask a dumb question – what is “Condition zero”.
Do you mean cocked and locked?
Good post
My two main go to handguns are a Smith&Wesson model 642 airweight snubby revolver and a Walther P-99 9mm pistol.
Its like a glock with a decocker.
condition zero I think means carrying a semi-auto handgun with an empty chamber but with the magazine inserted.
Nothing feels and shoots as good as a Colt 45 auto Gold cup! Model 70. My favorite handgun! A .40 Glock 23 would be my next choice! Good luck to you!
Condition 1 is Cocked and Locked.
Condition Zero is chambered and unlocked. (ready to go!)
That is Condition 3 (full magazine).
Condition 4 is empty magazine (the only way to legally carry in CA!)
Thanks for the heads up. Kimber (or Nighthawk :)) it is!
No problem....best of luck!
I have 2 Kimbers and love em both!
See posts 107, 108... ;)
WHAT is THAT?!? I want it!
see post 107.
it´s world smallest revolver made by “swiss mini gun”
sorry to tell you but their homepage says that they are not allowed to export it to the USA.
http://www.swissminigun.ch/home.html
from their HP: We have received a letter from the US Department of Justice mentioning that our Miniature Revolver does not meet with the minimum size prerequisites referring to the Factoring Criteria for Weapons ATF Form 4590.
Our revolver therefore, is not classified as sporting and is not importable.
I meant 108 & 127. Great minds... I really like my smithie.
The first gun you should own and the first gun to be easily carried concealed may not be the same. If you do not have a lot of experience with firearms of any kind, then I suggest that you first buy an inexpensive .22 caliber to learn safety, proper handling, feel, loading, unloading, aim, zeroing in, etc. The ammo is cheap and plentiful. A good choice is a Remington 597 semi-automatic with a 10 round removable magazine. This is not, however, a home defense weapon.
If you have some experience with firearms or once you master the basics with a .22 cal, then move on to something that will serve you well in home defense and double as a hunting gun and/or a gun that is fun to shoot. My favorite is a Marlin 1894c, which is a lever action carbine (18.5" barrel), that shoots both .357 magnums and .38 specials, and has a 10 round capacity (9+1) that loads on the fly. Although many rifles are too cumbersome for home defense, the Marlin is only 36" from end to end and manuevers easily in tight situations. It is also easy to shoot and doesn't have a lot of kick (both my teenage son and daughter love to shoot it). Best of all, the distinctive sound that the lever makes when cocking the gun is enough to give most home invaders second thoughts.
Only after you learn to effectively handle and shoot a rifle would I recommend a handgun for concealed carry. As many here have already recommended, I suggest a revolver that shoots both .357 mag and .38 specials. Taurus makes several small, inexpensive models, but in my opinion, Smith & Wesson offers is the best of the best of the revolvers in this caliber.
The third option is a 12 gauge shotgun loaded with 00 buckshot, which in theory, may be the greatest home defense gun of all time. I say "in theory" because even a 2.75" shot shell has a pretty good kick and that could cause many women and men to flinch in anticipation of the kick and to delay the second shot, if needed, because of the kick. In other words, a shotgun may be too much to handle for many people particulalry in a home defense situation where perfection could mean the difference between live and death. If you do go with a shotgun, I recommend the Remington 870, 12 gauge pump-action with a 20" barrel, iron sights, and improved cylinder choke. I brought mine with a 26" "bird barrel" for under $300, and purchased the 20" barrel on eBay for under $100.
20 years ago both my wife and I started lifting as way to lose weight. We had absolutely NO idea what we were doing, but we both knew oure energy level had increased and we felt better by a magnitude of 10x’s.
Funny, hunger does set in when you put physical demands on your body, both of us increased intake, but at that time the no fat no sugar and all carbs (idiot driven fad and FDA supported ) came along and so we lifted with more intensity and kept gaining even more weight. Still felt good .. looked horrible ... actually we were both obese.
Along came Bill Phillips and Body for Life ... we realized we were eating backwards. Moved to five small meals a day ...(typical is based on fist size for each potion, small chicken breast, small baked potato, noo topping, broccoli) and in doing that FAT FLEW off. Muscle packed on.
What you see is what you get. I lift three days a week for 47 minutes each, and do 20 mins cardio the opposite 3 days. I will say at age 55, it is more difficult to keep the bodyfat down .. testosterone levels fall off significantly after 45. But I can still run a mile in 5 minutes. Not bad for a big old geezer.
By Medical standards, the AMA and Drs see me and imnmediatly give me the imminent funeral talk. (been hearing that for 20 years now) Scrawny little dirtbags, they wouldn’t know good health if it bit them where the good lord split them.
My apologies, I tried that first but couldn’t find a category that it fit well under. I’ve been lurking for awhile but haven’t posted much. Thanks!
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