First: when everyone says Remi 870 / mossberg 500 for shotgun - its for a reason. I have a saiga and a bennelli as well. But the Mossberg / Remi are the workhorses for sure.
Second - Practice and shoot everything you can. I love Glocks since they are super reliable and simple. you can also interchange magazines for the 17/19/26 I have friends who ha\ve Sigs and HK’s. The Sigs w a full magazine are heavy and the HK have way too long trigger pull for my liking.
Third - .22 Rifle is a must. 10/22 Ruger is the best, but i also have a Marlin Papoose that is increbile for its size and weight. A .22 rifle is the best $299 you will ever spend on guns.
Fourth - AR/AK. If you want to go big - get an AR or an AK. The two are very different. AR is better for accuracy , the AK better for war and spray and pray. You can get an AK for about 600, a good AR for about 900. I have a cienor .22 conversion kit for my AR and it is awesome.
Fifth - ammo - buy buy buy buy buy. You can never have enough.
Sixth - go to gun shows and load up on ammo boxes, and other stuff you cant buy in stores like extra parts, high cap mags, etc.
Seventh - if the wife is a pain in the ass, take her to the range for a day or two and she will be fine.
A 10/22 Ruger is a fum gun but it is not high on the accuracy scale. I have one, and I also have a Remington .22 pump. The remington is far more accurate, and consistent, and will also shoot the same .22LR cartridge about 1000 feet farther.
OK. Just to be clear, I’m a girl. So the whole wife comment doesn’t really apply. ;-)
I *like* going to the range. I wish I had more time to do that.
I agree with buying stuff at the gun shows. It’s on my list. Again, scheduling is the problem. But I’m working on it.
I still consider myself a newbie but I’m learning!