What should I get?

[Gunewb]

I have only had pellet/bb guns in the past, and I would like to move up into real guns. I would like to use the gun for entertainment at the local indoor firing range, and possibly for home protection.

What should I get? Also, is there a type of gun course I should take? What kinds of ammo should I use with whatever gun you reccomend?

Thanks. :madnoel:

[ssom003]

Hello and :welcome:

Go shooting with friends, co-worker, whom ever, just get some range time, and basic gun safety handling...
Start out with a 22LR and move your way up...
See what you like, and what is in your price range... Then go from there...
Now for home protection go with a 9mm or bigger...

[uzimon]

the 22 is all wrong for home protection. id go with a 9mm for a first pistol, or an ak copy for first rifle. a glock 17 loaded with a frangible hollow point like cor-bon is a very potent weapon. if your gonna get a chl the glock 19 or 26 is smaller, easier to hide. if you dont like the plastic feel you could get a police trade sig 226 for about $400. new glocks go for about $450-500. i like the glocks as they accept the 31 round clips. you cant go wrong with glock or sig. the best ak copy is the bulgarian. i prefer 7.62
as far as training, the best is a lot of practice. with the glock you can tell if the chambers loaded (arguably the cause of most accidental discharges) the trigger is in the forward position. if the triggers back, theres no way a rounds chambered. with the sig you can partially open the action, view the round, let the slide go forward, and use the hammer drop lever. i like the glock system, even in pitch black you can feel the trigger position and determine if its safe. as with any gun, keep your finger off the trigger till youre ready to shoot.

[Rew]

the 22 is all wrong for home protection. id go with a 9mm for a first pistol, or an ak copy for first rifle. a glock 17 loaded with a frangible hollow point like cor-bon is a very potent weapon. if your gonna get a chl the glock 19 or 26 is smaller, easier to hide. if you dont like the plastic feel you could get a police trade sig 226 for about $400. new glocks go for about $450-500. i like the glocks as they accept the 31 round clips. you cant go wrong with glock or sig. the best ak copy is the bulgarian. i prefer 7.62
as far as training, the best is a lot of practice. with the glock you can tell if the chambers loaded (arguably the cause of most accidental discharges) the trigger is in the forward position. if the triggers back, theres no way a rounds chambered. with the sig you can partially open the action, view the round, let the slide go forward, and use the hammer drop lever. i like the glock system, even in pitch black you can feel the trigger position and determine if its safe. as with any gun, keep your finger off the trigger till youre ready to shoot.

An AK is not exactly my idea of a first rifle. No semi auto is, the trick is to learn marksmanship, not spray and pray. A good .22 bolt action or a lever action, both repeaters make fine learning tools. As for a handgun the Glock is responasable by design and stupid people that carry them for more NDs than any other handgun and you are going to reccomend it to an absolute beginner. Not a good idea. A .22 double action revolver or even a good semi auto .22 pistol make a good learning tool, I prefur the revolver. Those are my suggestion's Gunewb, welcome to TGN. Keep asking we'll be happy to help. ;)

[Dan Morris]

Welcome aboard. I'm gonna back REW on his comments.
Dan

[uzimon]

As for a handgun the Glock is responasable by design and stupid people that carry them for more NDs than any other handgun and you are going to reccomend it to an absolute beginner. Not a good idea. A .22 double action revolver or even a good semi auto .22 pistol make a good learning tool, I prefur the revolver.

stupid people carry them huh? youre way out in left field with that dude :crazy: the ONLY thing that makes a glock go off is PULLING THE TRIGGER! just like the revolver you recommend. i dont know where you get your stats on ad's, but if theyre so dangerous we'd hear a lot more negative crap about them, since so many are sold worldwide

[Rew]

WOW, hold it dude, I did not say people who carry Glocks are stupid. I said stupid people have ND's with Glocks. I got my stat's from several places and personal expierance. Do you have any idea how many cop's have put a hole in their leg with a Glock trying to reholster with a finger in the trigger guard? Try thay with an EAMPTY DA revolvor sometime it can be done but ya gotta work at it. The thing is these cops are suppose to be trained not first time users. The Glock is a fine pistol, just not one I would suggest to a first time user. BTW you do know the diffirence between an ND and a AD, right? ;)

[uzimon]

since you had so many other typin errors i thought your nd meant ad.
assuming gunewb is a semi-intelligent, grown man i believe he can learn how to safely operate a glock and an ak. after all, arent there millions of armed forces recruits worldwide that dont know a thing about guns, and come out of basic with the knowledge to use their weapon? as far as nd or ad or add, as long as the "finger off the trigger" rule is adhered to, there wont be any. youre comparing holstering an empty revolver to a loaded semi? thats just plain bizarre..

[Rew]

No, I suggested, if you want to test for yourself, use an empty revolver. Lots of men come out of basic, boot or whatever knowing how to handle their weapon, pray tell what is basic, I use to call it TRAINING, but maybe you know better. Some of those trained men still have NDs. As far as my typing skills, typing was not my vocation. I was a weapons expert in the US Army infantry for a bit over 20 years. We didn't get to use a typerwriter or keyboard much. But I do know what a shift key is. Have a nice day. ;)

[uzimon]

i still dont know what a nd is

:jump: p.s. i wasnt making fun of your typos, i merely meant i thought you had made another. and i will have a nice day, im gettin 30gs today :woot

[Rew]

Sorry, ND is Negligent Discharge, the persons fault, AD is Accidental Discharge, the weapons fault, NDs happen often, ADs are rather rare. ;)

[Gunewb]

What's a chl?

What kinds of 0.22 handguns do you reccomend?

Also, I live in texas, do I need to get some kind of permit before I buy a gun? I live in fort worth.

[Steven Mace]

Gunewb, I believe 'chl' is a reference to concealed handgun license.

Steve Mace

P.S. - Welcome to The Guns Network! Hope to see more posts from you.

[Rew]

What's a chl?

What kinds of 0.22 handguns do you reccomend?

Also, I live in texas, do I need to get some kind of permit before I buy a gun? I live in fort worth.

you don't need a permit to buy a handgun. You have to be 21 or older and have no felony's. If your intrested in a revolver, Taurus make a really neet little 9 shot double action. For a semi-auto the Ruger standerd MkII is a good begining place. There are other's, both revolvers and semi's out there, these two are just my picks. Good luck in your quest and let us know what you get. ;)

[Gunewb]

Someone on another forum recommended a makarov 9mm short pistol. He said I could find it at a gun show. Since I don't really know much about guns, is a gun show a safe place for me to shop?

[Rew]

I don't own a Makarov, I understand they are good pistols. The ammo can be rather hard to find. Gun show's are NOT a good place to buy for a beginner. I like gun show's, but I normaly know more about what is being sold than the people selling the product. I.E. I'm hard to cheat. Gun shows are fun, go to one, but don't buy, unless you have someone along that know's what your looking at. ;)

[Dafapa]

Someone on another forum recommended a makarov 9mm short pistol. He said I could find it at a gun show. Since I don't really know much about guns, is a gun show a safe place for me to shop?

If you don't know in advance what its worth people will try to rip you off. Bigger gunshows seem to have a lot more deals. I buy most of my stuff at the larger gunshows due to prices. I'm yet to buy a gun in a gunshop as they tend to be way too expensive. If you can find a dealer to do transfers for you there are deals to be had online. I also see some alright prices at Walmart.

For your first gun...I'd say look for: affordability, moderate recoil, and cheap ammo. If you can afford two guns, I'd say get a semi-auto .22 rifle, and a more serious gun later. For semi-auto .22s you can check out pawnshops, but walmart is probably a better place for you to pick one up. You should be able to get a decent one for a bit over 100 bucks.

If you're more interested in handguns and can only get one gun, I'd say skip the .22 pistol and get a 9mm luger unless you plan to shoot a lot. The .22 pistol won't be that much less than a "real" handgun, and won't be that useful for self defense. I'd recommend the Taurus PT 92. Around here they can be had for about 355.00 brand new, and I've seen them with accessory rails to. I've put almost 4000 rnds through one and with good ammo and mags it runs like a champ. The few misfeeds/jams I've had were the fault of the mags/ammo. You can easily get 15, 17, 20, and 30 rnd magazines for it as well. 9mm is economical, there's a good selection of it, and its powerful enough to fight with if you chose your ammunition well.

I'd advise against the makarov. Affordability and reliability are great. However, ammunition is not as powerful as 9mm luger, not nearly as plentiful as 9mm luger, the selection of 9mm makarov ammo is pretty lame, and ammo is only marginally cheaper than comparable 9mm luger ammo. In addition to that, except for a somewhat rare version,the makarov won't take hi-caps (I think they hold 8 rnds).

How much can you afford to spend in the way of guns?

[Gunewb]

I plan to spend 0-800 for the gun. I would prefer to only have one hand gun though.

Another suggestion from another forum:

Glock 23C

[Dafapa]

I plan to spend 0-800 for the gun. I would prefer to only have one hand gun though.
Another suggestion from another forum:
Glock 23C

Get the .22 rifle then find a handgun you like. There are a lot of good choices in your price range. Find a handgun that fits you, and has controls you like. Look for a range that rents guns so you can try them out. I suggest the 9mm for any first handgun due to cost and moderate recoil. I think the Glock 23C is .40 S&W, which is significantly more espensive than 9mm ammo. I still vote for the Taurus PT 92. If you get the .22 and Taurus PT 92 you'd have almost enough left over for an AK-47, easily a SKS or mossberg 12 ga. shotgun.

Definitely look into the controls before you decide on the glock. They have no external safeties (unless I'm badly mistaken). The Taurus PT 92 has a frame mounted safety, decocker, and it is double action/single action (as do a large number of handguns).

[Rew]

The Glock is not a starter pistol, it is a good weapon, just not made for beginners. Like Dafapa said there are no external safties. He reccomends a Taurus 92 because he own's one, and coming from expierance is always good. ;)

[sheffieldshootr]

Gunewb, if you have not bought yet. Here are some thoughts from a 48 year old that has been an avid shooter since age 14. I have been a shooting club president for about 15 years, in charge of up to three various matches a month for most of that time, a junior air rifle program instructor as of late, and long time 2nd Amendment defender.

You want to shoot for fun and to have a gun for self defense.

Buy a bolt action .22 Long Rifle CZ Special, Trainer, or LUX (basically the same rifle except for type of stock wood and finish). Get a couple of spare magazines - the plastic ones are fine and easier on the fingers. These rifles have excellent open sights and decent (matter of debate) triggers.

Go to your range and shoot this alot. Try and find a club near you that shoots CMP Sporter matches. They have an open sight class and nothing makes you grow more than competition and the structured safety enviroment is great for increasing safety adherence to the level of second nature.

These rifles are very reliable and rugged and a bolt action is so much easier to keep clean than an automatic, lever, or slide action. With a little TLC - the more you shoot it the smoother/better it will get and I am talking thousands of rounds.

Cost - used between $200 to $325 - new between $235 to $350.

Also, buy a Smith and Wesson K or L frame .357 Magnum with a four inch barrel. Shoot .38 Specials for fun practice. Get some .38 Special plus P ammo or .357 Mag. loads for self defense. Practice both double and single action fire. Practice alot. You may even want to start reloading the cartridges - a great hobby and a shooting education in itself.

Cost - used between $200 and $450 - new between $300 and $500.

There you go - you said $800.

By the way, for home defense it is hard to beat a 12 gauge pump loaded with # 6s (bad news at five to fifteen feet). You can find a good new or used pump for around $200 or less. Load the tube and keep the chamber empty. Just racking the slide may be enough to make a bad guy wet his pants and make tracks. I paid $75 for a good used Savage a few years ago.

Finally, if the shooting bug really bites you, I predict there will be lots of Glocks, Taurus 9mms, and SKSs or AKs in your future. However, 1911 .45s, Browning Hi-Powers, Sig 9s, Mausers, O3s, Garands, and almost any .22 rifle are more to my tastes.

Good luck, good shootin, and be safe.

Danny


There is

[giwillig]

My first gun was a Ruger 10/22 rifle which I received for my 15th birthday. These are absolutely fantastic rifles. There are all sorts of aftermarket products available for the rifle: hi-cap mags, synthetic stocks, heavy match barrels, etc. It is very easy to mount optics on the rifle as Ruger includes a dovetail scope base that can be mounted on the receiver. The 10/22 is also pretty inexpensive as your basic 10/22 with a wood stock starts at about $150. The 10/22 is simple to operate and fairly easy to strip down and clean for maintenance. .22 lr ammo can cost as low as $10 for 500 rounds. I would strongly recommend that you consider a 10/22 as your 1st rifle. Welcome and hope this helps.

[dead ford]

Start with something simple. Go 22. rifle bolt,pump,or lever. Rifles are safer, because it's easier to see the end of the barrel so you know were it's aimed. Not so much a home def. gun, a good starter. I have lots of guns and like them all, but theres nothing as fun as going out with $10 worth of ammo and pinking all afternoon. As for safty if you go to gun club or range the others shooters wont let you do anything stupid. Speaking of stupid DON'T shoot with friends that mix drugs and beer and guns.