Looking to buy First handgun, advice?

Question

No one in my family owns a gun and i have no experiences with guns. I'm looking on a budget but safety comes first for me. I plan on getting a concealed carry liscence. It seems like there is a whole world of guns and accessories and was wondering what people would recommend for guns, accessories, classes, licences for a beginner with no clue, under $500 TOTAL. If you think I need a larger budget I'm willing to wait, i would like to buy something that will last and work well. Cheers

Answer 1

Before you do anything, go to a range and get some instruction. If you can find one that rents handguns, try shooting a variety to find what suits you best. If that is not an option, find an instructor and learn the basics.



Now come the bullet points:

First off, buying a good handgun will pretty much take care of your budget. Even a good .22 target pistol can run over $300 without anything fancy.



Second, what is your main purpose? If it is plinking and target shooting, I suggest a .22 handgun. Great for learning and easy to handle.



Third, if self defense is your purpose, which is what I gather from your desire to get a conceal and carry, than you really need to get some experience with a variety of makes and calibers before you buy. Full size handguns are hard to fully conceal. Smaller conceal guns tend to be less accurate (but more than adequate for standard self-defense purposes) and usually have smaller magazines. I never suggest anything lighter than a .380 for self defense. Anything above that (.38, 38 special, 9mm, 10 mm, .40, .41, .45, etc.) is, at least, adequate.

Answer 2

At least look into a gun safety class at a local range if you have no one with experience to guide you.

Answer 3

Going for a pistol for a first gun first is like getting right into a formula 1 car and expect everything to go smooth. Get a .22 rifle to start off, get proficient with safety practices such as trigger discipline (and the other 3 golden rules, which you NEED to know). Take a class, get into forums, educate yourself before you spend a chunk of money on something you know next to nothing about. Hope it all works out for you. Stay safe and keep the booger hook off the bang switch until you're pointed down range.

Answer 4

.

Answer 5

First, get a clue. Then get a gun. Guns do not belong in the hands of the clueless. At least look into a gun safety class at a local range if you have no one with experiance to guide you.

Answer 6

Either a nice .22LR pistol or a 9mm are what I advise for you, mainly because 22 is extremely common and extremely cheap as well as 9mm is very common, also 22 is a very good training round for anyone as well as it'll get the job done if you need to defend yourself with, but if a 22 isn't what your looking for, maybe look at a glock and see if one of those interests you.

Answer 7

What are you buying the gun for? Target shooting, home safety, bank robberies, hunting, ect.