this post was submitted on 18 Nov 2024
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Where does one go to start learning what to buy?
If you purchase a firearm for self defense or other practical purposes, you'll want to practice on a regular basis. Unless you have a way to practice without going to a range (like if you live in an area where it'd be legal to just go set up cans in the back yard) I recommend asking around for range recommendations so you can find one that has a culture that will welcome you.
I know people don't like reddit, but that's a pretty niche question for a platform this small. Asking the liberal gunowners subreddit, or the subreddit for your local community if there are any ranges they'd reccomend as a place for a queer or progressive person to go safely practice on a regular basis could be really helpful. There's likely also a queer gunowners community, but I don't know without looking what that'd be called.
If you know any folks in your actual area that shoot, chatting with them is a great way to get local advice, and they might be willing to go to ranges with you and help you find a place that's welcoming. Its a lot easier to step into an unfamiliar place with someone next to you, especially if they're already used to going to ranges and know how to navigate that space.
For me, I could probably ask the kink community in my area as I know there are some veterans in that crowd who could take me with if I were looking for a place to go shooting as a queer person.
Thank you, and noted. I'm going to make a point of visiting a few ranges in the area - and maybe while visiting family for the holidays (they live in more gun country) - before purchasing. I.do intend to make a regular practice.of it; I haven't done it in ages, but I've done some shooting before and found it meditative
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Well, there's no single, best way. Communities like this are good for crowd sourcing info, but you have to take it with a grain of salt since everyone has some degree of difference of opinion.
A local shooting club is usually going to work well because you can see the options in use, and have the possibility of someone letting you try a specific firearm.
There's a ton of websites offering product reviews, but you run into bias and the possibility of reviews being paid.
YouTube is decent enough since there's so many people doing demonstrations along with explanations for their opinions. As an example, if you don't mind long winded explanations, there's a channel called hickok45 that's this old dude shooting guns and talking about them in a realistic way. The problem with YouTube is that it's YouTube, and that means you don't know who you're monetizing. That isn't a big deal overall, good info is good info, but there's a good degree of overlap between the right wing and firearm information, so if that's an issue, it takes a lot of work to avoid individual channels that are jerks.
Ideally, a gun shop would be able to guide your purchase as well, and some do a great job of it. But they're selling a product, so they have an incentive to lean to profit over good info to a degree, so that grain of salt is needed.
I personally prefer a mix when I'm thinking about buying something new/different. I have a range I go to that "rents" guns, and the three shooting clubs I'm in are great for in person discussion. But online resources like this community are also great, and you'll have access to more opinions, and might get niche bits of advice that you won't find unless you have hundreds of people involved.
Thank you. I'll check out the gentleman you mentioned in YouTube. I thought about going to a local shooting range. Didn't think about shooting club. Shopping for anything is such a process now, huh?
A friend showed me a Cz sp01 9mm. I remember liking the feel of it. But it's @ 1,500. That's a fair chunk of change for me. Not sure what the budget is for a good piece? And elsewhere in this thread it sounded like a 9mm might not be the way to go, anyhow
Yeah, gun shopping is always a process, but the way the market has expanded the last decade or so makes it more difficult for new shooters. Used to be that there really wasn't much in the way of junk out there, just slightly less good. Certainly not much that would utterly fail the way some hipoint products can.
Well, that model of cz is on the high end of things. The good part is that it's worth the price tag in terms of durability and function. Great firearms imo.
If you're buying new, don't waste time with anything that's under 300 unless you've had a chance to thoroughly research the exact model.
Again, for new, you can end up with some damn fine handguns in the $3-500 range. Glock, Sig Sauer, Smith & Wesson, and a lot of other reliable brands have offerings in that range.
If you're going used, you run into the low to mid end range overlapping a lot more, so you can't really set a price where you're going to be reasonably certain you're getting something good. There's used glocks out there in great shape that you can snag for maybe 300 with some luck. Some in rough shape go for less, but are still perfectly good in function; they're just beat up visually. But a visually pristine used taurus might only be fifty bucks less, despite not being as good a buy overall.
As far as caliber, there's a lot to be said for 9mm. It's usually easy to find, and if you stick with a major brand, the aftermarket accessories are wide open. The ammo is also relatively cheap. There's also plenty to be said against it, like it lacking one-hit stopping power (which isn't a guarantee with any handgun a beginner spoke should be looking at, but still), and the supply chain issues with the ammo recently. But it really depends on individual needs/wants.
Is 9 the ideal beginners' caliber? Ehhh, probably not. I'd rather a new shooter start with something even gentler to learn fundamentals with. But if someone is only going to buy 1 handgun, it's difficult to pick a better round to start out with. It's almost certain that a total noob can handle 9, and that means they'll practice more, and that matters. But it is a debated topic for sure.
I'd definitely stick to buying new, just to get rid of some variables. Is .45 the default ammo — but better not to buy in the beginning?
45 tends to be a favorite among long term shooters, particularly us older guys. Good stopping power, not so much recoil it's a big problem, and usually easy to get. But it isn't really a good beginner's choice, imo. If you start with it, and get good with it, it tends to set you up very well since it does have enough recoil you have to learn how to stay on target between rounds. However, the learning curve is worse because of that.
There's ammo that's way more potent, for sure, but it's the absolute most kick I'd ever put in a beginner's hands.
Mind you, there isn't really a default ammo choice across the board. It is a very popular pick for personal and home defense. But it isn't ideal for concealed carry for everyone's preferences because you just can't carry as many rounds in a compact form factor. I personally carry a full sized handgun as my concealed carry because I'm a big dude and it won't show, so I carry 45. If I can't handle something with the 14 rounds +1 in the two magazines I keep on me, I'm screwed anyway, so I'd rather have the extra punch.
If I couldn't carry a full sized concealed option, I'd probably either step down to a 9mm, or switch to a revolver in 38 or 357, whichever I could get a good deal on. The kind of ammo in between 9mil and 45 for semi auto is good, but not significantly different performance wise, and tend to cost more since they aren't as popular. Which is why I'd go with 38/357 for a wheel gun. I like cheap and easy to find ammo lol.
Also, as a side note, I've mostly been talking in reference to a general purpose carry and range shooting handgun. Which is what most people asking what you're asking are wanting to know, but there are other applications that might change things, like a desire to shoot competitively at some point, or wanting to hunt with a handgun (which is very niche tbh).
My advice overall? For a first handgun, in the 3-700 buck range, pick up a 9mm, probably a sig or glock since they're popular enough to run into good prices sometimes. Learn how to shoot, get used to all the safety and carry rules, and then figure out exactly what your needs are as you go. Resale value on the popular brands is solid, so you won't lose much by selling and switching to a different caliber in a year or two, if that's where you end up. Same way if you just want a fancier handgun in 9mm, you'll have part of the new cost covered by the resale.
I'm appreciating all the time you are taking to answer, thank you. It's all registering with me. I hope this serves others, too. Responses like yours are the building blocks of a healthy fedi community
No worries :)
That's what community is supposed to be like.