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Best first gun to own? Need advice!

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.


TOPICS: Miscellaneous; US: Georgia
KEYWORDS: banglist; gunownership; vanity
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Thanks in advance for the advice!
1 posted on 12/16/2009 10:08:03 AM PST by bonillamktg
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To: bonillamktg

read later


2 posted on 12/16/2009 10:10:01 AM PST by Reddy (B.O. stinks)
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To: glock rocks

ping


3 posted on 12/16/2009 10:10:53 AM PST by al baby (Hi Mom sarc ;))
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To: bonillamktg

Smith and Wesson, 357 Magnum revolver with a 4 inch barrel. You can shoot both 38 special or 357 magnum cartridges. American made, lifetime warranty and easy to master.


4 posted on 12/16/2009 10:10:58 AM PST by Roklok
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To: bonillamktg

A gently used medium frame .357 revolver is a fine choice.


5 posted on 12/16/2009 10:11:03 AM PST by Madistan ((This space for rent))
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To: bonillamktg

Would have been more correctly posted under General/Chat.


6 posted on 12/16/2009 10:11:30 AM PST by Ben Mugged (Unions are the storm troopers of socialism.)
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To: bonillamktg

To this day I prefer a revolver over a semi-automatic. That’s just me though. Whatever you’re comfortable with. Right now I have a .38 Taurus revolver. Oh, yeah, I will only buy stainless steel, also.


7 posted on 12/16/2009 10:11:53 AM PST by TennesseeGirl
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To: bonillamktg

Maybe you ought to rent one by the hour for a while, at your local range.


8 posted on 12/16/2009 10:12:29 AM PST by 668 - Neighbor of the Beast (LIBERTY)
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To: bonillamktg

Try a Charles Daly .45 pistol. Packs a decent punch but is somewhat difficult to conceal unless you wear a shoulder harness under a thick jacket and/or sweater. Cost for me was around $400 or so.


9 posted on 12/16/2009 10:12:41 AM PST by lesko
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To: bonillamktg
Gona have to spend 5 to 6 hundred.

1.) Clock 19
2.) AR-15
3.) Semi-auto 12g Shotgun

10 posted on 12/16/2009 10:13:00 AM PST by JoSixChip (It's better to die on your feet than live on your knees.)
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To: bonillamktg

Home - manual shotgun

CCW - 357 special revolver

Both require not much training or thinking to use. The wife can handle a 38 in the 357 or you can put in 357 magnums for special effects.


11 posted on 12/16/2009 10:13:07 AM PST by 2banana (My common ground with terrorists - they want to die for islam and we want to kill them)
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To: bonillamktg

Hi Point C9 9mm, well under $200

12 posted on 12/16/2009 10:14:24 AM PST by 2ndDivisionVet (I will raise $2 million for Sarah Palin: What will you do?)
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To: bonillamktg

best suggestion is to go to your local gun range/ shop, and put your hands around a bunch of them, find out what’s comfortable in your hands, then rent those and find out what’s comfortable and not over complicated or expensive to shoot.

for your price range tho, i’d suggest looking at a smaller .38 revolver. they’re fairly inexpensive to shoot and very simple to operate and clean.

if you’re looking to carry, make sure you take into account spending money for a good holster. if its uncomfortable to carry, you won’t do it.


13 posted on 12/16/2009 10:16:02 AM PST by absolootezer0 (2x divorced, tattooed, pierced, harley hatin, meghan mccain luvin', smoker and pit bull owner..what?)
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To: bonillamktg

Sig-Sauers are nice, but expensive. IIRC, Special Forces were using the short barrel versions for a while.


14 posted on 12/16/2009 10:16:29 AM PST by kosciusko51
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To: bonillamktg

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 Codition Zero, yet this is precisely how Glocks are carried.)


15 posted on 12/16/2009 10:16:41 AM PST by Red in Blue PA (Obama, Hitler, Stalin: Who are 3 people nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.)
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To: bonillamktg
I've been looking at the Taurus model The Judge. It shoots 45Cal. bullets and or 410 shotgun shells. For house protection an intruder at night in the dark breaking into your house will not get by a shotgun shell. Just point in his direction and you are going to hit him. Yet it is a handgun and easy to swing around indoors, not as awkward as a long barrel gun. Look it up on the web.
16 posted on 12/16/2009 10:16:49 AM PST by fish hawk (It's sad that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom. Isaac Asimov)
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To: bonillamktg

For your first handgun, don’t even be thinking about home protection or conceal. Think in terms of becoming familiar with firearms, safety and practice. So for practice get a gun that uses .22 bullets for so you can afford to practice. Get a single action for safety. A Ruger revolver is a good first gun...


17 posted on 12/16/2009 10:17:19 AM PST by 11th Commandment (History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme - Mark Twain)
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To: bonillamktg

just impossible to answer because there are so many guns out there and everyone has his personal favorite.
But if you are interessted how about a Glock 19?
Compact size for carry, moderate priced and shoots the not so expensive 9mm caliber.


18 posted on 12/16/2009 10:17:54 AM PST by darkside321
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To: Ben Mugged

Moderator wanna be?


19 posted on 12/16/2009 10:17:59 AM PST by fish hawk (It's sad that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom. Isaac Asimov)
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To: Roklok

HEH..My favorite CCW pistol...


20 posted on 12/16/2009 10:17:59 AM PST by Crim
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