Any gun recommendations?

Rifle? Handgun? Shotgun?

For a rifle, I would go along with the Ruger 10/22, a nice little .22 rimfire rifle. If you want something bigger than a .22 you ought not go out and get a 7mm Remington Magnum, get something modest, no bigger than a .30-06 and in a common, affordable caliber. If you can’t afford to shoot it you never will, and you’ll never become proficient.

Handguns… a Ruger Mark II or Mark III are good .22 rimfire semi-automatic handguns. If you’re looking for something you can carry and have no experience with handguns a 9mm will do you just fine. I have a Springfield XD-9 subcompact and it is quite nice. That one has no manual safety but it does have a trigger and grip safety and is very affordable. If a manual safety is something you really want get a 1911 clone like a Springfield GI, or just get a modern Colt 1911. There are so many options and calibers that it’s hard to get into great detail about without knowing what you want or your experience level. I will say that getting a Desert Eagle .50 AE is a bad way to go, as is anything but a .22 smaller than a .380 ACP. You will certainly lie somewhere in the middle.

For a shotgun, get a Remington 870 or a Mossberg 500. They are the standards. You can go whatever direction you want with shotguns, but mostly you’ll just be paying more. If you must have a semi-automatic shotgun, Benelli makes nice ones. But I would stick with the pump if I were you.

It sounds like you’re thinking of handguns. We can work with you, but we need more details. Also, the advice to seek out a place where you can try a bunch of them is really good. Again, if you make a bad choice you’ll never shoot it.

However, sometimes Col. Murphy works overtime and shit happens. I used to be pretty arrogant about negligent discharges, because I was - to put it mildly - anal about the safety rules. Then one fine day in the autumn my brain disconnected, I forgot the drill and walked from the stand to the meeting place without emptying the chamber. Sure’nuff, the gun hanging on my shoulder pointing upwards (in a safe direction) went BANG! I’ve never been so embarrassed in my whole life :smack: :smack: :smack: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: However, since the Rules lay down several “layers” of safety, goofing on one of the rules normally won’t cause real danger or harm. But there’s never any excuse for deliberately skimping one of the rules!