Okay so I have been kicking around the idea to become a Gun owner. I have enjoyed target pratice in the past and wish to have my own hand gun for target pratice and home protection.
So all you gun owners out there - what is the best handgun to start off with in your opinion? I am thinking about price here. Any additional info would be great as well.
Also I am located in Baltimore city so if there are any Dopers in the area they are aware of a reasonable gun store or clubs, please share.
Sorry I don’t have much info for you as I am not yet a gun owner but my friend who takes me out shooting (she’s a cop) recommends that I buy myself a .38.
Easy to handle, not overly expensive, not much kick. YMMV
I like the 1911 in a 45 caliber. Springfield Armory makes some decently priced ones. I’ve never had a problem with any of mine.
Glock 17, 9mm. Nice simple reliable gun. Buy hollowpoint 9mm ammo for home defense.
I second the .38, but don’t forget about a nice little .22LR autoloader. They’re a ton of fun to shoot, cheaper to shoot, and a great way for a beginner to build confidence. I want one just for the fun and teaching value, but haven’t got around to getting one.
You say you’ve been doing some target practice - is that lately, or in the past? Shop around and find yourself a nice gun store with an indoor range where you can rent and try out as many different guns as possible. Even once you narrow it down to a caliber that you’re happy with, different models and styles will fit you differently. You’d ideally like something that’s comfortable for you to operate, light and fun enough that you’ll actually put in the time to practice and become skilled and that won’t break your personal bank while you’re putting those thousands of rounds downrange.
I would stay away from the magnum rounds, at least at first, but here again is where a rental range could come in handy. If you work up on their guns, you don’t have to invest in more than one if you decide that something in a little heavier caliber would suit you better than a light calber.
Depends on what you want the firearm for, if it’s just target shooting/plinking, it’s tough to beat a nice reliable .22 Long Rifle firearm, i have a Ruger Mark II Target semiauto pistol (10 shot clip), it has a heavier barrell than the stock tapered barrell, but not as heavy as the Government/Bull barrell model, and the thing’s a tank, a simple, proven design that’s nigh-indestructable
if you want a little more firepower, it’s hard to argue with the simplicity of a .38 or a .357 revolver, bear in mind that unless tou’re dealing with a new or relatively modern revolver, most revolvers (double-action especially) are always ready to fire, there’s no real “safety” like there is on a semiauto
then again, one of the primary rules of firearm ownership is to never trust the safety, and treat every firearm (even one that you’ve stripped the bolt/firing mechanism out of and you can look thru the barrell) as if it’s loaded and ready to fire, DO NOT point the firearm at anything you don’t want to destroy
another advantage of the .357 revolver is that it’s capable of firing .38 shells, essentially giving you two guns for the price of one, since a .38 cartridge is shorter than a .357, you do need to clean a .357 that you shoot .38’s out of more often, the .38 is a little cheaper, and has a little less recoil, but still a potent round
make sure you’re well aware that that .357 you’re firing is pointed in a safe area downrange, as the .357 is a high velocity round with a lot of stopping power, overpenetration needs to be taken into account, especially on paper targets on a backdrop, a simple plywood target stand will not stop a .357 round, it’ll go thru the stand and keep going (for up to a mile if unobstructed)
what type of shooting do you plan to do, target shooting, shotgun sports (Skeet, Trap, Sporting Clays?)
My first was a Grendel .380 semiauto, followed by a 10mm Smith semiauto, and finally a Taurus .44 mag revolver. Take a good safety course, become proficient, and have fun.
Shooting for fun gets expensive fast with a .45 or a 9mm. Get a pistol that shoots .22 long rifle bullets, you can buy then in pint boxes cheap and while a 9 mm or a .45 has real sropping power, you could pop off 5 or 6 rounds into a home invader if you had to. That would stop them. I like the Ruger automatic pistols.
For beginners, I always recommend starting with a rifle, because (IMO) it is easier to master the fundamentals of marksmanship with a rifle than with a handgun. Plus a rifle is (IMO) inherently safer than a handgun when used by a beginner.
Regardless of whether you get a rifle or handgun, I would recommend .22 LR. With .22 LR, you can spend hours and hours learning how to shoot for a penny a round.
Another Glock Jock chiming in.
Glock 19 9mm para with Hydra Shok.
It was in the past actually - my grandfather collected rifles so I was taught to respect guns from an early age. BTW excellent advice there - there is a Gun range near me that I will try this with.
Target shooting at first. Although I would love to do skeet shooting once I am in a comfort zone with the gun.
Thanks to all who responded. I wanted to get some info from people who know guns. Real people that is. I had been reading up on beginners guide stuff but I just kept feeling like it was one long avertisement for their guns or associated guns.
I agree with the above post of starting off with a small bore rifle like a .22, any of the Marlin rifles (i had a Model 25 7 shot bolt-action as my first gun) are nice, or there’s always the immortal Ruger 10/22 semiauto
for a beginner, i’d reccomend going with a bolt or lever action, for simplicity and safety’s sake, with a semiauto, every time you pull the trigger, the firearm chambers the next round and is ready to fire, lets say you take one shot then set the rifle down, that rifle is still loaded and ready to fire, if you take one shot with a bolt or lever action rifle, then set it down, the spent cartridge is still in the breech, and the firing pin is resting on the primer (or in the case of the .22, the rim, as the .22 is a rimfire cartridge), a bolt or lever-action will not be ready to fire again until you cycle the action to chamber the next round…
a bolt/lever action also prevents you from succuming to the urge of rapidly cycling thru an entire clip “rapid fire” style, yes it “looks cool” and i admit that it’s fun, but it’s not safe, it wastes ammo, and it is definitely not accurate
as a beginning shooter, your first firearm should emphasize safety, accuracy, and reliability above all else, those traits are all present in a bolt or lever action firearm
if you want to start with a handgun (not reccomended, learn the basics on a rifle first, the skillset transfers over easily, and the basics of firearm safety are universal), start with a single action revolver like the Ruger Single-Six, it fires .22LR, and you can get a .22 Magnum cylinder if you want a slightly more powerful round
the difference between a Single-Action and Double-Action revolver is simple, a single action requires the shooter to thumb the hammer back to firing position before a shot is fired, once the hammer has struck the primer, pulling the trigger again will not have any results
a double-action revolver is always ready to fire, pulling back on the trigger will chamber the next round and fire it, yes you can pull the hammer back manually to chamber the next round, but you don’t have to, as the DA is always ready to fire, a DA does use a heavier mainspring to prevent “accidental” firing (takes a stronger and longer pull on the trigger to chamber-and-fire a DA via the trigger), but there is no inherent “safety” feature on most DA revolvers, i know some of the newer Taurus revolvers have a lockable hammer, but you need a hex-driver and it’s not simple or convenient to do