plz help a newb gun owner

[NickPic83]

posted this on FRF but this obviously is a site that has more gun gurus especially since all the FRF members who have guns r here lol.hoping i can get some more valuable help here.

so me and my wife decided we wanted to go and get our 1st hand guns. we are gonna do all the paperwork and everything soon but i wanted to start looking into which guns to get. neither one of us have much experience with guns but our family and friends do. we have kids and are not looking to get them just for the sake of being cool or something. we are taking this very srsly. we are doing this for safety and for something else me and my wife can do together. we have a firing range local and we think it would be fun to go fire off a few rounds together. so my Q's are

1.how should i lock them up? we have kids so they NEED to be in a locked secure place. does anyone have a nice setup that i could buy and keep them safe. like a small gun safe or case.

2. whats a good pistol for my wife? want something she can handle but be a quality peice. best bang for the buck beginners pistol...

3. more importantly than #2 whats a good one for me! i will not be taking this on as a major hobby buying lots of different guns so i would like to make my 1st one, a very good quality pistol that is a great all around peice. something quality, that has good stopping power, while accurate and is bad ass looking lol. i am really interested in a .45acp 1911. currently looking at the S&W 1911 E-series CT.i also plan on buying a .22 just for messing around with.

4. best and cheapest place to buy ammo.

5. any accesories worth getting, holsters, cleaning supplies, etc....

luckily we know a guy that owns a local firing range so we will talk with him as well asn see what he suggest but i know we have a lot of gun gurus here that know thier stuff. any comments and suggestions are welcome.

 

[ninja man]

damn double posters haha........

this is definitely the place to get that answer.

 

[NickPic83]

damn post whores

 

[ninja man]

hahaha,..... you got me there.
i will leave this one alone for real answers.

 

[NickPic83]

LoL always enjoy chatting with u nosninjabusaman

 

[SilvrSRT10]

posted this on FRF but this obviously is a site that has more gun gurus especially since all the FRF members who have guns r here lol.hoping i can get some more valuable help here.

so me and my wife decided we wanted to go and get our 1st hand guns. we are gonna do all the paperwork and everything soon but i wanted to start looking into which guns to get. neither one of us have much experience with guns but our family and friends do. we have kids and are not looking to get them just for the sake of being cool or something. we are taking this very srsly. we are doing this for safety and for something else me and my wife can do together. we have a firing range local and we think it would be fun to go fire off a few rounds together. so my Q's are

1.how should i lock them up? we have kids so they NEED to be in a locked secure place. does anyone have a nice setup that i could buy and keep them safe. like a small gun safe or case.

There are locks that you can apply to the gun itself or you can lock it in a small gun safe. There are biometric versions that can be programmed to only open for you or your wife

2. whats a good pistol for my wife? want something she can handle but be a quality peice. best bang for the buck beginners pistol...

Get with your experienced friends who will show you and your wife gun safety and let you shoot different guns. Perhaps she will find something she likes that you can buy. Does your gun range have gun rentals? That's another way to try out different weapons. Together you can take a gun safety course.

3. more importantly than #2 whats a good one for me! i will not be taking this on as a major hobby buying lots of different guns so i would like to make my 1st one, a very good quality pistol that is a great all around peice. something quality, that has good stopping power, while accurate and is bad ass looking lol. i am really interested in a .45acp 1911. currently looking at the S&W 1911 E-series CT.i also plan on buying a .22 just for messing around with.

My answer above applies here too. Start out with something you enjoy shooting (9mm .40) and then move on to bigger stuff. Unless you have a friend with a .45 that you shoot and you fall in love with it.

4. best and cheapest place to buy ammo.

Walmart and online. Check out Ammodeals.com

5. any accesories worth getting, holsters, cleaning supplies, etc....

A gun cleaning kit is not a bad idea. That way after going out shooting you can clean and oil the gun.

luckily we know a guy that owns a local firing range so we will talk with him as well asn see what he suggest but i know we have a lot of gun gurus here that know thier stuff. any comments and suggestions are welcome.

Sounds like you have several good resources right near by you should get in touch with.

 

[ninja man]

LoL always enjoy chatting with u nosninjabusaman

i can see birdman changing my name.........


see, you got a good answer already

 

[TheFuzz]

First of all, welcome! And good for you for taking the first steps into owning firearms, and doing it responsibly. As a current owner of many guns, current 5-0, and former LE firearms instructor, I'll give you my perspective.

1.how should i lock them up? we have kids so they NEED to be in a locked secure place. does anyone have a nice setup that i could buy and keep them safe. like a small gun safe or case.

This is probably the single most important thing you can buy. You need to decide what type of access you want to have for your guns. Locked away and never seen until you want to go to the range, or quick access for home defense? For ultra-secure safes that aren't designed for quick access, SentrySafe makes a bunch of them that range in size and price from about $80 up to $200 at Walmart. Some are manual combo only, others have digital electronic keypads. Find one that meets the size and option requirements you want. I have a small, simple one that I got for half off...about $40! Works fine for what it is.

For a more "quick access" home defense option, I'd look at a safe by GunVault. http://www.gunvault.com/

They also come in a range of sizes, but you can quickly type in a code with your fingertips to pop the safe open in a hurry if you need it. One on each side of the bed (his and hers, so to speak) is a great option to safely store a nightstand gun for each of you, that way you can keep it loaded, with very little risk of the kiddos getting into it.

2. whats a good pistol for my wife? want something she can handle but be a quality peice. best bang for the buck beginners pistol...

This is a very subjective question, but I'll offer my .02 on it:
Don't get her a little pocket pistol! No Ruger LCP's, Keltec P3ATs, or little mouse guns. You guys are just starting out - don't get anything smaller than a mid-sized compact gun (Glock 19, M&P9 compact, Sig P229, ect). Little pocket guns are much harder to shoot, and much harder to manipulate. Something like a Glock 19 is easy for anyone to handle, they are very accurate, and are small enough to be concealed without being so tiny that they aren't any fun at the range. However, that being said, find what fits comfortably in your hand - then go find a way to shoot the same type of gun before you buy it! I can't tell you how many times I've had people come up to me all excited about their new gun, then they shoot it and they can't stand way it feels at the range. Testing out your options is very important if at all possible.

So, bottom line is that the choice is hers - just have her stick to the mid size category if she plans on carrying the gun at all. If she doesn't plan on carrying, get any full size or mid size gun that fits her hand well and that she can shoot well with.

3. more importantly than #2 whats a good one for me! i will not be taking this on as a major hobby buying lots of different guns so i would like to make my 1st one, a very good quality pistol that is a great all around peice. something quality, that has good stopping power, while accurate and is bad ass looking lol. i am really interested in a .45acp 1911. currently looking at the S&W 1911 E-series CT.i also plan on buying a .22 just for messing around with.

See above, the same advice applies to you. If you are both starting out with no experience, I'd try to find something that you both like and buy two of the same thing. This will keep the manual of arms the same, help reduce the learning curve, your ammo and magazines will be the same, and if one person is struggling and the other is doing well, it's much easier to help each other correct errors if you're both using the same platform. I mentioned concealed carry earlier, but you didn't really mention what your intended use is. If you plan on carrying, get something more simple than a 1911. A striker fired polymer framed gun of any flavor would help maintain simplicity. I carry a 1911 for work, and after coming from years and years of polymer framed pistols I had to train myself to sweep the thumb safety off. Great gun, but they aren't for beginners in my opinion. That's not to say that you can't get one down the line or that you wouldn't do just fine with one - but the fact remains that they are finicky guns, are more complicated to maintain, and more complicated to shoot.

4. best and cheapest place to buy ammo.

I've had very good experiences with www.ammunitiontogo.com

5. any accesories worth getting, holsters, cleaning supplies, etc....

Obviously a basic cleaning kit will be mandatory. You should clean your guns after every range trip, especially if they will be used for home defense. You will find 1001 people telling you 1001 different things about cleaners, and eventually you will develop your own routine and start to understand how different products may benefit your shooting style. Until you do, get a basic kit, some Hoppes #9 solvent and Hoppe's oil. Or whatever CLP (cleaner/lubricant/preservative) that your gun store sells. Breakfree is good, as is Shooters Choice. Keep it simple starting out. At a minimum you'll need the following:

-Toothbrush (they make gun specific "toothbrush" style cleaning brushes too)
-Pistol-length cleaning rod and jags
-Cotton patches
-Bore brush
-Solvent and oil OR a CLP of some type
-Rags or old cut up t-shirts for wiping everything off

As for holsters, there are a plethora of options. You need to decide what will work for you based on how you carry. For concealed carry, I love CrossBreed Supertucks/Minitucks. Galco makes nice leather OWB holsters, as does Milt Sparks. For kydex, I like Blackhawk CQC holsters without the Serpa lock, and for guns with lights attached Blade Tech makes some nice kit, too. But that is years of experience talking - you need to get out there and find what works for you, because I'm just one person, and I'm not an expert nor do I play one on TV . Go to the local shooting center and try some stuff out, and ask questions. Most stores are happy to help but remember - they are out to sell stuff to you so don't get suckered into buying the most expensive thing they have. Just because something is pricey doesn't mean it's "the best" or will work the best for you.

Also, vitally important for new shooters - TAKE A CLASS! Take two or three, even. Find a local instructor that offers a "basic pistol course". You don't need anything tactical or advanced - just a simple, basic "this is a gun and these are the parts" type of familiarization class, ideally one with a range session at the end. This is not optional - you need instruction to understand how a gun works and to manipulate, carry, shoot and store them safely. It's more difficult than it sounds, but the benefits outweigh the risks IMO - and plus its FUN! Bonus for you since you get to do it with your wife. That is a rare and very cool thing!

End of my dissertation . Good luck, shoot straight and stay safe! Again, welcome!

 

[NickPic83]

Thank u Fuzz great info! I guess I should of mentioned it will be primarily for the range and HD. my area doesn't normally allow carry. Even if I had a full carry I probably wouldn't do it anyway. I just want to have this as a hobby me and the wife could do together. We could go to the range and unwind and have more HD as well.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[oppo]

What Fuzz said, especially about smaller guns being harder to shoot and having more recoil.

About the only thing I would add is, depending on how you plan to use it, don't rule out a good double action revolver. They are very simple and reliable as well as versatile. A semiauto needs a certain level of power from the ammo to function properly. A revolver does not. You can load a 357 Magnus with full power magnum loads, watered down magnum loads, 38 +p, 38, or 38 wadcutters. The wadcutters out of a full size magnum revolver will feel like 22 rounds. One of the advantages to that is that new shooters can start out with rounds that are very easy to learn with and move up as they feel comfortable, all with the same gun.

Regardless, definitely try out as many guns as you can before buying.

 

[tacticold]

A pattern is developing here where TheFuzz beats me to the punch and I say, "yeah, what he said."

Sooo....


Yeah, what he said.

I also agree that a smaller revolver might be a good option, especially for her. A lot of women have difficulty with slides on auto pistols; revolvers eliminate that. They almost never malfunction. A snubnosed .38 is a classic purse-pistol. My wife carries hers in a variety of purses, fanny-packs, and handbags and you'd never know it was there.

TAKE A CLASS.

That deserves emphasis. Enjoy it...it's a great husband/wife activity and hobby, so I think it's worth the investment.

 

[GLOCK V]

my lady carrys this. .22 8 shot.

 

[Arckadian]

I have noticed that the Fuzz has a lot of good info

 

[RangerDanger]

I have noticed that the Fuzz has a lot of good info

:signs75: I've spent quite a bit of time reading his post

 

[hotrodpc]

It looks like most of the advice I'd give has been mentioned except maybe 1, and it may have been mentioned and I skimmed and missed it. Get something easy to disassemble for cleaning. I first carried a .357 Mag Revolver. I liked the Ruger GP141 so much, I bought Ruger again when I went ACP .40S&W. You're not carrying, so not as big an issue, but when carrying, your gun get's dirty and I clean mine once a week to 10 days regardless if I shot it or not. Taking the P94DC apart is a PITA. Really not all that bad, but in comparison to other models it is. I was on the fence about getting a Glock when I got mine. A buddy told me about his Glock and I said something about taking this P94 apart to clean it and it being time consuming. He pulled out his Glock, dropped the mag, ejected the chambered round and had it apart for cleaning in less than 30 seconds. I was sold. Went and bought a Glock the following weekend and haven't looked back. I've got the medium frame Glock 23 .40S&W. Small enough to conceal, but not so small I can't get my big ass hands on it and control it comfortably. Also lightweight and durable. I've never had a jam in it, even with what I considered cheap ammo. Glock should be 1 you consider.

I also agree, get with all your buddies. You buy the ammo and have them take you and your wife shooting their gun. And don't fall in love with the first one you shoot. Shoot several, and the one you think you like best, go back and shoot it again to make sure. When done, see if your buddy will show you what's involved in cleaning and oiling it. Make that part of your choosing factor. Also consider accessories you might. If may want a laser site, or a light for example which means you'll need a tactical rail, Glocks also have tactical rail, which I"ve never used. Also consider the sites, do you like them can you see them well? You might want night sites. I had Trigicon night sites put on my carry gun. So yeah, do all that with buddies. Our local run range rents guns for this purpose and require you to buy their ammo when you do. Oh, I'd aslo consider ammo cost if you intend to shoot alot. These days, to go buy 4 boxes, that's 100rds each, can hurt the budget. 9mm aren't so bad as far as cost goes.

And also agree, don't hold back on the wife just because she's a female. Believe it or not, of the females I know that carry, MOST, not all, but MOST are carrying a .40 or .45. I'd consider a 9mm as the smallest I'd want my wife to carry or get comfortable with for protection, and even then bullet placement and accuracy will matter. I wouldn't piss around with a little .380, .32 or even .25 that men sometimes THINK is all they can handle. And don't be surprised if you're wife doesn't out shoot you as far as accuracy. I've seen it time and time again.

 

[TheFuzz]

I have noticed that the Fuzz has a lot of good info

:signs75: I've spent quite a bit of time reading his post

I know, I know...I talk way too damn much. :mfr_omg:

 

[Arckadian]

Its all good fuzz.... an me no stupid... ME SMART

 

[RangerDanger]

an me no stupid... ME SMART

I canz tell... Just picking on ya

I know, I know...I talk way too damn much. :mfr_omg:

Talk more. You seem to have a wealth of knowledge and I'm glad you're sharing it. This forum needs members like you if it's going to make it

 

[TheFuzz]

I appreciate that, Ranger. I know a thing or two about a thing or two. I'm no expert and I'm actually relatively young compared to some of the ole crusty bastards out there teaching some of this stuff D), but I do like sharing what I've picked up over the decade or so I've been involved with guns.

If anyone ever wants to ask me anything, my PM box is wide open. :handshake:

I was actually trying to talk Shaggy into making me a moderator, but I'm pretty sure he thinks I'm far too argumentative for that!

 

[hotrodpc]

I appreciate that, Ranger. I know a thing or two about a thing or two. I'm no expert and I'm actually relatively young compared to some of the ole crusty bastards out there teaching some of this stuff D), but I do like sharing what I've picked up over the decade or so I've been involved with guns.

If anyone ever wants to ask me anything, my PM box is wide open. :handshake:

I was actually trying to talk Shaggy into making me a moderator, but I'm pretty sure he thinks I'm far too argumentative for that!

I get PM'd all the time on the truck forum, and I tell them to start a thread. If I'm going through all the time and trouble to type up a response and give out the info, I'd rather everyone get use of it, not just 1. And your PM box will fill up real fast.

You can still be a Mod and express your opinion WITHOUT being argumentative. It's as simple as steering the conversation to be adult like and agree to disagree, but everyone get's to express their opinion.