Questions about guns from a 21 year old

I got into shooting at your age as well. My immediate family never shot until I did. Friends took me out a few times over the years, and I purchased a handgun at 21 when I was "old enough" in the eyes of the state. Then a shotgun. Then a rifle. Then more pistols. Then more rifles. Then more shotguns.

Anyway, I pretty much learned on the message boards, this one being the first. Bought a few books, subscribed to a couple magazines, looked at some military manuals... but the vast majority of what I've learned about shooting and firearms has been through the internet. As with most subjects, you can find anything on the internet - product reviews and expert opinions, schematics and technical data, general buzz, real-life results. That's not to say it will all be one-stop shopping. I would almost classify most of what I read as "supplemental," with no actual primary source existing. But you take in enough of this-and-that and it all eventually coalesces in your head into unified understanding.

Only other thing I'd tack on based on your original post, don't let kids be a reason to stymie your interest. A heck of a lot of people here have them, or plan to. Poor parenting and poor planning cause problems. People that shouldn't have kids have problems with one or both, which can erroneously result in conclusions that something inanimate is a danger to children. If you raise them well, but plan ahead with an understanding that mitigates for any mistakes you might make, it doesn't matter what's in the house, be it a brewery, a Ferrari or an MP5.

Anyway, enough rambling out of me. Hope to see you around and happy shooting.
 
Another suggestion, if you are thinking of a centerfire that can double as a house gun, check out the .38 Special and .357 revolvers. Around here a new, stainless Ruger GP-100 in .357 with a 4" barrel is about $500. These are great, accurate, dependable pistols, and with .38s are far from too much gun for any shooter.
Click to expand...

+1, and I'll take it a little further. If you're on a budget, don't shy away from used S&W or Ruger revolvers.

If you have less than $250 to spend (the admission price for a Bersa Thunder .380), most centerfire semi-autos are going to be low-quality off-brands, Eastern Bloc military surplus in oddball calibers with limited ammo selection, used guns that are rusty and beaten to death, or some combination of the above. :rolleyes: OTOH this price will pick up a perfectly functional older S&W or Ruger revolver.

My first centerfire handgun was a .38Spl S&W Model 10 with a 4" barrel that I bought for $170. It has worn bluing and came with some of the ugliest and most beat-up wood factory grips I've ever seen, but it has the slickest DA trigger of any revolver I've ever used (no lie), and it's far more accurate than I am. :cool: I still have the gun and I do not plan to ever sell it. :D
 
As a 21 year old quite new to handguns, this thread had a lot of great info.

I know, holy ancient bump - but im sure there are many newbies out there like myself.

This forum is great
 
A couple of months ago I was in your position. I probably had a little more shooting experience and general knowledge of firearms, but I purchased my first gun, a Glock 23. For a first time gun owner buying his first gun, you can't go wrong with a Glock. It's just that simple. You can easily learn to fully disassemble, clean, and reassemble a Glock by watching videos on YouTube. Although full disassembly isn't recommended and voids your warranty, the warranty only lasts a year and doing it is so easy that you're wasting money by paying a gun shop to do it, let alone the fact that if you want something done right you usually have to do it yourself.

Just make sure you don't shoot lead bullets that aren't copper jacketed out of a Glock manufacturer barrel and never shoot reloads out of a Glock.

Edit: I'd recommend you watch some videos on YouTube of field-stripping of the particular handguns you're considering. You'll quickly find that when it comes to field-stripping and cleaning a handgun, it just doesn't get any easier than with a Glock.

And when it comes to fully disassembling and cleaning your own gun, GOOD LUCK doing that with any other gun than a Glock. You'll have to take anything else into a gunsmith or drop it in an ultrasonic tank.
 
Tons of great info!

Although it took me quite a bit to realize the post was not new. :)

What clued me in was someone mentioning that you could get a box of 550 .22s for $12, which alarmed me until I realized that was last year. I think my .22 mags are a little more expensive than .22LRs, but not by much - and mine were $14 for 50 last weekend.
 
I am curious what voyager4520 is talking about with "fully disassembling" a Glock?

Do you mean removing the barrel and recoil spring from the slide? Or are you talking about taking the parts out of the frame?

There is no need to do more than field strip (slide off frame, barrel and spring out of slide) to clean a Glock.
 
I reckon

Go to your local range(s) and hang around, introduce yourself to shooters, ask their advice...... you will probably find you will meet lots of nice new friends there, and most will offer to let you have a shot or 10 :D & most importantly you will learn safety and good habits right from the get-go :cool:

Take your time, listen to all advice and you will know more about what you like & want..... Will be easy and you will learn lots and will become addicted..... just like the rest of us 'gunaholics' :D

Yes, & welcome to TFL.... a great place to start :D
 
I recommend a couple books that have helped me, both by Gun Digest

Automatic Pistols: Assembly/Disassembly by J.B. Wood---This shows you how to take almost any Semi-Auto apart and put it back together (not just field stripping but all the way)

Defensive Handgunnery by Massad Ayoob---Gives you great info about different guns (revolvers and pistols). Gives you info about different rounds. It also gives you alot of shooting tips and modern history of handguns. I love this book.
 
You still don't have those parts get dirty beyond reaching in the frame with a q-tip, but you can fully disassemble it if you want to. You're inevitably going to get dust, dirt, and lint into those interior areas, and cleaning around the extractor claw is a little more necessary than people like to think.

Edit: The firing pin channel has lubricant put in by Glock and old lubricant can build up in the area where the connector meets the trigger bar. Anywhere you have lubricant you're gonna get dust gunking it up eventually.
 
Get what works for you.

For me, the cost of .22LR is a BIG factor. I can get 5 times the practice for half the price of .45ACP. While I wouldn't use .22 for defensive purposes, it is great for keeping and improving fundamental shooting skills. I would choose a .45 for defensive purposes (personal preference), but it gets really pricey to practice much. For learning and recreational shooting, .22LR is the most economical and easiest to learn the fundamentals.

Try out a few different guns, if you can. See what you like.
Getting instruction is always good. (Can't have too much instruction, even if you are a pro, IMO.)

Finally, and MOST IMPORTANTLY...
Always follow the 4 rules of firearm safety! Over 99% of negligent/accidental shootings occur because one or more of those simple rules was ignored. Be rediculously cautious about following those rules. I've had an accidental discharge (my pistol's components had been adjusted a little too much :o, and the hammer followed the slide when I loaded it). Fortunately, I was following the 4 rules, so nothing bad happened!
 
go to the NRA classes first. They often several types of pistols you can shoot. I agree with all here who say buy a.22 a box of cheap nine mm practice ammo is up to $17.00 for fifty. That's close to the cost for 500 .22's so you can get ten time the trigger time for the money. Second a guy your age out at the local range, gravel pit or back forty will attract less negative attention than someone blasting away with a nine mm.

I start and stop each range session thirty rounds slow fire.
 
OP read this

I know im gonna take heat for this, but I love the p22 I say get one, first and most unimportantly, it is "hollywood cool", Its just a sexy gun. 2nd, as long as you get a new one there are virtually no reliablitiy problems from what I have seen, just make sure the magazine is stamped xxx-xx-xx-B it doesnt matter what the serial number looks like but the B is important, I think they have a C now but its still fine. It does function like a regular centerfire, and it feels like one, and you can shoot all day without breaking your bank, saftey is important, I would probably take a saftey class, but once you are comfortable with safety, you could probably just go out to the range with an experienced friend
 
I am also relatively new to handguns, and have way more experience with rifles and shotguns. I just turned 22, My first handgun experience came when I was about 19, my friend who was in his 20's owned a couple of glocks and would take me to shoot every once in a while. I am going in to school for criminal justice and plan to pursue a career in criminal justice. I decided I would purchase a handgun to get used to shooting and practice a lot more often, I also went into this thinking about self defense and concealed carry, and am taking the cpl classes next month.

That being said a few months ago I decided to get back in to shooting, since most of my experience was my friend loading his up and handing it to me and basically saying go ahead point and shoot, I decided it would be a good Idea to take a basic pistol course, to brush up on what little knowledge I had. So I took a class from a certified instructor at a range, which was a great Idea, he was very helpful.

After the basic classes I took my friends advice, and that was it's better to spend hundreds of dollars renting at the range to find the right gun, than burn the money just buying the first thing I see. So I spent the last couple months renting and sending many of rounds through rentals. I initially thought I was going to go with a 40 caliber, after firing a few hundred rounds I realized how expensive .40 was. One day a guy I knew met me up at the range and brought all of his guns for me to try. My favorite was the H&k .357 sig I believe it was.

Now after trying many different guns and calibers I finally decided on one that was confortable, in my price range and a good size for my first concealed carry gun, and a matter of fact the first handgun I will own. I put a deposit on a S&W M&P 9mm compact, I have it pretty much payed off just waiting for the store to get it in because it's on order.

I am glad I took my fiends advice and spent the time renting. I know I will be comfortable with my purchase
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top