How to Choose a Pistol for a First Time Buyer

Choosing a pistol for personal protection can be very exciting, but it can have its headaches.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Precaution approach

1. Choosing the right pistol for you is a great feeling to have. I will give you some do's and don'ts on the process of buying a gun.

2. Don'ts
   
   If you have no idea of what type of pistol you want, you need to stay away from the people who try to sucker you in to the more expensive one. All those people are trying to do is a make a profit. I will give an example. You are at a gun show and approach a table and see a gun you like because of its looks. You pick it up and like the way it feels then you look at the price and see that it is somewhat reasonable. Lets get a fictional cost of $200 dollars. The guy/girl working behind the counter ask you is there any particular thing that you are looking for and you say well I am a first time buyer and am not sure of what I should get. Gun dealers are usually looking for a profit and will do whatever it takes for you to buy the most expensive gun right then and there. If he tells you that no, it is not a good gun, lets look at this one (and it is more expensive) that is a red flag and avoid this trickster.

3. Take your time before you buy one. Do research on different types of guns and see which one you like. The type of background you need to do is you need to hook up with somebody who has guns already. Shoot different types of pistols to get a feel for recoil. That gun that you picked out earlier that looked really cool might not shoot the way you were expecting it to. What I mean is all guns shoot differently. Just because it looked cool doesn't mean you will have the same taste for the gun after you shoot it. T hey have all different types of calibers for pistols so make sure you find a gun that is the right caliber for you. People might tell you to go to a higher caliber because they think a 9mm would not knock down a perp. That guy is wrong! Any type of caliber will work. It is all about what type of bullet you have. They have target ammo and they have home protection ammo. They different is that home protection ammo are usually have some sort of a hollow point bullet. What this means is one impact it not only will go through its target, but it splits out as well. What I mean by split out is on point of impact, it literally opens up what it hits. That is what you want in home protection ammo.

4. The most important thing is to find something that feels good in your hand. God forbid anybody having to pull the trigger on somebody but in reality, it happens everyday. If you ever get put in a situation like that, you need to make sure prior that you know that you can shoot this gun accurately under all extreme measures.

Tips & Warnings

• Do not let a dealer con you end to thinking that the more expensive gun is better. Most of the time they are not. Buying a gun is all about taste. What do you like? How it feels in your hand? How does it shoot? These are questions that you need to take into deep consideration because the gun business is a competitive market just like Nike, or Reebok. Buying a gun is no different, it is all about what YOU like. Do the research and find something that your comfortable with. Do not let anybody alter your decision, make your own judgement call.
• Stay away from the person who is trying to make a profit.

[eggerist]

on 3/23/2009 5*

[our5kids]

on 3/23/2009 How to Choose a Pistol for a First Time Buyer is a very informative article, Thank you!! 5*

[brahdah]

on 3/16/2009 this article is full of facts, 5*. my friend collects vintage hand guns, rifles and shotguns. laters.

[SchoolOfLife]

on 3/11/2009 This is a really good, well written article, great for first time pistol purchases. Gives plenty of good insight. Thank you for this one- keep them coming. :)

[betterbody]

on 3/6/2009 Good tips. Thanks for this info.