Purchasing Your First Firearm

While many of our customers are veteran gun enthusiasts, we do meet our share of people new to the sport, looking for their first purchase. Gun shops can be intimidating, and may be too busy, or too macho, to lead a customer through the advantages and disadvantages of each type of gun. This blog entry is devoted to giving some helpful advice towards buying your first gun.

When deciding on your first firearm, the most important thing you need to ask yourself is: what purpose is this gun intended to serve? Do you want it for home defense? Shooting at the range? Hunting? There are leaders in each field that are strong choices for a first gun, but you should not expect a single firearm to serve all these purposes equally well. Plan to speak with a friendly and knowledgeable sales person who is willing to take some time to help you sort out your priorities if necessary. 

The second thing you need to ask yourself is: how much are you willing to spend on your gun? It is important to remember that the price on the tag is not the price out the door. If you purchase a gun at a California gunshop, you are looking at a $35 DROS fee for the background check. Also, if this if your first handgun, you’re going to have to pay $25 for a Handgun Safety Certificate (HSC). If you purchase a gun online, possibly through Gunbroker.com or Buds Guns, the firearm has to be transferred to you through a licensed dealer. The fee will differ from gun shop to gun shop, ranging from $35 to over $100. So--worst case scenario--you purchase your first handgun online for $500, then pay $25 for the HSC, $35 for the DROS, $100 for the transfer, $35 shipping, and $38.75 sales tax. Your total ends up being $733.75. 

To drive down the price of your purchase, shop around and see what the best deal in your area is. Keep in mind that if you purchase a gun from a local gunshop, they legally can’t charge you more than $35 for the DROS--so it can be cheaper to buy a more expensive gun locally, than to get a lower price online but then have a higher price for the transfer, in addition to the cost of shipping. Also, in California, purchasing your gun online no longer helps you escape sales tax; gun shops have been ordered to ask for an invoice on your out-of-state purchase so they can collect the appropriate amount.

With these things in mind, here is a list of the various reasons you might want to own a gun, along with a few choices in different price ranges:

Home Defense: You need something reliable, and strong. The sound of racking a Remington 870 Shotgun is usually enough to send any intruder packing, and if you do need to fire it, you’ll probably only need one shot.  Being shot by a handgun bullet has about a 30% fatality rate. Being shot by a shotgun has about a 90% fatality rate. One more advantage with a shotgun is, you are much less likely to shoot through the wall into your neighbor's house. However, concealing a shotgun is next to impossible. If you hear a rustle outside your patio door, you might not want to bring a shotgun outside in plain view, while a handgun can be covered with a towel if the social situation requires discretion. My recommendation for a first handgun would be a revolver. Auto handguns can be amazingly reliable and effective, but the also have some potential weaknesses and can end up jamming when you need them the most. Revolvers are inherently more reliable, and a small-frame, round-butt revolver in 38 Special or 357 Magnum can fit a smaller hand while still packing plenty of defensive power. Revolvers also don’t have safeties, slide releases, magazine releases, decocking levers, etc. so there is a lot less for the novice to worry about. Taurus and Ruger both make revolvers that are less expensive and, some say, less finicky than Smith & Wessons. The Taurus 650 CIA, a hammerless revolver with a 2 inch barrel, can easily fit into a jacket pocket. The hammer is internal, so it won’t catch on your clothing when you need to draw in a hurry. Like all .357 revolvers, it can fire the lighter, less-expensive .38 Specials too. A revolver with a somewhat longer barrel will be harder to conceal, but easier to shoot well, as the accuracy potential of any handgun is proportional to the distance between the sights. If the gun is going to live at your home and not get carried around concealed, a 4" or even 6" barrel will be more pleasant to shoot, with less recoil, less noise, and more accuracy. The Taurus 66 with 4” barrel is a good choice, as is a Ruger GP 100. Remington 870s cost between $300 - $400; Taurus and Ruger Revolvers sell between $400 - $600.

At the Range: Shooting at the range is a fun but potentially expensive venture. It is important to consider not only the cost of the gun, but also the ammo. If you are looking to buy a rifle to shoot at no more than 100 yards, a Ruger 10/22 is a great choice. It is a semi automatic 22LR, so it is extremely cheap and fun to shoot, and has basically no recoil. Ruger produces a “Take Down” 10/22, which allows the barrel and forend to separate from the receiver and stock. This makes the gun very easy to pack for a range trip. If you want to shoot at an indoor range, or are only interested in shooting at shorter distances (10-25 yards), you will most likely want a handgun. Again, revolvers are a good choice--although if you want something with more capacity that uses detachable magazines I suggest the Beretta PX4 Storm in 40 Smith & Wesson. The PX4 has a unique rotating barrel that absorbs some of the recoil, making it easier to shoot accurately. It also comes with a variety of grip attachments, so it can fit most anyone's hands. The Ruger 10/22 Takedown is usually available for $350 - $400. The Beretta PX4 Storm Ranges from $450 - $600.

Hunting: When it comes to hunting, you want to hit your mark on the first round; after that the animal is likely long gone. With this in mind, it is best to go with a bolt action rifle, since they are generally more accurate than lever actions, pumps, or semiautomatics. I recommend either a Winchester 70, a Remington 700, or a Howa 1500.  All of these are well-built and affordable bolt action rifles. The Winchester and Howa have a three position safety, which allows the user to extract a chambered round  while the rifle is still on safe. With the Remington 700, you have to  switch off the safety to take the round out of the chamber. The Howa and Winchester also have more durable extractors than the Remington. We include the Remington on our list because it is probably, on average, more accurate, and it's definitely the industry standard, with tons of aftermarket accessories available. A bare bones Howa 1500 will cost about $400 to $500, and a modern bare bones Winchester 70 should cost around $500 - $600; a Remington 700, depending upon features, will be around $700 and up. We do NOT recommend Remington's cheaper line of rifles! If you want a Remington, do yourself a favor and buy a 700.

If you are thinking about purchasing your first gun, and have some questions, please feel free to call or come by our shop. We are always ready to share our knowledge, and no question is too basic for us. We are also ready to talk about advanced custom projects whenever you feel ready!