Should I buy a Gun? Part 2: What Kind?

The first part of this 4 part series discussed what the purpose of a gun would be?

If you have decided to purchase one, the next question is what type? Guns are sorta like fishing rods, they have different purposes and you have to consider that as part of the purchase process. You would not take a fly rod offshore to fish for tuna for example.

A local, reputable gun store can be a treasure trove of information in the selection process. So, this post will give you some basic information that you can use when you go to visit a store.

In this part, we will talk about shotguns, rifles, handguns. A shotgun uses a shell full of shot, little metal balls if you will. A rifle uses a shell with a bullet and fires through a long barrel. A handgun (revolver or pistol) is shot from the hand grip. So here we go.

Personal protection: This is typically an application for a handgun. Given the laws of your state and locality, this is probably what is called concealed carry. You will need a license for concealed carry. Check you local police on how to obtain a concealed carry license.

There are two basic handgun types: the revolver which uses a rotating cylinder to bring a fresh round to the barrle and the pistol. Common pistols are of the semi-automatic type that hold rounds in a magazine and then feed a fresh round to the barrel everytime you pull the trigger.

There are hundreds of types of handguns. For personal protection, three favorites are: .38 Special snub-nosed revolver (easy to conceal, useful at short distance, typically 5-6 rounds). The 9mmLugar Semi-automatic pistol, short barrel (fairly easy to conceal, often 10-12 rounds). The larger .45ACP Semi-automatic, less easy to conceal, but lots of stopping power and holds anywhere from 12-15 rounds. The two semi-automatic pistols will give good accuracy at longer range (20-50ft) than the snub-nosed revolver.

Home Protection: The handguns above can be used for home protection. Their one common shortfall is the need for rather accurate aim. A great home protection alternative is the tactical shotgun. This is a shotgun of either pump action or semi-automatic action with a short (at least 18") barrel. This gun does not need to be aimed: you just point in the general direction and keep firing until the bad guy is no longer a threat. Also, the pellets will not penetrate walls and endanger other occupants like a bullet. Shotguns in your house do not need any type of concealed weapon permit.

Target Shooting: This can encompass the handguns above but also gets you into rifles. This is a huge subject area: for fun, cheap but very challanging target shooting, consider a .22cal semi-automatic rifle (Remington, Ruger, Savage). These have a practical range of about 100 yards, little recoil and can teach you a lot about target shooting. For longer range consider .223 rifles (AR-15 types), .308 winchester types. But this begins to get into more $$ and more expensive ammunition.

This is a huge topic area; your local gunstore can help you in your selection process both for gun and related gear (holsters, gun bags, loaders, ammunition, etc). If you want to send me a question, please include your email address for a private reply. At the end of this series, we will show some pictures of typical guns mentioned above for the different applications.