Les Jones

Guns > Buying a First Gun, Getting Started Shooting

Rich Hailey is asking for advice on buying his first guns, namely a self-defense handgun, home defense shotgun, and a hunting rifle. Several of us are coming up with answers. Here's mine.

FIRST RIFLES
I like Jeff Cooper's advice that most people only need two rifles: a .22 and one medium-bore centerfile rifle. He named the .308 and .30-06, but lighter rounds like the .30-30 and .270 would also work for most North American game short of grizzlies.

A .22 rifle is the best first gun, period. It's easy to learn with, there's no recoil to speak of, and the ammo's cheap so you can afford to shoot a lot. Cost is $200 or less for the rifle. Cost for ammo is $6 per 50 for the good stuff like CCI, or $9 per 500 for cheap stuff by the carton at Wal-Mart. With the money you save buying the .22 first you'll be able to afford some basic accessories (below) and a training class. Shooting can get expensive. We all have to pace ourselves.

Semi-autos like the Marlin 60 and Ruger 10/22 are good guns, but a bolt action gun will encourage better marksmanship. It's a little safer, since an open bolt will show whether the gun is loaded. A bolt action rifle has fewer parts, so it will have fewer mechanical problems in the long run. (All of the guns I'll recommend are simple, trouble-free, and based on time-tested designs.) Bolties are also easier to clean: pop out the bolt and you have easy access to clean the barrel from end to end.

Both have their appeal. It's fun to shoot a lot of ammo with a semi-auto. At the same time I find it satisfying and even relaxing to work a bolt action.

FIRST SHOTGUNS
For a shotgun, a 20 or 12 gauge pump is perfect. The pump action means you can leave the chamber empty, then load it with a flick of the wrist. Automatics are more expensive and more work to maintain. Double-barrelled shotguns are more expensive than pump action shotguns, believe it or not. You probably aready know this, but 12 gauge is bigger than 20 gauge.

The Mossberg 500 and Remington 870 are good, inexpensive pump shotguns. Those two brands also have the widest selection of after-market accessories. Cost is $300 or less. You can swap short and long barrels for defense or hunting.

FIRST DEFENSIVE HANDGUNS

TYPE: Short answer: get a revolver.

Why a revolver for a first defensive handgun? They're simple. Point and shoot. Each trigger pull is the same length and weight from first to last. There's no safety to fumble with, and you won't accidentally eject the magazine when you go for the gun. It's also easier to tell if a revolver is loaded, and they can be cleaned without disassembly. Unlike an automatic, a revolver will shoot any kind of ammo, and is almost immune to jamming. If it misfires, just pull the trigger again to fire the next chamber.

Shoot it double-action only (without thumb-cocking). Cocking the gun looks bad in court, and can lead to accidental discharges. If you cock the gun and don't shoot, you'll be left holding a cocked, loaded gun you'll have to carefully de-cock.

CALIBER: Short answer: any caliber bigger than .25, and preferably bigger than .32, will do.

If you're getting a revolver, a .38 special or .357 magnum will do fine. For autos, 9 mm, .40 S&W, and .45 ACP are good, and .380 isn't bad. Any of those will work when loaded with good defensive ammo (hollowpoints, Glaser Safety Slugs, etc.). The caliber choice depends a lot on:

WEIGHT AND SIZE: Short answer: small and light is good.

If you're going to carry it, it needs to be small and light, or you probably won't carry it. Small is also good for the nightstand, glove box, tacklebox, etc.

For more thoughts on first guns and first handguns, see Kim du Toit and Chuck Hawks. Both writers have tons of good material on their Web sites.

ACCESSORIES AND SAFETY EQUIPMENT

If you don't wear plastic-lensed glasses, you'll need protective shooting glasses ($20+). Protect your hearing with disposable foam ear plugs ($2 a dozen) or ear muffs ($30+). When shopping for ear protection, look for the NR (Noise Reduction) rating. An NR rating of 22 is typical, and 30 is excellent.

Each gun needs a case or holster. For long guns without a scope, you can use a soft case (10+). For scoped guns you'll need a hardshell case ($15+).

Pretty much every new gun nowadays comes from the factory with trigger locks or other safety locks included in the price. These aren't the end-all be-all of firearms safety, but they're one option. For handguns, you can buy a small lockbox such as a cashbox or personal safe.

Finally, you'll need a cleaning kit (about $30). I have an Outers kit with a variety of brass rods, patch-holder tips, and brass brushes. I'm thinking about getting an Otis cleaning kit, which uses flexible, coated cables and disposable cleaning patches to avoid scratching gun parts.

TRAINING

Rich was in the military, but a good gun safety class or defensive handgun class would he helpful. The class I took at Guncraft in Knoxville to get a Tennessee handgun carry permit was excellent, and I'd recommend the staff there. Beyond safety, they covered criminal law and civil liability concerning the use of defensive firearms. I plan on taking another class with them this winter.

You'll probably want to do some reading. As mentioned, Kim du Toit and Chuck Hawks are excellent. Among other gun writers, I'd suggest Massad Ayoob for non-military defensive gun use. The Ayoob Files in American Handgunner are post-mortems on both civilian and police shootings, both during the gunfight and subsequent legal action, if any. For most everything else, read Jeff Cooper's notes and books.

And Rich, let's go shooting sometime.

Posted by lesjones