Best place to purchase a firearm

[Alvin_Wilson]

So, I had this situation at my home this morning at 1:30am. My daughter came to my bedroom saying that someone was trying to get in the front door. I got up and grabbed my baseball bat and went to check it out. Fortunately, there was no one at the door or in the house. I called 911 and two officers came and checked my property and the surrounding area and found only a deer. Now, I'm a big guy and can defend myself in a fist fight, but a fist can't compete against an intruder with a gun. After my adrenaline rush was gone and I started thinking about the situationto myself, what if there was someone that got in my home? I need to protect my family. We live in a great neighborhood and have been here for 14 years and have never had an issue. I know crime as no boundaries, but I never thought I would have this issue here.

I have years of experience with firearms and am aware of the safety precautions that should be taken. My father was a firearms expert and taught me very well. So, with that being said, can anyone offer suggestions where the best places are to buy a handgun? I'm looking to spend approximately $400 - $500.

PS: It angers me that I am not already prepared for shit like this.

[kermitz]

Shop around at your local gun shops or find one that has a firing range and rent a few. Find out what make, model and caliber your comfortable with. After that and you find the right one for you, go online and shop for the best prices. They can be shipped to your local gun shop. Buy plenty of ammo to practice with, because you will need to be able to use your gun in a very serious, stressful, life or death situation where you may only have one "shot" at protecting you and your family. Lastly, make sure that it's a good clean shoot...meaning, you shoot only when your life or your family's lives are in danger. Lawyers aren't cheap and nowadays the criminals and their families like to sue for being shot.

[tonemonster]

the best home protection is always a shotgun. if your going that route, I would go with a Mossberg persuader or a Remington 870. get the short barrel version, its easier to stash under your bed, and easier to handle in a dark house. there is nothing more attention getting or convincing as the sound of a shell getting racked in the chamber of a shotgun. that will scare most away right there. anyone that chooses to stay is clearly insane or on some major drugs. shotguns are great for short range defense, get some good magnum buckshot. best home defense weapon out there. if you must go pistol, then I recommend a revolver. they are fail safe. I like semi autos too, I have a few. but if they fail to fire or misfire...etc... its problem. revolvers rarely fail, and if you get a misfire, you just pull the trigger again. boom. I always recommend the standard .357 mag. you can easily buy a shotgun or revolver for the $400 to $500 range.

[Axewielder]

+1 to the shotgun. The buckshot is also less likely to cause a friendly fire incident downrange.

[kermitz]

This is good advice as well. A shotgun is a great home defense weapon.

the best home protection is always a shotgun. if your going that route, I would go with a Mossberg persuader or a Remington 870. get the short barrel version, its easier to stash under your bed, and easier to handle in a dark house. there is nothing more attention getting or convincing as the sound of a shell getting racked in the chamber of a shotgun. that will scare most away right there. anyone that chooses to stay is clearly insane or on some major drugs. shotguns are great for short range defense, get some good magnum buckshot. best home defense weapon out there. if you must go pistol, then I recommend a revolver. they are fail safe. I like semi autos too, I have a few. but if they fail to fire or misfire...etc... its problem. revolvers rarely fail, and if you get a misfire, you just pull the trigger again. boom. I always recommend the standard .357 mag. you can easily buy a shotgun or revolver for the $400 to $500 range.

[mark123]

Pardon the expression, a shotgun is the best bang for the buck. I'd say an AR-15 is a better home defense weapon though but that's more than $500.

Many times buying online and having it shipped to your local FFL (Federal Firearms License) holder will save you some cash even if he ups his charge for the background check/transfer fee. I have a friend that is a pleasure to deal with at http://scpfirearms.com

[StukaJU87]

You can also check your local gus shops for used pistols at great savings. I picked up my Desert Eagle .44 Mag that way. It came to 1/2 the price of a new one and it still looked new and came in its original box. Glocks are pretty cheap used and very reliable guns. Like tonemonster said, .357 mag revolver is a great choice too and you can shoot cheap .38's through it for practice and keep the magnum rounds for home protection. I have my mother's S&W 586. It is a hefty gun but rock solid.

[Drake S.]

I carry a Glock 45 at work cause I don't want anyone to sue me afterwards, in the Home Remmington short barrel Pistol grip shot gun Rock salt first shot if friendly fire is needed Buck 2nd Slug third,& there after. When I lived with 2 other bouncers as room mates someone broke into our house 1 morning the big (OH SHIT Factor) was when he heard me Rack the shot gun. He then decided it was a good idea to put his .38 revolver down & let us call the cops. I also agree on having a revolver in or near the bedroom if someone is breaking in, No Jamming & if a cap misfires squeeze again.
My first Hand gun was a Deset Eagle .50 I used for work & body Guard work. I've since moved to a smaller hand gun but at home a Shot gun really screams volumes in home security.
Good Luck Alvin Hope you & your family stay safe! I hope it was just a deer!

[PowerTube]

Hi, Alvin.

I've been into guns for years, and the absolute best place to buy a gun is Davidson's:

http://www.galleryofguns.com/

Click on "Gun Genie" on the left, select your make and model and your search radius. If you decide to go with one, leave a deposit with your Visa card and when the gun arrives at the FFL you've chosen, they'll call you to come pay it off and pick it up. I bought my Smith & Wesson M&P 45 Compact this way last Summer. No fuss, no muss.

But if you haven't decided what to get, you can try them out at your local gun shops.

[jdr94]

Shotgun or 45 would be my suggestion. When I lived in DC some people had 9mm's and ended up shootin through to their neighbors house. I really cant suggest a place as most of my atl friends got theirs off the street lol

[Jayster]

Alvin,

I'm a BIG believer in firearms and think everyone should have them!!!! That being said, there is probably a reason that you haven't had one... Maybe the wife doesn't like guns, maybe your not sure if you could 'actually' kill another person. Both of these would be very valid, and the situation you've descirbed a good dog would have helped deter a possible home invader....

If you still want to get a gun, strictly for home defense - I'd recommend a decent shotgun. You can find any number of them for a very reasonable price.... If you're considering the possibility of carrying as well, I'd recommend a comfortable pistol. Comfortable meaning, one that fits your hand well and naturally feels right when firing.... For me that's a springfield .45.

If you have any question about pistols and want to try some out, we can hook up ~ one of my acquanences owns a gun shop/range, there's plenty of loaner (rental) guns of all shapes and sizes... The cool thing is his range has very few limits..... Rifles and big bore is fine!!!

Good times.

[mark123]

... When I lived in DC some people had 9mm's and ended up shootin through to their neighbors house. ...

At least they didn't have the type of gun that shoots through schools.

[rjohnstone]

Shotgun. Start with bird shot... seriously.
Using magnum shot inside a house is stupid. So are slugs of any kind.
They will go through walls and potentially into rooms where one of your family members may be.
Bird shot at close range will kill you but if you miss or have strays, they won't have much, if any any lethal energy left if they encounter drywall.
Mossberg 500 series shotguns are idiot proof, easy to maintain and dead on reliable. You can get them for under $300 with a choice of barrel lengths.

Same thing applies to handguns. FMJ, hollow points, etc are not designed for close quarter engagements.
Too much penetration power with a high risk of going through walls.
A .38 cal round is lethal enough in these types of scenarios.

Oh and an AR-15 is the dumbest weapon short of a .50 cal for home defense.
Those rounds are going through what ever you shoot and they're going to keep going for a bit afterwards.
Plus you better make that first shot count. The muzzle flash on an AR in a dark room is going to blind you.
You will be shooting blind after that.

[DonP]

Some great advise here. I wish it was as easy to "value" guns as it is guitars. Guns seem to be a mystery as far as what's a good price or not. Almost like there price fixing going on.

Here's a tip on where to buy - Walmart

When I work in Nashville every other week, there isn't much to do after work. I go into the Walmart in Mufreesboro and there you go - AR-15's, Shotguns. rifles. No handguns though they said they might be coming. I'd figure wally world would have the best prices but I'll let the experts tell us.

Myself? I'm still very much a newbie. My first gun purchase was also for defense. I had a big asshole neighbor trying to stir up stuff, so I go a dual barrel shotgun. Called a coach gun I think for the shorter barrel. I only fired it once when I first bought it at a gun shop, with some large buckshot man did it leave a huge bruise. Of course I didn't fire it correctly, having the butt in my bicep instead of my chest. Then I went to Walmart and bought a Henry 22 lever. This was back in 2005 and I never fire them again.

Then my dad passed away a year ago and left me a German Luger and a Mauser. My dad never took me shooting, so I thought I'd change that with my sons. We took the Luger and the Henry 22 to a gun range and had some fun. The Luger was a PITA because it kept jamming "stovepipe" catching the empty shells before they could eject.

Sort of lost interest for a year then recently went to a gun show. Found some higher power NATO rounds for the luger, a new clip for it, and I decided to get an AK-47 with a 100 rounds. Haven't gone firing since getting the new toys.

To round out what I think I need, a pump action shotgun and a decent handgun. A revolver would be the smart choice, but I like semi-auto's better (revolvers just look old fashioned). I'm thinking a 1911 since these seem to be pretty popular. I found one place selling them with a 22 barrel. Maybe I should start there and work my way up? What do the experts say?

[mark123]

Something to peruse: http://how-i-did-it.org/drywall/conclusion.html

Moving away from rifle rounds takes us from fascinating discoveries into the realm of mythbusting. Handgun rounds, for instance, may penetrate less than rifle rounds--but only if the rifle rounds in question are full-power ball ammo. The relatively slow speed and heavy weight of handgun bullets make them a poor choice for limiting interior wall penetration, which is why professional door-kicker types have abandoned pistol-caliber submachineguns in favor of .223 carbines.

Shotguns may be the most powerful repeating shoulder-fired gun available, but when stoked with 00 buckshot they are certainly not a low-penetration option. In fact, the way the pellets spread out after passing through intermediate barriers makes the safety of anyone or anything within three rooms of a shotgun blast highly dubious.

If you want suggestions on the best gun related forum send me a private message.