Ok here's my essay about guns...I personally have in my possession 3 handguns and 3 long guns (ar10 ar15 and a shotgun.)
The first thing to consider when buying a gun is your hand. Go to the gun shop or gun show and hold MANY and I mean MANY guns. No matter what you're looking for you should do this. Not all rifles are the same nor are all hand guns the same. The first thing is balance, how does it feel in your hand? Does it feel barrel heavy or grip heavy? It should feel 'balanced' in your hand. Price is not a factor in this, my wife's XD SubCompact 9 feels like a damned grip heavy brick in my hand and my mini 1911 feels like a brick in hers, they weigh exactly the same. Go figure..
Next, home defense or conceal and carry? Home defense you can get away with a larger frame gun than you can for conceal and carry. Your choice will depend on this a lot. It's easier to conceal a sub compact than a 6" barrel 1911.
Next, how much round is too little/too much. First stopping power. If you get a .22 for anything other than range play or squirrels you've wasted your money. I can't attest to revolver rounds as I use auto loaders. For Auto Loaders go with a minimum of 9mm and a maximum of .45cal. 50Cal is NOT a reasonable round for self defense, it's a hunting round. That leaves, 9mm 10mm, 357 sig, 40cal, 45 cal. Lots of choices there. Choose your round based on the climate your in. If you live in a cold climate then you want a deep penetrating round because of winter clothing. If you're in a hot climate you can get away with smaller rounds, but too much velocity and you have to worry about through and through shots. I personally will only do .40 or .45, that's mostly because of my preference for the 1911 design.
All guns recoil, it's just a matter of how. My wifes gun 'snaps' up and correcting for the next shot irritates my corpal tunnel syndrome. My 1911 kicks like a mule but it's stright back so it doesn't irritate my wrist. She can't long term shoot my 45 and I can't long term shoot her 9. The differece in recoil is why, the snap is lighter but hurts me, the heavier 45 is straight back and less up making it an easier shoot for me.
Trends.. "Well everyone seems to have a glock should I just get that?"
If you get your gun based on trends, well then it's your funeral. I have nothing against the Glock, other than I can't shoot it. No matter how hard I try I can't get a glock to hit anything but dirt at 7 feet. Yet with a 1911 I can hit a 2" group at 25 feet from a free standing position. So you need to shoot a variety of guns to see if you can actually work them ergonomically.
Safeties... There are MANY options on these. There's the glock 'passive' safety with the safety within the trigger, there' the XD with the safety inside the trigger AND a backstrap, then there's the 1911 with the backstrap an a thumb safety for condition 3 carry, then there's Baretta Sig Arms, and Ruger style safeties. There are many.
Here's my thought on safeties. If you have a manual safety on your gun you had better train to remove it EVERY TIME YOU PULL THE GUN. Your life very well could depend on 1 second. If you don't train to always disengage your safety when you pull your gun, you safety could result in your death.
If you use your safety as a 'should I' button in a defense situation, you will likely die. That's my wifes doesn't have a manual safety she has to think about. Mine never comes out of it's holster with the safety on, my hand simply won't let me do it. I pulled over 10,000 times in my living room always dopping the safety as practice, then another 10,000 pulling and shooting. The good, I never have to worry about muscle memory, the bad I have to remove my gun in holster or I automatically drop the safety.
Finally, go to a rental range and shoot a variety of guns. You'll learn your ergonomics, recoil tollerances, and accuracy from doing this. Sure the rental guns are generally shit, but they're better than buying a gun and having no clue how it shoots. I shot 50 guns at the rental range before I decided on a 1911. My wife shot 30 before she decided on her Sig. The range time, ammo, and rental fees 'choosing' our guns cost more than the guns themselves. (Figure $30 a rental)
Once you have a gun ... TRAIN TRAIN TRAIN TRAIN ....
I dropped over $8000 on my guns, and $10,000 in training for my wife and I. Our lives are worth it.
If you grow, have weed in your house, or have children GET A SAFE.
If your grow gets busted, expect higher charges and hope you have a damned good lawyer.
Federal law reuqires all guns be secured around children under the age of 18. I have a bedside fingerprint safe for my hand gun, and a stand up safe for my long guns. Always keep your shit locked if you have kids around or are stoned. I've never once thought a damned thing about my guns when I've been high, but I sure as hell don't want myself or anyone else doing something stupid with, 'I was high' as an excuse. Same goes for alcohol. It's just common sense.
Things to think about....
By being a gun owner you have a duty to potect your firearm from ever committing a crime. It's your responsability if it is stolen and used in a crime. It'd your repsonsibility to know your local laws pertaining to defense. There a MANY times I could have 'killed' legally, but opted to not even draw because I didn't feel the situation was dire enough. I'e drawn ONCE in defense and I didn't fire. When you carry it is your responsibility for the safety of others if you do have to pull. Know your target, your surroundings and whats behind your target. If you pull the trigger more than twice in defense you need better training, you shouldn't EVER miss in defense. In Floria we have 'stand your ground' laws that say we don't have to retreat if confronted. I believe that if we can we should, if we can't then shoot and survive. We also have a vigilante clause. If we witness a 'forcable felony' then we have the right to defend other people. (This one draws a VERY fine line between protecting oneself and being 'batman') Again know your local laws. Have a lawyer and be ready to use it.
If you pull the trigger you will go to jail, even if you defended yourself. This is why you need the lawyer. Say nothing to the police other than 'I defended myself and I wish to speak to my lawyer.'
-RT76
