Guns

[IronFist]

I've never shot a gun. Can you just like go to a shooting range and take lessons or something?

[cerebus]

Join the Army. You'll get PLENTY of practice! But seriously, yeah, I think you can just go to a firing range & do that (usually need your own gun though).

[IronFist]

Don't you need a license or something to get your own gun? I wouldn't even know what kind to buy or anything.

[Okami]

If you live in the US, you can go and buy a firearm as long as you are not a convicted felon, or been convicted of domestic violence.

If you cannot buy a firearm, have a buddy buy one for you.

After a brief (2-week) waiting period, you can pick it up.

There are usually local firing ranges, both indoor and outdoor, where you can fire at targets for a small fee. Usually there are targets and ammo for sale at the range.

If you know someone who lives outside the city limits, you can fire the weapon on their property.

If you just want to shoot, buy a .22 caliber pistol or rifle and enjoy yourself. If you want home defense, buy a shotgun. If you want to fire a combat type weapon, you need a pistol or an assault type rifle.

I would advise buying a reasonable priced .22 caliber pistol and lots of ammo. Go out and shoot the crap out of it, and get used to the idea of shooting. Then do a little research and find the type of firearm that suits your needs and taste. There are ranges in my area that stock many types of firearms and you can rent them on the range to try them out. It is lots of fun to go and fire different weapons, but it can be expensive.

If you have a range available for skeet or trap shooting, give that a try. It is loads of fun and pretty cheap. I like shooting moving targets.

Have a good time.

[Losttrak]

Go to a firing range and rent some pistols. See which one feels good in your hand. Once you find a nice fit with a few... find one with low maintenance. Sigarms are the reputedly the most accurate high caliber firearm out of the box which appeals to me since I dont wanna have to make multiple alterations to essentially make the gun do what it should do anyways. lol (I also prefer a gun my wife could fire in the event I am incapacitated.)

Ask yourself:

Pistol or revolver?

Is concealment a factor?

Would you rather shoot more rounds or hit harder?

[Toby]

America's scary

[IronFist]

America's scary

I know, right?

[IronFist]

Ask yourself:

Pistol or revolver?

[noob]
What's the difference?
[/noob]

Is concealment a factor?

I dunno. Not initially. I just want to get a feel for how a gun works/feels.

Would you rather shoot more rounds or hit harder?

Whoa, that's like a video game question. You get one gun that like sprays continously but isn't very powerful, or there's like the gun that shoots one at a time but can do tons of damage.

So my answer is I dunno.

[Toby]

Originally posted by IronFist
Ask yourself:

Pistol or revolver?

[noob]
What's the difference?
[/noob]

<noob2>

Revolvers have the cylindrical barrel thing that you flick out like in Westerns, then load your 6 shots in them, spin them like in Russian roulette , then flick the cylinder back in and you're good to go. Pistols have a rectangular clip that you load into the bottom of the handle thingamajig.

</noob2>

[Radhnoti]

...I'll throw my two cents into the ring.

I like revolvers. They're reliable (fewer parts to mess up), intuitive (if it doesn't fire just pull the trigger again), and usually more modestly priced without sacrificing quality.

The trade-off is the revolvers are thicker or bulkier, making it tougher to conceal...and magazine fed pistols CAN have way higher capacity. (Note: Pres. Clinton passed a law making it illegal for handgun manufacturers to produce magazines of higher than 10 shot capacity for civilians. There are/were ways around this however, and you can still legally buy high-cap magazines produced before the ban...which should sunset in 2004.)

I'd suggest a .357 magnum. For stopping power it's hard to beat the .357 cartridge. You can load .38 special shells into it and have less recoil when learning and which will be cheaper to purchase...the weight should be substantial enough to reduce muzzle flip so I'd suggest stainless steel (easier to clean as well). Taurus makes some high quality revolvers at quite reasonable prices. If concealability were an issue I'd suggest shorter barrels, but for a learner I'd suggest 3 or even a 4 inch barrel to improve accuracy.

I totally agree with the previous suggestions to go to a shooting range and rent a firearm. Heck, I'd go and check into classes either at a range or your local gunshop if I were starting out. The NRA gives lots of classes, and some folks make their living teaching folks how to properly use/maintain/be safe with firearms.
Good luck.