Simple thoughts for first pistol purchases

The thought of your first gun purchase can be confusing at best. Most of the people that we run into, who are looking for a first time handgun purchase, are fraught with unanswered questions. So we at Dry-Fire wanted to share a few thoughts that might help those of you who have not yet purchased a handgun, but are in the process of doing  just that. Let’s consider a few things that will aid in your first purchase.

First, you should take into consideration your experience. If you are a novice, you are better off staying in the revolver category. Semi-auto pistols can and will malfunction when you need them the most; we don’t care who makes it. We see them malfunction consistently on the range. Semi-automatics can be a great defensive weapon as long as you are willing to master the operation and clearing of the four possible malfunctions. The major advantage of the revolver over the semi-automatic pistol is its simplicity. The drawback to the revolver is its limited cartridge capacity. On the other hand, the major advantage of the semi-automatic is therefore its cartridge capacity, and of course, the drawback would be its lack of simplicity. This may sound elementary, but it is crucial to understand for a first gun purchase. We have dealt with too many people who think that having a semi-automatic pistol will turn them into a master pistol shooter because the movie stars can do it, but in reality they can’t figure out which button or lever is the safety and think that a “press check” has something to do with squeezing their pocket book to pay the bills last month. A revolver represents reliability and user-friendliness. With a revolver, in a critical incident, the main malfunction clearing technique you need to know is, “point and shoot again.”

Second, you need to understand that a firearm is a tool. What exactly do you plan to use the gun for? Maybe it is for hunting, competitive shooting, recreation, home defense, or personal defense. I mention these for the simple fact that if I were to choose a firearm with a liberal budget, I most likely would not choose the same gun for all categories. If you’re on a limited budget you will probably want to choose a gun that would meet more than just one of the categories with size of gun and caliber of ammunition in mind. Let me give you an example. If you just wanted a home defense pistol, a 6” 357 revolver would be a good choice for someone who is inexperienced with how the semi-auto pistol functions, and the malfunctions that can arise. But for a first time self defense pistol this would not be a good choice because it is going to be uncomfortable to carry and conceal for some people, especially if you are a small framed individual. The rule of thumb is “if it is uncomfortable you are not going to carry it”. That’s why we instruct people that when purchasing your first hand gun, get a gun with a dual purpose in mind. A gun suitable for self defense in the home and outside the home as a conceal carry weapon makes a great first purchase because of its dual purpose. For example the Smith & Wesson model 442 is excellent due to its light weight, concealable size, and it’s capable of firing the more powerful (plus p, or +p) rounds in the .38 special caliber. Good information to think on.

And to keep this from becoming a vortex that sucks your brain out, finally you should consider ammunition caliber, or size. Listen, you can neutralize a threat (to put it lightly) with a well placed shot from any caliper from a .22 rim fire to the bigger magnum pistols. The problem comes in with the speed of actually neutralizing the threat. Our advice is that you choose a caliber of .38 special or larger in a revolver, and 9mm in a semi-auto pistol. We find a lot of people choosing for example the famous pocket .380. Hey, it makes a fair backup gun, but in our opinion it’s not enough gun for a main carry weapon. Make sure you talk to several people in gun circles out there before buying a gun. The Bible states there is wisdom in the council of many. Don’t make a hasty first purchase, you will only regret it. We have already seen students that have bought sold and traded because they didn’t take the time to do the research first. Remember it is a tool that you will use to defend your life or the life of a loved one.

Mike & Tim