Newbie gun ownership

[Mainah]

On the kids and access control thing. I 100 percent agree that kids should be taught about guns if they are going to be in the house to remove the mystery and to teach them some safety/respect for them. Keep in mind they may encouter them in someone elses home too. As for access control if you have kids it is a must. Access control is your responsibility as a gun owner period. Kids have tempers and less deveveolped long term reasoning/maturity. Wouldn't it suck if one of your kids shot the other or a friend or something like that in the heat of the moment or playing around?

Personally I have a fingerprint handgun safe in the bedroom and another in my office. Then of course the big safe too. Part of my routine is to unlock my bedside safe before bed then I relock it when I get out of bed in the morning. May seem ridiculous but why even have one if you aren't prepared to use it. I am not looking for a fight and I never want to have to use it but I will protect myself and my family without hesitation. Another great thing to have is an alarm system and a dog. I could care less about physical items but having advance warning and deterrents when you and your loved ones are in the home is second only to being able to defend them.

Edit- I also have a compact flashlight in each safe. Never know when you just need to see what is going on. If you go the flashlight route practice at the range holding in your non-dominant hand with an over grip while crossed under your shooting hand for support. Some prefer lasers, some prefer the little leds that can be mounted to the gun frame. Neither has enough illumination to take in the whole sceen and be confident about the background IMO.

 

[VONCE]

Lots of relevant information in this thread! For my CCW, I have a Springfield XD-S 9mm 3.3" which I really like. I also have a S&W SD9VE which my wife loves. The S&W is a little bulky for CCW (in my opinion) but it's great at the range! Luckily, I haven't had to use any of them for home defense, but I have a tactical shotgun near the bed for that. I can't say I'd be a good shot in the dark with a pistol after being abruptly awaken by an intruder in the middle of the night anyway. 9mm might not make the biggest hole, but ammo is cheaper and magazines typically hold more rounds! I recommend the XD-S, but some say it's too heavy. When I was looking for my CCW gun, I had it narrowed down to the XD-S 9mm and a S&W M&P 9 Shield.

 

[Tobes]

Our fingerprint safe opens every time. Much faster than a combination (which it has as backup) or key (which it has for backup). Once we get to the safe it takes no more than 2 seconds to have the gun in hand. There's no way I'm leaving a loaded gun around the house anywhere without it being in a quick access safe. Not only do we have kids but they have friends who come into the house.

Until that time it doesnt I know people like to "feel safe" because they have their gun locked by their bedside but it really isnt. I mean, it will always be a debated subject and I wont change your mind but things change when you are woken up in the night to the sound of someone in your house. What happens if your hands get sweaty and it malfunctions? You just put lotion on before bed and it wont read your prints? Something happened in the garage and one of your fingers prints cant be read?

Too many what ifs IMO for a bedside safe. Too many unknowns can happen. I have a teenager and a 4 year old. My 4 year old physically cannot rack a gun. I take these years to educate him and in the mean time, leave my guns with a full magazine but not chambered. That way even if he did get a hold of one, he cannot do anything with it. Then again, I believe this country is far too overprotective of kids and it is ruining future generations I get castrated for the thought of letting my son walk to school when he starts kindergarten next year. When I was his age, I talked about 1 mile to school daily. And we wonder why kids have no work ethic or drive to fend for themselves

 

[jdonalds]

On the kids and acess control thing. I 100 percent agree that kids should be taught about guns if they are going to be in the house to remove the mystery and to teach them some safety/respect for them. Keep in mind they may encouter them in someone elses home too. As for access control if you have kids it is a must. Access control is your responsibility as a gun owner period. Kids have tempers and less deveveolped long term reasoning/maturity. Wouldn't it suck if one of your kids shot the other or a friend or something like that in the heat of the moment or playing around?

Personally I have a fingerprint handgun safe in the bedroom and another in my office. Then of course the big safe too. Part of my routine is to unlock my bedside safe before bed then I relock it when I get out of bed in the morning. May seem ridiculous but why even have one if you aren't prepared to use it. I am not looking for a fight and I never want to have to use it but I will protect myself and my family without hesitation. Another great thing to have is an alarm system and a dog. I could care less about physical items but having advance warning and deterrents when you and your loved ones are in the home is second only to being able to defend them.

Edit- I also have a compact flashlight in each safe. Never know when you just need to see what is going on. If you go the flashlight route practice at the range holding in your non-dominant hand with an over grip while crossed under your shooting hand for support. Some prefer lasers, some prefer the little leds that can be mounted to the gun frame. Neither has enough illumination to take in the whole sceen and be confident about the background IMO.

I agree with all of this. I like the idea of leaving the small gun safe open at night, I'm just afraid we'd forget to close it every morning.

We too keep a tactical 750 lumen flashlight next to the pistol. That alone is enough to disturb someone as it is truly bright.

 

[jdonalds]

This is our gun safe, bolted to the headboard of our bed.

 

[Murf'n'surf]

i mirror what @Bennie said.... ever since my kids were small.... anytime i opened out large gun safe if i saw any of them coming to look inside i stopped immediately and said, point to a gun... they would, i would make sure it is safe and hand it to them... i would stand there and do that constantly until they were satisfied and walked away.... when we go shoot i take every hand gun i have and we will shoot until they are tired of it... proper weapon handling... proper safety and proper shooting are a must... now when i open the safe there is no mystery ..

At what age do you start this? At what age can they actually go to the range and shoot?

 

[jawsf16]

At what age do you start this? At what age can they actually go to the range and shoot?

My girls started shooting 22s since about age 9...

 

[Bennie]

when we go shoot i take every hand gun i have and we will shoot until they are tired of it...

Haha.... now that would take ALL day.

20 plus guns to go shoot = good day, good day!

 

[Bennie]

At what age do you start this? At what age can they actually go to the range and shoot?

From personal experience with my son I believe we started when he started to pay attention. I want to say around 5ish. Just showing him what they are and letting him try to hold it. (Also let me verify when he could start to pull the trigger).

But I've always had him with me when hunting since he was about 3. So that he knew that guns kill and are not a toy. That's the most important part to me. Imho

Edit - I would like to add a lot of this firearm education and use is greatly reliant on the child's attention span and their attitude towards safety. Some will mature at a different rate than others.

 

[Tobes]

My 2nd son started shooting at 3. I was shooting at about 5.

 

[bronze_10]

i always made my son follow the rules of gun safety with his nerf guns.. lol finger off trigger!!! dont sweep anyone with your sites!! lol stop pointing it at your sister!

 

[Coheeba]

Got the iTarget going tonight and practiced dry firing....

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Good Shooting, just remember that with any laser dry fire device you have to jack the slide or pull hammer back to fire another shot. This translates into bad habits. Using this as a first shot practice is great but if you get into the habit of jacking the slide every time you will resort to that when in a stressful situation. "Train like you fight"

 

[Coheeba]

My kids started at 6 and 8. I bought a nice pellet gun and built a cardboard bullet trap and had them shooting with iron sights in the living room. Once they were competent with iron sights I put a scope on it and taught them how to use a scope.

 

[Murf'n'surf]

Good Shooting, just remember that with any laser dry fire device you have to jack the slide or pull hammer back to fire another shot. This translates into bad habits. Using this as a first shot practice is great but if you get into the habit of jacking the slide every time you will resort to that when in a stressful situation. "Train like you fight"

Good advice.....never thought of it that way.

 

[BareHand42Style]

Good Shooting, just remember that with any laser dry fire device you have to jack the slide or pull hammer back to fire another shot. This translates into bad habits. Using this as a first shot practice is great but if you get into the habit of jacking the slide every time you will resort to that when in a stressful situation. "Train like you fight"

I wonder where you learned this lil Gem lol

I’ve been around the world twice, talked to everyone once, seen two whales fuck, been to 3 world fairs, and I even know a man in Thailand with a wooden cock. Push more peter, more sweeter and more completer than any other peter pusher around. I’m a hard bodied, hairy chested, rootin, tootin, shootin, parachutin, demolition double cap crimping, frog man. There ain’t nothing I can’t do, no sky too high, no sea to rough, no muff too tough. Learnt a lot of lessons in my life, never shoot a large caliber man with a small caliber bullet. Drive all kinds of truck 2 bys, 4 bys, 6 bys, those big motherfuckers that bend and go tshhhh, tshhhh, when you step on the breaks. Anything in life worth doing, is worth overdoing, moderation is for cowards. I’m a lover, I’m a fighter, I’m a UDT Navy Seal Diver, I wine, dine, intertwine and sneak out the back door when the revealing is done. So if you’re feeling froggy you better jump because this frogman’s been there, done that, and is going back for more. Cheers Boys!

 

[BareHand42Style]

 

[Coheeba]

I wonder where you learned this lil Gem lol

I’ve been around the world twice, talked to everyone once, seen two whales fuck, been to 3 world fairs, and I even know a man in Thailand with a wooden cock. Push more peter, more sweeter and more completer than any other peter pusher around. I’m a hard bodied, hairy chested, rootin, tootin, shootin, parachutin, demolition double cap crimping, frog man. There ain’t nothing I can’t do, no sky too high, no sea to rough, no muff too tough. Learnt a lot of lessons in my life, never shoot a large caliber man with a small caliber bullet. Drive all kinds of truck 2 bys, 4 bys, 6 bys, those big motherfuckers that bend and go tshhhh, tshhhh, when you step on the breaks. Anything in life worth doing, is worth overdoing, moderation is for cowards. I’m a lover, I’m a fighter, I’m a UDT Navy Seal Diver, I wine, dine, intertwine and sneak out the back door when the revealing is done. So if you’re feeling froggy you better jump because this frogman’s been there, done that, and is going back for more. Cheers Boys!

Been there, Done That!!!

 

[NavyShooter]

As the title suggests, what is a good hand gun to start with for a newbie gun owner.

Uses are home protection, target practice and concealed carry.

Where do you start? (Other than the obvious training/certification)

Ahoy Murfn,

The idea of having one gun for all of these purposes is good, but in practice, it seldom works. You'll end up with multiple guns very quickly...

Some thoughts to ponder (I've read a few of the posts on the way here to the end) but, here you go:

1. Buy a .22. Rifle/pistol/whatever, the ammo is cheap and will let you gain skill inexpensively. Once you gain some skill/experience with a .22, you'll have spent time at ranges, and people will probably be happy to let you try their guns so you can see what fits your hands best before you go and buy it.

2. Practice does not make perfect. PERFECT PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT. There's a story about a police officer's body being found with his carefully collected brass from his revolver in his pocket...the extra few seconds that cost him may have been a life and death difference. (It was determined that on their range qualification shoot days, the officers were dumping the brass into their left hand when emptying the cylinder, then putting the brass in their pocket to save time on cleanup later, then grabbing another 6 shot speed loader to put in the gun. Shooting was in Ottawa, Bayshore Shopping Center, 1982-ish I think.)

3. Repetition is the mother of all skill. Building the correct muscle memory will enable your unconscious mind to function the firearm while your conscious mind focuses more on the 'issue at hand.' If your brain is focused on the object in your hands, rather than the threat around you, well, you've already lost.

I won't recommend a specific firearm as there's been lots of that already. Same with storage systems. I don't know that anyone recommended a tactical light for you though. I carry one almost all the time. My 'home' gun has a good one under the barrel.

There's certainly a lot of other good advise in this thread, but I will make one strong suggestion. Whatever you spend on the gun, also spend on the ammo to practice with it. Buy a $500 gun, buy $500 worth of ammo. Use that ammo up on the range before you buy anything else. Get good with that gun.

All that said, I live in Canada, so I'm not trusted by my government to carry a firearm in defense of myself or others, and when at home, there are safe storage laws that must be followed.

Last thing....who's your lawyer? If you ever need to draw that firearm and use it, make sure you have your lawyer's business card in your wallet, and right after you get off the phone with 911, get on the phone with your lawyer. Speak with your lawyer before you agree to speak with police. It might seem clear-cut to you, but there's always 2 sides to a page, and you don't want yours to be a confused ramble of post-incident stress babbling. Lawyer up.

NS

 

[Bennie]

I don't know that anyone recommended a tactical light for you though. I carry one almost all the time. My 'home' gun has a good one under the barrel.

Last thing....who's your lawyer? If you ever need to draw that firearm and use it, make sure you have your lawyer's business card in your wallet, and right after you get off the phone with 911, get on the phone with your lawyer. Speak with your lawyer before you agree to speak with police. It might seem clear-cut to you, but there's always 2 sides to a page, and you don't want yours to be a confused ramble of post-incident stress babbling. Lawyer up.

Couldn't agree more!!
here is one option - www.usconcealedcarry.com

 

[jawsf16]

I use Texas law shield FWIW.