Advice for First-time Gun Buyers (and suggested models for purchasing)
How to Buy a Gun
The below information does not constitute legal advice and does not cover all weapon types in all states. Local regulations can deviate widely from federal law. Check carefully with your local authorities for conclusive information.
First things first... DO NOT BUY FROM A PRIVATE SELLER. In the majority of states, private gun sales are an honor system, i.e. completely unregulated, which even we as gun enthusiasts think is a little… risky. Buying a gun from a licensed gun dealer, on the other hand, enforces a stringent set of legal proceedings that you, as a first-time gun buyer and responsible citizen, should choose to participate in. In a gun shop’s regulated environment, you should always bring two forms of ID, and you will wait anywhere from five minutes to over an hour while the gun dealer calls a federal background check hotline to verify that you have no felonies or other disbarring attributes. While you wait, you will also fill out a lengthy form that permanently binds the individual firearm's serial number to your name and address. From that day forward, the government knows you bought that exact gun on that exact date, whether the gun is brand new or has had several owners before you. The same process applies for buying from a licensed dealer online; these sellers will only ship to a licensed gun dealer near you, and then you pay a transfer fee to "buy" the gun from the local dealer. Assuming you pass your background check, you can leave the store with your gun right then (some state/local laws enforce waiting periods).
Buying your gun through a brick-and-mortar store is usually more expensive than buying through an unlicensed private seller you found at a gun show or met online, but it is a legal and moral best-practice. Private sellers will not check your criminal record, and you have no way of checking theirs. You have no idea who originally owned the gun you are buying, and the gun could even have been stolen or previously used in a crime. Go through a licensed dealer and let them take care of the paperwork.
Should I Buy In-store or Online?
Whether to buy in-store or online will depend on your desire for convenience over price – both routes will end with your feet inside a gun store, though (except for very rare cases involving old/antique firearms, you cannot buy a gun online and have it shipped to your door). It is vastly more convenient to simply go to a local gun store and pick a gun from their inventory – they will walk you through the process (sometimes somewhat gruffly, but they will do it) and you can rest assured you are doing everything right.
However, gun prices are typically better online, although you should mentally add about $50 to any price you see on the internet - $20 in shipping charges and $30 in transfer fees. The shipping charges are self explanatory, and the transfer fees are charged by the local gun shop where the gun must be shipped.
The hairy part is getting your local gun shop to connect with the online seller – you will often have to make a few phone calls. Your local gun shop will need to send a copy of their Federal Firearms License (FFL) to the online seller, so you’ll usually need to call both parties and arrange for them to get in touch. It’s not a particularly intuitive process, and if there’s a hiccup, it can easily take a week before your order even leaves the warehouse.
All that said, high-volume online gun sellers will usually maintain a database of local gun shops with whom they have pre-existing relationships, so you can sometimes just enter your zip code and pick a local shop during the checkout process. Nonetheless, it is always advisable to at least call the local gun shop – they might have closed down and not notified the online seller, or they might charge outrageous transfer fees.
In summary, you can take the easy road and go buy a gun locally, for a higher price. Or, you can do some legwork and get the gun in a week or two for a bit less money. Generally, you can save about 15% - 20% by buying online. However, if you luck out on a big sale with free shipping, you can sometimes knock 30% or more off the purchase price.
Which Gun Should I Buy?
Important Point: Do NOT Buy a Pistol
Many first-time gun buyers don’t think about anything besides a handgun, but that is exactly the wrong purchase. The temptation is easy to understand: if you bought a big, long rifle or shotgun, where would you store it? How would you carry it to the car without people noticing? Maybe you handled a long gun once at your cousin’s farm, and thought it was too heavy, and smelled like oil.
We hear you, but a long gun is still the right call. Handguns look and feel approachable and manageable: you can sneak it home and take your time unpacking it, holding it, getting used to its feel in your hand. You feel like you can control it, but the odds are very good that you can’t.
Handguns kick, a lot. They’re a fraction of the weight of a long gun, and they have no shoulder stock to brace against your body – for both these reasons and more, they’re much, much less accurate and controllable than a long gun. If you’re looking at handguns, you’re likely thinking about self-protection, but if you ever hear that tinkle of shattering glass in the night, you could be holding the gun while simultaneously herding children or fumbling with your phone, your focus scattered and unstable, and the hands wrapped around your pistol likely sweaty and shaking, in no condition to shoot accurately. What you really need is a sturdy, lightweight long gun that you can hang on to and shoot confidently. Many long guns are not heavy or unwieldy, they’re easy to keep on the target, and just as effective as a handgun, if not more so. However, they’re also not expensive, flashy, or easy to hide on the walk across the parking lot to your car, so few people will recommend them to you. Good thing you’ve got us.
P.S. We recommend that you spend $200 - $400 dollars on your first gun. The majority of our recommended models fall within that range.
Suggested Models for First-Time Gun Purchasing
Suggestion #1 - .22LR Rifle
“.22LR” is a very cheap type of ammunition, and a light, handy rifle that shoots .22LR ammunition is an excellent gun for a first-time owner. .22LR ammunition is only about 1/10th as powerful as military rifle ammunition and is commonly used for marksmanship training, as well as pest control in rural areas – it’s so mild that even restrictive states like California and Maryland exempt guns that shoot it from the majority of their gun laws.
That said, if self-protection is a factor in your first gun purchase, rest assured that these little rifles are quite practical, especially the semi-automatic variants. Commonly dismissed as “wimpy” training ammunition, .22LR actually has about a 60% chance of stopping an adult with a single hit, which is better than most pistols. If there is a situation where you feel you need a gun, these humble rifles are very real weapons that are much more controllable, half the price, and just as effective (if not more so) as a policeman’s Glock.
Rifles of this type are typically simple, durable, and light enough for small-framed adults to hold comfortably. Their recoil (kick) into your shoulder is very mild - about equivalent to a friend tapping your shoulder for your attention. They can often be easily upgraded or customized at home, so if you become more involved in shooting sports, your first rifle can grow with you. Most models are semi-automatic, which means they fire as quickly as you can pull the trigger, and most also feed from detachable magazines. 10 round (10 shots) magazines are standard, but higher capacities are usually available. If those last few features make you uncomfortable, consider our second suggested gun, which fires and reloads much more slowly.
There are many semi-automatic .22LR rifle models on the market, and even more variations within models (such as wood or plastic stocks on the same gun), but here are a few choices to get your search started:
The below information does not constitute legal advice and does not cover all weapon types in all states. Local regulations can deviate widely from federal law. Check carefully with your local authorities for conclusive information.
First things first... DO NOT BUY FROM A PRIVATE SELLER. In the majority of states, private gun sales are an honor system, i.e. completely unregulated, which even we as gun enthusiasts think is a little… risky. Buying a gun from a licensed gun dealer, on the other hand, enforces a stringent set of legal proceedings that you, as a first-time gun buyer and responsible citizen, should choose to participate in. In a gun shop’s regulated environment, you should always bring two forms of ID, and you will wait anywhere from five minutes to over an hour while the gun dealer calls a federal background check hotline to verify that you have no felonies or other disbarring attributes. While you wait, you will also fill out a lengthy form that permanently binds the individual firearm's serial number to your name and address. From that day forward, the government knows you bought that exact gun on that exact date, whether the gun is brand new or has had several owners before you. The same process applies for buying from a licensed dealer online; these sellers will only ship to a licensed gun dealer near you, and then you pay a transfer fee to "buy" the gun from the local dealer. Assuming you pass your background check, you can leave the store with your gun right then (some state/local laws enforce waiting periods).
Buying your gun through a brick-and-mortar store is usually more expensive than buying through an unlicensed private seller you found at a gun show or met online, but it is a legal and moral best-practice. Private sellers will not check your criminal record, and you have no way of checking theirs. You have no idea who originally owned the gun you are buying, and the gun could even have been stolen or previously used in a crime. Go through a licensed dealer and let them take care of the paperwork.
Should I Buy In-store or Online?
Whether to buy in-store or online will depend on your desire for convenience over price – both routes will end with your feet inside a gun store, though (except for very rare cases involving old/antique firearms, you cannot buy a gun online and have it shipped to your door). It is vastly more convenient to simply go to a local gun store and pick a gun from their inventory – they will walk you through the process (sometimes somewhat gruffly, but they will do it) and you can rest assured you are doing everything right.
However, gun prices are typically better online, although you should mentally add about $50 to any price you see on the internet - $20 in shipping charges and $30 in transfer fees. The shipping charges are self explanatory, and the transfer fees are charged by the local gun shop where the gun must be shipped.
The hairy part is getting your local gun shop to connect with the online seller – you will often have to make a few phone calls. Your local gun shop will need to send a copy of their Federal Firearms License (FFL) to the online seller, so you’ll usually need to call both parties and arrange for them to get in touch. It’s not a particularly intuitive process, and if there’s a hiccup, it can easily take a week before your order even leaves the warehouse.
All that said, high-volume online gun sellers will usually maintain a database of local gun shops with whom they have pre-existing relationships, so you can sometimes just enter your zip code and pick a local shop during the checkout process. Nonetheless, it is always advisable to at least call the local gun shop – they might have closed down and not notified the online seller, or they might charge outrageous transfer fees.
In summary, you can take the easy road and go buy a gun locally, for a higher price. Or, you can do some legwork and get the gun in a week or two for a bit less money. Generally, you can save about 15% - 20% by buying online. However, if you luck out on a big sale with free shipping, you can sometimes knock 30% or more off the purchase price.
Which Gun Should I Buy?
Important Point: Do NOT Buy a Pistol
Many first-time gun buyers don’t think about anything besides a handgun, but that is exactly the wrong purchase. The temptation is easy to understand: if you bought a big, long rifle or shotgun, where would you store it? How would you carry it to the car without people noticing? Maybe you handled a long gun once at your cousin’s farm, and thought it was too heavy, and smelled like oil.
We hear you, but a long gun is still the right call. Handguns look and feel approachable and manageable: you can sneak it home and take your time unpacking it, holding it, getting used to its feel in your hand. You feel like you can control it, but the odds are very good that you can’t.
Handguns kick, a lot. They’re a fraction of the weight of a long gun, and they have no shoulder stock to brace against your body – for both these reasons and more, they’re much, much less accurate and controllable than a long gun. If you’re looking at handguns, you’re likely thinking about self-protection, but if you ever hear that tinkle of shattering glass in the night, you could be holding the gun while simultaneously herding children or fumbling with your phone, your focus scattered and unstable, and the hands wrapped around your pistol likely sweaty and shaking, in no condition to shoot accurately. What you really need is a sturdy, lightweight long gun that you can hang on to and shoot confidently. Many long guns are not heavy or unwieldy, they’re easy to keep on the target, and just as effective as a handgun, if not more so. However, they’re also not expensive, flashy, or easy to hide on the walk across the parking lot to your car, so few people will recommend them to you. Good thing you’ve got us.
P.S. We recommend that you spend $200 - $400 dollars on your first gun. The majority of our recommended models fall within that range.
Suggested Models for First-Time Gun Purchasing
Suggestion #1 - .22LR Rifle
“.22LR” is a very cheap type of ammunition, and a light, handy rifle that shoots .22LR ammunition is an excellent gun for a first-time owner. .22LR ammunition is only about 1/10th as powerful as military rifle ammunition and is commonly used for marksmanship training, as well as pest control in rural areas – it’s so mild that even restrictive states like California and Maryland exempt guns that shoot it from the majority of their gun laws.
That said, if self-protection is a factor in your first gun purchase, rest assured that these little rifles are quite practical, especially the semi-automatic variants. Commonly dismissed as “wimpy” training ammunition, .22LR actually has about a 60% chance of stopping an adult with a single hit, which is better than most pistols. If there is a situation where you feel you need a gun, these humble rifles are very real weapons that are much more controllable, half the price, and just as effective (if not more so) as a policeman’s Glock.
Rifles of this type are typically simple, durable, and light enough for small-framed adults to hold comfortably. Their recoil (kick) into your shoulder is very mild - about equivalent to a friend tapping your shoulder for your attention. They can often be easily upgraded or customized at home, so if you become more involved in shooting sports, your first rifle can grow with you. Most models are semi-automatic, which means they fire as quickly as you can pull the trigger, and most also feed from detachable magazines. 10 round (10 shots) magazines are standard, but higher capacities are usually available. If those last few features make you uncomfortable, consider our second suggested gun, which fires and reloads much more slowly.
There are many semi-automatic .22LR rifle models on the market, and even more variations within models (such as wood or plastic stocks on the same gun), but here are a few choices to get your search started:
Note: Prices shown are estimates for in-store purchase.
Note: Most models are available in a range of paint colors, wood stains, grip styles, barrel lengths, magazine capacities, etc.
Note: Most models are available in a range of paint colors, wood stains, grip styles, barrel lengths, magazine capacities, etc.
Suggestion #2 - 12-gauge or 20-Gauge Shotgun
The shotgun is the most versatile firearm in existence. It's the only gun that can ride in a police cruiser one day, compete in a trap-shooting competition the next, and hunt deer or birds for the rest of the week. If we could only keep one gun, we would keep a shotgun, and we would be happy. Shotguns fire a cluster of small pellets rather than a single bullet, and can also fire a single very large pellet called a slug, so they can act much like a normal rifle if they need to (although the slug has less range and accuracy than a rifle bullet). The ability to fire both pellets and slugs, as well as non-lethal ammunition like rubber balls and utility ammunition like signal flares, is what makes shotguns so versatile.
“12-gauge” and “20-gauge” refer to type of ammunition the shotgun fires. 12 gauge is the most common gauge, used by duck hunters and soldiers alike, but the recoil can be excessive versus the smaller 20-gauge. If you’re a good-sized person and don’t plan on sharing the gun, get a 12-gauge shotgun. If you’re on the smaller side, or want to be able to hand the gun to someone who is, opt for a 20-gauge shotgun, which is a lighter candidate that still packs the necessary punch for all that a shotgun could be asked to do.
However, shotguns are known for their extremely stout recoil, even when firing 20-gauge ammunition. Add in a shotgun's heavier overall weight and longer length, and a small-framed shooter who can handily wield the little .22LR rifle discussed above may find a shotgun much less pleasant.
Cheap but reliable shotguns are almost always pump-action and tube-fed, meaning a grip at the front must be pumped backwards and forwards between shots, and the gun must be reloaded one cartridge at a time. This means the gun fires and reloads relatively slowly, and also that total magazine capacity is usually 4-6 rounds – a combo that has resulted in restrictive states like California and Maryland exempting these guns from the majority of their gun laws.
Despite these design traits, pump-action shotguns offer excellent firepower and are widely used and respected in law enforcement communities. Semi-automatic shotguns are also commonly available, but are not recommended for first-time buyers – their controls can be complex and their reliability can be spotty, especially at entry-level price points.
There are many pump-action, tube-fed shotgun models on the market, and even more variations within models (such as wood or plastic stocks on the same gun), but here are a few choices to get your search started:
The shotgun is the most versatile firearm in existence. It's the only gun that can ride in a police cruiser one day, compete in a trap-shooting competition the next, and hunt deer or birds for the rest of the week. If we could only keep one gun, we would keep a shotgun, and we would be happy. Shotguns fire a cluster of small pellets rather than a single bullet, and can also fire a single very large pellet called a slug, so they can act much like a normal rifle if they need to (although the slug has less range and accuracy than a rifle bullet). The ability to fire both pellets and slugs, as well as non-lethal ammunition like rubber balls and utility ammunition like signal flares, is what makes shotguns so versatile.
“12-gauge” and “20-gauge” refer to type of ammunition the shotgun fires. 12 gauge is the most common gauge, used by duck hunters and soldiers alike, but the recoil can be excessive versus the smaller 20-gauge. If you’re a good-sized person and don’t plan on sharing the gun, get a 12-gauge shotgun. If you’re on the smaller side, or want to be able to hand the gun to someone who is, opt for a 20-gauge shotgun, which is a lighter candidate that still packs the necessary punch for all that a shotgun could be asked to do.
However, shotguns are known for their extremely stout recoil, even when firing 20-gauge ammunition. Add in a shotgun's heavier overall weight and longer length, and a small-framed shooter who can handily wield the little .22LR rifle discussed above may find a shotgun much less pleasant.
Cheap but reliable shotguns are almost always pump-action and tube-fed, meaning a grip at the front must be pumped backwards and forwards between shots, and the gun must be reloaded one cartridge at a time. This means the gun fires and reloads relatively slowly, and also that total magazine capacity is usually 4-6 rounds – a combo that has resulted in restrictive states like California and Maryland exempting these guns from the majority of their gun laws.
Despite these design traits, pump-action shotguns offer excellent firepower and are widely used and respected in law enforcement communities. Semi-automatic shotguns are also commonly available, but are not recommended for first-time buyers – their controls can be complex and their reliability can be spotty, especially at entry-level price points.
There are many pump-action, tube-fed shotgun models on the market, and even more variations within models (such as wood or plastic stocks on the same gun), but here are a few choices to get your search started:
Note: Prices shown are estimates for in-store purchase.
Note: Most models are available in a range of paint colors, wood stains, grip styles, barrel lengths, magazine capacities, etc.
Note: Most models are available in a range of paint colors, wood stains, grip styles, barrel lengths, magazine capacities, etc.
That’s about all we have to say about buying a gun for the first time. Head on over to the Contact Us page and let us know if you need any more help - we're always happy to lend a hand. Buying a gun is not a decision to take lightly - if you're a little nervous and a little cautious, you're off to a good start.