My Gun

Many people watch TV and therefore think that everyone who owns a gun is a shoot 'em up nut like the people they see there. Not true.

I know people from six years old to ninety-six years old who love shooting. Some are doctors, some are lawyers, some teachers, construction workers, housewives; you get the picture. And some of them hunt, some target shoot, some just collect firearms and others like competitive shooting, some enjoy perfecting self defense, with the firearm being a part of their study. All of this leads me to an introduction on how to pick your gun.

First of all forget the word magnum. One of the biggest mistakes that a new owner of a gun can make is to get a gun that is scary and which has recoil that makes it uncomfortable to shoot. A big gun is heavy, makes a lot of noise and jumps on shooting. So ladies forget what your boyfriends and husbands say. Gentlemen forget what you've seen in the movies, go to a shop and look the guns over. Handle them. Ask the salesperson to advise you and if possible shoot a few guns you like. Go to a local gun club and tell the range officer you are looking for you first gun. I don't know of any of these people who wouldn't be more than happy to help you. Now what about one of your first questions to answer. Revolver or semi-automatic.

For most people a revolver is a good choice. Every time you pull the trigger it shoots and the cylinder moves to the next round and its ready to shoot again. It has few moving parts and is very simple to shoot, clean and carry. A 38 special is pleasant to shoot and will stop any intruder or bad person you will encounter.

Automatics on the other hand require the shooter to load a magazine with shells, put the magazine full of shells into the gun, pull back the slide to put a round in the position to shoot, in the chamber, and then it will fire every time you pull the trigger. The advantage is more shots. In some calibers up to 17. But the disadvantages are the slide can be hard for some people to operate, sometimes autos jam and they may cost more. Again which gun fits you best is the question and only you can make that decision.

So now you have some things to think about and to explore. Next we will talk about safety and concealment