Like from the moment you step in a gun store. Definitely gonna arm myself just don’t know how to do it
First: if you have never fired a gun, find a friend who has one and ask them to take you to a range. If none of your friends have one, find a local range that offers rentals, call and ask them if they'd help out a couple first timers; bring a friend.
Confident person's first time gun buying guide: Gun stores want to sell guns. Gun nuts want more people to have guns. They may look at you like you have two heads for wearing a mask into the store, but they're probably pretty happy to help. Walk in, ogle guns; when someone notes your presence and asks if they can help: "Yeah, it's starting to feel like I should probably own a gun. Help me figure out what I should by". If they immediately try to charge you $300 for either a hi-point or a heritage rough rider revolver, leave and find another store. If they asks why you want one, be fairly honest, "self defense, my neighborhood's getting sketchy"; "target shooting, I guess, and just to have one"; if you want to get a chud gun store owner all hot and bothered and hear their worst takes "a free man needs to reason to exercise his rights". But seriously they're generally pretty thrilled to see someone becoming a new gun owner.
General brick-and-mortar store gun buying guide for the totally socially anxious: Open door. Walk in. Ogle guns. Engage in specific gun choosing behavior (specified below). Say "I love it, how much?" Listen, frown. Say "Cash discount?" If so, hand over dollars. If not, hand over credit card (assuming you've comparison shopped a bit and the price is within $100 of what you're seeing online). You'll have to fill out some paperwork, or provide proof of training or even get a license first depending on the state (only really blue states generally). If it's a license state, do that before you go to the store. In some states, you'll leave with the gun. In others, they'll hold the gun for you for a period required by law, then you'll come back in and get it.
Specific gun choosing behavior: Semiautomatic Handguns - Glock 19 is the general recommendation: Say "can I see that Glock?" about the Glock (any Glock, there will be a Glock). Ask if you can dry fire it. Rack slide a few times, looking in chamber to make sure it's empty (it damn well better be). Aim at floor away from people, pull trigger. If you like the way that trigger feels, like if it feels the way you want a gun trigger to feel, buy a Glock 19. Glock identification markings. If you are currently holding the 19, proceed with purchase instructions. If not, ask "do you have a 19? I keep hearing that everyone should own a Glock 19." If not, any double stack 9mm Glock will do.
Rifles - scary black gun AR-15:
Gesture at ARs on the wall, ask what manufacturers they have available. Names that will hurt your wallet, but be awesome: Colt, Wilson combat, LWRC, Daniel defense; names to avoid: bear Creek/bca. Cheap and good enough: Anderson, PSA, Aero. Any others, "I haven't heard of X, they good to go?" If so, point at one you like and ask to hold it (things to learn about in advance and care about at this point are mostly caliber (5.56/.223/.223 Wylde are the way to go), free-floating-handguard, A2 sights vs low profile gas block, barrel length and profile, other things you can change cheaply without any real tools). Pop the stock all the way out and all the way in find the most comfortable length on your shoulder. Ask if you can dry fire it. If so, grab the charging handle (learn what this is), pull back, look in open chamber to verify no ammo, let go of charging handle. It'll snap forward. Flip the safety to vertical (unsafe). Aim away from people, at floor somewhere, pull trigger. Proceed with purchase instructions.Rimfire rifle - Ruger 10/22: Point at 10/22 in the wall rack. Ask if that's a 10/22. If yes, say "Perfect! Glad you had one in stock. I'll take it. Do you have any bricks of 22?" Buy ammo and gun. Leave with ammo and gun. Be happy you made an excellent decision.
If you have questions about anything specific, feel free to DM me. We can talk prices or preferences or anything. Love guns.
You could also try contacting Pink Pistols or Socialist Rifle Association to see if they could hook you up with some range time.
In states that don’t have laws beyond federal, the process is walking in, picking a firearm, giving some personal, identifying information for a NICS background check which usually takes a few minutes at most, and then paying for your weapon and going home.
If you have any drug convictions, they’ll have to call. If you admit to being on any medication for mental illness, they’ll have to call. I don’t know what happens after that.
If you have no major criminal record and do not admit to using drugs, it’s an incredibly simple process.
If you order online, the firearm will be shipped to someone called an FFL who will run the background check when you go to pick it up. They will usually charge you 20-50 dollars for the process. Sometimes it’s an retired guy with a bunch of army memorabilia or maybe it’s a Q cultist in the back of a barber shop. You can also just choose a gun shop, but I’ve found that in my area they take a much longer time to process orders and cost more.
This very much depends on the state in which you're doing it. One of the earliest effortposts on this site is a breakdown of gun info and links by state.
Gun store? That’s old school, sonny. But if you must, then it’s easy. I’m gonna assume you don’t live in California or New York.
Optional: try to rent a couple guns to shoot first to see which ones fit you in general. I say in general because all guns will be different, even those of the same model. Just make sure it fits your hand.
I HIGHLY suggest you buy the following before purchasing a gun.
- Safe
- Transport bag for range. Soft is best unless you’re traveling via plane
- Ammo can for ammo
- Desiccant to soak up moisture
- Lead wipes so don’t get lead poisoning
- Ear pro and eye pro. You’ll want electronic/regular muffs PLUS earplugs
- Cleaning kit
Store guide:
- Go to gun store
- Ask clerk for gun you want
- Make sure you have your ID and cash/credit
- Fill out background check form
- Wait. Usually instantly to 20 minutes, depending on how fast the person working is
- Receive gun. Inspect it to make sure you have all the parts and accessories and all the functions work
- Pay for gun
But you can find good deals online. And if you can find a good FFL that does cheap transfers then the total may be less than what’s offered in store. Check out r/gundeals
- Find gun you want online
- Find local FFL with decent FFL fee
- Purchase gun like you would purchase any other product
- There will be a box to fill out the address of the FFL dealer
- Triple check to make sure all the info is correct. Most places will not accept returns or refund you if you make a mistake
- Send the gun to FFL. Sometimes the online store will ask you to contact FFL to confirm. Most times they have it on file
- Optional: contact FFL to let them know you purchased. Basic courtesy and so they know what’s in the mail
- Wait for a few days
- When you get a call from the FFL you can go pick it up or make an appointment
- Inspect gun to make sure all accessories are there and functions work
- Pay for transfer fee and background check
You will need to purchase ammo next. This can typically be shipped directly to your house. Check r/gundeals and r/instockammo as well as ammoseek.com. FMJ for practice - any will do, but some places won’t allow steel or aluminum; what I did was purchase a bunch of different brands to test out the gun and bought the cheapest in bulk. JHP for defense - American eagle, federal, and Speer are usually the best.
Make sure you’re consistent with training. A person with a gun is dangerous. A person with a gun who doesn’t know how to use it is a threat to everyone including yourself.
And don’t be that guy who buys a bunch of ideological patches to decorate your range bag. The country is already dangerous. There’s no reason to put yourself further in danger.
As for what to get, there are a lot of sales for M&P 2.0 pistols. They have a great reputation although underrated. They go for under $350 these days which is a pretty banger of a deal for a good pistol. If you missed a sale then don’t worry you can use ammoseek to find others or wait a little bit more. Some places don’t have taxes or shipping so you’ll pay exactly the price while others are more a pain in the ass and you might end up paying like $30+ in shipping and taxes.
This is probably a lawyer question, because if you get it wrong you could catch a felony weapons charge.
I'm in CA, so people in other states probably have different experiences:
First thing is when you walk in the store you will probably see bad right wing memes posted on the walls. Generally really lame "let's go Brandon"-tier stuff, and possibly an attack helicopter joke. Just stick to the topic at hand, the people who work at the store probably know a lot about firearms but you don't want to get caught in a conversation about anything else.
Once you've picked your gun and checked to see that it's in good condition, you'll have to fill out some forms and do a background check, then wait for ten days to pick it up. You'll need two proofs of your address for the check, I've used my car registration and my renter's agreement. Don't lie during the process, that's a huge red flag for the seller - you can always go get some missing documentation and come back, no pressure. CA also requires that ammo purchases be subjected to the same wait period as guns, so if you want some buy it along with the gun so you can pick them up together.
If you're ordering a gun online you'll put your local gun shop in the shipping address field of the order form. You will probably need to get in contact with the store owner via email to get them to send a copy of their FFL to the online seller - call and ask the store how they prefer to do this. When your package arrives they should show it to you when you come to pick it up, but this is actually the start of the ten day wait and the background check, so expect to have to go to the store in person a couple times even for an online purchase.
Another thing if you're ordering a gun online from CA - MAKE SURE IT'S ON THE APPROVED GUNS LIST! I've seen people drop a grand or more for really nice pistols only to be told at the gun shop that they have to send it back, and there's no guarantee you'll get your money back if this happens. I don't know if any other state has something similar but I'll say as a catch-all that you should be very familiar with your state's gun laws before you spend any money.
Anyway once you've waited the ten days you go in and pick up your thing. Make sure you're ready to transport it legally - CA requires it to either be in a locked case or your trunk, other states maybe something similar.
can't you just drive to Arizona and Utah and buy a CA safe gun, and then drive back?
By law, if you want to transport an out of state gun to CA, you have to send it to an FFL by mail. There's an exception if you're licensed in another state, but you won't be that unless you're a resident of that state and actually moving to or visiting CA. There's also an exemption if you inherit or are given the gun by a direct family member, but I think that only applies if you both are CA residents.
I've also been told that gun shows and stores in neighboring states will deny you a sale if they see that you have CA plates or DL.
Im under the impression that transporting across state lines is a nono. You would need to purchase the gun and have it sent to a licensed gun shop in Ca to do the same wait period.
You forgot to mention they need an FSC in CA before they even start the gun buying process.
Ah you're right, but that process is so easy that it's pretty forgettable.
shoot guns with a friend with a gun first. find the one you like. im a tiny bitch and it seems like ar15s are made for tiny bitches so i liked that one the most. but people that arent tiny bitches sometimes like big bitch guns
czech culture has a lot of weird gun stuff like america dont own one myself just shot a lot when i was younger :shrug-outta-hecks: also shot some recently with one of the rednecks nearby that is weirdly trans supportive despite his other brainworms. he had a fuckton so if you want a small bitch's opinion on her faves ask away
Shot guns all my life, just never owned one nor cared to get into it until now.
My friends have the big bitch guns and while they’re fun to shoot, they talk about high prices and always having to clean it and shit like that
yeah i personally hated shotguns and anything big. the vibrations hurt my tits lmfao. i had good form im just tiny. scoped rifles were pretty fun but only when youre set up at a table
ar15s are made for tiny bitches
The light weight and low recoil relative to the guns they were replacing was one of the big advantages of the AR/M16 platform.
cheap too. he said he got it when it was like 200-300 bucks a decade or so back
There are so many shops that make them now, partially bc of government contracts, that economy of scale is in full effect and they're one of cheapest semi-automatic rifles.
In my experience, it was surprisingly easy. It's ok to be a little nervous, better than being cavalier about gun safety (dont point any gun at anyone ever). Some stores are more professional and some run by rude old grumps, maybe check google reviews. Workers are kinda swamped and busy at the moment, but you should find someone who can help you with questions and figure out the gun for the purpose you want. You can ask to hold and dryfire as many guns as you like.
I think good starter guns would be a Glock 19 or an AR-15. If you go with a pistol, I recommend one that you can mount a red dot sight. I think it makes a big difference. If you have a hard time manipulating the slide on a pistol, there is the Smith and Wesson Shield EZ. But yeah, try out a bunch and ask questions.
Also, you may be able to find a gun range that will rent guns for you to try out, but they usually want a working gun brought with your party, so they know one isn't there to just commit suicide.
Also might be good to start with a 22 caliber and work your way up.
Lots of good advice here, I don't know what your financial situation is like but I was gonna recommend checking out the hi-point 995ts carbine. You can get them for like 200 dollars and they're dead on reliable and accurate, take 9mm ammo, and are just really easy to handle, low recoil. Also very easy to clean and maintain
