I'm also watching this thread since my wife and I have been looking into a pistol or two. We went to a gun show last weekend and signed up for a 6.5 hour NRA basic pistol class (coming up yet). Looking forward to that. They said we'll be using pistols in the class that use .22LR ammo.

Someone define double action/single action for me.

Wiki does it better than I ever could.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trigger_%28firearms%29

Personally, I think everyone needs to cover the basics, then start moving on to specialized stuff.

Starting out, you really only need 4 guns to cover basically all your needs.

1, a .22 rifle. Most of them are very simple, very durable and extremely well proven. Ruger just came out with a takedown model of the 10/22, which is pretty enticing (to me)
2, a shotgun. 20 or 12 gauge will serve you very well here. Lots of options in the under $300 range. For home defense, I recommend a pump. Mossberg sells many model 500's with 2 barrels, one for home and one for field. That's a nice option.
3, a rifle. Usually a bolt action, pretty much anything will work. Savage makes some good quality rifles in just about any caliber you'd want for not a lot of $$$
4, a handgun. I can't recommend Glock highly enough for a first handgun. Dead simple, dead reliable. Just remember, a handgun is a tool to help you get to the real firepower... It's not magic.

Once you have the 4 bases covered, start looking at the neat, shiny toys.

Those are my thoughts on this. Carry on. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I think I have my basics covered. My next pick-up should be a Rossi/Brazos lever action stainless in .357 (~$500), which will also shoot .38 special. That'll lead me to a used Taurus Model 82 in .38 spl, as they are so cheap (<$150) at the "local" gun store. That'd be my first "wheel gun."

That'll also be my next foray into another caliber. Currently I only have to stock 3. I'd consider that as well, as there's something to be said for ammo that can stretch to fill more than one need, or magazine/chamber.

John B.

A couple of thoughts FWIW:

Guns are much more purpose-built than a novice recognizes. While all will kill, there are trade-offs. Some kill more efficiently at a defined distance and some are better at keeping the shooter out of trouble.

For pure home defense, a shotgun is a good choice, but only with a few caveats:
1) It should be a 12ga. Lesser rounds will kill, but not as efficiently. A 12ga also has more stopping power.
2) A pump gun is usually the best choice. Autos are ok, but most hold only 3 rounds and a novice often fires behind a moving target. If you aren't a good and calm shooter, you don't want to run out of rounds.
3) Choose one that has at least a 5 round magazine. Many hunting shotguns only hold 3. Some of the older Ithaca Model 37 riot guns hold as many as 7 in the magazine and 1 in the chamber for a total capacity of 8.... this is the one I'd choose, but any I chose would be in an older configuration that allows "slam-fire" - the type that allows the gun to fire subsequent rounds (after the first) by holding the trigger and shucking the slide..... with the trigger held, every time a shell is loaded, the weapon fires.... a devasting amount of firepower when 8 rounds are available to a good shooter.
4) If it's not already done, cut the barrel to the shortest length allowed (usually 20"). A longer barrel in close quarters can be trouble. The longer barrel takes more time to get on target, can get hung up moving through doorways or on furniture - and worst of all, in very close proximity to an attacker, is fairly easy to side-step and then provides a handle for the attacker to grab and take the weapon from you.

As Curtis said, for rifles at medium range, you want semi-auto or slam-fire - and a lot of magazine capacity. Bad guys can cover a lot of ground in a hurry. Leave the bolt-action rifles for hunting only..... they're great for sniper use, but you should never have that requirement in a home environment. I can't imagine a scenario where I'd need a semi-auto rifle to defend my home, but I suppose anything's possible.

For pistols, semi-autos are good for putting out a lot of rounds in a hurry, but not if a shooter can't find the safety or forgets to flip it off. It takes a lot of practice for some semi-autos to become second nature, so give consideration to the safety simplicity and intuitiveness. A revolver doesn't hold as many rounds, but it's fairly idiot-proof in fast, reactive use - and if 6 rounds won't do the job, you're in trouble no matter what you're shooting. For the same above reason of stopping power, I like my .45ACP 1911, but I would not hesitate to use a .38 revolver. My 5-shot .38 S&W Chief's Special snub-nose is a favorite and although it's a bit small for my hands, it's easy to carry and quick to bring on target. Many deride a 9mm, but in semi-auto, they're very useful.

Whatever you choose, take a firearms course and get a lot of range practice. The time of need is not when a fellow should learn the basics of shooting.

Frank

slam fire = winchester model 12.

My father used to amaze me hitting doubles on doves using slam fire. You gotta be quick on the grey ghosts.

Many of the shotguns with 3-round capacity do have a plug to limit capacity. Removing the plug will allow 2 extra rounds.

The 3 rounds is imposed due to hunting rules for migratory waterfowl.

An 18" shotgun barrel is legal, at least where I live.

My S&W 3000 pump 12 ga., made by Howa of Japan, and the only S&W shotgun worth owning, IMHO, handles 2" OO buck shells, made by Centurion, just fine. I can cram a couple extra in my gun with those. And they still pack a heck of a whallop.

John B.

I was watching Swamp People on TV the other night and one of the hunters was using a .22 mag to kill alligators. I was impressed.

John B.

There have been some good suggestions so far. I'll throw out another idea. Consider starting with a .22LR rifle. Perhaps a Ruger 10/22. It's easy to use, it's not expensive, ammunition is very cheep and there's almost no recoil. I've found that the ladies I've taught to shoot are far less afraid of my .22 rifle than my .45 1911. If your wife is at all reluctant about firearms this may be a way to ease her into it.

Talking about using a firearm for home defense, where are you going to keep it so it is ready to use when you need it? If you have kids or there will ever kids in your house you need to keep it locked up. You can get a small push button lock box to hold a handgun that you can open in 5 seconds and keep it in the night stand. It's harder to keep a shotgun locked up and still have easy access to it.

If you haven't been there already checkout
www.calguns.net
Lots of good information there about shooting and the utterly ridiculous California laws.

If you're like the rest of us you'll start out with a couple of firearms. You'll have so much fun you'll want something different, so you'll buy another one or two or three. Then you'll need a safe to put them all in. Then a few years later you'll discover your latest purchases don't fit in the safe because it's full. Then you'll need a bigger safe. When you realize how much room it has you'll need to buy ... and it just continues.:D