I've seen a ton of recent posts about people looking at purchasing their first firearm.

As someone whose been licensed by (unfortunately) the nra to teach basic pistol and create my own ccl courses, I figured id make a general info thread to answer questions.

Some additional information about me: I'm in my mid 20s, been shooting since I was 10, am pretty far left, and regularly train POC and LGBT+ individuals on how to use firearms.

Also, if this thread is not allowed, please feel free to lock/delete it mods.

Shoot me

What I do when I get caught up with a stolen firearm?

Home defense

Not gonna give legal advice

Don't really care for open carry or concealed

Open carry kind of a meme. Only positive is it allows you to carry a loaded handgun in your vehicle.

best first pistol to buy that's not a stupid amount of money?

I scared of big bad weapons 🥺

Depends on your purpose. For general defense, a double stack polymer 9mm is kinda the gold standard. This includes the Glock 17/19, s&w m&p 2.0(/c), cz po7, or even a canik (they have a million models so imma call it at that).

Generally, these retail from 350 (canik) to 600 (upper end glocks)

Carrying though is a much different conversation. If youre planning on conceal carrying, a single stack 380, 9mm, or even like a 45 can be effective. The reason you want a single stack is because thicker guns are usually more uncomfortable to have with you, and are heavier because of pure capacity. Single stacks typically hold 7, while doubles hold 15. For this catagory, id reccomend the lcp 2 (not the 1, its f***in terrible), the m&p shield 2.0, sig p365, or the glock 43x. These range from 250 (lcp 2) - 500 (sig/glock)

For general target practice, id reccomend a 22, usually a mark 4 by rugar. Cheap and fun to shoot, and better then nothing for home defense. Usually these go for 300-400

Thank you bro i been looking at the s&w m&p2 2.0 so imma get that based off what you wrote

I wanna get a Remington shotgun. Loads of fun to shoot.

I have one. Id reccomend breaking in the trigger by squeezing it (while unloaded ofc) a couple hundred times before the range visit. It can be a bit squishy at first, but quickly becomes a great polymer handgun trigger

Remingtons are no bueno due to serious quality control issues and massive overpayment for brand names. Mossbergs are much better in both regards

I'm going to acquire a walther Q4 Tac

Going to run dry drills in home to improve my handling skills.

Getting an AR to because they're readily available.

I have a Sig P226

Walters are expensive, but buy once cry once. Id reccomend a laser insert to practice dry runs. Usually are about 20$.

Ars are great guns. Mines ran about 2k rounds with no a single malfunction

Poggers gun. Overpriced but sigs are good

Yeah, luckily got it barely used for the low

Bought me a Ruger EC9 and never looked back

Great affordable option for a gun.

What would you recommend for somebody’s first handgun?

Posted on the first page

Had one, but got rid of it when I let my license expire.