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So you've found this forum and you have realized things really aren't going all that well in this country and that we are in bad times and have decided to get "prepped". Part of that prepping is acquiring the tools of hunting and self defense and learning how to use them.
Let me start off by saying this 1st: The prepper community is the most diverse group of people I have ever seen. I have been to several meet ups over the years and run into individual preppers from many walks of life. I have been in this movement since the hurricanes of 04 and have seen just how quickly things can from normal to not normal. I have met people who were into organic farming, nurses on the front lines in ERs, "Gun Nutz", Christians, Wiccans, etc.
I started out coming into this as a "Gun Nut". I've collected and owned a variety of firearms over the years, some 100+ years old to modern "***ault rifles". All those years I ***umed the Survivalist/Prepper community was full of fellow Gun Nutz. I couldn't have been more wrong.
So i have written this post for the beginning prepper who realizes he/she might want to pick up a firearm or 2 for self protection.
The 1st thing to understand before you step into the testosterone filled world of firearms is this: All firearms are not created equal. Some are of better quality than others. Example: Smith and Wesson Sigma series pistols and their M&P guns have similar looks and features but there is a reason why the M&Ps cost more. Research is VERY important.
The second thing to understand is you are unique. You are a unique individual living in a unique environment. The perfect gun for one person and usage might not be the best choice for you.
For instance I live in a hot southern state that gets pelted with hurricanes yearly. I am male and I have large hands. The XD sub compact is hard for me to grasp. However a friend of mine is an average sized female. All of her fingers wrap around the pistols grip with no problem. My pinky gets left out in the cold in that case. However someone living in say Wyoming mite want to pick a large bore revolver for defense against animal attacks. Living in an urban area I have little fear of rampaging Grizzlys, my concern is criminals and gang members.
So you've decided to pick something up what do you do? First research your local and state laws to find out whats legal in your area. You might live in someplace like New Jersey where 15 round magazines are the limit and hollow point ammo is banned. Maybe you live in a city where so called ***ault rifles are banned but they aren't banned statewide. The NRA has website you can use to check your local state laws: http://www.nraila.org/gunlaws/ They even have information for Canadian gun owners as well.
After you have educated yourself its time to evaluate what your self defense needs are. Self dense in an Urban area? Self defense in a rural desert environment? Whats the threat? The threat is it animal or man?
These are questions that can only be answered by you. Now on to gun shops.
Gun shops. Gun shops are like a box of chocolates you never know what to expect from one. Some cater to the hunting crowd with walls of wood stocked rifles and shotguns. Some cater to people looking for pistols with cases upon cases of handguns in a dozen or makes and models. After years of gun shopping and making the rounds of gun stores while on the hunt for something I can offer some good advise. Plan a day to go shopping. Make it a week day like a monday or a wednesday. Don't go on the weekend. Gun store usually have shorter hours on Saturdays and they are alot more busy on that day. You don't want to be another face in a sea of customers. Bring a notebook and write things down. Prices, makes, models, salesmans name etc. Look at the store and the sales people. Is the store clean? is it organized? does the clerk seem competent and personable? I have found gun stores are their own worst enemy sometimes. Stores that are dis organized or have sloppy ignorant arrogant standoffish clerks should be avoided even if they have slightly lower price than the store thats cleaner and has clearly better clerks.
Example: There is a local store here who shall not be named. I purchased two rifles direct from a distributor (something i never do and frankly wouldn't do except they were about 40% at the time and i couldn't p*** it up). I wanted the rifles sent to a store clear across the county is that clean, neat, staffed with intelligent workers who deal in this type of rifle all the time. Instead they were mistakenly sent to a store across the street from me. I don't shop at that store. One they are grossly over priced in the market. Other stores within a 1-5 miles are less for the same items. Two the staff isn't knowledgeable. While looking for a particular shotgun they sent me on a wild goose chase to a store accross town they claimed had one. The day I picked up the rifles they claimed to be able to sell them for $100 cheaper each than what I paid. They showed me what they were selling. I opened up one of the boxes containing my rifle and showed them what I had ordered. The response was "Oh" when they realized I bought something worth twice what they were selling. A good gun shop is busy and moves products quickly. The clerk won't have motivation to sell you some gun thats been sitting on his shelf for 2 years because he won't have any inventory like that.
Ok now you've found a good store maybe they are a little more maybe they are even less than the other stores. Great. Now its time to build a relationship. Buying guns and ammo isn't like buying a nintendo at walmart. Alot of guys think that and shop that way and it winds up biting them in the ***. Once you have found a good store patronize it. Even if all you need is a box of ammo skip walmart and grab it from your local store. You might spend a few extra dollars doing so but the more your come in the and the more familiar you are to them. You'll get better deals in the future and will save more money on bigger purchases in the future. When you need something special from them they will be much more helpful and will bend over backwards when you need them too.
Let me start off by saying this 1st: The prepper community is the most diverse group of people I have ever seen. I have been to several meet ups over the years and run into individual preppers from many walks of life. I have been in this movement since the hurricanes of 04 and have seen just how quickly things can from normal to not normal. I have met people who were into organic farming, nurses on the front lines in ERs, "Gun Nutz", Christians, Wiccans, etc.
I started out coming into this as a "Gun Nut". I've collected and owned a variety of firearms over the years, some 100+ years old to modern "***ault rifles". All those years I ***umed the Survivalist/Prepper community was full of fellow Gun Nutz. I couldn't have been more wrong.
So i have written this post for the beginning prepper who realizes he/she might want to pick up a firearm or 2 for self protection.
The 1st thing to understand before you step into the testosterone filled world of firearms is this: All firearms are not created equal. Some are of better quality than others. Example: Smith and Wesson Sigma series pistols and their M&P guns have similar looks and features but there is a reason why the M&Ps cost more. Research is VERY important.
The second thing to understand is you are unique. You are a unique individual living in a unique environment. The perfect gun for one person and usage might not be the best choice for you.
For instance I live in a hot southern state that gets pelted with hurricanes yearly. I am male and I have large hands. The XD sub compact is hard for me to grasp. However a friend of mine is an average sized female. All of her fingers wrap around the pistols grip with no problem. My pinky gets left out in the cold in that case. However someone living in say Wyoming mite want to pick a large bore revolver for defense against animal attacks. Living in an urban area I have little fear of rampaging Grizzlys, my concern is criminals and gang members.
So you've decided to pick something up what do you do? First research your local and state laws to find out whats legal in your area. You might live in someplace like New Jersey where 15 round magazines are the limit and hollow point ammo is banned. Maybe you live in a city where so called ***ault rifles are banned but they aren't banned statewide. The NRA has website you can use to check your local state laws: http://www.nraila.org/gunlaws/ They even have information for Canadian gun owners as well.
After you have educated yourself its time to evaluate what your self defense needs are. Self dense in an Urban area? Self defense in a rural desert environment? Whats the threat? The threat is it animal or man?
These are questions that can only be answered by you. Now on to gun shops.
Gun shops. Gun shops are like a box of chocolates you never know what to expect from one. Some cater to the hunting crowd with walls of wood stocked rifles and shotguns. Some cater to people looking for pistols with cases upon cases of handguns in a dozen or makes and models. After years of gun shopping and making the rounds of gun stores while on the hunt for something I can offer some good advise. Plan a day to go shopping. Make it a week day like a monday or a wednesday. Don't go on the weekend. Gun store usually have shorter hours on Saturdays and they are alot more busy on that day. You don't want to be another face in a sea of customers. Bring a notebook and write things down. Prices, makes, models, salesmans name etc. Look at the store and the sales people. Is the store clean? is it organized? does the clerk seem competent and personable? I have found gun stores are their own worst enemy sometimes. Stores that are dis organized or have sloppy ignorant arrogant standoffish clerks should be avoided even if they have slightly lower price than the store thats cleaner and has clearly better clerks.
Example: There is a local store here who shall not be named. I purchased two rifles direct from a distributor (something i never do and frankly wouldn't do except they were about 40% at the time and i couldn't p*** it up). I wanted the rifles sent to a store clear across the county is that clean, neat, staffed with intelligent workers who deal in this type of rifle all the time. Instead they were mistakenly sent to a store across the street from me. I don't shop at that store. One they are grossly over priced in the market. Other stores within a 1-5 miles are less for the same items. Two the staff isn't knowledgeable. While looking for a particular shotgun they sent me on a wild goose chase to a store accross town they claimed had one. The day I picked up the rifles they claimed to be able to sell them for $100 cheaper each than what I paid. They showed me what they were selling. I opened up one of the boxes containing my rifle and showed them what I had ordered. The response was "Oh" when they realized I bought something worth twice what they were selling. A good gun shop is busy and moves products quickly. The clerk won't have motivation to sell you some gun thats been sitting on his shelf for 2 years because he won't have any inventory like that.
Ok now you've found a good store maybe they are a little more maybe they are even less than the other stores. Great. Now its time to build a relationship. Buying guns and ammo isn't like buying a nintendo at walmart. Alot of guys think that and shop that way and it winds up biting them in the ***. Once you have found a good store patronize it. Even if all you need is a box of ammo skip walmart and grab it from your local store. You might spend a few extra dollars doing so but the more your come in the and the more familiar you are to them. You'll get better deals in the future and will save more money on bigger purchases in the future. When you need something special from them they will be much more helpful and will bend over backwards when you need them too.