Firearm Question

[ThisStarNeverFalls]

Never looked at it much when I was younger but now that im older its beginning to catch more of my interest... Im new, very new to the area of the firearm category..Figured there is a few people here that now some about them so i came here to ask.

Im looking into buying a nice solid pistol/handgun for household purposes and maybe some weekend shooting, also looking into a nice smaller sized, rifle(have an idea of what id like it to be after seeing one a few months ago I really liked) I was hoping maybe someone here could give me some help/advice on maybe a few good choices of firearm makers and their products to look at and/or up. Thanks AO!

[MoeMag]

Berretta. Their 92/96 9mm series pistols are great. Berretta has been in business for more than 500 years! No joke, so that says a lot. They just feel good, if I might say so myself (you will get it in a while).

http://www.berettausa.com/

Colt

http://www.coltsmfg.com/

Glock

http://www.glock.com/home.htm

Smith & Wesson

http://www.smith-wesson.com/

Long Guns

http://www.winchesterguns.com/

http://www.remington.com/

Carbines. Okay these are an option, but people will not think of you the same way if you actually have one.
The Colt .223rem AR-15 is the civilian version (semi-automatic) of the M-16. Need I say more? Yes, you can even get it with the cool little collapsible stock if that floats your boat.

http://www.coltsmfg.com/cmci/rifles.asp

For outright modern coolness, you need to check out the berretta CX4 storm. (I really like berretta). It is a giant handgun on a rifle frame that shoots 9mm magazines just like the 92/96 series.

http://www.cx4storm.com/

http://www.taser.com/index.asp

[Crighton]

When I read house hold purposes I got a flash of homer using a hand gun to change TV channels and open beer cans. ect.



Smith and Wesson also makes the new M&P semi automatic, which is not a bad gun at all.

[Lohman446]

If its your first gun and you may have a wife / gf using it you may be well positioned to look into on of the various 357 magnum revolvers. This will allow you to shoot both the "easy to shoot" .38 rounds and the more potent 357 rounds. Many companies make good revolvers that are cheaper than good auto pistols - Colt, S&W, Remington, Taurus. Get something with a good length barrel assuming you don't intend to carry it.

As to auto pistols. To me my Sig Sauer (I have in 357 Sig, which can be interchanged to .40 with a barrel swap) is one of the nicest pistols produced. Glock makes some decent pistols in a wide range of calibers, as do Smith and Wesson, Kimber (fewer caliber choices), H&K, Taurus, and a few others without spending a ton of money. Sig and Kimber are the top of the line unless your getting into S&W performance center or other $1000+ handguns.

Home defense calibers there is some argument over. I would not go smaller than a 38 and thats borderline, otherwise in the order I would choose them

9MM
.40
.45
357 Sig
357 Mag

Yes I'm partial to the 357 round (both Sig and Mag). It may not be the best choice for a casual shooter as you have to be picky about rounds to avoid overpenetration

[RoamingStorm]

I like my belgian made semi automatic .22 pistol

my favorite gun to shoot though is a desert eagle, it cracked a bowling bawl in half from 50 yards

other than that home purposes I would suggest a .22 caliber pistol or 9 mm pistol anything over that for self defense purposes is overkill. besides the self defense pistols we have at home are seperate from clips and the clips are loaded with rubber bullets.

[Lohman446]

I like my belgian made semi automatic .22 pistol

my favorite gun to shoot though is a desert eagle, it cracked a bowling bawl in half from 50 yards

other than that home purposes I would suggest a .22 caliber pistol or 9 mm pistol anything over that for self defense purposes is overkill. besides the self defense pistols we have at home are seperate from clips and the clips are loaded with rubber bullets.

A 22 presents a range of overpenetration concerns without offering stopping power. The 9mm has been shown to be minimaly effective against both thick clothing (plugs the hollowpoint) and inebriated targets when shooting for center of mass. Although it is a viable round, it is certainly not the end of "not overkill" for a home defense round. I even stayed away from obscure cartridges (like the 41 magnum) in my general feelings on home defense rounds.

Bullet choice in any round is paramount. I can easily find 9MM rounds that are more effective than certain 45 rounds. Various Corbon and Federal Hydrashock rounds are my personal choice for home defense rounds.

[ThisStarNeverFalls]

Wow

Alot of you guys seem to know alot and its very helpful, the gun use(pistol/handgun) will be for home defense and I guess you could say recreational shooting for myself...shooting ranges and etc. So far after looking im rather fond of the Sig Sauer 1911's looks to be very solid and from what you guys say the .45 rounds are good themselves.

As far as the rifle goes, its actually more of a collector almost on this one, looking for around the .22 area and would like it to be fairly smaller and eaisly manuverable. I remember about two years ago the mothers ex boyfriend pulled out this .22 rifle that looked like it belonged in a resident evil game, ive wanted one to mimic that since then, seeing as I collect the RE merch. This gun like I said is more for in a case, isnt it pretty...but would also like it to be light, manuverable and functionable, because it wouldnt be nearly as nice if it didnt shoot well.

Thanks alot guys, been EXCELLENT help!

[Lohman446]

The .22 was very likely a Ruger 10/22 - actually my first gun, reasonably small and easy to handle, and there are a ton of "military" simulation things you can get for them. You might consider as well a Ruger mini 14 - basically same concept (slightly bigger) in .223.

I really like my Sig P229. Not quite full size but as accurate (in fact more accurate than most) as a full sizer out of the box. However I don't think its available in .45 and the .357 tends to be a touch pricey to get the same stopping power. I really like it myself

[Lohman446]

Cheaper "name" brands

Keltech makes some nice, if rather small, 380s and 9mm. Though these really don't fall into the home defense size handgun they were made as carry weapons. I carried one in .32 for some time, nice pocket pistol. Keltechs are a love/hate thing for most people. Some people hate them, and the first productions had issues, other people have given them a serious following

Bersa makes a nice .380 for the price. The 380 is of questionable power (its basically a short (less powder) 9MM) and tends to be discounted as too weak of a round by most Americans. This is a nice smallish medium size gun that is in many peoples mind the leader in "cheap" handguns. Its carryable (smaller than say my Sig which I carry routinely) without being small (like pocket pistols). If money is a factor you may find this to be a reasonable choice.

Taurus - basically "copies" of Ruger and S&W designs you tend to get a very good handgun for the price. My favorite revolver, that I carry from time to time (a titanium framed .357 snubbie) is a Taurus.

If your only going to own one handgun though, I say treat yourself to something really nice. And to me thats Kimber or Sig Sauer.

[skife]

if you want to get a rifle for just plinking around a .22 or a .223 is a great round.
you can shoot off .22 or .223 all day and not break the bank.

[ThisStarNeverFalls]

As far as the handgun area goes I think im going to try to find a few local places and see the price ranges of the Sig 1911's, they seem to be what stands out to me the most as far as the handguns are concerned.

I wish I could better explain the way the rifle looked, but being a noob if you wil to the area im sort of drawing a blank for the sake of sounding like an idiot. It was a fairly small sized lever action rifle, no engraving at all, all chrome, and a very very very deep red stock. I cant say much more about it than that, wish i could remember who made it..I just remember that resident evil came to mind and when I went to pick it up, it just felt so easy to hold and manuver...been looking for a few days now, still havnt had too much luck on it..

[Soopa Villain17]

my freind had a cool little pistol , a walther p22. look into one of those. for home defense . get a 12 guage.

[Altimas]

Shotugns are a lot better for Home Defense. Nothing else in this world has a distinctive sound like a shotgun jacking a shell in. And robbers and murderers alike hate them compared to pistols rifles etc. Because of the spread of the shotgun and the shear pain it causes.

[etjoyride]

I would defintley suggest a glock or a colt for a pistol, however like has been said before a shotgun is really the best personal defense gun aorund. Also, if you want a weekend shooting ar ifle, some form of AR-15 will be great fun.
Good luck

[ThisStarNeverFalls]

Yes, but the shotgun cant be concealed and carried if need be, unless you have a REALLY REALLY big pocket..