Should i get a pistol or rifle

When you purchase a firearm, you are making an investment. Therefore, you want to do what you can to protect your investment. Environmental factors, like humidity, dust, and oil from your hands, can quickly cause gunmetal to rust, corrode, or tarnish.

So, you will want to keep it clean and clean it every time you use your firearm. If it gets wet while outdoors, you should dry it off immediately. You also will want to keep your firearm safe from theft or unauthorized access by children or individuals that have no business being anywhere near a gun.

The best way to do this is by keeping your new firearm secured in a gun safe or gun vault. Visit your local Liberty Safe dealer to see all your options for secure firearm storage. Share this story. Log in Cart. Tips for First-Time Gun Owners. Table of Contents. Do Your Homework Before Going to the Gun Shop Being in a gun shop can be like being a kid in a candy shop between all the different types of firearms and accessories that are on display.

Usually, the type of gun you choose depends on what you plan to use it for, like: Protecting your home and family Going hunting Going target shooting at an indoor or outdoor range Going skeet shooing Starting a gun collection as an investment or for show purposes Types of Firearms Available Knowing what you plan to use the gun for will give you a starting point at the gun store.

These are smaller firearms that have shorter barrels. They have great accuracy due do the rifling within its thick barrel that is designed to withstand a lot of pressure. Because these guns are smaller than other types of guns, they are easier to carry and can be also shot with one hand if needed.

They are great for protection, self-defense, and range shooting. These guns have long barrels that have a smooth bore instead of rifling that causes the ammunition to spin. These firearms are best for skeet shooting and bird hunting.

If you need a firearm for long-range hunting, a rifle is the one best designed to get the job done.

It has a long, rifled barrel with thick walls that can withstand high pressures. Unlike a shotgun , a rifle is more accurate and able to fire bullets for longer distances. This makes a rifle great for both hunting and sport shooting.

Semi-Automatic Rifles. A semi-automatic rifle is a type of rifle that self-loads and repeats to automatically cycle a new round after each shot. Research the Gun Laws in Your State As a first-time gun buyer, you should first research the gun laws that apply to your state and municipality.

As of February 12, , Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Dakota residents only; concealed carry only , Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah effective May 5, , Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming residents only do not require a permit to carry a loaded concealed firearm for any person of age who is not prohibited from owning a firearm.

May issue where a permit is required, but it is very difficult to qualify for the permit. Can You Legally Buy a Gun? To avoid embarrassment when trying to purchase your first gun, please consider these reasons that may make you ineligible purchase one: Previously being convicted of a serious crime or misdemeanor Being dishonorably discharged from the military Being indicted for a serious crime, but not yet convicted Being a fugitive from justice Prohibited by state because of being known as an abuser of drugs or alcohol Being subject to a restraining order because of threatening behavior, such as domestic violence Having been involuntarily committed to a mental institution If you have concerns as to whether you are eligible to purchase a gun, speak to the staff at the gun store before applying for your gun permit.

Going to the Gun Shop Once you have a good idea of what type of gun you want to buy and have some idea of what you can and cannot do with it in your state, you are ready to go gun shopping.

See how the gun feels in your hand. Compare the way the gun feels to other guns. Besides my day job as a researcher at The Prepared, I also own a successful firearm parts manufacturer and consulting company. Versatility matters a lot in prepping.

If you only have one firearm, you want to feel capable in as many situations as possible: shooting targets near and far, being on the move, being in a fixed position, and so on. It will take a lot of shooting and trying different firearms for beginners to develop that feel. So part of how experts chose the recommended guns in this guide was considering which models are more universal or one size fits all. You should feel confident buying any of the models in this review online, without having held them first.

That said, it never hurts to hold and if possible, fire a weapon before buying it. Especially if your hands are unusually large or small.

The holding part is easy. Just take your shortlist of candidates to a local gun store and ask to see them. Almost any gun store will have a Glock 19 or basic-pattern AR15, for example, and you can call ahead to ask. Firing before buying is harder. They want to help! Some of these gun ranges with rentals will also offer a short beginner lesson for an extra fee , so you could hit two birds with one stone in the same trip. Some new shooters struggle to hold up and fire certain kinds of weapons.

The form factor of the weapon itself could be an issue eg. Pistols are obviously the easiest: A pistol might only weigh two pounds vs.

While pistols are generally better for people concerned about physical ability, there are some exceptions. Studies using more recent data have come to the same conclusion. In a study , researchers found that states with high levels of household gun ownership have more domestic gun homicides than other states do. In fact, the quartile of states with the highest rates of gun ownership have 65 percent more domestic gun homicides than the quartile with the least, which is worrisome considering that domestic violence has worsened during the coronavirus outbreak.

It may seem obvious, but the evidence is compelling that any home that contains a gun is more likely to be the site of a firearm injury. In a study published in Science , Philip Levine and his colleague Robin McKnight found that where gun sales increased after Sandy Hook as indicated by increases in background checks , rates of accidental death rose, too.

They estimated that 60 additional people, including 20 children, were killed in the aftermath of Sandy Hook because of the excess guns people purchased. And gun accidents are likely to worsen in the current atmosphere. For one thing, Americans who become first-time gun owners during the pandemic may not have the option of taking in-person safety classes because of social distancing guidelines, which have shuttered most gun ranges.

Understand warning signs. Fears over the coronavirus may incite Americans to make other choices, too, that worsen their risk for gun injury and death.

Yet in homes where firearms are unsafely stored, family members are more likely to be hurt or killed by their guns. The other big concern about guns right now is suicide. In a study published this June in the New England Journal of Medicine , researchers followed more than 26 million adults in California for up to 12 years, keeping track of whether they purchased handguns and if they died by suicide.

Plus, research suggests that, particularly among older people, experiencing a pandemic increases suicide risk by about one-third, because people feel disconnected, helpless, and worry that they have become a burden on their family members.

When gun owners are concerned about their safety, they may also bring their guns with them when they leave the house. Yet research shows that concealed carrying puts people more, rather than less, at risk. In , other researchers found shall-issue laws to be associated with higher homicide rates, particularly from handguns. And i n a working paper, British economist Christoph Koenig and Dutch economist David Schindler reported that American states with the largest increases in gun sales after Newtown experienced 6 to 15 percent more murders over the course of the following year compared with other states.

Fear is a powerful motivator, and the impulse for self-protection is fierce among us all, right now.