Top 10 Things We Learned When Buying a Gun For The First Time
Recently we were able to sneak away from our family and spend a day as a couple...and what did we decide to do? Go purchase a firearm! Not your typical date for sure, but one that we were excited to do.
Now we are not new per se to guns. But honestly, we’ve never purchased one. Never needed to, and thus never put an ounce of energy into understanding the process. So after we did some basic research we went out into the world with the idea of coming home with a pair of firearms.
You can follow our journey on YouTube here
But without further ado, here are some of the most helpful tips we learned along the way.
Spend some considerable time thinking about why you need a firearm. This will help narrow down your purchasing decision. You don’t just wake up one day and decide you’re going to purchase a vehicle. You think about why you need it. Such as, how many people fit in it. What is the gas mileage? Do you need to haul equipment, or if it just needs to be a certain color. The point is, you have a game plan on what you’re looking for before you go to the dealership, and sort through the options that make sense for your needs.
If you’re not familiar with how to handle a firearm safely, at a minimum, spend an hour watching some videos online. If you don’t understand how important this is, you probably shouldn’t be purchasing a gun to begin with. You don’t need to be a full-blown expert at this point, but you’ll gain the respect of the person on the other side of the counter by showing you respect the gun and other people’s safety.
Be honest with the salesperson. If you don’t know anything, don’t pretend like you do. They can only help you if you present honest information.
Be open to suggestions. If you go in thinking you are going to buy a certain kind because your friend, uncle or random online YouTuber said one kind was the best...then you’re discounting the fact that you are an individual. Not everyone is a perfect match for each option. Let the salesperson do their job by listing to your needs/wants, and let them present options that fit what you’re looking for.
Our experience showed us that going to a gun range was the best experience. The knowledge and experience were dramatically better with these employees than that of a sporting good store. Again, if you’re familiar with guns and what you want, those big box stores are probably just fine. But for the individual who is truly wet behind the ears...you want the most knowledgeable person you can get. As a bonus, it is generally less busy at a range, meaning the salesperson and you don’t have the added pressure of a bunch of other people trying to be served.
Hold and feel as many options as you can. The weight, grip, safety switches all make a big difference in how it “feels” to you. If you’re not comfortable holding it. You won’t be comfortable shooting it.
As a first-timer, ask the basics to get a clear understanding. How to hold it properly. How to load it. How to aim...honestly there are no stupid questions here. We’ve now talked with several salespeople, and they have all been remarkably patient and willing to teach.
Shoot it. The advantage of going to a range is that you can rent a model of what you’re thinking about getting it. It allows you to try before you buy. Jessica was convinced she was going to buy one model based on how it felt in her hand, but after shooting an alternative version...she quickly realized she liked a “plan B” option better.
If need be, walk away without making a purchase. There is no need to rush into making a decision. It is always better to be completely comfortable with your decision, than to second guess yourself a week later.
Bring your ID. You have to go through a background check in order to buy a gun. In our cases, these were completed within a couple of minutes for one of us and a couple of hours for the other.
We hope that our experience with purchasing a gun for the first time is helpful to you and that some of these items can be a blessing in some way.
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