New gun owner has questions.....

[marvel1234]

Hello I'm from Hawaii. I've been thinking of getting a handgun for self-defense as the crime in my area has been increasing. I have never had any experience with guns before so I have been looking for information from different sources. A friend of mine suggested a ".45 calibur semiautomatic pistol." which has great penetration and stopping power. The local gun shop owner however, suggested that I try something smaller first like a .22 revolver as he thought my hands were fairly small and would need to get used to handling firearms. The .22 would also be a lot cheaper than getting a .45. I wonder if someone could help me with the following questions:

1) What would be an ideal first handgun for personal protection?
2) Is there a website where I can look up shooting ranges or is there some way I can practice shooting to get more familiar with a pistol?
3) I travel fairly frequently. I know I need a gun permit for my state, but if I were to travel between states would I need get gun permits for all the other states I travel to?
4) Also, would I have to purchase a weapon in a state I travel to or can I travel with a handgun if I declare it and put it in a case or my luggage?

Thanks for your help.

[user]

Boy, those are all good questions, and there's a lot of them. And without meaning to blow you off, I would observe that they've pretty well been pounded to death elsewhere in this forum. May I suggest that you use the search function in the middle of the menu at the top of the screen and start looking up the threads that go into all that stuff.

There are threads comparing different calibers, revolvers v. semiautomatics and differences within each of those broad categories, brand preferences, what kind to start with if you don't know spit, licensing issues, transportation issues, concealed carry reciprocity, and just about everything else you can think of. You've reached an incredible repository of people who know an awful lot about this stuff and have nothing better to do with their time than to type at their computer and pontificate about guns. If they weren't doing that, after all, they'd be outside shooting something.

[Jay]

...first, welcome to the forum.


1) What would be an ideal first handgun for personal protection?
2) Is there a website where I can look up shooting ranges or is there some way I can practice shooting to get more familiar with a pistol?
3) I travel fairly frequently. I know I need a gun permit for my state, but if I were to travel between states would I need get gun permits for all the other states I travel to?
4) Also, would I have to purchase a weapon in a state I travel to or can I travel with a handgun if I declare it and put it in a case or my luggage?

1. I'd suggest you learn about handguns and shooting one, with a certified instructor, and a .22 caliber handgun. Buying handgun is like buying shoes..... you need to "try 'em on" before you buy one. If it doesn't "feel right" in your hands, you'll never shoot it enough to become proficient with it. Gun shops locally should be able to point you to an instructor. The caliber choice should be put off until you can better determine what caliber you can handle proficiently.

2. Find a gunshop, and they'll know about ranges.

3. http://www.gunlaws.com/links/index.htm

4. http://www.gunlaws.com/links/index.htm

[marvel1234]

Thanks for your help!