(A Guest Post by blogless Peter, for Carnival of Cordite)

I like to think that I've learned a bit in the fifty years I've spent as a shooter and gun owner. I'm a pretty fair amateur gunsmith, I've been handloading ammunition for forty-five years now and there was a time when I strapped on a holstered service revolver to go to work every day.

Over the years I've both been asked by non-shooters about that first gun and been present when other gunnies have been asked. That first shootin' iron is today's topic.

The mistake we gunnies make most often is recommending our favorite iron to that non or new shooter, Lord knows it's a mistake I've made myself. Trouble is, the right iron for an experienced enthusiast is not necessarily the best first gun for a beginner. As a matter of fact it seldom is.

The vast majority of non-shooters who are thinking about that first gun want something for home and self-protection. Let's begin there. Another time we can discuss fun guns and hunting rifles and shotguns.

In most cases when we are discussing firearms for self-protection we are speaking of a handgun. In some locales handgun ownership is very difficult, in those areas a shotgun or short rifle, perhaps a carbine shooting a handgun round makes sense. Still, let's discuss the handguns first.

The first handgun should stay away from the extremes. Avoid the very large, the very powerful and loud. Avoid the tiny little guns, they are very difficult to shoot. Avoid the extremely cheap as well as the extremely expensive. Most extremely cheap firearms are unreliable. The extremely expensive should be avoided simply because the new shooter may decide he or she doesn't like having a gun around, by avoiding the extreme that person won't take a bath selling it. There is also the strong possibility that the new shooter will find out how much fun it is and want something with more features down the line. When we stay in the middle we maintain the best trade-in value.

Avoid both extremes in power. A hand cannon will certainly put a bad guy down but a cartridge with a huge muzzle blast and horrendous recoil will never be shot enough to attain proficiency. Especially if each cartridge costs more than a dollar. By the same token, the mouseguns will kill. That is very small comfort if the bad guy dies from infection four days after he's ripped your arm off and beaten you to death with it.

Above all, avoid complexity. Most serious professionals use autoloaders these days, the Glocks, the Sigs, the wonderful old 1911, there are a host of good autoloaders in serious cartridges. Great Guns! If I were on my way to a gunfight and restricted to a handgun I'd pick one. Well actually if I were on the way to a gunfight I'd change directions and go to a picnic or maybe the library, instead.

Still an autoloader isn't a beginner's gun. Complexity breeds accidental discharges. During the great shift from revolvers to autoloaders during the late '70s through the '80s police departments endured an almost tenfold increase in inadvertent firearm discharges. There were also Officers killed because of problems manipulating safeties. The beginner doesn't need complex. The beginner doesn't need to worry about in which order to remove the magazine and clear the chamber. The beginner doesn't need one recoil spring for light target loads and another for business loads.

Speaking of springs, in my youth autoloaders were considered less reliable because to be loaded and ready a few springs had to be under constant tension. Improved metallurgy has made that mostly a thing of the past. The modern autoloader, fed good ammunition is just as reliable as a good revolver. Still, the autoloader is not the best choice for the beginner.

While there are some tactical situations that the increased cartridge capacity and easier reloading are an advantage, home and personal defense aren't those situations. A civilian in a defense situation won't have the time to fire six rounds, the gunfight is won or lost within three seconds. The rule of thumb is that if we need more than six shots it ain't a gunfight, it's a war.

That leads us to the double action revolver. Which one and in what chambering?

The very best for the beginner is the mid sized four inch barrel length six shot in .38 Special or .357 Magnum. Unless one has someone experienced, stay away from the used guns. If, on the other hand, we have someone who can tell the difference between used and abused, a good used revolver is not only a great bargain but will hold it's value. A good gun shop that has a variety of used revolvers will often let the shooter put a box of ammo through a used revolver and, if it's not satisfactory, allow the purchase price in trade for a new one. Ask.

If our new shooter can afford the price difference, Stainless Steel is a useful upgrade. It's not THAT difficult to avoid rust but again, the less the new shooter has to worry about, the better. An adjustable rear sight is another nice option but, again, not absolutely necessary. Legions of bad guys have been brought toes up by fixed sight revolvers.

Brands? Smith and Wesson, Ruger and Taurus. Unfortunately Colt has downsized it's line of fine .38 and .357 revolvers.

In S&W we look for what is called the "K Frame" There are too many model numbers to keep track of but if the clerk at the gun shop doesn't understand .38 or .357 K Frame Smith, leave.

In Ruger we might get lucky and find the old Security Six in good shape. If not, the slightly heavier GP100 is a fine revolver.

In Taurus we again look for the medium framed four inch .38 or .357.

No matter the choice, forget buying .357 Magnum ammo for now. All .357s shoot .38 Special ammo just fine. Our new shooter doesn't need the muzzle blast and, in the lighter weight guns, unpleasant recoil. We want to start with the load we call the target wadcutter. This is a bullet shaped like a little bitty beer keg at a moderate velocity. The relatively quiet report and light recoil make it easy to shoot. The peculiar shape of the bullet makes it more effective than it's energy numbers suggest. Once our new shooter is accustomed to the mild loads we can introduce him or her to the most effective .38 round, the old FBI load, the 158 grain lead hollow point Plus P load. The civilian won't need the full charge .357 Magnum ammo. With the likelihood of being indoors in a defense situation the very loud muzzle blast is disorienting to the shooter.

While there are many directions a shooter can go once the experience is there, this is the starting point. While the four inch medium frame revolver is not as easy to hide as some other firearms, with the proper holster neither is it impossible.

There are smaller cartridges that are easier to shoot, they are lacking in that hard-to-define thing we call stopping power. There are heftier cartridges, they are more difficult to shoot.

Of all the bewildering choices, the medium frame revolver shooting the .38 Special is THE choice for the beginner.

Next Carnival we'll cuss and discuss the choices for those who are restricted to a shotgun or rifle for a home defense gun.

Posted by: Harvey at 10:49 PM | Comments (20) | Add Comment
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