A Tale of a First Pistol Purchase

[InvisibleGuests]

Hello all.

I am very excited because I bought my very first pistol today. I wanted a practical self defense weapon that wouldn't be a nuisance to carry everywhere. I originally went to a gun shop to buy 45 ammo for a friend (he thought you had to be 21). While I was in the store I took notice of a Walther PPK (must have been an S but I didn't know it at the time). I asked to see the gun since I figured I was 21 and I wanted to see what it was like. The guy got it out, checked the chamber and the mag then handed it to me with the slide held back. I got kind of embarrassed because I asked him how to release the slide but then in my nervousness I kept rambling. "I've never even held a semi-auto before." The guy gave me a weird look when I said that and I got even more nervous so I just handed the gun back, bought the ammo, and left.

It's funny I was so intimidated because I feel I am very knowledgeable when it comes to rifles and shotguns. I've been handling them since I was... young. I couldn't wait until I was twelve so I could hunt so I must have started shooting at ten or something. Either way, I think the large store, large selection, and large amount of people teamed up to make me doubt myself. I kind of felt like I was wasting his time too.

I left the store that day addicted to the PPK though. Such a small, concealable weapon that was still a .380 (which I thought was .38cal). I came home after a long day of shooting other people's guns and began to dork it up online looking for anything I could find on PPK reviews and just PPK period. I learned about size restrictions with the importing so I realized I must had seen the /S model. I guess I was even too out of it to notice a pinky catch. I read plenty of reviews and gun comparisons and I came to the conclusion that a lot of people had problems with their PPK/S jamming. I noticed people really seemed to prefer a "Bersa .380 Thunder," whatever the heck that was. I read about the gun from the company I had never heard of and liked what I saw. I also noticed there was a Concealed Carry model which had even better reviews than the regular .380 Thunder.

I found this site and read about the laws on firearms, found out what I would need to have for the purchase, and then found a local Bersa dealer. I went to the shop right when their answering machine said they opened to find new store hours scribbled on a piece of paper in the window. One more hour. I came back later and walked in confident I knew what I was doing this time. The woman behind the counter asked how she could help me. I asked if they carried Bersa pistols. Then the mumbling began. "Thunder. Three Eighty. CC?" Not bad, subconscious. Way to ramble things that made sense. She seemed to be cleaning up pistols on a counter and there was one off to the side. I stood there like a dope for a second until she said "that's it" referring to the one on the other counter.

I couldn't understand how that was it seeing as how it had silver on it. I didn't want to make an idiot out of myself though so I read the pistol. Everything. Bersa .380 Thunder. I looked at the sites and loved them (a feeling supposedly not found with the CC model). I asked, "Is this the CC?" "That's the Thunder, right there." Damn, not the model I wanted. I decided to give the gun a chance and really began to handle it. I had already downloaded the PDF manual the night before in another dork session so I wasn't worried about getting accustomed to the gun that could become mine. It may not have been the CC model but it was still very concealable as far as I was concerned. I noticed the price was 250. 65 dollars less than the MSRP of 315 for the CC model. I decided not to go to a different store in search of the CC and began the paperwork.

An hour later I was in the woods loading my new baby for the first time. Ear protection in and POOM! Wow... I loved how she felt on the very first shot. It was a wonderful feeling. I was happy to squeeze off another 49 before leaving (my friend had to go and he drove). I didn't work on any fundamentals other than just loading, aiming, and shooting which is all I needed for my first little test run.

I'm sorry this was such a long post. I was excited and it just flowed out of me. Once it was there I couldn't just go and delete it, I had spent too long. Now I'll just have to change the title.

If you're still with me, thank you for reading about my adventure. Now for a change of pace, the question section. My gun isn't necessarily sighted, correct? It seems to be too far to the right looking down from the top so I may need to sight it, I guess. Any advice for the most accurate way to do it? Also, when I get my LTCF, what self defense loads would you suggest?

I promise I will make my posts go on a diet for a while. I can't guarantee they won't cheat though and get chubby occasionally.

Thanks and farewell.
-InvisibleGuests

[Justin]

InvisibleGuests,

congrats on your first pistol purchase.

i cannot stress enough that you should seek firearm training, even just a short session with an instructor, a local forum member or someone from your local gun club. reason being that it is a lot easier to learn correct habits such as stance, grip, safe handling, aiming etc than it is to unlearn and relearn them. this is coming from personal experience, as i had noone to show me when i purchased my first handgun, and i sought help and advice from a friend who owned handguns and seemed well versed. he misguided me, in particular in my stance, and i still find myself not completley satisfied with my stance.

[Joe Smith]

I second that! Do it right so you don't start to practice bad habits.


And the Thunder .380 is a Great little gun. I have shot it many times and it is a great value and quality all around.


Welcome to the forum, by the way. Don't be ashamed to ask any question you might have. There are tons of greap people here to help you out.



Brian

[Skuggi]

hehe greap people :P

But yea welcome to the forums man, and best thing to do when your new looking at a type of gun your unfamiliar with is just drag someone along with you once who knows to the store to handle it first and mimic him!

[InvisibleGuests]

Originally Posted by Joe Smith

I second that! Do it right so you don't start to practice bad habits.

Welcome to the forum, by the way. Don't be ashamed to ask any question you might have. There are tons of great people here to help you out.

Brian

I've been watching various pistol videos on YouTube, Todd Jarrett instructional and US Army M9 training (from 1991 but still...) are a few good ones I found so far. Let me know what you think of that training method. I sit (or stand) here with my pistol unloaded and pretty much follow along. I really like the Todd Jarrett video.

Either way I do have a couple questions.

What is the most accurate way to zero your sight or sight your gun or whatever it is you may say?

What ammunition do you prefer for self-defense if you carry a .380?

[God's Country]

Seriously get training. Even just going to a good range and getting some instruction.
I think you should start with that.

I want to read more of your posts not a memorial. Don't even think about packing without some training. I see you post from a popular area. There a certainly enough people on this forum in your area that can give you the name of a good range.

You'll probably want to start under 10 yds. I wouldn’t worry too much about sighting. Just concern yourself with grouping.
After you blow through a few hundred rounds with repeatable results then you can sight your gun.

Ammo: You don't have much to choose from as compared to other calibers. Remington 88g jhp are probably the most reliable .380 round. Cor-bon makes probably the best .380 for self defense(expensive though), and of course Fed. hydra shocks are popular. Practice, whatever you can afford and works best.

Be careful! And start saving its an expensive hobby. I kind of feel sorry for you.

[PisnNapalm]

I second everything GC said.

Always treat it like it is loaded even when you're absolutely sure it isn't.

[jdlv4_0]

For carry ammo go with Speer Gold-Dots or Federal Hydra-Shocks.

As for sighting it in, you need to shoot from a rest to keep the gun stable and eliminate the human error. If I recall correctly the Bersa has an adjustable rear sight for windage. If you shoot from a rest and it's still off, I think you just need to adjust the rear sight with a screw driver.

You did good with your research, keep it up when it comes to accessories like holsters and other items. And always feel free to ask questions.

The Bersa is a good pistol, I bought one a while back for my wife, personally I don't like the way it shoots for me but it is a remarkable .380

[Skuggi]

for the love of god be careful of watching on youtube.

Example is this crap http://youtube.com/watch?v=-L30jsgBcIg its somewhat funny as you see his glock jaming but god, so much in that that you should not ever do.

[God's Country]

Originally Posted by Skuggi

for the love of god be careful of watching on youtube.

What the hell was that! Are the French taking over the planet? Was it Michael Angelo on LSD? Thanks for corrupting my mind! Actually I think I heard his mom knocking on the door near the end, or was it Jim Morrison?