New Member

[JEC_PA]

Hi everyone !
I've been lurking for a few days now and just joined. I have to admit being born and raised in NJ the thought of owning a firearm never occured to me because of all the legal hoops I would have had to jump thru. Fast forward to present, being a PA resident now for 8yrs and a family and home to protect I started to ask questions about carrying and was surprised at how many of my friends and neighbors do.
My wife and I will both be taking safety courses and the proper storage in the house will be a given. I'm also looking for some local clubs that could be reccomended so that we can stay familiar with handling and firing. As for which pistol? Seems like Glock or a Springfield might be in my future.

Im open to suggestions and reccomendations on both clubs and firearms.

Looking forward to making new friends.

John

[Qtrborecrazy]

JEC Pa welcome. Stick around and you learn alot from some smart people. I came to Pa . 2 years ago from Bricktown. Its great here in Pa. when it comes to gun issues.

[aferr1973]

Welcome JEC_PA. I also moved from the People's Republic of New Jersey 6 years ago to the great free state of Pennsylvania. I never thought that I would ever own a gun myself especially with 2 small children. It wasn't until this June that I made my first gun purchase a shotgun for home defense, and then a week later a Glock 19 Gen 3. I highly recommend joining Easton Fish and Game Association which is a great range. http://www.efga.net/

This forum is an excellent place to learn about guns and there are a lot of good people here.

There are also a ton of YouTube videos out there with some really good people from all over the country running channels with great gun videos such as hickok45, humans4targets2, limalife, nutnfancy, and thearmorychannel to name a few.

Welcome again and enjoy!

[JEC_PA]

Thank you both,

I was looking into Easton as well as Hellertown both look good so far.
Does Easton have a indoor range?

[CHEMICAL]

John, welcome to the nut house .

Enjoy you're semi-new found liberty and welcome to a new and very expensive hobby.

Also good for you for deciding to be proactive in the protection and safety of you and your loved ones. Good luck and be safe!

[cderk]

Thank you both,

I was looking into Easton as well as Hellertown both look good so far.
Does Easton have a indoor range?

JEC -

Easton does not have an indoor range. I have been a member there for a few years now. Its OK I guess. I probably go once a month. I've been pretty disappointed lately. It seems like some of the members don't really take good care of the place. The pistol range is a pain because all the hangars to hang targets at the 7, 15 25 yd lines are usually broken. Then someone painstakingly makes new ones and within a few weeks, they're demolished.

Unfortunately, its the closest place around... although the East Bath Rod and Gun Club looks promising (less expensive as well). I'm going to be joining that one next month. Its closer anyway.

[LilEMT]

WELCOME to the forum!!! I live in the area and shoot at Point Philips Rod and Gun Club. Its a great club and they have activities for the little ones also. It is not an indoor range but has Archery ranges and a nice pond along with the pistol, shotgun and rifle ranges if your into that kinda thing.

[SCBaldr]

+1 on the Point Phillips. I attended a shoot there and I really like the facility.
As for which firearm... Thats going to be a balance of price point, features, quality, ergonomics, ammunition, comfort, capacity, concealability, practicality, balistics, peformance and few other categories I'm forgetting. The best thing I can say is to read this http://forum.pafoa.org/pistols-41/17...g-handgun.html and decide if if applies to you. The next step is to decide what you want out of it and how much you are willing to spend. I think its a better idea to choose the round you want to shoot before you choose a gun. If revolvers are your thing, a S&W is a fine thing, but Rugers and Tauruses are cheaper. If you're looking for an automatic in the under $600 dollar range, You could go with a Glock, Ruger, used Sig, used HK, S&W, FN Herstal, Sprinfield Armory, CZ USA there are a few more, but you get the idea.
The next step is to go try them on for size, at most gun clubs I have been to, people are both friendly and enthusiastic about their firearms and are generally delighted to let others experience their boom-sticks for a few rounds.
Failing that, you can find a range that rents guns and go that route. though be warned, if you do, know that range guns almost never get taken care of the way they should be. If you experience malfunctions, its probably not a design or build flaw.
Finally, if you have your choices narrowed down to two possiblities, flip a coin, ignore the result and pick the one you want.

[JEC_PA]

WOW Thanks for all the great info !!
I like the idea of a pond give me another reason to get out of the house LOL !

As for choice of pistol Im getting the idea that I'll have more then one !!

[RickD]

Welcome JEC! You've found a great place for info and exchanging ideas. I don't know how much experience you have but the internet is great for newbies and old timers alike. I did a lot of reading before I bought my first handgun. If you're typical it won't be your last.

The gun vaults are great for quick access even in the dark while keeping the kids out.

Other really good sites are corneredcat.com and genitron.com

Come back often ... and be safe!