First time gun buyer looking for advice.

[Ross11988]

Hey everyone. Im a first time gun buyer looking to purchase a gun for self defense. Im a 20 year old college student. Recently my parents have seperated which leaves me the man of the house. My mom has a pistol but she lost the key for it which renders it useless. Ive been always looking to buy a gun and since prices are going up and no one is sure of the future now i figure i should get one soon. Some questions I have are.

1. If I walk into a gun today and decide on the gun I want how long will the background check take to clear before I am able to walk out with the gun?

2. Is there any law that forbids a person from carrying the firearm in the trunk for transport to the gun range and home?

3. What is a good rifle to get under $1000.

I live in the Poconos and everyone tells me American Sport Shooting in Broadheadsville is the best place for guns around the area so that is where I figure I will go.

Thanks for all the help

[BerksCountyDave]

Hey everyone. Im a first time gun buyer looking to purchase a gun for self defense. Im a 20 year old college student. Recently my parents have seperated which leaves me the man of the house. My mom has a pistol but she lost the key for it which renders it useless. Ive been always looking to buy a gun and since prices are going up and no one is sure of the future now i figure i should get one soon. Some questions I have are.

1. If I walk into a gun today and decide on the gun I want how long will the background check take to clear before I am able to walk out with the gun?

2. Is there any law that forbids a person from carrying the firearm in the trunk for transport to the gun range and home?

3. What is a good rifle to get under $1000.

I live in the Poconos and everyone tells me American Sport Shooting in Broadheadsville is the best place for guns around the area so that is where I figure I will go.

Thanks for all the help

1. You may want to edit your thread title . . . . buying guys is illegal.

Now, for the gun.

1. Background check takes a few minutes. No waiting period or anything like that in PA.

2. You can trasnport it in the main passenger area of your car if you want. Just make sure the ammo is in a separate container.

3. For home defense, the rifle platform that comes to mind is obviously the AR-15. There are a few under a grand.

[animalmother85]

there is a member here on the forum by the name of Synergy, he just helped me piece together a real bang up M4(granted it doesn't have a piston) for under a grand(speaking of which, I at least owe him some rep for that). Hopefully he chimes in...AR based rifles(M16/AR-15/M4) are kinda like legos, building them is half the fun.

[Xringshooter]

1. You may want to edit your thread title . . . . buying guys is illegal.

Now, for the gun.

1. Background check takes a few minutes. No waiting period or anything like that in PA.

2. You can transport it in the main passenger area of your car if you want. Just make sure the ammo is in a separate container.

3. For home defense, the rifle platform that comes to mind is obviously the AR-15. There are a few under a grand.

^^^Absolutely correct, and yes you can't legally buy and sell people any more.

Because of your age you are limited to a rifle or shotgun. You can get an AR platform for under $1000, just look around a bit. You can also look at a shotgun, many very very good home defense shotguns can be had for less than $400 and that would leave you a lot of $$$ for ammo, accessories, etc.

Since it appears that it is for home defense, don't discount spending some money for a high quality, high output flashlight. Many times that can be almost as effective by temporarily blinding the BG.

You said your mom lost the key to the handgun. Is the gun locked with a trigger lock, cable lock, etc. any locksmith (and probably most gunsmiths) can get the lock removed. If you are talking about a gun with an internal lock, most gunsmiths have either replacement keys or a key that will disable the lock and then you (before or after) can contact the gun manufacturer to get a replacement.

[Legionnaire]

If your purpose is home defense, I'd lean toward a pump action 12 gauge shotgun, either a Remington 870 or a Mossberg 500. Lots of options and accessories for both of these to tune it to your needs.

A rifle wouldn't be my first choice for home defense. But if I were looking for a rifle specifically for that application, I'd look at a Marlin lever action in .357 mag / .38 special, or one of the other pistol-caliber carbines.

[OrionBricks]

You wanna buy a guy

[tommy610]

If your purpose is home defense, I'd lean toward a pump action 12 gauge shotgun, either a Remington 870 or a Mossberg 500. Lots of options and accessories for both of these to tune it to your needs.

A rifle wouldn't be my first choice for home defense. But if I were looking for a rifle specifically for that application, I'd look at a Marlin lever action in .357 mag / .38 special, or one of the other pistol-caliber carbines.

To add to this... the reason rifles are not the best for home defense is because of over-penetration, and the fact that you do not need to be able to hit a bullseye at 100 yds in a home. So, a shotgun is good, because by the time it starts to spread, it's already at its target (unless you have really long hallways or something).

In a home defense situation, a shotgun is good because is does allow for some slop in aiming. There is more than one projectile. Also, multiple projectiles, but less penatration is good - you'll most likely hit the BG, but stray lead won't pass through walls as much as a rifle bullet.

I second the "get the lock taken care of" recommendation. It's a gun - it should be ready for use.

[BerksCountyDave]

To add to this... the reason rifles are not the best for home defense is because of over-penetration, and the fact that you do not need to be able to hit a bullseye at 100 yds in a home. So, a shotgun is good, because by the time it starts to spread, it's already at its target (unless you have really long hallways or something).

In a home defense situation, a shotgun is good because is does allow for some slop in aiming. There is more than one projectile. Also, multiple projectiles, but less penatration is good - you'll most likely hit the BG, but stray lead won't pass through walls as much as a rifle bullet.

I second the "get the lock taken care of" recommendation. It's a gun - it should be ready for use.

Here we go again with the misinformation about rifle rounds. Someone have that link that disproves this crap?

[animalmother85]

A rifle wouldn't be my first choice for home defense. But if I were looking for a rifle specifically for that application, I'd look at a Marlin lever action in .357 mag / .38 special, or one of the other pistol-caliber carbines.

...maybe a lever action if you lived here



http://www.bravocompanyusa.com/

it was recommended to me to look into the BCM rifle products, I did and they really have allot going for them, and the price is not bad at all...that's if its a rifle your still looking for.

[NP1724]

Here we go again with the misinformation about rifle rounds. Someone have that link that disproves this crap?

There is a new thread about this in the same forum. With Video

http://forum.pafoa.org/rifles-42/678...fense-not.html