Rookie gun suggestions

[darwinslair]

Dont get complicated about it.  Get a revolver in a small enough round to be able to handle, but large enough to stop someone.  44 special or 38 is what I would recomend.

And get a shotgun, pump or double barrel.  If you are not too big a person, get a 20 ga instead of a 12.

Tom

[hippiechick]

I never considered a shot gun, but maybe I should. Thanks

[opsec]

Inside a house a 20 guage is just as effective as a 12 guage and it kicks less. Here's the right ammo: http://www.ableammo.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=73809
 
Here's a semi-auto in 20 guage that's cheaper than most pistols: http://www.ableammo.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=84587

Another possiblity is to get a 12 guage and buy what they call "tactical loads" or "reduced recoil loads". Basically, that's the industry's way of saying our police are too wimpy to use full power 12 guage loads so they down loaded them. 12 guage is the most common shotgun size around. If you get a 12 guage you will greatly expand the range of ammo you can find and use.

[opsec]

for a .22lr rifle I have a ruger 77/22 which is a bolt action. should last me a good long time. I have no idea what parts Id be wise to get replacements for......

I would take the rifle down as far as the manual says you're supposed to for cleaning. Then look at any small parts like springs, or pins that you have to remove in order to clean it. Use an exploded view diagram to identify the parts. Basically you want to have spares of anything that you might bend, break, or drop on the ground never to be seen again. Small parts are really good at doing that. Next step would be to take it to a gunsmith and ask him what the most common repairs are on that particular rifle and ask him what extra parts he would want to keep around if he had the same rifle. If it gets complex, slip him a $20 bill and ask him to show you how to make those repairs. 

[hippiechick]

I would have never thought to order in the extra spare parts. Thanks for that advice. I don't even know how to clean a gun. I have a 9mm, but it really needs to be cleaned. How often should it be cleaned? Mine hasn't been cleaned in probably 3 years. I wonder if a gun shop would clean it for me ? I haven't shot it in years and when I did it was a little  too big for me to handle comfortably,  which is why I wanted another gun. Plus I wanted one for upstairs and one for downstairs to be more easily available.

[opsec]

If the grips are too big to hold onto comfortably, then you might consider trading what you've got for a Kahr 9mm. Kahy uses a single stack magazine. That means that the bullets sit directly on top of each other in the handle instead of staggering off to one side or the other. This makes for a smaller grip.

As far as cleaning goes, just go to youtube and type "clean [insert your gun here]" and you will get a bunch of video tutorials on exactly what to do. You should follow along with the owners manual too. If you don't have the owner's manual, you can probably find one online, probably at the manufacturer's website.

[liberty404]

Hippiechick,
Go shooting at several different ranges in your local area and attend some shooting club meetings.  Look for a mentor.  A mentor is not someone that tells you what to do, but rather that uses his / her greater experience to help you plan your search, define your most important criteria, and organize the information you encounter.  The mentor has or knows friends that have many different firearms.  In fields with a significant learning curve, finding a mentor is a key success factor.  Don't be afraid to abandon your first mentor and find a different one.  The teaching relationship has to work for you and you are the sole judge of "work".

My opinion:
1.A short-barrel revolver has the advantage that it can be left loaded for a long time.  No springs are compressed while loaded, so no risk of springs taking a set. 
2.Revolvers are more intuitively obvious. 
3.Start shooting with a .22 caliber (but it might be your mentor's gun).
4.Don't be overwealmed by windbags or self-proclaimed experts, of which there are many.

It's an adventure in learning.  Enjoy

[Ryder]

One thing I tell people who are worried about owning and using a gun. Would you rather have the gun along with it's risks or would you like to have you and yours at the mercy of some really bad bad people?
  A note on shooting a short barreled 357....do it at night and everybody close by with their eyes open is suddenly night blind.
  If you are worried about home security first make sure you deny entrance to your home with strong locks/doors and lack of ease of coming thru windows.
   A starter gun that will last a long time is a ruger 10/22 22 caliber rifle. Have several 30 round clips available and you can shoot as fast as you can pull the trigger. Cheap gun brand new and the ammo is also really cheap by comparison to anything else.
 

[opsec]

On the subject of shooting at night, avoid getting a gun with a ported barrel. That's those guns that have the slits cut into the top of the barrel to control recoil. At night this is like setting off a flare right in front of your face. You get the same night blindness problem.

About as cheap as a Ruger 10/22, and much more combat effective would be an SKS. That's a Chinese semi-automatic rifle that fires the well tested 7.62x39mm round (same as the infamous AK-47). As cheap as they are, one could afford to buy two or three of them and keep them strategically placed around the house out of sight.

[hippiechick]

I contacted a gun club about gaining membership. $ 40 per year.  Hopefully that will help and give me a place to practice. Quick question? I pulled out my 9mm yesterday  that hasn't been shot in years and wanted to see if it was loaded, no clip... so I pulled back the slide to check the chamber. oh... Now it is ready to go....but couldn't fire here in my house in town. Is there a way to release it now?? 

[darwinslair]

pull the trigger.

Tom

[oldsoldier]

Hippiechick   I agree with several others here. think about getting a shotgun. they are fairly in expensive, easy to maintain, very accurate at closer ranges.  Question here? Some local gun shops here have indoor ranges and have handguns you can rent cheaply. If you have any in your area that do maybe go there, try out a few and find the type, ( revolver or auto)
as well as the caliber, ( 38,9mm, whatever) and fire them. That may help make your decision easier.

[opsec]

no clip... so I pulled back the slide to check the chamber. oh... Now it is ready to go....but couldn't fire here in my house in town. Is there a way to release it now?? 

Uh...hold the presses. Is there or is there not a round in the chamber? If not you can do as Darwinslair said and pull the trigger (dry fire it's called) to release the spring.

Make sure the gun is unloaded first. No magazine. That's half the battle. Pull back the slide and look into the chamber to make sure there is nothing in there. Though rare, it is possible for extractors to fail and leave a round in the chamber. Once that is done, then dry fire the gun. You have to do that before you can disassemble the gun for cleaning anyways. PM sent.

[tigger]

Or, do you mean the slide is locked back and needs to be released?

[hippiechick]

The hammer thing is up....I don't see anything when I slide it back, but is there a groove or crevice or something a bullet might be in...Could it hurt to just leave it in this position until I have someone help me? I live in town and can't take any chances dry firing unless I know for sure.
Since the gun has been stored for years I'm scared of it. Once I take it out and shoot it, then know for sure it is unloaded as I store it next time I'll be fine. But who knows if my ex husband left the thing with a bullet in the chamber years ago.
It's a nice gun. Still has the box and $ 469 price tag on it. Too big for me to use comfortably though. My hands are small.
Maybe I should just  get me a " new little baby" that I can shoot comfortably and conceal as necessary.