Did you buy your first handgun in order to protect your bride? Your family?

[Dave17]

Self-defense is not a masculine trait, it is something every living creature possesses. I do not try to convince anyone that they should carry to defend self/family. I will discuss our RKBA, but every individual needs to decide what is right for him/her.

My first handgun I bought as an adult, after moving to Virginia. I bought it because I enjoy shooting and missed shooting. I could not shoot my pellet rifle in a suburban neighborhood. As a kid, I shot my father’s .22LR rifle on occasion, but shot my pellet rifle just about daily. It is powerful for an air rifle, though there are many on the market today far more powerful. I did not feel I could safely shoot it in my yard, as a ricochet would be potentially dangerous.

There was an indoor range not too far away, so I bought a .22LR handgun for target shooting. At the time, the self-defense aspect of firearms was not something I considered. That came several or more years later.

After numerous discussions with a family member that is now a retired LEO, I bought a 9mm for self/family defense. I have always been a pacifist, so the idea of harming someone, or worse, was very difficult to mentally overcome. The convincing argument was that as the husband/father it is my responsibility to defend my wife, his sister, and my family, not his and not LE.

I finally got my CHP when I felt I was mentally prepared to do whatever might be necessary. Since then, I have learned a lot, and still learning, about fireams and armed (not just firearms) and unarmed self-defense. I am still a pacifist at heart, but I will do what is necessary to protect my family.

I am a strong, and active, advocate of self-defense and the RKBA. I am a member of at least several rights groups. Friends and family come to me when they have questions on firearm laws and the RKBA.

[Larry130]

I didn’t have to purchase my first handgun. It came to me courtesy of the USMC (some strings attached). My first actual purchase was a .357Mag for wild pig hunting in California (around 1974).

[Gary51]

My first handgun was a used 357 magnum. I walked into a local gun store, saw the used Dan Wesson 357 in the case at what I thought was a good price. I wanted it. I had the cash so I purchased it on the spot and took it home with me. That was over 40-years ago.

[Jay32]

My Dad and Mom took me shooting the first time in 1964. We were visiting my Grandpa and Grandma (Dads parents) in PA. They lived in an old company house in a place called Denbo near Brownsville, PA. The coal mine had been closed for years but older folks were able to buy their homes and keep living there. Anyway, I was 7 yrs old and someone amongst them thought it would be a great time to teach little me how to shoot. We walked up this old red dog road to what they called a slate dump. As a kid it looked like a mountain or even a volcano to me. They brought a 22 pistol and a Damascus barreled single shot 12 gauge that Grandpap used as a cane on the way to the dump. We shot bottles and cans. They made me feel like the center of the universe (again). I’m 65 now and it is still one of the great memories of my life. It took some time but I eventually purchased a 357 Ruger Blackhawk in 1976. It’s the bicentennial model. I got to shot it with Dad and Grandpap just before he died in 1977. I still have it and I inherited that old Damascus barreled mule kick from Dad in 2004.

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[Brad]

Awesome story. Do you have pics to share?

[Jay32]

Thanks! I thought it would resonate with folks around Father’s Day. This is my first handgun, the 357 Blackhawk

[Johnnyq60]

@Jay32
Those are some nice pieces of old hardware

[Jay32]

Thanks Johnny. I’m looking forward to passing them on to one of my grandkids one day.

[Johnnyq60]

It is a great thing when they get that old and still go boom.

[BeanCounter]

Nice Ruger Blackhawk, @Jay32 !

[Howard58]

When the Pandemic first started showing up there were predictions that it “COULD” become very bad and potentially cause civil unrest. I had never owned a gun. I had shot a weapon only a few times. I was in my mid to late 60’s at the time. I decided to look into owning a handgun to protect myself at home. I ended up buying P365. It wasn’t long before I became fascinated with how guns are designed and the technology. I now own several different caliber handguns, an AR style rifle and a long barreled (11”) pistol. I have also gotten my CC License. I go to the range preferably 2-3 times a month and for about 300 rounds varying from 9mm, 380, and 22LR.

[Daniel106]

I was suprised to learn that I had to purchase my service pistol for our department. They gave us a small preapproved selection to choose from, but all had to be .45 acp. Of the three choices, one was a S&W revolver in .45 acp. I went with the Colt Government model as it was the least expensive. Funny thing tho, the next year the department landed a huge budget increase and with it came 2", 4" or 6" S&W in .357. Mine stayed in its original box on the top shelf of my closet until I moved away five years later. I now wish I had kept/purchased both. I gave it all up to become a high school math teacher, thinking it would be safer and knowing that it would be a whole lot more money. Wrong and wrong again. The purchase took less than an hour, write a check and pick it up. There have been a few like that a time or two, but that was because I had my CCW. Cash on the counter, a phone call, time to pick out accessories. Then off to the range to test it all out! That was Arizona, and now Florida. Great states!

[Michael854]

Always had shotguns, going back to the mid 60s.
Went through a couple rifles.
Didn’t get a handgun until a couple weeks after I applied for Concealed Carry License, late 2020.

Changing times.

All this new training is great though.

[Ron39]

Ruger Mark 1. Bought to shoot gophers.

[Doug48]

My first gun was a 20 gauge side-by-side shotgun my father bought for me as an 11 year old for maintaining my good grades. For the first half of that years hunting season he made me carry that gun empty until he was sure I knew how to use it safely. He decided it was finally time for me to load my gun when I lost my footing in a plowed, snow covered cornfield and managed to keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction the entire time I was going to the ground.
After 911 I became a lot more aware of the world around me as to just how dangerous it was. That was the point I became interested in self-protection / self-defense.
In recent years I’ve become very unhappy with how the NRA has spent my hard earned donations. Instead of sending money to them I have turned to supporting young people in my community interested in getting into firearm ownership/self-defense. While I will not purchase firearms, I do purchase support equipment such as range bags, hearing/eye protection and occasionally will pay for basic pistol classes. I found it to be a much better investment of my money and I’m bringing new people into the fold so to speak.
While I realize a quality handgun can be quite an expenditure for someone just getting started in their career, I remind them that it is actually an investment in themselves and their loved ones. The same thing can be said for any money they spend on training.

[Wanda3]

A woman’s voice here…I got my LTC in 2012/2013. Shot lots of guns training but didn’t buy one until 2020. Partly because of the scare that guns wouldn’t be available but also as a single woman, I didn’t feel safe without one anymore. Bought a Ruger LCR 22 Mag. I liked it a lot but for target practice, it wasn’t it for me. Then I fell in love with my S&W M&P Shield EZ Performance Center (silver). Love the semi way more than revolvers. I feel safer when I have it with me but having moved to a new state, I don’t yet have my LTC here. Of course, they make it hard to get. So I am more limited in where and when I walk. Not carrying concealed after doing so makes me feel less secure. I carry mace and my flashlight - O-Light - but truth be told, could I defend myself this way? probably partially. But I am trying to obtain the LTC here.
Years ago, I was one of those mothers who didn’t want her son playing with toy guns. lol. Now he is a surface warfare officer and a LT. Commander in the Navy! And I own a gun (and train with it including great mentorships I found here on there site and elsewhere). So change is possible and changing one’s mind is necessary to grow n this life.
I’m loving being a responsible gun owner and respect all of my community (all of you) for the same. Carry on and carry!

[Wanda3]

This is Raven…

[Ted29]

1st handgun was .22 @ age 12 for fur trapping and hunting squirrels/rabbits. Have carried about 90% of the time for the past 59 yrs.

[Robert_G]

I hunted at a young age. I only had 22 pistols, rifles and shotguns. After I seen what was going on in the country My wife and I decided to conceal and carry so now I carry a 9MM pistol when I go outside my house and have them handy in our home.

[Scott361]

COVID, riots, “defund the police”, CRT, PC run amok, being told that I am an evil bad white person just because I’m male and white, the increase in crime, the decrease in police budgets and staffing…

My wife and I are both around 60 and sitting ducks should someone want to do us harm. So yes, protecting my wife and myself at home, and at the very large, public, highly visible and vocal church with several thousand people in it (can you say “big target”?), became my primary motivator for my first firearm purchase two years ago after much research, a Ruger EC9s.

Since then, I’ve added a Ruger LCP in .380 and a Canik TP9SFX.

Very, very sadly, I fear for our nation and a peaceful life. I wrestle with the role of firearms for Bible-believing Christians, while also recognizing that scripture speaks of the need for armed self-defense.

I pray the need for firearms for self defense goes away, and we can shoot tin cans, rodents and targets….just for fun.

Missing the days of relative innocence.