Christmas is coming. Our friends mean well, but lots of Christmas gifts don’t fit their recipient. I have several sweaters that are the wrong color and wrong size. Like a sweater, a firearm has to fit you, so don’t be shy about returning the firearm you received for Christmas if it isn’t the right one for you. A firearm is as personal as a pair of shoes. Finding the right pair is hard to do. We can be partially to blame.
People often give us the gun they wish we needed, rather than the gun that best fits our needs today. We do that to ourselves as well. We tell ourselves we’ll grow into that pistol… someday. Fortunately, there are enough choices out there that we can probably find something what suits us today.
I know handguns the best, but there is a similar argument for both rifles and shotguns. Trade the gun you don’t want for the one that you can use today.
If you’re in the gun market, you can help your “Secret Santa” by shopping for him and then telling Santa the correct make, model and color. You want to shoot it before you make your decision, so you might as well start your shopping at the shooting range. Which gun do you want? It can be confusing, so take a picture of the gun you’ve chosen and send the photo to your “Secret Santa”.
Where should a new shooter start his search? Most of us want a 22 caliber handgun or rifle for training new students who have not shot a gun before. If you are that student, then that is a good place for you to start as well. This is your first gun, not your last gun, so if you’re slightly intimidated by guns, by the noise or by the recoil, then start with a 22. That caliber is also great fun to share with your friends who don’t get to the range very often.
Maybe you shoot already, but you don’t think the gun you have now is the right gun for concealed carry. Welcome to the world of the perfect gun compromise. You read that right. You can’t have the perfect gun, but you can have the compromise that best fits your interests…today.
— A heavy gun is tiring to carry.
— A light gun is less comfortable to shoot.
— Small guns are easy to conceal, but large guns are more accurate.
There are other compromises we make as we choose our next gun, but let’s compromise and stop there. No matter what, we all want a gun that is tailored to fit our hands.
We are the problem. We want one tool for many uses, and I’m as guilty as the next person. There are too many applications for any single gun to fulfill them all. I feel for you if you’re the gift-giver. You can always give the gift of a training course.
We must drive sales people crazy as we sort out our wants across their counter.
Image: by Brian Ambrozy; https://www.flickr.com/photos/icrontic/9648302761/; CC by-ND 2.0
