If you’re just starting out as a prepper, here’s 3 Surprisingly Simple Steps to Gun Buying. You need this information regarding guns. You do NOT need to spend a lot of money on them when you first start preparing for whatever you are prepping for. I personally prep for a multitude of reasons, right now, I am most worried about economic collapse. There’s an article about your first gun and which ones we suggest you check it out here, but where to get your first one is not a pawn shop, your cousin Joe, nor an expensive gun shop.
3 Surprisingly Simple Steps to Gun Buying
The first thing you need to decide is what types of gun(s) you want. After that, you should goto an online shop which you trust and look for certified pre-owned guns. My recommendation is who I started buying from, guns.com. Find a weapon that fits your budget, read the reviews and debate what you can afford. Next, find a shop where they can mail it to, near you. You can’t get it sent directly to your home address, as you will understand why, in a moment. Where you have it sent must have a FLT license.
Now this part is VERY important… Contact each one near you and ask what the transfer fee is, ask if they check/verify the gun is in working condition, and the price of ammunition. The transfer fee will include a background check. Hopefully you can pass it. If you are in a neighboring state, you might not be able to purchase certain items, so try to purchase in the state your ID is from. For example, if I had an Arizona ID, and went to the state of Nevada, I could buy a rifle and a hand gun, but not a shot gun.
When I decided which types of weapons I wanted, I then went to the website and then chose which models I wanted. I read extensively on them, ensuring I read the reviews too. When you feel ready to purchase a gun, go ahead and get it, along with a gun cleaning kit and gun oil. Watch videos online on how to clean your particular gun. A gun should NEVER be shot without cleaning and oiling first.
Shooting Lessons
Your first shot can be a momentous memory, and it can be either good or bad. What decides this moment is who teaches you. After you have followed the Steps to Gun Buying, you need to decide who will teach you. Please, at this time, call around to gun ranges and find one which can teach you how to handle your weapon and to shoot it. If you use this method, you will learn to handle the weapon properly and won’t hurt yourself.
You will need ear muffs, eye protection (impact resistant), a holster (to wear outside your clothes), and full metal jacket ammunition. These bullets are going to be your shooting range ammunition. Depending on your gun, you might need to break it in for around 500 to 1000 rounds. The gun manual will let you know this. This break-in period will also be the time to get used to holstering your weapon, more cleaning and oiling, aiming properly and using the sights, as well as getting comfortable with your grip and stance.
You should learn to shoot the gun standing up, the one-knee kneeling stance, and laying down in a prone position – along with holstering and making your weapon safe in each stance. This can be in the form of discharging any extra bullets and/or removing the clip, if applicable. Just as you should clean and oil a gun before/after each use, you should also remember to not dry fire (without any bullets in) the gun. This can damage the weapon.
A very important lesson, is holding the gun properly, your instructor should show you this. Trying it yourself may cause you to damage your hands. Another important aspect is learning to aim it down, whether the gun is loaded or not – when not in use. Accidentally shooting someone does occur when people mishandle a gun. At the same time, you should ALWAYS assume a gun is loaded. People have been sent to prison for manslaughter when they accidentally shoot someone. So these are all valuable lessons that are a very important lesson with these Steps to Gun Buying.
When you have broken the gun in, and learned everything an instructor can teach you, will be when you can start having some fun with it. It could be shooting competitions, hunting, or just having the knowledge for your defense.
Gun Legalities
Steps to Gun Buying doesn’t stop there, knowing the gun legalities is also important. Please remember, in most areas, open-carry is completely legal. That means wearing a gun on the outside of your clothes in full view. However, not all businesses allow you to bring a weapon on to their property. If someone asks you to leave it at home or in the vehicle – you are welcome to do business elsewhere or comply. But if you comply, you need to safely secure your weapon. Please do not insist that you have the right to carry your gun into a private business. They can ask you to leave without doing business with you, as is their right.
If it’s in your vehicle, putting it in the trunk or cab in a gun safe and using a gun lock or trigger guard is highly recommended. The same holds true if you buy a gun for home defense. You should have a gun safe for all weapons and a gun lock or trigger guard at home.
Pro Tip: If you don’t have a gun safe, and your weapon is stolen – then used in a crime where someone is killed, you can be charged with manslaughter or worse. Get a gun safe and trigger guard. Also, make sure to hide the keys where your kids can’t find it. Parents are now being charged with Accessory when their children kill someone with their gun.
To put your gun under clothes, you will need to get a concealed weapon carry (CWC) permit. To get one can be difficult in your area. You should check what your area allows – some states may allow a CWC from one area to be used in another. Some may not. You should find out for yourself beforehand. Don’t just assume that you can have the weapon in a shoulder or waist holster without checking first or go from one state to another with one good in theissuing state.
Steps to Gun Buying
Hopefully these 3 Surprisingly Simple Steps to Gun Buying were in fact useful. It was a process which I thought would be more difficult. It wasn’t, but there was definitely a vilified gun ownership stigma to get past for me. Even though my parents owned a shotgun, a rifle and a BB gun (plinker) there was never a time when my father took me to a gun range nor store. I wish I had been exposed as a child, so I didn’t need to figure out the steps to gun buying by myself.
