Hey yall the current insanity has finally pushed me into a place where I want to purchase a rife for self defense. Do any of you have access to a good guide on purchasing as well as any advice on finding a good firearms safety course/instruction?
EDIT: Wow! Thanks for the responses yall! A handgun wouldnt be ideal for a lot of reasons, and I wouldnt plan on carrying it around on my person anyway; I have pepper spray for that. I also dont plan on using it like in a home intruder situation, I mostly just want to be prepared if things really start to go sideways. I dont want to be the queer who is lead away to the camps without a fight, plus I have greatly enjoyed target shoting the few times I have done it. Mostly I am just looking for advice on what type of rife I should get and what is an affordable way to get it, I dont want to be taken advantage of.
Concealed carry is great if your state allows it. Any option or cert to legally transport and use a gun for self-defense helps give you a bit more coverage in the event you have to use it.
What’s up with mental health stuff when it comes to background checks? I can’t imagine they have access to my medical records, but I could see there being some sort of system where folks are flagged when they are involuntarily committed or something?
I don’t think I’m ever going to be a gun guy, but this is something I’ve always been curious about.
It’s very inconsistent and opaque. There are a few things that with definitely get you flagged, and a long list of things that may or may not get you flagged. Not only does it vary from state to state, but from institution to institution.
For instance, if you are declared mentally unfit by a court you will always be rejected by a background check if it isn’t later expunged. If you are involuntarily committed it’s a matter of if it was reported or not, and the state you were in when that happened. Some institutions will report based on what you were committed, some do it to everyone, some it’s just a matter of if they remembered to do the paperwork. Sometimes people are rejected even though they were never committed, it’s all over the place.
Got a question on behalf of someone who wants to purchase a firearm (not joking, really is for someone else). They were in an accident not too long ago and vision in their right eye has basically deteriorated to the point where they’re legally blind in that eye. If they’re right hand dominant, how do they aim firearms? Is it possible to use the firearm with the left hand?
If you are right handed but left eyed, it’s easier to just shoot left handed than it is to try and shoot right handed. It will take more practice to reach a certain minimum level of competence, but once you have reached that you will generally progress your skills further just as fast as anyone else.
I’m general, I would recommend doing things in this order:
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Training
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Buy a rifle
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Buy a handgun
Mix in finding a non-chud local gun group to help you find training and the guns.
The gun is most dangerous to you and your loved ones - not the fash - until you’ve trained. Once trained on shooting rifles, rifles will be easier for learning on and more powerful and general-purpose, particularly for self-defense. Once you’re comfortable with the rifle, you could purchase and train with a handgun and look into concealed carry for defense on the go. Obviously if you are in immediate danger you can make different decisions.
In terms of choice, I recommend the most popular things in your area so that you can get ammo and accessories and not stand out when training, but that’s just my mode of operation so if you wanna be loud and out there I’m not gonna tell you not to, just to be cautious even then.
