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Ammunition Nomenclature: Eliminating Confusion for Newbie Shooters

For someone new to firearms and ammunition, it can be confusing to understand the different names and terms given to ammunition cartridges. There are several types and shapes of ammunition, and knowing the difference can make a big impact on the safety and performance of the firearm.

 

The confusion is brought about by the absence of a naming standard. Generally, the numbers used in ammunition indicate the metal bullet’s diameter. Therefore, a .45 means that it is .45 of an inch in diameter while the diameter of a .22 is .22 of an inch.

 

The compound number used to describe ammunition represents diameter to length ratio, such as:

 

  • 56×45 mm – 5.56mm wide, 45mm long
  • 9×19 mm – 9mm wide, 19mm long

 

Shotshells on the other hand are measured in gauge. The larger diameter is the lower number. A 12-gauge shell is 70mm in length, which is about 2.5 inches. It is also available in 3-inch magnum.

 

Components of a cartridge

 

A cartridge is the type packaging of small arms ammunition, which is composed of four parts:

 

  • Case – which is typically made of steel, nickel or brass
  • Primer – the propellant’s ignition. It is the round dimple located at the cartridge’s base.
  • Propellant/powder – the gunpowder
  • Projectile – the actual bullet

 

A cartridge with propellant but without a bullet is called a blank. A dummy or drill round does not have a primer, propellant and bullet, and typically used for training purposes and when checking the performance of a firearm. A dummy round is also called a snap cap.

 

Types of cartridges

 

As there are several types of firearms, there are also different types of cartridges that are loaded into them. The types include the following:

 

  • 8mm Mauser (actually 7.9mm)
  • 12 gauge Shotshell
  • .22 Long Rifle
  • 45x39mm Soviet
  • 56x45mm NATO (.223 Remington)
  • 62x39mm Soviet
  • 62x51mm (.308 Winchester)
  • 62x54mm Russian (rimless base)
  • .44 Magnum (rimless base)
  • .45 Automatic Colt Pistol or ACP
  • 9x19mm Para. (also called Parabellum, Luger or just 9mm, but they slightly vary in length)

 

What is a caliber?

 

Caliber or calibre, (abbreviation – cal.) is the estimated diameter of the internal part of the gun’s barrel. It also represents the diameter of the projectile or the bullet. A .45 caliber gun for example means that the barrel diameter measures .45 of an inch or close to but still not quite half an inch.

 

Diameters can be expressed in metric as well, such as 9mm guns. The decimal point is typically dropped when said orally, but included in written descriptions.

 

Here are examples of the typical naming conventions, to make it easier for you to understand the caliber of the ammunition (ammo).

 

  • 30-06 – the first number represents the caliber of the ammo, while 06 represents the year 1906 (standard rifle cartridge of the U.S. military)
  • 270 Winchester – approximate diameter of the bullet (actual size – .277-inch); Winchester is the manufacturer that standardized this type of ammo.
  • 375 H&H Magnum – bullet diameter = .375-inch; H&H stands for Holland & Holland, a British manufacturer; magnum is the name given to the ammo because it is slightly bigger than its counterparts
  • 220 Swift – about .224″ in diameter; swift is added because it is exceedingly fast (also manufactured by Winchester)
  • 45-70 Government – officially adopted for the use of the U.S. government; size is .458″
  • 30-30 Winchester – first number is its diameter while the second number represents its 30 grains of black powder load.
  • 45 ACP – the ’45’ represents the diameter of the bullet while ACP refers to the original gun, the Automatic Colt Pistol model 1911.

 

Types of bullets

 

The projectile or the bullet, which is the actual piece that flies out of a firearm, comes in different types, which are usually called by their acronyms, as follows:

 

  • LRN – Lead Round Nose
  • WC – Wad Cutter
  • SWC – Semi Wad Cutter
  • SJ – Semi Jacketed
  • SJHP – Semi Jacketed Hollow Point
  • JHP – Jacketed Hollow Point
  • FMJ – Full Metal Jacket
  • SP – Soft Point (not coating on bullet tip, exposing the lead)
  • AP – Armor Piercing (alloy core)
  • BT – Boat Tail (cartridge’s read end is tapered for flight stability of the projectile)
  • BTHP – Boat Tail Hollow Point
  • RBCD – Special (the acronym is the name of the manufacturer)

 

Ammunition nomenclature is definitely confusing. The important thing to remember is to have the appropriate ammunition and protection for your firearm. The diameter should perfectly match the size of the gun’s barrel to have the right seal.

 

With the market flooded with different makers, you need to be specific when you purchase your cartridges. A common 7.62 could be for a 7.62×59, 7.62×54 Russian, 7.62×54 Russian, 7.62×39 Soviet or a 7.62×25 Tokarov.

 

Contributor:  Imran Khan

 
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It’s A Major Award!

In case you missed it, the National Association for Gun Rights plans to recognize Congressman Thomas Massie for being a champion for gun rights. In his most recent act as such a champion for gun rights, the Congressman chose to vote against H.R. 38, the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act.

No…you did not misread that. To show his support for your gun rights, Congressman Thomas Massie voted against national concealed carry reciprocity. Now, he’ll tell you he supports “reciprocity,” but he never connects that word with “national.” This is because his support is only for the bill he introduced, H.R. 2909, which enforces reciprocity only in the District of Columbia…where he works.  He also says that he opposed H.R. 38 because of the “Fix NICS” language which was added to it. But ask him if he’d support H.R. 38 without that language, and all you’ll get is silence.

Never co-sponsored HR 38, even months before it was amended to include NICS.

No matter how he tries to spin it…he voted against my right to carry my concealed firearm when I drive through Illinois. And yours.

He voted against my right to carry a concealed firearm when traveling to Massachusetts, or New York, or Chicago for work. And yours.

He voted against my right to carry my concealed firearm into New Jersey to attend a martial arts seminar.  Without the national reciprocity which Massie opposes, New Jersey can continue to jail people like Shaneen Allen or Donna Gracy. Or me. Or you.

For this, the NAGR will present him with their “.50 Cal Award.” Mind you, this is an organization whose most notable achievement in the advancement of national gun rights is that they have never actually advanced national gun rights in any meaningful way. I cannot think of a single piece of significant national pro-gun legislation which NAGR has helped pass. If there’s something they’ve done to increase my gun freedoms, I am unaware of it.

So I guess it is 1984 after all. War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength. And a vote against more gun liberty gets you a major award from a national gun rights group which doesn’t advance national gun rights.

Personally, I’d prefer the leg lamp.

 

As a postscript, I will tell you that the gun shop which is hosting this award ceremony is in my local area (Triggers in Florence, Kentucky), and if I can get free on Thursday, I’ll go check it out. If I do, it will be the last time I ever set foot in that particular store. Any gun shop which would celebrate this will never get another dime of mine.

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Guest Post: Do You Know About the AppleSeed Project?

Jack Billington

I really hate to mention it here in this realm of derring-do and expertise in all things martial.

But I’m a lousy rifle shot.

Picture it: I’m a guerrilla fighter. My comrades are counting on my sniping skills to take out a key enemy position. I aim, breathe, squeeze the trigger — and take out a cow in a barn 12 degrees to the left, alerting the enemy, losing the battle, and depriving my fellow fighters of milk they need for survival.
Fortunately, no one is likely ever to be dumb enough to rely on my sniping skills.

Still, one recent Saturday I found myself, rifle in hand, at a nearby farm in the company of 20 women and girls.

We were there to attend a LadySeed, the women-only version of an Appleseed marksmanship clinic. Project Appleseed, as you may know, is an effort to turn Americans back into expert shooters “one rifleman at a time.” Its events are put on by the wonderfully named Revolutionary War Veterans Association and are staffed entirely by volunteers.

It’s not just about shooting. Each Appleseed also features an extended history lesson focused on April 19, 1775.

But mostly it’s shooting.
A blog post is too short to cover much about the events. The quickest and best thing to say is this is valuable training for anyone — man, woman, or child — who wants to buff up on rifle skills and do it with excellent help and in good company. And if there’s an Appleseed near me in the uber-boonies, there’ll probably be one near you at some time or another. Schedules are listed on the organization’s site.

Appleseed is not ideal for someone who has never fired a gun. Still, the woman next to me on the firing line was a newbie. She began the day unable to hit the paper. By the time we dragged our tired selves home, she was punching impressive holes.

The friend who came with me and I quickly realized we had handicapped ourselves by not bringing proper equipment. She had a bolt action with a single five-round magazine, and I had a tube-fed Savage that was my brother’s Cub Scout gun back when dinosaurs ruled the earth.
A semiauto .22 with two or more mags and a sling is really a must to get the most out of an Appleseed.

Turns out there’s a good equipment list linked right from the front page of the Project Appleseed website. But since we came to the class sign-up via a different route, we never saw it and couldn’t find one. It was our fault for not digging deeper. But it would have been nice had the organizers ensured that every attendee had such a list.

That’s a nit-pick. There are many, many more positive things to say. For the sake of brevity, I’ll focus on one: the excellent volunteer staff. The instructors in our case were all women — and could easily have been professional trainers.

Appleseed got started just five years ago with roughly two dozen clinics. This year, according to our instructors, it’s putting on close to 1,000. Even the New York Times took notice — although predictably the writer put the scariest possible slant on things.

Did my friend and I emerge as better shooters? Hard to say. Most people in the class did — and that was just on the first day. For a variety of reasons, we decided to skip the Sunday session. Both of us felt we’d have made more progress had we brought semi-autos.

But there’s always another Appleseed. And maybe someday “I’ll be good enough not to pot that cow.”

 

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Guest Post – About AR 15’s

The AR-15 was originally designed by a company called Armalite in the 1950s. It eventually became type classified the M16 by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War. Now, the name AR-15 refers to civilian legal semi-auto variants of the military M16 and M4 rifles. The AR-15 system is the longest serving service rifle in U.S. military history. It has served in one form or another for the last 49 years at the time of this writing.

The standard chambering for the AR is 5.56x45mm NATO. The commercial equivalent is .223 Remington although there are subtle differences between the two that shooters should be aware of (see further reading section below).

The AR-15 utilizes lightweight alloys and polymers in its construction to reduce weight and cost of manufacture. The receiver is aluminum while the grips and stocks are polymers. The barrel, bolt carrier group, and fire control group are all steel. A basic AR-15 weighs between seven and eight pounds unloaded.

Barrels range from 10″ to 24″ in length. On civilian legal fighting rifles, we are looking at barrels between 16″ and 20″. Rifles with barrels shorter than 16″ must be registered as Short Barreled Rifles (SBR) with the BATF.

The AR operates on a principal commonly called direct gas impingement although that term implies that gas is simply blown onto the bolt to cycle the action which isn’t quite true. What is true is that the AR-15 does not use a piston system like its predecessor the M-14 or most of its competitors around the world. Instead, high-pressure gas is directed out a port in the barrel, down a gas tube, into the bolt carrier. Inside the bolt carrier, the gas expands pushing the bolt carrier rearward. As the bolt carrier moves it rotates the bolt, unlocking it from the chamber. The bolt carrier continues to move rearward taking the bolt and spent case with it. The spent case extracts out the ejection port. A spring in the receiver extension (inside the stock) forces the bolt carrier group forward again, displacing a new round from the magazine and feeding it into the chamber.

The stock sights on the AR are quite good. They employ a post front sight and an aperture rear sight. A2 style sights are adjustable for elevation to adjust for ranges out to 600-800 meters depending on your particular rifle.

The controls on the AR are quasi-ambidextrous by default. While designed for a right handed shooter in mind they can be used by lefties with a slightly different manual of arms. On A2 and later rifles, there is a brass deflector behind the ejection port that deflects the brass forward and away from the shooter’s face while firing left handed.

The stock USGI magazines for the AR-15 are aluminum and come in 20 and 30 round capacities.

 

The AR Advantage

 

In the beginning, the principal benefit of the AR-15 over its predecessors was its light weight and ease of handling. In the Jungles of Vietnam, ranges were short, and fire superiority was favored over long range terminal performance. Its range is certainly sufficient, however, for most encounters either by soldiers or civilians. Marines have been training to hit man sized targets with this rifle at 500 and have done so for decades.

Since the AR has recoil, it is easy to learn to shoot well. Because the ammunition is less expensive than most other centerfire cartridges, you’ll be able to practice more. That also means you’ll be able to stock up affordably for that rainy day.

In the last ten years, the AR platform has truly evolved into a 21st-century weapon system. Accessories are now available to allow you mount lights, lasers, and night vision optics to your rifle. Collapsible stocks are now common which allow you to easily fit the rifle to you. Polymer magazines are now being built that can survive being run over by a truck. There have never been more options for the civilian shooter looking for a military pattern rifle than there is now with the AR-15.

Optics are also easier to mount on the AR-15 than some other platforms provided you start with a “flat top” model. Some people are opposed to optical sights, either red dot scope or telescopic, but I feel that anything that improves hit probability is a good thing.

The ergonomics on the AR are second-to-none. The controls are all easy to reach right from the firing position. Because it can be so compact the AR can be good for both indoors and out.

Given that the design is now almost 50 years old, the patents have expired. Dozens of companies are now building them. Parts and complete rifles can be found anywhere. Even Wal-Mart is selling ARs in certain parts of the country. This is a great thing if you are a high volume shooter or planning for hard times. I am convinced the AR-15 is easier to keep running for the average citizen than any other rifle available on the U.S. market.

About AR Reliability

Due to a less-than-graceful entry into service during Vietnam, the AR has poor reputation with some folks that continue to this day. Much of the issues with those early rifles were due to bureaucratic incompetence. Once the Army issued cleaning kits and resumed chrome lining the chamber and bore of their rifles the problems went away.

One of the things you need to do to keep your rifle running strong is lube it properly. Some folks think that running the rifle dry helps keep dust and powder residue out of the weapon. This is wrong. The weapon will accumulate filth from firing and being carried regardless of how it is lubed. Dirt that is lubed, however, is a lot slicker than dirt that is dry. Keep the rifle wet, and it will keep running for a long time without fuss.

Part of the problem with military rifles is that they shoot them until they break. Generally the military does no preventive maintenance on their weapons so troops carrying older weapons often experience problems. If your life depends on a weapon won’t you replace the springs and wear parts at regular intervals to ensure reliability? This is common practice with handguns used for duty by law enforcement and it needs to be standard practice for duty rifles as well. I may cover part life and replacement intervals in a future article. In the meantime a simple Google search should find you the information you need.

Lastly, make sure you get good magazines. I recommend USGI or Magpul mags. There may be some others that work but I have no experience with them. There are a lot of poor quality mags out there made by third rate companies. Do a little research before making a purchase and you’ll be able to avoid any heartache. Number your magazines so that if one starts to cause malfunctions you can isolate it. Mags are consumable items so keep a fresh supply handy.

What to Buy?

Choosing a rifle is a highly personnel thing. I will provide some general recommendations that apply to those looking for a hard use gun. If you are looking for a plinker then what you buy doesn’t matter much.

First choose a rifle from a reputable manufacturer. Dozens of companies are building ARs but only a few really build hard use weapons. Companies you should look into are Bravo Company Manufacturing (BCM), Colt, Daniel Defense, Knights Armament, Lewis Machine & Tool (LMT), and Noveske Rifleworks. These companies build their rifles to a standard so that you know what you are getting. They also use the quality control measures necessary to ensure a quality product leaves their doors. Many other companies don’t.

I would choose either a 16″ or 20″ chrome lined barrel. I have come to prefer 16″ as it is a handier length and doesn’t give up too much velocity. The chrome lining is much harder than plain steel which improves barrel life. It is much easier to clean also than plain steel. There is a lot of consternation on the internet about the accuracy of chrome lined barrels but most of this is nonsense. If you and your rifle can consistently shoot 4″ groups at 100 meters (4 MOA) than you can probably hit a man sized target at 500 meters. Most chrome lined barrels will shoot 2 MOA with decent ammo. How much more accuracy do you need?

Your bolt should be high pressure (HP) tested and magnetic particle inspected (MPI). This is a requirement on military rifles and it ensures that there are no defects in your bolt. You want a defect free bolt since it has to hold back up to 62,000 PSI of pressure with each shot.

Fixed stocks work but I much prefer a collapsible stock. Being able to adjust the stock on the fly helps with getting into different positions and allows you to adjust for the clothing you are wearing. The A2 stock is too long for many, if not most, shooters.

Get a flat top rifle so that you have the greatest flexibility in mounting sights and optics. While it is true that optics can be mounted on top of carry handle sights that arrangement prevents you from getting a proper cheek weld. Your accuracy will suffer accordingly. If you want to start with standard sights then buy a detachable carry handle that way you have options later.

Many rifles today come with free floating rail systems. Floating the barrel can improve accuracy. More importantly, these rail systems allow you to mount accessories such as sights, lights, and sling mounts. They are highly customizable. Non floating rail systems are also available and are easier to install and remove. If you opt for a free float rail make sure you understand how to disassemble it for maintenance.

Buy good magazines. USGI aluminum is OK but they do not take the punishment that the newer polymer mags can take. Since magazines are a weak point in any weapon system it pays to buy the best up front. Magpul P-Mags are both affordable and highly reliable.

The AR-15 isn’t perfect but nothing ever is. Every choice involves compromises. After a half century of use the faults of the AR system are well known and industry has solved most of them with product improvements. The others can generally be mitigated with training and knowledge of how the system works. There are a lot of alternatives to the AR but none of them are truly revolutionary systems. Dollar for dollar the AR performs as well as anything out there.

This guest article was written by Douglas Brooks. He is the founder of ProReviewly.com. He was enthusiastic about hunting from the first shot. He is also Rifle optic guru.

If you like the podcast, download the free app for it on IOS at http://BlackManWithAGun.org also available in Google Play for Android. You can support this podcast at http://patreon.com/blackmanwithagun
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Alex Tham – Reports From The Frontlines

Greetings from California to all you Black Man With A Gun faithfuls. It’s no secret that the state of California is not friendly to the 2nd Amendment (nor any civil rights apart from those that are dear to left wing politicos). However, this past week, the CA legislature, dominated by the Democrats, has openly declared war on all law abiding gun owners in our state. It would take an essay or a novelette to document the entire slew of proposed legislation that we face, so for brevity’s sake, I’ll link a call to action from one of our newest 2nd Amendment advocacy groups in CA so you can see what we’re facing:

Firearms Policy Coalition – Call To Action

FPCI’m sure none of you are surprised by what you’ve seen here and you’re wondering why state the obvious. It is my hope that with the help of Gunmovement and other grass roots, gun rights activity, we can educate and inform all Californians as well as those fortunate enough to live in free America, just what these politicians purport to be doing in our name. Far too many of our citizens, gun owners and non gun owners alike, have very little knowledge of the activity that takes place in our state capital. Others don’t consider the long term ramifications of apathy or an every man for himself attitude.

I know many will just advise that we abandon ship and move to a place that actually respects the Bill of Rights. I find that piece of advice unacceptable. First, I love this state that I live in despite the twisted and corrupt politics. I lived here long before these would be rulers infected us with their insanity, so I’m not inclined to just hand them my home on a silver platter. Second, we are not completely lost. Many gun owners are waking up and many new groups have risen up to the challenge of defending our 2nd Amendment heritage.

So why tell you all this when it’s clear we’re facing an uphill battle? To let you know that we’re on the frontlines of this cultural, ideological and political war and the like any good fighting force, we’re only as strong as the support we receive back home. It is my hope that you’d support us in spirit, morale and, for those of you so inclined, financially by lending your support to the organizations that are fighting for us, and in the long term, for all of you as well. I’d like to introduce you to two organizations which have been working diligently against these civil rights crushing efforts:

The Firearms Policy Coalition

The Coalition For Civil Liberties

The NRA-ILA has also made the commitment to keep all funds donated by Californians in California, to fight the never ending onslaught of our would-be rulers.

While all appears bleak, we are hardly finished or done in California and I hope that, rather than being depressed by our seemingly desperate plight, you are encouraged to be more involved so that your home state will never become infected by this disease hopolophobic fascism. Remember, once a plague of locusts has finished ravaging an area it moves on. We’ll do our best here to stop them, but I don’t think anyone has the luxury of sitting back and watching from the sidelines.

Alex Tham

Director

American Marksman Training Group, LLC

Visit Our Shooting Supplies Store

Visit Our Facebook Page

atham@amtraininggroup.com

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The Right Fit

My experience in concealed carrying firearms has taught me that not one gun fits all. Just as we all don’t wear the same shoes, what I might like or carry might not be right for you. Below I provide tips on how to find the right firearm for concealed firearm for you.

 

1. Feel. One of the best ways to find a firearm for concealed carry is to actually handle the gun. Remember this will be the gun you train with and learn how to become a proficient marksman. How does it feel in your hand? Can you operate the controls such as the safety and rack the slide back? How does the trigger pull feel? I recommend visiting your local firearm store and ask to handle various firearms to get a feel for what you like.

 

2. Research. Start reading some trusted firearm magazine articles, search the Internet for gun reviews, and ask people about particular first hand experiences with firearms for concealed carry.

 

3.Holster. A great holster and belt will make it more comfortable to carry a firearm on your waist. Are holsters easily available for the particular firearm you are interested in? What type of holster do you plan on wearing (inside the pants, ankle holster, shoulder holster, etc.?)

 

4. Dress. Your dress will affect how you carry your firearm. You might have to redo or make alterations to your wardrobe in order to carry properly. Tighter clothes are harder to conceal and carry a firearm. Evaluate your wardrobe; there are multiple companies that manufacture lines of clothing for conceal carry.

From my personal experience and opinion, when considering what to buy — consider a compact or subcompact pistol that feels comfortable in your hand and you feel comfortable manipulating the functions. I would recommend some type of safety features. Ensure that you are easily able to dissemble and reassemble. I have fired and carried multiple handguns from a variety of manufacturers and many of them have great options for concealed carry.

For those of you that are concealed carry veterans I would love to know what your first firearm you purchased was and for any new comers feel free to ask any questions.

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Rule 2 + Rule 4 = Rule 6?

From contributing blogger – JJ Pewers

http://jjpewers.blogspot.com

Rule Two – the obvious rule

When discussing the firearm safety rules, one of the most basic principles that we as gun owners follow is to:

2. Never point a firearm at something you don’t intend to kill or destroy.

This is only common sense. This is probably the first rule that we teach a new shooter. While we need all of the rules to be completely safe, not pointing a firearm at someone is the foundation of all others. It’s the difference between a safe trip to plink tin cans and an unfortunate trip to the hospital.

Rule Four – where does that bullet go?

Rule Four can be a bit more ambiguous:

4. Know your target and what’s beyond it (and what’s around you)

This is much less a hard-and-fast rule, as it is a judgement call. We try to create the safest environment possible to enjoy the shooting sports. We have firing lines to keep people behind our 180º focus. We shoot into a hill and not over a ridge when out plinking. Shooting ranges have angled walls created from high tech bullet-catching material. We try to create a setting where everything we don’t care about stays down-range, and everything we do care about stays up-range.

That brings me to something I discovered not long ago. I was breaking either Rule Two, or I was breaking Rule Four, or perhaps it was some combination of both!

Rule Six = Rule 2 + Rule 4

6. When you are not at the range, add Rules 2 and 4 together!

At night, I unlock my firearm and place it on the dresser. I don’t have small children to be concerned with micro-humans accessing the gun while we sleep. The problem I realized is that if I something does go bump in the night, and my wife or I were to grab for the firearm, it is pointed right at the family we are intending to protect! Depending on the angle, down-range could include parts of three rooms and the landing where I expect my children to be.

We moved the firearm to be pointed across the stairway, where it never enters any of our living spaces, and has to travel through at least six sheets of drywall or more to exit our house.

Another violation of Rule Six I noticed one night when I sat down to dinner, after bringing in a flank steak off of the charcoal grill and placing it on the table. I will pocket carry in the summer from time to time. I have cargo-style shorts and I have dressier shorts with smaller pockets. When I sat down at the table in the dress shorts, I was pointing my firearm directly at my son’s abdomen! I hadn’t consciously realized that in the cargo shorts, I always slide the gun and holster down the side of my leg to point at the ground when I sit. At that moment, I excused myself from the table, and stored my carry piece away in a safe place.

Rule Six and YOU!

How do you find that Rule Six applies to you and your home? Are there people down-range from your storage location? When you reload your firearm and rack that first round in, are there people directly downstairs from you? Does your holster carry method flag your friends and family?
 
Stay safe, and have fun shooting, Young Americans!
JJ Pewers
If you like the podcast, download the free app for it on IOS at http://BlackManWithAGun.org also available in Google Play for Android. You can support this podcast at http://patreon.com/blackmanwithagun
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That New Gun Smell

There’s nothing like buying your very first handgun for conceal carry. A close friend and I were just reminiscing about when we first became proud concealed carry owners. We didn’t know how involved the purchasing process was because there were so many different products on the market. And today there are even more options than when I purchased my first handgun. I’m not going to endorse any particular firearm manufacturer but there are a few things you should look for before buying that shiny 357 pistol or plan on pocket carrying an AR pistol.

1. No cheap shots. Remember your buying a firearm that when you use it you want it to work. Don’t opt for the cheapest handgun. I would also venture to say not to consider the most expensive either. Have in mind a price range. Then look for firearms in that range. I highly recommend used firearms. There is nothing wrong with used guns, just inspect them carefully. Over the years I have found some real gems in used guns.

2. Research. Research. And research some more. Just like in school, research is important. Start buying some subscription magazines, search the Internet for gun reviews, and ask people about particular experiences with firearms for concealed carry.
3. This is not your dream gun. My first handgun was a revolver and not particularly my dream gun. Just like when you brought your first car or home, you know you weren’t buying what you always wanted. Remember training is essential. Get accustomed to going out to the range and practicing with your new handgun to become a proficient marksman.

From my personal experience and opinion, when considering what to buy for your first handgun I would suggest it to be chambered in either 9mm, 38. special, and 380ACP. It would be a compact or subcompact pistol that feels comfortable in your hand and you feel comfortable manipulating the functions. I would recommend some type of safety features. Ensure that you are easily able to dissemble and reassemble. I have fired and carried multiple handguns from a variety of manufacturers and many of them have great options for concealed carry. For those of you that are concealed carry veterans I would love to know what your first firearm you purchased was and for any new comers feel free to ask any questions.