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"What Gun Should I Buy?"

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JTH:
Recently, I've seen a number of people on various Facebook pages asking "What Gun Should I Get..." types of questions.

In the vast majority of cases, well-meaning but clueless people immediately pipe up with answers specifying EXACTLY what gun they should get.  (Which is pretty amazing, since they don't normally bother to start by asking WHY someone wants a gun.)

Also in a majority of those cases, either 1) the person asking already knows what gun they are going to buy, and simply wants validation of their (often poor) choice, or 2) the person takes random advice from people who don't know anything about them or their situation, and buys a gun that they don't understand and won't ever actually shoot more than once (which is probably good, considering the number of people who suggest really poor-quality firearms).

So I wrote about how that feels from my perspective.  (And I'm sure that a lot of you feel the same way.)

http://precisionresponse.wordpress.com/2014/12/29/what-gun/

I note:  I am perfectly happy to talk guns and give advice and suggestions, IF the person asking is actually serious about trying to find a gun for a purpose that involves actually shooting said gun.  People should feel free to ask for help, in that case!

That does bring up the question:  So, if someone does ask a version of the "what gun should I buy" question, what information do we need to ask of them so that we can give them a good answer?

What do we need to know, first, before we make any suggestions?

jFader:
Excellent article! I am amazed at the casual facebookers who ask these questions daily & sometimes hourly on a few of the popular local gun pages.

I am sure that you also want to grow your hair out just to pull it out when you see this question....."where can I get my ccw cheap?".....followed by at least 3 instructors with a combined experience of 12 months racing each other to offer the class for less than $100!  Wow that never gets old

Lorimor:
We need to know what, if any, previous experience they have. 

How much do they intend to train and practice with the gun? 

Do they have the strength to rack the slide?  Do they have the strength to pull a DA revo trigger?

What do they think they are most comfortable with, semi or revo, from previous experience, if any?

What is their budget?

What is their intended use for the handgun?  SD?  Plinkin'?  Competition?  Carry?

Waltherfan:
When I was in the gun selling biz, I didn't recommend brands and tried to get them to hold several types of handguns to see what fit their hands the best. Most appreciated that and usually didn't chose the one their "friend" recommended.

shooter:
 the first and most important question they should ask, would be to there wife, CAN I BUY A GUN!  I am on several face book pages and cannot believe how many people are selling guns that are only 2 months old, Ive asked a few, mostly its, the wife got pissed! 

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