Here’s a thought. Let’s say that you’re one of the many people who doesn’t own a gun of any real consequence — say, a .22 bolt-action rifle Christmas gift from Grandpa when you were ten, which you’ve fired occasionally but not often, or an old .38 revolver inherited from some uncle or other and only test-fired: and that’s it.
(I know, in these times and for my audience, this is scarcely believable; but I bet everyone can think of at least one person like this among your acquaintances, relatives and workmates. This is about them.)
Suddenly, you realize that things are going to get real and fairly soon, and you’re going to need a gun (or even two) fairly soon as well. Fortunately, you have a buddy who can teach you about the gun(s) and how to shoot them (what we Olde Pharttes call the “manual of arms”), but there’s a problem. You don’t have much money to spend, and the next gun show in your area is a month away — and you need a gun right now.
Your local gun stores are either out of stock, or worse: the guns they do have in stock are hideously expensive, and you only have a few hundred-odd dollars available, because the rest is being spent on building up emergency food supplies for you and your family. (Okay, I bet that now my Readers will know of a few people in this predicament.)
Still, you know that hoarding food supplies is pointless if some guy with a gun suddenly decides that he wants what you’ve got; you need to protect yourself, and get it done cheaply and quickly. Fortunately, you find an online source — an online outlet’s warehouse close by, and they have a stock of guns you can go to with fistfuls of dollars in hand, but you hardly know anything about guns.
What to do, and what are the best options?
As we all know, there is a list of must-haves when it comes to making a gun purchase of this sort. You need:
- an inexpensive gun
- chambered to shoot common (and therefore likely cheaper) ammo
- that you can learn to shoot quickly.
Her are my thoughts on the whole thing.
If there’s any chance you’re going to be facing some up-close-and-personal interaction, not much beats a shotgun. They’re cheap, easy to work, and despite having a small cartridge magazine capacity (5 or so), they’re the business. And there are lots of choices, and they’re all cheap. Here’s the best (I think) of the lot, the Mossberg Maverick 88 pump action, costing much less than three hundred dollars:
For ten bucks more, Savage’s Stevens 320 line also comes recommended:
Both are chambered in either 12ga or 20ga — 12 is more effective, but the 20’s recoil is much more manageable.
But Kim, you ask, what if I’m wanting to keep a little more distance between myself and Larry The Looter — say, as he comes up the driveway or is climbing over the back fence?
The bad thing about a shotgun is that the shot spreads soon after it leaves the muzzle, which means that the further away the target, the greater the dispersion of the pellets, and the greater likelihood of a partial- or even clean miss.
A rifle? Why, sure — if you’ve fired a bolt-action rifle before and know how to work it, then that’s the one to get. (Lever-action — “cowboy” — rifles are surprisingly expensive at the moment.) When you scan the wholesaler’s catalogue, however, you see that very few of the rifles have iron sights anymore — it’s no longer fashionable, for some reason — so your ever-shrinking fistful of cash needs to get a scope as well, even if it’s just an inexpensive one.
Well, step forward a couple of manufacturers who sell scope-inclusive gun “packages”. There’s Savage’s Axis line of rifles, which typically sell for (well) under $500 and include a scope:
Even better, they’re chambered for most of the popular (therefore cheap, and likely available) cartridges like the .223 Rem (5.56x45mm), .308 Win or .30-06 Springfield.
I would suggest that you couldn’t do much better than that, if you’re likely to need a gun which can reach out a little. For only a few more dollars, you can also get a Mossberg Patriot, similarly chambered:
Frankly, I myself would pick the Mossberg, but my reason for that is purely a personal one (no details because unnecessary). Either rifle would be fine.
Lastly, if you don’t have one of those old .38 revolvers in your possession, you might want to get a handgun simply because they’re easier to carry around, either in a holster (please) or just tucked into your waistband (please don’t).
Like the shotgun, there is an optimal choice for a handgun: a revolver (because it’s like a fork: you pick it up, and it works) chambered in… well, here’s where things get interesting.
I myself would recommend the .38 Special cartridge — the “+P” is better still, albeit often more spendy — but regardless of what caliber you choose, you’ve got to suck it up and buy quality / premium self-defense ammo (which is not necessarily true of the long guns).
As for the revolver itself, you have a couple choices: firstly, the Rock Island M200:
It’s ugly, it’s basic (.38 Special only, not +P), and it only costs $250. Remember, it’s likely to be a last-ditch gun, so there’s no point in spending more. But if you do, there’s always the Taurus 856 (also .38 Spec only), for a hundred-odd bucks more:
(This model’s the hammerless double-action-only, which is fine for the purpose as described. It might even work better for you than one with an exposed hammer.)
For almost double the price of the Taurus, though, you can get the Ruger LCRx:
Why does it cost so much more? It’s a Ruger, so it’s not going to break, and it can shoot the .38 Spec +P cartridge, which is a much better self-defense load than a regular .38 Special. Your choice.
Aside: why the .38 Special and not the 9mm? Simply put, the 9mm is pretty much confined to semi-auto handguns — which require a great deal more instruction and practice time than the original “point-and-click” interface of the revolver.
And why not the .357 Magnum? Expensive, not as available as the .38, very difficult to control in a small revolver, and the guns that can handle the cartridge are much more expensive.
Okay, one last thing: Someone, somewhere is going to start yammering about an AR-15 semi-auto rifle being The Ultimate Choice — perhaps your buddy, who is a vet and is willing to give you the proper instruction. And the ammo is dirt cheap (and other gun guys may be willing to give you a hundred-odd rounds from their stash), so why not?
Fine.
The problem is that because the AR-15 model is so easy to customize, you’re going to get confused about the thing. Don’t be. Get a basic out-of-the-box AR-15 with iron sights and two spare 30-round mags, and all will be well. What’s “basic”?
Step forward the Del-Ton Sport-M2, for only $600:
Del-Ton? Who they? No idea, but when it comes to AR-15s these days, that scarcely seems to matter. Here’s one guy who tried the Sport-M2 out, and found it quite acceptable. Or if you have a hundred more bucks in your handful of cash and want to take less risk, quality-wise, there’s always the Smith & Wesson M&P Sport II (which would get my vote):
Don’t listen to the guys who say they can “build” you an AR-15 for less than the Del-Ton, by the way, because that inevitably involves a lower from X, an upper from Y, a trigger group from P and an optical sight from Q, all of which need careful fitting and testing — and you don’t have the luxury of time.
Myself, I’d just get a Mossberg pump shotgun and a Rock Island revolver, because it’s easy-peasy (which is what you’re looking for, right?) and the total cost for that combo, without ammo, is about $500 ($600 with a couple boxes each of 20ga and .38 Special).
Cheap, nasty but fit for purpose.
I’d toss one other shotgun into the ring, the excellent Winchester SXP Defender, $256 in basic black. I got one for my brother (for exactly this reason – he lives in Chicongo), along with a CZ-P10C. The latter is not “basic” but he went for a course and goes to the range to practice every 2-3 months, so he’s good with it.
But the Defender really surprised me. Action is smooth as butter, 18″ barrel is perfect for inteded purpose, the chamber AND entire bore are chrome lined (not sure that’s needed, but it’s certainly not a drawback), I just loved it. Tried to justify getting one I liked it so much, but as I already have the Mossberg, I, amazingly, restrained myself.
Check out the Winchester SXP Defender, Hickock 45 has a YouToobz on it. It stands at the top of the heap of defensive shotguns in my book.
JC
“The bad thing about a shotgun is that the shot spreads soon after it leaves the muzzle, which means that the further away the target, the greater the dispersion of the pellets, and the greater likelihood of a partial- or even clean miss.”
Come on, man! How big is your yard? Seriously, if someone’s “out of range” of 20ga (even birdshot) they’re not a threat. 😉
This is not meant to discourage buying a rifle or pistol or anything else, of course…
I actually wasted quite a bit of time and effort a few years ago on such a person as you described.
Learn from my mistake.
If a man gets to the age of say 35 or so and does NOT already own and use at least one gun he is a lost cause. With most of my entire life deeply exposed to multitudes of guns it is beyond my comprehension that a male can exist in this world and not live some what similarly. ie, the above incident, I keep trying to save the world, one retarded idiot at a time.
I’m not going to argue with you on that.
On the other hand, someone once did a rough calculation on my old website and deduced that my “Turning America Back Into A Nation Of Rifleman” initiative may have created many thousands of new gun owners…
If you’re avoiding the AR platform because of complexity and going for bolt-action tools, one good option is the Mossberg MVP line.
Something like the MVP Patrol would fit the SHTF bill – and has the bonus of using AR magazines. You can find them for as little as $500, but more likely around $600.
I have an MVP Varmint, which is a nice longer-range defense rifle, but a bit too heavy for toting around if you have to make a run for it.
I’m actually eyeballing a Rock Island M200 pretty seriously. It wouldn’t be a primary pistol, but as a back-up to my back-up, for less than $250? Perfect. I already handload .38’s so that cool too. It’s also the perfect pistol to hand to a buddy, friend, family member, etc. that may not be as gun-savvy as we are.
And yeah, going from dinky little .38 to a full-fledged .357 will almost double the price, so there’s that. The latest gun mag says that Rossi is getting back into the revolver game, so keeping my eyes on that too. The RIA looks like an old Colt, the Rossi has more of a S&W style.
If you’re strapped for cash, an AR is completely off the table. With the recent spike in inflation, you can’t manufacture one for less than $1.2K and stay in business without cutting corners. Especially now; post Wu-Flu the quality of seemingly everything went to shit. I’ve heard from several high-end manufacturers that when before they could trust their supplier’s QC, now they have to check every single part.
That Del-Ton is cutting corners everywhere, starting with materials. I can maybe tolerate a 4140 barrel, but I’d rather not.
Oh, and anyone who thinks you can build an AR on the cheap is delusional. To do it correctly you need something like $1.5K in tools upfront, and that assumes you already have a workbench and a vise.
I’m going to say a name that will make albertosaurus cuss and spit about: Palmetto State Armory. You can get $500 to $600 guns pre-built from them that are not going to last you 50k rounds with out rebuilding, or maybe even 20k, but they will go bang and let you get started. I’m not sure I’d recommend an AR-15 for the first defense gun, but they are easier to operate than a pump-action shotgun and lighter to shoot.
I’ve built at least 5 different guns from their parts, including several 300 Blackout rifles, and their parts have never been a problem. I had a blemished Anderson Manufacturing receiver have an undersized mag well once, which is why I agree with our host’s first assumption: this is a beginner who has no business building a gun.
If all you can buy is a PSA, you need a friend. A friend who’s going to check to make sure everything gauges out where it needs to, torqued, staked, and lubed to spec. A kind hearted friend who will proceed to fix any shortcomings he identifies. Everybody needs a friend sometimes.
The .38 special is still a great round. I own a couple of pistols in.38/.357 that date back to the 1990s and this arthritic old man can still hit pretty well with a mid power .38. Not so much with a .357 even out of my relatively heavy Smith 686. My big concern these days is about the price and availability of .38. “Common use” pistol calibers like 9mm are available just about everywhere and reasonably affordable. .38 special dropped off the standard police lists at least 30 years ago and that ammunition is very hard to find and gets a premium price if you can locate any. I’m talking over $20 a box of 50 range quality rounds. I’ll agree that our guy isn’t going to burn through thousands or even hundreds of rounds of .38, but if things really get bad and you’re shooting bad guys on the back porch, that 50 round box of .38 might be impossible to replace at any cost.
These are all good suggestions, my first AR was a 5.56 M&P Sport over ten years ago, bought used from my son who was upgrading a bit. This gun does the job very well and knowing a lot of competition shooters I agree with those who advise against building your own from scratch or asking a well meaning buddy to build one for you because as stated above there are a lot of tools and knowledge required to do a build out that will always work when needed.
I also agree with the simple starter shotgun and using a revolver as a first pistol and in my opinion, which matters, a best first gun would be a .22 LR with a whole lot of ammunition and if it’s a semi-auto, like a Ruger or Buckmark a handful of extra magazines would be good to have. My favorite .22 LR rifle is the S&W 15-22 semi-auto, I have had one for the last six years and shot thousands of rounds through it competing in Steel Challenge. I also use an older Buckmark shooting steel and it is a lot of fun and actually teaches a person how to get on target and shoot against a clock taking time to actually be on target before pulling the trigger.
There are a lot of clubs around the US having matches and a lot of folks who will help a new shooter learn the safety rules and help a person have fun with his or her new gun. Where I compete kids shoot for free, no $20 entry fee and we have a couple of young girls, ages 7 and 8 who shoot every month. The have a dad standing next to them to make sure the gun is always pointed down range and it is amazing seeing a seven year old hit every steel plate, not always real fast but accurate as can be. Women of all ages seem to like this .22LR shooting competition, old, young, fat and skinny they are all welcome and treated with respect. For a person who is serious about learning how to shoot a firearm, a year of training with a .22LR will certainly pay off if the dreaded day ever comes that critical self defense becomes necessary.
I have been an active gun person, shooting for over 68 years, lots of hunting as a kid, four years of Army in the late 1960’s, shooting skeet on a team for years, hunting lots of birds over dogs and being an NRA range officer helping with competition. Shooting for fun is similar to a lot of other sports, golf, tennis and other sports require some skill that is acquired with training, lots of participation and knowledge of the game.
Practice with a purpose improves those skills and learning how to use eye protection and ear protection is an important part of that process, says the old man who has had hearing aids for over a decade and I am kind of deaf without them. A few thousand rounds of .22LR will give a person an idea about what goes on when the trigger of a gun is pulled and a target is hit and it is my hope that none of us ever find ourselves in the position that actual self defense is required.
I have two friends here in Texas that had to shoot to kill, both involved some lawyer fees and neither ever made it to a trial but that is some serious shit and both men, because of the circumstances had no regrets because it was indeed a life or death situation.
Going through some of the Texas concealed carry classes over the years we learned the basics about when a firearm could be used and better yet how to avoid being put in a must shoot situation. Best advice I ever heard was from a retired cop teaching my last class and he said if you see something wrong, like some messing with your neighbor’s house and he is out of town and asked you to ‘keep an eye on the place’, don’t do something stupid like get your gun and check the situation out, he said for us to call the police and make them earn their pay checking stuff out and let them decide if someone needs to be shot.
So, that’s it, for a first time gun person get a simple inexpensive shotgun, then a rifle and then a pistol and then get some experience shooting, as stated above with a .22LR which could be used for self defense when enough rounds are sent down range.
I was a tad surprised you didn’t recommend any entry-level auto loading pistols. There are nice ones available (bearing in mind “nice” ≠ pretty), including from Rock Island.
A .38 special was my CCW forever until the Mostly Peaceful Riots® of recent vintage persuaded me to acquire a Taurus G3C as a higher capacity option. My most frequent EDC remains a Ruger LCR in .357 mag, but the Taurus is available if I think I’m going to be spending any time in one of our sketchier metro areas.
The first pistol I ever bought was a Makarov right after the wall came down, when the Russkies were hard up for cash and flooded the market & they were dirt cheap. I think of the current crop of inexpensive semi-autos as latter day Maks – albeit higher capacity & a little more punch than 9×18.
I’m happy to still have the Mak. It currently resides in the kitchen and is one of my wife’s favorite plinkers.
I have to second the Taurus G2C/G3C. I’ve had remarkable success in teaching people who would otherwise be revolver candidates how to run the G2C without much difficulty. It was the gun that converted Milady to an autoloader, even. I’d consider carrying it myself, except it fits my hands very poorly (my hands’ fault, not the gun’s; I have a Bersa TPR9C or three that fixes that problem).
My first pistol was a Ruger SP101 in .38 Special (+P) bought for $325 in the ’80s. I still have it and it shoots as well as it did when I got it after many thousands of rounds. Readers may want to note Century Arms’ new BFT47, an AK clone made right here in the USA for MSRP $830. Not bad, considering.
Be careful with those bolt gun / scope combos. I have seen a few where the only thing the did right when mounting the scope was pointing it in the right direction.
Thank you very much for this. I’ve been looking for some guidance on inexpensive but useful weapons (right now I’ve just got a Ruger .22 pistol and rifle to relearn shooting, and a 1911). This will help a lot in my future weapon purchases.