You guys and your guns!! Figured I post a few of my favorite sniping long guns. All three are custom made, top two are .308's bottom is an HS Precision Pro Series 2000 LA in 300 Mag.

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I couldn't agree more. :-)

there's a lot of great information and gun pictures in this thread. I'm in the process of filling out my firearms permit to purchase a handgun and wanted to see what kind of advice in terms of sites to peruse for research or to view models anyone could suggest? I don't have a range nearby me to use where I could fire different weapons to get a feel. I do have a few sporting goods stores which I can check into to see if they have any programs to allow you to fire different handguns.

Suggested models? I'm familiar with shotguns and rifles and have only fired a Glock 17 & 23. I do not have large hands so something compact is what I am looking for. The use will be for home/self-defense and to take out for target practice. I'm also going to be teaching my fiancee how to handle a gun.

Oh, and I will joining the NRA. It makes me furious when the gov't tries BS like this and I'm glad there's a forum to get a lot of this information from. It's all very helpful.

Anyone have any sites they suggest I take a look at as well? Forums, informational, research, or anything.

Thank you all for your help.

I would recommend AR15.com They have a section for handguns as well. I see you have already tried the Glock 23 (my favorite gun). Try out a S&W 442. It is a snub-nose revolver in a .38spl +p. It is a great carry gun. It is not too fun on the range b/c of the small size, but I love it for concealed carry.

Oops, when I saw you were filling out a permit form, I though you were talking about Concealed Carry. I now see you live in one of the crappiest gun law states right after Cali. For a nice range gun and home defense gun, try out the S&W M&P 9mm. 1911's are fun as well :-)

Thank you for joining the NRA. I can't think of a more important time to join the NRA than now. We are going to have an interesting time ahead of us.

The springfield armory XD line of pistols are great starter guns. You can pick up a new 9mm model for around $500. The 9mm rounds are cheaper for target practice at the range and have sufficient stopping power for home defense, your fiancee if she's on the small side will have an easier time handling a 9mm too. You can never go wrong with a glock either in my opinion. :-)

I also have smaller hands and have gone back and forth between semi autos before finding what I believe is the perfect compact handgun; the Smith and Wesson 642 Airweight 38 special.

The debate will always go back and forth, but for me, it is the perfect handgun and one many pros carry. It conceals well and is as light as just about any compact I have held.

I have recently put on Crimson Trace Laser grips and am as happy as can be.

I do have a Taurus 357 magnum, but it is too big to carry and is uncomfortable for me to shoot due to the heavy kick.

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Haha, yeah elberboy I live in NJ which SUCKS when it comes to owning a firearm among all of the many other reasons why new Jersey is such a crapass state. (which is why I have plans to move to NC but that's when the market picks back up a bit).

i really appreciate all of your help and feedback. I totally forgot about ar15.com It's a good site, I've been on it before a couple of times over the years just never stayed steady with it. I can't conceal carry so that's out of the question for now but thanks for the suggestions.. I'm going to check out the S&W M&P 9mm on the web. I've seen quite a few people recommend the Springfielf Armory XD line as a first handgun so I am also looking at that (the compact).

And anything I can do to support our cause, cigars or firearms alike, I will help out in any way. I'm even going to email my congressman based off of catfish's awesome information and template.

Thanks Aries. Yeah I'm going to check into the SA XD line, really nice handgun and I've read some good things from people who got this as their first.

Nice snubnose floyd! Really sharp.

How do u feel about the H-S Precision products?

Another great organization to join is the SAF (Second Amendment Foundation)

I went with a Glock 19 for my first. Compact, 9mm. Always goes bang. I love it.

As far as firearm info, I'm really not an ar15.com fan. ar15armory.com on the other hand is a great place that I highly recommend. A lot less political in my opinion.

I've only owned glocks and sigs. Glocks are indestrucable, but I'll never own another. I fell in love with sig at first trigger pull.

I highly recommend Springfield XD's and XDM, S&W M&P, Ruger SR-9, Ruger 24/7, almost any 1911 from Springfield, S&W, Kimber, Ruger, etc.

You can get a nice, full sized home defense weapon for less than $600.

I highly recommend a small, powerful, preferably an LED flashlight. Surefire makes the G2 and G3 LED's very inexpensively and are very easy to use and will damb near melt the wallpaper of your hallway illuminating the area.

If funds allow, you may want to look into a light / laser combo from Lasermax or the X2 from Insight. That's another $300 or so. If you go that option, you'll have to make sure you get a gun with an accessory rail.

I also recommend you visit a website called http://www.guntalk.tv/site.php. Tom Gresham, the host of guntalk radio and Personal Defense TV has put together a massive collection of short videos that are very entertaining and extremely educational, especially for a n00b wishing to gain some base level of knowledge before going to a range or a gun shop/ show and asking questions.

There is a small membership fee for that website. If you are on a budget and can't pay for it, please feel free to PM me and we can work something out, I'm sure.

I also recommend against teaching your significant other unless

A: You wish to no longer be significantly others
B: You are a very good at instructing people.

I'd be more than happy to share my experiences with instructing. :-)

I just saw this link on another site. It looks like the NRA is doing a membership drive and offering a free one year membership.

http://www.nrahq.org/nrabonus/

I just put a KiD trigger into my 10/22. Holy cats! If you breath on that thing it goes off. It's amazing.

From the KiD website

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-Mark.

Thanks for the information Catfish. I certainly understand where you are coming from in advising me against teaching my fiancee how to shoot. Teaching anyone something like this can lend itself pretty difficult. (Teaching her how to snowboard was just as much fun! :-))

I have the S&W M&P in 40. It is a great gun, but it has to be taken care of. I bought it to keep in the truck, and sit in the floor next to my console. After about two weeks I picked it up and noticed a little rust on the slide release and the rear sight. I really like the feel of the S&W over the Springfield, but if you don't stay on top of the S&W you will have problems.

Take a good look at the Sig Sauer SP2022. It is the polymer framed Sig. I have a SP2340 which is an older version, and really like it. It comes with 2 different grip sizes so you can change it out to fit your hand. Also check out CDNN sports Inc you will have to click on the link to download the catalog. Online they usually have some good deals on there stuff.

Taurus???

Never owned a gun, but am thinking of getting one soon. Was told that a .45 (XDM?) is probably a better choice than 9MM. Any thoughts on this?