Personal Defense Network Editors

Buying Your First Defensive Gun

Personal Defense Network Editors
Duration:   2  mins

Description

Are you looking to buy your first defensive handgun? Ernie Traugh of Cedar Valley Outfitters has some advice for first-time buyers. So many good choices are available today — where do you start? Should you listen to what friends and family tell you is the best handgun? Maybe it’s the best for them, but that doesn’t mean it will be the best for you. Do you need to pay to rent ten or 12 different handguns at a range?

Go to a Professional

On the contrary — Ernie encourages you to seek out a professional defensive firearms trainer. You need instruction to learn how to shoot in defense of your life, and every reputable trainer will have multiple handguns available that you can test to see which one fits your hand best, which is easiest for you to operate, and which just feels best to you. For the reasonable fee you will be paying for training, you can test name-brand handguns and get a better idea of what you want.

Buyer’s Market

In today’s market, you have many opportunities to buy a good defensive firearm from multiple well-known manufacturers at a fair price. Ammunition is also at its lowest prices in ten years.

When trying handguns, keep in mind that the most important factor for a defensive firearm is reliability, followed by efficiency and then fit and feel — how well you can operate it. You’re looking for a tool to defend your life, not a hobby gun for shooting tin cans. A professional trainer can give you the instruction you need, as well as the opportunity to try out multiple handguns.

PDN can help you find a reputable instructor, with our list of professional firearms trainers all over the United States. And if you want to start with some online instruction before taking a live-fire class, our “Choosing a Defensive Handgun” class is available to purchase and watch any time and as often as you want.

Share tips, start a discussion or ask other students a question. If you have a question for the instructor, please click here.

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Today's market, you have the ultimate opportunity to find a good defensive firearm at a fair price. Multiple different name brands. And so, it's a good time to take advantage of getting your first defensive pistol. Whether you're the gun culture, and you have friends have firearms, and you get to try theirs out. Whether you're new to the gun world, and you have no clue what to do. I highly encourage you to seek out a professional trainer. You could go to a trainer who's gonna own multiple tools, that are probably very good, reliable, and efficient tools. And in that very reasonable price you would pay them for training, you get to try multiple different models and see what works for you. In the past, like we always tell everybody, if this is gonna be a defensive firearm, first thing that matters is reliability. Efficiency is important. And then, we have to make sure it actually, the fit and the feel. That you can operate that gun with your operating hand. Working with a professional trainer will give you the opportunity to help you find the right gun that works for you, in that context. But again, today's markets filled with excellent, reliable pistols at very reasonable prices. Currently, ammunition's as low as it's been in 10 years. So, it makes the training affordable. So again, I run into a lot of people that say, "I don't wanna go have to rent 10 different guns." And the problem with that is if you're new to this world, and you don't know the first steps, it doesn't do any good for you to go out and test 10 new guns to see what you like if you don't know how to properly shoot those guns. So to benefit the most from it, I would encourage you to get professional training. We all have trust in our friends, and our loved ones, or uncle Bob that's been shooting all of his life. And it's great to use those opportunities to look at the firearms they can provide for you. But again, it's a reasonable amount of money to invest in something that you're gonna trust, possibly, of course, your own and your family's life, and your loved ones. I would look into seeking out professional help. All around this country. Right here on this site. You can find a list of people that can help you do that. Again, today's market is just filled. Whether it's customer rebates. Whether it's the low cost of ammunition. So again, use this website to search out trainers in your area. Like I said, there's not a trainer I know that doesn't have multiple models, they would gladly let you use for that low fee that you're paying them for. Also, professionally learning how to use the gun. Look to their advice. It's the same thing as with any other sport, you know, or pleasure or hobby. Seek someone out to help you get the most out of that. But in this world, we're talking about a tool to save your life. And that's an investment well worth making. To find out what's gonna fit your hand, what's reliable, what works for you. And how to use that tool in the most efficient way in what we call, a dynamic critical incident. So, this is not sport shooting. It's not fun out in the backyard, shooting pop cans. You're looking for a defensive tool to save your life. Seek out a good professional, and take advantage of today's market values.
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