And now I'm obsessed. I find myself wandering through the LGSs just looking lol. Its gotten so bad I dream about firearms when I sleep at night. I've been out shooting a handful of times this summer with a couple of friends I made recently and thats where it started. I've shot guns off and on my whole life(mostly rifles and shotguns), but never really got into them enough to want one for myself. And these guys got some cool stuff. AA-12, RPK, AK47s, HKs, a governor, etc.. So, I shell out a bunch of $ on my first gun, a new M&P 9 a couple of weeks ago and it was a lemon with a defective part right out of the box. Never even got to fire it. I feel like a kid that woke up on Christmas morning and was told it got delayed a 'few' weeks. Its going be another week at least before I get it back and the anticipation is brutal. Is there a support group somewhere for this firearm fever? lol

Slowdown. Take your time and concentrate on what it is you want to do,how much and when. There is so much to learn and I assure you there are lots more folks who know more than me. Just take one step at a time and enjoy your new hobby and all there is to learn. It's FUN! Join NRA and your local/State 2nd Amendment protectors.

Mostly be safe in what you do and DO not give the press and Gov't anything to talk about with negativity!

There is no cure, the disease just becomes easier to handle with experience. This is the support group. Go to ranges and rent and shoot guns before buying until you know what you want to own and maintain. May God have mercy on you.

RICK is only teasing OR is in denial.

Blessings

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TEXAS, by GOD

congrats. And sorry that your new gun had problems. Hopefully it gets sorted out.

I'm always learning new things, and I approach this lifelong hobby with an open mind.

Here are some great little bits of info that have helped me.

Knives can be as fascinating as guns, and are generally cheaper and easier to acquire. So you could easily do both.

__________________
Not in jail.

Collecting anything can be fun but guns go bang.

Now that you've bought your first gun, you've been infected.
Modern science has found no way to rid yourself of the infection.
Not one member here has been successful in ridding themselves of accumulation infection that I know of.
Just resign yourself to the fact that you won't be cured, and learn to live with the disease.

If you have the funds a M&P Compact .22 would make a nice understudy
for your M&P 9. And you could shoot it while waiting for the 9 to be
fixed.

No disrespect, but even the the fancy Performance Center guns don't qualify for that statement.

Regards.

Learn to be safe and have fun. The rules of safety are there for a reason.

Love the Clint Smith video on safety. If people would just follow those simple rules...

I had a couple of problems with my M&P 9c, but Smith took care of them and I got the gun back pretty fast. I think you will love it when you get it back. Congrats on the first of most likely many guns!

None taken sir. Its all a matter of perpective though. After spending five years working ridiculous hours to support 2 kids and put my wife through college, dropping $500 dollars on any one thing is a ton of money. She is an RN now though, and it paid off. Just in time to support my new found love of firearms large and small.

@ American - Fantastic videos! With children in the house, safety is paramount to me, and I'm taking every precaution I can. A manual safety, retention holster, simplex lock safe, and lots of practice with it unloaded. Hopefully some safety training courses, but they're pretty damn expensive so it may be awhile, if at all

Understood. I'm a poor man, we have pink and blue collar jobs, and my priorities are all messed up

"Just looking" is a dangerous game to play. You often find that must have treasure when you can least afford to.

It all starts with, "ok, just this once".

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Music/Sports/Beer fan

Aloha,

As long as your Wife is OK with guns, you're a lot better off than many guys.

Get her involved into shooting AS Momma Bear Protecting her Cubs.

Then the problems(?) you will have is keeping her in guns She Wants.

I have that problem, the Wife likes Pretty limited Edition Berettas.

I don't mind, we take gun and other related classes together.

I'd rather get her a nice gun than jewelry(paid for them too).

Now she has her own gun safe for Her Toys(Paid for that too)

The most important thing with a gun is Practice, Practice and more Practice

A gun is useless if you can't hit your target consistently.

Your symptoms are both normal and expected. Consider buying a back-up gun while you are waiting for this one to be fixed. I learned long ago that the only way to to deal with temptation is to yield to it.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

lol! I have been going to a LGS pretty often, and its getting dangerous, cause if I had my way my safe would look like this

That's ridiculous! That guy needs to cut back. He only needs about 90% of those guns.

I would encourage you to educate your children about guns and gun safety, rather than trying to keep guns from them.

Take away the mystery, and your children will view guns as what they are; a tool to be used safely.

Otherwise, children are obsessed with things that are forbidden.

or take one boat trip out in the lake.