New member , looking to get my first gun
- Thread starter shirleyk
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squirrelnest
Member
Welcome to the forum from Virginia.
Tinyman
US Veteran
Welcome from CA (Central Alabama) -- enjoy your tour.
First is FIT -- does it really fit your hands, and does it fit your lifestyle?
Second is TRY -- visit a local gun store (LGS) and rent one.
Third is LEARN -- do yourself a favor (and all around you) to get training on not only your gun, but local and state laws and regulations (BTW, where you from?)
Fourth is TRAIN -- go to your local range and practice (maybe with a trainer the first few times) shooting your gun. No, it doesn't mean you will be quick, fast, or accurate, but that is where these all fit together.
Lastly, stop by every now and then to let us all know how you're doing (pictures of your holey targets will be a plus.
Again, welcome.
First is FIT -- does it really fit your hands, and does it fit your lifestyle?
Second is TRY -- visit a local gun store (LGS) and rent one.
Third is LEARN -- do yourself a favor (and all around you) to get training on not only your gun, but local and state laws and regulations (BTW, where you from?)
Fourth is TRAIN -- go to your local range and practice (maybe with a trainer the first few times) shooting your gun. No, it doesn't mean you will be quick, fast, or accurate, but that is where these all fit together.
Lastly, stop by every now and then to let us all know how you're doing (pictures of your holey targets will be a plus.
Again, welcome.
Welcome to the Forum. Great place here with lots of knowledge. Totally agree with above advice - with emphasis on training. Please do more that what is required in your area to obtain the necessary permits. Look into taking weekend or multiple day training courses if possible similar to the caliber of training offered at schools like Thunder Ranch, Sig Academy, etc.
Welcome aboard from coastal North Carolina. I'll give you the same advice I gave my daughter. Go to cornered cat dot com and read the articles on selecting a firearm. Then, read more of her articles.
Welcome from the Great Plains of Nebraska!
And a Hound Dawg Howdy to you from SC! 
Good choice, it has decent capacity and enough barrel to get good performance. S&W has addressed the shortcomings of the earlier Bodyguards and they are good, reliable guns.
MAKE SURE that you can manipulate the slide. If you lack the hand strength to rack the slide you might want to look at the Shield .380 EZ. (That's what my wife has).
Ammo has improved considerably and that includes the .380. The .380 is known for having some difficulty getting both penetration and expansion in SD situations. FMJ ammo tends to overpenetrate (Rule: KNOW your target AND what is beyond it.)
Therefore, I'm picky about the ammo I use in the .380. Neither the Bodyguard or the Shield EZ is rated for +P ammo so I have a few standard pressure loadings I've selected.
It won't damage the gun if you just use +P ammo for SD, but you shouldn't practice with it beyond familiarization, checking point of aim/target impact and making sure it works well in your pistol. Shooting too much +P ammo can cause accelerated wear in pistols that aren't rated for it.
SD ammo that I trust for the .380 include:
Sig Sauer V-Crown
Speer 90 gr Gold Dot
Hornady FTX Critical Defense
Precision One XTP loading
Another is the Lehigh Defense XD with the shaped bullets. I haven't tried them, but they have a good reputation.
Good choice, it has decent capacity and enough barrel to get good performance. S&W has addressed the shortcomings of the earlier Bodyguards and they are good, reliable guns.
MAKE SURE that you can manipulate the slide. If you lack the hand strength to rack the slide you might want to look at the Shield .380 EZ. (That's what my wife has).
Ammo has improved considerably and that includes the .380. The .380 is known for having some difficulty getting both penetration and expansion in SD situations. FMJ ammo tends to overpenetrate (Rule: KNOW your target AND what is beyond it.)
Therefore, I'm picky about the ammo I use in the .380. Neither the Bodyguard or the Shield EZ is rated for +P ammo so I have a few standard pressure loadings I've selected.
It won't damage the gun if you just use +P ammo for SD, but you shouldn't practice with it beyond familiarization, checking point of aim/target impact and making sure it works well in your pistol. Shooting too much +P ammo can cause accelerated wear in pistols that aren't rated for it.
SD ammo that I trust for the .380 include:
Sig Sauer V-Crown
Speer 90 gr Gold Dot
Hornady FTX Critical Defense
Precision One XTP loading
Another is the Lehigh Defense XD with the shaped bullets. I haven't tried them, but they have a good reputation.
Welcome from the State of Washington! If you enter body guard 2.0 into the Forum's search function you should get some good info from owners. Let us know if you become one of them.
Todd
A good used or new , S&W 22LR snub revolver, would be a good first gun.
Get some lessons with it, then rent a 380 of your choice, with some supervised range time.
The 22LR will always be useful.
Learn to shoot with either hand and both.
The Mrs and her Lady friends, got their feet wet that way, and with soft shooting loads, in a Colt DS, fell in love.
Get some lessons with it, then rent a 380 of your choice, with some supervised range time.
The 22LR will always be useful.
Learn to shoot with either hand and both.
The Mrs and her Lady friends, got their feet wet that way, and with soft shooting loads, in a Colt DS, fell in love.
Nothing wrong with that gun at all, but... What do you think about it? Do you like the size of it? If that is the main factor, we can suggest guns in that size. Are you attached to 380 specifically? There are many good 380's.
Forum members can be a very particular bunch, and I don't want you to be chased away from carrying, because someone on a forum somewhere said that you must have X (a 30 round magazine), Y (no round smaller than 40 cal), and Z (a crossbreed holster with ostrich trim) in order to not 'get kilt in da streetz'.
I am being partially facetious here, but some people online will have you thinking they are Rambo incarnate.
The advice I have is to:
1. pick something that is comfortable enough for you to shoot, that you actually have fun with it at the range. Guns that are not fun, don't get shot, and guns that don't get shot are not accurate in the hands of their owners (due to lack of practice).
2. Have a gun that you can carry daily. I have a friend who served in the Army, a combat vet. He bought a giant Beretta 92. Super fun gun to shoot at the range, but.... My friend didn't have his army kit anymore state side. No body armour, no LBE, no outside holster, etc. He is a gym rat who wears tight muscle/fitness shirts, jeans, and cowboy boots. So, that giant Beretta 92 never got carried, and he was not armed. Well, after some talking, he bought a Beretta Tom Cat .32 ACP. He was armed every single day. Would I carry that? No. But his life style, dress, and activities are different than mine, and he was always armed. That is enough. That is the secret recipe.
That is the only advice I have for protecting yourself. Carry a gun, and try to make the chore fun by having a gun that you can tolerate practicing with often at the range.
Keep in mind that these are my opinions and that I am not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV.
Welcome from Western Maine
Cwilly8
Member
Yes, the BG 2.0 has a fairly stiff spring. We also have the 380 EZ for my wife, and it is much easier for her to operate.
Delta Expatriate
Member
Welcome from down south in Mississippi.
Hi from Salome, AZ.
Welcome to the forum from the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Get the gun that you will/can shoot. Get the training that will allow you to feel comfortable.
Most ranges can provide such training. The secret is what you are comfortable with. Not what someone says you should have.
Get the gun that you will/can shoot. Get the training that will allow you to feel comfortable.
Most ranges can provide such training. The secret is what you are comfortable with. Not what someone says you should have.
Welcome to the forum!
I would also highly recommend spending some time at Cornered Cat. It's written by a woman for women and has good advice for everyone.
I also second the advice to try before you buy. One I would recommend looking it is a Walther P22. My wife is in her 60's and found the slightly larger Walther to be easier to shoot than the Bodyguard.
There are lots of us here who will be happy to offer advice. If you don't mind sharing, what part of the country are you in?
I would also highly recommend spending some time at Cornered Cat. It's written by a woman for women and has good advice for everyone.
I also second the advice to try before you buy. One I would recommend looking it is a Walther P22. My wife is in her 60's and found the slightly larger Walther to be easier to shoot than the Bodyguard.
There are lots of us here who will be happy to offer advice. If you don't mind sharing, what part of the country are you in?
Welcome from Pittsburgh! Before you buy a pistol, make sure you can rack the slide easily. Some guns rack like warm butter, others you need Hulk Hogan! Most of the newer guns are easier to work than, say, a Beretta 92. I would also look into a revolver, and even then, get a S&W, or anything else that has a nice trigger and hammer. Everything else has been covered by the other helpful members. Good luck.
I would suggest, as a first step, to take an NRA First Step class. It is a few hours of an introduction to shooting. It will teach you how to safely handle a firearm and the basics of shooting. You can leave the class with the confidence to continue the training that you desire. You can contact the NRA to find a class near you. Your choice of firearm is good for carry, but perhaps not the best for learning on.
Welcome from Arizona
v8svo
Member
Welcome to the group. One other suggestion, see if you can find a Women on Target Clinic near you. My wife went to one at a gun range about 30 miles away and enjoyed it a great deal. Most of the women in the class were very new to shooting and the instructors took them through several types of firearms, showing how they operate and how to safely use them.
Check out https://wot.nra.org/
Check out https://wot.nra.org/
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Good Morning Shirley, Welcome to our forum and especially for asking for our thoughts on what firearm you should purchase. I will start out by saying that you will hear a lot of opinions here. Some are valid, some not so valid. In the end it will come down to your initial training, which I sincerely hope you have already at least started and what your ultimate objective in owning a firearm is. If you have not completed a training course as well as a concealed carry course so you know the laws of your state and what you can can't do then it's not time to purchase a firearm. A good instructor will have many different firearms for you to try out during your training, and will certainly start you out learning the fundamentals of good marksmanship using a .22 caliber handgun. Once you have mastered the fundamentals it's time to move on up and determine what firearm that will fit not only your needs but your hand as well. Smith and Wesson makes many different firearms in all types, sizes and calibers. There are other manufacturers out there too. When choosing a firearm keep in mind that it is for you. Needs to fit you. There are many that will try to influence your purchase. Husband, brothers, sisters, neighbors and the list goes on. They may have good or bad recommendations, just keep in mind that it is going to be your firearm, not theirs. Make your selection on your own based on what you have learned about firearms during your training, not because someone says this is what you need. Whatever you do, do not buy some cheap thing that is going to cause you a lot of problems. Save a little longer and buy a trustworthy and reliable firearm that you can depend on. Take your time, make an educated purchase with the thought in mind that you hope you never have to use if for self defense, but if you do, it will work the way it's supposed to. The time to find out that the thing in your hand that just turned into a brick, is not something that you should have brough to a gunfight.
Welcome from East Tennessee! All great advice! I can't add anything, but to simply re-enforce instruction, training, practice & safety. I've got several carry-able firearms. Ranging from a very small Taurus PT738 TCP .380 (I know some of these didn't function very well, but mine has been flawless from day one) to a full size .40 S&W Beretta. My choice to carry is a S&W M&P Shield Plus in 9mm, however, with the clothes I wear (for summer, at church, around the house, etc) I end up carrying my pocket .380 more than any other (the Taurus). I have an in-the-pocket holster for the tiny Taurus and the compact S&W M&P Shield, that totally covers the trigger and hides them very well in my pocket. You can see that something is my pocket, but can't tell what - no "printing" (the visible outline of a gun in your pocket) as you will learn. I also have waist holsters, inside or outside of the waistband, depending on my carry circumstance. I even have my gun in my medical carry bag or a shoulder bag at times (trigger covered). Even though my little pocket pistol is handy and easy to carry, it is NOT fun to shoot! My hand hurts after practicing with it. I call it a survival gun; again I would much rather have my M&P Shield for carry, and practice! It's a wonderful and fun firearm! Whatever you decide to get; practice every chance you can, be deliberate about it. Even if you're not at the shooting range, carry your firearm around at home to get the feel of having it on your person. Know the operation of the device without having to think about it (another plus for a revolver). Learn how to manage it when your in the bathroom! You don't want to drop it in the toilet! Learn how to manage it if your changing clothes at the gym (or in the gym shower), or in the dressing room at a department store. The most important aspect is safety, whether it's in your pocket, in a holster, or locked up at home. Make sure your holster absolutely prevents an accidental trigger pull! There are soft holsters on the market that are dangerous! If there are other people in your home, especially kids, the firearm must be totally inaccessible and/or un-usable, but still accessible to you should you need it!!!! I have a highly secure lock-box in my vehicle, so that if I end up at a Federal Building or such, I can lock up and leave the firearm. If you travel, check the gun laws where you will be traveling. I live in permit-less state, but I still have carry permit because some states require it; and even with a permit, some states still forbid it. When I drive through Illinois for example, I have to unload, lockup my gun in the lock box, and secure my ammo away from the firearm in my vehicle.
Also very important, whatever firearm you choose - learn how to give it a thorough clean & lube, and also a quick clean in-between the deep cleans; or know someone who can. A dirty gun may not function... Hope this isn't over kill, but there is a lot to consider (and must be considered) in owning a firearm. Your day to day may need further considerations.
Also very important, whatever firearm you choose - learn how to give it a thorough clean & lube, and also a quick clean in-between the deep cleans; or know someone who can. A dirty gun may not function... Hope this isn't over kill, but there is a lot to consider (and must be considered) in owning a firearm. Your day to day may need further considerations.
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SGT ROCK 11B
Member
SGT ROCK 11B
Member
Im in Maryland, I had a great person who did my class,
my ex brother-in-law has a place at his house set up to shot guns, im welcome there anytime
The person who did my.class for conceal carry. Was in the service for 4 years, and has classes im looking in to and for others, getting ready to join a gun range near me also
Im in maryland
Tinyman
US Veteran
Mrs. Tinyman found (and purchased) a Bass Pro exclusive and loved to shoot this little wonder:
Cool Daddy, shirleyk! After receiving all this advice, do you mind telling us how you are leaning? Since we are often asked about guns, including for self defense, it would be educational for us to find out a lady's opinion.
