gun newbie...going to my first show on saturday

[Boondock]

and i'm looking to get a .38 revolver for $200 or under. do you veterans think that will be possible? i'm not too concerned as of yet of it will be top of the line or not. i want something that i can take to the range a few times a year and protect myself and my wife if someone comes into our house.
i'm just now at 27 years old getting into pistols and i admit that i know next to nothing about them. we have 2 guns already, my wifes which is a bersa .380 and the one i just inherited from my father who just passed, it's a norinco 213 9mm. i did a little research and it's a chinese version of a russian takarev. i've heard good and bad things about the gun. i have not shot it yet. i did take it to a gunsmith outside of cleveland and he took it apart for me and cleaned it and said that everything appears to be in order with it. that will probably just sit there.


so, do you think for my price range i will be able to get a halfway decent revolver like i mentioned? i will be working my way up the food chain as i have my eyes on a few new pistols already but that will have to be down the road.

thanks guys

[richbug]

Depending on the part of the county you are in, you should be able to buy a used Smith & Wesson model 10 or 15 for about that much or less. Most will be police trade in guns, carried a lot, but not shot much. They may have the finish worn off, but will still function properly. Also consider a model 19, or 66 in 357 magnum, you can still use these guns with 38 special ammo.

[Deltaten]

Welcome to the Files, Boondock

Your choice of a revolver for an initial weapon is good. I don't know how well you'll do within the budget you have, but I'ltry to give a few pointers...

Stay with "big" name brands. A Smith or Colt, Ruger or Taurus may be tough to find at that price but keep looking and don't be in too much of a hurry. Keep adding pennies to the slush fund, rather than buying a cheap piece. DAMHIK!

A decent used piece will be cheaper than a "like new" or NIB. As long as the function is good, and it's tight, w/no broken parts, it'll be fine .

Learn well on a revolver, and ya can shoot anything!

Regards,
Paul

[Plain George]

Gun show dealers are just dying for someone like you to walk thru the doors.
Find a knowledgeable friend and take them along.
Also know that dealers will sometimes reduce the price if you 'dicker' with them.

[adam762]

What everyone else says. Beware the dealers. Welcome to the hobby. Just about any firearms question you can think of, you can have answered here.

Forget the pistol, tho. Your question should be "What FAL kit can I get for under 200 dollars?"

[CR1198]

Welcome, Boondock! I think you should have no problem getting a .38 for that price. Police trade is most likely, but most cops don't shoot the heck out of them.
After that, you really should look into getting an FAL.

[Boondock]

what fal kit can i get for $200?

i checked the faq and didn't see anything but whats a fal?

[vmtz]

Originally posted by Boondock
what fal kit can i get for $200?

i checked the faq and didn't see anything but whats a fal?

Only the greatest MBR after the HK91.

Vince

[vmtz]

Originally posted by limeyinaz
You have a Bersa .380 and some kind of Chinese 9mm, and you want to spend $200 or less on a good home defense weapon..........................buy a 12 gauge pump shotgun!

Delia sez get a baseball bat.

Vince

[vmtz]

Originally posted by limeyinaz
Delia was a ******* idiot...no wonder she hooked up with you.

Yeah, but she is a real cutie. And just because she would not date you.... Perhaps it was your bad breath?

Vince

[vmtz]

Originally posted by limeyinaz
Mods?

Looks like I have my own little TROLL

Maybe give his own cute little moniker?

Playing by my rules again. Easy mark again.....

Vince

[Hebrew Battle Rifle]

Boondock:

Welcome aboard yada yada yada. Now, I shall endeavor to impart at least a little usable and accurate info and advice.

First, gunshows are the worst places on this planet to learn about firearms. If you do not have a knowledgable and reliable friend to accompany you to the gunshow, then spend as much time as you can on this board asking as many questions as you can think of. Don't worry about asking stupid or moronic questions. You will ask them so just live with that. It isn't important anyway. What is important is the quality of the answer that you recieve. After a while, you will figure out which members to listen to and which ones to ignore.

Now, I am going to give you some advice that is absolutely golden so listen up. There are very few things in life that are as expensive as cheap tools. Guns are tools. So, don't buy any cheap ones. Inexpensive is one thing, cheap is another.
Use the right tool for the job. Handguns have ONE and only ONE positive attribute when it comes to self defense. That is size. They are small so carrying one on your person is managable. It would suck to have to carry a full size rifle or shotgun around with you as you go about your life. Since your stated purpose is home defense, size isn't a big of a concern as it would be outside of your home. Get a good pump shotgun chambered in 12 ga if you and your wife can both handle it, or a 20 guage if either one of you cannot. ( Some women and some men cannot handle the recoil of a 12 guage shotgun) The recoil of a semi auto 12 ga is usually manageable for folks that aren't encumbered with disabilities.
If you get a shotgun, practice navigating through your home with it. learn where the choke points are. Learn where it is easy to get on target and where it isn't. ( You want the home defense shotgun to be as shot as is legally possible)
Get a powerful yet small flash light and learn to use it simultaneously with your firearm. I have a Surefire G2 Nitrolon with a 120 lumens output lamp. It is scarry bright and will temporarily blind an intruder if shined into his/her eyes.
I reckon that is enough for now. Some more members will be along shortly to contradict what i have just related to you. You will have to figure out whom to listen to.

[Lon Moer]

Originally posted by Boondock
what fal kit can i get for $200?

i checked the faq and didn't see anything but whats a fal?

[fastprofessor]

Welcome, Boondock.

I agree with many of the previous posts that the best home defense weapon is a 12 gauge (or 20 gauge) shotgun with a 18" barrel and a good flash light. You can find used Remington 870 Express shotguns for about that price. If home defense is your primary concern then this would probably be the way to go.

However if you really are interested in going to the range for plinking and target shooting or if it is legal for you to carry a concealed handgun, then a good quality .38 revolver would be a decent choice.

The main thing is to practice. You need to practice good gun safety so that you are comfortable handling the firearms to avoid any accidents. You also to to practice shooting your firearms so that you are poficient with them if you plan to use them defensively.

Feel free to post all your questions. Ths is a very helpful and friendly board.

[Boondock]

a shotgun is a definate as we already have on picked out. i just want to build a little colection also. i feel beter sleeping with a firearm on my table.

i just called another small store and the guy said he has a brand new .28 revolver with a 2 in barrell which is exactly what i want. price is $275. i can't remember the name but i think he said it was rossi, but he did say it is imported by taurus and carrys the full taurus warranty. i think i'm gonna head down there when the wife gets off to scope it out.

[pmf]

"i just called another small store and the guy said he has a brand new .28 revolver with a 2 in barrell"

Ugh ... I wouldn't even buy that for $27.50. Get a used Smith and Wesson 357 revolver. There must be a million of these police trade-offs floating around. You can shoot 38 specials in it if you want lower recoil. A 357 will do some real damage. The sound of it going off alone would probably scare most crooks off. I also recommend frangible ammo for home protection.

[pmf]

Hey Limeyinaz -- you live near J&G Sales? Man I wish there was a store like that where I live. Probably be bad for my marriage though.

[W.E.G.]

A lot of gun show tables tend to not have many sub-$200 pistols on the table. Low-$$$ pistols tend to make people not buy the other stuff on the table that has higher markup.

If you can get a solid Smith and Wesson or Ruger for $200, that would be a good deal. Make sure it hasn't been abused. If you don't know how to spot problems on used guns, take somebody with you who does. I saw a table of sub-$200 Smith and Wessons not long ago that I would not have paid $100 for any one of them. Cranes were sprung and endshake was frightening.

I'd recommend raising your budget just a bit to be sure you get a revolver that still has plenty of life left in it. The better used revolvers at gun shows tend to run in the high $200's.

[owlcreekok]

Sound advice on the shotgun and the raising your budget. My first centerfire handgun was a S&W 686. I have shot tens of thousands of .38 spl light handloads with cast bullets through this .357. Yes, you will have to clean a lot on the cylinder from the shorter .38's in the .357. Get a Lewis Lead Remover and that becomes a non-issue. (my opinion) Another opinion is that a concealable (snubby) revolver is not as much fun to shoot as a larger one. A four inch or longer barrel is plenty fun to plink with.

Welcome to the FalFiles. As HBR said, some of us are full of crap, and some of us are not.

I am so full of it my shadow is brown,,,and I learn verrrrrrry slowly.

[FAL guy]

Originally posted by Boondock
what fal kit can i get for $200?

i checked the faq and didn't see anything but whats a fal?

Welcome to the Files Boon, but I'm wondering....how did you get in here??

[Boondock]

Originally posted by FAL guy


Welcome to the Files Boon, but I'm wondering....how did you get in here??

i looked on big-boards rankings for gun forums

[Boondock]

Originally posted by limeyinaz


And you chose lucky number 7 Ya done lucked out Boondock, I don't know if you went down the list, but you did find the best one eventually

i started from the bottom and worked my way up. i also registered with the 1911 forum.
i'm trying to learn but i think the only way i am going to learn what i like/want and what is good for me is to get out there and try and rent pistols to shoot. everyone i talk to says different things about different guns.

[justashooter]

Originally posted by Boondock
a shotgun is a definate as we already have on picked out. i just want to build a little colection also. i feel beter sleeping with a firearm on my table.

i just called another small store and the guy said he has a brand new .28 revolver with a 2 in barrell which is exactly what i want. price is $275. i can't remember the name but i think he said it was rossi, but he did say it is imported by taurus and carrys the full taurus warranty. i think i'm gonna head down there when the wife gets off to scope it out.

some free advise from a guy who has owned 300 or so guns over the last 25 years:

buy a smith and wesson 4" barreled model 15 or model 10. get some low velocity target ammo, and shoot the gun at least 200 times to get familiar with it. buy some 125 JHP high velocity +P ammo, and shoot that stuff 50 times at close range (7 yards) and double action.

keep it loaded in a safe place with the 125's. they are a guarranteed attention getter in a controllable package.

don't buy anything other than S&W, and check the cylinder rotation (and how tightly the cylinder locks when cocked) of a new gun to compare against used ones. you will find 80 year old guns that are still tight, and 5 year old guns that have been abused.

i bought a model 15 like that for 150$ a few years ago. they are out there. if you can, buy one with a rubber grip already installed.

[fastprofessor]

Originally posted by Boondock

i'm trying to learn but i think the only way i am going to learn what i like/want and what is good for me is to get out there and try and rent pistols to shoot.

Definitely a good approach. It would be ideal if you could get out to a range with a friend who has a few different guns for you to try. But even if you buy something and don't like it, you can always trade it for something else. If you got a good deal to begin with you prolly wouldn't take much of a loss (if any) when you trade it for something else.

[Terick]

A used 38 SW in decent shape is a solid investment. They are vastly under appreciated. Plenty of good advice on that above. Do get the pump shotgun when you get the chance as well. If your world suddenly goes to @#$% you will be in a much better position to deal with the situation having the 12 ga. option available. It's pretty much mandatory. BTW, I wouldn't ever let the Norinco go. The sentimental value sure might go up, but you won't get squat for it in cash or trade. Might even turn out to be a decent shooter. My dad passed a good number of years ago, but he's still gettin' smarter.

[Para Driver]

357 s&w police trade in... you might even have several to chose from..
the only major 'trick' is to make sure it is timed correctly.. meaning that the cylinder lines up BEFORE the hammer falls... If you remember from the movies, the guy would spin the cylinder and then slam it shut.. that screws it up sooner than later..

A properly timed revolver can be checked by:
1) making sure it is unloaded...
2) very slowly cocking the hammer and listening for 3 clicks before the hammer locks back.
3) lightly checking the cylinder for any play.. any clicks mean the gun is not timed correctly and needs repairs..

double action can be checked the same way... very slowly pulling on the trigger, and you should hear 3 distinct clicks before the hammer drops.. it is okay to 'dry fire' a s&w (ask for permission) this will be very frowned upon at gun shows..