Women's First Handgun Purchase

Chapter Four - What to Look for in Handguns, Part 2

Book Title:  Women's Guide to Buying Your First Handgun Series:  Firearm/Pistol For Life Series Author:  Ruperto Elpusan Jr. Be sure to look for ISBN #0-9772088-3-4 at Amazon, Powells and other fine online retail bookstores.

Chapter Four:  What To Look For In Handguns, Part 2

How easy is the gun to load?

The gun may feel comfortable to hold and to shoot accurately, but if you can’t load any meaningful number of rounds in it, this gun may not be for you.

At this point, we haven’t discussed the difference between semi-automatic pistols and revolvers.  One of the advantages of revolvers is the ease of loading rounds into the gun.  However, that’s not necessarily a hard-and-fast rule as some semi-automatics can be loaded easily, especially with the assistance of some after-market speedloaders.

Whether a revolver or semi-automatic, put the above tip to use.  At the range, be sure to practice loading rounds.  Don’t rely on your gun-knowledgeable friend or firearms instructor to load the gun for you.  Get instruction on loading the gun yourself.

If you’re borrowing a like model from a friend, you can try loading dummy rounds or snap caps at your friend’s house (remembering of course to always follow gun safety rules).

Are you comfortable loading rounds into the gun?  If the gun is a semi-automatic and it’s difficult to load, find out if a speedloader is available for the model.  See if you can borrow a speedloader and try it out.  Speedloaders make it easier to load semi-automatic pistols but that still isn’t always enough for some people.

 Even if you’re a whiz loading that pistol with a speedloader, you need to consider what happens if a speedloader isn’t available.  Your life may depend on the rounds that you manually load.

Therefore, our advice is that you should be able to (quickly) load at least two rounds.  The more, the better.

If you are considering a popular semi-automatic pistol, chances are good that there’s a speedloader in the market.  If you need the speedloader to load, you should at least be able to load five rounds comfortably.

How easy is the gun to unload?

If you need to suspend gun usage, you have to unload the gun and open the action. 

With a semi-automatic pistol, you would press the magazine release, handle the magazine from the magazine well, pull the slide back to open the action and eject a chambered round, and use the slide stop to keep the action open.  You visually check to verify that the gun is not loaded with a round.

With a semi-action revolver, you ensure the hammer is in the down position, and if it isn’t, you ease the hammer from cocked to the down position, then you open the loading gate, and use the ejector to drop each of the rounds.  Then, you remove the cylinder.

With a double-action revolver, you ensure the hammer is down (if it was shooting in single-action mode), and if it isn’t, you ease the hammer from the cocked to the down position, then you press the cylinder release latch, swing the cylinder open, and use the ejector to drop the rounds at one time.

Those are the basic steps of unloading a handgun.  Each make and model will have slightly different characteristics and feel in the unloading operation.

Which is the most comfortable for you?

How easy is the gun to store?  

Gun storage at home

One of the basic rules of handgun safety is to store your gun safely and securely to prevent unauthorized use.  At home, you need to prevent access by children, thieves, service providers who may be walking through your property or anybody else who can chance upon your gun.

The ease of gun storage at home depends on a number of factors, including the type of lock that is either packaged with the gun by the vendor or the availability of a lock or safe that you need to purchase separately. 

This consideration is especially relevant to women with children, so you need to consider what type of lock, if any, goes with the gun.  If you need to buy a lock, you need to make sure it’s something that can be used easily with your newly purchased gun.

If you are going to store your gun in a cabinet, do you have enough space in that cabinet for the model gun you are purchasing?

Personal carry and storage

Additionally, you need to consider how you will store the gun in your person, if this subject is relevant to you.  That is, how will carry the gun if this is for personal defense (of course, you need to do this legally with a CCW --- concealed carry weapon permit --- but that is not in the scope of this book)?

You don’t want to just drop a handgun in your purse; it’s not safe.  There are many holster alternatives available for women, and these are discussed in a good self-defense book for women, which is beyond the scope of this book.

The message here is that you need to decide how you will carry and decide on the type of holster that is appropriate for you.  Then, you ask yourself the question if the gun you have in mind is compatible with your carry and storage requirements.

How easy is the gun to obtain training with?

Guns are not all created equal.  Each model is different from the rest, and you want a trainer who has familiarity with your purchase.

If you purchase a Tokarev 7.62 x 25mm semi-automatic pistol, do you know someone who can show you how to operate that pistol?  This is a fairly arcane pistol but it does exist in the marketplace. 

Make sure that your hired hand really has the expertise to not only shoot but to handle your new purchase.  In the case of a Tokarev, your hired hand might end up surprised when a case ejects at the speed it does after a shot!

Chances are that you will select something more mainstream, and that would help your cause to be able to obtain the appropriate training.

How easy is the gun to obtain information about?

Related to the trainability of your gun model, you should find out how much information about the gun there is in the marketplace.  The Internet is a valuable tool in this regard, as you can do a simple search about your model to determine what type of resources there are to learn about the gun.

Some guns are popular enough that there are online forums for the make and model.  Some are so popular that there is daily exchange of information  (and misinformation, which is inevitable on the web) by forum members --- on a wide variety of issues including gun cleaning, shooting, collectability, service, etc.

Some guns are popular that there exist informational websites about the model operated by third-party vendors and hobbyists.

In fact, for some guns, even operating manuals have been uploaded on the Internet for immediate access by anybody.

How easy is the gun to obtain parts and service for?

This question continues on the theme of selecting a gun with sufficient popularity in the marketplace for an associated benefit --- the availability of parts and service, in this case.

Advanced gun owners may not consider this question important as they have the resources and wherewithal to acquire parts for some of the more arcane gun models and can obtain service either on their own or from a trusted service provider they deal with on a regular basis.  However, for gun newbies and casual users, it is not easy to obtain parts and service for the less popular guns.  This also depends on where you live.

You’d hate to lose the magazine for your semi-automatic pistol and can’t find a gunstore within a 300 mile radius that carries magazines for that particular pistol.

When we speak of service, that the manufacturer of the gun, the gunstore and a competent gunsmith in the area. 

Some manufacturers provide good service.  They will readily accept a gun from you, fix a defect and ship it back to you promptly.  Some provide good customer and technical support service.  Both Ruger and Glock will have a gun technician walk you through a resolution of a problem over the telephone, for example.  Others will put you on hold for hours and evade responsibility for their products, just like many companies in other industries.

Some gunstores have knowledgeable salespeople who can answer questions about the products they sell; some don’t.  Some have staff that are genuinely concerned about their customers and will follow through in helping you.

The availability of gunsmiths are important.  The casual users may not have the time nor inclination to find out how to detail strip their pistols --- never mind doing some maintenance issues like replacing some springs after some years or doing a thorough internal cleaning.  That’s the job for a competent gunsmith who is familiar with the gun model you have.

Herewith is an important tip for you:

Continue to Part 3

Ch 1 - Introduction | Ch 2 - Why Handguns | Ch 3 - Why Many Handguns Aren't Right | Ch 4 - What to Look for in Handguns | Ch 5 - Revolver vs Semi-Automatic Pistol | Ch 6 - Revolver Choices | Ch 7 - Semi-Automatic Choices | Ch 8 - Used or New | Ch 9 - Internet or Local | Ch 10 - Why Practice is Important