Defensive firearm selection and getting started.

- Legal considerations So you’ve decided that you want to buy a firearm for defensive use. One of your first considerations will have to be what your local laws are, in regards to any restrictions on what types of firearms you’re allowed to own, and what features those firearms are allowed to have. These laws and regulations vary greatly from state to state, and even by county and city. These laws can also determine how you’re able to carry, use, and transport your firearm. A visit to your local gun store will be a good first step in acquiring knowledge on what these legal restrictions are and how to abide by them. The internet is also full of various databases with this information, just be sure to double check for accuracy. https://www.atf.gov/firearms/state-laws-and-published-ordinances-firearms-33rd-edition For those of you in California, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and other states with similarly strict gun laws; I’m putting together a special article for you on firearm selection within the context of the limited types of firearms you’re legally allowed to possess, as these restrictions can greatly affect the best type of firearm to choose for a given role. We also have an article planned that will be specific to Canada. - Environmental and use case considerations These are the two primary factors that will determine what the best firearm is for you. Notice that I’m using the word “best”, which I’m defining as what will be a compromise between: - The ability to stop a lethal threat. - Intended use (home defense, concealed carry, otherwise). - User-friendliness. - Downrange risk. As mentioned in the article “Common myths, mistakes, and misconceptions, Volume 1", different types of firearms are best suited to specific uses. Handguns are the obvious choice for concealed carry where mobility and concealability are the primary needs, but suffer from poor terminal ballistics, and have a much steeper learning curve in order to reach competent and safe use in a defensive scenario. Rifles and shotguns (colloquially referred to as “long guns”), when chambered in a suitable caliber, are far more user-friendly in terms of how quickly one can become competent in their use, and provide significantly better terminal ballistics. You will be able to stop a lethal threat much more effectively and consistently with a proper defensive rifle or shotgun, than with a handgun. Naturally, I’m aware that both a handgun or a rifle projectile striking an assailant in their brain or brain stem will yield the same result of immediately stopping a lethal threat, but reaching a competency level to where you can consistently hit a human target in the brain, under various combat conditions and high stress, is a level of combat skill and effectiveness that very few people will ever achieve with a handgun. Having realistic and objective expectations for yourself and your abilities is crucial during the firearm selection process. But one great thing about firearms is that you’re allowed to own more than one. So keep in mind that ideally, you’ll own different firearms for different uses and environments. It’s crucial to understand that there is no such thing as a “one size fits all” firearm solution, period. Anyone who suggests that, is only demonstrating naivety and lack of contextual experience. It’s not hard to find exceptions to rules, and I find them pretty frequently. Whenever someone approaches me for firearm selection advice, they typically don’t give me nearly enough context and background information, so my initial answer is almost always, “It depends...”, because it does. - Rifles While there are many acceptable options for defensive use, the focus for now will be the AR15 platform. It’s the most common type of defensive rifle you’ll encounter in America. It comes in a wide array of configurations and calibers, is both lightweight and very light-recoiling, making it easy for even very small women to effectively shoot and control, and is extremely versatile. AR15s from reputable manufacturers will demonstrate a high degree of reliability. Reliability should always be one of the top priorities when choosing a firearm for defensive purposes. If it doesn’t go “BANG” every time when you really need it to, it’s not acceptable for defensive use, period. And while ammunition failures and firearm malfunctions can occur in ANY firearm, some are simply more prone to it than others. It’s also important to note that this reality is why it’s important to train oneself in malfunction-clearing drills.

As with any type of firearm, choosing the best AR15 for your specific use case will be determined by a number of different factors. Your personal dwelling type, floor plan, and general neighborhood type will be one of those primary determining factors. Do you live in a ranch style home with a large, open floor plan and no neighbors around for several hundred yards or miles? Or in a small apartment with a tight floor plan, surrounded by potential downrange risk? For home defense use, you’re generally NOT going to want an AR15 with a very long barrel. The longer the barrel and overall footprint is, the more difficult it will be to maneuver it indoors, through hallways, door openings, and around corners. The federally mandated minimum legal length for a rifle or shotgun barrel is 16 inches, and a minimum overall weapon length of 26 inches. However, there are currently two different ways around this rule, depending on your local laws. One method is to submit the proper Form 1 paperwork to the ATF and go through the process of acquiring a special “tax stamp” (this will take several months to complete) for a short-barreled rifle (commonly referred to as an “SBR”). For further information on this process, please visit: SBR information The second method is much easier, and faster. There is a plethora of “AR pistols” available on the market to civilian users. These have a much shorter barrel, typically in the range of between 8 and 12 inches, and use a “pistol brace” instead of a traditional fixed, collapsing, or folding rifle stock. These pistols braces come in all kinds of different sizes and styles, but still generally resemble and function the way a normal rifle stock would. Due to an ATF ruling in recent years, users of AR pistols can legally shoulder the pistol brace as they would a traditional stock. While these pistol braces don’t make for an ideal rifle stock, they’re generally adequate for effectively shouldering the firearm. The lower receivers of AR pistols will be specifically engraved with markings and a serial number that designate it as a pistol rather than a rifle. If you do decide to go this route, be aware that the ATF is a fickle beast, and they have a history of changing laws on a somewhat frequent basis, so do your research and make sure you’re in both local and federal compliance.

If you do choose to go with a short barreled AR15 or an AR15 pistol, I’d strongly recommend against purchasing it in a .223/5.56 caliber. While this caliber is common and acceptable in AR15s with longer barrels, it does not lend itself well to short barreled configurations, for three reasons. The cartridge is designed to have its powder completely burned and expand in a longer barrel (ideally of 20 inches), as originally designed with the Vietnam-era M16 rifle. This means that when fired in a short barrel in the range of 6 to 12 inches, the cartridge will not be able to burn all of its powder before the projectile (bullet) exits the barrel.

This has three consequences: 1. There’s a significant drop in bullet velocity as the barrel gets shorter and shorter. 2. They’re more prone to malfunctions. 3. There’s a significant increase in muzzle flash. The drop in velocity has a direct impact on the terminal ballistics of .223/5.56. What these bullets lack in diameter and weight, they make up for in velocity. But once you start losing that velocity due to a shorter barrel, you lose the optimal performance of this caliber’s terminal ballistics. Being more prone to malfunctions is a consequence of mating a short barrel with a gas system and platform that was never really designed with it in mind. An example of this issue is the HK416. H&K had to significantly "over-gas" the short-barreled version in order to achieve consistent cycling in combat conditions.

Muzzle flash is simply the bright flash of light we sometimes see at the end of the barrel of a firearm when it’s fired. It’s the result of both the heat and the expansion of burned gunpowder leaving the barrel after the projectile, and sometimes the result of gunpowder still being burned after the projectile has exited the barrel. During the daytime, muzzle flash is of little significance when using a firearm. At night, it can overpower even your very bright weapon mounted light, obscuring your sights, target, and other parts of your environment. Most users of short barreled .223/5.56 rifles and AR pistols don’t even realize this until they’ve actually fired their weapon in low light or no light conditions. Below is a video of a 5.56 AR15 pistol being fired at an indoor range. Even with the lights on, you can see how much muzzle flash is produced:

For these stated reasons, I strongly recommend choosing one of these types of weapons that is chambered in “.300 Blackout” (abbreviated as 300BO going forward). The 300BO cartridge was originally designed by Advanced Armament Company in the late 2000’s. It was intended to be used in short barreled rifles, and as a result its powder charge will completely burn in a 9 inch barrel. This achieves optimal velocity in shorter barrels, reliability, as well as reduced muzzle flash. The cartridge is compatible with standard AR15 magazines, though there are 300BO-specific magazines that have been optimized for their use. Since becoming standardized by the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute (SAAMI) in 2011, 300BO has gained mass adoption by both the military and civilian worlds, due to its excellent performance in short barreled firearms, as well as excellent terminal ballistic performance.

It’s available in a wide variety of different loadings, including defensive options. It’s also an excellent choice (if not the best choice) when using a suppressor to reduce the sound of gunfire. The two downsides of 300BO is increased cost of ammunition, relative to .223/5.56, and a slight increase in felt recoil.

No matter what configuration and caliber of AR15 you choose, make sure that it is loaded with proven, expanding ammunition and a mounted weapon light, as discussed here. A sling is also a universally good idea for a rifle or shotgun. You may need to use one or both of your hands for something other than operating a firearm during a defensive scenario, and having a sling will make this far easier. I’ve personally had excellent experiences with Aero Precision, Daniel Defense, Bravo Company, Spikes Tactical, Sig Sauer, Smith & Wesson, and Noveske. My current personal AR15 is one I designed and built from the ground up, using parts from various high-end manufacturers. This is a route I only suggest for very experienced shooters who know exactly what they want in a rifle, down to every little feature and detail. While building your own AR15 has become a flourishing hobby in recent years, I strongly suggest that new shooters buy a complete and proven rifle with an excellent reputation for reliability. -Shotguns Shotguns can be another highly effective choice for home defense. The raw energy that a defensively-loaded 12ga shotgun can deliver on target with a single shot, is staggering. A 3” shell loaded with a slug can achieve over 3,000 ft-lbs of energy at the muzzle. Compare this with the common 9mm Luger, which comes in around 400 ft-lbs, or an average 5.56 loading, coming in around 1,300 ft lbs. Keep in mind that shotguns have several inherent limitations, with the primary one being recoil. Many shotgun users are accustomed to using “target loads”. These shotgun shells are intended for sport shooting, such as skeet and trap shooting sports (what many of us know as “clay pigeon shooting”) which only require enough energy to break up a fragile clay target. Whether they’re in 20 or 12 gauge, these rounds are relatively light in recoil, but lack the energy and terminal ballistics performance of rounds that are designed for defensive or hunting use. Upon inspection, you’ll notice that a common characteristic of these defensive and hunting shotgun shells is the height, or length, of the brass section of the shotgun shell. This is the part of the shotgun shell where the powder charge is situated, so a larger section of brass is needed to contain that larger powder charge during ignition, and you’ll often hear the term “high brass” as a general category that denotes that the shell is intended for hunting or self defense. These high brass shotgun shells have significantly more recoil than their sporting counterparts, and most users cannot fire a box (25) of these shells without experiencing a lot of shoulder pain, soreness, and even bruising as a result. This significant recoil also means that your sights will come much farther off target after firing, making follow-up shots much slower when compared to something like an AR15. You should never expect to only fire one round during an armed conflict. Getting as many shots on target, as quickly as possible in order to end a lethal threat, is always critical to coming out on top. Proper technique and shooting form along with a lot of practice can make defensively-loaded shotguns much more controllable and effective for their users, but they will never have the controllability or user-friendliness of a defensively-loaded AR15.

target load (left) and high brass slug (right) Shotguns come in three primary mechanical configurations. Pump-action, break-action, and self loading. Break-actions are very dated and not optimal for self defense, so we will not be discussing those. They are primarily used today for hunting or sport shooting, as mentioned above. We will also not be discussing shotguns that lack any sort of stock, such as the Mossberg Shockwave. Neither of these are practical for defensive purposes, despite the current fad for “bird’s head” type grips that the Shockwave uses. Pump-action shotguns should be familiar to most of you. These require the user to manually cycle the action of the weapon after each shot is fired in order to eject the spent shell and cycle in a fresh shell, typically by racking the fore end grip of the shotgun back and forth. Self-loading shotguns use the expanding gases from a round that’s just been fired to automatically cycle the action for the user, which makes them definable as semi-automatic firearms. Pump-action shotguns have two primary advantages; reliability and versatility. Any modern pump-action shotgun from a reputable manufacturer will be incredibly reliable, due to having very few moving parts, and relying on the user to cycle the action. The versatility comes from the ability to easily swap out different types of shotgun rounds on the fly. Switching from buckshot to a slug can be accomplished with a couple of manipulations, and with practice, it can be done quickly. The downside of pump-action shotguns is also two-fold. The need to manually cycle the action is going to lead to a slower rate of fire (including potential user error) and the weapon will have more felt recoil than a self-loading counterpart. While cycling a pump-action shotgun is a gross motor skill, I’ve watched individuals on the range “short-stroke” the action while under stress or simply when they’re in a big hurry. Short-stroking is a failure to complete the full front-to-rear motion of an action (in any firearm, for any reason) and typically results in a malfunction or stoppage. So even though pump-actions are inherently very reliable by design, they can still exhibit malfunctions when a user is under stress or in a big hurry. As mentioned previously, high brass shotgun rounds produce a significant amount of recoil, and with pump-action shotguns, you’re going to feel every bit of it, since none of the kinetic energy has anywhere to go but directly back into your shoulder. Self-loading shotguns use some of the kinetic energy that’s normally wasted in pump-action shotguns, to cycle their own actions. This results in a reduction of felt recoil for the user, and faster follow-up shots. The difference in felt recoil varies depending on the model of the self-loading shotgun (when round type is kept constant). It’s best for potential buyers to try out these different models and configurations before purchasing and understand it for themselves. Self-loading shotguns are still not “soft-recoiling” like an AR15. But most users find the recoil more easily managed than that of pump-action counterparts. The other issue facing self-loading shotguns is reliability. Some models have a much better reputation for reliability than others. Growing up, I spent a lot of time clearing malfunctions in a Remington 1100 that belonged to my father. I loved shooting it, since it was softer-recoiling and much faster to shoot than my classic Remington 870, but even when it had just been cleaned, it was still finicky, and once it had 3 or 4 boxes of shells through it, it would malfunction every 2 or 3 shots. Many cheaper self-loading shotguns will exhibit this kind of poor reliability. While individual experiences with reliability can vary greatly, I’ve personally experienced the best reliability with the Benelli M4, FN SLP, and Mossberg 930, in that order. One shotgun-related item I cannot say a single good thing about are Fiocchi shotgun shells. I’ve yet to encounter a self-loading shotgun that will reliably feed and eject this brand. This is a characteristic that firearm users will encounter with many different kinds of semi-automatic firearms, whether it’s a handgun, rifle, or shotgun. Some types and brands of firearms just prefer certain brands and types of ammunition. If someone does choose to select a self-loading shotgun for defensive use, I would strongly recommend that you buy several different types of premium, defensive ammunition for it, and make sure that it will shoot several hundred rounds of a particular ammunition without malfunctioning once, before ever fielding it in a defensive role (I feel confident after about 300 rounds with zero malfunctions). It’s fine, and even recommended, that you clean the weapon every 100 rounds or so during this testing, since self-loading shotguns tend to build up a lot of residue in their actions relatively quickly. Again, reliability is paramount when selecting a firearm for a defensive role, trumped only by how well you can hit what you’re aiming at with that particular firearm. If you pull the trigger and nothing happens, when you REALLY need it to, it could be the end of your life. Never forget that. - Handguns “Carrying a gun is not supposed to be comfortable, it’s supposed to be comforting.” -Clint Smith Semi-automatic handguns are the most widely manufactured type of firearm in the US. The vast majority of both firearm-related crimes and defensive gun uses involve handguns. When choosing a handgun, many factors must be considered. The most important of these factors is the individual user. Throughout my lifetime of firearm experiences, I’ve been constantly surprised at which handguns individual users were able to perform the best with. My ex wife, who is a very small woman (at less than 5 feet tall with teeny tiny hands), was able to hit her targets pretty consistently at a distance of 30 feet with my Witness Stock 3 in 10mm (a very large and heavy handgun), but struggled to hit those same targets at all, from a distance of even 10 feet with the subcompact Glock 43 we had picked out for her, even after several modifications.

The best way to approach handgun selection is to find a range near you that rents firearms, even if it means traveling a ways to find one. Try out as many handguns as you can, that meet the basic requirements of what you’re looking for. A defensive handgun, whether you plan on carrying concealed or not, should be as much gun as you can practically carry. What I mean by this, is that you should choose a pistol that’s as large as you can practically carry or conceal on your person, even if it means making changes to your wardrobe. A modern handgun in the “compact” or “service/full size” categories will hold between 15 and 20 rounds in 9mm and have a barrel length between 3.5 and 6 inches. Subcompact and pocket pistols, which I will refer to collectively as the “tiny pistol” going forward, are another recent trend that I will also strongly caution against.

Let’s take an objective look at what makes these types of pistols a universally poor choice. For one, they’re always going to lack in terms of capacity. Since most of these use “single stack” magazines as opposed to “double stack” magazines, they’re even further hindered in capacity.

Even the models that use double stack magazines suffer in capacity compared to their larger counterparts, due to shorter grips. Most of these tiny pistols will range in capacity between 5 and 10 rounds in 9mm, regardless of magazine configuration. The justifications I hear for carrying such low capacity handguns are always the same, and are never as compelling once you dissect the reasoning behind them. “3 shots, 3 yards, 3 seconds.” One oft-quoted “statistic” is the 3 yards, 3 shots, 3 seconds mantra that I’ve heard repeatedly from local instructors, firearm owners, gun store salesmen, etc, for my entire life. It implies that the average gunfight takes place at three yards, consists of three rounds being fired, and is over in three seconds or less. This is derived from officer involved shooting data that the FBI began collecting back in the 1970s. The ways in which this particular data is collected, categorized, and presented has several deep methodological flaws, and paints an inaccurate picture in many ways. But for now, the important takeaway is to not make a firearm selection decision based on this data. There are numerous examples of gunfights that consist of dozens (or even hundreds) of rounds fired, that take place at distances significantly greater than three yards, and take place over a period of time much longer than three seconds. While the FBI has consistently demonstrated excellence in the category of terminal ballistics research, they fall short on defensive gun use and officer involved shooting data. “It’s better than nothing!” AKA "The best gun is the one you always carry." This is another common justification I hear for carrying a tiny pistol. This reasoning has the immediate flaw of being a false dichotomy; as if there wasn’t any available alternatives to the user between carrying an 8 round pocket pistol, or nothing at all. You could use a Razor scooter to traverse the United States coast to coast, but is it the best tool for the job? This is where user comfort and laziness comes into play. The primary selling point of the tiny pistol is how easily and comfortably it can be carried and concealed on a person’s body, in a purse, etc. This comfort comes with several distinct disadvantages. When it comes to capacity, you’re statistically going to miss about 70% of the shots you fire during a gunfight, and that’s only if you’re trained as well as the average police officer. So the 9 round tiny pistol just went to a theoretical effective capacity of 3 rounds. When you consider the poor terminal ballistics of common handgun rounds, which often results in attackers being able to continue on in the fight after being shot several times, this becomes even more worrisome. The tiny pistol has other inherent disadvantages beyond just ammo capacity. One is the grip size itself. While a small grip diameter can be accommodated pretty well when using the right technique, a grip that’s very short is simply not going to offer enough area to establish and maintain an effective firing grip compared to larger pistols. Most tiny pistols have grips that are so short that the user’s pinky fingers, and sometimes even ring fingers, will hang off of the bottom of the handgun. This obviously does not lend itself to having a good firing grip and makes recoil control much more difficult. The tiny pistol is also very lightweight. Great for comfort, but at the cost of increased felt recoil and muzzle flip compared a larger, heavier handgun. “Muzzle flip” is the general term used to describe the way the muzzle of a handgun will rise when fired. Muzzle flip will always result in the user losing part of their sight alignment and sight picture. More muzzle flip results in more time being needed to reacquire your sight alignment and sight picture before firing the next shot. When the tiny pistol is loaded with defensive ammunition (which generally has a larger powder charge and produces significantly more recoil than their “target load” counterparts), they can be downright brutal for the average user to shoot repeatedly, let alone effectively, since there’s so little mass available to absorb recoil forces and muzzle flip. The tiny pistol also suffers from a very short sight radius, due to their short overall length. As previously discussed, the sight radius is the distance between the front and rear sights of a firearm. As a sight radius gets shorter and shorter, it becomes exponentially more difficult, even physically impossible, to make a precision shot at any appreciable distance. Even most experienced shooters will find it virtually impossible to consistently hit a man-sized static target beyond 15 yards with the tiny pistol, even in a controlled environment. In my personal experiences, newer shooters with less experience have difficulty consistently hitting a target with the tiny pistol at even 5 yards or less once minor movement and pressure is induced during training and practice. This, coupled with a frame that’s typically very difficult to grip, makes the combat effectiveness of the tiny pistol quite dismal for the average, or even experienced user. Lastly, the tiny pistol also encounters ballistic issues, again due to their short barrels. Handgun rounds are designed with powders that will burn completely in short barrels, but this has limitations. All common handgun rounds will exhibit a decrease in projectile velocity commensurate with a decrease in barrel length, and that drop in velocity becomes dramatic once the barrel length is less than 4 inches. Aside from velocity being a necessary component of effective terminal ballistics, this reduction in velocity can also negatively affect the performance of expanding ammunition. Expanding ammunition requires a certain minimum velocity to reliably perform the way it’s designed to. A slow moving hollow point is much less likely to properly and completely expand, which reintroduces the downrange risk of full metal jacket projectiles, and makes those slow moving hollow points less likely to effectively do their job of maximizing tissue damage.

(velocity table courtesy of ballisticsbytheinch.com) For all of these reasons, I am not a proponent of the tiny pistol. Some of you may have a very specific use case that requires deep concealment or a backup gun (full disclosure: I own a Glock 43, but rarely ever use it outside of the range). But virtually all of the individuals I meet who are a fan of the tiny pistol or want to acquire one, have no real reason to carry such a small and relatively ineffective handgun. Simple changes in regards to holster style and wardrobe will afford virtually any handgun user the ability to comfortably carry and conceal a full size or service size pistol under various conditions. I’ve extensively fired several examples of virtually every mass produced handgun model over the years. Glock, Springfield, H&K, SIG, CZ, FN, Colt, Browning, Kahr, Kimber, Remington, Smith and Wesson, Beretta, Wilson Combat, Ruger, Taurus, etc. It’s a very long list. When it comes to modern defensive handguns, most popular offerings will demonstrate excellent reliability and handling characteristics. Your selection should be dependent on reliability and how well you can shoot it. There is no perfect handgun (Sorry, Glock) and all of these are subject to QC issues that can negatively affect any mass produced piece of machinery. My most common personal recommendation is usually the Springfield Armory XDM in 9mm. It offers excellent capacity in 9mm (19 +1), a good trigger pull in stock form, a few additional safety features not found in most other striker-fired handguns, and I’ve experienced excellent reliability under all sorts of conditions. They’ve been so reliable that I’ll often refer to the XDM as a “garbage disposal”, since it will reliably feed, fire, and eject any ammunition I load it with. (Update: It was just brought to my attention that Springfield Armory recently discontinued the XDM in everything but .45 and 10mm. They replaced it with the new "XDM Elite" offerings in 9mm, which are very similar mechanically to the XDM. - Ben K) -I’ve also had excellent experiences with the following: -H&K VP9, P30, and USP -Various Glock models (one sausage, different lengths) -The Sig P226, P220, P229, P365, and P320 -Smith and Wesson M&P -FN FNX -CZ “P” series, Shadow, Shadow 2, and the CZ75 lineup You should be able to find something in that list that meets your needs and suits your particular hands. Most modern polymer handguns come with different grip panels that can be easily changed out to customize the size and shape of the frame where you grip the handgun, in order to accommodate individual user preference and hand size. A quick note on Glocks though, is to be very aware of what brand of ammunition you load them with. For all of the hype around their reliability and being generally indestructible, there’s certain kinds of ammunition I’ve repeatedly found Glocks to not reliably feed, like Remington UMC in 9mm. Finding both a range and defensive ammo that a particular Glock likes can take some experimenting, so be prepared for that. - Downrange risk Commonly referred to as "overpenetration", downrange risk should always be a concern for any firearm you might use defensively. Hitting your target with expanding ammunition is the first priority in reducing overpenetration. Any common handgun, rifle, or shotgun projectile will penetrate several sheets of drywall, plywood, 2x4s, etc (commonly used to construct interior walls), if you miss your target. That said, particularly powerful rifle and shotgun rounds such as .308(7.62x51) and larger, and shotgun slugs, are more prone to severe overpenetration. Severe overpenetration would mean hitting your target, and having that same projectile then penetrate several walls and possibly an innocent bystander as a result. This goes back to your individual environment, and home layout and construction. It's important to know where the natural backstops and safest lanes of fire are in your home. A natural backstop is an object or collection of objects that has a high likelihood of stopping a projectile. This can be a concrete interior wall of an apartment complex, a brick exterior wall of a house, a vehicle, etc. A lane of fire is a general direction of fire that you're likely to engage in during defensive or offensive maneuvers. The takeaway for now is that before you fire down a hallway, you want to make sure that there isn't an occupied room on the other side of the wall at the end of that hallway, especially if it's only separated by a couple sheets of drywall. Study your dwelling and floor plan, and establish where downrange risk is the most and least acceptable. - Being left handed and other biological considerations The gun world is pretty accommodating to south paws these days. 20 years ago it was a lot harder to find ambidextrous firearms, but we’ve approached a critical mass of left-handed shooters, where most major manufacturers are making firearms with ambidextrous controls, or firearms that can be configured for left handed shooters, so explore your options accordingly. If you’re elderly, of a particularly small stature, or generally lacking a more athletic figure, I’d generally recommend skipping the shotguns entirely and focusing on handguns and intermediate-caliber rifles like the AR15, for previously mentioned reasons related to recoil and ability to control it. One thing I see a lot of at gun stores are brightly-colored firearms, often in neon pink, in an effort to appeal to female shooters. If you’re buying a .22 rifle for your 10 year old daughter to shoot at the range, or take squirrel hunting, this is harmless.

I’ve always been offended on behalf of women by the way the gun industry panders to women. Rather than offering firearms that are more accommodating to the ergonomics of the small statures and hands most women have compared to men, they throw some neon pink dye in a mold and call it a day. A firearm is not a fashion statement. It’s a tool for self-defense that could alter the entire course of your life and those around you. Furthermore, anyone who’s spent enough time around toddlers and young children knows that they’re more likely to be drawn to something with bright, flashy colors, rather than matte black. All it takes to know this is a walk down an aisle of children's toys. This is not to say that I’m accusing women of being more prone to lapses in firearm safety or exposing small children to firearms, but if you choose to pursue the lifestyle of firearm ownership, exposing your children to them will be an inevitability. I’d also argue that if you present a firearm during an armed confrontation, that you’d be less likely to have your intentions taken seriously when you’re holding something that looks more like a water pistol or Nerf gun than an actual firearm. The way you express your identity as a gun owner should be how effectively you can use your firearm to defend yourself and your loved ones, not by how your gun looks. Those of you with disabilities shouldn’t be discouraged either. Plenty of people in wheelchairs or with other forms of disabilities are able to competently and safely use firearms. One great example of this is Hunter “Nubs” Cayll. He’s a competitive three gun shooter who lacks all of his fingers, seen here:

-Gun stores Your local gun store might be an excellent resource for products and knowledge, or a pitfall of misinformation and shady sales tactics. Unfortunately, I’ve found that 90% of them fall into the latter category. Just because someone is behind a gun store counter does not mean they know what they’re talking about. So much of the misinformation I hear in the firearms world comes right from gun stores, and I’ve personally witnessed slick salespeople push stale inventory onto unsuspecting and uneducated customers, many times. You’re better served by treating a gun store like a used car dealership until you can establish trust and their competency over time, if at all. I see a lot of what I call “Tactical Timmy” and “Combat Counterman” types at gun stores, wearing gear and clothing that would convince an unsuspecting person of their authority and knowledge in all things firearms. Don’t fall for it, and don’t allow anyone to pressure you into a purchase, or convince you that you need something you really don’t. As previously mentioned, the best place to start is at a gun range that rents firearms so you can figure out what works best for you. This way, when you walk into a gun store you already know exactly what you want to spend your hard-earned money on.