AndreusMaximus
Master
My 18-year-old younger sister has expressed interest to me that she would like to start carrying a pistol for self-defense, and is looking for advice on how to get started.
The most important advice I had to give was to go with something that she will train with regularly and carry consistently.
Well, of course the next two questions are, how to find the right pistol that will be comfortable to shoot and carry for her, and secondly, how to buy a pistol as someone younger than 21.
So firstly, the practical aspects. She is about 5' 6" and of a pretty slight build. One of my other siblings let her try his EDC, which is a Taurus G2C in an urban carry IWB appendix holster, and her conclusion was that it is "definitely too big." So she'd be looking for something really small. Should I tell her to consider a pocket gun (not for literal pocket carry, of course, I'm talking a "pocket-sized" pistol in a quality holster) or should she steer clear of something that small because of poor sights? Most importantly, I guess, can you recommend any good, local gun shop reasonably close to Bloomington where they let you try out different pistol/holster combinations? Ideally, it'd be great if there was a place with an indoor range and some sort of "fitting room" where you could shoot a pistol, try out different holsters, and different positions for concealed carry, all under the same roof. I've not really been to many brick-and-mortar gun shops, though, so I don't know if such a thing really exists.
And secondly, the legal aspects. Obviously she can't buy a handgun through an FFL yet, so how should she approach purchasing one? Would it be best to find a handgun model she likes, and then try to look around on armslist or somewhere for an individual selling that model? Can someone else over 21 purchase that handgun model, and remain the legal owner of it, but let her "borrow" (essentially keep it) for daily carry and practice? Or would that be asking to get charged with making a straw purchase?
And of course, how are gun shops going to view this sort of thing? If I take her to a gun store, and tell them we want to look around at pistols, but she can't actually purchase one yet, are they likely to tell us to get lost? Or are there any places you guys can recommend that would be cool with her looking around and trying things out even knowing that she can't buy anything from them, and will have to look around for a private sale?
Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!
The most important advice I had to give was to go with something that she will train with regularly and carry consistently.
Well, of course the next two questions are, how to find the right pistol that will be comfortable to shoot and carry for her, and secondly, how to buy a pistol as someone younger than 21.
So firstly, the practical aspects. She is about 5' 6" and of a pretty slight build. One of my other siblings let her try his EDC, which is a Taurus G2C in an urban carry IWB appendix holster, and her conclusion was that it is "definitely too big." So she'd be looking for something really small. Should I tell her to consider a pocket gun (not for literal pocket carry, of course, I'm talking a "pocket-sized" pistol in a quality holster) or should she steer clear of something that small because of poor sights? Most importantly, I guess, can you recommend any good, local gun shop reasonably close to Bloomington where they let you try out different pistol/holster combinations? Ideally, it'd be great if there was a place with an indoor range and some sort of "fitting room" where you could shoot a pistol, try out different holsters, and different positions for concealed carry, all under the same roof. I've not really been to many brick-and-mortar gun shops, though, so I don't know if such a thing really exists.
And secondly, the legal aspects. Obviously she can't buy a handgun through an FFL yet, so how should she approach purchasing one? Would it be best to find a handgun model she likes, and then try to look around on armslist or somewhere for an individual selling that model? Can someone else over 21 purchase that handgun model, and remain the legal owner of it, but let her "borrow" (essentially keep it) for daily carry and practice? Or would that be asking to get charged with making a straw purchase?
And of course, how are gun shops going to view this sort of thing? If I take her to a gun store, and tell them we want to look around at pistols, but she can't actually purchase one yet, are they likely to tell us to get lost? Or are there any places you guys can recommend that would be cool with her looking around and trying things out even knowing that she can't buy anything from them, and will have to look around for a private sale?
Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!
, don’t let her limit pistols she tries to subcompacts, make her try a little larger pistol even of she is sure its too big to carry. I helped my buddy find a pistol for his wife and she kept insisting many compacts were too big. Then she would pick up a subcompact/pocket pistol and it hurt to shoot, was too snappy and she could not hit the broadside of a barn with it. Ended up settling on a G19.
