A shopping list for the new shooter

/ hsoi

A few weeks ago, a mutual friend emailed Karl, myself, and a couple other guys asking for guidance in helping a friend choose his first handgun. Our friend’s friend was bent on getting this expensive 1911-style gun, and we did our best to put the kibosh on that choice. Numerous reasons, but one I thought was worthy of its own mention was a breakdown of cost.

See, instead of spending $1200 on some expensive gun that really won’t work well and will only lead to unhappiness and frustration (and a much lighter wallet), Karl gave an improved shopping list. This is mostly copy/paste from what Karl wrote, just slightly edited for reprinting:

My [Karl’s] recommendation, as it always is, is the following:

1) Check the student’s hand size to confirm that a Glock 19 or Smith & Wesson M&P would fit properly without the trigger finger rubbing on the frame.

2) If yes, have the student purchase a G19 or an 4″ M&P. Replace the sights with solid black Dawson Precision Charger rear and narrow fiber optic front. Install either the Apex Tactical Specialties sear (M&P) or the 3.5 lb connector (Glock) as appropriate. That will eat up around $600-650 of the $1200 cost of the expensive gun.

If no, look at the M&P Shield or Springfield XD-S pistols, the Springfield EMP, or Kahr CW9 pistols as narrower alternatives — but do NOT immediately jump to those choices because the new shooter is obsessed with needing a small gun out of paranoia about printing and belief that it will be “too hard” to carry. The G19/M&P are much easier to learn to shoot and train with.

3) Spend the remaining $550 as follows:
a) $200 for a high quality 1.5″ wide gun belt; and Comp-Tac CTAC, Crossbreed SuperTuck, or similar IWB holster; OR a pancake style OWB like the Blade-Tech Eclipse or Raven Concealment Phantom.
b) $100 for 2-3 additional factory magazines. Then number each magazine so they can be identified.
c) $100 for a decent quality range bag
d) $100 for a set of electronic ears (Howard Leight has a new 33 dB electronic set out), and a double handful of foam plugs.
e) $50 for gun cleaning supplies, a bore snake, some D-Lead wipes, and ANSI-rated eye protection

Spending $1200 on that expensive gun would a terrible waste of money.

Especially when you consider much of the above you’ll have to buy anyways, so that $1200 gun winds up being $1500 or more.

To this shopping list I would also add ammo (which is going to be cheaper in 9mm than .45 ACP), and allocating some funds for the new shooter to come to some Basic Pistol shooting classes to learn how to safety and effectively handle their new purchase.

Now you know what to put under the tree for Christmas. 🙂

8 thoughts on “A shopping list for the new shooter”

    • There are lots of good beltmakers out there.

      I have 2 thebeltman belts myself and find them to be of high quality. However, I had to stop wearing them. All this weight lifting? My body has changed a lot, and the changes can happen often enough that a regular notch belt just can’t work for me. One notch might be too tight, the next one too loose.

      So I wear one of The Wilderness’ Original Instructor Belts.

      http://www.thewilderness.com/tactical-belts/

      It works great. Supports well, and I don’t have the notch problems. I can get precisely the fit I need. I will say that nylon and velcro are hardly fashionable, and frankly I hate that… I’d rather wear leather goods. But I cannot deny how practical this belt is. Wear it every day.

    • That’s mighty stiff! Price seems good, and it looks like it’s readily available off the shelf. Those are some good things going for it, because I know sometimes it’s hard to wait 2 months to get something when you’re trying to get going.

  3. Geez.. You guys are making me all butthurt dissing my 1911’s… 😉

    But seriously. After having attended training (with Hsoi and Karl) I’m over the idea of a 1911 for training and CCW. Stuff that works vs. stuff that does not work. That list should be a must read part of any website dedicated to training.

    And Hsoi, thanks for the link to the instructor belts. I’ve been losing some weight and waistline so these infinitely adjustable belts look like what I need.

    • You’re welcome. While I love leather belts with pin/hole buckles, I cannot deny that the “infinite adjustability” of things like The Wilderness’ tactical belts are awesome. If your weight is in flux, they’re great since you can get the right fit you need today (which may not have been the same fit as yesterday). If your weight isn’t in flux, they’re still great… just you might have more options. 😉

      Really, 1911’s aren’t horrible, just that technology has improved. We can still recommend 1911’s because there are some people they just work best for (e.g. smaller hands, the ultra-customization ability that you can get with a 1911 so you can make the fit precisely right, whereas the striker guns can only go so far). But unless there’s something that “requires” a 1911 well… we’ve got better technology now, like Glock’s and M&P’s. I mean, a 486 running Linux still lets you browse the web and read email, but there’s some advantages to an iPad, y’know?

      Anyways, keep on chugging! And thank you for the kind words.

      • Oh, don’t get me wrong. I still love my 1911 pistols. I still enjoy shooting them. However the PPQ I recently bought fits into the role of a training weapon and will soon be my EDC. I just need to put a few hundred more rounds down the pipe building my familiarity.

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