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You Bought Your First Pistol: Now What?
If you just bought your first pistol, I’d like to say congratulations and welcome you to the 2A community! If you’re about to purchase your first pistol, you’re on the right track by researching and reading articles like this one.
With all the makes and models available, it can be daunting to decide on which one you want. As much as I’d like to say the decisions needed stop there, they’re only the beginning!
It’s hard to stop at just one pistol! Source
Owning a firearm encompasses many other activities, from ongoing learning to purchasing new accessories to training as often as possible. This article will focus on the aspects of handgun ownership from a high level, but you can always find more detailed articles on our blog!
Firearm Safety
Responsible firearm safety is much more than a few rules, but four main ones should ALWAYS be practiced.
- Keep the firearm pointed in a safe direction
- Treat all firearms as if they are loaded
- Keep your trigger off the finger until you’re ready to shoot
- Be sure of your target and what’s beyond it
In addition, you should ensure you store your firearm in a safe location when it’s not on your person. While it doesn’t have to be a true safe, it should be in a device or location that can be locked and that only you have access to.
You can never be too safe when it comes to firearms.
Inspect Your Pistol
Whether you bought a new or used pistol, you should always inspect it thoroughly. Preferably, you will be able to inspect it before purchase, but in the days of online shopping, that’s not always possible.
Do a quick field strip and inspect each of your pistol’s primary components. Afterward, reassemble it and perform a function check. Ensure the gun is unloaded before doing anything.
Continue to familiarize yourself with the pistol, read the manual if necessary, and start researching the following purchases.
Purchases
For any of the sections below where there are recommendations for brands or products, I’d like to make it clear that those are just a few personal recommendations. There are so many more options out there—just giving you a place to start!
Safe/Storage
Having a place to secure and lock your pistol is crucial. Even if you don’t have children, you want to make sure you keep your gun out of any unwanted hands. While you don’t need a safe perse, having a location that no one can access but yourself is ideal.
Valtek makes several great pistol safes. Source
From a small nightstand safe to a large floor safe, there are safes of all shapes and sizes ready to accommodate all of your current and future firearms. They should be easy (for you) and quick to access in the event you ever need your firearm in a hurry.
Recommended brands: Valtek, Cannon, and Hornady.
Eye & Ear Protection
You should not skimp on a quality set of eye and ear protection. If you’re shooting indoors, especially, you’ll want the best ear protection you can find. Many individuals even double up and put foam earplugs underneath their ear muffs.
I always recommend electronic ear muffs, which dampen loud noises while amplifying low-level sounds, allowing you to hold conversations while shooting.
Walker’s ear muffs are among the most popular. Source
Regarding glasses, ballistic-rated glasses are best, as you never know when something can ricochet and hit them. When you step into the ballistic-rated realm, things start getting pricey, but can you really afford to skimp on your vision?
Gatorz makes some of the most durable glasses. Source
Ammunition
Without ammo, your pistol is just a glorified paperweight. You need ammo to shoot and you need the right type. Start by searching for ammo in the caliber that corresponds to your pistol, and then consider the various types for different purposes.
Full metal jacket (FMJ) rounds are often cheaper and ideal for hitting the range to train, while jacketed hollow point (JHP) rounds are more expensive and best used for defensive purposes. Hollow points expand upon impact to deliver significantly more stopping power and reduce over-penetration potential.
Recommended brands: Federal, Hornady, and Speer.
Accessories
This section can be an entire article in itself. The amount of accessories out there is endless, especially if you purchased a pistol with great aftermarket support, like a Glock.
Depending on your pistol’s features, we’re talking about optics, lights, and lasers. Regardless of their features, spare magazines are a must. You can never, and I repeat, never have too many magazines.
You can find a Holosun optic for almost any pistol.
If you plan to carry your pistol, you’ll need an appropriate holster. Whether you want to carry inside-the-waistband or outside-the-waistband, there are many options to ensure you’re comfortable. If you’re not comfortable, you won’t carry as often.
Recommended brands: Streamlight, Holosun, and Black Arch Holsters.
Cleaning Supplies
After you get your gun, ammo, and accessories, you’ll likely be rushing off to the range. Afterward, you’ll want to clean your pistol well. Cleaning after every range session isn’t required, but it would be good to familiarize yourself even more with your pistol and ensure it’s ready for the next trip.
You don’t need to go all out and purchase dozens of different cleaning products, but a solid universal gun cleaning kit can stay with you for a very long time and cover almost any firearm(s) you purchase down the road.
Recommended brands: Hoppe’s, Otis Technology, and Breakthrough Clean.
Training
I cannot stress enough the importance of training. You’ve already made the purchases and familiarized yourself to a degree with your pistol, but nothing can help you more than training. All the accessories in the world can’t replace trigger time with your pistol.
The more you can train, the better. It doesn’t have to be through live fire either, you can always dry fire at home. In fact, I suggest doing so even if you get to the range all the time.
Cleaning
Part of familiarizing yourself with your pistol is learning how to field strip and disassemble it. You’ll want to know how to do so so that you can give it a good cleaning after all of the training you’ll be doing…hopefully!
You don’t have to take every single component out. Source
With proper upkeep, you rarely have to worry about “deep cleans” and will only have to spend a handful of minutes cleaning your pistol. It’s much better to do it often and quickly than once in a while and have to soak, scrub, and wipe for hours.
Upgrading Components
I don’t usually suggest swapping out components until you’re extremely in tune with your pistol and have trained extensively with it. You’d be surprised how many shooters swap out components before even shooting their gun because they see everyone else doing it online.
For example, some people choose to run an aftermarket trigger on Glock pistols. However, some shooters actually love the factory triggers on their Glock. Run your pistol stock for a while, and then decide if you feel the need to change anything aside from adding accessories.
You can replace almost any component. Source
Final Thoughts
I applaud you for taking the initiative and time to research and gain knowledge as you start your journey into being a pistol owner. Thankfully, the internet has no shortage of information to consume, but don’t always believe everything you read. Make sure to verify and check multiple sources.
Train with your pistol, keep it clean, and remember to always practice safe firearm handling and storage.
