LaneP
Member
I go to the range, become familiar with my piece, ensure it functions 100% with my chosen load, then drop it in my pocket. The first rule of gunfighting is always bring a gun, so at least I have that part covered
I get that for some folks, especially younger guys with families, money can be tight. But what's the priority? I've worked with a lot of young guys I've known over the years who cheap out on their carry rigs, don't get to the range much, don't pay for any training, but drive big honkin' trucks or SUVs with $650 a month payments. And pay a lot every month for tobacco products (which shorten their lives, ironically) and alcohol.
My guns, my gear and my training are a top priority as part of taking care of my family, so it's a big part of our budget. The wife can cheap out on my casket when I go, just roll me into an old cardboard box, but while I'm around, I'll pay premium prices for handgun leather (and a few kydex thingies maybe), ammo, and training (well, and guns too, it goes without saying).
‘Guns’ can be a hobby and a commitment to protecting oneself.In some states, permits are low cost and easy. In others, CCWs are on the expensive side if available at all.
Not a problem if like MS Pelosi and Chuckles Schumer, you can afford bodyguards, but for the rest of us, yeah, it can be a problem. Not so much the paperwork for a permit and a class ($250 +/- plus ammo for the permit & class in my neck of the woods---but I still think it's worth it) but all the rest---a handgun, magazines or speeders, range time, range ammo, leather or Kydex gear, and additional training. Insurance is also good to have. Alternatively you could keep your Hi Point in a Uncle Mike's from Walmart and ignore it until the next time you have to renew your CCW.
Assuming you have other financial obligations----taxes, tuition, medical bills, a mortgage or car payment, realistic budgeting is simply a fact of family life.
While you'll get brow beaten by internet gun experts if you don't at least shoot 250 rounds weekly, attend Gunsite or some other academy every other year, and carry a Wilson Combat or Glock(pick a two digit number---any two digit number) or SIG Legion.
I'd really like to avoid that in this thread.
To be clear, I'm also not talking about a "hobby" like hunting but a commitment to protecting your family from crime, using your 2A Rights.
What matters to you? How much do you budget to do what you do with your CCW piece to keep competent in your shooting skills?
How's it working out for you?
It really does depend on where you live.
A friend went through this recently.
S&W Shield M1.0 9mm - $249.99
200 - Winchester 115 gr FMJ - $34.99
100 - Winchester 115 gr JHP - $39.98
1.5" Gun Belt Leather (No Name Clearance Item) - $29.99
Blade Tech Kydex Holster (Amazon) - $19.99
Cleaning Equipment - NA (Already had)
Tax - $44.50
Subtotal - $419.44
Discounts
S&W Rebate - $50.00
10% Discount on accessories bought with pistol - $10.50
Tax Discount - $0.84
Subtotal - $358.10
CCW - $5
Total - $363.10
If I could have back all the money that I pissed away on junk guns and junk holsters I could probably afford two trips to Gunsite.
If you're just starting out and you know nothing you don't even know what you don't know. I didn't even know how to find a good trainer or what type of gun I should get as a result I got no training and a bunch of crappy guns.
When I took the required Colorado concealed handgun course I don't think I learned anything but my wife said she learned a lot. I think the most important thing that he did was give us a CD with every single Colorado law referring to firearms on it. I think the second most important thing he did was tell us when he didn't know the answer to a question.
Shortly thereafter my wife and I wanted to take an NRA approved personal protection in the home class. I saw an advertisement in our local gun shop and I called the guy. He kept me on the phone for an hour and a half telling me about all his adventures in South Africa. I mean I really think that this guy didn't have any friends and I was probably the first person that he'd spoken to that day.
So if I could go back in time and stop myself walking into that gun store to buy my first handgun I would have made myself by a copy of Kathy Jackson's book Cornered Cat (assuming it had been written) and read it before I bought anything. I highly recommend that book. It will give you pointers on selecting the right gun for you. It will give you pointers on selecting an appropriate trainer for you. It will give you pointers on how to carry. It is mainly orientated to women but there is a lot of good information in there for guys too.
If a new shooter was asking me now I think I would recommend that if at all possible they find an instructor that will let them take the NRA basic handgun safety course and try several guns before they bought a gun. Because I think if they did that they have a better chance of getting the right gun for them on the first try.
I wouldn't waste my time recommending a particular gun to anybody because they never listen to your recommendation anyway. The last time I was asked the person asked me what I carried and what I would recommend for him and I told him that I carried an M&P 9.
As soon as I showed him the gun he said "That's too big." He ended up with Glock 42 and I don't know if he even carries it.
A couple of months later he asked me why I carried such a big (comparatively) gun. I told him truthfully that in my experience Tweakers hunt in packs. He looked at me like I was out of my mind and he never asked me about guns again.
I have been incredibly lucky in that with the exception of my concealed handgun permit class all the legitimate professional training I've ever had was either paid for by my church or my employer. Right now professional training is not in my budget.
One of the ways I keep my costs down is by keeping a small number of guns. With one exception every handgun I own is a 9 mm so I only have to buy one caliber of ammunition. I keep maybe 2000 rounds on hand for the one .40 S&W I own but it's certainly not a priority.
I buy ammunition in bulk which lowers the per round price. I only carry 9mm Glocks so I'm not duplicating magazines. I predominantly buy Glock 19 magazines and they fit in three of the four Glocks that we own. Also Glock magazines tend to be cheaper than Smith & Wesson magazines. And even cheaper than that if you buy MagPul magazines for Glocks.
When I say duplicating magazines I mean I'm not buying one 15 round magazine for my M&P and one 15 round magazine for my Glock 19 and 1 10 round magazine for my 26. I have 9 magazines for the M&P and that's probably all I'll ever buy for it but that's still almost three hundred bucks that I could have spent on something else.
I pissed away a lot of money on cheap holsters before I invested in a quality holster. With the exception of one gun that's strictly for pocket carry, every handgun I own has a matching Galco CM holster. Now that I've made the final decision to only carry one of two Glocks I'm going to get a Kramer belt scabbard for each of them and I'll probably never have to buy another holster again.
Another thing that I do that I'm certain has at least save me the price of the light over the life of the light is my flashlights are USB rechargeable.
The range that we go to costs $142 a year for a family membership fee and $14 range fee for the entire day every time we go. In good weather I try to get there twice a month and I probably shoot 200 rounds practicing drills that I learned in training.
That's a damn good price except he'll probably be replacing the belt soon
I agree, but by virtue of being right here on this forum we're at least thinking about priorities.I’m coming from a different angle. As a firearms instructor, I’ve seen it all…$3k Wilson in an $5 Uncle Mikes and a $5 Hi-Point in a $150 Galco and everything in between. People are going to purchase the gun they want, but not the gear they need, nor are they going to train the way they should…how many people train in the rain, sleet, snow, mud, at night, when you’re so tired you can hardly keep your eyes open…hell how many go shooting like that? Shooting is PITA, you have to pack everything up, drive to the range, maybe sign in, set targets, load magazines, CRAP forgot something, reset targets…then pack everything back up, drive home, unpack everything AGAIN, then clean everything…and this is from a guy that shoots 300-500 a week, granted 400 of that is on a skeet or 5-stand field, but it’s a PITA! 99% of all my students took the course to be able to get the permit (state law) and 99% of those have not fired their gun since the class, so do you think their thinking about how much money they need to budget for CCW outside of the initial class cost? NOT HAPPENING.