Giving gun advice

[Smokin Gator]

Yes. You see new shooters with little to no experience yet they just have to get a 10mm, 500 S&W, 300 Winchester Magnum.

 

[jstert]

i dont offer recommendations on a particular firearm unless i have sufficient personal experience with it myself, meaning usually i own it and/or put 500 rounds through it. i always read carefully the original post, if here, or listen carefully to, and look closely at, the asker.

generally i advise to start with good instruction on a 22lr something, just as most guys of a certain age did. the nra rifle club instruction i got as a kid was better than what the army gave me at 18.

get a firearm that allows practice that is easy on your own wallet and your own body. learn the gun. practice alot. be able to consistently hit with, and quickly fieldstrip, it. the average, non-hunting, suburban civilian’s go-to guns should be easy to own, maintain and operate.

some of my pet peeves:
-caliber wars.
-telling every suburbanite to get a 12ga pump-action shotgun.
-discounting k.i.s.s.
-forgetting that a firearm is but one layer of personal security.

if someone starts, and pauses or even ends with a well-trained 22lr firearm in hand, he or she is better off than most folks.

 

[Beck]

Part of the problem is the emphasis on marketing and acquiring stuff. The truth about guns is, you may never need to buy another gun in your life. You might even sell a few if you're the hoarding type. Better to spend more time and money on becoming proficient with what you have.

I was a moderator for a music recording forum many years ago. Sponsors and ads emphasized buying the latest model of something rather than actually encouraging people to use the gear they sold the year before.

The truth about forums, sadly, is that many wouldn't exist at all outside of our culture of aggressively marketing things to acquire. The "what should I buy?" emphasis is the norm.

 

[The Night Rider]

From the article: I kept my mouth shut and when she walked away from the counter, I offered her my two cents. I expressed that if she wanted a home defense gun and was comfortable with the kind of gun her dad had, go in that direction.

In this paragraph the author is doing almost exactly what he's cautioning the reader against doing.

I don't know how else to say this but you would be an absolute fool to take unsolicited advice from a random stranger.

And IMO you'd be more of a fool to offer unsolicited advice to a random stranger.

I don't know who you are and I don't have any reason to give you the opportunity to speak into my life.

I don't know how to explain this but I've seen that happen in gun stores and I just cringe every time I see it

 

[ilbob]

This is a pretty good article on giving advice about firearms purchasing and use: https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/how-to-give-good-advice-when-youre-asked-about-guns/

One point I find most important is that lots of folk (like here) immediately turn the conversation into comparative stopping power, etc. without discussing training, mindset. etc. So many ask things like what 45 ACP should I buy - when they haven't training and/or competed. If the gun is to fight for your life - most of the hardware discussions are trivial with any modern, quality firearm.

Mostly the answer to what gun to get is to shoot a few different guns until you find one you are comfortable with and then get some very basic training in how to safely use that particular firearm.

 

[Jim Watson]

I will advise a customer at the range to get a plain clear target like a bullseye or B27 and not blobby cartoons.
Guns and other major merchandise, I bite my tongue.