New gun for first time older shooter

Hokkmike

Hokkmike

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I have a friend who has for all intents and purposes, never shot a gun. He did shoot way back as a kid but doesn't remember it. We are going to go out to our local range, which he also just joined along with me, and I am going to let him try my Marlin 39A. From there we might work up to a .223 and/or .45LC rifle. But, we'll see. I do also have a .22 handgun he can experience.

He is talking about soon buying his first, one, and only gun. He has never hunted and is not planning to do so in the future, So, his gun will be for range fun and self-defense. He will NOT be carrying but keep it in his home. I don't know if he will prefer a long gun or handgun.

I am way past the gun brand/caliber war arguments but I am wondering what we would be a really good all around choice for him. Maybe this query is a little vague or premature but I wonder if any of you have any thoughts?
 
Hand arthritis can make loading magazines and slide manipulations challenging for older shooters. Sure, revolvers can also present challenges, but as an arthritic geezer my own self, I enjoy my revolvers more. Giving him the opportunity to use both and make his choice is a good way to go.
 
I think this is like buying a gun for your spouse. We'll all give advice from our personal bias. If his experience tells him that his father's.30-40 Krag is the preferred do-it-all weapon, an AR, or pump shotgun is the wrong choice. If it is Chuck Connors or Die Hard, again most practical will be the appropriate M92. If no preconceived notions, your 39a may decide it. And he could make a worse choice. In all reality you are likely providing a gateway drug, and more will follow
 
Col. Harrumph said:
Are there any ranges around you that offer rentals?
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J-Bar said:
Hand arthritis can make loading magazines and slide manipulations challenging for older shooters. Sure, revolvers can also present challenges, but as an arthritic geezer my own self, I enjoy my revolvers more. Giving him the opportunity to use both and make his choice is a good way to go.
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I do have a .22 revolver. But, it is one of the Ruger hammerless nine shots and the trigger is a little stiff....
 
This sounds like a tailor made situation for a 4 inch +/- 32 H&R revolver.

Pros: hottest rounds able to meet self defense role. Able to shoot 2-3 different cartridges. Reduced recoil/muzzle blast. Non intimidating for almost all shooters.Fun at the range.

Cons: .32 H&R gun and ammo availability/cost. All but a reloaders proposition.

Plan B: 4 inch +/- .357/.38 cal revolver. Focusing primarily on the .38

Pros: availability of gun/ammo. +P .38 meets self defense needs. .38 can be soft shooting, accurate and fun at the range. In future if owner wants, can step up to .357.

Cons: none I can really think of given what it’s expected usage will be.
 
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Think through ammo availability and cost up front.

For just range shooting, you mentioned 223 (bolt action or single shot), and 45 Colt.

The 223 gives a good bang for the buck ratio, but is pretty much a "one trick pony". For a "single gun" user there is also a good argument for a gun with ammo available in more than one "power level". 45 Colt ammo can be had in a variety of choices from cheap CAS ammo up to Buffalo Bore. I would also recommend 38/357.

For a handgun, a revolver is likely to cost a little more up front but they have real advantages for senior shooters.

If he is having issues with hand strength and/or recoil tolerance, a medium sized steel 38 SP can be enjoyable to shoot. Of the guns I shoot, fun factor is pretty good with a 3" Ruger LCRx 38 and a 4.2" GP-100 in 357. However, the LCRx is very light and I would only recommend it if there is access to "extra low recoil" ammo (I load my own).

A 22 LR / 22 Mag SA revolver adds just a little more "spice" over a standard 22 LR gun. Very little magnum shooting would be expected, but there is something emotionally satisfyingly to knowing that the extra power (a.k.a. bang factor) is available.
 
He should train - but that probably won't happen. This is a grab the gun at home instrument? He needs a good deal of reading or training on when to use it:

From Claude Werner
Decision-making
  • No Shoot/Shoot
  • Intervention
  • Verbal Confrontation
  • Interaction with the Police
Too many old men are shooting when they shouldn't. Read the news, poor teenagers who got lost, someone lost and turning around in the driveway, coming outside with a gun and getting shot by the police, etc.

That being said - and he's going to buy a gun and not train - then simple - a 38/357 revolver with mild but effective loads like wadcutters. Forget the powerful long arms that take some training - 223 forget it. Running that rifle, you have to know how it works. One might argue for a relatively benign gun like a Ruger PCC in 9 mm. Forget the shotgun, yeah, the untrained use them but pump guns have their quirks.

Folks focus on the hardware and not the mental game. I personally won't help someone buy a gun without mandating training as a condition for my help. I've come to that opinion in my old age.
 
GEM said:
He should train - but that probably won't happen. This is a grab the gun at home instrument? He needs a good deal of reading or training on when to use it:

From Claude Werner
Decision-making
  • No Shoot/Shoot
  • Intervention
  • Verbal Confrontation
  • Interaction with the Police
Too many old men are shooting when they shouldn't. Read the news, poor teenagers who got lost, someone lost and turning around in the driveway, coming outside with a gun and getting shot by the police, etc.

That being said - and he's going to buy a gun and not train - then simple - a 38/357 revolver with mild but effective loads like wadcutters. Forget the powerful long arms that take some training - 223 forget it. Running that rifle, you have to know how it works. One might argue for a relatively benign gun like a Ruger PCC in 9 mm. Forget the shotgun, yeah, the untrained use them but pump guns have their quirks.

Folks focus on the hardware and not the mental game. I personally won't help someone buy a gun without mandating training as a condition for my help. I've come to that opinion in my old age.
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He is an intelligent man with a few Degrees. He likely would be willing to take classes or do some pertinent reading. Like me, I am sure he would view discharging a gun as the last resort. Yeah, the stuff in the news is disturbing.
 
I agree with @GEM both in his general observations and his specific recommendation. I've taught a lot of people to shoot using a 4-inch .357 mag revolver and .38 special-equivalent loads (mostly .357 brass loaded down). It's a versatile platform and ammo is fairly easy to come by. My only caveat would be that if it's going to be mostly a range gun, maybe a 5-6 inch barrel instead.

Not so easy if the "one gun" is a long gun. I'm not really a fan of lever guns, but a .38/.357 lever is pretty versatile. My preference would be a bolt action in some flavor of 6mm, but that's just me and it wouldn't be optimal for home defense. Maybe a 9mm PCC?
 
A good 22 LR rifle , action choice of his liking . Bolt action , lever action or semi-auto .
I wanted a Lever like the Marlin but a Ruger 10/22 was on sale ... I have it to this day ... still wouldn't mind a Marlin Lever gun though .
Lots of nice dependable 22 LR's on the market and if there is a more fun and useful gun ...
I don't know what it is !

If he wants to go Handgun ... I like revolvers ... I would still go with a 22 LR ! I just bought a Ruger Wrangler not long ago . More fun than a barrel of monkeys but ... For a new shooter get adjustable sights ... sighting in a given load is easier than dealing fixed sigts . A nice DA S&W 22 LR is a joy to shoot and carry .
Gary
 
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Hokkmike said:
I am wondering what we would be a really good all around choice for him.
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That's a decision he should make for himself.

If he was my friend, I'd take the biggest and most diverse selection I could practically load up, like my 10/22, a 336 in .30-30, an AR with some M-193, a 4" K-frame with .38 SWCs, a 4" kit gun in .22LR, a Beretta 92, a SIG P365, maybe a 1911 or G19, let him handle them all, go over operating systems, go over the 4 Rules and range safety and let him shoot everything -- with frequent breaks for hydration and questions.

Would take all the UpLula mag-loaders, too.

And it'd probably require more than one or two range trips. Of course, if he was my friend and going with me, he'd be lucky, because we'd just use ammo out of my stockpile and I wouldn't make him pay for any...
 
gwpercle said:
A good 22 LR rifle , action choice of his liking . Bolt action , lever action or semi-auto .
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This is the way.

If he's up in age, and just wanting to shoot for fun and have something around, he probably isn't going to be interested in learning the vast wide world of firearms and cartridges. There is nothing simpler and more simply pleasurable than a trip to the range with a .22 rifle.

I'd look at something like the Henry lever action Frontier .22, or Henry pump action. Fun, classy, nostalgic, simple, etc. Else, have a look at a Ruger 10/22. Simple, low maintenance, "just go out and shoot" kind of guns. If he wants to dink around with adding a scope, easy to do on each of these.

If he ends up wanting a pistol, .22 is still the way to go. Ruger Wrangler, Single Six, or even a Taurus TX22 if he likes automatics.
 
If you can find a used on in good shape, a 4" blued GP-100 in .357 would be the best way to go. Shoot .38s for practice and save the .357 for home defense.
Who knows, after a while, he might like to get another "fun gun".
Of course, he could try a revolver that takes both .22LR and Mag. But try to find a DA model.
 
I think if I was starting over and was faced with this question, I'd be trying to choose between a Remington 870/Mossberg500/590, a Glock 19/17 or an AR of some kind or possibly a Marlin or Henry levergun, in a handgun cartridge like .357 in case he got the itch somewhere down the road and wanted to pick up a handgun in the same cartridge.

I definitely wouldn't discourage an AR by any stretch, but it is one of the most highly demonized and reviled firearms of the last couple decades, but that also sort of makes a case for owning one, but I don't think any man looking for a lil range fun and a desire to protect hearth and home couldn't get by with just about any quality pump shotgun (870/500/590) or striker fired handgun in (9mm,.40,.45).

Alot of people don't like to shoot a shotgun for fun or favor more tactical hi capacity semi autos, I myself owned shotguns for over a decade and they just collected dust for the most part, always thought small caliber high velocity carbines were superior but over the last few years I've gained a new appreciation for shotguns and find that not only are they fun to shoot, they are extremely versatile and can make a fun range gun, hunting of any kind, clay sports and most important they are extremely potent home defense tools in just about any variation (Pump, Single shot, SxS, O/U, SA, Etc)......

All this to say, if I was going to keep one gun to rule them all, I'd have to choose my 870. One handgun? Glock 19 hands down. Sorry for the slight veer, but that's my purely subjective input/reasoning.
 
Speaking as a senior citizen, sort of (70 last fall) I have fun with my 5.56 AR-15. For just plain fun to shoot I have a Ruger 10-22 with a little work to it and an Ithaca .22LR saddle gun that is jut plain fun to shoot.
 
Also, for the new, one gun owner, alot of folks first and only gun is a Ruger 10/22 and for good reason. For non "gun people", it's all the gun that's needed and is cheap and fun to shoot and just about anybody can shoot it well, especially youngn's.

While not the optimal home defense gun, it will do that too.....
 
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