After stating and participating in the "Dog Defense" thread, I have come to the conclusion I should get a handgun "and all that goes with it." This thread is to discuss what should go along with acquiring a handgun.

I have owned rifles and shotguns, but never a handgun. I have fired a few handguns, but none recently. I was never interested in handguns enough to pay them much attention. So this is new business for me.

My favorite brother is in law enforcement and I will lean on his experience pretty heavily. I a going to pay attention to what you guys recommend, too.

My expectation is some study of handguns, and enlisting my brother's advice through purchase and beyond. I hope to try several calibers of handguns at the shooting range.

After that I hope to have are extremely narrow range of candidates.

I understand there is a tiny possibility I can get some combat arms / close quarter’s combat training through my brother.

Gun, cleaning supplies, ammunition, trigger lock, and ?

What do you want the handgun for? Defense in the home? Defense out-of-home with a CCW (Carry Concealed Weapon) permit? If you're planning the CCW route, you also need to be concerned with handgun size (concealability). Hunting? Target shooting?

You will definitely need cleaning supplies with brushes, etc., sized for your caliber.

You will need ammunition (duh!) .22 caliber ammo will be cheapest and a reasonable handgun to learn with and target shoot with. Not suitable for defense though. Next up in cost would be 9mm (cheaper than other calibers, because it is so common). You'll see that once you move from .22 to anything else, the price of ammo jumps tremendously.

If you end up buying a semi-auto, you should probably buy some dummy rounds to practice safe handling with. With a semi-auto, you'll want to buy additional magazines also (probably two more to start with).

You will need to buy hearing protectors and safety glasses.

A good holster will be mandatory for out-of-home defense/CCW. There are many different types. Don't buy a holster for CCW use until after you've taken a training course (and learn the potential carry options).

A trigger lock may be required in your city. It would be a good idea if you have children. Either that, or some other way to securely keep your gun out of their hands. A small safe, etc.

You may want a case to carry your gun back and forth from the range. I go for the cheap Plano boxes myself. A metal military surplus ammo box is quite handy for lugging around ammo. Ammo get quite heavy and a plastic grocery store bag just isn't going to cut it.

At this point, I am thinking of a handgun for close quarters self-defense for home and for bug out / survival preparednes. I have not yet checked, but I probably will not meet California's concealed weapon permit requirements.

I have not yet explored recreational or other potential uses in California.

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ayoob031207.html

Link to Backwoods magazine article on 'hanguns 101'. There are more articles by him on their web site.

The Sock

These sound like contradictory roles. A handgun is a close quarters weapon. You won't be able to hit much outside indoor range. What do you mean by 'bug out/survival preparedeness'? I'd want a long arm for shooting my way out of a riot.
The Sock

While I'm at it; here's the rest of Mossad Ayoobs articles from Backwoods magazine. 'It's never a mistake to hear an experts advice' - Old Irish Saying.
The M1A — a rifle that makes a statement Issue #45
Here are some answers to often asked questions of anti-gunners Issue #45
Home handgun defense: simplicity suffices Issue #54
Defending your lifestyle Issue #60
Cheap guns are good enough Issue #62
Armed and Female Issue #63
Against a rapist Issue #65
Of kids and guns Issue #68
Picking a holster Issue #69
The rationale of the automatic rifle Issue #70
Armed citizens: the deterrent factor BHM Website Exclusive
Sight and sound enhancement Issue #71
Do rural homeowners need guns for self defense? Issue #72
Political activism, backwoods style Issue #75
Reflections on the Second Amendment Issue #77
Firearms and cold weather considerations Issue #79
In time of war: The Israeli answer to terrorism Issue #81
1911: the classic homeland security pistol Issue #83
How to shoot a handgun accurately Issue #85
Common sense about burglary prevention Issue #89
Armed civilians can help fight terrorism Issue #90
Firearms: tools of rural living Issue #91
Choose your ammo...police style Issue #93
Marlin 336: The other classic backwoods home deer rifle. Issue #95
Answering some well asked questions about personal defense Issue #97
How big a gun do you need? Issue #99
Centennial of the All-American .30-06 Issue #100
Frontier style handguns for the modern backwoods home Issue #101
The subtleties of safe firearms handling Issue #103
Avoiding legal traps Issue #105
Thoughts on ammunition Issue #108
Moderate power firearms Issue #110
Preparing gun owners for the short-term future Issue #111

The Sock

Here are all Ayoobs articles on the Backwoods Magazine website again. This time I hope the links work :-).
The Sock


Preparing gun owners for the short-term future http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ayoob111.html

Moderate power firearms http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ayoob110.html

Thoughts on [url=ammunitionhttp://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ayoob108.html][url=ammunitionhttp://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ayoob108.html][url=ammunitionhttp://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ayoob108.html]ammunitionhttp://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ayoob108.html[/url][/url][/url]

Avoiding legal traps http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ayoob105.html

The subtleties of
safe firearms handling
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ayoob103.html

Frontier style handguns for the modern backwoods home http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ayoob101.html

Centennial of the
All-American .30-06 http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ayoob100.html

How big a gun do you need? http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ayoob99.html

Answering some well asked questions about personal defense
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ayoob97.html

Marlin 336
The other classic backwoods home deer rifle
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ayoob95.html

Choose your ammo ...police style
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ayoob93.html

Firearms: tools of rural living
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ayoob91.html

Armed civilians can help fight terrorism
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ayoob90.html

Common sense about burglary prevention http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ayoob89.html

Body language and threat recognition
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ayoob87.html

Firearms handling refresher Part III: Rifles
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ayoob040111.html

Firearms handling refresher Part II: Shotguns
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ayoob031221.html

How to shoot a handgun accurately http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ayoob85.html

Firearms handling refresher Part I: Handguns
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ayoob031207.html

1911: The classic homeland security pistol http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ayoob83.html

In time of war The Israeli answer to terrorism
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ayoob81.html

Firearms and cold weather considerations
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ayoob79.html

Reflections on the Second Amendment
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ayoob77.html

Political activism, backwoods style
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ayoob75.html

Do rural homeowners need guns for self-defense?
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ayoob72.html

Armed citizens: the deterrent factor
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ayoob0109.html

Sight and sound enhancement
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ayoob71.html

The rationale of the automatic rifle
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ayoob70.html

Picking a holster
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ayoob69.html

Of kids and guns
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ayoob68.html

Against a rapist
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/ayoob65.html

Armed and Female
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/ayoob63.html

Cheap guns are good enough
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/ayoob62.html

Defending your lifestyle
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/ayoob60.html

Found some more:
The Sock
(a computer professional who just took 3 posts to send a list of links!)

Home handgun defense: simplicity suffices
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/ayoob54.html

The M1A a rifle that makes a statement
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/ayoob45.html

Here are some answers to often asked questions of anti-gunners
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/ayoob45a.html

Looks like some good information.

Definitely get the training. That is a major issue if you see yourself in a likely position of having to use it for defense. Training and ammo.

A lot of guys dis the 9mm and will tell you that caliber needs to start with a 4 (.45/.44), but 9mm works just fine with modern JHP ammo, it's a bit less expensive and the recoil is much more manageable.

Another option is to ask your favorite brother what he carries on duty and get that. Caliber isn't as important as reliability (you and the gun) and shot placement. After you get the training, get more ammo.