New to forum & guns looking for advice

if you're "new to firearms" and learning about "all this stuff", you may want to "KISS"...
Keep It Simple, Stupid. I'm not implying that you are stupid, You don't know enough to be considered "stupid".
You are actually quite intelligent for seeking advice and wisdom from others before dropping your hard earned money on the table and buying a pistol you may grow to HATE later.

You get what you pay for (and that includes advice). Start reading everything you can get your hands on.
Massad Ayoob writes a lot of stuff that really "wakes you up" and makes you think about things.
He's written so many books, I can't even begin to tell you WHICH one to read first. Start on the Internet.
Its free (for now).

I would probably get a revolver for my first pistol.
A minimum of moving parts and usually goes "bang" when you press the "bang-switch".
No safety to worry about, except the one you were originally issued. The squash between your ears.
Don't buy ANYTHING that hasn't first been inspected by a competent gunsmith. Not Uncle Billy-Joe-Jim-Bob.
A gunsmith.

Take a class (more than one is a good idea). Start with basic safety & marksmanship classes and go from there.
You will also want to take some classes about state laws, self-defense with a firearm, etc.
ProShooter is a competent fellow and has a good reputation in his field.
Stay away from self-professed "experts" in the field.
Just because a guy owns a pistol (or shotgun, rifle, etc) doesn't mean how knows how to handle or shoot them.

Hopefully during your research, you'll come across some good advice like "Rule # 1 to a gunfight: Have a gun."
This is important, but doesn't mean you should carry a .22, .25, .32 or .380 around with you unless that is all you can afford or hide (with a CHP of course).
You should take the safety of your family and yourself seriously. I wouldn't carry anything smaller than .38 cal (that includes .380 AKA/ 9mm Kurz).
I'm a .45ACP kinda guy, but some aren't comfortable with .45ACP. If you're afraid of something, you shouldn't carry it.
I'm also quite fond of .357 Mag & .38 +P. They have proven track records and if you are looking for a small-frame revolver,
there are quite a few in these calibers on the market.

You've gotten a LOT of advice in these pages. You already know that opinions are like ( ) * ( )...
Everyone has one and most of them smell funny.
Welcome to OCDO. GO take a class (or three) and be careful out there!

Mike

peter nap said:

...snipped.... you'll never find a post where I claim to be fair.:lol:

As a matter of fact, even my own wife doesn't listen to me. I gave her the choice of a couple dozen revolvers I own.....and she bought the Taurus Milpro showed, except in 45ACP. (Thank heaven for small favors)

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Should change that to be fare consistent with the age in which you were borne.
How's that for a pot and kettle thing.

As to her selection, she's a very smart lady. She knows that she already owns half of everything you claim as "yours" ....She was just adding to "her" collection with something that didn't require wheels.

Steeler-gal said:

Welcome!
Have your wife check out "She Can Shoot: The Shooting Divas of DMV" We have several different firearms courses and several instructors. You have to be a woman to join, but the classes are open to men and women.

http://www.meetup.com/The-Shooting-Divas/

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You al' been hidin' your light under a basket or I've been stayin' inside too much - first time I've heard of your group.

Nice web-site and love the "ammo" depicted there. Bookmarked your page, adding it my resources.

Instead of a general 'what should I buy?' think about what features you want on the firearm, then find one which matches the closest. For various reasons when I was looking I wanted no external hammer and a grip safety. I looked around and found the XD and XDM and tried holding each of them to see which one felt more comfortable (the XDM won that contest), so all that was left was picking a caliber and barrel length. I opted for the compact, in 9mm so that I could practice cheaply (don't hate on me peter, I've since bought an XDM in 45 as I liked the 9 so much)

Grapeshot said:

You al' been hidin' your light under a basket or I've been stayin' inside too much - first time I've heard of your group.

Nice web-site and love the "ammo" depicted there. Bookmarked your page, adding it my resources.

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Thanks! We celebrated our 1 year anniversary in October so we're not that old but we do have quite a following.

Lots and lots of good advice here, so far. Here's my li'l addition: don't go for something "inexpensive". That's not necessarily good value, and buying a gun is like buying tires. When your family's life depends on sixty-four square inches of rubber, it makes sense to shop carefully and get the best that you can afford. It's not like buying milk, eggs, or gasoline, or anything else you have to buy again every week, and where it makes sense to shave a few cents off every purchase. Go for the best value you can find on a good quality, reliable firearm that you'll feel comfortable carrying and using.

peter nap said:

What's really scary Wylde, is that she looked at every handgun in a hundred miles and came within a hair of buying a Desert Eagle at Greentops.:uhoh:

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I can't figure out what would be wrong with that...

user said:

Lots and lots of good advice here, so far. Here's my li'l addition: don't go for something "inexpensive". That's not necessarily good value, and buying a gun is like buying tires. When your family's life depends on sixty-four square inches of rubber, it makes sense to shop carefully and get the best that you can afford. It's not like buying milk, eggs, or gasoline, or anything else you have to buy again every week, and where it makes sense to shave a few cents off every purchase. Go for the best value you can find on a good quality, reliable firearm that you'll feel comfortable carrying and using.

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Not very often, but once in a while User gets his words mixed up. This is one of those times. What he wanted to say was "Don't go for something cheap." There's a big difference between "cheap" and "inexpensive", and he says that better towards the end. A High Point is inexpensive and reliable. Some of the "top end" 1911 custom guns are cheap until you replace just about every stock part with something else very expensive and then have a gunsmith adjust it just so. Then they magically become reliable - as well as very expensive. There are a lot of choice between those two extremes.

Take your time, and if you cannot get the chance to actually shoot what you think you might want, at least go to the gun store/show and handle it several times to "try out" your idea that whatever you decided on is really the gun you want. That might stave off for a little bit the desire to buy another one - but unless you are very lucky you will be bitten by that bug.

stay safe.