Are you new to guns? This is where you should start.

We all work long hours, and at times on pretty difficult jobs, either hanging eighty feet in the air installing

HVAC ducting, or crunching numbers at your desk, trying not to piss off the Cubical Karen around the

corner. Your hard-earned money deserves to be utilized on something that is efficient and effective.

Whether it be ammo, optics, that sling that you’ve been putting off buying, or maybe taking the dive on

that expensive Surefire light that you’ve been missing. Make sure that when you have that extra coin to

throw at firearms, you are taking care of your basic food groups first. New shooters come to me for

advice often, and I always break down five specific categories that everyone needs before starting a collection or that random firearm purchase. So lets jump into it.

First things first, you need to get yourself a duty pistol. This is going to be a full sized to compact 4” to 5”

barrel, 15 to 17 rounds, hard-use duty gun. I don’t put too much care into the make or model of

this particular firearm, as most consumers can and will hang up on fads and/or brand wars. Get

something that works for you, that you can easily find magazines and parts for. If the big box stores

carry a plentiful supply of magazines, you’ve possibly made the right choice.

I also suggest you get something that your local gunsmith is able to fix if you ever run into any problems.

If you’re looking at a particular firearm at a gun counter, ask the salesmen if they have replacement

parts for that particular firearm in stock (sights, triggers, and maybe even threaded barrels). If the

answer is “no” then ask them which gun they do have parts in stock for and that’s the gun you

probably should get.

The next firearm on the list has to be the defensive carbine. This is also known as your land and liberty

gun, bug out gun, truck gun, etcetera etcetera. This is the intermediate rifle caliber for home defense

and the rifle you want to grab first if things go south. The barrel length and caliber will all be dependent on your geographical location. If you’re surrounded by wide open spaces, then possibly go for a longer range

caliber and 16” barrel or longer. If you’re in an urban setting with businesses, residential homes, and

the possibility of vehicle traffic, then the shorter 10.5” to 13.7” guns may be your best bet.

I’m not too picky on which platform someone may choose. Some of us gun guys will harp on this for way

too long. In America, I always tell the new guys to grab an AR15 in 5.56, tons of ammo, and get

training. Some of the young guys have been indoctrinated so heavily by Youtube that they pick some random obscure caliber and firearm. Using scenarios, I always try to lead them to a more suitable platform. Which magazines would you be more likely to trip over in the street if all of the stores closed down tomorrow?

There are a ton of guys that love the new wildcat rounds and old surplus rounds. If it’s hard to get when

Walmart is open down the street, it’s just going to get worse trying to find these calibers when there’s no

water on the shelf. These aren’t the battles you need to invest in.

On to the third, which is your food gettin’ gun. This one preferably is a bolt action rifle, 22” barrel or

longer, chambered in at least 30 caliber, and the ammo is cost effective enough you can stock up

on hunting rounds without breaking the bank. You’ll want to learn some long range skills, so getting some

training in that is a must, whether it be proffesional or a mentorship. Aim your goal to be accurate out to 500 yards minimum. Once again, it really doesn’t matter which brand is the best, as who is behind the rifle matters more in most cases. More often than not, if you’re doing what you need behind the gun, the gun will do what it’s told to do.

The fourth firearm is very specific, one that everyone should have had starting out as a child and

where firearm safety should be taught. I don’t know why this gets skipped a lot, but as the American

culture shifts, some things get pushed to the side, such as the Ruger 10/22 semi automatic rifle. There are a few other semi-auto 22’s on the market now that are as reliable as the Ruger, but for the sake of ease, this rifle is my recommendation. Their BX25 magazines just run, and are pretty much on sale during every Father’s day, Veteran’s day, and Christmas. The 22 long rifle is cheap, light, and can be very accurate. These guns are no brainers and fun for the whole family all day long. You can train your kids with them, have fun with them, hunt small game with them, and also dispatch rodents if they mess with your chickens.

Last but not least, this is a free space for one of two different options. You could incorporate having a

shotgun or another semiauto pistol, but in the micro compact as your daily carry. I am not a shotgun guy,

as I feel that the pump action has become obsolete since the semi-auto shotgun was introduced. Since I

don’t waterfowl hunt or upland bird hunt, I have no purpose for shotguns. On the other hand, when

you carry daily, you’ll soon realize that you’ll want multiple options. Depending on weather, clothing,

and style you may want to switch between two or even three firearms.