The internet is absolutely lousy with stories of bad gun store clerks. I’m sure you’ve heard the tropes before: the owner who’s too busy chatting with his buddies to make a sale, the counter commando who denigrates every brand but one, and the fella that wants to get $2,000 for a clapped-out, rusty surplus rifle (often one that’s hung on the wall for the better part of a decade) because “I know what I got.” Likely you have a story of your own!
In truth, the firearms industry has improved leaps and bounds in terms of the average retail experience. I find that most gun store clerks are exceedingly patient with customers, and very rarely do I feel a store is insular or unfriendly to new faces. This is all exceedingly good news for the promotion and exercise of the Second Amendment.
Still, it can be an intimidating retail landscape out there, especially with the preponderance of companies, models, and calibers on offer. Having now spent quite a bit of time at various gun stores, I’ve seen a number of patterns emerge. How newcomers to the shooting sports evaluate information and settle on a model would be especially interesting … if it weren’t also so unsettling.
In specific, I have seen first-time handgun buyers make two huge mistakes over and over again — and they’re very closely related.
What’s Really at Stake
Let’s first consider that a quality handgun creates a virtuous feedback loop. A shooter heads to the range, shoots the pistol, and is encouraged by a better-than-expected group. This positive experience creates a feeling of satisfaction, making it more likely for the shooter to return and further practice his or her skills. If so, the shooter will gain further confidence in their abilities and in the tool, making them more likely to be able to manipulate the gun under stress or to clear a malfunction if it occurs. Their safety, their family’s safety, and the safety of the bystanders around them are thus maximized.
When a handgun is a poor fit for a beginning shooter, a vicious cycle develops. Their initial range trip seems to hint that they have no aptitude for marksmanship, and shooting the gun may be uncomfortable. With a lack of encouragement, range trips are few and far between — if they occur at all. As the gun languishes in a bedside table or sock drawer, the shooter may forget the subtler points of how to operate it, especially under stress. If the gun must be relied on, it is no guarantee that the user’s shots will be true. If a malfunction occurs, it will likely leave the shooter completely high and dry.
With that in mind, let’s look at the two flawed buying heuristics that so often determine a newcomer’s path through the world of shooting.
Mistake Number One
“I don’t want to spend a lot of money.”
As a former mentor of mine once said, “A five-dollar motorcycle helmet only belongs on a five-dollar head.”
His point, of course, was not to cheap out on those things that protect something of incredible value. It’s excellent advice that can apply from anything from car tires to insurance policies, and it most definitely applies to any firearm that may be used in defense of life and limb.
What separates a “good” beginner handgun from a bad one, price-wise? Frankly, it can be hard to put a dollar amount on it. For example, a pistol like the XD Mod.4 (with an MSRP of $399) offers a lot of bang for the buck. However, you might want something with additional features, like the Echelon family (with the “Alpha” model starting at an MSRP of $599). Also, Springfield offers a “value-added” approach with its “Gear Pac” offerings that pack in extra magazines, a red dot optic and a high-quality range bag. So, there are a lot of options out there.
Basically, you need to determine what are your needed/preferred features, and what is your budget — and look for the crossover points. Whatever you do, purchase a high-quality firearm. This is not the time to try to save a few cents. Remember that motorcycle helmet point?
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For the “spend” to get a well-made gun, a buyer can expect to end up with a firearm that has a better and more consistent trigger, allowing them to shoot more accurately. They can expect a gun that behaves comfortably and predictably under recoil. They can expect a gun that behaves predictably, without feeding or extraction issues, and without worry that one is having to hold the pistol “just right.” And, in today’s market (and as exemplified by the Springfield Armory catalog), they are more likely to end up with a firearm that can be accessorized to their needs, from red dot sight units to weapon-mounted lights to greater aftermarket holster support.
This is not what goes through the mind of a new gun buyer. They look out at a sea of options in the handgun counter and think, “I just need a gun.” They are unaware of the idiosyncrasies that separate one design from another, and they may even think that additional cost simply differentiates functional tools from luxury goods.
Before some of you jump on me, I don’t want to dismiss how tough times are for some folks. That extra money might be needed to make sure the family has a warm house and food on the table, and I think most of us would agree that having even a cheap gun would be better than being completely defenseless in a dire situation.
For most people I meet at the range, however, this is not the case. I find them shooting budget-level guns and driving away in Teslas or new-model pickup trucks. They are often dressed well and strike me either as members of a knowledgeable professional class, or as young men and women capable of making discretionary purchases. Very few, I surmise, are within a few hundred dollars of maxing out their credit cards.
Mistake Number Two
“I don’t need a big gun.”
A number of buyers first enter a gun store when they realize the truth of an old axiom: “When seconds count, the police are minutes away.” This is not to denigrate our brave law enforcement operators, but even the most impassioned defender can’t materialize out of the ether when a threat occurs.
Still, and especially here in my liberal-leaning city, it’s not uncommon for a first-time purchaser to be intimidated by firearms writ large. As such, the handgun seems more appealing to the newcomer in comparison to rifles or shotguns. If they handle a variety of different firearms in the store, they’re apt to find that a handgun can be instinctively pointed whereas the long gun must be shouldered and steered.
Just as the 12-ga. shotguns and AR-15’s on the wall often seem like too much of a good thing to these new buyers, their eyes will scan the various .44 Magnums and tricked-out race guns and arrive at a similar conclusion. That train of logic will eventually lead them down the size ladder until they settle on CCW-sized pistols, which appear to be just right.
That’s about when a customer will heft a subcompact pistol, find they can point it easily, and figure that the gun is too diminutive in size to push them around. I think most of our readers will understand that physics dictates that the smaller a pistol is — with all other factors being the same, such as chambering — the more skill required to shoot it well. Like the shooters who chose a handgun purely on the basis of cost, those who settled on size as the most important variable can fall victim to another conceptual trap. They have set the stage for a potentially unpleasant range experience at best, and at worst, have jeopardized their ability to defend themselves or their loved ones.
Again, there’s a caveat. There are many small, micro-sized pistols that are extremely well-made and quite “shootable”. However, every shooter is different, and physics often does intrude.
A Better Path Forward
Regular readers of The Armory Life are almost assuredly well past the moment they made their very first handgun purchase. However, it’s likely that each of us will eventually be consulted as “the expert” among our circle of friends, family, or neighbors — assuming it hasn’t happened already.
In those cases, we have a wonderful opportunity to listen, learn, and share what we know. For me, that’s often involved taking family members contemplating a purchase to the range. There, they may try a number of different models from my own collection and rapidly develop a kinetic understanding of where one firearm differs from another.
And, while you can’t really “buy” accuracy, it’s amazing how much deeper a new gun owner is willing to reach into the wallet in order to purchase a gun they know they shoot well. As it should be! Hardly ever does it end up being the cheapest model in the display case. Always look for a deal, but don’t shortchange yourself — buy the right gun for your needs.
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