What Should My First Gun Purchase Be?

You should get a mark-19 instead!

Shotgun

Get the shotgun

Remington 870 shotgun in 12 ga and a Ruger 10-22 rifle. Both are the Swiss army knives of the firearms world.

Get a hand gun. Can't go wrong with a glock. Get a shotgun second.

Handgun's only good for fighting your way back to your rifle.

You'll shoot your eye out!

Why a shotgun over a handgun?

I second this.

shotgun to start.
then rifle
then pistol

True.. Plus hand guns are way more dangerous for first time gun owners... Harder to shoot yourself with a long barrell.. LOL

Remington 870 is overrated... You can do just as well with a Mossberg 500

+1 for the mossy

Smith & Wesson 44 magnum Stainless Steel
wheel gun with the 8" barrel.

It was my first gun.

If you are a man, that is.
If you are a woman or a wimp, anything will do.

if your gun handling experience is limited, a semi-auto handgun is a poor choice unless you are willing to pump tons of ammo through it, and train yourself to clear jams of various types, insure the ammo you want to use will reliably feed, etc. many semis also require a break in period of firing before they become ultra reliable. glocks are actually a pretty lousy choice among handguns. 'nellis are excellent shotguns, but if you envision actually having a carry piece, well shotguns aren't exactly concealable. if you plan on home defense, you also have to look at size of weapon versus smallest area you might have to use it in. a narrow hallway can fuck you up badly with a longarm in a stress situation, as an example. quick second shots with a shotgun can be problematic. proper shot size will limit overpenetration compared to a handgun round though (your neighbors wont enjoy projectiles coming through their wall, nor will your kids or spouse). if you are thinking more about "the shit hits the fan" survival in a mad max world kind of scenario, the shotty wins hands down. of course, if you expect your pet "zombie hoard" to be wearing kevlar, a shotgun isnt a very good choice, but most handguns arent either. if you decide on a handgun, you will become proficient much quicker with a revolver. the downside is limited ammo capacity. the upside is a revolver pretty much is reliable as the sun, no matter how you hold it, no matter how close to a wall you have to fire it, etc. also a revolver has NO limitation on bullet profile.even the most exotic hollowpoint offers no danger of jamming at the worst moment. either of your choices is a compromise. if you have to have one or the other, choose the handgun only if you are willing to train for long hours. if you want to get what is best for your level of experience, then shop for a revolver.

You should get a bolt .22 rifle for your first gun and really learn to shoot. If you are dead set on a handgun, a .22 revolver is probably the way to go, again take the time to learn to shoot.

I don't like glocks.

The shotgun will protect you better, but I doubt you will ever need it for that. At the moment you are starting a new hobby, and the .22 is going to serve you best because you will be able to practice for cheap, and in more places.

Shoot and shoot frequently.

You should get a cork one with the little string on the cork so you dont loose it.

A 20 gauge shotgun is very versatile. Close range shot and long range sabot slugs. It will take down most anything in America. Easy to find ammo and easy to reload. First choice for an all around weapon.

Yes.

Although mine is a ruger redhawk .44mag in stainless, pretty much ends the pistol caliber discussion. Accurate, reliable, and most importantly gobbs of killing/stopping power.

I'm sure allot of you read that story about the guy in texas who saved that cop with his .357 from 120+ yards away, I believe he hit the guy five times in total.

My basic SHTF load-out, is as follows...

Ruger mini-14, 10/22, redhawk .44 mag all stainless steel, and
an interarms ppk/s also stainless. These guns have basically never failed me, and yeah I love Ruger weapons. I really like the combination of the .44 mag and the ppk/s, you can open carry the revolver, and conceal the smaller pistol. If I have time and space I will take more but this is about what I can carry personally. The mini-14 and the 10/22 are on folding stocks, and are actually quite comfortable.

Guns are evil

People are evil.
Guns protect good people from evil people.

data mining

Handgun for mobility. I still kills, right?

There is no such thing as evil, or good for that matter. Binary dichotomy is a very limited perspective on reality, rather one-dimensional. I guess sometimes you need a view from the edge.

Semi cartematic Eagle

Benelli Supernova

Ruger Super Redhawk in .454 Casull.

hold a M&P9 and a Glock, then decide.....

The Judge