**UPDATED** Bought my first gun. Pg.3 for pics
 

I'm filling out the remainder of my paperwork for my Police Academy application. To be honest, I haven't really fired too many "real" weapons, mostly just paintball guns and air powered stuff.

Assuming I get to start in the spring, I don't want to be the only guy there with no real weapons training. I'd like to get a jump on it, so If anyone can point me in the right direction for a good starter pistol, I would appreciate it. Also, am I going to have to apply for my permit before I purchase the gun? How does that work. Thanks guys.

g26

Go to the range and find a gun YOU ARE COMFORTABLE WITH.

Yea, but what about the permit process? Is it something that needs to be done before I actually buy something, or do they issue it with the purchase? I'm lost.

Take a firearms or hunter/trapper safety course before you do anything firearm related.

THIS IS FOR YOUR CCW

Go to the bensalem PD building, and ask for the paper. You will have to sign it, write down referrals, and return. The popo will than look at it, write down any marks or blemishes on your record, and either deny you or call you back and tell you to pick it up.

You than go to the district court (montgomery county is Norristown, not sure what bucks is) and fill out another form. The sherriff? (whoever, I don't know) than looks over it, and either signs off on it or denies you.

That's about it.


I MISSED SOMETHING> YOU DON'T HAVE TO APPLY FOR A "PERMIT" before purchasing a gun. When you go to buy a gun, you will sign your name and they will call a number and instantly be able to tell you whether or not you can buy it. SOMETIMES it takes a day, but for most cases, you can buy it right there.

Thanks guys.

buy something 9mm. easy to shoot and you can get used to it before moving into a .40 wich the police around here carry.

you don't need a CCW to purchase a handgun. Just a valid drivers liscense and be 21. But you can't carry it with you if you don't get a CCW.

Also, take a course at your local shooting range, I know Targetmaster on 202 holds a couple good ones, for begginers who have never fired a weapon, to advanced tactical stuff.

So I can buy the gun anytime I want and can store it at my house. But I have to get my permit to carry it. Can I drive it to the range before I get my permit?

YES. Keep the ammo up and gun in seperate compartments from each other in the car and you can drive it to the range, no questions/problems at all.

You can drive it there put it has to be in the trunk or glove box and any ammo needs to be in the opposite place. If you want a good first gun a glock 19 is also a great gun. I am currently selling mine if your interested. Obviously we would need to go somewhere and transfer it. If you were interested i would be more then happy to let you shoot it first.

Well I want to get out and get a feel for a few different guns first. My mom and dad both know most of the Bensalem and Abington police officers, as well as some other guys and my dad actually just told me he knows a guy who owns/works at a gun shop, so he said he'd be more than happy to take me to check some stuff out this week. Thanks.

If you get any of the subcompacts, make sure you get a pinky extension for the magazine (i.e. g26) Otherwise, it's going to be uncomfortable.

My first gun was a Baretta 92fs 9mm.

Beautiful handgun.

and expensive...but nice...

if you wanna go cheap you can find a smith and wesson .357/.38 revolver for in the 150-200 range used. 3xx brand new. I am pretty sure you dont want a revolver even though they are considered the easiest for self defense (SA/DA) and just keep on pulling the trigger if you get a FTF. Semi- autos are more of a pita if it jams or fails to fire...if a life and death situation you are pretty much done.

Glocks are nice but pricey, but can be had in the 400s for a used 9mm 17 or 19

Springfield XD-- as easy to use as the glock and cheaper and some say more accurate out of the box. Comes in almost every standard caliber and sized from subcompact to 5" tactical.

HK S2000/USP-- awesome but more expensive than glock (compact USP would be a sweet carry gun)

Taurus millenium or PT 24/7-- nice AND cheap-- but have an untrue bad quality rep due to a few series that were released with problems, recalled and fixed.

Walther p99- i know nothing about...but a cool looking gun

Ruger P89 (all steel) or p95 (poly grip) I hear are nice and competitively priced

smith and wesson would probaly be an ideal choice for you.
something with a safety. 9mm, cheaper to shoot than .45 and less recoil. most popular cailber too.

did u ever take a look or buy one yet?

My dad talked to a few of his cop friends and most of them said for my first gun I should look at a .40cal glock. Apparently a lot of departments use them and its a favorite off duty pistol for a lot of officers. One of the guys might even be selling his which would be great for me. I'd get a decent first pistol that I know was well taken care of. I'll update soon because I think I'll be picking up SOMETHING by the end of this week.

1911 or a beretta 92 fs, both have hammers and safeties (unlike the glock) and you can buy a .22 conversion kit for cheap practice. lots of other custom parts for these out as well

hauge's range has a huge selection of rentals covering most brands and a friendly staff who would be answer any questionsyou might have. tell em Dave from Iraq sent you ;)

A glock 40 cal is good but your gonna wanna shoot it alot and 40 ammo is expensive, 9mm is cheap.

My Gf's mom just bought a Glock 19 yesterday for $519 at Cabelas. Beautiful gun!

Cabelas is cool as is glock 19's i own one currently i think it will be gone within the week woot.

they must have a bad records...lol

My uncle is a cop in Abington :thumbup:

selling it?

if you are planning on being a cop, i would suggest waiting to buy a gun until you get hired. that way you can get the same make and caliber as your carry weapon, carry it as your backup, and use the same ammo and possibly magazine. plus you get free ammo from the dept. when i was a cop we carried the glock 21, which is a .45 acp, so i bought a glock 30. also, most gun shops give up to 25% off to law enforcement personnel.

for now, its pretty cheap to rent guns so you can practice before the academy. and if your family knows a gun shop owner, it may even be free. as for training, trust me, the police academy gives you extensive firearm training where you will shoot at least 2000 rounds.

Yep probably to wkderf

Haha, yea. I guess all those arson charges will get you known around town.






I thought about waiting to buy a gun until I was hired but after hearing from so many officers that they were issued Glock .40cal as an off-duty weapon, I figured what the hell. I really would like to know what I'm doing before I get any firearms training at the academy.

If it dont work out shot me a pm. Im in love wit glocks now :)

i dont know how much money youre looking to spend, but my friend may be selling a brand new g23 for around $525.

Glocks are pretty sweet. Best thing is, they come apart in like three pieces making it easy to clean.

Berettas have a ton of extra crap to take apart when it comes to cleaning time. I think Berettas "look" meaner though.

Don't get a .22. I thought I was shooting a pellet gun.

Personally favorite pistol "hoping to buy soon" para ordinance P16. Most accurate gun I have ever shot. .45 cal. 1911 based.

P.S. I jammed a glock.... not sure how it just stopped working. Re****, reload and it went fine. Has anyone ever seen a glock freeze up?

First gun I purchased was a Cavalry arms AR15 .225cal.
before the upgrades
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g1...13/Assault.jpg
after the upgrades
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g1...3/Tactical.jpg

I jammed up a .22 last weekend. haha. It was put back together with some JB weld.

Never seen anything with a glock. Supposed to never jam up. Well, that's what glock guys say.

I'm looking into purchasing something big. Thinking like a Desert Eagle or some huge Smith & Wesson revolver.

i have fired over 2000 rounds through multiple glocks, and never had an unintentional jam.

it didn't do it again, and no one else had mentioned any problems with it either. I was the range rental whore though but it was still very clean and well maintained. probably one of the once in a life tiem spoofs.

I personally am fond of the Glock.

But I am not really into shootin all that much, so I never bought a pistol.
But I usually just use my dad's shotguns when I have the time to go skeet shooting. :mrgreen:

Smith@Wesson 500 series.(AKA bear hunter) .50cal magnum.:eek: its a beast of a gun. hurts alot of peoples hands from the force. its a five shooter but they suggest only loading every other round. the recoil is so hard and fast you actually squeese another off durring the barrel rise. Ready Aim Fire in bristol Pa has one if you want to go and shoot. Its about 2.00-2.50 a round. definitly worth it just to say you shot it.:supz:

its a .225 or .223? my colt le ar-15 is a .223.

my friend has a .50cal desert eagle. its the most uncomfortable gun to hold and shoot. i dont know what the fascination is with those guns.

It's a hand cannon.
And you know how some guys love big guns. :mrgreen:


I shot a .44 mag Deagle. It was an amusing experience.
But its not a practical gun.

i guess it was cool to see the foot long flames shooting out of it, but it was a little hard to conceal under my shirt. like you said, not very practical.

a .40 glock seems like a big jump for someone who hasn never really fired a gun. Kinda like giving a 16 y/o a new m3... IMO at least.

some people consider manual safetys good, some bad. If you are using it for defense, it is usually considered a hinderance because you need that extra second to click it off or check if its on. Thats why most cops carry guns with no manual safety. Also, the longer trigger pull on a glock-type pistol is considered a 'safety' in itself because is isnt as likely to have a unintentional discharge in a confrontation.

I can't imagine using a 1911 as a carry gun. You have to carry it ****ed and locked (no DA trigger),its heavy, it has a very light trigger pull, and doesnt hold as much ammo in a magazine (since you most likely wont be carrying extra magazines around).

glock, XD, and walther p99 are simple and effective, no double action single action to worry about, easy to clean, light and all are considered very accurate for inexperienced shooters. Any of those in 9mm (less $$$) FTW!

I'll have to check that out. But I live in Indiana, so I will have to find a place here. I'm sure one of these rednecks have one. hahaha.

As for the Desert Eagle, I just love the punch that it has in a small package. lol.

I have a Beretta to shoot, so that takes car of the normal handgun. Need a big boy. haha. I'm not much into rifles or anything like that, so handguns for me.

I've seen a glock 17 freeze up while using reloads. In fact, I've seen a couple of glocks freeze up using reloads, as well as hk's and all other kinds of guns.