Embarking on the journey to purchase your first firearm is a significant step, marked by excitement and responsibility. Unlike the simplicity of everyday shopping, acquiring a firearm involves a series of thoughtful considerations and legal processes.
This journey extends beyond merely selecting a gun off the shelf; it demands a careful evaluation of your needs, an understanding of the laws, and preparation for the responsibilities of gun ownership.
Our goal in creating this guide is to help you navigate through these crucial steps, ensuring your first firearm purchase is informed, lawful, and suited to your purposes.
Key Takeaways
- Pistols and revolvers are the two most common sidearms
- Pistols can carry more rounds compared to a revolver
- Pistols have more internal parts, which increases the likelihood of malfunctions
- Revolvers have simpler actions, which are much easier to maintain
- Loading a revolver takes longer than a pistol
- A double-action sidearm requires more effort to fire than a single-action
The whole purpose of a sidearm is to serve as a reliable backup weapon when your primary weapon malfunctions, is out of range, or is out of rounds.
Selecting a sidearm is no joke; every gun owner needs to invest enough time to research a quality sidearm.
Is a revolver more effective, or does a pistol make more sense? You need to take a good look at what matters to you most.
Buyers need to consider the various sidearm types, ammunition, safety features, and other such variables before narrowing down to the one that best meets their requirements.
Honestly, that is a lot of information to go through. Hence, Ammunition Depot, in this write-up, will guide you through the various considerations when choosing a sidearm.
Understanding the Law
If you're in the U.S., understanding and following the firearm laws at the federal, state, and county levels is crucial. When you encounter conflicting laws from different areas, the stricter law is usually followed.
Becoming a responsible handgun owner starts with a deep dive into these laws. While online research is a helpful starting point, ensure you verify the information from multiple sources for accuracy.
Additionally, contacting your local police department or sheriff's office can be very beneficial. They often offer easy-to-understand pamphlets or online resources to help clarify the laws.
There are several fundamental federal laws that every gun owner across the states must adhere to. To legally purchase a handgun, you must:
- Not have a criminal record, with some exceptions.
- Undergo and pass a detailed background check if buying from a licensed dealer (note: private sellers aren't required to do background checks, but many still choose to).
- Not be diagnosed with certain mental health conditions that could affect your judgment.
- Not have been treated for drug or alcohol addiction in the past five years.
- Be a U.S. citizen or a legal immigrant.
- Be at least 18 years old to buy from a private seller and 21 to buy from a licensed dealer (though the minimum age to carry a handgun publicly is 21 in most states. Additionally, there are no federal age limits for owning rifles or shotguns.)
It's important to note that federal law doesn't demand specific licensing or training to own a handgun, but state laws might. While few states require a license or training to own a firearm, many require some form of permit to carry one publicly. Some states make distinctions between open and concealed carry, sometimes requiring a license for one but not the other.
In some states, like New York and California, public carry permits are only issued if you can demonstrate a credible threat to your life or property, making it practically illegal for most to carry a handgun publicly in those states.
Before looking for your first handgun, ensure you've obtained any necessary licenses or permits.
Most Common Sidearm Types
Pistol: A Pistol serves as a handy, lightweight, reliable, and easy-to-fire sidearm.
A pistol has a fixed chamber, a magazine, and a slide. The owner will load the rounds into the magazine and move the slide back to chamber a round.
Pistols like the Glock 17, Ruger 1911 Commander, and S&W M&P Shield have all acquired extraordinary popularity.
Revolver: A revolver uses a revolving cylinder with multiple chambers. Each chamber can hold a single cartridge.
The operator may need to cock the hammer or pull the trigger to cock and release the hammer.
Some popular revolvers are Smith & Wesson M&P 38 Bodyguard, S&W Model 60, HERITAGE Rough Rider Small Bore.
Pistols vs. Revolvers
A well-maintained revolver is highly unlikely to jam. All you have to do is pull the trigger to line up a new cartridge in case of a misfire. Also, you can chamber a revolver for more powerful cartridges. This makes the wheel gun a reliable choice in jungle settings and for home defense.
Plus, modern revolvers with steel or aluminum frames offer minimal recoil. Pistols have a higher capacity. Most revolvers have a capacity of five and seven rounds.
Whereas, with pistols, you can sometimes go all the way up to 20 rounds. Plus, pistols reload much faster due to having a detachable magazine while revolvers require you to load a cartridge into each chamber.
Most pistols also use a polymer frame that makes them more lightweight.
Popular Sidearm Calibers
Most revolvers use rimmed cartridges.
The rim dictates how far into the chamber the cartridge can go. Without the rim, the cartridges could slide into the chamber.
The most common revolver calibers include the .38 Special, .44 Special, .44 Magnum, .357 Magnum, and the .45 Colt.
Pistols generally use rimless or semi-rimmed cartridges.
The rimless cartridge allows for more fluid cycling and feeding mechanism from the magazines.
However, there are a few semi-rimmed cartridges that have a rim slightly larger than the case diameter.
The most common pistol calibers include the .380 ACP, .45 ACP, .40 S&W, and 9mm.
You won't come across interchangeable cartridges for revolvers and pistols that often. When dealing with ammo, minor differences mean a lot.
A .38 special is not the same as a .38 Super, which is a semi-automatic cartridge. Be very specific with ammo names.
Simply stating .38 isn't enough — .38 ACP is not the same as .38 Super, .38 Long Colt, .38 Special, and other .38 variants.
Sidearm Customization
Upgrading your favorite sidearm to make a fancy statement is every shooter's dream. From adding a gun wrap to attaching custom components, there are many creative ways to personalize your sidearm.
However, certain sidearms carry more limitations and don't allow a lot of room for extras. Always evaluate the most popular and useful upgrades for your specific sidearm.
Most pistols allow the shooter to add accessories such as scopes, suppressors, and laser pointers.
Outside of all this, shooters can fit hybrid barrels, polish the extractor, lower the ejection port, refinish the pistol, add a front slide serration, or get a flat-top slide.
The point is, with pistols, more parts mean more opportunities for enhancement.
Revolvers don't allow as many customizations as pistols. However, owners can still customize the sidearm with subtle details, like changing the color on the grip, trigger, or even the cylinder.
You could even add a logo, an engraving, remove cylinder endshake, attach a frontsight, add a target crown, or get a premium mirror polish finish for that personal touch.
Sidearm Safety Features
Modern sidearms are very safe if the operator knows how to use them properly. With that said, you still want to have a set of features to ensure absolute safety and peace of mind while carrying the sidearm.
The last thing you want is the gun firing off unexpectedly. Many pistols feature a manual safety lever that shooters can activate to prevent the pull of the trigger.
Besides this, you'll see pistols with a grip safety, firing pin block, hammer block, transfer bar safety, Loaded Chamber Indicator (LCI), trigger lever safety, and even a passive safety called a “drop safety” to reduce the chances of a pistol firing when dropped.
Single-action revolvers don't have many safeties except maybe a half-cock hammer notch.
However, double-action revolvers feature many internal safety mechanisms, such as a transfer bar safety, firing pin block, longer trigger pull, and a hammer block that prevents it from firing accidentally in your holster.
You can also customize a revolver with external safety features.
Double-Action (DA) vs. Single-Action (SA)
With a single-action sidearm, the trigger pull is light and short — the shooter doesn't need to exert much force to squeeze the round off.
However, the shooter must cock the hammer before firing. A single-action semi-automatic pistol requires manual cocking on first fire, after which the recoil from the slide will cock the hammer.
The easier trigger pull allows for more accurate shooting.
With a double-action-only sidearm, the trigger pull will cock the hammer and drop it for every shot. In a double-action pistol (SIG P250), the hammer always rests in the down position (so it’s not cocked) until you start to pull the trigger.
Using a sidearm in double-action mode allows faster firing but requires a more extended and heavier trigger pull, which affects your accuracy.
DA/SA revolvers and pistols (PPK and P.38), in double-action mode, the trigger pull will cock and release the hammer. In the case of a semi-automatic pistol, after the first fire, the recoiling slide cocks the hammer, ejects the spent cartridge, and chambers a new round.
All the subsequent shots will be in single-action mode.
The Best Sidearm for You
Revolvers are more potent, offer little recoil, and load fewer rounds that take longer to load, but they are easy to maintain, repair, and operate.
Pistols, on the other hand, have more moving parts and more maintenance issues.
However, pistols hold more rounds, and that gives you flexibility and a sense of security that you won’t find yourself without the ammunition you need in an emergency.
Ultimately, the best sidearm is the one that meets your expectations.
