I'm not a gun owner, but I think I'd like to be. 

Years back, there was a little shooting range nearby that I frequented.  We moved away for a couple years and when we came back, it wasn't there anymore.  In fact, there aren't any public ranges around anymore.  Last night, I finally found out why in an old newspaper article I googled up.  It seems the ability for the ranges to provide guns to people without a permit was revoked.  Essentially gutting their business model. I guess a felon went in, rented a gun, and committed suicide, which set of a shitstorm of law enforcement.

Looking around some more, and there are a couple private pistol/rifle clubs nearby.  They all require a permit, so I guess it's time to take the class, pay my $100, and get it (I'm in MA, I bet it's easier elsewhere).

But, my question for you, is where does a complete gun newbie learn more?  I don't come from a gun-wielding family nor do I have any friends that shoot.

Any recommendations on a beginners handgun?  I've only shot .22 and 9mm before.

I've got a 9 month old son.  Recommendations on gun safes, trigger locks, anything like that?

The real goal for me is to have something in case of societal breakdown.  Economy crashes and I need to protect my property?  Natural disaster?  That sort of thing.  Hopefully I never need it, but it'd be nice to know it's there.  Reliability and long term storage are a plus.

Recommend a good old fashioned blunderbuss.  A little tough to load, but you can use nails, broken glass, dogcrap, whatever  !!

lol, in reality.....22 is always the most entertaining and cheap (gun and ammo both), big picture.  You can even get a scary AR15 looking version of .22.  Probably illegal in NY as we speak.

9 mil is similar in performance / cost (just a little more).  Others that are equivalent are .38 (revolver) or .380 (semi auto), .32, 10 mil.

Or you can go big !  .357, .40, .44, .45, .50. 12 guage..........

I'm paranoid about kids finding guns too, so I believe in seperating guns, magazines, and ammo.

They don't have to be really far apart, just well hidden.

It's not as quick as I'd like if I ever need to use the weapon, but it's a trade off.

I'd rather have to resort to swinging a lamp or baseball bat, than to leave a potential horrible accident waiting to happen.

Outside of locking them up, kids are curious by nature, and I agree, a baseball bat is not a bad idea, as well as pepper spray.

My dad tried to hide and separate weapon and ammo, but as a kid I knew the house better than he did and found the ammo and loaded the gun.

To make a long story short, I almost shot my friend in the head, but that little nagging voice from my father was screaming in the back of my head, "There is no such thing as an empty weapon"!

I paused, lowered the M1 Carbine from his head, pulled the bolt, and to my shock, I had chambered a round, even though I had removed the clip and was certain no round was in the chamber.
I was DEAD wrong so to speak.

No matter how hard you try and keep kids away from guns, kids will always gravitate towards them, educating them is the best defense against accidents.
I say every parent should start with the lesson of "Down Range", that way they know to always point away from people.
And a regular regimen of target shooting, this will remove the fascination of weapons because it is no longer fun to lose your weekend of playtime.

My dad took us out all the time, to the point I hated shooting and dealing with guns, never messed with them after the age of 12 if I remember correctly.
Have them, just don't care to shoot them all that much anymore.

Outside of locking them up, kids are curious by nature, and I agree, a baseball bat is not a bad idea, as well as pepper spray.

My dad tried to hide and separate weapon and ammo, but as a kid I knew the house better than he did and found the ammo and loaded the gun.

To make a long story short, I almost shot my friend in the head, but that little nagging voice from my father was screaming in the back of my head, "There is no such thing as an empty weapon"!

I paused, lowered the M1 Carbine from his head, pulled the bolt, and to my shock, I had chambered a round, even though I had removed the clip and was certain no round was in the chamber.
I was DEAD wrong so to speak.

No matter how hard you try and keep kids away from guns, kids will always gravitate towards them, educating them is the best defense against accidents.
I say every parent should start with the lesson of "Down Range", that way they know to always point away from people.
And a regular regimen of target shooting, this will remove the fascination of weapons because it is no longer fun to lose your weekend of playtime.

My dad took us out all the time, to the point I hated shooting and dealing with guns, never messed with them after the age of 12 if I remember correctly.
Have them, just don't care to shoot them all that much anymore.

I thought that was just me.

Went shooting with my Dad, belonged to the NRA, my friends and I went to the range once a week when we were kids, target shooting.

I never said anything, but kind of like bowling, after about 15-20 minutes, it just bored the hell out of me.

Yeah, revolvers do have their place for dependability and durability.  Which is important in the SHTF scenario.

You do need a little more practice / skill if you're shooting double action.  Or you'll have little success and a lot of wasted ammo.  If you're handy with cocking & single action, that's good.

I just recently gained an appreciation of the diversity of cylinders.  Like only 5 rounds of .50 will fit in one, but 8 rounds of .22 will fit.  That's interesting.

A .357 revolver is a very versatile weapon, kinda like a 12 guage.  You can use .357 for huge effect, or .38 for availability / economy of ammo, or shot shells in either caliber, for a shotgun effect.  Can't beat that.

.44 magnum is an experience all gun enthusiasts should have.  Pretty fun.  But at a buck or two a round, not a good long term proposition lol.

Yeah, shotgun's best.

Even birdshot, at close range, is death.  At longer range, it's still a stopper when somebody gets perforated by a few dozen little tiny grains of steel or lead.

All for 100 rounds at 20 bucks.  And a decent, functional gun like a Mossberg for 150.00.

Buckshot is like an automatic weapon, spraying 8-10 rounds at a time.

Slugs are like having yourself one of those nifty .50 Desert Eagles, and not having to pay 1000.00 for it.

Only problem around here is that we have pretty conservative hunting laws, so you can only have 4+1 in the gun.  They are all sold statewide with a plug of some sort that takes up the space of 2 or 3 shells.  Get caught with the plug out, go to jail and lose your stuff.  But I guess in the apocalypse and SHTF, nobody will care too much about that lol.

I have a 12-gauge, but it's in storage right now.  I haven't been to the range in over a year, but I'd go once or twice every week or two with whatever 9mm they handed me.  I'm really not that great of a shot, but I found I am not _that_ much worse than the typical police office who would go in and shoot.  That was actually an eye opener.

But, I like the 12-gauge.  The sound of a pump alone echoes throughout the house, and any intruder who hears that would probably crap his pants on spot and high tail it out.

One thing I've been wondering about using shotguns for HD is how the blast will inhibit the ability to engage after missing one shot or multiple threats. Anyone have anything about that?

Every situation is unique, that's why my first choice is 12 gauge, but depending whether it was a break in, or a threat at the door, or in another room, you can always shoot through the wall.
But if someone is in the room, I doubt most will have a chance to access a gun.
I keep three by the bed, each has it's unique purpose.
Really, a gun is only good if you have time to hold it and think for a moment, but if you have to think, "should I go for the gun, or hit him with anything I can grab", the gun might get used against you, grab something and bludgeon the guy to death, .
They can't take your gun in as evidence if you do.

I'm probably not making it all that clear, but if someone is planning on breaking in and doing you harm, they already have the advantage, get a dog.
Keep a gun in the bathroom where you shower, you are at your most vulnerable there.