First, be safe.Point the gun in a safe direction with your finger off the trigger. Remove the magazine and leave it out. Pull and hold back the slide, make positive eye contact that the chamber is empty. Second, find yourself an NRA Gun Safety class. Search online, lookup local gun shops. Take the class, leaving the gun at home unloaded and locked away. Learn to be safe FIRST, that's the main thing. Go slow on getting rid of the gun you have. Start by researching it, "Standard Arms" could very well be a cheap piece of junk, or not. There are multiple companies with a name like that. Find every mark on the gun. Where was it made? City and state? Or country? Google the full name and place of origin as engraved on the gun. Look it up in the GunBroker.com listings. After you have read up on it, wrap it up in it's safe state, magazine separate, paying attention always to where the muzzle is pointing and find a local gun store with a gun smith. Ask them if the gun is safe to shoot. If it is, buy a box of ammo from them, even if you do not need it. Nothing fancy, you want plain cheap stuff to practice with. "9mm 115gr FMJ" will serve you just fine. Further discussion may ensue, that's a thing that happens in local gun stores. Ask about a range to try the gun out. Anticipate needing to buy a cleaning kit, and sooner than later. YouTube is terrific for finding videos on how to take specific guns apart for cleaning. We call it a "Field Strip" or basic tear-down. Just enough to get and remove the dirt, put the gun oil where it should be, and as always be safe about it. About Ruger, I've owned Rugers my entire life and that's been a while. My present sidearm is a Ruger SR9, which I prefer for the grip and how it fits my hand. But the Security 9 and other Rugers are very good guns too, no problems there. With the major gunmaker brands you can pretty much focus on your budget and how you like the specific model when you try it out. I wouldn't shy away at all from the Smith & Wessons, for example, among others.Their model with the "EZ" designation is a particular feature, the slide has a lighter spring for easier "racking". Helpful for some folks. If that Standard Arms pistol is safe, consider getting some target shooting experience first. And do that before you buy another gun. Give yourself time Another thought, some gun shops have ranges too, and you can rent a gun to try out the model. It adds some expense, but for newbies it is a real advantage. You would also find training opportunities in such a place. Good luck, enjoy and above all else be a SAFETY NUT!
A- Do you have ANY ammunition of any caliber on hand? Particularly for the gun you already have? Ammunition in the popular "defense" calibers, i.e. 5.56, 7.39, 9mm, 357, 38 spec., etc., is virtually nonobtainium now due to panic buying. A firearm without ammo is just an expensive club. But don't give up and welcome to exercising your 2nd Amendment rights! The only thing I can add to Enuf Istoomuch's excellent advice is this: #1 RULE of firearms safety- ALL guns are always loaded, ALWAYS! NEVER "assume" OTHERWISE!
Glock, Xd, baretta, tairus, ruger, s&w.. lots of good solid semi autos out there. A full sized service pistol will have minimal recoil, and is a good home defense weapon. You may have to settle for what you can get. Demand is high, now. A pump shotgun is very good, as well, through harder to lock up and be accessible.
Thank you for the kind remark. About ammo, yeah there's been something of a buying panic that's seriously pulled down what's on store shelves. What I do is use Cabela's and Bass Pro to order ammo online. Normally I only order what's on sale. For some reason even during a buying panic, there are still sales. The trick is I use "Free Ship To Store" and accept that I have to wait. So the ammo is on back order. Various orders I have waited from 13 months for five bricks of Federal .22LR AutoMatch ($15 a brick) to 3 weeks for Herters 9mm 115gr FMJ ($8.50 a box). Even though the sales were long over, when the stuff came in the stores honored the sale price. Agree with this too and it brings up another point, what do you want the gun for? If it is only about self defense in the home, the 12 ga pump action with 18.5" barrel is kind of the gold standard. If you want one gun for self defense everywhere, the handgun is it.
I've wanted a gun for a while now, but they are kind of expensive. I know nothing about guns, so forgive me if these points are useless or stupid..... I'd like a gun that is/has-- not too heavy easy to handle can have a silencer put on it (yes they are legal in my state) does not cost more than $300 (complete package deal) would prefer something sleek, modern looking, and all dark grey or black....not a necessity of course
Not stupid at all, but HOLY CRAP! $300! That narrows it down considerably. You might consider a Hi-Point carbine which comes in several handgun calibers, .380 ACP, 9mm, .40S&W, 10mm auto, and .45 ACP. Some have threaded muzzles for suppressors. Hi-Points take a lot of heat from "gun snobs" but all in all they're a functional, reliable value for the money. I love my 995ts in 9mm and have never had any reliability issues with it. Bear in mind with the current "ammo shortage" plutonium is easier to obtain than the above stated calibers, at this point in time one might be better served buying a sword or baseball bat! That's my suggestion, perhaps other members can come up with other firearms in that price range, but $450-500 may be a bit more realistic. Since you're new to firearms be SURE to get some training for whatever you find. Don't be ashamed about knowing nothing about firearms, at some point we all didn't either, and besides it means you haven't developed any bad habits that need breaking. Good luck!
Thanks for the advice, info, and kind words! Yeah, I expected these kinds of items to be hard to get right now. All of the gun and weapon shops in my area have been closed for a while now, because they can't get any stock in. Luckily I live in a sedate area, so there's no rush for one right now. I did have a baseball bat at some point, I don't know what happened to it. I supposed I should get another one....
Figured I'd pop back in here and update the thread. I recently ended up purchasing the Rugar Security 9(normal size, not the compact) based on researching after that brand and model was suggested here. I am quite happy that I did. It has good accuracy and is the right weight and size for my hand. My previous pistol, the Standard Arms 9mm I mentioned in the OP, I now know is a compact version. I was never comfortable shooting it as it always felt like it might fly out of my hand. The grip was shorter than my hand. Buddy of mine at work decided to pick up the Security 9 Compact as his carry gun after seeing my regular size version. Thanks again for the suggestions here. Lots of great information!
My guns are for defense. I hope they stay safely locked away, with an occasional trip to the range, forever. What is the THREAT? Too many to answer... BLM? ANTIFA? Taliban? ISIS? Chinese? Gangs of violent Democrats following Maxine Waters? Who knows, too many possibilities to list. But certain parameters will be present. First, ammunition and spare parts will become scarce as society deteriorates. Ammunition used by the military and law enforcement should stay available as long as LEO's and the military function. Therefore, my first selection criteria was that a gun must be a military clone and fire military (or LEO) ammunition (or its civilian counterpart). Then I threw in some personal experience. I'm an old Artilleryman, so hitting the bad guy at ranges he can't hit you became important. No 380. A baseball bat has greater range. The 5.56/223 round of an AR 15 has a range of 440 meters coming out of an M16. And tumbles unpredictably at maximum ranges. The M16 was developed for light weight on long patrols. I don't intend to patrol, I intend to defend my home and my family. My choice is 7.62 NATO/308 for rifles. M14's fire this round. M14's were issued to selected units of the army when it was discovered that the Taliban had started attacking beyond the range of an M16. For pistols, I use 40S&W. That round was developed by the FBI when the military moved to 9mm from the 45. The FBI didn't see 9mm as having enough stopping power. I admit having a 9mm... just in case 40S&W dries up. Rifles? I'm a fan of the M1A and Saiga chambered in 308. M1a is a civilian M14 (semi-auto, not full auto). Saiga is the sort version of an AK 47. I bought it in CA when it was still compliant. M1A (and M16) use machined parts and are very accurate shooters. Mud and gunk will keep them fro firing though. The AK platform uses stamped, less precise parts. Its not quite as accurate, but as reliable as a Biden surrender. For pistols, I am a solid fan of both Ruger and S&W, but many other brands are superb. I recently bought a Taurus G3 and find it a fine buy. I own a Taurus Judge (just for fun) and find it fascinating using it to fire exotic ammo like "Dragon's Breath" in 410 (it fires 45 Colt too). I'm also pleased with my Stoeger. The only brand I won't buy is a Glock. They use an "unsupported chamber" design that can deform brass and preclude reloading. For shotguns, I'm a Mossberg fan. That's what I saw the military using in Iraq and that's all I need to know. I highly recommend both the 500 (pump) and the 930 (autoloader) models. My next purchase is some body armor. Hitting the target is half the equation. Not getting hit BY the target is the rest.
If you want to reload your own ammunition (which I think is a great hobby) do NOT buy a Glock. Glock uses an "unsupported chamber" architecture which often deforms brass and makes it useless for reloading. I am a big fan of Ruger. I have an LC9 (9mm) and an SR40c (40S&W). Both are small and concealable. I prefer the 40S&W round over the 9mm round, and so does the FBI. The military traded in their 45's for 9mm when the female population of the Army grew. The FBI wanted more stopping power so they developed the 40S&W. There are many other good choices in your price range including S&W M&P 40c, Taurus G3 and Stoeger STR-9, all my personal favorites. I like 9mm and 40S&W handguns since they are standard rounds for he military and police. No matter how desperate things get, those rounds should stay available. 38, 357 and other pistol rounds may get scarce in hard times.
I load my own .357, 9mm, 5.56 and 7.62x54. I didn't know that about glocks, good info thx. I have a 5.56 Saiga that dents the F out of the cases by ejecting them at a million miles per hour into the trunnion. They're still reloadable, but there isn't a way to completely get rid of the dent, and while I have reloaded (with lots and lots of case lube) and fired some of the dented cases without issue, I'm never exactly 'comfortable' doing it...
Glock utilizes an "unsupported chamber" architecture which can lead to deformed brass. I reload. I'll never own a Glock. I am a big fan of Ruger. I have Ruger pistols in both 9mm and 40S&W. I only have 9mm's because its such a popular round and should always be available. When the military moved to 9mm, the FBI thought it lacked stopping power so they developed the 40S&W round, which is my caliber of choice. I have an M1911 (45 cal) but I carried one in the Army. Its range is about equivalent to how far you can throw it. I find Smith&Wesson to be fine handguns also.