Buying your first gun

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As a beginner, the amount of choice can be confusing!

Tuesday, 26 June 2007

While you're waiting for your certificate to arrive, there is no reason why you shouldn't start looking at guns.

Any gun dealer will be happy to reserve a gun for a shooter awaiting a certificate.

If you are a BEGINNER there are basically two courses open to you:

BUYING NEW
The up side...
- You will have a new gun, fresh from the factory, with a guarantee from the manufacturer or, more likely in the UK, the importer.
- There will be no doubts about how many cartridges the gun has fired, how it might have been treated by a previous owner, or how expertly it might have been repaired or serviced in the past.
- Spare parts should always be readily available; if not straight off the gunsmith's shelf, then on short order from the importer.

And the down...
- Having already shelled out for lessons, your certificate, and a cabinet, you might be a bit strapped for cash.
- You might finish up with a 'beginner's gun' and you will want to swap for something better or more specialised in a year's time. Remember, some guns, like new cars, can depreciate in value quite sharply in their first few months of life.

BUYING SECONDHAND
The up side...
- There may be a better selection in your price range on the gun dealers' racks.
- For the money, you will get a much better gun than a new one - better still if it has been treated kindly.
- Choose wisely, and the gun may not depreciate in value too much over the next year or so.
- A reputable dealer is unlikely to give you a bad bargain. It's illegal to sell an unsafe gun, and he will see you as a new customer with a potential to spend a lot of money in his shop in years to come.

And the down...
- BEWARE of guns which are either out of production or no longer imported. Even finding simple spares, like firing pins and springs, could be a problem.
- If you do get a guarantee from the dealer, it is likely to be short-term.

We do recommend NEWCOMERS to shooting to buy guns from gun shops. Remember you will be dealing with a professional, and the gun he sells you will be safe. He will also help you with the legal side of the purchase. This involves entering details of the gun (make, model and serial number) on your new certificate, and informing the police you have made the purchase.

Remember, although your shotgun certificate entitles you to buy as many guns as you wish, every purchase and sale has to be notified to your local police force.

We cannot recommend specific dealers, but a very good place to buy a first gun - in fact, any gun - is a dealership attached to a shooting ground. At such establishments you can, literally, try before you buy.

A good gun dealer should also check the gun fits you properly. He may recommend, for instance, the stock (even on a new gun) needs shortening or lengthening to suit your physical frame, or bending slightly to one side or the other, or up or down, to put the rib in perfect alignment with your eye.

If this service is offered, do take advantage of it. Modifications will cost you a little extra money but will greatly enhance your shooting pleasure and accuracy. They can also make the gun much more comfortable in terms of RECOIL.

Also remember, while buying your new gun, you are going to need a slip or case in which to carry it, and hearing protection if you have not already bought your own.

One further way of buying a gun is through a private sale. There are some great bargains to be had this way, because dealers' profits and VAT are avoided, but we don't recommend this method to first-time buyers unless they have very experienced friends to advise them.

There is also no guarantee a gun sold in this way is safe, and no guarantee on reliability either.

If you do buy a gun privately, then be absolutely sure the seller holds it on a certificate, that it's entered on your certificate when you buy, and that he and you inform the relevant police forces of the transaction.