Suggestions on Local Gun Shops? Ranges?

[crimetime]

I'm thinking about buying a handgun to keep at home. I did a search online and found a few local gun shops but didn't know what other's experiences have been. What legal dealers typically have the best selection and/or prices?

I'm not going to be "guns blazing" in the street but I wouldn't mind having some protection at home just in case.

Any suggestions?

I have experience shooting firearms but it's been a few years. Any suggestions for a local target range is welcome as well.

[PK]

Try Hyatt's on Wilkinson or Shooters Express in Belmont. Shooters Exp has a rifle/pistol range.

[bruce]

I have bought guns at both shops mentioned above. Hyatts is bigger and well staffed . But although Shooters is smaller they offer great service to. You cannot go wrong at either..

[Bob Dobalina]

Both of those places are too high (prices). Go to FirePower in Matthews. Great service and quiet as kept A LOT of CMPD shop there because of the great prices! Tell them Bob sent you.

[bruce]

Hyatts has a reputation for high prices but you can negotiate price. The gun stores on the internet has made this possible. I have never paid the asking price for a gun at hyatts or shooters, but I will check out firepower.
Some times manufactures such as S&W and springfield offer great deals that a gun shop can pass on.

[slappy]

BOB, Im with you on this one 110%. Everytime i go into firepower i find the service AWSOME, The selection is good the staff is professional and knowlegable, and are happy to answer questions. I have not used the range yet though, i live closer to shooters express. Hyatts is larger , they have good staff but high prices, good gunsmith on site. Another good store is arrington police supply, smaller selection but great service. Carolina sporting arms, is the cleanest Arms store ive been in. Some have told me that gander mountain is good though i have never been there.
Crimetime if you buy a handgun i suggest taking a class, that teaches you the laws regaurding hanguns and the the use of them. Go to Hyatts and talk to Dan starks, He is helpfull. Good luck in your search. If iI may suggest a weapon, try a baretta model 96fs its a .40 calibre, easy to clean and easy to shoot, double action with good saftety features.

[crimetime]

Thanks for the responses. Hyatts was the first store that came up in my online search. Also, I've never purchased before, so I wasn't aware you could negotiate with them. I would've just paid the sticker price and been on my way.

Slappy, thanks for the advice. I planned on taking a class. Although I've shot before, I've never had my own gun and being somewhat new to NC, I'm not aware of all the laws, nor was I aware of the laws in my previous state. Being around guns doesn't scare me but I would feel better having professional instruction to help me shoot it and also teach me about gun safety, etc.

[ConcernedinCharlotte]

My daughter and I have taken the one day Handgun class at Shooter's in Belmont. Would recommend everyone begin there. Firepower also has classes. We have put in range time at Shooter's and Firepower. Tuesday is Ladies Day at both ranges and you can't beat the prices. We have received our permits but have not yet purchased. Both ranges have rental guns so you can find try them out first. I never knew that a gun was like a shoe and should fit the shooter.

One more thing about the gun class. Even if you never buy a gun, I'll bet that if you are ever in the presence of one you will know more about the gun in the criminals hand than he does. That information could save your life!

[karz10]

Yeah, depending on your level of familiarity with firearms, a class may be in order, certainly at some point. Depending on how soon you want to purchase, and when classes may be available to you, another option in the short term is to have someone familiar with firearms go with you to a range to ensure you know the basics of how to use the weapons safely, but either way, I'd recommend you go to a range that rents handguns and try some before you buy.

Learn about the differences between revolvers and semi-automatic handguns, and try to figure out which style you may feel more comfortable with. Feel free to also try both styles at the range. No sense in buying a gun for the first time only to realize it has too much kick for you, doesn't feel good in your hand, or doesn't have the features you want.

Generally, revolvers are point and shoot, something goes wrong, just keep pulling the trigger and the cylinder will keep rotating and theoretically the next round will fire. In other words, they're very simple an reliable. Downsides may include limited round capacity, takes longer to reload, ammo w/ more 'stopping' power may have a little more kick compared to similar round in a semi automatic handgun, because in a semi automatic handgun, when a shot is fired, the top part of the gun, called the slide, rapidly slides to the rear as a result of the explosion, then the slide is pulled forward again by a spring that loads the next round. This slide action absorbs some of the 'recoil' from the explosion, so the felt recoil to the hand is lessened. So, while the semi-auto handgun has a little more going on when shot, compared to a revolver, and may require a little more skill to recover from a failure of some type, many people find them easier to shoot do to better hand control and less perceived recoil. Many semi-autos also have increased round capacity. Whereas a common revolver may hold 5-6 rounds, even a compact semi-auto may hold 10-15 rounds in a magazine.

Whatever you choose, do it right, and invest some time in practice and training. That way, if you ever need to use it, it won't be guess work, you'll fall back on your practice and training. It can be a lot of fun to practice, if you're competitive in any way at all, you can feel satisfaction with improvement.

Firepower in Matthews, Shooters, and some other ranges have rental programs, if memory serves, Shooters may have a few more styles to choose from in their rental program, but that may have changed.

Usually, you'll pay for range time and bullets, and a nominal charge for each firearm you rent while there. So, it may cost a few bucks, but it's agood experience to get on your way to making an educated decision about your first purchase that you'll be happy with.

Hope that helps.

Some other good resources to learn from, thehighroad.org is a forum that you may find helpful advice. Also, you can look at some online dealers (search that forum for some) to help you compare prices to what you should pay locally. Local will usually be a little higher, but at least you have an idea of what you should be paying. Just like you'd google anything else to comparison shop, you could put in specific model#s and search online for shops to compare prices too. FWIW

Karz