New guy here

Welcome aboard! Congrats on the new toy, hopefully the first of many!

Welcome to the Forum! Lots of good information to be had here on all aspects of the hobby. That S&W is a nice start. Out of curiosity, what are your plans for the 410 shotgun?

Jeff

Welcome!

A semi-automatic is only as good as it's magazines. You need to get more magazines for your gun. With patience and careful shopping you might be able to get them on sale.

Lets see. Pack of smokes, first gun, little girl shoes, the little night glow stuffed animal thing, and the ever important remote control(dish?).

Young guy new dad has sudden instinct to protect family?

I cannot tell you how many people I know that bought their first gun in about the same shoes. Welcome aboard.

WHat are your plans with the .410?

Good 1st choice. I have one of those pistols myself, it is comfortable and quite capable. Be sure to test it thoroughly with proper home defense ammo after breaking it in. Enjoy it and the security it provides. And welcome to THR!

Welcome to the forum. I’m a revolver gun myself, but you won’t go wrong with any Smith & Wesson.

Nice 1st piece! Now consider: the price of 9mm ammo is fairly low right now--maybe 11-12 bucks per box/50. The cost of cigarettes is just insanely high at like maybe 6 bucks per pack/20. I'm just suggesting now could be your moment to naturally transition to a healthy 'addiction' when bullets are cheaper than cigarettes! Congrats & Welcome to THR.

Welcome to the site, and to gun ownership.

I'd suggest you carry concealed for a while before you open carry. In addition to giving yourself time to practice and familiarize yourself with the pistol, there's a whole new mindset in carrying a gun. Might be best to do it concealed to let your head wrap around things that happen around you when you carry.

Open carry requires a huge step up in situational awareness to safeguard your weapon.

As they say, just my 2 cents.

Welcome!

A safety course would be a good thing to take just for general knowledge and to pick the instructor's brain a bit. Even experienced shooters usually learn a thing or two and you can take it with your wife or friends.

Have fun, it's definitely a fun (and addicting) hobby!

Welcome Eddie. Enjoy the ride here on THR. Lots of good folks hang out here.

Good advice from these folks. A safety course or CCW course is very important. Not just for safe handling, but for the legalities and decision-making under stress.

And get a lot of practice time. Shoot a lot of slow-fire bullseye. This will get your body and subconscious mind totally familiar with the gun (as in "an extension of my own body"). When at the range, actively review all safety rules and steps. Don't worry about quick-draw until after you have many hundreds of rounds shot. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LE32Riyugg

No skill comes quickly. Practice. Welcome to THR. THR rocks.

Welcome to the forum
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