Gun supply "starter kits" for newbies

[Trebor]

What supplies do you reccomend newbies buy to go with their new gun? What do you consider to be the bare minimum and what is nice to have later, but not essential right away? It would be nice to develop a list that we could "Float" and have newbies look at when they show up here looking for advice. Let's start with a new handgun owner, for now.

Here's my thoughts:

Essential:

Hearing protection. Good muffs and several pairs of foam plugs for guests.

Eye protection.

Range bag. Either gun specific or a sturdy non-gun bag. Should be large enough to hold the gun, a box or two of ammo, muffs, staple gun and cleaning supplies, at a minimum. The bag can be smaller if the gun is kept in a separate case or gun rug.

Cleaning supplies. I'd reccomend either Hoppes #9 and a good oil or a good CLP like Break Free or FP 10. A sturdy one piece cleaning rod can also double as a range rod if needed. What type of brushes would everyone reccomend?

Owner's manual for your firearm.

Optional:

Staple gun or masking tape to hang targets with.

Small notebook and pen to record info at the range.

Duct tape

Band aids for hammer/slide bite or similiar problems.

Hollow ground "gunsmith's" screwdrivers

Punch set

Needle file set


Any thoughts?

 

[Amish_Bill]

beyond a gun, lets see....

Bare minumum - boresnake, clp, glasses and a pocket full of foam plugs.

Next nice things
- decent range bag for ammo, targets & such.
- a proper pistol length cleaning rod & brush/patch holder
- proper cleaning patches
- muffs to use instead of or in conjunction with the foamy plugs
- carry container for the gun (nylon scabbard, hardshell case, etc.)

Anything after that is gravy, IMHO.

////////////////////

Don't get me wrong.. ..got plenty of gravy myself...

 

[Tamara]

Back in the day...

...when 4" Model 10/15/64/67 revolvers were available wholesale for a song and a dance, I used to put together the following:

1 4" K-frame .38 revolver
1 used Uncle Mike's nylon holster
1 Kleenbore .38/.357/9mm handgun cleaning kit
1 set of cheap eye protection & ear muffs
1 box of 50 cheap .38 LRN plinking ammo
1 box of 20 .38 premium JHP's

...and knock a smidgen off the price of each one for a Beginner's Home Handgun Package. The resulting package would still sticker out at $200-$250 (early 1990's dollars). I don't think any one ever lasted more than a week on the shelf...

 

[Brigrat]

Ammo, lots and lots of ammo!!! and random debris to use as targets!!!!

 

[7.62FullMetalJacket]

Gun (the more the better)
Eye protection
Hearing protection
Ammo, bunch, whole
Small screwdriver
Kleen-Bore PocKit
CLP Break-Free
Shoot-N-See

Keep it simple

I keep the range bag ready with the non-ammo gear
Box the ammo
Me + Gun + Bag + Box into truck and find a nice desert spot

 

[4v50 Gary]

Binoculars - so you can see your misses (if you don't use Shoot 'n See). I don't ever need binoculars though.


Anybody see my red tipped white cane? I know I had it a few minutes ago.

 

[7.62FullMetalJacket]

I love the shoot-n-see. I was offhand at 50 yards with the .45 auto and I could see the hits. The 9mm gets kind of iffy.

 

[Freedspeak]

Bare minimun

Lets look at it as when I was a kid!

1. Firearm
2. Ammunition
3. target
4. Cleaning kit

Now-a-days I would add in hearing and eye protection, but you did ask for basic!

 

[Sunray]

"...cheap eye protection..." No. Not cheap. Inexpensive, yes. Cheap could mean a set of crappy sunglasses. Inexpensive means a set of industrial safety glasses. Ditto for the hearing protection. Both of which are readily available in any hardware store.
Industrial supply places will sell you a box of the foam ear defenders for a good price. Mind you, the FNG should learn the basics before he brings a guest. Range safety training/experience until it's instinctive for the new guy then let him bring guests.
An inexpensive spotting scope. And lots of help and advice from the older guys. And even more important, lots of encouragement from them too. Making a new guy feel welcome and comfortable being there is far more important than any piece of kit.

 

[LiquidTension]

I'm not exactly a beginner, but I do stick with the minimum when I go to the range. Here's what I take:

Guns (obviously)
Ammo (also obvious)
Cardboard box for target
Hearing protection
Eye protection

Nice to have but not necessary:

Silicon cloth to wipe guns with after shooting
water for drinking, in a container that can be shot when all water is gone
shooting rest
screwdrivers
lube for range - I have a separate bottle of lube that stays with my range bag
Clothes pins (for when there are ribbons to hang targets on)
Marker - to draw on target
Mag loaders
extra mags
big pistol case for 4-6 pistols - it's nice to have everything together in a padded case instead of having a bunch of single cases
digital camera

I use an ammo can for my ammo (imagine that ). Clothes pins, marker, extra hearing protection, and mag loader live in the can. I just put ammo on top of it all. If I decide to go to the range on the spur of the moment, half of my stuff is already packed. All I have to do is get the guns out of the safe and into the pistol case, grab a box out of the garage for a target, and hit the road. I didn't say anything about optics since the question was for handgun shooting, which usually takes place at ranges where magnification isn't necessary to see where you hit.