UPDATE
Ok, so after reading all this good advise, I finally got the nerve to go down the the local gun shop, just 15 minutes away.
I drive up, walk in, and look at all the cases with nice shiny guns. Having glocks in mind, I walk up to that case. A few minutes later, the assistant (wearing a NRA member shirt) comes over and asks if I needed help. So I go on to explain that I'm looking for a first gun, I've never handled one in my life, or ever fired one. He asks what I'm looking to use the gun for (self defense, target shooting, etc) so of course self defense is my goal. I also asked about .22's, but he said that while those are good to learn on, they aren't good self defense guns. I bring up the glock 19 so he shows it to me, and explains all the features of it, lets me hold it, etc. Now I came to the store with glock in mind just because I've done so much research and reading about it, it's just what I want. He didn't try to sell me anything else, he just listened to my questions and answered them as they came.
So after he shows me how easy it is to field strip (which I was amazed at just how simple it was) I asked if he had a g19 for me to try out. He only had the g17, but he said he owns a G19 himself, and went to the back and came out with it. I told him I never have been to a range before and that I was flat out clueless as far as how to load a magazine, so he showed me at the desk how to put the cartridges in, and of course he went over all the safety procedures. He even waived the range fee and even the gun rental fee since I was using his own!!! I just had to purchase some safety glasses and some ammo and ear plugs and a couple targets. It was pretty funny when he asked me what kind of targets I wanted. I was like, "uuuhhh, ummm, well, what you got???" so he gave me one that resembles a person, or otherwise known as the "politically incorrect targets"
So off I go downstairs to the range. It was an indoor range, 5 spots, and it had a nice electronic targeting system. Just clip target on, and press the away button to desired range. Ok, easy enough. Now I take my magazine and take a few minutes trying to figure out how to get those cartridges in there again (he showed me but of course I forgot) but it wasn't too hard, 2 mintutes later I got the hang of it. Had trouble keeping track of how many I had in the mag, then I looked at the ammo box and saw it had 5 to each column, so 2 columns makes the mag full (10)! (yes, the simple things amuse me) Ok, mag full so I put in into the gun, pull the slide back as the salesman showed me, and the slide goes forward and gun is ready to go.
I'm the only one down there in the range which made me more relaxed and I felt like I could take my time. I got my grip (I'm left handed), aimed the dots together, put finger on trigger, pulled, and BAM! Holy #%@% was that awesome, I even hit really close to where I was aiming. I would say target was about 8 yards out. I finished the mag, noticing the slide stayed open when the last shot was fired. I had always wondered when I would know when the mag was empty....I figured you either had to keep mental count, or if you pulled the trigger and it just went click, then it was empty. But that's cool the slide stays open. So I pulled out he ammo, loaded the mag again, and went back at it. Never having shot before, I didn't think the recoil of the 9mm was bad at all, but i could sure feel the power though
I was hitting pretty close to center on my target I moved target further out to like 15/20 yards and I still was hitting pretty consistent in the middle, not bad!! So after a few more rounds and a big smile on my face, I take the mag out, quadruple check that the chamber is empty, and put everything back into the case, and walk upstairs. First words outta my mouth were "I'll take one!".
Filled out the paper work for my Glock 19, paid up, and I was all set. Picked up some cleaning supplies and they even showed me how to clean the gun, what parts need what on them and how much, and how often. I also asked about basic firearms classes, and they said they do have those every month. Then I was on my way out the door, feeling energized about my accomplishment. I gotta say, you've people on this board were a great help, and I gotta hand it to the guy who helped me at the gun store, he made my first visit a good one so chaulk one up for the gun owners side.
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