North Las Vegas, a city immediately north of Las Vegas (imagine that!), has some curious laws regarding 'firearms capable of being concealed', which basically means pistols and things with a barrel shorter than an arbitrary length. The law states that all such firearms must be registered, in person, at a police station (pretty sure it can be any NLV station), in which case they will take it from you, manhandle it, and give you a blue card with the firearm's info on it. I suggest having the card laminated. HOWEVER, it is unlawful to transport firearms in a vehicle. Try walking down to the po-po station with it... actually, don't (they'll likely get you for "disturbing the peace").
The short version is, from what the officer at the NLV desk said, break the law against transporting it to take it to a station and have it registered. Keep it cased and don't bring ammo.
That said, if you don't plan on using the firearm for a CCW (which you'll need that blue card for), you may just want to ignore everything I've just written, depending on your worldview. Do be aware of it - I forgot what the punishment is for failure to comply.
As for self-defense in Nevada, the precedent is strongly in favor of the would-be victim over the criminal. This is indeed specific to home defense - not too many cases on self-defense outside the home that I'm aware of. The short version (the long version can likely be found somewhere on
www.packing.org ), is that a guy who was robbed in his house and zapped with stun gun and later managed to get to a shotgun, blew away one guy in his house and killed the other
after chasing him down the street was acquitted of all criminal charges.
Firearm purchases are fairly straightforward. I strongly recommend you locate an FFL holder you feel you can trust - I had about $500 in parts go missing from a box holding a firearm and parts I had shipped to American Shooters Supply. The range at A.S.S. (heh, just noticed that) is actually very nice, and I still frequent it; they allow you to bring your own ammo as long as it passes the magnet test. The Gun Store is another decent shop/range. I forget the old codger's name, but one of the old LEO guys they had there teaching the required CCW class was superb. Learned a lot, including the bit about trespassing is about the only crime involved in being on posted no-carry private property, as well as the fact that many people applying for CCW permits are freakin' idiots! The Gun Store's range is finicky about the ammo they'll let you use on the range, though, and has a run-down feel to it.
Machine Gun Kelly's shop gave me good vibes when I stopped by in my quest for a trustworthy FFL holder. No range, the work areas of the shop are a mess (papers all over the place, etc.), but he seems to know his stuff and gave good advice to a couple folks there who were inspecting an AR they had apparently had shipped to the place.
You can also find places out on BLM land to shoot - just make sure you're outside the city/cities, 1000+ yards away from a highway/major street, have a good backstop, etc. Call the parks department for clarification or specific info.
CCW permits are fairly easy to obtain, but require an all-day course and are specific to the firearm to be carried, even down to the calibre. No swapping out your barrel with your carried CCW. The good news is that The Gun Store also helps you apply for a few out-of-state licenses which give you reciprocity with almost all 50 states (I'd assume other outfits do this, too).
Any specific questions?
:banghead: 
