Buying a Gun

If someone is interested in purchasing a gun, it is best to be an informed consumer prior to purchasing a weapon.

First, if someone has never owned a weapon, he/she needs to focus on gun safety. After a weapon is purchased, a gun safety course is advisable. Additionally, it is important for gun owners to be familiar with their weapons and have accurate aim. Jumping Targets offers a number of moving targets that are specifically designed to help increase gun owner’s accuracy – whether it is high power rifle targets or targets designed for handguns.

Secondly, someone should never own a handgun unless he/she intends to use the weapon. There is nothing more dangerous than a gun owner who is not familiar with his/her weapon.

There are a number of different avenues to pursue if someone is interested in purchasing a weapon.

  • Retailers – Guns are available brand new, directly from the manufacturer. If someone has a specific gun model in mind, it is best to contact the manufacturer directly and research local retailers.
  • Pawnshops – Pawnshops are required to enter serial numbers in online databases. This information is immediately crosschecked with stolen weapons, ensuring that a weapon purchased at a pawnshop is not stolen. Pawnshops typically have a larger selection of used weapons, but sometimes do receive brand new trade-ins.
  • Online – It is important for people to confirm they are not purchasing a stolen weapon online. There are, however, a number of online gun retailers that sell both new and used weapons. Weapons are not permitted to be advertised on some listing sites, such as Craig’s List.
  • Gun Shows – Click here to view a complete listing of gun shows by state. Often times there are new gun retailers present, used gun resellers and police seized weapons that are available for sale. Typically, police seizures are required to list the circumstances under which the weapon was seized, while maintaining privacy rights.
  • Gunsmiths – Gunsmiths provide an excellent source of information for anyone looking to purchase a weapon. Additionally, they are able to check a used weapon to confirm its safety – especially when looking into purchasing an old, antique and collectible weapon. 
It is important that consumers are familiar with price ranges, including those based on used weapon “grades” before purchasing a handgun. When purchasing a weapon at a pawnshop or gun show, it is best to brush up on negotiation techniques, as many of these items have prices that are easily negotiated.

1 comment

Phillip

While I welcome any atmpett to end the perception that an AR-15 is a tool of murder, and I don’t object to the term, I just don’t feel comfortable referring to mine as a “Modern Sporting Rifle”, since I don’t use it for sport. I have mine for defense in times of civil emergency and natural disasters. I feel that a citizen should be as well armed as a common soldier, and given that most soldiers I’ve talked to prefer to use their M16s in single-fire mode, I feel that the AR-15 gives me most of the same advantages. I have absolutely no intention of ever committing a crime with my weapon. When people ask me about why I have it, I try to explain that it is for when things get really bad, and you want to keep bad people really far away from you. So in my case, I want to give people the impression that while it is not a tool of murder, it is a defensive weapon. Maybe I’ll call it a “Civil Defense Rifle”.

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