boo

It was priced at $399, applied for Dicks credit card for 10% off (so $359 altogether), and then the reward point credit on top of that. I noticed Paramus had a pretty nifty looking Field & Stream corner safe for $349 that isn't listed on their website. It didn't list the capacity, but I'd guess it was around 5-8 (edit: also already had system attached to the inside of the door to hold multiple pistols/accessories). I would have gotten that one but it had an electronic lock and I had trouble opening it. Now the problem is getting it up two flights of stairs. For some reason it didn't seem so bad to move on the showroom floor...

Thanks for the heads-up, just picked up a 10-gun safe.

According to Dicks in Union, only "safes that can be permanently attached to a building structure" are tax free. Their interpretation of this excludes pistol boxes and gun cabinets.

Went back to an XD-9 last night and it was like being reunited with an old friend I'll try and test out a better working M&P again at some point. The one issue it raised to me is the risk of buying used guns. I plan to go on an absolute buying spree as soon as my FID/permits go through, and had planned on going the used gun route to save a few bucks. But I'm now questioning whether that's the wisest idea.

Thanks all. I was really looking forward to trying it out and even bought my own small-size backstrap to test out. It fells really nice in the hand, but I shot really lousy with it. It's probably from dealing with all the issues and I won't discount it completely. I was kind of hoping it would turn out to be a crap gun just to help narrow down my "to buy" list

I keep hearing references to its lousy trigger and how an upgrade is necessary. What exactly is the issue with the trigger? The reason I ask is that I recently tried out an M&P 9mm range gun and absolutely hated it! But I'm not sure if it's because I'm a newbie shooter, the gun was damaged or in poor condition, or if it's representative of actual M&P owner experiences. My issues: 1. Using an uplula magloader, the magazine was somewhat difficult to load and push down on the follower. It would have been damn near impossible to load manually. And for some reason, the magazine only held 9 rounds. 2. Trigger pull weight seemed to be a bit on the heavy side (an XD9 and Glock 19 are my points of reference). Not necessarily an "issue", I guess more of an observation. 3. The trigger seemed to be really rough to pull and wasn't smooth. 4. I forget the exact term, but I think it's trigger break? I'm referring to the point where a trigger will because slightly harder to pull just before it activates the striker/hammer. I would pull the trigger on the gun, the trigger would just stop at that point. It would no longer move and the gun wouldn't fire unless I put an incredible amount of force. I sometimes found myself having to use fingers from both of my hands to create enough force to get the trigger to fire. Sometimes the gun wouldn't fire at all, and I'd have to release the trigger entirely and try again before I'd be successful in getting it to fire. Any thoughts? This was a top contender for my first handgun, but it's now off my list.

Thanks for the advice everyone. I've recently been able to fire a Walther P22 and a revolver (not sure what kind, 5 shot, no trigger guard, required cocking back the hammer for each shot...and special thanks to dh-wp for the chance!). While shooting them, I was picturing my 3 and 5 year old chasing each other around the house with those things. "Cute" seemed to be the first word that came to my mind...not exactly ideal for recoil management training LOL. Maybe I can find a .22 with threaded barrel for a muzzle compensator, but install it with the ports facing down I guess I'll have to consider reloading or hope that pre-SHTF pricing for ammo comes back. I had also previously planned on getting some sort of .22 handgun for practice, but I don't if I'd be happy spending the money and permit for a full .22 handgun. Seems that a .22 conversion seems to be a more efficient use of $ and permits.

I've spent about $100 on range ammo since last night and would like to go again tomorrow. This hobby is a lot more pricey than I thought! It's great that I'm training to keep my family safe, but unfortunately I won't be able to feed them anymore! Is there such a thing as a .22lr handgun that replicates the recoil/muzzle flip of a 9mm handgun to keep the ammo costs down? In my intro to handgun course, I shot a glock 19 with a 22lr conversion that seemed to have a bit of recoil, but I'm wondering if it's just because it was my first handgun experience. Or I guess I just suck it up until I get my FID, my own pistol, and be able to get ammo at non-range pricing?

With just a few hundred rounds of shooting “experience” under my belt, I can tell I’m inconsistent. I needed feedback on my flaws before they’d become fully ingrained, so I set up a private lesson with Jimmy. He's awesome to work with! He diagnosed a number of problems I have (anticipating recoil and unnecessary wrist movement, to name a couple). He made recommendations to correct them and gave me good pointers. They’ll be big in making my practice more effective as opposed to just blindly dumping bullets down range and hoping I get better. And on top of all that, he's very friendly and an all around nice guy. I highly recommend him!

I had been hoping that the surge in applications had died down by now and that my FID would be processed in 30 days, i.e., next week. Thanks for bringing me back to reality

I know RTSP doesn't have a problem with non-FID people handling the rental guns just to "try out". Maybe other ranges are the same? This is an issue for me to. I was planning on suggesting to some of the larger ranges nearby that they start offering daycare service! A lot of gyms offer this, so why can't ranges?

I bet it's because they have relatively fewer applicants. I mean requiring a notarized letter from your employer? It requires 1) being comfortable telling you're boss that you're getting a gun 2) that person not being anti-gun 3) that person willing to go to the trouble of having the letter notarized. I should have had an FID years ago when I first looked into it when I was living in Jersey City. But the notarized employer letter thing did a pretty good job of discouraging me.

I'd love to, but unfortunately I'm not going to be available Sunday. I'm definitely going to have to keep my eye out for more events like that. FID application is in process, so far I'm 2.5 weeks into it. Thanks, I'll reach out in September. The firearms detective warned that FID applications were running a 4 month wait, so I'm guessing I'll still be in the same situation.

Not really. I don't have any firearms of my own yet and still waiting on my FFID/permits, so I'll shoot anything. But since you mention it, I've been practicing with a Glock 19 and I'm interested in trying out their Springfield XD9 in comparison. Actually, I'm also dying to try out an S&W M&P9 and Steyr M9-A1 as well! I could have sworn I saw some sort of M&P up on on the Woodland Park wall when I was checking the place out, but I don't seem to see it listed on their available guns.

I can't rent a gun there due to single w/o FFID status, so I thought I'd just check if there's anyone else in the same situation and maybe we can meet up. I've been going to RTSP, which is great place, but it's almost an extra hour of total travel time for me. Even if you aren't available tonight, I'd love to exchange contact info to try and set something up for the future. edit: Just to clarify, I don't need someone to provide me with a gun (though I definitely wouldn't mind!). It's about getting around their insurance company policy of not permitting them to rent to males without an FFID that show up alone.

Sorry to bump up an old thread, I just took an intro to handgun class from www.njfirearms.com class here and had a blast. I nearly canceled based on the reviews in this thread, but I'm glad I didn't. I'm not going to pretend that it's a modern state of the art facility, and the comments describing a low-ceiling basement environment are accurate. But the way I see it, it adds character edit: corrected url

I went to Meltzer's yesterday to handle some of the guns. Tried the Sig 2022 and the handle felt really wide and awkward in my hand. Also felt really light (which made me worry about recoil). I think there's supposed to be a smaller backstrap available not included with the gun, but I didn't see how it would help all that much and that's probably out of the mix for now. The XD9 seemed to fit really good in my hand, also noticeably heavier. They also had a bunch of Glocks I wanted to handle as well, but I figured I had taken up enough of their time and didn't want to be anymore of a bother with other potential customers in the room. Oh well, off to RTSP tomorrow morning to try some shooting.

I think I'm definitely going to have to move M&P and Glock up higher on my list. I noticed M&P seems to have a magazine shortage problem (or at least a shortage of sub $100 magazines!) I noticed this and was pleasantly surprised, thanks to everyone for you advice and offers I'm looking to do some beginner training classes in the next week or so, and a neighbor has invited out the range. I'll keep those offers in mind when I get a bit more experience under my belt. I definitely hope to be able to return the favor to newer gun owners in the future!

@vmastro, unfortunately I'm all the way up in Clifton, but thanks for the offer! On the muzzle flip issue, I have a feeling it's something I'll just have to get used to with practice. I remembered shooting a revolver a long time ago (forget the exact gun, a .38 with a shorter barrel), and it kicked around like crazy in my hand. Totally made me uncomfortable. In contrast, i had a lot of fun with a 1911 style weapon that was probably a 9mm. I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with it, but it was still fun to shoot!

Thanks all for the replies! I'm going to see if I can try handling a few of these, or better yet, renting.

Having just put in my FFID application this week, I guess I have a lot of time to think about it lol. Gun will be for range and HD. CC isn't a concern. 1. Decided on a 9mm: sounds like it's the best balance of having some stopping power for HD, but still manageable for someone new, and reasonable ammo cost. 2. I have REALLY short fingers. On men's small size gloves, I'm generally not able to fully fill out the fingers, though my palm is more like a medium. 3. Low muzzle flip. My understanding is that this will come from "full size" guns with 4+ inch barrels. I think I've narrowed it down to either a Springfield XD9 Service or a Sig Sauer SP2022. XD9: Sounds like it's small hand friendly, great overall reviews. I like the idea of all the safeties and physical loaded chamber indicator. SP2022: Grip is replaceable to a smaller size, great overall reviews, and my understanding is that the DA/SA trigger lends itself well to HD because it makes it that much harder for to let out an unintended first shot. "Stock" magazines are 15 rounds, just making the NJ limit. Browsing around on the net for the XD9 it seems like they usually come with 16rd mags and I've have to buy 10 rd mags separately. And more importantly, I love how both these guns look Other brands I've considered: Glock: Somewhat curious about the Glock 17/19. Though I never seem to see those guns cited in searches from people with similar requirements as me. Beretta: grips are supposed to be too big HK or other SIGs: don't want to mortgage my house to pay for the gun (as if I had any equity in my home!) Revolvers: fired them years ago and hated it! Stil something I'd be willing to revisit at some point. Browning Hi-Power: Supposed to be a blast to shoot and has short reach to trigger. Unfortunately, I'm not that keen on the look. Still, the reviews seem favorable enough that I should try it out at some point. Probably planning on a Ruger SR22 as a second gun, FWIW. Any thoughts between the XD9 and SP2022? Any other suggestions?

Just wanted to introduce myself and say hi to everyone. I have an appointment next week to submit my FFID and P2P applications and I'm really excited. With a little bit of luck, I should be all set by Christmas Basically a newbie here. I've gone shooting before, but never actually owned a gun. I grew up in CA, but couldn't really afford one at the time, and got sort of turned off to them by issues my buddy ran into following a "run-in" with ATF agents (it's a long story). My interest was recently piqued during Hurricane Sandy. Sitting around in the dark with no power, not knowing how quick Clifton PD could respond to an emergency (assuming I had power on my cell phone to call 911) made me feel pretty vulnerable for my family and myself. I just finally got off my @ss to get the ball rolling. Looks like my timing couldn't have been better with the recent opening of Woodland Park which is barely15-20min away. I'm even thinking of trying my hand at waterfowl hunting at some point. Just going through the site I have to admit I'm finding the prospect of gun ownership being a bit scary. Not from being shot or anything, but I'm paranoid that I'll end up accidentally violating some arcane NJ gun law, get arrested by an overzealous cop and end up in prison. Hopefully with a bit of research here I can prevent that.