RxBandit

Thank you guys, really appreciate all this, can't wait to take it to the range!

Apologies if this is the wrong place to ask, if it is just let me know where to move this to.... I'm looking to take a gun safety course, just bought my first gun on Friday (Ruger SR22) and one of the things I want to do is take a safety course to correct anything that I may be doing wrong and because it's a good thing to learn. My wife actually saw a deal on Groupon for New Jersey Firearms Academy in Jersey City for $85. I don't think I can pass that up! Has anyone taken one of their courses? From what I've read, people are big fans of Gun For Hire in Belleville, which is actually close to me but for the price I'm really considering going to Jersey CIty but if I'm not mistaken it's not exactly the nice part of town...opinions? thanks in advance RxB

Finally got it! Went with the Ruger SR22! Very happy with it so far, changed the grip to the bigger one and also added the extensions to the mags, definitely feels better in my hand. Haven't gone out to shoot yet and I have a question about that, I still need to pick up ears and eyes and also ammo, should I just buy ammo at the range? Probably going to the Bullet Hole, how are their prices? And should I pick up a few different brands to see how it goes? I'm going to have to do some research on ammo because even just .22LR is not specific enough from what I understand...there are different speeds, grain...etc...so yeah, what do you guys think? And where should I get ears and eyes from? Thanks in advance and happy to be a gun owner! RxB

glad to hear that, i found a place with a great price. Happy to know others are enjoying it.

Just curious about where you guys go to buy your ammo when not purchasing online, I'm in North Jersey and getting my first firearm soon and would like to know where the best prices are and what places to avoid. Thanks in advance RxB

Again thank you everyone for your advice, after some more research I'm still stuck between the M&P22 and Ruger SR22, leaning towards the Ruger...

This should've been something the town told the owners BEFORE the owners could have the sign made...

Welcome to the forum, I'm fairly new here also but have found tons of information and advice from everybody, you're in good hands!

Welcome from Bergen County! I'm actually thinking about taking the 1st Steps class by GFH, haven't heard anything but good things about them, glad to hear it went well for you also.

Today I went to RTSP to check out their range and get some shooting in. The place is seriously amazing. Plenty of stock to check out, which I did, and the range was really nice also. Rented the Ruger SR22, which is the gun I'm considering buying as my first one, spent an hour at the range, went through 100 rounds and had a blast, I have a feeling this hobby is going to put a major hole in my pockets haha. My only 2 complaints were that the gun wasn't clean when I got it and the range was hot, but those are two things that I can easily overlook because the staff was very helpful, their selection was very nice and I had a great time! Looking forward to going back...please share stories from your experiences at RTSP! RxB

Went there today, the place is nice, Mike was very helpful and showed me a few pistols that I wasn't even thinking about getting and now I'm a bit tempted! Can't wait for their range to open in January!!

I wonder if that would still hold if the numbers were percentages of illegal immigrants vs deported illegals throughout that time frame, meaning is the volume of illegal immigrants larger now? Just a curiosity, I can't comment on the subject for personal reasons, and no I'm not an illegal immigrant haha But I was born outside of the US. PS: I thought no politics or religion on this board...but I won't tell!

can i style my tinfoil hat into a baseball cap? or does it have to be the typical antenna style hat?

So as I do more research into all of this, I decided to look into recalls and failures of the two (SR22 and M&P22) I'm looking into and here are the results: M&P22 only likes the better ammo and really likes CCI Mini-Mags....it also has a problem which makes the slide stick ... SR22 has a fairly serious problem with the take down slide on the earlier produced guns, after a couple thousand rounds, the take down slide would simply fail during normal operation and gun would basically fall apart during a shot! Now that's some scary stuff. But yeah so that's where I'm at right now As far as the Colt, I held one today at Meltzer's and it didn't feel as comfortable as the M&P22 did, I guess the straight design of the "handle" (not sure if that's the right name for it) isn't as comfortable as the M&P22. My search keeps on...

I was under the impression that Ramsey wasn't even worth checking out...I'm glad you said that....also have heard many good things about Caso's

So went to Meltzer's today (my 'review' is the Shop section), handled a few pistols, including the SR22 which I've been talking about on here and the new contender to be my first gun, the M&P22. I felt the SR22 was a bit small, although I've read that if you change the grip (it comes with a second beefier grip) it feels a lot better. I didn't want to ask the guy to change the grip just for me but I might have to do that. The M&P22 was really nice and it's a full size handgun. After re-reading all of your posts and suggestion, I guess I have a lot of thinking and research ahead of me. The size of the SR22 just might be its downfall for me, although it felt mroe 'solid', not sure if that makes sense. But that's it for now! Thanks again for all of your input!

First trip to Meltzer's in Garfield. My first time handling guns at a shop and after reading all of the info here, I think I, basically, didn't act like an idiot. I don't think I've ever been to any other store, of any kind not just a firearms shop, where the employees were as nice as at Meltzer's. I wrote a post earlier today about how I went to the Bullet Hole and they were very nice there also but I think Meltzer's employees honestly care about the people walking in and out of their store. The guy in the front, wish I could remember his name, treated me extremely well and once I was ready to go look at some guns, after browsing the fishing section which I'm more experienced with, he walked me back there and introduced me to Pete who again was extremely helpful, Spent about an hour looking at a few .22 pistols and not only did Pete show me the one I've been thinking about buying but he showed me a bunch more and was very patient (as whatever I buy will be my first handgun) and helpful. As a side note, now I'm stuck between deciding if I want the Ruger SR22 which is what I've been doing research on or the M&P 22 which Pete showed me today. I'll post about that whole thing on my other post I have going. But yes, Meltzer's is definitely a great place. Gotta keep them in mind for not only guns but also my fishing! RxB

Made my first gun related quick stop at the BH today. Was driving by so I figured I would stop and check to see if they have the handgun I want (Ruger SR22) in stock. They did not, but apparently they had it and sold them already telling me that the gun is gaining a bit of popularity. I spoke briefly with two people behind the counter, Carmine and I'm not sure of the girl's name, both treated me very well and answered the few questions I had...all the negative criticism i've read about that place on here went out the window for me. This is the closest shop to me, I'm literally less than a realistic 10 minutes away, if their prices are comparable to other shops I visit, I might as well stick with them. Let me ask you guys a purchase related question...if I were to ask them to order a gun for me, are there any fees related to that as opposed to just buying what they have in stock? The way I look at it, if they order one, they might as well order a few since they already sold out of the ones they had. Please share some positive experiences you've had with the BH. Most people tend to only have negative things to say sometimes. RxB

Looks like this new guy might have to stop by on Friday to check it out! Can we post this shop in the Shops and Ranges section of the board? I'm going to print that out to always have it handy. I'm excited to have another place nearby! thanks in advance guys!

Welcome to the forums from another new member from bergen county.... Can you tell me more about that? I'm in the southern tip of the county but if for some reason my PD uses their range i may be eligible to join?

I actually have all the paperwork taken care of already, everything is sitting here waiting for me to go to the store!

Thanks for the offer, if I decide to go over there I'll try and let you know.

I really am thankful for all the information you guys are providing. All my question are being answered and I'm getting mroe information than I even knew to ask, it truly is helpful. I did the Firearms Price Request and so far one shop ahs gotten back to me on the SR22, hopefully within the next week I'll get a few more answers. Again thank you everyone for your help. RxB

Another thing I forgot to ask, is it common practice for shops to order guns for customers? Or is it basically what we have in stock is what you can buy? The reason why I ask is because if a shop doesn't have what I want but they can price it and order it, it's worth the wait.

I just checked out the RTSP website and the place looks really nice, the only shop I've ever been in is the bullet hole back when you couldn't get your fishing license online, so for comparative purposes, RTSP is fantastic! The fact that they rent guys is nice, I like the idea of going out and shooting a few different guns and checking out how I like them. Another gun I had seen and liked was the Chiappa 1911-22, but apparently, and correct me if I'm wrong, it's not a very reliable brand. I read a lot of stories about FTE/FTF very frequently so I don't think Chiappa is the way to go here, but if I'm wrong correct me please. As far as the type of gun I'm looking for, I basically just want to go to the range and throw some bullets down range and hit those nice NJGF targets you guys have! I might have to blow them up onto bigger paper though! But again, thanks for all the help! RxB