Why the Gun That Fits Your Friend Might Not Fit You

If you're shopping for your first handgun, chances are you've asked someone you trust what you should buy. Maybe it's a friend who shoots regularly, a family member who's owned guns for years, or the person in your life who seems to know everything there is to know about firearms.

And chances are, they had an answer ready.

There's nothing wrong with asking for advice. In fact, talking to experienced shooters can be really helpful when you're trying to narrow down what feels like an endless number of options. The problem comes when someone else's favorite firearm automatically becomes the firearm you buy.

Your friend may absolutely love their gun. That doesn't mean you're going to love it too.

Fit Matters More Than You Might Think

Two people can pick up the same handgun and have completely different experiences with it. Hand size, finger length, grip strength, and even the shape of your hands can affect how a firearm feels and how easily you can operate it.

When you're handling a handgun, you should be able to establish a comfortable, secure grip and reach the controls without struggling. The slide is another consideration. Some people can rack just about anything without thinking about it, while others find certain firearms considerably easier to manipulate than others.

None of that makes one gun better than another. It just means we're all built differently.

This is also why simply holding a firearm at the counter only gets you so far. Something can feel great in your hand for 30 seconds and feel completely different once you start shooting it.

Don't Assume Smaller Will Be Easier

This is one we see fairly often with newer shooters. Someone wants a handgun that feels manageable, so a friend points them toward something small and lightweight.

It makes sense on the surface. Smaller should mean easier, right? Not always.

Smaller handguns can actually be more difficult for some people to shoot comfortably. There's less weight to help manage recoil and often less grip area to work with. An experienced shooter may be perfectly comfortable with a small pistol while a newer shooter finds the exact same gun snappy and unpleasant.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't buy a compact handgun. If you're looking for something to carry, size obviously matters. It's just one of those things that's worth experiencing for yourself before making a decision.

Your Experience Level Makes a Difference

Someone who has been shooting for 15 years has preferences that you probably don't have yet. They may know they prefer a certain grip angle or trigger. They may like a particular sight setup. They might be very comfortable managing recoil from a firearm that feels like a lot to someone who's still learning the fundamentals.

When you're new, you don't necessarily know what you like yet, and that's okay. You need something to compare.

Shoot a few different handguns and suddenly you'll start noticing things you didn't notice before. Maybe one grip feels much more natural. Maybe you're consistently more accurate with one model. Maybe you discover you strongly prefer the recoil of a larger handgun. Those experiences are going to tell you more about what works for you than a spec sheet ever will.

Start With What You Want the Gun to Do

Another reason your friend's recommendation may not be right for you is that you may not even want a firearm for the same reason they do. Someone recommending their everyday carry gun is looking at the decision through the lens of concealability, weight, capacity, and what they're comfortable carrying. If you're primarily looking for something to shoot recreationally at the range, your priorities could be completely different.

The same is true if you're buying for home protection, getting into competition, or simply looking for a handgun you can become really comfortable with through regular training.

Before getting attached to a particular make or model, figure out what you actually want from it. That makes it much easier to evaluate the recommendations you're getting.

This Is Where Rentals Really Help

You can read reviews all day. You can watch videos, compare specifications, hold a dozen guns at the counter, and ask every gun owner you know what they would buy. Eventually, though, you need to shoot them.

Renting gives you the opportunity to compare firearms before spending hundreds of dollars on one. If you've narrowed your search to two or three models, shooting them during the same range visit can be particularly helpful because the differences are much easier to notice.

Don't just look at which target has the tightest group, either. Pay attention to the entire experience. Was the gun comfortable? Could you operate everything easily? Did the recoil bother you? Did your grip feel natural? Most importantly, is this something you'd actually want to practice with regularly?

Sometimes the firearm your friend recommended will turn out to be exactly right. Other times, you'll shoot one magazine through it and immediately know it isn't for you. At The Machine Gun Nest, that's one of the reasons we have such a large rental selection. We'd rather have someone try a few different options and figure out what genuinely works for them than buy a firearm based entirely on someone else's opinion.

Take your friend's recommendation. Put it on the list. Then come shoot it. You might love it too, but you should find that out for yourself.