newbie with pal, was embarrassed to talk at gun shop

[Petamocto]

I wish I lived close to you so I could invite you over, because these are the sorts of questions that can’t be easily answered by text on message boards.

They require hours and hours of conversations and getting out to see things. If anything, you need someone really knowledgeable to go with you to Cabela’s or another big gun store to lay everything out in front of you to see and touch.

Online reviews and pics are not reliable, for example, all 9mm handguns may look high quality online, but see them all in person and a Ruger SR9 will look like garbage, a Glock will look okay, a Walther will look great, and a CZ will look amazing.

Rifles and shotguns are the same, in that anything less than $500 will likely be junk, getting closer to $1000 is getting nicer, and amazing rifles are generally $2000+ with some exceptions.

Even then, you still have to go hold them yourself to know what you like. Something like an SKS may sound good on paper, then you pick the thing up and realize it has the worst (straight) grip angle that feels terrible for your wrist.

I wish you the best of luck. Make some friend in a gun club or something, and you’ll find that they’re generally helpful people.