Help Considering buying a gun tomorrow — any advice from people who've purchased before?

[yellowsouled]

Revolver. .38 special. Can pickup tomorrow from a Sports Warehouse type store. Pretty small gun, but I can get it from a store a few counties out (so no risk of anyone in the immediate area of knowing, seeing as I have a relative that works at the super local gun/pawn shop), and side is so it'd be easy to hide if I don't use it immediately (plus I think it looks "cool", as weird of a reason as that is). Issue is I've never bought a gun before and tend to be super socially awkward (overly polite, look female (trans but not out so bleh), neurotic, I ramble when nervous, etc) PLUS I've been having a lot of chronic pain lately so move kinda awkward, and am worried they'll either somehow immediately clock me as suicidal (even though I wanted a gun even before I was actively suicidal and my sister wants to go shooting sometime, so this is an actually correct and accurate cover story) OR they'll ask questions like "why this gun" "do you know how to shoot" "why are you buying this" etc and my answers/lack thereof will raise red flags.

I can 100% pass a background check for both criminal and mental health searches (I work in healthcare, which requires checks, and have even been fingerprinted before). I can fill out papers. I'm just worried my weirdly over polite or awkward demeanor, especially as a "chick", will either make them magically peg me as suicidal OR make them refuse the sale because of apparent novice skillset.

Note that I live in a super gun happy red state, so I'm less worried they'll refuse the sale because of gun laws and more so because I somehow register as Automatically Sus somehow.

 

[locked*n*loaded]

Honestly, I don't put much faith in a .38 to get the job done. Don't get me wrong, any gun can kill someone, but the likelihood of survival increases as the caliber goes down. I hope everything goes ok for you, though. If you're 100% legal to buy/own a gun, you have every right to project that confidence when purchasing it. You're doing nothing wrong.

 

[yellowsouled]

Honestly, I don't put much faith in a .38 to get the job done. Don't get me wrong, any gun can kill someone, but the likelihood of survival increases as the caliber goes down. I hope everything goes ok for you, though. If you're 100% legal to buy/own a gun, you have every right to project that confidence when purchasing it. You're doing nothing wrong.

Fair enough. I just wanted a gun I could also hide from relatives (due to rent in the area I still live with my parents, unfortunately), and was planning with pairing it with taking aspirin/blood thinners, and maybe also with either drowning or jumping from a height. There's a river that's much deeper/faster than it looks right near my house (plus it's flooding, so it's even worse than usual) and a few tall buildings local to me.

Unfortunately, not a big gun nerd unlike my grandparents, so kinda winging it here.

 

[zengiraffe]

A .38 revolver has about as much punch as a 9mm pistol, which should be enough to get the job done, as long as you shoot yourself via the correct locations, i.e. into the roof of the mouth or from the side of the head behind the ear. Absolutely do not shoot yourself from under the chin or into the temple, those are the two most common mistakes that cause failures.

As for being a first-time gun buyer, don't sweat it. The gun store staff aren't going to ask you any questions, it's not their job to save suicidal people, it's their job to sell guns. That it's scheduled for pickup already tells them that you've made up your mind that this is the gun you want and they're not going to try to sell you anything else.

 

[dearlydeparted44]

You should be okay with a .38. Anything above a .22 is pretty powerful and will damage the brain enough to do the job. A .38 is just below a 9mm, so they're pretty powerful. Here's a pistol chart for you. You'll have to scroll a little to get to the pistols, but this is a gun chart for all rifles and pistols. A .22 is the least powerful pistol, and slaughterhouses used to put down cows with them. Now think of a cow's head. Good luck on your journey, whatever you decide.

Chart of all Rifle Calibers In Order, And Their Power – Backfire

backfire.tv

 

[yellowsouled]

You should be okay with a .38. Anything above a .22 is pretty powerful and will damage the brain enough to do the job. A .38 is just below a 9mm, so they're pretty powerful. Here's a pistol chart for you. You'll have to scroll a little to get to the pistols, but this is a gun chart for all rifles and pistols. A .22 is the least powerful pistol, and slaughterhouses used to put down cows with them. Now think of a cow's head. Good luck on your journey, whatever you decide.

Chart of all Rifle Calibers In Order, And Their Power – Backfire

backfire.tv

A .38 revolver has about as much punch as a 9mm pistol, which should be enough to get the job done, as long as you shoot yourself via the correct locations, i.e. into the roof of the mouth or from the side of the head behind the ear. Absolutely do not shoot yourself from under the chin or into the temple, those are the two most common mistakes that cause failures.

As for being a first-time gun buyer, don't sweat it. The gun store staff aren't going to ask you any questions, it's not their job to save suicidal people, it's their job to sell guns. That it's scheduled for pickup already tells them that you've made up your mind that this is the gun you want and they're not going to try to sell you anything else.

Thanks, guys. I am not opposed to others guns, my main "worry" is just that if I don't use it in the immediate future, my parents may find it (they don't "search my room" or anything crazy, I'm 23, but if it was ever found my dad would lose his mind no matter how well hidden, if the safety was on, if it was unloaded, etc) and I'd rather not get kicked out before a suicide attempt. Thanks for the advice. Luckily I already know the no temple/shooting through chin thing — I don't trust movies like that.

 

[dearlydeparted44]

into the temple, those are the two most common mistakes that cause failures.

This is false. Temporal shots account for 67% of most suicide fatalities, with the mouth being 16%.

is a gunshot to the temple fatal? | [June Updated]

Is a Gunshot to the Temple Fatal? A Neurosurgeon’s Perspective A gunshot wound to the temple is overwhelmingly likely to be fatal. The temple’s location, overlying critical brain structures and major blood vessels, makes survival exceptionally rare, even with immediate and advanced medical...

thegunzone.com

 

[FishRain3469]

I reckon you'll be alright with good shot placement, even though I'd get something bigger.

Best of luck to you in whatever may happen. ♥

 

[pthnrdnojvsc]

If i were to use a hand gun it would be the .460 S&W Magnum

but i'd use a different model that the one in this video with a thinner barrel to be able to put in mouth . however if on side of head then i would use the one in the video



the snub nose .460 magnum smaller but still the .460 Magnum :

 

[locked*n*loaded]

This Charter Arms Bulldog .44 is certainly no bigger than the .38 your buying. I mean since you're concerned with size and all.

 

[AnEpilogue]

I went to purchase a gun not even two weeks ago, I was literally shaking as they were talking to me, my schizospecness very blatantly obvious in my speech and how much I was fidgeting. I even had to redo one of the forms cuz I put down the wrong sex (I figured they meant birth sex, not the sex on your ID)

And with all of that, they still didn't deny me the ability to purchase. You should be totally fine, and even if the first person you go to denies you for some stupid reason, just go somewhere else, "bad vibes" have no legal standing.

Oh, and they did not ask for why I was purchasing or anything like that.

 

[richardpinkhammer]

This is false. Temporal shots account for 67% of most suicide fatalities, with the mouth being 16%.

is a gunshot to the temple fatal? | [June Updated]

Is a Gunshot to the Temple Fatal? A Neurosurgeon’s Perspective A gunshot wound to the temple is overwhelmingly likely to be fatal. The temple’s location, overlying critical brain structures and major blood vessels, makes survival exceptionally rare, even with immediate and advanced medical...

thegunzone.com

This is false. Temporal shots account for 67% of most suicide fatalities, with the mouth being 16%.

is a gunshot to the temple fatal? | [June Updated]

Is a Gunshot to the Temple Fatal? A Neurosurgeon’s Perspective A gunshot wound to the temple is overwhelmingly likely to be fatal. The temple’s location, overlying critical brain structures and major blood vessels, makes survival exceptionally rare, even with immediate and advanced medical...

thegunzone.com

Where did you get the mouth being 16% stat? I didn't see it in the article.

 

[yellowsouled]

I put the order in. Meant to pick up tomorrow. Nervous, but figure worst that happens is they refuse the sale and refund me, right? I don't think "acting nervous and sus" = immediate forced hospitalization, at least.

 

[dearlydeparted44]

I put the order in. Meant to pick up tomorrow. Nervous, but figure worst that happens is they refuse the sale and refund me, right? I don't think "acting nervous and sus" = immediate forced hospitalization, at least.

Do you live in the US? And how old are you? I bought my first gun at 19. It was literally like buying shoes. The guy even helped me pick it out. I understand a lot has changed since then, but my point is don't be nervous.

 

[yellowsouled]

Do you live in the US? And how old are you? I bought my first gun at 19. It was literally like buying shoes. The guy even helped me pick it out. I understand a lot has changed since then, but my point is don't be nervous.

Yes, and in a red state. I guess I just have this idea in my head due to the area that gun owners have a "look" and that anyone who deviates from it may be seen as suspect, especially since I've never bought a gun before. For context — early 20s F who dresses like how teenage boys do in winter (think long socks but with shorts like some combo of a weird dad and a middle schooler who refuses to wear jeans in the cold). I'm less worried about background checks since I've had those done twice for healthcare work and more concerned that I'll somehow look/act off and they'll refuse the sale, or I'll look so incompetent somehow they'll refuse to sell to me for safety or something.

 

[dearlydeparted44]

Yes, and in a red state. I guess I just have this idea in my head due to the area that gun owners have a "look" and that anyone who deviates from it may be seen as suspect, especially since I've never bought a gun before. For context — early 20s F who dresses like how teenage boys do in winter (think long socks but with shorts like some combo of a weird dad and a middle schooler who refuses to wear jeans in the cold). I'm less worried about background checks since I've had those done twice for healthcare work and more concerned that I'll somehow look/act off and they'll refuse the sale, or I'll look so incompetent somehow they'll refuse to sell to me for safety or something.

lol. Understandable. I lived in blue states most of my life, and never really had a problem getting guns. I think you'll be fine. Anything above a .22 will do the job. Listening to a lot of people on this site, and on this thread, you'd think that you'd have to hit the brainstem with a fucking RPG or something. Don't listen to a lot of these people. They simply don't know what they're talking about, and it shows in what they write. These are the same people talking about BS like SN and their SI always kicking in. You will be fine. Don't over think it.

 

[yellowsouled]

lol. Understandable. I lived in blue states most of my life, and never really had a problem getting guns. I think you'll be fine. Anything above a .22 will do the job. Listening to a lot of people on this site, and on this thread, you'd think that you'd have to hit the brainstem with a fucking RPG or something. Don't listen to a lot of these people. They simply don't know what they're talking about, and it shows in what they write. These are the same people talking about BS like SN and their SI always kicking in. You will be fine. Don't over think it.

Thanks, friend. I have a lot of older relatives into guns but the "younger ones" (for given definition of younger — ex. my parents are pretty anti-gun in terms of "we don't want or need these in our house" but I swear ALL of my grandparents have, like, full fledged arsenals) so my perception of "who would look normal buying a gun" is also skewed.

 

[dearlydeparted44]

Thanks, friend. I have a lot of older relatives into guns but the "younger ones" (for given definition of younger — ex. my parents are pretty anti-gun in terms of "we don't want or need these in our house" but I swear ALL of my grandparents have, like, full fledged arsenals) so my perception of "who would look normal buying a gun" is also skewed.

lol. Well, Sheels is open for a reason, and they do damned good business. "Normal" looking people buy guns all the time. And if you're in a red state, you're going to be okay. I honestly wouldn't understand not needing nor wanting a gun. Especially in the day ahead. It looks like rough waters are coming. Good luck to you, no matter what you decide to do.

 

[yellowsouled]

lol. Well, Sheels is open for a reason, and they do damned good business. "Normal" looking people buy guns all the time. And if you're in a red state, you're going to be okay. I honestly wouldn't understand not needing nor wanting a gun. Especially in the day ahead. It looks like rough waters are coming. Good luck to you, no matter what you decide to do.

We live in a really small town with pretty low crime stats (the sort of town where, if there's a break in, EVERYONE knows about it within the hour and it's seen as crazy news) so it's never been a priority, I guess. The only time my parents debated getting a gun is when my neighbor almost went off on the deep end months ago and acted like he was going to have a killdozer moment against the town government for awhile. They're not "guns are evil" types and more so my dad, assumedly due to being a former security guard/corrections officer, believe just calling the police is enough to deter any crime.

 

[dearlydeparted44]

We live in a really small town with pretty low crime stats (the sort of town where, if there's a break in, EVERYONE knows about it within the hour and it's seen as crazy news) so it's never been a priority, I guess. The only time my parents debated getting a gun is when my neighbor almost went off on the deep end months ago and acted like he was going to have a killdozer moment against the town government for awhile. They're not "guns are evil" types and more so my dad, assumedly due to being a former security guard/corrections officer, believe just calling the police is enough to deter any crime.

Oh wow. What happened to him?

Even in a small town, you'll be fine. In fact, small towns are much easier to purchase to gun. I live in a place where they just passed a law for stricter background checks for guns. It's a gun happy state, but the Dems run it. Still, it's relatively easy to get. I'm in my 40's and ex-military, so I can basically get any kind I want anytime I want. I don't put much faith in the police, so yeah... you must live in a small town if your father has that mentality towards crime. I live in a nice neighborhood, but everyone still has a gun. These are very dangerous times.

 

[yellowsouled]

Oh wow. What happened to him?

Even in a small town, you'll be fine. In fact, small towns are much easier to purchase to gun. I live in a place where they just passed a law for stricter background checks for guns. It's a gun happy state, but the Dems run it. Still, it's relatively easy to get. I'm in my 40's and ex-military, so I can basically get any kind I want anytime I want. I don't put much faith in the police, so yeah... you must live in a small town if your father has that mentality towards crime. I live in a nice neighborhood, but everyone still has a gun. These are very dangerous times.

Technically the city our town is connected to (they share a zip code) has tons of crime (drugs mostly), but he has really weird ideas about things. Like, he told my siblings and I as kids never to honk at people on the road because road rangers might just flat out kill you, but thinks him owning literally any gun (even the weakest one imaginable) is strange.

 

[Cinnamorolls]

I bought a black powder revolver online and it was shipped to my door, no interaction with anyone or background checks necessary. That is one option if buying in person does not work out for you.

 

[tpboy]

just buy it from a private seller on armslist. many sellers will even deliver. no questions asked except maybe id.