How to buy a handgun

[fishuhalik]

I know this has been posted before but I couldn't find the thread and just need a quick answer. I'm looking to buy a handgun for home protection and need to know the steps. I know I need a permit to buy, I just need to know a time frame for how long it takes to get a permit and then the waiting period to buy one. And if you have any specific tips on how to expedite the process, let me know (I'm in big lake) Thanks!

[Brad B]

all you need to do is go to the sherburne county sheriffs office or the Big Lake PD and get the paper work for the permit to purchase. then submit the filled out paper work to them. they will run the background check and if it comes back clean they should send you the purchase permit in 7 to 10 days. once you have the permit in hand you can go to any dealer and buy a handgun on the spot. the dealer will have you fill out federal form 4473 and then run a nics check on you. that is done right away and they have a answer right away as to proceed with the sale or deny the sale of the firearm or there is the delayed status where they have to get more info . normally if the sheriff sends you the purchase permit you will pass the nics check (unless you have a common last name and choose not to provide a SSN on the 4473 and there is someone with the same name as you. this has caused delays for some people). hope this help. again minnesota does not have a waiting period that was eliminated by the purchase permits.

[nsnutter]

Excellent answer Brad!

Another option, depending on your time frame/future plans, is to get your permit to carry (or PTC) - You will need to complete a PTC class, complete the range qualification associated with said class, submit an application to your county's sherrif dept for a PTC (along with the associated fee - usually $100), and wait the 30 day processing period before you (depending on your background of course) get approved and mailed your permit.

Your PTC will also act as a permit to purchase (or PTP) for 5 years, whereas your standard PTP will need to be renewed every year.

Btw - for anyone else curious, a PTP is also required to purchase an assault weapon (such as an ar-15) from a licensed FFL dealer. A PTP isn't just for handguns.

Good luck!

[nsnutter]

By they way Fish, it took Chaska PD 7 "business" days to call me back and tell me to pick up my Permit to Purchase, and Carver Co. Sheriff's Dept took 15 consecutive days to approve and mail me my Permit to Carry.

By law, you must be approved or denied in no more than 7 days for your Permit to Purchase, and no more than 30 days for your Permit to Carry.

Have you given any thought to what you are looking for in a defensive weapon? Do you have any experience shooting handguns? Even if you opt to just get your Permit to Purchase initially, I'd advise you to get to your local shooting range often to develop/maintain your skills. I'd even go so far as to recommend enrolling in a defensive shooting class if possible!

[fishuhalik]

nsnutter, i've thought alot about what I'm going to get. I'm buying the weapon for my wife since I'm in north dakota working 2 weeks at a time, and I have some trouble sleeping without my wife having some kind of protection. In the short future there's several guns that I'll be picking up, but I'm thinking of either an xd in 9mm or 40, leaning more towards the 9 since it's for my wife. I've also been considering a Glock and a revolver has crossed my mind but I'd also like to equip it with a tac light and the options for tac lights on revolvers are pretty limited.

I have a good friend that spent 3 tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, and spent 2 of those tours breaching and clearing rooms, and he's willing to teach us some home defense tactics. I think I can trust his tactics, since he's still hear with us they must work! After that I'll be picking up a 1911, not sure what brand, for myself and would also like to get a couple ar's, one for plinking/end of the world and one for prairie dog hunting. I still want a 5.7 but I think I've been talked out of it, at least for a while!

[fishuhalik]

Oh, and thanks for the replies! I'm heading over to the Big Lake PD as soon as I'm done on the computer

[Archerysniper]

If it's for home protection and the wife forget about the pistol and get a shot barreled pump shot gun.

[picksbigwagon]

I kind of agree with a shotgun for home protection. Racking an 870 is a quite distinctive sound

[TooTallTom]

Hey Fish,

Since someone's already broached the subject, I'm replying to the thread instead of pm. I'm just going to make a list so that it's easier to read (and for me to keep straight), I apologize in advance if it comes across as rude, that's not my intention.

1. Room clearing is different than room defending. "Room defending" is basically what you're allowed in MN, if that. I think a prosecutor could have a field day if you're clearing rooms and kill someone. Even in your own home. I don't like it, but that's the way it is.

2. Your friend likely spent lots and lots of time practicing and learning, with a team. Not an afternoon of instruction, and then some periodic plinking, and then being alone in the night. For sure he had some of the best training in the world, but he is also a really lucky guy, that's pretty much it. Lots of guys using the same tactics with the same amount of training are not here.

3. A shotgun is really a much better choice, even a youth model 20ga with a short barrel if you're concerned about shooter size or recoil shyness. It's not better because of a larger pattern (at house range, the pattern's only a couple of inches anyway) but because it's going to be much easier to fire accurately. Go sprint a hundred yards, and then do some pushups and situps to about 1/2 or 3/4 of max reps, and then fire off a magazine quickly and see how many rounds you and your wife have in the lethal area of a target at 10 feet. (The idea is to simulate your and your wife's fight or flight response.) A pistol is hard enough to shoot when calm, let alone when tired, confused, scared, and with your adrenaline spiking. Three points of contact, plus a longer sight radius, make for a somewhat better home defense weapon for the average shooter.

4. Over penetration should be a concern. Even the "weak" 9mm will shoot through several layers of sheetrock. Some time spent searching the internets will show you several demonstrations that people have done. A shotgun with birdshot is still lethal at close range, but doesn't generate the same amount of concern about over penetration that even a 9mm does.

5. Make absolutely certain (to the extent that you can) that your wife is willing to look at another human being and kill them. I don't think that anyone really know until they know, but if she's not comfortable with guns how comfortable is she with the idea of killing someone. Maybe she'd actually be safer with a tazer, some handcuffs, and a cell phone and car keys?

6. Don't let usefulness for home defense applications or the zombie apocolypse dictate what you can or can't buy. They're all fun to shoot, and that's reason enough.

[Gordie]

fish to be perfectly honest you might sleep better if you had a security system installed in your home/apt like the ones on TV.

I'm not trying to persuade you out of the gun thing but I just watched the news yesterday where a guy that had all the proper stuff to conceal and carry and he got jumped and he ended up getting robbed with his own gun.