Handguns: The Big Picture

Thinking of buying your first handgun for personal defense or recreation? World champion shooter and Taurus Shooting Team Captain Jessie Harrison opens the discussion.

by the Shoot On staff

As most of us are quite aware, firearms sales have shattered all records over the past year. The reasons are many, but the phenomenon is largely due to more Americans realizing what most of us have always known and practiced—personal and family safety is ultimately our responsibility. When confronted with danger, we can only rely upon ourselves to keep us safe. Law enforcement is an after-incident response not a first line of defense in a crisis.

Sales of firearms have been through the proverbial roof over the last 12 months as of this writing. According to the FBI’s NICS (National Instant Criminal Background Check System) records, there were nearly 12 million background checks just for handgun transactions in 2020. Compare that to almost 7 million in 2019. Counting all firearms background checks, the NSSF (National Shooting Sports Foundation) estimates 2020 saw a 60 percent increase in guns sales over the previous year, with 40 percent of those sales to first-time gun owners and 40 percent of all sales credited to women buyers.

With such an infusion of new gun owners—which exponentially prompts friends and family members who are not gun owners to ask questions about firearms—we asked World Champion shooter and Taurus Shooting Team Captain Jessie Harrison to provide an introductory run-through of the handgun landscape for those who have recently purchased their first revolver or pistol and for those who are thinking about doing so.

Jessie’s presentation offers a terrific “first base” discussion of the different types of handguns, their levels of concealment for daily carry, ammunition, and the types of holsters to consider. While this may be familiar territory for most Shoot On readers, we ask you to share this article and video to help answer questions that your non-gun-owning friends and family members who are thinking about purchasing their first handgun may have.