Poll: Where do you buy your guns?

I am looking to purchase a gun soon and was wondering what is the most common place a gun is purchased. This will be my first gun purchase, so if you have any tips that you learned when you purchased your first gun it would help me out a lot.

Since you're a noob, I'd suggest going to several local gun shops and finding one that you're comfortable with.

Definitely go to a shop to handle a few to see what feels best. Do your research, decide which caliber, and so on... Then start your online search! They tend to be much cheaper online, even after shipping and the $20-40 FFL fee. Usually there isn't tax either. A few good places is Buds Gun Shop, KYGunCo, Palmetto State Amory. There are great deals all the time, just gotta search for them. Gun shows are usually just to look at guns for me, they are insanely over priced.

I prefer buying mine from unscrupulous people in the hood and/or Russian arms dealers.

Since you're on SD and have good odds of getting a better deal on a gun than many other people do, if you don't live in a commie state, it's generally not hard to sell a gun and lose little or even nothing on it after using it for a while as long as you keep it in good shape. Something to keep in mind since your first gun may be more of a "now I know what kind of gun I REALLY want when I buy my next one" gun.

A lot comes down to figuring out what you want. What caliber? Is price of ammo a big factor? Do you live in a limited-capacity commie state and can only have 10 rounds? If it may be used for home defense, making sure it has an accessory rail can be important. etc.

You really need to at least pick some up and hold them. While small ones may be cute and maybe feel ninja-y or something, the smaller and lighter generally the harsher the recoil and generally the less reliable/more wear and tear. (Mainly talking about the small conceal-carry guns there, not typical "compacts".)

While thinner guns like a typical 1911 can feel good in my hand just holding them, they are less controllable when actually shooting them. ymmv. 1911 isn't a good first gun anyway.

Figure out what the main use for the gun is, what caliber you prefer, and narrow it down from there. And then hold some of those at a local place and narrow it down further.

I also wouldn't forget to look at warranties. For instance, Beretta warranties are lame compared to various other companies. While some people may not consider a better warranty a big deal on a gun, if you are down to a couple choices and one gun has a lifetime warranty and one has a 3-year warranty, that's probably going to help sway the decision.

As for price, it'd be hard to find better prices than what is available on the net. Not always, but generally. Especially if you don't mind waiting for the right sale to come along.