Firearms instructor, local retailer outline how to choose a gun, store it and consider nonlethal options

Handy Pridemore, host of the recorded program “How Safe Are You?,” moderated a segment in which a manager of the Indian Hills Shooting Club and staff from Vance Outdoors advised viewers on choosing firearms for home defense, nonlethal alternatives and options for secure storage.

The manager of the Indian Hills Shooting Club (name not specified), a certified firearms instructor, said the primary consideration when buying a firearm is intended use — for example, home defense or concealed carry — and recommended trying guns at a range to ensure a proper fit. “You fall to the level of your training,” the instructor said, urging viewers to get formal training before relying on a firearm.

The program compared three broad firearm types: semi-automatic pistols, revolvers and short-barreled shotguns. The instructor identified a striker-fired semi-automatic pistol (the episode named a P320 as an example) as having advantages for many users because of higher magazine capacity and a quicker trigger,…