6th Street

It is my opinion that I would take them to a shooting range and either pay or ask a bubba to check them out. Know any ex military who carried side arms? Trust your local sheriff? Call me cautious but I would have them taken apart and cleaned by somebody who is use to doing it. Living in greater Cut and Shoot, I know a lot of folks who would do it for the fun of it- including myself. Unless you live somewhere like Chicago or New York City, I know of no reason to register those particular guns.

You in Houston Coach? I'll give them a once over for you if so.

You don't have to register them.

The 357 & the 38 are most likely revolvers (six shooters, so to speak) and they can be a lot of fun to shoot, plus have for home defense.

I'd be interested in what brands they are (Ruger, S&W,etc) and maybe we can give you some more input on them. For example, if the 357 is a Ruger, and if has been at your grandmothers a while, it's possible it could be a 3 screw Old Model Blackhawk & those are increasingly getting harder to find these days.
They don't have to be registered though.

I'm in the market for a pistol or two or three. Based on the advise to date; I'm leaning toward a 9 mm Glock. Any other advise.

Are you an experienced shooter? If not you might consider a DA/SA pistol with an external safety. It's just one more mechanical feature to help you keep from shooting yourself. Of course, any safety mechanism is only as good as the person using the weapon. Glocks are relatively free of accidental discharge incidents (as in the weapon fired without the shooter having a finger on the trigger). But still, that extra step of disengaging the safety tends to make folks slow down just a tad before squeezing the trigger.

Glocks are fine handguns. I've owned a couple and like them just fine. But there are a number of other very find handguns on the market. My recommendation to folks looking at handguns is to go to a range that rents guns and try several of them. They all have a different feel in the hand and what works great for one person, might not work worth a darn for another.

And the 9x19 cartridge is a relatively inexpensive and quite capable cartridge.

Thanks. I'm not experienced with hand guns, but I'm not a novice. I'm not going to shoot myself. I probably should go out and shoot a couple pistols and find the one that is most comfortable.

My "shoot yourself" comment wasn't really directed at you and certainly wasn't meant to be offensive. It was meant more in a general sense with respect to inexperienced shooters. I've seen guys that considered themselves experienced accidentally discharge a weapon into the side of their leg/foot/buttocks. Happens a lot (surprisingly). Folks that lose respect for a weapon or become complacent tend to have bad results. I'm always amazed at the poor weapon handling and muzzle discipline I see from some people (again, not directed at you...just general commentary).

I would suggest the Glock 19. Its a small enough weapon that it [b[can[/b] be concealed, yet large enough that it is easy to handle. The 17 is a really nice shooting weapon but is fairly large.

I missed the point about home defense. I have a 410 pump shootgun that would be my weapon of choice should someone break in. I have 4 pistols and shoot with some regularity, but I know how nervous one might be if there is a home invasion. The sound of the putting a shell in a pump usually will get the person the heck out of there (I am told) plus you do not have to be that good of shoot. Above all DO NOT HAVE A GUN unless you have no doubt that you will use it. The 410 my wife can shoot without too much kick back. I use a 12 gauge when I hunt but I have shot 410s all my life and trust their stopping power [others may say you need more stopping power-the same guys in most instances who think my 38 super or a 40 is too light.]

Again Champkind knows a lot about guns so respect what he tells you. I am telling you what I have. Now my friend Riley has a couple of assault rifles, but he was a snipper.

Get a 10 1/2" Noveske in 300 blackout. Add a surefire on the side rail and an aimpoint H1 mounted high enough so that you get a 1/3 co witness.

I don't think they will ship an SBR without a stamp.