Setup Saturday: What Equipment Do You Need To Start Shooting?

When I first started figuring out the types of posts that I wanted to do weekly, an equipment series was defiantly one of the first that came to mind. One of the biggest things that new shooters deal with when they first start training is what equipment they need. It can be completely overwhelming looking at a 24 foot wall of handguns, or holsters, or whatever. The choice and variety is both a blessing and a curse of the industry. I figured who better to help me with this than the person that has helped guide me through the maze of available gear. Thankfully he agreed so I would like to introduce you to one of my friends, and one of the best shooters that I have the pleasure of knowing, Travis Glinski.

Every week he will cover the essential gear that every shooter should have. From every day carry (EDC) to advanced training Travis has the knowledge and experience to help us all make sense of all He has decided that he would like to call this series “Building the Modern Minute Man”.the options. Enjoy this first installment below.

Gear, we love it, we crave it, we flex on instagram with it, but are you buying the right gear for you? Or are you buying it because your favorite online operator is being paid to sell it to you? It is easy to get deep in the weeds on gear and they only get thicker the further down you go. So why not start at the top and cover the absolute basics for everyone, beginner or seasoned this should be the bare minimum for the prepared individual.

Before we get into gear, there is a disclaimer. No amount of widgets, gadgets, optics, or money can ever buy you skill. That is earned under the watchful eye of a competent instructor. If you are new, that’s fine, this will get you the basic equipment needed to get started. However, after you’re started, instead of buying another wackmaster 4000 or phased plasma rifle in the 40 watt range, go get training to use what you have.

With my infomercial done we can truly begin. I figured we could start at what seems most logical, the gun. I mean, that’s why we all got here, right? Hopefully this will not only provide you with what to get but why to get it, I always feel that understanding why a purchase is being made can help me wrestle with the age old quantity vs quality problem. Buy the right thing and buy it once, do that and I promise you, I will have saved you so much wasted money.

So, where were we? Ah, yes, blasters. Its funny because when I started getting into guns there were like six options, now, you can get a single stacked pocket glock, or a modular sig p320 and anything in between. It is a blessing and a curse. The good news is new gun owners have so many options to find the right gun, the downside is there are SO many options, how could we possibly ever narrow it down? Easy, for absolutely everyone I recommend any companies version of the glock 19, everyone makes one. Whether its the sig 320, m&p 2.0c, canik tp9 sf elite, walther pdp, hk vp9, cz p10c, it doesn’t matter, just get that companies version of the glock 19.

They typically have a 4 to a 4.5 inch barrel, striker fired, polymer frame, and a magazine that holds 15 rounds and its chambered in 9mm. It is the perfect sized gun, it is small enough to carry but big enough to fight with. Of course, Im going to suggest you just get the original, the og, the one and only Glock 19.

Most people will buy everything before they buy a Glock, “its ugly”, “I don’t like Glocks”, “Glocks are plastic junk”, Ive heard it all and its all nonsense and excuses.

All the guns Ive listed are competitively priced so they all win there, what aren’t competitively priced are magazines, sig costs $50, cz is about $30-$40, s&w is in the $35 range, but glocks, $15 on sale $20 normally. Any company that makes a holster makes it for a glock 19, need a spare part because you dropped it, or lost it? They’re everywhere and they’re cheap. The cost of ownership is the lowest with a glock 19 and if after 40 years people are still trying to beat it, its a logical place to start.

~Travis Glinski~

Hopefully this post will help you if you are just starting out as a shooter or even have some experience but looking to add to your gear. Having the right equipment is the first step.