Last month an article by this name was published by a fellow firearms trainer writing for PJ Media, and some of his questions are pretty good, like this one:

Are you ready for the responsibility of owning a firearm?

However, the first, and most important question for anyone before they get a gun should be: Have you had any training? 

You won’t understand if you are ready for the responsibility of owning a firearm, or what kind of firearm is best for your needs without it.

Get competent training before you buy a gun. 90% of the people that come to me for training with a new gun leave wishing they had bought something different. They could have easily saved more than the training time cost by coming and learning what works best for them in the context of what they want it for before they buy.

His suggestion about where to find good advice about what to buy; “ask your local gun store” is the last place I would suggest you go (unless of course, the dealer is willing to tell the person to go to a defensive firearms instructor for help first). 

Uneducated, and untrained people should not be asked: “do you want to carry a revolver or a semi-automatic pistol?” – they should be trained and educated by a competent instructor that can help them figure that out – so they can pick the best gun for their specific needs and abilities.

We have lots of guns you can try, and lots of experience helping new shooters (men and women) figure out what they need.