You need to put more info in there are too many variables.

male/female - age - size - location - end use for firearms which are tools, think.. roofing hammer vs cabinetry finishing hammer or cobblers hammer.

Now that being said, if you have no experience;
air rifle/ hand gun
.22 cal rifle / hand gun

who... these can be used anywhere, cheap ammo, cheap to practice with, will be useful at any time in the future, quiet and some are just fun to play with.

I suggest you wade through the endless reams of pages on the different aspects already posted by others for firearms. Remember it becomes a heated debate sometimes. So wade through the BS.. search the nuggets of meat in the gravy of info. Since I was a kid, I was always told by many many experts along with Military training;
pellet
bb
.22 cal
(not bb and pellet are also in .177 and .22 cal) as common sizes

Next look at what you want;
Main battle rifle
sports
combat shooting IPSC - PPC
hunting
etc etc

terrain, type of coverage, what is your ability, your size, resistance and aptitude, so many factors.
shoot in bush only, long open spaces like the prairies (yup.. bush there too)
do you want a round with a flat trajectory or a high arc, how about a low arc of travel.

go to the local gun/rifle range, sports club and learn from there, but it all starts after you learn the proper use, handling, control and storage of any firearm, rifle, shotgun, hand gun, archery equipment, sling shot, etc.

so good luck and post more info there, or request clarifying info, that is best as well. Cheers ~Wild_E

Do you have any shooting experience?

If not, I'd suggest a bolt action .22. Learn the fundamentals of shooting before bumping up to a bigger caliber. With a .22, you can put lots of lead downrange cause ammo is cheap. And there is no real kick, so you can focus on technique without picking up a bad flinching habit. Bolt action, because it slows you down so you think about each shot - it's hard to resist the temptation of emptying a mag with a semi-auto.

If you have some experience, what Wild_e said.

Start off the young'uns with air guns.
For the more mature .22 is the best way to learn without picking up some bad habits (like recoil flinch) , get a ton of affordable practice in, and still have something useful to keep for many years afterwards.
A lot of guys are going to tell you to get a 10/22 semi-auto but I think a bolt action with a removable magazine is your best learning tool. Savage has their accu-trigger option from the factory. Hard to beat for an out of the box rifle.

Handgun go .22 for sure till you get used to the bang and handling.. Browning Buckmark or Ruger.

This is one of those topics where you are going to get a ton of different opinions, but ultimately you need to fire a bunch of different guns, and find out what you prefer.

Caliber is going to be the biggest choice you make in either gun.
For caliber I like Remington .223/NATO 5.56 rounds. They are a more or less interchangeable round, 5.56 is used by NATO still, and up until recently surplus could be found for a reasonable price. Some rifles are better suited to interchanging rounds than others.
More info on the interchangeability of NATO 5.56 and Rem .223 here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.223_Remington#.223_Remington_versus_5.56_mm_NATO
I also like that the rounds pack enough punch to take down larger game, but you can carry more rounds vs weight to the more common NATO 7.62x51mm, 7.62x39mm, or .308 rounds.
That being said, you can shoot 7.62x__mm for cheap, as there tends to be a lot of it available in surplus stores.

For handguns, your ability to control the recoil is going to determine the caliber of round you can/want to go with.
They are very limited range, and so going with a larger round may not always be beneficial, you can generally fore more small rounds accurately.
22LR, 9mm .38 special, and .45acp are probably going to be the most common and cheapest ammo to shoot.
Handgun construction is going to be very important. There are many guns that use aluminum and polymer, that are light weight, and great to shoot, but less durable.
All-steel handguns are heavier, but have the added durability of being able to shoot carbine rounds, which make target practice much cheaper.

Whatever you choose to go with, go to the gun club, and Practice what you Preach.

If you dont already have it, I would recommend registering for your PAL and RPAL Firearms license. go for the 2 day course as you get more hands on time with several different models of firearms, and all different loading mechanisms and calibers. You do not get to shoot the firearms, but you do get to practice loading and unloading them with dummy rounds, which lets you get a feel for how they feel and operate in your hands. This will give you an idea of what path you would feel more comfortable going down.

Alot of people seem to think "oh I need semi auto or pump action because thats what everyone else says" and sure... it makes alot of sense. BUT LEARN THAT FOR YOURSELF FIRST! You never know what style will strike your fancy. Then when you get your license, find an inexpensive, well made rifle or pistol in the style and caliber of your choosing. Then shoot it. then shoot it some more. then shoot till it breaks. then buy a good one.

Wondering what anyone could suggest for a first gun rifle and handgun

Yeah, as mentioned above, this is a real can of worms, everybody will chime in with their personal favourite or derigeur bang stick.

First you need to think about a few factors.

1). What do you want the gun for? What will you use it for should the S ever hit the F?

2). Who will be using the gun? You? Your significant other? Your Children? Your Grandma?

3). How much are you willing to invest in the effort of the purchase and training to use the gun?

4). What is your budget?

5). What jurisdiction do you live in?

You have to answer these questions and a few more you'll come up with specific to your situation, before you actually take the steps to get licensed, shop for and purchase a gun.

Purchasing a firearm should never be easy (except for the actual purchase), you have to put a bit of work into finding the right gun(s) for you. If you don't, you can just give me your money for all the good it'll do you. The effort you put into the selection, purchase and training will be reflected back one for one. If you put nothing into it, you'll get nothing back. You put ten percent into it you'll get ten percent back, etc...

-S.

I'm wanting to get a rifle for close combat but also and field stuff I might need to do as well as a secondary handgun
I do have shooting experience with 30 30, 306, etc and but I'm wanting something that the whole family can use when old enough my wife is doing her restricted and non so I have looked into ar15, cx4 storm for a rifle and colt 1911 sidearm or block 17
I'm also going to bed signing us both up for training with both combat and cqb and budget is about 5000 to 8000 but that is for 4 fire arms if possible 2 rifles and 2 handguns
I also live in Alberta Canada
Also my wife is in mid 30 s and so am I
We would also like something that if need be could us at night and hip unit if we need to
Sorry to go on any advice is great
Thanks
Duff

That doesn't sound much like the question in the first post.
All handgun and CQB stuff is a great idea but not for a beginner. You really do need to learn to shoot first. In advanced training you'll hear the term "shot placement" often.

Oh I'm not a beginner I've fired a few shots lol but just not sure which I should buy

Oh I'm not a beginner I've fired a few shots lol but just not sure which I should buy

I think he's trying to get at the fact that CQB is the most dangerous form of gun fighting on the planet. The skill sets necessary to successfully conduct CQB are many, varied and must be executed with a very high degree of competence and confidence.

There are Instructors who will teach civilians how to run CQB (I am one of them), there are competitions for it now. However, any Instructor worth his salt will also expect four things. First they will require a recent criminal background check. Next up they will want you to have a valid R/PAL for the firearms you will use for the course. Third they will want to meet you in person before the course and lastly they will demand a proficiency test for manual at arms, handling and shooting. Training for CQB can be as dangerous as the actual fight itself. They may also counsel you on the correct equipment to use and will instruct you on its proper use during the course.

Now on to the original topic.

Since you have filled in a few of the blanks for me I can begin to talk to you about firearms choice. I will give you an overview of the ones I believe to be most suitable for your requirements and then give a quick run down on what I have and why.

Let's start with the pistols, hmm?

1911:
The 1911 in its service iteration is a reliable, accurate and rugged firearm designed from the beginning as a fighting pistol, which lends itself nicely to competition and instruction. Many will decry the 1911 as touchy or sensitive, but I have only witnessed this in 1911s tweaked for high end competition where the pistol will never be introduced to a severe environment. Having said this, I can also assure you that the 1911 is often considered a "professional's pistol" in that while it is capable of very much, it requires a lot of dedication to realize what this pistol can really be used for. I would advise you to make this a pistol to be purchased after you have a few thousand rounds down the pipe from another, easier to use/learn type.

Glock 17:
Perhaps the most common pistol on the market today, the Glock Safe Action Pistols are very reliable, rugged and accurate. They are a polymer frame and a metal slide with the majority of the internal workings being metal as well. The manual at arms is very simple and straightforward, take down is also a simple thing once you get the hang of it, just be sure to triple check the chamber before you field strip it. It has been selected by the MOD to replace the L9 pistols currently in service. To this end I fully expect the old guard to have a rash of NDs with this pistol for the first few years as they default to the L9 take down procedure out of instinct. I expect to see almost no NDs from the people who cut their teeth on the Glock. Be warned that the grip on most Glocks is blocky and may prove a hindrance to some. Keep this in mind when you try it on for size, if it isn't comfortable, it won't be used for practice and that means you won't be proficient should you ever need to use it. The price is right and the pistol has proven itself in many different environments as well as having a very high parts commonality. Perhaps even as high as the 1911. Another advantage is that the Glock 17 fires the ubiquitous 9 x 19mm NATO round, the most common combat pistol round on the face of the Earth today.

Sig P226/L105:
An old friend of mine, the L105 is a solid fighting pistol with outstanding accuracy, speed into action, reliability, ruggedness and an innate ability to reliably feed more types of 9 x 19mm NATO cartridge than any other pistol on the planet. It has been put through hell hundreds of times and has still worked for its operator. This pistol is the choice of numerous NATO Special Forces units for good reason. The learning curve can be steep for accurate placement of the first shot, but with proper instruction accuracy follows very quickly. Take down on the Sig P2XX series is very straightforward, fast and simple. As with the Glock, the grip can be problematic for some, but Sig has brought out a new "E-2" ergonomic line that mitigates the problem quite a lot.

S&W M&P9:
The S&W M&P9 is a bit of a surprise in the gun industry, lending itself very readily to rugged use, accuracy and simplicity. The manual at arms is similar to the Glock 17 but at a slightly better price (for now). The M&P9 can be had in a Range package including three mags, a kydex holster and a magazine loader tool for those who are still new to the whole thing. It has often been said that the M&P series was made for people who hated Glocks, but wanted one. They share a large number of common traits, such as enclosed striker firing mechanisms, polymer frame and safe action design. And I specify 9 x 19mm NATO again, because of round commonality.

Now for the rifles...

AR-15:
This is perhaps the premier fighting/competition/hunting rifle on the market today. It's early history was quite suspect with numerous reports of troops dying due to this rifle's shortcomings. However in the 40 years since these problems have been addressed and in some models eliminated entirely. The AR-15's current claim to fame is based upon its accuracy, speed into action, reliability, versatility and ergonomics. I have used this rifle (L119) in many terrible places in the world and have not been disappointed, of course I have experience with the first L85s... but that's another story. The rifle is very easy to operate once you have a quick tour of the controls and proficiency comes pretty fast with dedicated, intelligent and diligent practice. The one big drawback is that it is so easy to add things to this rifle that you can treble the price of the rifle and double the weight and may not really gain any benefit from any of the crap you added to it, so be warned, the more you can add, the more you have to think and research. When I say accurate, I mean I can ring a 20" gong at 500m 8 times out of ten in prone with a one power red dot optic and a 12.5"bbl. Give me 3 power magnifier and I'll ring the gong all day. A big selling point for this rifle is that when chambered in 5.56N or .223 Wylde you can interchange .223 and 5.56N with no reduction in the chamber life. So in times of trouble, you will be able to tap into the military supply line with a minimal amount of compatibility issues.

CZ-858/VZ-58:
As a prepper I would recommend that you also look at this family of rifles as they are very common in Canada, are easy to use and maintain and fire the 7.62 x 39Bloc round, making it an effective hunting round for medium game. The CZ/VZ group has seen an up shoot in popularity as a wide variety of accessories and adapters have become available, making it almost as versatile as the AR15 in the tactical arena. It can most commonly be found chambered in 7.62 x 39Bloc, but CSA has an offering in .223 now as well. The same caveat for the AR-15 applies here as far as accessories on the rifle goes. The manual at arms is not as streamlined as the AR-15, but it can be fairly fast as long as you are diligent in its practice. One thing about the 7.62 x 39Bloc round is that it doesn't have as flat or as stable a ballistic path as the .223/5.56N round and is often seen as having a maximum range of 300-350m depending upon barrel length and operating system. The CZ/VZ has a piston operating system similar to the extremely rugged AK series of rifles, but through engineering and manufacturing controls cannot be readily converted to fully automatic. I know a Czech Paratrooper (don't ask) who prefers the VZ-58s over the AKMRs the CCCP offered for accuracy and reliability. I really didn't mind either example.

CX4:
As it is a pistol cartridge carbine it will give you enhanced performance from a pistol round and may be good for commonality, but that performance will still be far short of that found in a rifle cartridge. I would recommend that you do not plan to purchase a CX-4 Carbine as it will not fulfil the role you would be asking of it.

My set up:

Sig P220SAO:
I selected the P220SAO as it shares all the positive aspects of the Sig P2XX family and the 1911 family. I have a Streamlight TLR-2 on the front zeroed for 5m. Remember, in lo/no light fighting two torches is one, one is none. That's why I carry three to four!

PWS Mk112:
An AR-15 variant that uses a piston operating system that is a faithful replica of the AK system, I get the advantages of the AR and the AK all in one package.

DD Mk18 Mod1:
I am not a snob of particular firearms and will happily run anything that works, the DD Mk18 Mod1 works. It is still new in my inventory and there is some work to be done to break it in and set it up as a CQB/Instruction rifle.

So there we go, I'd say sorry for the long post, but I'm not. If you are going to make an informed decision, take what I have shared here and use it as a basis to develop your purchase plan further.

-S.

Maple leaf
Thank you for all the info as well as everyone else I'm gonna have to look into this more before deciding

Thanks for all the info Maple Leaf. I hope to see you at the next S.Alberta meet in Calgary!

I want to come to the next meeting how do it guys lol

I would say for a rifle to get a sks because they are cheap and ammo is cheap. If you can afford a CZ858 non restricted, then get that because it uses the same cheap ammo, but a lighter and more accurate gun with detachable mags. For close quarters, a 12 gauge shotgun is better though, and more versatile for hunting. You also can't go wrong with a ruger 10/22 if you want to shoot alot because .22lr is dirt cheap compared to other ammo.

Pistol....a 9mm CZ is a great gun for the money, but again...if you want to shoot alot, then a 22lr pistol is best, like a ruger or broening.