First time buying a gun legally tips?

If you're over 18, you can probably shoot pistols at a shooting range. One that rents guns would be a good option- you will probably have to have someone 21 or older there to sign for the pistols, but that depends on the range.

Why am I suggesting this? Because the first thing you need to do is go take a firearms safety course that includes hands-on time at the range. Considering that you obviously don't know anything about guns (not an insult, simply an observation), you don't know what you want. I promise you that.

However, so long as you are over 18, you can buy any rifle or shotgun. After you take a firearms safety course, consider buying a .22LR rifle. .22LR is one of the least powerful firearms available, and it is also the cheapest to fire. One round of .22LR ammo costs about a nickel (yes, $0.05) while a round of 9mm can be anywhere from $0.25 on up. That means that you'll be able to practice shooting much more with the .22LR, since ammo is much cheaper.

There's another benefit to .22LR. It isn't as loud and has almost no recoil. That's good if you're a beginning shooter. You can focus on the proper procedure for shooting without the distractions of heavy recoil and loud noise... but you do still need hearing protection, even for a .22LR.

Now, one final word: a light gun will have more recoil. As a beginning shooter, you don't want a lightweight gun. The heavier the gun, the less recoil you will experience, given the same cartridge.

EDIT: Oh, and classes aren't usually necessary, depending on where you live. They're just a good idea. As for a permit, that will entirely depend on where you live. Some states require permits to purchase a gun, and some states don't.

Incidentally, a .22LR rifle, like I suggested, will be significantly less than $400. The most you'll pay for a basic one is $250, and you can get some for $150. That's yet another reason I suggest a .22LR- the gun is less expensive.

The Next Iconic Rifle of Russia?

There seems to be this trend in the community that AN-94 is for the pros and skilled, AEK-971 is for scrubs and is inaccurate at distance. And AK74M, oh well... nobody gives a damn about it at all...

But the fact is, AK74M is the main service rifle in Russia... not AN, so I couldn't resist but to do a little research.. :p

Project Abakan

The birth of these rifles dates back to 1980s, when Soviet realized the newly adopted AK74, although improved in recoil over AKM, still lacked accuracy at long burst and full auto, which had been proven in the 1979 Afghanistan War where troops had to fire quick while moving against guerrillas.

So they demanded a new standard rifle that is more accurate, but still reliable as AK74. A contest called Project Abakan was then held. The rifles that made it to the finals included the prototypes of AN-94, AEK-971.

The result, AEK prototype didn't stand out, and AN was picked as the winner for its single shot accuracy. But instead of making it the new standard, the Russian decided that AK74M would be what soldiers have in their hands.