Hand gun

[a warren]

Re: Hand gun

You people deserve a war

[a warren]

Re: Hand gun

On your home soil

[don]

Re: Hand gun

I ran this thread past an acquaintance of mine who makes his own ammo. Here are his comments (he says business is brisk)

40 S&W is a good choice except that ammo is expensive and hard to find. With a 357 magnum you can always find cheap 38 special ammo. The concept of try before your buy has a lot of merit. Before you buy a Glock be aware that it can't use reloads.

In fact if you plan on reloading or using reloads it's hard to beat a revolver. Revolvers don't eject the spent brass out onto the ground and they're much easier on brass so it's easier to reload it. There's also a possibility that someday automatics may become illegal due to legislation. I highly recommend a S&W 686 with a 4" barrel, the balance and feel are perfect. Once again, try it first. Should you get a 40 cal. get lots of ammo for it, ammo availability will be a serious problem. Commonly available cartridges are 22 LR, 38 special, 9mm luger, 45ACP. 22LR can be used in either a rifle or a pistol so it's a twofer, it's also cheaper and more compact.

Many experts recommend a 12 ga. shotgun. 12 ga. ammo is omnipresent and very versatile. A shotgun requires less skill and training than either a rifle or pistol. The bad part is 12 ga. ammo is heavy and bulky. Shotguns have a limited range but that can be a good thing if you're shooting indoors.

In any event it's almost impossible to find any firearms for sale due to heavy demand. The selection is rather limited. If you want something special it's 100% down and there's a wait.

Guns I don't recommend! 41 magnum, 44 magnum, 454 Casul, and 500 S&W. To powerful, to expensive, and two hard to find ammo.

Ammo is available online at Natchezss, Midwayusa, Sportsmansguide, Cheaperthandirt, etc. You may find that there's a wait due to back-ordering. Order a lot of ammo and be prepared to wait. You may be asked for a copy of your drivers license and a written statement that you can legally have ammo. How much ammo? How much can your afford. Consider it an investment, the price of ammo probably won't go down. Ammo has a long shelf life if stored in a cool dry place. So buy at least 500 rounds. More is better, you don't want to run out and you could always trade it for something else that you need. You never want to run out of ammo, matches, or toilet paper.

Storage, should you decide to bury it I suggest military surplus ammo cans, and medical chests for larger items. Ammo cans are also available at the other websites I mentioned. What single gun would I recommend? That's a tough one but you might want to look at a Mossberg JIC. It's a 12ga pump with an 18.5" barrel and a pistol grip, it comes in a watertight storage container. It looks like an over sized pistol and can be used indoors if necessary. It's stainless steel with marincote corrosion resistant finish. It's designed for survival kits, compact yet efficient and versatile.

Ammo Man

[BadJuju]

Re: Hand gun

In any event it's almost impossible to find any firearms for sale due to heavy demand. The selection is rather limited. If you want something special it's 100% down and there's a wait.



Ammo is available online at Natchezss, Midwayusa, Sportsmansguide, Cheaperthandirt, etc.


Ammo Man

I recommend Gunbroker.com for purchasing firearms, and Cabela's for purchasing ammunition. Great experiences with both! :cool:

[Andreuccio]

Re: Hand gun

You never want to run out of ammo, matches, or toilet paper.

Words of wisdom. I had my wife stock up on "feminine hygiene products", too. Don't much want to run out of those, either.

[sn1p3r]

Re: Hand gun

and they aren't bad for bandages either

[Andreuccio]

Re: Hand gun

On your home soil

That's why I love iTulip: the friendly repartee and accepting nature of all participants, no matter their viewpoint. Pleasure to have you here, a warren.

[cjppjc]

Re: Hand gun

ak47... the gun of choice for revolutionaries the world over. my gun's made in maine. so there.

I'm with you Metalman. Mine is also made in Maine, And makes a very load bang. Which is important as a deterent.

[Jay]

Re: Hand gun

Sorry to leave you guys hanging, I've been at the gun store. I appreciate the advice very much. I went with my neighbor and decided after reading this thread and taking his advice which was the same as the advice here, to wait a week or two. He has a large selection of guns and we are going to the range this week and next to sort out what I like best. Lucky for me he lives next door and "gets it."
I do have a shotgun and already know how to use it. I can fire a rifle fairly well too. This will be my first handgun and first time firing one. My wife also has been extremely cold to the idea until recently. For three years she thought I was crazy with itulip brainwashing, but with all the recent news she has come around. Someone siphoned the gas right out of our car in the street two nights ago. That was the last straw.

[metalman]

Re: Hand gun

You people deserve a war

that will cure us of gun lust, that's for certain. as i said, i don't like them. but it's a tragedy of the commons. if only criminals and guns nuts have guns, what are the rest of us supposed to do?

[BadJuju]

Re: Hand gun

that will cure us of gun lust, that's for certain. as i said, i don't like them. but it's a tragedy of the commons. if only criminals and guns nuts have guns, what are the rest of us supposed to do?

Do a barrel roll!

[strittmatter]

Re: Hand gun

You people deserve a war

and that conclusion being arrived at by the tone of this thread? all the criteria has been met?

No, I don't believe I do.

Good day.

[Andreuccio]

Re: Hand gun

that will cure us of gun lust, that's for certain. as i said, i don't like them. but it's a tragedy of the commons. if only criminals and guns nuts have guns, what are the rest of us supposed to do?

I personally never thought I would own one. I'd heard repeatedly that it's more likely someone will get hurt accidentally with a gun in the home than that you'll actually end up using it successfully in self-defense. I felt very uncomfortable, both physically and mentally, the first time I used one.

Still, the changing economic situation and the reality of where I live, (where I think many people are both criminals and gun nuts), forced me to reevaluate my position, buy a handgun, and learn how to use it. Becoming more comfortable with it through training has made me more, well, comfortable with it.

My enthusiasm in this thread is partly just a function of finally having a thread here I feel I can comment on with some intelligence. Just lurking is getting old. I went so long without a post, I actually had an automated message at the top of the page when I logged in a week or so ago inviting me to post a comment and suggesting I would find members of the iTulip community don't bite. (Maybe not, but a warren barked at me a bit. )

[Sharky]

Re: Hand gun

I'm no expert, but my instructor is. His take: while the larger caliber do have more stopping power, 90% of stopping power is shot placement, not round size. A well placed shot with a 9mm is plenty effective.

Your so-called "expert" sounds like they might be more of an accuracy-oriented expert than an expert in self defense.

The problem with that way of thinking is that 99% of the people who have a handgun for self defense are not going to be well-trained enough to shoot accurately under the stress of a real-life gunfight.

There's a reason why the military chose the .45: it's easier to learn to shoot well enough to stop someone.

I think a lot of 9mm gun owners have a TV/movie-driven fantasy that they will actually be able to use all of those rounds in their pistol in a real firefight. If you look at historical police records for firefights, you'll see that's just not the case. You'll be lucky to get off more than 2 or 3 rounds before the whole thing is over.

[Andreuccio]

Re: Hand gun

Your so-called "expert" sounds like they might be more of an accuracy-oriented expert than an expert in self defense.

Maybe. He does do competitive shooting. He's ex-special forces, though, too, so I know he has experience in real life situations, although perhaps not what one of us would be likely to face. His discussions with me have been focused on real life situations, and not so much competitions.

Also, just to be clear, he didn't recommend the 9mm. He went through advantages and disadvantages of each caliber. I focused on the advantages of the 9mm in my post only to contrast it with the disadvantages you and Clue pointed out.

He said his own personal carry weapons are 45's and 40's, and that right now he'd lean towards the 40 if he were to buy one. I chose the 9 on my own, due to a variety of reasons, perhaps good ones, perhaps not.

The problem with that way of thinking is that 99% of the people who have a handgun for self defense are not going to be well-trained enough to shoot accurately under the stress of a real-life gunfight.

Probably not. He did tell me, though, that of all his current and past clients, only two have had to use their guns, and both of them did pretty well. Maybe his advice is aimed specifically at clients, knowing they are committed to training to the point of proficiency. I think it would be crazy to get a gun and then not learn how to use it well. You're just asking for trouble. Maybe I won't make that 1% of people that you say are well enough trained to shoot accurately, but I'm sure going to try.

I think a lot of 9mm gun owners have a TV/movie-driven fantasy that they will actually be able to use all of those rounds in their pistol in a real firefight. If you look at historical police records for firefights, you'll see that's just not the case. You'll be lucky to get off more than 2 or 3 rounds before the whole thing is over.

That's probably fair. I'm sure there's some fantasy that went into my decision. Still, it'd be a drag to get into a situation where you need 8 or more rounds and find you only have 7, or 6. I did like the feel of the 45 caliber Glock. It's a really nice weapon.

An issue for me that maybe isn't so important for others is cost. 9mm rounds are just a lot cheaper than .40s, .45s, or .357s, at least where I've been buying them. I want to train a fair amount to increase my proficiency, but if I'm going to train a lot, I want to keep the cost to a minimum. If that weren't an issue I might have chosen a .40 or .45 instead. Also, if I bought a second handgun, I'd look seriously at one of those two.