Guns, guns, guns!

Fixing and making things, what tools to get and what skills to learn, ...
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Bankai
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Re: Guns, guns, guns!

Post by Bankai »

Does this newly re-discovered interest have anything to do with the current pandemics? Is the expectation that things will get much worse and a sword might be insufficient for self-defense?

If the main driver is to engage in competition and cost is an issue/doesn't align with the web of goals approach, there are plenty of competitions humans engage in that have the potential to make money. Trading and poker come to mind (both have the potential to generate millions at the top level) or games in general. Another consideration would be to choose a discipline where a person doesn't automatically get worse with the passage of time. I admit I don't know much about the shooting but I'd imagine it only gets more difficult with time as hands get shaky as eyes are not the same.

However, I also imagine shooting is quite exhilarating so the adrenaline factor might be worth some small monetary cost. I'd probably get into it myself if it wasn't so expensive and there weren't so many bureaucratic obstacles.

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Sclass
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Re: Guns, guns, guns!

Post by Sclass »

Gunsmithing is fun. I’ve really had fun smoothing the trigger in one of the pistols I’m using for pandemic protection. It was really crusty and chattery as it released. I disassembled the trigger and hammer mechanism and polished the mating surfaces with wet dry sandpaper and finished with some Flitz. It went from this grooved thing to a mirror. It breaks like an Olympic rifle now. This kind of modification can be cheaply done and it really improves the weapon’s performance. I spared you guys the how to pictorial.

Shooting can be expensive or cheap. Over recent years I’ve primarily shot a .22 Benjamin Marauder air gun. Though it cost me $450 initially, the pellets are nearly free and it charges with a hand pump. No cleaning. Silenced so I can shoot in the backyard undetected. No cleaning required. Basically free. The entertaining part was tuning the gun. It has half a dozen adjustments to optimize it for either accuracy, efficiency, stealth, power etc. There are field target competitions for air rifle people that are cheap to enter but I haven’t done it. Overall I’ve shot this gun more than any other I’ve owned because of its nature. I’ve also taken more game with it than any other because of its nature. The silencer allows a second or sometimes a third shot on game if you miss.

The efficacy of my Benjamin Marauder pretty much made me move away from firearms ten years ago. I literally locked up all my firearms with the family collection and forgot about them. Mostly the hassle of having to leave city limits, cleaning, expense etc. made me forget using firearms.

I say again, if you want to do it do it. Chicago is free enough to indulge a bit in the hobby. I have a friend from Japan who insists on shooting my air rifle every time she visits us. She thinks CA is gun freedom paradise :lol: because she can actually shoot a gun at all not to mention in our yard.

If you’re worried about money you can get a used gun and sell it back to the shop when done. If the gun is screwed up by the prior owner you’ll learn some gunsmithing. Buy the appropriate tool for the job you want to do and then do it. Have an exit plan.

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fiby41
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Re: Guns, guns, guns!

Post by fiby41 »

Depending on how different are the gun ownership laws from your country of birth you could consider the sport decision as a side effect of the decision of making present country as your home country.

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Alphaville
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Re: Guns, guns, guns!

Post by Alphaville »

Sclass wrote:
Fri Apr 10, 2020 9:27 am
Over recent years I’ve primarily shot a .22 Benjamin Marauder air gun. Though it cost me $450 initially, the pellets are nearly free and it charges with a hand pump. No cleaning. Silenced so I can shoot in the backyard undetected. No cleaning required. Basically free. The entertaining part was tuning the gun. It has half a dozen adjustments to optimize it for either accuracy, efficiency, stealth, power etc. There are field target competitions for air rifle people that are cheap to enter but I haven’t done it. Overall I’ve shot this gun more than any other I’ve owned because of its nature. I’ve also taken more game with it than any other because of its nature. The silencer allows a second or sometimes a third shot on game if you miss.
this actually sounds super-appealing, and if/when i go back to the boonies where it's a required tool i might look into one of these. likely worth the savings in earplugs alone.

here in the city i'll pass because it's possible i'd be too tempted to snipe annoying people in the street. :lol:

ZAFCorrection
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Re: Guns, guns, guns!

Post by ZAFCorrection »

Guns are useful for killing things, or at least having the optionality to kill things. The options for utilizing them are killing things, preparing to kill things, or getting ego gratification related to being able to kill things effectively. If competition gets you going, web of goals demands that the skill it fosters also be applicable to a necessary case of killing things.

HalfCent
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Re: Guns, guns, guns!

Post by HalfCent »

If one would rather not own guns but it is considering long-range urban homestead defense, what do you recommend? Bow & arrow or crossbow?

take2
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Re: Guns, guns, guns!

Post by take2 »

HalfCent wrote:
Sat Apr 11, 2020 10:46 am
If one would rather not own guns but it is considering long-range urban homestead defense, what do you recommend? Bow & arrow or crossbow?
I’m not sure if this is intended to be a joke or not but I found it hilarious. Long-range urban defense evokes imagery of defending a middle age era siege on a communist era building. Great concept.

sid3
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Re: Guns, guns, guns!

Post by sid3 »

Ya know, sometimes it just feels good to exercise a right.

HalfCent
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Re: Guns, guns, guns!

Post by HalfCent »

I’m not sure if this is intended to be a joke or not but I found it hilarious. Long-range urban defense evokes imagery of defending a middle age era siege on a communist era building. Great concept.
Don't all gun conversations evoke this imagery?

HalfCent
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Re: Guns, guns, guns!

Post by HalfCent »

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Last edited by HalfCent on Wed Apr 22, 2020 12:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Sclass
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Re: Guns, guns, guns!

Post by Sclass »

sid3 wrote:
Sun Apr 12, 2020 10:09 am
Ya know, sometimes it just feels good to exercise a right.
I’d say if you have the itch and you live in the US, go ahead and try it out. When I talk to my friends in Asia and Europe they think we are really lucky to have this opportunity to own firearms here. (I avoid the words right or privilege purposely). I’m all about optionality. We have a unique situation in the US. They always comment on how lucky we are.

In grad school I introduced a bunch of my foreign student classmates into shooting. I took them out once and the first question they asked was, “can I get one?” At the time they were allowed to purchase using their visas. I suspect the laws have since changed. They were really jazzed coming from places where guns were only for military and police. Kind of like fiby41 says. It was the equivalent of moving from an Puritan colony to a free love commune. They just went hog wild. The guys have since settled in the states and we still joke about how I got them into the hobby.
HalfCent wrote:
Sun Apr 12, 2020 10:52 am
But it was something of a question. A very disturbing pattern is "friends" "joking" that they are going to use their gun and come take my food when SHTF. So another "friend" said I needed long-range protection.

WTF is wrong with people.
A lot of lessons in this pandemic. One is not to tell anyone what you are planning. My friends I discussed preps with just got mad at me after initially laughing in January. (Thanks to @Ego for his prescient Coronavirus posts).

sid3
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Re: Guns, guns, guns!

Post by sid3 »

One is not to tell anyone what you are planning.
Or, in some cases, tell of what others are planning for you. I received a minor scolding for this.

HalfCent
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Re: Guns, guns, guns!

Post by HalfCent »

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Last edited by HalfCent on Wed Apr 22, 2020 12:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Sclass
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Re: Guns, guns, guns!

Post by Sclass »

HalfCent wrote:
Sun Apr 12, 2020 6:00 pm
IMHO the real lesson is to believe people when they show you who they are, and these people are not, it turns out, my friends.
Terrible. I’ve had a lot of friendships blow up over things like this. Retiring early torpedoed a lot of friendships I valued. Sad a pantry full of food does this too. Two weeks of food sounds sensible to me.

My pal who was most insulting about getting my Covid 19 prep together was also a big downer when it came to my early retirement plans. There are some parallels. If I recall right in both cases he said, “that’ll never work.” I didn’t listen and I think that has hurt the relationship even more. The proof of his failure staring him in the face is like salt on the wound.

Better to figure this out soon and at low cost to you.

HalfCent
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Re: Guns, guns, guns!

Post by HalfCent »

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Mister Imperceptible
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Re: Guns, guns, guns!

Post by Mister Imperceptible »

If I can make the assumption that “post-COVID-19 bids that I might seriously have to defend myself as social order breaks down further.”

You already know about Glocks. I have a few, each chambered in a different caliber. I would say to get a double stack in 9mm or 45ACP.

There were some rumblings in the US military about going back to 45ACP when they floated the Joint Combat Pistol competition and some cool pistols came out even tho the competition was scraped. A lot of people love HK and Sig Sauer but the latter has had quality control issues and the former only holds 10 rounds. I have an FNX-45 Tactical. It has an ambidextrous safety/decocker which makes it more comfortable to have around the house/bedside than a Glock, which I use for carry. Double stack 45 feels great in the hand and 15 rounds of 45ACP make it feel like the grandson of two old John Moses Browning designs, the Government 1911 and the Browning Hi Power. I wanted a 1911 but I could not bring myself to drop that kind of money on a heavy low-capacity pistol, but since you are in IL and are limited to 10 rounds(?) maybe think about a 1911 or a Glock30. Seems silly to get a 9mm pistol but be limited to 10 rounds.

Owning an AR-15 does not make you a bad person.

I think a short barreled shotgun is a good option for home defense. I have one. Since you are capacity limited maybe splurge on a Benelli M4 instead of an AR-15....I did. :P

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kTfOPCRC4EI

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Sclass
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Re: Guns, guns, guns!

Post by Sclass »

I envy you. Out in CA we cannot get a double stack Glock that holds more than ten in the magazine. This kind of defeats the beefy handles on the 17 and 19. And worse, I cannot get a single stack Glock because they are not on the California roster of safety approved handguns. I think I won’t be owning a Glock in this life. I was intrigued after reading the book Glock by Paul Barrett.

I snuck up to LA (an hour ride from my home in Orange County) to check some stuff at my place there. Somebody dumped trash on my lawn according to the neighbors so I broke quarantine to clean up. No blockades. Just clear highway on a weekday afternoon which was unbelievable.

I slipped into my dad’s gun room and got a shotgun and pistol. I didn’t really need them but I figured heck if I’m there might as well. Got some boxes of buckshot from the ammo case.

Dad had three of these in a drawer. Why so many? I have no clue but he had a thing for them. This isn’t mine but it looks just like it. Beretta .22. Cigarette box sized pea shooter. It looked fun so I grabbed one. Easy to carry when I go to Whole Foods and get in a fight over organic kale. Has about same ballistic performance as throwing sand in the eyes.

Image

The shotgun is a Winchester 1300 defender. Like this one but all black. Short polymer stock. 8 shot capacity/18” barrel. I felt like I needed this after I heard the gun being commonly bought this month in LA was a 12 ga pump shotgun. Panic is contagious. I really like the Defender over the Mossberg and Remington 870 because it’s lighter and skinnier. I mounted a light on it using a bike light adapter. :lol:

Image

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jennypenny
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Re: Guns, guns, guns!

Post by jennypenny »

I like that Winchester but it isn't as good of a visual deterrent as some of the Mossbergs (if you just want to give someone the 'move along' message). I suppose you could put some tacticool gear on it to make it look more menacing. Or a laser ... that red dot can be quite the deterrent. ;)

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Mister Imperceptible
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Re: Guns, guns, guns!

Post by Mister Imperceptible »

Those pea shooters are cool. I have a KelTec P32, lightest semi-auto on the market, they can be had very cheaply and make a great backup. My G30S is in an IWB holster and the P32 goes in my pocket. The G19 fits in the same holster as the G30S.

I thought a 45 and a 32 made a good combo, as it was for the Duck of Death. :P

Snubnose revolvers make nice pocket guns too. Smith, Ruger, and now Kimber would do for quality. I have a Smith Airweight and a Kimber K6. The Kimber is a pricey heavy steel chunk compared to the Smith 442, but gorgeous, and I pack it with 357 magnums.

I know the LAPD use the Benelli M4 and the G30S I think was developed upon request by the LAPD. 12 gauge and 45 ACP seem to be most desired for stopping power.

If you cannot have a Glock30 in CA, could you have a Springfield XD-45 Compact?

Edit:

Hickok45 with Glock 30S:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qbdP1JsB2Rw
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xHSdGHyzfqM
Last edited by Mister Imperceptible on Sat Apr 25, 2020 3:57 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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Sclass
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Re: Guns, guns, guns!

Post by Sclass »

Hey that’s cool, my dad and his brother have matching S&W Airweight Bodyguards. They are potent little guns with unbeatable reliability. I started rethinking J frame Smiths when I was having a disturbing feed issue on one of my Colt autos. Funny you mention the XD...a friend told me to avoid the Glock and get an XD for the smaller handgrip. I was kind of taken by the discussion of the Glock engineering philosophy discussed in the Barrett book. I think my goal here was geeking out on Glock design and not necessarily getting my hands on a gun.

I do lament how limited our choices are out in CA. With the new impossible micro-stamping requirements, no manufacturers are offering new designs here.

@JP I like dainty pumps. :). I need to rethink the idea of neutralizing a threat with a laser.

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