About me: I’m a Gun Enthusiast. I’m 18 and I’ve been shooting since I was big enough to hold a gun. When I was small, I shot firearms that were comically large for my frame. .44 Magnum at 6 years of age. I’m a current gun owner and enthusiast. I’m pretty well educated about the law (although IANAL) regarding firearms, manufacturers, calibers, gauges, etc. I enjoy talking about and firearms in general…
Despite my age, I know quite a bit about firearms – and was even considering becoming a gun smith – more than many people who have lived / been shooting longer as a result of being a total nerd.
Why I made the thread: This forum seems generally pretty pro gun, but some of the members have questions, or misconceptions about firearms, and like anyone with a hobby they enjoy, I’d love to help clear some of them up. Some may seem too trivial for their own thread, or just not important enough to bring up. Let your fears be allayed, for I have nothing but free time at the moment, and there is no question too trivial, and none are a waste of my time!
If you have any questions about firearms, from ballistics to gun-society to manufacturing to history, I’ll do my best to answer or find you an answer. I also don’t have any problems answering personal questions – and I’m sure that some people are questioning my parents parental abilities right now for letting a 6 year old shoot such a powerful weapon – feel free to ask them, I’ll answer those to the best of my abilities as well.
As a note: I don’t want to turn this into a debate thread; if you want to know why I believe a certain way, that’s fine. I don’t have a problem answering political questions, but I’m not going to give debate quality answers and I likely won’t be defending my positions, I’ll just skip over you.
First, I recommend taking a safety course – you can find one here.
Once you do that, you may or may not even need any of the following steps.
Call around to your local ranges (you’ll be surprised how helpful gun folk are in general), see if any of them rent pistols (or rifles, depending on which you’re interested in). Find one that does, and go rent a pistol. I recommend trying a 1911, Glock and CZ 75 if they have them (If you’re interested in rifles, tell me – I’ll correct the steps). I recommend trying the .45 caliber (1911 & Glock) and 9mm (Glock & CZ 75). My personal recommendation and preference is the 9mm Glock 17L, but I digress.
Go out and put a few rounds rounds down range. It’s pretty easy. If you find that you’re not very accurate – don’t worry, we all suck at first. Here’s a link to the Modern Technique of Pistol Shooting (there are books, too), the Weaver Stance is a popular stance, for its ease of explanation and use. I tend to favor the alternative stance, because it’s how I was trained and I’m more accurate that way.
(I cannot stress the safety course enough, it’s the most vital first step in any firearms… anything)
I’m going to ask you a few questions, if you don’t mind, to better suit a response to you (in retrospect, I should’ve asked these first, but I already have that general response typed up).
Where do you live? (Legality & Culture)
Why are you interested in starting shooting?
What is your budget?
Okay, I’m going to recommend a shotgun, tentatively.
For Sport, there’s nothing more fun then Clay Pigeons, and for home defense, nothing is much more effective than a 12 Gauge Shotgun.
You can also pick up pump shotguns pretty inexpensively.
Look into your area (Google; “Zip Code” Skeet Shooting), if you find a range, I recommend calling to see if they have rental guns (most do), and see if they have a safety course (again, most do).
If there’s no skeet ranges, or you’d just prefer a pistol, you should still be able to find a safety class – most ranges (if not all, for insurance and liability reasons, if not good citizenry) offer them.
Are you leaning towards pistol though? Going to go for your CCW permit?
I could see myself having a shotgun AND a pistol at some point. As for a CCW I’d probably decide later.
I’ve already taken a licensed Hunter’s Safety course for WA state, so know a little bit, though we got extremely little info on pistols. I know of one group that does training, but to be real honest I’m not real good friends with one of the instructors. Was kind of hoping to avoid him.
The safety rules are the same, you just need to be more careful about barrel pointing, because with a smaller weapon it’s easier to unintentionally point it in an unsafe direction.
If you had a kid, would you let them hold/play with a(un) loaded gun? What activity (holding/playing with/aiming/shootign). From what age what activity?
I don’t even trust my toddler with a ladle (he sticks them in his mouth and gags), let alone a lethal weapon. But I know that many Americans raise their kids with fire arms, and that it usually goes well.
If I had a child, as soon as he was old enough to be cognitive & communicative, he would understand that guns are one of the few objects in the house he never touches.
When he was old enough to understand context, he would get to handle an unloaded firearm (the context being: I am present), and be taught the rules of gun safety. When I thought he understood gun safety well enough, he’d get to fire a pellet/BB gun.
Never let the muzzle of a gun point at anything you do not want to destroy or kill.
Keep your finger off of the trigger until you are ready to shoot.
Be absolutely sure of your target, and what is behind it.
Letting a kid (or anyone else for that matter) play with an “unloaded” gun violates rule 1.
I’ve seen surprisingly young kids (8 or 9 years old) have a good grasp of gun safety, that you don’t mind them handling guns. On the other hand, I’ve seen much older kids and even adults who demonstrate a notable lack of understanding of gun safety. In my own case, my 16 year old son shot a gun for the firs time a few months ago. I won’t let my younger son even touch a gun. For me there’s no set age limit, it’s just a level of maturity and the ability to understand and follow basic common sense safety rules.
There a variety of reasons, a lot of them are socioeconomic.
Bu honestly it’s more complex than that. It’s difficult to look at the US Murder rates as a whole, in the same way it’s difficult to look at the European Union’s Murder Rate as whole.
The United States is made up of 50, Independent, Semi-sovereign States, with varying laws and enforcement policies, funding and efficacy.
I think a major part of it is our draconian drug laws, but it’s difficult to give one answer that applies to an entire continent.
ETA: All that said, and admittedly it’s somewhat of a weasel, most of the USA has pretty low murder rates. If you take out the top few (LA, Detroit, NYC, & a few others) the average murder rate per capita plummets.
How do you feel about the choice of semi-automatic, vs. breakable single/double barrel shotguns? I’ve shot a breakable over/under, and a semi-auto shotgun (both 20 gauge) before. Even with knowledge of gun-safety, I still fell safer with the over/under - you know for sure it’s empty, you can carry it broken with no fear of discharge, and everyone else who sees it broken knows it’s empty/unfireable. Semis just make me tense (sure i know mine is empty - but what about yours?). What’s the benefit of them?
On a different subject, did both your parents shoot? Did they encourage your firearm enthusiasm? Has your interest surpassed theirs? How did they feel about you wanting to be a gunsmith (however shortlived the interest may have been?)
I feel that Semiautomatic shotguns are a step ahead, technologically, to break opens (two steps, if you factor in pump).
I prefer semi-automatic shotguns, personally. I own a Remington 1100, and couldn’t be happier with it. Semi-automatic shotguns also have recoil dampeners in them (in the form of their action, and sometimes more), so you can re-target faster.
More shells with a faster reload, less recoil.
There are also disadvantages. It’s a two way street.
Semi’s are more expensive, initially.
You can’t shoot reduced recoil loads out of them (this includes Less Than Lethal ammo), because they don’t cycle the action.
They have more moving parts, and therefore more things can break.
My father did and does, we share the hobby. We go shooting together, frequently. My mother is sort of a non-factor.
Yes.
I wouldn’t say so, my father is as interested as I am, although his has grown with mine.
Any experience with carbines, which is to say guns that shoot handgun ammunition but with a stock, extended barrel, etc.? Gimmick, or gun that fits a certain niche?
My opinion is that that they’re gimmicky, and depending on the caliber (and load), less effective than their pistol counterparts.
Remember that cartridges are designed with their probable use in mind, so a 9mm round will have enough gun powder to propel it out of the barrel of a 3-6 inch barrel, and not much more. Any more and you have increased recoil with no benefit.
The flip side of this is, when you made a barrel 18 inches long, some bullets will slow down (due to friction with the barrel on the extra 12").
They’re fun guns to shoot, or can be, and the ammunition for them is less expensive than intermediate rifle rounds, but they’re not as effective.
I can’t think of any situation where I’d want a Carbine, even at the range I’d rather shoot a rifle caliber. But if someone enjoys shooting Carbines, it’s not a gimmick, and they’ve found something they enjoy – more power to 'em.
No more of this, from anybody. Gun control debates, if we’re due for another one already, go in Great Debates. The political jibes are not warranted here.
Less often since I injured my hand, it’s just so hard to fondle with a cast!
I’ve never understood where the connection between Guns and Sex came from, shooting, to me, has always been an inherently asexual activity…
Edit: Marley23: Sorry - I responded before I saw your post.
