# Help Me Buy A Pistol! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 18, 2012, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-pistol/613258 "2012-02-18T18:12:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-pistol/613258/61 "2012-02-24T22:33:14Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > From [here](http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/nics/general-information/fact-sheet): > “If the FFL has not received from the NICS a final determination after three business days have elapsed since the delay response, it is within the FFL’s discretion whether or not to transfer the firearm (if state law permits the transfer). If the FFL transfers the firearm, the FFL must mark “No resolution was provided within three business days” on line 21d of the ATF Form 4473. It is recommended the FFL record the date provided in the delay response on which the firearm may be lawfully transferred under federal law if a final determination of proceed or denied is not received from the NICS.” > > What I’m getting from that page is that the store gets a response within 30 seconds of yes/no/delay. They got a delay and were told (by the feds) to hold on to the gun until Friday and wait to hear back. They didn’t hear back and so it was up to them. Maybe the feds are still working on it. Maybe the non-response is the same as an “ok” or maybe the non-response was their way of saying “Well, we see what happened and it was a long time ago, let’s let the shop keeper figure it out” and if you looked like a jerk that was ready to kill his girlfriend he would have said no. But you looked like a nice guy and the shopkeeper said “I don’t know what that was all about…here’s your gun.” Yeah…the fact that I am going through a divorce with the same woman I slapped in 2004 has zero bearing on my decision to purchase a gun. I’m not going to kill anyone or myself unless they are trying to kill me first, or break into my place. Anyway, I suppose that’s pretty much the case as you described it. They were happy to sell me a gun, and nobody uttered a peep over me checking “yes” to the “have you ever been convicted of a domestic violence, even a misdemeanor” item on the form. I still wonder if its possible for the Feds to call them and say “You shouldn’t have sold that guy a weapon! He checked yes on the domestic violence thing! What were you thinking?” Is there a precedent where your gun can be reclaimed without you ever having been convicted of a crime with it (heck, or even shot it yet)? ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-pistol/613258/62 "2012-02-24T23:48:34Z")
I, for one, am shocked. Back when I sold guns (when dinosaurs ruled the earth) there was absolutely no selling to anyone answering yes. My thought was that a “yesser” screened themselves out and no background check was needed. I think if they got audited that they might get written up for it but you’re no doubt in the clear. Have fun! Now I’m going to have to go shooting tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-pistol/613258/63 "2012-02-24T23:55:17Z")
Tomorrow I am going out and run some rounds through the 10mm in your honor. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-pistol/613258/64 "2012-02-25T00:12:31Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > I, for one, am shocked. Back when I sold guns (when dinosaurs ruled the earth) there was absolutely no selling to anyone answering yes. My thought was that a “yesser” screened themselves out and no background check was needed. I think if they got audited that they might get written up for it but you’re no doubt in the clear. > > Have fun! Now I’m going to have to go shooting tomorrow. I have no idea what happened, but other than that one blemish on my record from 8 years ago, I don’t have anything…not even a speeding ticket. > [@Scumpup](#): > > Tomorrow I am going out and run some rounds through the 10mm in your honor. Dude! Shoot full propane tanks at 50 yards! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-pistol/613258/65 "2012-02-25T00:18:38Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > I have no idea what happened, but other than that one blemish on my record from 8 years ago, I don’t have anything…not even a speeding ticket. > > Dude! Shoot full propane tanks at 50 yards! > > 😃 The S&W 1076 is the absolute favorite of all my handguns. When you pick it up it is just so there. It is so engagingly destructive downrange. I own handguns larger, smaller, more, and less powerful. It is the one I would keep if I could keep only one. Luckily,I do not have to make that choice. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-pistol/613258/66 "2012-02-25T00:24:15Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > The S&W 1076 is the absolute favorite of all my handguns. When you pick it up it is just so there. It is so engagingly destructive downrange. I own handguns larger, smaller, more, and less powerful. It is the one I would keep if I could keep only one. Luckily,I do not have to make that choice. 😃 Where does the 10mm round fall on the scale between .22 and .45? Just slightly larger than a .38? I am just guessing. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-pistol/613258/67 "2012-02-25T00:30:36Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Where does the 10mm round fall on the scale between .22 and .45? Just slightly larger than a .38? I am just guessing. It’s often compared to the. 41 magnum, but in most loadings is actually more comparable to the .357 magnum. More comparable, actually, than the. 357 SIG which was named mostly to chisel off the. 357 magnum’s name recognition. The. 357 SIG is a fine cartridge in its own right, though. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-pistol/613258/68 "2012-02-25T00:36:34Z")
What’s the next largest pistol round after a .45? A .50? Or is there something in between? ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-pistol/613258/69 "2012-02-25T00:37:23Z")
Congratulations, **FoieGrasIsEvil**! I’m going shooting for the first time in like 10 years next weekend. I am so looking forward to it. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-pistol/613258/70 "2012-02-25T00:39:55Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > What’s the next largest pistol round after a .45? A .50? Or is there something in between? In terms of “power” the next common step up from the. 45acp is the.357 magnum. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-pistol/613258/71 "2012-02-25T00:41:15Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > Congratulations, **FoieGrasIsEvil**! I’m going shooting for the first time in like 10 years next weekend. I am so looking forward to it. Why thank you! I feel the urge to “bust a cap in the air, like I just don’t care!”. Sadly, this is not an Afghani wedding scenario, I care where the bullets fall and I will get myself arrested doing something like that. So I guess I will just talk about the potential for shooting at paper targets in the near future! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-pistol/613258/72 "2012-02-25T00:42:57Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > In terms of “power” the next common step up from the. 45acp is the.357 magnum. I am talking strictly about the size of the round. Isn’t a .45 a larger round than a .357 (based strictly on the decimal system)? Maybe you are referring to grain charges in terms of propellant for the round. I’m just curious. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-pistol/613258/73 "2012-02-25T00:47:57Z")
The. 357 drives its bullets at a substantially higher velocity than the .45acp. It is much more penetrative and generates more foot-pounds than the. 45acp. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-pistol/613258/74 "2012-02-25T02:57:42Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > The. 357 drives its bullets at a substantially higher velocity than the .45acp. It is much more penetrative and generates more foot-pounds than the. 45acp. But strictly based on size, a .45 is in fact a bigger round than a .357 right? ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-pistol/613258/75 "2012-02-25T02:59:14Z")
Yes. The bullet is a larger diameter. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-pistol/613258/76 "2012-02-25T03:15:34Z")
Here’s a handy chart that gives you a pretty good feeling for the sizes and power of the various handgun calibers. [http://www.sportsmansguide.com/Outdoors/resource/remington\_charts/pr\_ballistics.pdf](http://www.sportsmansguide.com/Outdoors/resource/remington_charts/pr_ballistics.pdf). Gun people will argue to their dying breath about stopping power and whatnot but IMHO, the 45ACP is a good all around choice. If cost is an issue, you can get FMJ surplus ammo relatively cheaply. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-pistol/613258/77 "2012-02-25T03:55:40Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > The S&W 1076 is the absolute favorite of all my handguns. When you pick it up it is just so there. It is so engagingly destructive downrange. I own handguns larger, smaller, more, and less powerful. It is the one I would keep if I could keep only one. Luckily,I do not have to make that choice. 😃 My 10mm is a Glock 29. That is a seriously hairy experience firing that weapon, the blast and recoil out of a lightweight compact is not for the faint of heart. My Glock 27, for all of its snap, simply doesn’t compare. I have to fire some hot stuff out of my snub-nosed .357 Magnum Ruger SP101 to get anything comparable. But hey, that’s the trade-off you have to make sometimes to have a concealable 10mm. Why, you may ask, would I conceal a 10mm? Because I can. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-pistol/613258/78 "2012-02-25T04:04:07Z")
And that is all the reason you need. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2012, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-pistol/613258/79 "2012-02-26T01:59:39Z")
On comparing calibers: in general a larger caliber bullet will usually be more powerful; but you can have a smaller, faster bullet like the .357 Magnum vs. a big, fat, but slower bullet like the .45 ACP. Multiply bullet weight by bullet speed and you get **muzzle energy** , which is a slightly more accurate measure of how much damage a bullet can be expected to do. Wikipedia has a [list of handgun cartridges](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_handgun_cartridges) that you can reference. Because for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, for a given size cartridge recoil will be less if it’s shot out of a larger, heavier gun. There are some guns out there chambered for large powerful rounds that are virtually derringers, with punishing recoils. If you expect to eventually carry your handgun you’ll want to decide how large and heavy a gun you want, especially if concealability is important. Smaller calibers will have less recoil and allow you to carry more rounds, larger calibers are considered to have more “stopping power”. Once upon a time the .32 was a popular “pocket gun”, nowadays the .380 is considered the smallest round that will consistantly stop an attacker. In addition, the removable magazines of a semi-automatic can be either single-stacked (slimmer, fewer cartridges) or double-stacked (fatter, more cartridges), depending on how big a grip you can comfortably handle. The .45 ACP was originally developed after soldiers in the Phillipines complained that their handguns were insufficient to stop a berserk tribesman. It’s undoubtedly up to the task but it’s cartridges are large and fat enough that people with smaller hands (like the wife of the guy who returned the gun you mentioned used) simply can’t hold them properly. Also the most common gun that shoots them, the venerable Colt 1911 only holds nine rounds. 9 mm has been the standard European handgun round since WW1, and is probably the second-most common caliber next to the .38 Special revolver round used for so many decades. Different guns chambered in 9mm have different magazines but anywhere from 12-19 rounds is typical. The .40 S&W round has in recent years become a popular compromise between the 9mm and the .45 ACP. Finally there are the particular features of the gun itself. A big decision is what sort of action you want your gun to have: single, single-double, or double-only action. This effects consistancy of trigger pull and whether the gun is carried in a ready to shoot mode or not. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2012, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-pistol/613258/80 "2012-02-26T04:03:22Z")
> [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](#): > > But hey, that’s the trade-off you have to make sometimes to have a concealable 10mm. Why, you may ask, would I conceal a 10mm? Because I can. 1. You’re a closet masochist? 2. You have arms like Popeye the Sailor Man? 3. Not being satisfied with poking large holes in your assailants, you also want to flash fry them with the muzzle blast? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-pistol/613258.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-pistol/613258.md?page=5)