Firearm information needed!

[hAppy]

Hello there AO
I currently live in CA, supposedly one of the safer states to live, or at least a state that is known to not need firearms for protection. There have been stories about how everyone near central US "need" to own at least 1 handgun in their home for protection or "thats just how it is". Well its almost certain that I will be moving to Arkansas or Texas, so my dad told me we probably will end up getting a few firearms ourselves.

Due to my lack of interest for firearms, our family knows nothing about guns. And I need to pick up some info quick to decide what would fit for our family.

Can someone tell me some info on how to choose a rifle, a handgun and a shotgun? Than give me a little info about how to choose ammunition for those firearms

ANY info relating towards firearms would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

[FalconGuy016]

Go to a gun shop and buy a pistol. It really doesnt matter what it is, although you might want a revolver just for simplicity and little chance of failure. Make sure its a quality weapon though.

[skife]

go down to your local fireing range that rents guns for use at the range, and shoot somthing until you find one you like.

just a word of advice i've herd before, if your going to shoot somone that is breaking into your house, make sure they arn't able to sue you.

[RTGuy86]

For self defense personally i would carry a springfield or colt 1911 A1 .45 ACP. This is a heavy round compared to a .40 S&W or a 9mm Luger. It is also traveling at a lower speed. This is what i have(although im only 17 i do use it weekly at the range.) I own the full size version of the Springfield 1911 A1, they do make it in a smaller size., i paid around $800 u.s dollers for it but it has all the bells and whistles, novak night sights, skeleton trigger and hammer, extended beaver tail rear grip. I chose this because of the size of the bullet. that and i shot it better than the smaller calibers(go figure). it is a man stopper. unlike the 9mm luger and 40 S&W the 45 ACP is more likely than not going to go through a person and hit somethign behind it that you did not intend to hit. the 9mm and 40 S&W cartridges are smaller and travel at a faster velocity therefore are more than likely to completely go through the intended target hitting something you do not wish to hit. the 45 doesnt have much more recoil(or kick) than a 9mm or 40 s&w or i think it doesnt. however the 1911 does require that you do clean it atleast once a month. if your looking for something you can just throw into a lock box on the side of your bed, id recomend a glock. glock does make a 45 ACP but they also make a new 45 GAP, however i have no experience w/ that cartridge. if you want a pistol that you can take to the range weekly and fire off a box of ammo, 9mm luger ammo is pretty cheap, around 8-9 dollers for a box of 20 where as 45 ACP is closer to 15 for good ammo(match grade) and that new 45 GAP made by glock i believe is slightly higher than that. but once again that 9mm luger is mor elikely to go completly through your target thus hitting something you didnt intend to hit., the sprinfield and colt 1911's do have a small draw back, they only use single stacked mags that hold only 7 rnds each, so if your a poor shot(A>) you shouldnt be using the gun for self defense if your a poor shot and (B) if you fire more than 7 rnds, have no extra mags, and missed your target you are SOL. that is another thing you should do, whatever fire arm you choose take it out to the range, become familiar w/ it. if you need it and have never shot it before you dont know what it is going to do, it could be shooting really high really low or far to the right or left. try to get out to a range atleast once every 2 months.
basically all ammo is decent, i really like the remington UMC ammo. just try to stay away from WOLF ammo. or any ammo that has a SS case instead of brass. the SS cases get hard on a gun. ask guys at the local gun shop if you can see a fire arm or 2. ask them about it, see how you like it. also if you move out to Texas or Arkansas id recomend a good varment(SP?) rifle. the .223 rifle is the best in my opinion. that is the same cartride that is shot in the m16 and m4's that our boys are using over seas(well alot of them are going back to the old WWII M14 which i believe fires a .308 win. or 30-06 cartridge. little more oomph to get those longer shots. plus the .223 isnt much of a round after 200yds on a human, ive heard many stories of them shooting someone w/ a .223 and the guy survivng and runnning into a building, when the soldiers would walk in they walked into an ambush many times.)but the .223 can take down a coyote at 250yds(trust me, seen it done, and i have shot myslef a coyote or 2 at 200 yds.) if you need any more info please feel free to e-mail me at...... [email protected] it is getting late and im getting tired. just ask me if you have any questions. or need some links to places fo more opinions than mine or good places to look for prices over the net.

Skife, in many states as long as you shoot them on there way in or somewhere in the house(completely(SP?) not even a shoe lace out side) i dont believe they can sue you. i could be wrong however i have been in the past. we havent had to use our firearms in self defense yet. thank god.

[Steelrat]

We will talk next time we hook up to play. I can help you out on selecting the appropriate weapon for you needs.

[hAppy]

well we're making a bit of progress
i need more specific answers though, i dont want to just "go buy a gun", thats like throwing me into a pb shop and i pick everything from a brass eagle to an xmag

the gun is only going to sit there until we "have to use it", id rather not shoot anyone, but if lives at stake, than it will be needed.

what answers im looking for are ones such as "how to know which gun is for me", "what caliber i want" etc. all the goods.

and since my parents are looking for a farm, we will probably be getting a few firearms, ones for PEOPLE and animals

RTguy - thanks for the info, i got kinda lost, really huge paragrah, so a .45 glock should be good? i see there are many many glocks, what are the differences?
steelrat - sure thing, next ao day! thanks

[RTGuy86]

like i said if you want a gun just to throw into a lock box until needed go w/ a glock. in a .45 ACP or the new .45 GAP cartridges(read above post as to why) and get a good varment rifle to.(i suggest the .223)

also one last thing that ahs been bothering me, why does every one calle firarms weapons? for god sakes a pencil or a piece of cheese int he right hands is a weapon, firearm is a much better choice of terminology(SP?)

[hAppy]

3 posts at same time, that was crazy

thanks for your help, so i will really be looking into a .45 glock, since i hear they are good defense handguns. but there are many models of glocks, what are the differences? and some people say if you never fired a handgun before, dont jump to a .45? i only shot a .22 rifle at a camp, it wasn't too interesting

[dsrkd]

Since you are an Eagle, try contacting the Rifle Badge or Shotgun Badge counsellors in your area and get some info from them as a start. A lot of the criteria for the 'answers' to your questions are subjective preference; feel, fit and intended use all play a part. Read all the magazines you can find too.

[rifleman wi]

"well alot of them are going back to the old WWII M14 which i believe fires a .308 win. or 30-06 cartridge."


..not to be a dick but WW2 gun is the M1 Garand which is .30 06 and M-14 which is .308 was used a little after korea to vietnam.. sorry i love the M1 and M-14.. had to fix it not flaming or n e thing

but ide say go with the M1911A1 as a pistol.. from what i know and hear there great, and shotguns with buck shot are sposed to work great for home defence

[Steelrat]

1911 is not a good weapon for an inexperienced shooter. The single action 1911 requires a good muscle memory, since its usually not stored in the "cocked and locked" position. I would prefer a "Single/double" with the fewest number of external safeties, or even a "double action only" because its a much safer weapon to use. My personal favorites are the .40 and .45 sigs, and the .40 and .45 glocks. Get as many rounds in the gun as you can. Trust me on that. 7 rounds is good, but 15 is better. God only knows how tough your target will be, if he will be using body armor, how accuractly you will fire under stress, how many opponenets you might face.

As for ammo, jacketed hollow points are the best, provided the area you are in allows you to have them. They do a lot of damage, but have minimal penetration compared to the full metal jacket rounds. I prefer the Federal Hydra Shock, but they all do a good job.

Another option is a shotgun of some sort. Shotguns with buckshot have minimal penetration, a very good spread (which counters the poor accuracy generated by stressful situations), and a large psychological intimidation factor. Its also extremely deadly, as each shot of 00 buck puts out 8 or 9 .32 pellets. Most home-defense engagements (actually, MOST shooting situations PERIOD) take place at close range, where the shotgun is king.

[skife]

varmet guns are fun.
my uncle has a .223 and the thing could drive nails at about 75 yards.
not alot of kick with it and ammo is reletivly cheap.

a gun i have recently shot and loved is an old .32 winchester special levar action, not a whole lot of kick but packs a decent punch.

if you wanna go huge go with a 7mm magnum rifle

[Steelrat]

3 posts at same time, that was crazy

thanks for your help, so i will really be looking into a .45 glock, since i hear they are good defense handguns. but there are many models of glocks, what are the differences? and some people say if you never fired a handgun before, dont jump to a .45? i only shot a .22 rifle at a camp, it wasn't too interesting

The only differences on the glocks are the frame size, caliber, and magazine capacity. There are different trigger setups, with differing trigger pull wieghts, but those can be put on any glock. The .45 is good, because it has a lot of stopping power, but the tradeoff is reduced magazine capacity. A good compromise is the .40 round. Shooting 9mm, .40, or .45 isnt going to hurt or anything, the semiautomatic handgun design dissapates a lot of the recoil. Its the big .357 and .44 revolvers that start to hurt after a while.

If you shoot a glock and like it, I'd recommend a "new york" trigger. It ups the trigger pull wieght from 5 lbs to something like 12 lbs. The problem with light triggers is that in a stressful situation, its much easier to fire the gun inadvertantly. A stronger pull, especially with a trigger like the glocks, will not affect accuracy (especially at close range) and reduces the chance of an accidental discharge.

[RTGuy86]

there are so many diff. glock because of all the configurations. like the glock 17 and the glock 34 i believe are the same gun. goth in 9mm luger the only difference is the sights and the glock 34 has a longer barrel. the .45 ACP glock is the Glock 21, the newer .45 GAP(Glock Auto Pistol) is the Glock 37. id recomend this one, seeing as how the Glock 21 has a very large slide and frame making it slighlty uncomfortable. the Glock 37 has the same size frame as the Glock 17(the 9mm luger glock) the G22 is the .40 S&W, and dont quote me on this but the glock 31 is the .357SIG.
and as steel rat said the 1911 is not a good starter pistol. but a 45 caliber is fine if you are just starting. like i said just go out to the range and practice this way you are atleast familiar w/ the fire arm, and never forget to clean your fire arm...that is just cruel and unusual punishment.
rifleman i thought the M14 was introduced around the end of WWII. i could very possibly be wrong. im more of a pistol shooter mysef, until i get a 50 BMG and get t go to the 1000yd range in Angola, Indiana
also steel rat you may know, some one at the range last week was talking about the secret service or FBI agents using glocks that had a mandatory pull of i believe 15lbs. do you know any truth behind that?

ooops...also try to get your parents to go to a IDPA event(International Defensive Pistol Association) they have great scenarios. they have you start in all types of positions.....ill see if i cant find a link to there website so that you can read about some of the scenarios. they have one that is not only kinda funny to think about but was fun to shoot. i foget the name but they sit you in a inclosed area inda like a restroom stall(thats what the scenario was) 2 guys walk in as youre on the john taken care of business and 2 guys walk in saying "just hit him over the heaad and take his $" you are sitting on a box in a inclosed area, you have to open the door and engage 2 targets. there are 2 shoot targets and one civilian target. it was really fun to shoot. and every one is onyl using what they would carry, no tricked out guns like on American Shooter(i recomend watching it if you can).

[Steelrat]

Most agencies that carry the glock require the use of the heavier trigger pull, just as some agencies require the use of double action only. When the adrenaline hits, its far too easy to inadvertantly fire a round if you have a light trigger. The heavier trigger pull is just an added precaution.