Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!wuarchive!udel!haven.umd.edu!mimsy!mailer.cc.fsu.edu From: boyd@mailer.cc.fsu.edu (Mickey Boyd) Newsgroups: rec.guns Subject: Re: Dumb Beginner Questions Message-ID: <35323@mimsy.umd.edu> Date: 6 Jun 91 19:27:34 GMT Sender: magnum@mimsy.umd.edu Organization: Florida State University Computer Science Department Lines: 98 Approved: gun-control@cs.umd.edu In article <35259@mimsy.umd.edu>, larock@software.org (Curt Larock) writes: #My wife and I want to buy a gun - but neither of us has any experience #with firearms (I fired a rifle about 10 years ago). Our main uses #would be personal protection and target shooting. Wow, you are a lot more organized than I was! #So far I've joined the NRA, read a pile of books (the Truth About Self #Defense, Armed and Female, the Street-Smart Gun Book, and a couple of #others), and subscribed to rec.guns. # #What should I do now? What dumb mistakes should I avoid? Well, if home defense is an issue, I would suggest buying a .357mag revolver. (I am assuming you mean a handgun. If this is not true, the answer changes.) Reasons follow: 1. Revolvers are more reliable than autos. If you need more than 6 rounds, run. For defense, reliability is your TOP concern. 2. You should be able to find a set of grips that fit both you and your wife's hands easier with a revolver (auto grip sizes are usually determined by the frame, and are often too big for small hands). 3. A big revolver is a fearsome sight. 4. Revolvers usually need little or no work to get a decent trigger. Autos sold with decent triggers are few and far between. 5. You can practice cheaply using .38special ammo, which is the most common caliber in the world. You also have the option of using full-power .357mag ammo. 6. Revolvers are generally more accurate "out of the box". 7. Revolvers don't care about the power level of your ammo for reliability. Thus, you have more flexibility and few things to go wrong. If a round, for whatever reason, does not go off you just pull the trigger again. With an auto, you have to rack the slide. For a particular gun, I would suggest a S&W model 19, or a S&W 686 (stainless). Get about a 4"-6" barrel. Below this implies a huge fireball and inferior ballistics. Above makes the gun a bit unwieldy. Purchase a S&W, Colt, Ruger, or Dan Wesson. Stay away from Rossi, Astra, Taurus (though they are cheaper; there is a reason). If you do get such a gun, I would suggest purchasing a good MagLight along with it (flashlight). Keep both by the bed. For ammo choice, call the police. Ask them what they are authorized to carry in that caliber. If any of the choices sound good, buy some of it. This can help in court (if you ever have to actually shoot someone). To find out if any of the choices are good, post again :-). If you buy such a gun, you should end up with a handgun that that you can count on and operate with a minimum of training/practice. After you have shot it some (and become a gun nut :-) you can look into more esterotic guns. A .357mag revolver is considered by some as a plodhorse. Well, it's better to have an accurate reliable plodhorse than a 18 round 9mm DA hammer dropping magazine safety racehorse that jams every second magazine and shoots 5" groups at 25'!! By the way, due to many police departments "changing over" to autos (mostly for the wrong reasons), there are some great used buys on the market for .357mag revolvers. If you have the money, buy new. If not, be very careful. Gun actions often depend upon tolerances in the thousandths of an inch, and there are a lot of screwed up guns out there. With any defense gun, practice some with the ammo you keep in the gun. More practice with cheaper reloads is also needed. You should run your real defense ammo through the gun both to get used to it and to occasionally have to replace it (don't keep the same ammo in the gun for years and years!!). I usually run one cylinder-full of my "real stuff" through the gun each time I go shooting (and about 100 rounds of cheaper reloads). I buy a new box of "real" ammo about once every 6 months. Also, since it is unlikely that you will be wearing muffs in a defense scenario, you might want to touch one off with no hearing protection every once in awhile (this in NOT good for your ears, but may keep you breathing). Guns are LOUD, especially in an enclosed space. Please note that I said "you may want to . . .". You also may not want to, at least regularly. I do it, but it is certainly debatable. If there are any kiddies in the house, invest in a lockbox for the gun. They make some with the Cypher-lock style pushbuttons, which can be opened quickly by touch. If you buy a gun for defense, make sure you can pull a trigger on a bad guy. Do some hard thinking about it, and if you have doubts you might be better off with a baseball bat (defense wise). If you don't think about it now, you probably will at the time of excitement, which is not good. If you cannot use the gun, all you have succeeded in doing is giving the bad guy a weapon to use ON YOU! As a final note, please be careful about gun store workers. I have often run into folks that feel they must provide an answer to any questions, regardless of accuracy. Also, remember that these guys SELL GUNS, and are very likely to have a biased opinion as to what "you need" based on what they are overstocked with!! If you find a gun store that does not try to BS you, cherish it and go back often. The above is IMHO. Please feel free to email if you have any questions about what I have written. Have fun with your new gun!! -- Mickey R. Boyd | "God is a comedian playing to an FSU Computer Science | audience too afraid to laugh." Technical Support Group | email: boyd@fsucs.cs.fsu.edu | - Voltaire