Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.3 4.3bsd-beta 6/6/85; site jade.BERKELEY.EDU Path: utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!jade!jkh From: jkh@jade.BERKELEY.EDU (Jordan K. Hubbard) Newsgroups: mod.rec.guns Subject: Re: Which (shot)gun to purchase Message-ID: <1413@jade.BERKELEY.EDU> Date: Fri, 10-Oct-86 02:00:39 EDT Article-I.D.: jade.1413 Posted: Fri Oct 10 02:00:39 1986 Date-Received: Fri, 10-Oct-86 23:49:50 EDT Organization: University of California, Berkeley Lines: 86 Approved: jkh@ucbjade Author: sdcsvax!sdcc6.UCSD.EDU!ir450@ucbvax.Berkeley.Edu In-Reply-To: <1287@jade.BERKELEY.EDU> Article: 10:2 In article <1287@jade.BERKELEY.EDU> you write: >Article: 9:22 > I can't recommend a shotgun, because all I have used is my Remington 860 (full choke) and a semi-automatic skeet gun. > > 1) What choke should I get? Or, should I get one of the newer > models that have inter-changeable barrels? (I think my wife > would be somewhat reluctant to fire the gun after the full- > choke knocked her on her ass the first shot!!! That is > if my assumption that choke type is directly related to > amount of kick-back.) First of all, you should teach your wife the proper stance when shooting a gun, or have her taught through skeet classes or trap. There is a champion skeet shooter who weights 90 pounds and shoot 12 gauge with no problems. Second, it all depends on what you want to do with the gun. since you want a home protection gun, I would suggest you get what they call a "riot gun". They call it this because police use them for riots. They are light, short barrel (just legal limit), cheep and can shoot 12 gauge effectively. I don't know if it is versatile enough to have different barrels. If you want to shoot trap or skeet, it would be a good idea to get a gun which has the ability to change barrels. > > 2) Is a .12 guage the best gun for what I think I will be using > it for? I have spoken to people that say I would be better > off buying a 30-06 or similar rifle, (one of whom was a > gun salesman showing me a $250 shotgun and a $700 30-06!!) > The riot gun I talked about above is 12 guage, and cheep for home protection. The people you are talking to are probably more concerned with stopping power. If you want to kill an intruder quickly, buy a machine gun. > 3) Is a double-barrel a good idea? I decided on it because of > it seems more reliable. Put a shell in each barrel, close > gun and fire. > > 4) If the answer to 3) is yes, am I better off with an > over-and-under or a side-by-side? From what I have seen, > the side-by-side is somewhat cheaper. Is there any reason > for this? If you get a double barrel, buy over-under. It is easier to sight with only one barrel than with two. Skeet shooters use over-under combinations effectively, but I don't think you will need one for home protection. Just get the riot gun with pump action (gas action is expensive) and it can hold 4 shells in total (BY LAW). > > 5) There's a gun shop less than a mile from my new home. > I was wonderng if it would be sensible to buy from > that delear even if I could do better, price-wise, somewhere > else. Is there a great difference in pricing among dealers? > Are there any pointers for dealing with gun dealers? Remember that all dealers are salesmen. If you can become friends with one, he might not try to gouge you, and he might try harder to give you what you really want/need, not what he really wants to sell. > > 6) Are there any caveats for buying a used gun? I just bought > a new house in what seems to be hunting country, and as > such, used guns are as common as used pickups! Do I ask for > a test shoot before buying? Should I kick the stock? Or > is a used gun usually a 'blind purchase'? Have the gun checked by a gun smith or dealer, just like you would have a mechanic check the used pickup. Hope this helps, but keep one thing in mind, I am not an expert. One last thing I can suggest is that you get your wife to take basic gun training at the local police range. They usually have classes. And like I said, skeet classes are real good for learning the proper way to shoot a shotgun. Brian Keves ARPA: keves%ra@sdcsvax.ucsd.edu Lab for Math and Stats UUCP: sdcsvax!ra!keves UCSD, La Jolla, CA PHONE: 619-450-6421 Any opinions expressed are my own and are not the opinions of my employer.