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: mod.rec.guns: Gun selection Message-ID: <1528@jade.BERKELEY.EDU> Date: Mon, 27-Oct-86 14:29:43 EST Article-I.D.: jade.1528 Posted: Mon Oct 27 14:29:43 1986 Date-Received: Tue, 28-Oct-86 05:49:45 EST References: <1425@jade.BERKELEY.EDU> Reply-To: osmigo1@ngp.UUCP (PUT YOUR NAME HERE) Organization: University of California, Berkeley Lines: 46 Approved: jkh@ucbjade Author: osmigo1@ngp.UTEXAS.EDU (Ron Morgan) Apparently-To: jkh@opal.berkeley.edu Article: 10:40 There are a few things to consider when purchasing a "home-defense" weapon. First, your neighbors. Any kind of weapon firing solid bullets, such as a handgun or rifle, is perfectly capable of going through 2 or 3 walls in a typical apartment complex and blowing your neighbor's 2-day-old baby in two. A shotgun is no garauntee against this, either. A couple of years ago, a young boy was playing in his garage. A guy across the street fired a 12-gauge loaded with #00 buck, and one of the pellets penetrated the garage door and killed the poor kid instantly. Second, familiarity. EVERYBODY who might be using the weapon should go out to a shooting range and fire a couple hundred rounds through it, and become completely familiar with loading, unloading (jettisoning unfired shells), and cleaning. The point is, if you EVER wake up in the middle of the night and hear somebody knocking around downstairs, you, and CERTAINLY your wife, unless she's an ex-FBI agent, are going to be VERY uptight. There's a good chance you'll forget to flip off the safety or forget to chamber in a shell. Cold sweat time! Third, weapon selection. The only solid-bullet piece that is safe would be a high-velocity, small-caliber weapon such as a .223. These bullets will disintegrate upon hitting any object of substance. However, if your victim is wearing heavy winter clothes, you might not accomplish much even if you did hit him. That brings us to buckshot. One thing to remember here is that regardless of the size of the shot, the total weight of the load, and thus its total energy, remains the same. A standard 12-gauge #00 load only has 9 to 12 pellets. If only two or three hit him, you could find yourself in an exciting situation. Of course, smaller stuff like #7 1/2's won't have enough penetration, although, they would probably knock him down. I'd suggest BB shot or perhaps #2's. These give you a much denser pattern (45 to 100 pellets), yet can penetrate well, and enough of them will hit the target to do the job. It would be comparable to getting hit in the chest with a bowling ball travelling about 40-50 mph. If your wife is also to use the thing, she'd probably be better off with a 20-gauge, which has MUCH less recoil than a big 12, yet is just as effective. My own "house gun" is an old Sears 20-gauge pump, loaded with #4's in 3-inch magnum shells and sawed off to 18 inches. Picked it up at a pawn shop for $100. It's light, fast, and deadly. Good luck. Ron Morgan -- osmigo1, UTexas Computation Center, Austin, Texas 78712 ARPA: osmigo1@ngp.UTEXAS.EDU UUCP: ihnp4!ut-ngp!osmigo1 allegra!ut-ngp!osmigo1 gatech!ut-ngp!osmigo1 seismo!ut-sally!ut-ngp!osmigo1 harvard!ut-sally!ut-ngp!osmigo1