Just curious, what odds do you guys give yourselves on actually having to use these bad boys for defense?

define defense :P

Whether it be offense or defense, I figure there's a 70% chance I'll use my rifle or pistol when I get it, before I die.


Even if it was 1%, though, I'd still think it was worth the purchase. I mean, what are we talking here, $500, $800? Not much money in the grand scheme, and it could save your life one day. Not to mention that even if its not used, the mere presence of a gun can diffuse a situation, or perhaps stop a government from going too far.


By the way, for .22 plinking, if you're into rifles at all check out the Ruger 10/22 which Wesker showed above. Supposed to a pretty awesome .22, and it's relatively cheap iirc.

Yeah, I guess the idea is you get the .22 to learn how to squeeze the trigger properly, use sights, not pee your pants, etc. I guess it wouldn't be cheaper if you had to buy two guns tho. .22 would be worthless for defense? I guess I would think that any gun would be a deterrent and getting shot is getting shot. I don't really wanna kill anyone if possible.

Oh hush you!

I'm likely moving from my moderately sized town to a bustling metropolis in the next few months. Been strongly considering purchasing a gun. (I'd be moving to a different state, so that complicates the matter more)

I've only shot a real gun once in my life. It was a revolver, cuz I'm old school like that, that used .38 special ammo.

Also used a 9mm, may have been a glock, which I found very uncomfortable. At least it had a safety, unlike the revolver.

Tips on finding a small gun that's comfortable and has a safety?

I would go to a gun show, but they're always on the weekends, which I work.

i feel like low key is tarping us

Wha?

many revolvers have a safety. they are more reliable and easy to use and care for than an autopistol. Revolvers are great first handguns (first and last really)


everything about glocks to me are uncomfortable especially the horrid beast of a trigger.



cumbersome and annoying then light pull at the end after you get past the safety. you have to relearn how to shoot in order to use one well from what I understand.

New glocks don't even have external safeties. It's possible you shot an older model but I don't *think* they had safeties either.

go to a gun store and ask to hold whatever they have.

Ok, maybe it wasn't a glock, cuz that looks way more complicated than anything I had to deal with.

Maybe I can just find a snub-nose revolver with a safety and call it good.

this

I believe the theory that it's better to learn to shoot with a .22 or something with no recoil, so that you form good habits of squeezing the trigger while holding your hands steady and aiming on target. Then you can carry those habits over to a bigger gun. Whereas if you learn to shoot with a .357 magnum or even a 9, you're probably going to be wincing/bracing against the recoil and you won't know it/won't be as easy to stop.

I was pretty aware of myself bracing for the recoil. This is a bad thing? Bracing that is, not being self-aware.

Yeah, you're moving your hands split-seconds before you pull the trigger which will be bad for your aim.

Edit: with my revolvers at the range I like to pull the trigger on a spent round or two after firing them all. I'm pretty sure it's bad to tense up your hands after you aim, and before you shoot.

lol, after like a week of dry firing my rifle, I went to the range for the first time and was totally ****ing surprised when my gun went "boom" and kicked into my shoulder. I was like "oh yeah, that's what they're supposed to do" :P

if you have a revolver and you want to know if you flinch, fill the cylinder with one empty and the rest live shells and spin it so you don't know where the empty is...if you're an inexperienced shooter i'll almost guarantee that you flinch when that empty comes up which is a bad thing, it throws off you're aim and results in a lot of inconsistency.

Thank you I meant flinch, not wince, that bothered me a little.

So what's the best way to correct that? The aforementioned 'learn on a .22'?

That, or the empty chamber (use a spent casing) technique CheckRaise describes, dry fire practice; just being aware of it should help some.

Trying not to be a google-tard here, but I could buy a .22 and practice with it, and since it's a low caliber, there will be less recoil. The downside being that dry fire practice may damage the firing pin if done without snap caps (because of the rimfire ammunition used).

(Yes, I use wikipedia a lot)

From my experience, you'll barely feel the .22's recoil at all.

.22s are still my favorite to target practice with too btw.

My dad persuaded some thugs to rob someone else when he brandished in Chicago (carrying illegally), and a buddy of mine caught some punk burglars breaking into his parent's warehouse and held them with an AR-15 until the police came. I hopefully will never need to use them for self defense, I prefer quiet neighborhoods, but there have been armed robberies at some restaurants I go to.

Learning on a .22 is a good idea, but a .22 is not great for self defense. There are a ton of great, moderate priced self-defense handguns, Glock 19, XD 9mm Smith and Wesson M&P, etc. Try them and see how they fit your hands.

Yeah if you intend to dry fire it's good to use snap caps. Spent casings work as well in a revolver. Buying some snap caps to dry fire with would be cheaper than buying a .22 just for this purpose. And it'll be your same gun that you want to be used to. But learning to target shoot with a .22 might help you form better habits faster.

Do you mean odds of actually using them in self defense at some point? I'd say it's pretty low. People who live in crime infested areas or who regularly go to dangerous places it's higher of course.

If you mean odds of actually surviving an attack with the gun vs. without, it's much much higher.

I'm a scrawny guy who is very out of shape, even a dude of average physical stature could easily kick my ass in a physical fight, him being armed and me not my chances are 0. Sadly, much like a woman, the only chance I'd have in a fight for my life is a weapon, it's really like a freeroll.

What's the famous quote "God made man, but Sam Colt made them equal."

that quote doesn't really work the way you wrote it, but i think its v v close

Anyone have any advice on the best type of gun for home defense (handgun vs. shotgun)?

I heard a guy on the Lew Rockwell show who seemed to think a shotgun beats a pistol for home defense. He mentioned Mossberg as a good-quality, relatively inexpensive shotgun for home defense. Anyone have any thoughts on this or on Mossberg shotguns in particular? I found a youtube link and the guy used the "tactical cruiser" as his home defense weapon of choice: