*** Politics Gun Owners Thread***

[Montius]

Just checked fwiw: 1.625" is the space available for the recoil spring in a full sized 1911 (5" barrel).

[Borodog]

That isn't right. It's almost 4".

Edit to add:

http://www.eleven-bravo.co.uk/the-wa...M1911A1-02.jpg

[DPatty]

Just saw this thread now lol. Not gonna waid through the hundreds of posts so gonna just jump into it right now.

I'm a Canadian and just went and got my firearms safety course done last weekend with a friend. I've now sent off my forms to the government and just gotta wait for it to be processed and then they'll send me back my license. Then I can actually buy stuff

In the meanwhile, guessing will take at least 2 months, have to start researching what guns to buy. So far the general theme I've come across is that it is more about selecting ammo (cheap and accessible) THEN selecting the guns.

I can also tell I'm going to become a gun nut almost for sure. I'm wanting to start off with some sort of rifle and a hand gun to take to the range and practice lots. For the rifle I've been getting recommended the Russian SKS a lot because it apparently can take military surplus ammo which makes it cheaper. Thoughts? For a hand gun I'm still not entirely what I want to get...in Canada the barrel has to be at least 4.1" so I'm looking for a normal sized gun. The good old 0.357 Magnum sounds sweet, but so does the Glock 23. Desert Eagle would also be neat as I used to play a lot of Counter Strike.

Thoughts? Advice? Can't wait to become a gun owner For what it's worth, I'm mega libertarian and hope I'd never have to use them outside of the range.

[Montius]

Originally Posted by Borodog

That isn't right. It's almost 4".

Edit to add:

http://www.eleven-bravo.co.uk/the-wa...M1911A1-02.jpg

This is what I found:

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/lid=1...ession_Weights

[Montius]

Originally Posted by DPatty

Just saw this thread now lol. Not gonna waid through the hundreds of posts so gonna just jump into it right now.

I'm a Canadian and just went and got my firearms safety course done last weekend with a friend. I've now sent off my forms to the government and just gotta wait for it to be processed and then they'll send me back my license. Then I can actually buy stuff

In the meanwhile, guessing will take at least 2 months, have to start researching what guns to buy. So far the general theme I've come across is that it is more about selecting ammo (cheap and accessible) THEN selecting the guns.

I can also tell I'm going to become a gun nut almost for sure. I'm wanting to start off with some sort of rifle and a hand gun to take to the range and practice lots. For the rifle I've been getting recommended the Russian SKS a lot because it apparently can take military surplus ammo which makes it cheaper. Thoughts? For a hand gun I'm still not entirely what I want to get...in Canada the barrel has to be at least 4.1" so I'm looking for a normal sized gun. The good old 0.357 Magnum sounds sweet, but so does the Glock 23. Desert Eagle would also be neat as I used to play a lot of Counter Strike.

Thoughts? Advice? Can't wait to become a gun owner For what it's worth, I'm mega libertarian and hope I'd never have to use them outside of the range.

Rifle: Depends on what you are gonna be using it for. An SKS can be a decent gun, but if I were you and wanted that style of a semi-auto gas-piston operated gun, I'd just go with an AK (I've had lots of experiences with SKS' jamming. Plus I hate their magazines).

ARs are a great gun, but they are quite a bit more expensive than most AKs.

Personally, I think it is hard to beat a good bolt-action rifle in a .270 on up. But, like I said it all depends on what you want out of it.

Pistols:

.357 mag is a great round, but ammo is pretty expensive (though with most .357 mag wheel guns you can shoot the less expensive .38 special out of them, so that is a plus). I have a Ruger GP100 and it is fun as hell to shoot.

9mm is a decent, readily available, relatively inexpensive round and offers a plethora of options when it comes to picking out a model. Definitely a good starter.

.45 ACP. Probably my fav all around pistol round, but more expensive than a 9mm.

.40 S&W is a really great round too (imo it is right up there with the .45 ACP and offers a great compromise between the 9mm and the .45). Ammo price is comparable to .45 last I checked.

Tbh, you probably don't want a Desert Eagle (at least not in the .50 AE). They are expensive (both the gun and the ammo), they are heavy, and they aren't really all that practical unless you are simply trying to impress your friends or something. I have nothing against them, but it probably isn't the best gun to start out with tbh.

[ScottySo]

DPatty,

The first thing you need to do, imo, is establish your gun-buying philosophy. Are you buying them as a hobby? to hunt? for self defense? as collector's items? To re-sell later for profit? Other? Obv it can be a mix of two or more of these.

Personally, my entire gun-buying practice is directed by one thing: my desire to defend myself and my friends/family. If I somehow knew that I would never need a gun in self-defense, I would instantly sell all mine and never look back. Owning guns is a hassle: storing them takes up space, cleaning takes time, etc. Between the guns themselves, extra magazines, ammo, and other supplies, it is also quite expensive. Plus owning guns, especially in CA and in my family, makes me look like a huge nutcase. It would be so much easier to for me not to own guns. But the chance that I will ever need them is big enough to warrant me owning them.

Point is, self-defense is my only goal. And once I knew that, it was fairly easy to decide, or at least narrow down my list of potential gun purchases.

[Montius]

Very well put ScottySo.

Personally, I hunt, target shoot, am interested in self-defense, etc, so it is really hard for me to narrow down my list of potential gun purchases.

If home defense is your thing, you really cannot beat a good pump action/shorter barreled shotgun, imo. Nothing is really as effective in those circumstances and if I could only choose one for that purpose, that is what I would certainly choose.

Pistols are good obviously for "mobile protection."

[DblBarrelJ]

Originally Posted by ScottySo

DPatty,

The first thing you need to do, imo, is establish your gun-buying philosophy. Are you buying them as a hobby? to hunt? for self defense? as collector's items? To re-sell later for profit? Other? Obv it can be a mix of two or more of these.

Personally, my entire gun-buying practice is directed by one thing: my desire to defend myself and my friends/family. If I somehow knew that I would never need a gun in self-defense, I would instantly sell all mine and never look back. Owning guns is a hassle: storing them takes up space, cleaning takes time, etc. Between the guns themselves, extra magazines, ammo, and other supplies, it is also quite expensive. Plus owning guns, especially in CA and in my family, makes me look like a huge nutcase. It would be so much easier to for me not to own guns. But the chance that I will ever need them is big enough to warrant me owning them.

Point is, self-defense is my only goal. And once I knew that, it was fairly easy to decide, or at least narrow down my list of potential gun purchases.

+100.

As one of the best trainers I ever knew once told me; "There are three types of guns, guns you look at, guns you play with, and guns you'd bet your life on. Make sure you can tell the difference when you walk into a gun store or a gun show"

[DPatty]

Originally Posted by ScottySo

DPatty,

The first thing you need to do, imo, is establish your gun-buying philosophy. Are you buying them as a hobby? to hunt? for self defense? as collector's items? To re-sell later for profit? Other? Obv it can be a mix of two or more of these.

Personally, my entire gun-buying practice is directed by one thing: my desire to defend myself and my friends/family. If I somehow knew that I would never need a gun in self-defense, I would instantly sell all mine and never look back. Owning guns is a hassle: storing them takes up space, cleaning takes time, etc. Between the guns themselves, extra magazines, ammo, and other supplies, it is also quite expensive. Plus owning guns, especially in CA and in my family, makes me look like a huge nutcase. It would be so much easier to for me not to own guns. But the chance that I will ever need them is big enough to warrant me owning them.

Point is, self-defense is my only goal. And once I knew that, it was fairly easy to decide, or at least narrow down my list of potential gun purchases.

Thanks for the advice...greatly appreciated. My greatest intention for owning a gun would be for defensive purposes. I'm also adequatly rolled where I feel like I could afford a hand gun, rifle, and shotgun ultimately. I was planning on looking at the rifle and hand gun first as I was under the impression that shotgun ammo would be more expensive and right now I'm just wanting to do lots of practice at the shooting range to just increase my overall "gun comfort".

[DPatty]

Originally Posted by Montius

Rifle: Depends on what you are gonna be using it for. An SKS can be a decent gun, but if I were you and wanted that style of a semi-auto gas-piston operated gun, I'd just go with an AK (I've had lots of experiences with SKS' jamming. Plus I hate their magazines).

ARs are a great gun, but they are quite a bit more expensive than most AKs.

Personally, I think it is hard to beat a good bolt-action rifle in a .270 on up. But, like I said it all depends on what you want out of it.

Pistols:

.357 mag is a great round, but ammo is pretty expensive (though with most .357 mag wheel guns you can shoot the less expensive .38 special out of them, so that is a plus). I have a Ruger GP100 and it is fun as hell to shoot.

9mm is a decent, readily available, relatively inexpensive round and offers a plethora of options when it comes to picking out a model. Definitely a good starter.

.45 ACP. Probably my fav all around pistol round, but more expensive than a 9mm.

.40 S&W is a really great round too (imo it is right up there with the .45 ACP and offers a great compromise between the 9mm and the .45). Ammo price is comparable to .45 last I checked.

Tbh, you probably don't want a Desert Eagle (at least not in the .50 AE). They are expensive (both the gun and the ammo), they are heavy, and they aren't really all that practical unless you are simply trying to impress your friends or something. I have nothing against them, but it probably isn't the best gun to start out with tbh.

Thanks for this, going to take me a while to digest. I need to do more homework but I thought I heard that an AK is illegal in Canada and so the Russian SKS was the "AK equivalent" up here. That could be flat out wrong though...again, I'm just starting on doing my homework now.

Out of curiosity, is there any advantage to a bolt-action rifle over say a semi-automatic? Would it simply be that bolt-actions are cheaper? In general I'm just wondering why someone might choose a non semi-automatic gun when they could have a semi-auto one.

Thanks for that ammo break down....I recognize most of those names so that's good for me right now

I'm a total gun newb but basically I'm prepared to spend roughly $5,000 on guns and ammo in about 2 months time. I've got till then to figure out just what exactly I wanna get. I'd like to build an armory with defense in mind and right now would ideally like to have guns that are cheap to practice with as I want to feel as comfortable as possible with them. I also really enjoy going out to the range and just working on a skill such as accuracy.

[DblBarrelJ]

Originally Posted by DPatty

Thanks for this, going to take me a while to digest. I need to do more homework but I thought I heard that an AK is illegal in Canada and so the Russian SKS was the "AK equivalent" up here. That could be flat out wrong though...again, I'm just starting on doing my homework now.

Out of curiosity, is there any advantage to a bolt-action rifle over say a semi-automatic? Would it simply be that bolt-actions are cheaper? In general I'm just wondering why someone might choose a non semi-automatic gun when they could have a semi-auto one.

Thanks for that ammo break down....I recognize most of those names so that's good for me right now

I'm a total gun newb but basically I'm prepared to spend roughly $5,000 on guns and ammo in about 2 months time. I've got till then to figure out just what exactly I wanna get. I'd like to build an armory with defense in mind and right now would ideally like to have guns that are cheap to practice with as I want to feel as comfortable as possible with them. I also really enjoy going out to the range and just working on a skill such as accuracy.

Bolt action rifles are are generally much more accurate. They are used in situations (such as sniping and deer hunting) where accuracy is a much greater need than being able to fire multiple shots in a very efficient time frame.

[Such A Card]

Originally Posted by DPatty

Thanks for the advice...greatly appreciated. My greatest intention for owning a gun would be for defensive purposes. I'm also adequatly rolled where I feel like I could afford a hand gun, rifle, and shotgun ultimately. I was planning on looking at the rifle and hand gun first as I was under the impression that shotgun ammo would be more expensive and right now I'm just wanting to do lots of practice at the shooting range to just increase my overall "gun comfort".

You say you're concerned with "defending yourself." Against what?

Without knowing you, I'd say against home invasions or whatever. If that's the case get a 12 gauge pump shotgun, which can be as cheap as $300 for a base model Remington 870. Then get a bunch of 00 buckshot and you're set. The nice thing is you can use the same gun to hunt rabbits, deer and clay pigeons. The 12 gauge is hands down the most versatile gun you'll find.

A handgun isn't a bad idea either. I know a lot of VERY knowledgeable people when it comes to ammo and stopping power and all that crap. And you know what, if you get 3 VERY knowledgeable guys in the same room and ask them, "What's better? .45 ACP or 9mm?" You can go to the bar, get drunk, go to a motel with a bar scag drive her to her drug dealer's house, and then go back home and you know what? Those people will still be arguing 9mm vs. .45ACP.

My rule of thumb is if there's a giant debate between a few people who have tons of knowledge then they are all correct and you should go for the round that you like the best.

Personally, I like 9mm because the round is smaller so you can load more rounds in a magazine giving you more chances to hit your target. Other people like the .45 because it's bigger and packs a bigger punch.

So anyways, I don't see how a rifle fits into your idea of self defense, unless you're talking about defense from zombie hordes or the collapse of society with roving gangs looking to steal your food. A rifle is a long range weapon, as in, if you need a rifle to shoot someone, then by definition they were too far away from you to call it justified self defense.

Edit: If you live on a farm and have a problem with coyotes eating your livestock then that's a good reason to have a rifle also and could sort of fit into the idea of "defense."

[Mrmusicrecorder]

Originally Posted by DblBarrelJ

Bolt action rifles are are generally much more accurate. They are used in situations (such as sniping and deer hunting) where accuracy is a much greater need than being able to fire multiple shots in a very efficient time frame.

Additionally, the bolt action rifle is so accurate b/c you control the bolt and feeding mechanism instead of letting the recoil blow a bolt back, reducing recoil and increasing accuracy. I have a Winchester 770 .300 magnum, it is a cannon but it lets me make my own mistakes, instead of correcting the barrel and putting shots down range I aim and fire.

[Montius]

Originally Posted by DPatty

Thanks for this, going to take me a while to digest. I need to do more homework but I thought I heard that an AK is illegal in Canada and so the Russian SKS was the "AK equivalent" up here. That could be flat out wrong though...again, I'm just starting on doing my homework now.

I don't see why a semi-automatic AK would be illegal and the same type of semi-auto SKS wouldn't. They fire the same round and are more or less the same gun with a few minor differences. Fully automatic machine guns are probably definitely illegal.

Out of curiosity, is there any advantage to a bolt-action rifle over say a semi-automatic? Would it simply be that bolt-actions are cheaper? In general I'm just wondering why someone might choose a non semi-automatic gun when they could have a semi-auto one.

As others have said, bolt action rifles tend to be a bit more accurate (a reason why the military still often uses them), though semi-autos are getting better and better everyday in this department. Also, in the event of a misfire, I find it is much easier and faster to cycle the round with a bolt action.

Tbh, if your primary concern is defense, then a rifle probably isn't the best choice. Unless you are engaging some military force where you need to shoot far or take on a whole SWAT team/military force/zombie hordes/cyborg terminators invading your home, you are much better off with a shotgun. The ammo for a shotgun isn't that expensive, and you don't have to worry about a high powered rifle bullet going through your wall and killing someone in your family or something like that.

Thanks for that ammo break down....I recognize most of those names so that's good for me right now

I'm a total gun newb but basically I'm prepared to spend roughly $5,000 on guns and ammo in about 2 months time. I've got till then to figure out just what exactly I wanna get. I'd like to build an armory with defense in mind and right now would ideally like to have guns that are cheap to practice with as I want to feel as comfortable as possible with them. I also really enjoy going out to the range and just working on a skill such as accuracy.

Well with 5k you can get plenty to start out with.

For defense, I'd recommend starting off with something like this:

http://www.jaxonsgottagun.com/Remington870.jpg

It is a Remington 870. There are several variations that are good. I'd go with either the Home Defense, the Police, or the Marine Magnum models, personally.

A Mossberg 500 is also a great selection (may even prefer its ergonomics to the Remington).

Either one of these is capable of being modified in about any manner anyone would ever need or want to.

[NeBlis]

Originally Posted by Montius

H&K P2000 SK for sub compact, imo.....

Originally Posted by NeBlis

full size pistol, if you need a small gun... j frame smith, or the judge FTW

Originally Posted by Montius

The SK model is a sub-compact....

No I know what size the SK is. I ment buy a "full sized" pistol or if you need a small gun buy one of the tiny revolvers..... I wasnt being clear.