Evidently, there are lots of what are old friend (and one of my personal stalkers) Timmah might call “gun fetishists” starting to stockpile the hardware for personal, family, home, and property protection. I guess maybe they think the Democrats who keep insisting nobody is going to take their guns are the same Democrats who told them they’d be able to have free healthcare, keep their doctors, get cheap coverage even with pre-existing conditions, and still pay less. And it dawned on them that maybe those Democrats were a bunch of big fat lying liars. Who lie.
This must cause Timmah no end of concern, seeing his country being taken over by such rabid racist redneck mouthbreathers. I mean, who knew there could be so many of them? Don’t, like, most of these type gun fetishists — and face it, if you own a fire arm, that’s what you are, a proven sociopath who mentally can’t be allowed to own a gun, your desire for one being proof of your being unfit to have it — die because of all the inbreeding and monster truck racing and such?
Alternately, I suppose it could just seem like there are a bunch of these types, particularly compared to the cosmopolitan liberal set, some of whom may have a single child as an accessory, but for the most part are just as likely to rectify that punishment right there in the womb before it grows up to cramp their lifestyle.
So really it’s just a matter of perspective.
I can’t imagine why a stalker would be so upset about people arming themselves…
So ammo prices are going to stay up a bit and the shortages will continue (though maybe not as bad with production going 24/7) since all those new guns gotta be fed too.
I may have skewed the numbers a tad …
Two for me in 2013.
“I’m doing my part”
I think the ammo shortages are the new normal. Part of it is increased demand from new gun owners, part of it increased stockpiling by existing gun owners, and the remainder is the never ending efforts of progressives to keep it off the market or at least more expensive and harder to get. Watch for the wave of requirements to ban lead ammo, for instance. The military is playing around with “green” ammo and the last lead smelter in the US (just south of St. Louis in Herculaneum) shut down last month. I’m concerned that somebody stockpiling ammo in their basement will have a house fire and it will start going off leading to a whole new set of regulations banning people from keeping more than, oh, I don’t know, maybe 6 rounds in their homes or apartments, or having to register their ammunition with their local fire department, or something similar.
More than anything else, I hate progressives for turning me into such a cynical pessimist.
http://bearingarms.com/southport-nc-cop-shoots-tased-and-restrained-90-pound-hs-student-after-allegedly-stating-we-dont-have-time-for-this/
Palaeo, my comment on that story somewhere was, “Those old ‘Next time you need help, call a hippie’ bumper stickers just got a whole lot less funny.”
Last time I commented on this subject, I had just bought myself a Ruger mini 13…
Add a Colt 1910 to the list. Ammo though? Hard to come by at Walmart and the only local ye olde gun shoppe is still rationing.
Yes, those are on purpose since I feel so bad about screwing up the first time.
I hope I can scrape some money together to add to my collection at the bottom of the lake.
I’ve been eyeballing a few different pistols as a first gun (this tremendous “recovery” forced me to put things like property taxes and car fixes first in ’13). Any thoughts on this?
I’ve read some positive reviews of the Remington R-51, but don’t have one. Specific recommendations tend to border on the theological but I do enjoy reading them. Instead I’ll offer a couple of buying suggestions.
Don’t buy any gun unless the dealer will sell you some ammo to go with it.
If you can find a range that rents guns so you can try a few out and get used to how it fits in your hands and whether you want a semi-auto or a revolver, how light or heavy are you comfortable with, and how you handle the recoil.
Oh, one suggestion, I suppose, if it is a first gun, you might want a long gun instead of a pistol, though shotgun vice rifle is again a theological discussion. Or you can get a Savage 42 and have both!
If you can find a range that rents guns so you can try a few out and get used to how it fits in your hands and whether you want a semi-auto or a revolver, how light or heavy are you comfortable with, and how you handle the recoil.
Spot on – if you don’t have that as an option, see what trusted friends have and compare, and as an absolute minimum, go to a dealer (better still, a gun show). Every one has different hand anatomy, and shooting irons aren’t really one size fits all.
However, even before that, you need to consider what you want it for, and what calibre. Regarding the latter and ammo availability there are two schools of thought regarding the current situation. One is that oddball calibres are more readily available because there is no big demand, the other is sticking to common calibres (9mm, .45, etc) because there is more made. I don’t think there is conclusive data either way, but I would suspect in the event of some crunch making an ammo manufacturer cut back, the oddball stuff would be first to be dropped from production.
If ClownDisaster has any native intelligence at all, he’ll stop playing golf at Kaneohe Klipper, or any other military base for that matter. As G.H.W. Bush might put it, ‘just wouldn’t be prudent’ to continue.
>, the other is sticking to common calibres (9mm, .45, etc) <
stick with them in the event of an "emergency" i think. and the "emergency" is on the horizon.
I’ve come around to liking the .40 S&W, given that in my area there’s always plenty of ammo to be had. It’s close relative, the powerhouse. 357 Sig, is difficult to find. I’ve one pistol with interchangeable barrels, uses the same mags, so I can shoot the .40 and carry the .357 with the nice ballistics and deep penetrations.
Plenty of platforms support that one gun – two caliber solution: Sig Sauer P229, a few blocky Glocks, and the S&W MP 40 to name a few.
If it’s good enough for these guys…
http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2012/04/robert-farago/the-real-secret-service-scandal-agency-switching-to-p229-dak-sigs/
Here is a review by yours truly about the Sig TacPac.
I’ve shot 40 S&W out of a Glock and and a Springfield XD. I found the 40 to be punishing out of a Glock but quite easy to shoot out of the XD. YMMV
However, if I were purchasing a 9 mm, I think Glock, hands down, builds the best 9 mm semi-auto. No, Glocks are not pretty, but, for 9 mm, the Glock rocks.
All that said, I’m a 1911 guy through and through. For defensive purposes, I shoot +p cartridges loaded with 230 grain slugs that have a cavity big enough to double as an ash tray.
would a 1911 @ 9 mm be a good 1st gun?
nr, it depends on what you’re after. 1911’s are complicated to shoot compared to a Glock and take more effort to maintain. Glocks will hold up under lack of attention much better also.
The most reliable gun I have, by far, is my Taurus stainless .357 snubbie that I have loaded with 38 special +p rounds. However, reloading is problematic.
If I didn’t shoot as much as I do, I probably would not own a 1911 as a main defensive weapon.
Glock 34 is well liked for 9mm if you don’t mind a full sized long slide “thin” style pistol. If you want a concealable single stack maybe try the 26.
Newrouter,
Take the advice of Charles Austin above.
Not to resurrect the 1911 vs. Glock debate, but you have to use what fits you. Contrary to Blake’s experience I find Glocks to be an ergonomic nightmare as it just doesn’t fit my hand. As another anecdote, I was shooting with a friend with a Glock and he was all over the map, but doing nothing differently was fine with my 1911 because it was heavier. As I said before, shooting irons are not one size fits all.
Glocks will hold up under lack of attention much better also.
That I have to disagree with, you have to recall why and for whom it was designed. I have a WWII vintage one with original parts that shoots as well as a new one, and it is clear that in its earlier life it was not a shelf queen. I have no doubt you could dip it in a bucket of creosote and it would still function
Just to be clear, I do not own a Gock, nor do I ever intend to own a Glock. I do not care for ugly guns with lousy triggers and bad ergonomics.
I have, however, shot the Glock 19. The gun shot exceedingly well and was easy to keep on target.
Eing, I’m a 1911 guy and the reason I suggest a Glock for someone who doesn’t regularly hit the range is that the grip safety and the thumb safety require a lot of range time to get used to. I shoot close to 6,000 rounds of 45 acp a year. I think the average shooter would be doing well to shoot a tenth that amount per year. And I’m not sure 600 rounds a year is enough practice to be proficient with the thumb safety and grip safety on the 1911.
The Glock is pretty much slam the magazine home, rack the slide, pull the trigger. No external safeties to learn.
Oh, and another thing, I only like the Glock in 9 mm. I think Glocks in anything other than 9 millimeter are to be avoided.
Blake,
Point taken about the safeties, in which case I’d go with a Sig over a Glock. I am skeptical of the trigger safety having read reports of unintended discharges when the trigger got hung up on a holster or other object.
Glock 34
http://img2.findthebest.com/sites/default/files/495/media/images/Glock_34_Pistol_26408.JPG
Glock . My favorite handgun is ole’ slabsides. There’s so many out there now that availability isn’t a problem.
But the .40 has some immediate advantages: more rounds in the magazine, and more ammo on the store shelves. Also, for a novice shooter who can’t pick up a .22 and, well, learn to shoot with that, the .45 may well be an intimidating first-choice.
Just me, but I never have and won’t ever own a 9mm. More spitting. )
Speaking of the always-versatile .22 LR, I’ve my own thinking as to why we can’t seem to find that round on shelves easily anymore. There’s several lines of thought, one being that the rounds are purchased early at retail outlets and turned around and resold at huge markup online, thus providing a nice flow of revenue to people with ‘connections’ to retail supply chains. Manager Earle calls buddies Joe and Jim when the bricks show up on the docks, and mysteriously enough, they’ve been sold before they hit the shelves.
But our federal government also buys these things by the truckload. Why, when they don’t need them? Recall Eric Holder in ’95, found and quoted on Breitbart…
I’ll bet most of us long-time gun owners and shooters started out learning with the .22 LR, prolly with Dad or Gramps (I had a single-shot 22 when I was 10). But with .22 ammo virtually nonexistent on most shelves, it’s easier for Dad just to gift junior an XBox than a .22 rifle. And mention socially giving your kid a gun for birthday or Christmas? The left’s been conditioned to hate guns, and give negative feedback when guns are even discussed. That will discourage youth interest an ownership. Even toy guns are considered an evil. And we know how the Democrat-controlled public schools indoctrinate from preschool forward.
Anything that’s good, wholesome, and promotes the individual freedoms that we enjoyed in our own youth is now degraded by new-age, far-Left Democrats. And Holder? The bastard’s tact is to shut down youth exposure to guns (except via video games and negative indoctrination). Limiting .22 LR is just another way to keep Americans on their ‘Shining Path’. The .22’s virtual disappearance is easily understood when you look at in the context of our times.
I don’t think the 1911 frame is a good platform for 9mm. It lends itself to a heavier bullet.I don’t own one but I’ve shop Glocks in 9mm and really like that platform. They are very accurate and easy to control.They have grip insert so you can custom fit the grip to the size of your hand. I have a Sig 226 in 9mm and while heavier than a Glock it is equally as accurate.
shot
I own a 1911 in 38 Super and a Sig P226 with .22LR, 357Sig and 40S&W barrels. I wanted to like a glock but I can not shoot my brother’s 17 anywhere near as well as my Sig or the 1911…maybe its just the cheap a$$ ammo he buys.
Whatever firearm you purchase be sure to try different brands of ammo and bullet weights within brands as most rifles and handguns are picky about what they like.
I like these gun threads. I never have anything to add, but you guys are a font of useful information.
Add my voice to the chorus of those recommending that you avail yourself of the opportunity to try before you buy. I’m fortunate to have a good buddy whose membership at the range allows him to waive rental fees on pistols, which has made it easy for me to try out 10 or 12 different models in recent months. As one who hasn’t “played with guns” since high school, it was a real eye-opener to me to realize just how much difference the subtle details of grip, trigger, and sights makes when it comes to comfort and accuracy.
I’ve also learned to tune out the chatter of the various zealots. I’m happy to learn of fundamental problems that affect reliability, but when it comes to matters of look & feel, or maintenance, or weight, or capacity, or any of the other little factors that come together to define the whole experience, I’ve learned to stick with what feels good and seems reasonable to me.
I’m surprised at how much the experience parallels my early HDTV-buying days. Bombarded with advice about LCD versus LED, and megalumens vs True Black, and Sony vs Samsung vs LG vs Sharp vs Whatever, it really boiled down to going out to a couple of shops, staring at the damn things with my own eyes, and picking the one that looked best to me.
So, try out as many as you can, and when you find one that feels good in your hand, and makes a lot of holes really close together, and puts a smile on your face, then that’s the one you take home. And if it’s twice as expensive as you were hoping for, well, I’d suggest you keep saving your nickels and dimes until you have enough, because I’d hate to spend months or years thinking “I really should have gotten the good one” every time I went to the range.
Call me crazy but I happen to like my Beretta M9. As I noted on another thread, in the 6 months I’ve owned it it’s been reliable, easy to maintain and a lot of fun to shoot. It seems pretty accurate as well, but I’ve been shooting reactive targets more than paper so I haven’t been paying close attention to the groupings.
Regarding 9mm, while it may not be the manly man’s round like 40S&W or 45 ACP, at least it’s been cheap and relatively easy to find. I’ve been paying around 26 or 27 cents a round, and can usually get between 150-300 rounds at a time (Wal-Mart is a good source).
Yeah, I’d expect a definite uptick in the “War on Crazy” in the next two years. The stage is already being dressed.
And if it’s twice as expensive as you were hoping for, well, I’d suggest you keep saving your nickels and dimes until you have enough, because I’d hate to spend months or years thinking “I really should have gotten the good one” every time I went to the range.
Absolutely – think of it as you would buying a guitar. If the affordable one you buy has a square neck and action like the Verrazano Narrows bridge, you probably aren’t going to play it.
Also, don’t waste time and money making it into a Swiss Army pistol or rifle by hanging lights, lasers, optics and whatnot on it. Learn the basics first – more than once I have seen a guy forget to bring back up batteries for sights on a Swiss Army rifle and not know how to use the iron sights.
And regarding the “try before you buy” advice, I borrowed a friend’s Beretta 92FS and Sig P226 to try them out before buying my own. The Beretta just seemed a better fit for my hand.
I’ve always been a Sig guy… They fit my hand well.. but I’m thinking of getting a sub-compact Glock .45 for carry.. Blake: What’s your objection to Glock’s in other than 9mm? Have your heard of or experienced a problem with them?
I shot demonstrably better with a Glock than with a Sig of the same caliber and barrel length. I can’t think of a reason why one is objectively better than the other, but if I had to guess it’d be:
1) Glock fit my hand better
2) I shot the Glock first (it was actually the first 9mm I’d ever pulled the trigger on) and so was “trained” to it.
3) Glock had better trigger action and less recoil
4) Glock rulez and Sigs drool
That’s all I have for now. I’d want to shoot a LOT more before I’d try and make any kind of authoritative statement, but for now my preference would be the Glock just because it’s a familiar thing.
Which is something.
I have shot my wife’s Ruger .38 LCR quite a lot, and don’t advise it as a shoot-for-fun gun. It kicks quite a bit, and it’s not very accurate. In general I’d say lose the snubnose for fun-shooting because of the front-to-rear sight distance makes for problems in aiming.
But I’m thinking I can cure part of that with different sights. One or both of them need to be more visible.
Ouroboros, my admittedly limited experience with Glocks tell me the Glock design isn’t really substantial enough for anything more than 9 millimeter. My pistol instructor sent me pics of a Glock chambered for 45 acp that exploded during use. No barrel blockage, factory round, etc. According to my instructor, this is the second time he’s seen that happen with a Glock. The guy shooting the Glock had some impressive hand wounds. Fortunately, while a couple of the wounds were deep, the shooter escaped with a few stitches. And, as I mentioned, the Springfield XD seems to handle 40 S&W quite well, whereas Glock chambered for 40 seem to be a bit punishing.
My personal carry weapon is a full size 1911. I tend to think large caliber rounds in small weapons is asking for trouble. If you’re interested in ease of carry, my opinion is that your better off with a smaller round, simply because a large round in a small firearm is going to present serious problems when it comes to follow up shots. In the real world, one stop shots pretty much do not exist.
http://www.uproxx.com/filmdrunk/2014/01/cormac-mccarthys-ex-arrested-brandishing-gun-pulled-vagina-dispute-aliens/
YOU’RE DOING IT WRONG!
“Also, don’t waste time and money making it into a Swiss Army pistol or rifle by hanging lights, lasers, optics and whatnot on it. ”
Don’t listen. Every pistol should have a bipod, a bayonet lug, at least four lasers, and a 3.5-10x 50mm Zeiss scope. Every free square inch of it should be railed for accesories.
Aw heck, I’ll weigh in anyway.
I have several Glocks in .40 S&W and .45ACP and I am happy with them, but the handgun I shoot best is easily the Walther PPK in .380 ACP. That may be because the Walther PPK is fairly heavy for it’s size and the barrel is fixed. Don’t know, but there has to be a reason why Ian Fleming had James Bond carry it, even if he did use a .32 ACP version. Maybe some early success led me to shoot it more often. In my opinion, the Glocks are better for folks with larger hands, though the Gen 4s may help with that a little, and while I have shot them I don’t see the point of the compact or subcompact Glocks. If you want a smaller gun, the form factor of the Glock doesn’t help much and for carrying the lack of an external safety worries me a bit in a setting where the adrenaline may be flowing since most ranges don’t let you practice with a holster. When it came time to get my daughter I gun she got the Sig Sauer P238. But that’s another story. As you accumulate guns you should consider a small .38 revolver (S&W has several to choose from) and a .22LR of some sort. The .38 has been an effective second weapon of choice for a long time. As for the .22LR Without the recoil you can work on your technique better, and if you have kids or a wife who isn’t too stout they will find that much easier to learn on as well. I don’t own a 1911 but like the fact that the Glock 21 has 13+1 rounds in it. IIRC, the average number of rounds fired when guns are actually used in self defense in around 2.3 or 2.6 so capacity and double stacks may be overrated.
As has been noted, a lot depends on what you are planning on doing, but if I could only have one gun and it wasn’t for concealing I would probably get a 12 gauge shotgun. There are very inexpensive pump and semiauto options, and 12 gauge shells are probably the most commonly still available round out there.
Yeah, you can get a Mossberg Maverick 88(el cheapo alternative for the 500) for $189.
A Remington 870 express might be $289.
A good semi-auto can be had for as little as $300.
Oh, goodie, another bang-stick thread! I wonder if steve will weigh in?
Personal preference: glock 32 in 357 sig, with 9 mm and 40 barrels. Compact glock fits my hands and I can shoot whatever is available.
Daily carry? Ruger LCP in 380 cuz I can carry it anywhere. And I force myself to practice cuz it hurts to shoot. That being said, I can do center of mass out to 25 yds, and it doesn’t hurt as much if you practice a lot.
shorter steve: I like a nuclear depleted uranium 3d printed uzi MG34 with armor piercing acid shotgun rocket rounds, painted black of course with AK and AR options. High capacity ones. And grenades bought by kids at walmart. ‘Murica!
I believe you misspelled “shortbus.” It has no E or R.
I like a nuclear depleted uranium 3d printed uzi MG34 with armor piercing acid shotgun rocket rounds…
Hell yeah, just like the Space Shuttle door gunners use !
I was unable to secure that Howitzer that Hubs asked for at Christmas. Those fellows at the armory were surprisingly stubborn about it.
A potato gun? You hunters are crazy! You have a gun for everything!
You have a gun for everything!
Are nerfs birds or like small deer ?
Glue gun? Why the hell would you maniacs need to shoot at glue?
I forgot to mention that just because I don’t favor a particular gun, it doesn’t mean I won’t accept it as payment, long term loan, or run some rounds through it “just to see how it feels.”
Doesn’t matter if it’s two identical firearms. Still need to compare and contrast.
Glue gun? Why the hell would you maniacs need to shoot at glue?
No shoot at glue, who can forget the infamous German LePage Glue Gun that would stick entire formations together in mid-air ?
Amen.
Damn it. I want to draw a sketch of some space shiutle door gunners now. And maybe write a punk rock song about it.
Mowing ’em down
In the alleys of Von Braun
Cause it’s hard to keep
Your helmets down
When the cowboys bring
our brand of hell
The edge of this weak
Gravity well
‘Go to sleep
Go away
Blow apart
All is well.
And we’re burning Von Baun down…
Okay that petty much sucked.
It seems more like a Hawkwind kind of thing than a punk song now. Maybe I should start with ‘Moonglum Friend with Out a Reason’ and go from there.
To grab in the middle of the night I like my Sig p226 in 9mm with a couple of Mec-gar 20 rd mags filled with Underwood +P 147 gr gold dots. I don’t CCW but if I had to I’d likely take my Taurus M85 with +P 125 gr.
Now this event could get dangerous if the “thousands” are packing.
And ruined the bomb patterns…