For all you gun lovers ..... - Page 2

oh sorry I meant 30-06 I wasn't for sure how to spell it

sorry, just re-read what I wrote, wasn't laughing at mis typing the round I was laughing about getting hit with the scope.  I know how much it sucks but it does make for a good story!  You should see what it looks like when someone fires a 50 Cal... even with a proper hold/rest it tosses you back like you wouldn't believe...

In my stupid youth I traded a very nice .308 Remington Model 600 short-barrel carbine for a custom-made 300 Win Mag long rifle, with scope.
 
I fired the thing a few times and handed it to a shooting buddy.  He also decided to shoot it from prone.  I told him to keep his head back from the scope, but he didn't.  After his first shot, we ended up taking a quick trip to the emergency room to get that nasty, crescent-moon-shaped cut sewed up with a couple of stitches.  Boy, did that sucker bleed for such a small cut!  Must have been deep.Yes, I made the mistake of laughing when I first took a look at the cut.  That did not go over too well.

Yeah it did suck. I never knew the face could bleed so much. It bled so much that some of the blood actually dried while I was still bleeding. I was making bloodcicles off the tip of my nose lol

BLOODCICLES!!!! THAT'S AWSOME!

I was once was shot in the finger from my CO2 gun (480 fps) from point blank range. it pierced the skin. first i tryed to dig it out with a screw driver, because it was the first thing I saw. That failed pretty miserably. I ended up having to squeeze it out. It wasnt fun. Ill spare you the details on how it happened.

quote:

ORIGINAL: nafango2
....................... Ill spare you the details on how it happened.

But that's the best part, so spill it!

quote:

ORIGINAL: Tony1M

In my stupid youth I traded a very nice .308 Remington Model 600 short-barrel carbine for a custom-made 300 Win Mag long rifle, with scope.

 
In high school a buddy of mine was buying a new "deer rifle."  He came home with a 300 Win Mag.  We asked him if he was going to be shooting at buffalo or deer.  He said he bought a gun that fired such a large round so that branches and twigs would not deflect the bullet as easily.  Haha!  I still think he was compensating for something if you know what I mean.
The crazy thing is, they guy had shoulder surgery less than a year before he got the thing!  I don't remember exactly what they did, but I know his shoulder would pop out of place all the time because of football.  That was the same shoulder he used to shoot with too.  He said it never bothered him.  But then again, he knew what to expect!
 
Oh yeah...Tony, I think I am putting that Taurus you posted on my "Guns Wanted" list.  Especially after what you said about titanium not rusting.  I need to get my wife a piece she can shoot well.  My .45 is a little much for her.  Plus I think I need to get her something that she can just "pull the trigger" instead of having to either chamber a round via the slide, or cock the hammer back.  It's a single action - I keep one in the chamber, but the hammer stays down so I have to cock it if I want to shoot.  that way I can have 8 rounds of .45 ammo instead of 7.  7 in the clip and one in the hole.  I keep it loaded with federal premium hollow points.

Essentially the 308 and 300 bullets are the same, but of course the size of the 300 casing gives any particular size bullet much more velocity than the 308.  With a heavy bullet, that 300 had an uncomfortable recoil, too.  It did not take me long to get sick of the bluderbuss and sell it to another idiot like myself.
________________________
 
The 85 is a good choice for anyone, but it's really perfect for women.  They can put it in a small bag or purse, or they can carry it in the other ways I mentioned - pocket or waistband.  Ankle holster is also a good option, but in the Southern US how many people are going to be walking around in long slacks? 
 
Taurus revolvers are known for their very smooth actions and reliable, predictable release point, even in slow double action. The 85 is a prime example of that action.  In single action, trigger pull and release are about as good as a S&W that has had a trigger job.  You just have to think "shoot", and it shoots. Because of this, it is an extremely accurate gun in SA, even with its 2" barrel.
 
When my wife and I started shooting again (her first time ever shooting - me a re-start), she rented a nice large, heavy .22 S&W revolver and we put in it the cheapest, weakest ammo we could find. From the first shot she absolutely loved shooting.  I tried firing the thing a couple of times and I could barely feel the recoil. It was like a cap gun! But it was a very very easy gun for a beginner to shoot.  No negatives whatsoever, and that experience sold her on the fun of shooting, so I'd recommend that method for breaking in any new handgun shooter.  (Put a desert eagle in a novice's hand and their first shot may very well be their last shot - particularly if that person is a woman.)
 
Soonafter we attended a CCW training course at a gun show, and within a few weeks we both had our CCW permits. 
 
Then we bought the 85 and later the 101.  We also bought an 8-round, .22 long rifle, S&W Model 317 Airlight.

Although I purchased it for use only the range, this is the gun my wife chose to carry most of the time.  It is even smaller and lighter than the 85 - only 10 oz, empty.  It looks and feels like a toy, but when you load hi performance Yellow Jacket or CCI mini mag, it packs a fair bit of whallop.  She was very comfortable carrying that little gun as she did her daily walk around the park.
 
Since a 2" snub nose is a 2" snub nose, many times we'd go to the range and shoot only the 22.  We'd buy a brick of 500 rounds and just blam away for an hour or so.  This was a very cheap way to keep in good shooting form.  (BTW, you would not believe how dirty that gun would be after firing 500 rounds of rimfire ammo!  It would take me a good hour to clean the thing properly.)
 
She could fire the 85 with no problem, but she did not find it as fun as the 22.  She fired the 101 with 357 in it only a couple of times, and she found that unpleasant.  I, on the other hand, loved it.  The first time I fired a 101, I knew I'd have to buy one.  It has to be shot to be believed.
 
(BTW, that relatively cheap "brake-cleaner spray" that one buys to spray drum and disk brakes prior to working on them, is the perfect thing to remove cleaning residue, or dirty lubricant of all kinds, from guns.  It is completely volitile and leaves behind abosolutely no residue whatsoever. Use it in a well-ventilated area.  Outside is best.  After cleaning our guns, I'd take them outside and give them a good final going over with brake cleaner.  Then they'd look perfect, and their actions would be ready for a couple of drops of light oil.) 

quote:

ORIGINAL: Tony1M

Essentially the 308 and 300 bullets are the same, but of course the size of the 300 casing gives any particular size bullet much more velocity than the 308.  With a heavy bullet, that 300 had an uncomfortable recoil, too.  It did not take me long to get sick of the bluderbuss and sell it to another idiot like myself.
________________________

You are absolutely correct, the 300 win mag and 308 have the same size neck on the casing so their bullets are interchangeable....  the 300 casing though is much larger (of course)...  My family has been hand re-loading our rounds since before I started hunting and IMO that's the best way to do it...  I used to load my rounds just a few grains apart then go out shooting to see what rounds were the most accurate, it's amazing what difference a little powder makes...

quote:

ORIGINAL: sir_nasty

quote:

ORIGINAL: Tony1M

Essentially the 308 and 300 bullets are the same, but of course the size of the 300 casing gives any particular size bullet much more velocity than the 308.  With a heavy bullet, that 300 had an uncomfortable recoil, too.  It did not take me long to get sick of the bluderbuss and sell it to another idiot like myself.
________________________

You are absolutely correct, the 300 win mag and 308 have the same size neck on the casing so their bullets are interchangeable....  the 300 casing though is much larger (of course)...  My family has been hand re-loading our rounds since before I started hunting and IMO that's the best way to do it...  I used to load my rounds just a few grains apart then go out shooting to see what rounds were the most accurate, it's amazing what difference a little powder makes...

I was such a gun nut in my youth that I thought I'd get into reloading at some point.  As you well know, if you're going to shoot a lot, then reloading is the way to go.
 
But my circumstances changed and shooting was something that I could not sustain beyond my very early 20's.  
 
When my wife and I bought a winter home in Florida, that was my opportunity to get back into it.  Then we had grand children and,  because we wanted to participate as much as possible in their lives, we decided to sell our winter home and stay close to home and grandchildren. 
 
So now once again, because we live in Canada, shooting is not part of our lives.  We could go to a local range to shoot, but we'd have to rent there and buy ammo there and that would be very expensive. I'm too tight for that. Also, the attitudes and atmosphere here are completely different than what we experienced in Florida.  Too bad, because I still have a fondness for firearms - revolvers in particular.  Poor me.

I love my Ruger 22/45.  It is almost as heavy as the .45 and it is comparable in balance (hence the name 22/45).  The bull barrel makes it extremely accurate.  However, I need to buy a .22 cleaning kit asap.  I haven't ever cleaned it (I've only shot about 100 rounds or so through it though) and I know I need to soon. 
Thanks for the brake cleaner suggestion.  i have several cans of that stuff in the garage and I never thought to use it for that.

"Semi-autos are more difficult to clean than revolvers and, therefore, most semi owners put off cleaning their guns. That's OK for a range gun, but a bad thing for a carry gun. 

Used a lot, semis are just an overall PIA compared to the comfort, reliability, ease-of-maintenance and peace of mind of the time-proven revolver design.  The one and, imo, only advantage of a semi is a high-capacity magazine, and even that is almost certainly useless for carry."


I have to disagree with this....I shoot my S&W sigma series 40 pretty regularly because I live in the country and can shoot in the back yard....For me it's a part of being a gun owner...I clean it right when i get back inside. 
I have shot enough kinds of ammo through it to know what it likes and what it doesnt. That doesnt mean that I have to buy the expensive stuff, I buy the Winchester shells that wal-mart sells....The only times it has ever jammed were with Fiocci bullets that were given to me free with the purchase of the gun. And one other time when a Winchester shell had been improperly loaded and made it through inspections....The actual bullet was pushed into the jacket farther than it should have been and it wouldnt load...now I just check them before I load them, unless im just gonna blast them off at targets... 

I can see reason to believe the high-capacity is nearly useless...If you cant hit what you're shooting at, then you dont need a gun..get some mace or a taser..

THe only reason I dont carry the gun on my person is because its too big to wear on my hip without scaring mothers and children and looking like a paranoid lunatic...I dont like revolvers just because the time it takes to reload unless you carry around a big wad of the pre-loaded quick reload things...I'd rather have a flat mag that can go right in my pocket along with the gun...

my .02 

I should add that none of our guns had wood grips.  I say this because although the cleaner did not harm the rubber grips on our guns, I would not reccomend spraying it on any wood surface that has a varnish or polyurethane finish.  I'm also not sure what it would do to synthetic stocks or parts, either, so use it only on the metal parts of the gun.

quote:

ORIGINAL: bssmagik83

"Semi-autos are more difficult to clean than revolvers and, therefore, most semi owners put off cleaning their guns. That's OK for a range gun, but a bad thing for a carry gun. 

Used a lot, semis are just an overall PIA compared to the comfort, reliability, ease-of-maintenance and peace of mind of the time-proven revolver design.  The one and, imo, only advantage of a semi is a high-capacity magazine, and even that is almost certainly useless for carry."


I have to disagree with this....I shoot my S&W sigma series 40 pretty regularly because I live in the country and can shoot in the back yard....For me it's a part of being a gun owner...I clean it right when i get back inside. 
I have shot enough kinds of ammo through it to know what it likes and what it doesnt. That doesnt mean that I have to buy the expensive stuff, I buy the Remington shells that wal-mart sells....The only times it has ever jammed were with Fiocci bullets that were given to me free with the purchase of the gun. And one other time when a Remington shell had been improperly loaded and made it through inspections....The actual bullet was pushed into the jacket farther than it should have been and it wouldnt load...now I just check them before I load them, unless im just gonna blast them off at targets... 

I can see reason to believe the high-capacity is nearly useless...If you cant hit what you're shooting at, then you dont need a gun..get some mace or a taser..

THe only reason I dont carry the gun on my person is because its too big to wear on my hip without scaring mothers and children and looking like a paranoid lunatic...I dont like revolvers just because the time it takes to reload unless you carry around a big wad of the pre-loaded quick reload things...I'd rather have a flat mag that can go right in my pocket along with the gun...

my .02 

Please note that I restricted what I said about semis to concealed carry only. 
 
Certainly the vast majority law enforcement agencies agree that the semi-auto is the way to go, but again, those are not for concealed carry.  Revolvers have gone the way of the dinosaur as far as they are concerned, so those that claim that full-size revolvers are still a better choice than semis will be hard-pressed to support their position. 
 
The semi auto is certainly more glamourous than a revolver, too.  No doubt about it.
 
I did not mean to imply that every semi user didn't clean his gun, but the vast majority of folks that I shot with did not. Since that practise was widespread compared to revolver users, I had to conclude that cleaning semis was simply too much trouble to do frequently (unless average semi owners are inherently dirtier or lazier than average revolver owners).  As a result, there was a lot of cursing at the range when those guns did not operate as they were supposed to.  The few folks who did not clean their revolvers had much better results.
 
Even you admit that because of its size your weapon is not suitable for concealed carry, and, also, that a semi user had better choose his ammunition very carefully. I agree with you 100% on the ammo, and that's part of the reason why I said what I said. 
 
Then there's the big issue of exactly how to grip a semi as it is shot. As long as one does it right, likely there will be a good re-load, but there's always that uncertainty - at least in my own mind.
 
A small revolver has a sure-fire warranty - regardless of what ammo you put in it.  And unless one intends to act as the insurance policy for drug dealers, I doubt if anyone will ever need more shots for self-protection than are availble in a single cylinder. I never carried spare ammo, except when going to the range.
 
On a side note, I have been at the range on several occassions when local LEOs were preparing for their yearly sidearm re-certification.  I fired a few of their weapons.  Because of their ridiculously heavy trigger pulls, they were difficult for me to use accurately, and I was not alone.  (After I fired those guns, I no longer wondered why NYC's finest need 40 or 50 shots to bring down one stationary person who's brandishing a wallet or a submarine sandwich.)  Yes, witnessing the results of those people shooting was a real eye-opener.  The old expression "they couldn't hit the side of a barn" came to mind immediately. 
 
I had some of them try our 85 and 101. Even though our guns were short-barrel, they all shot much straighter with them, especially in single-action mode.  After shooting a few shots, most said that they would be much happier if they could trade in their high-tech guns for an old-fashioned revolver.  It's too bad the system cannot provide them with that option.

Yeah but revolvers don't look as cool when you shoot them sideways - gangster style.  Just kidding haha.
I definitely plan on buying a revolver for my wife.  I figured I'd get a .357 since you can fire .38 out of it.  That's why I liked the Taurus you posted. I also like anything Ruger makes.  I'd be willing to bet the Taurus is cheaper though!  All this talk makes me want to go shoot.  I haven't shot in over a year.  Maybe even 2 years!  I used to live in a town that you coyuld easily go out and shoot.  or at least I knew people that had enough land that we wouldn't get the cops called on us.  I need to try out the semi-local (about 30 minutes away from my house) range.

quote:

ORIGINAL: 00AccordLX5spd

Yeah but revolvers don't look as cool when you shoot them sideways - gangster style.  Just kidding haha.
I definitely plan on buying a revolver for my wife.  I figured I'd get a .357 since you can fire .38 out of it.  That's why I liked the Taurus you posted. I also like anything Ruger makes.  I'd be willing to bet the Taurus is cheaper though!  All this talk makes me want to go shoot.  I haven't shot in over a year.  Maybe even 2 years!  I used to live in a town that you coyuld easily go out and shoot.  or at least I knew people that had enough land that we wouldn't get the cops called on us.  I need to try out the semi-local (about 30 minutes away from my house) range.

Just to be clear, the Taurus 85 shoots 38 only, but there are some pretty hot +P loads out there and the 85 can handle them, no problem (whether your hand can is another matter). 
 
Of the two guns I mentioned, the Ruger SP101 shoots both 357 and 38. However, the Taurus model 317 total titanium -
http://www.taurususa.com/products/product-details.cfm?id=259&category=Revolver 

- is 357 cal and can shoot 38.  It is a fair bit larger and heavier than the 85, and is therefore less comfortable to carry than the 85. The photos I've posted don't adequately show the difference in size between the 85, 317, and 101.
 
Unfortunately, there is no one-gun, perfect solution for all uses - concealed carry, open carry, hunting, or range shooting.  For concealed carry - probably the most important use possible for a gun - imo, the three models above are the most appropriate and, compared to S&W, are the least expensive without in any way sacrificing quality. They're all fine guns.
 
IMO, the single most important question that one must answer when choosing a ccw weapon is also the simplest - is the gun convenient enough so that it will (not can) be carried? As I said previously, the 85 is so small and light that one can carry it (and even drive a car while it is being worn) literally without being aware that it is there.  The 101 and 317 will be less comfortable to carry than the 85 - no doubt about it.
 
To anyone considering carrying a concealed weapon on a daily basis, I would stongly suggest going to a store that has all these guns on display. But even before going to the store, decide how you'd like to carry the gun - purse, pocket, waistband, front, back, ankle, or whatever.  Then, at the store, borrow an appropriate holster, try on each gun, keep an open mind (ie. completely ignore everything you've ever seen in the movies or on TV) and it will soon become apparent which guns are truly suitable for day-to-day concealed carry and which are not.  After choosing one or more, try to get to a range that rents those models and then shoot shoot shoot them.  Most ranges have a good selection of guns for sale, and many of the same guns for rent, so try to find one of those places.
 
Although a ccw might seem like a ridiculous thing, it is probably the best insurance policy one can obtain against assault, robbery, or intimidation.  In the last case, while carrying, one chooses to leave a threatening situation rather than being forced to do so. That's an important difference for one's self esteem.
 
No police force can ever protect individuals as well as they can protect themselves.  A Florida friend of ours used to say "it is better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6", and, "an armed society is a polite society".  I completely agree with both those assertions.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Tony1M

"it is better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6"

When I did CQC training, our shirts had a picture of a bowie knife and said, "I'd rather be judged by 12 than carried by 6".  Another one read, "Use your knife to save your life"

Thanks for the clarification there Tony.  Luckily in Mississippi we have a plethera of gun shops so I can go check them out.  Then when I want to buy, I go to my gun dealer.  he is a buddy of my dad's and he has a small store in my home town.  So, of course, he has a FFL (Federal Firearms License) which allows him to purchase the guns at wholesale.  Which means I get awesome discounts!

quote:

ORIGINAL: 00AccordLX5spd
...............  Which means I get awesome discounts!

If we get another place in Florida, will you be my friend?

Sure!

Speaking as Academics daughter...if it's not shop smart, then Ash will not bother,so if blasting the un dead - then S-MART, Shop Smart is the only way to go! Otherwise boom stick?

i think someone took one too many hits from the bong.

Bong as in Rioja. I've no idea either. Apparently, its something to do with the movie "Evil Dead".

Bong as in smoking marijuana ..... aka - water pipe.  (see below)