Hidden Places

For E_Goldstein:

Since there have been questions and discussion about firearms and other weapons turning up in the various forums, I thought it would be a good idea to create a place where people could go to ask questions about and discuss weapons.

Advice from Gill:

stick, check out this site to view what's for sale and what the real world prices are. It's like ebay for guns. A federal firearms license (gun shop, pawn shop, individual) is required for transfer from one state to another. http://www.gunbroker.com/

I've found the sporting goods stores charge a lot of money for ammo, so try this instead. http://ammunitiontogo.com/catalog1/

I've used both sites, and still use ATG for ammo. Now that I'm hooked up with a pawn shop (they acted as my transfer FFL for a purchase through gunbroker.com for $30) that I like, I can order what I want through them or see what they have used.

Every gun I bought through a FFL, new or used, required the background check through the state. I don't know how it works where you live, but in CO I don't believe that I'm required to notify anyone in order to sell one of my firearms to another person. When they did the background check on me, it had nothing to do with the registration of a gun, it was to make sure I was not on a list that made it unlawful to sell me a gun (convicted felon, etc.).

Advice from Prof:

There is no such thing as a dangerous weapon:
Item 1: There are trustworthy and reliable people.
Item 2: There are dangerous and treacherous people.
Item 3: There are effective and efficient tools.

Item 1 needs Item 3 to deal with Item 2.

Advice from Bluemoon:

The best thing you can do is educate yourself, a shooting range or a gun club is two good places to start.

http://www.gunowners.org/

Advice from Gill:

see-thru and Crickett were chatting about getting out with someone knowledgeable in order to gain firearm experience.

The Appleseed Project looks like something that would be ideal for anyone looking for experience, confidence and skill with a rifle.

I have not attended one of their events (yet), but I will if there is ever one held within a couple hundred miles of where I live. It looks like a very worthwhile effort. Check it out.

http://www.appleseedinfo.org/

Advice from Hasek:

Crickett,

That's one of the biggest falacies of shotguns... you don't need to aim. I don't remember the exact distances, but if you use shells with pellets or buckshot in them, the spread of the pellets/shot doesn't happen fully until like 20 foot or so. Most self defense shooting are closer than that.

Check out this web page: http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/theboxotruth.htm
He has lotso test/vids of penetration tests and such. If you cruise around the site beyond that linked page, there is some other great info.

I love pistol gripped shotguns. I wrote this "tutorial" for anyone who may want one and so they don't need to learn by "owwww f&^k" and ice bag method, as I learned.

To fire pistol grip shotguns, (I'll assume your right handed): Drop your right arm straight down to your side, then bend your elbow/forearm 90 degrees toward where you're shooting, and push your elbow INTO YOUR SIDE. MAKE SURE YOUR ELBOW IS NOT IN FRONT OF YOUR BODY. I've seen people do that with the 1300 pisol grip I mentioned in the precious metal thread; they pull the trigger and all that recoil slams the elbow into their stomach leaving a big bruise.

Then put your right foot about two - three feet behind your left leg, at a normal standing width between your two feet. This will help you be stable and deal with the recoil. You can try to stand with both feet equal, but using your right leg to act as a brace will help. Keep your knees slightly bent.

Hold the shotgun very firmly, but don't be tense in your hold. This goes with any firearm, whether .22 or .454 Casull. If you're squeezing the crap out of the grip/s, your shots will be off from where you aim. Just relax and be firm in your grip.

I am left handed and when I have the chance to shoot pistol gripped shottins Inormally have to aim a bit to the right from where I think straight is. So if you're a righty, you may have to aim a tad to the left from where you think is straight.

Take a breath and fire on your slow exhale.

Regardless of the firearm, in self defense you need to continually shoot the firearm to be safe and proficient with it. This is even more true with a firearm you fire from the side because you are not using any sights. You want to fire enough practice rounds to develope "muscle memory".

If someone fires 5 rounds from their firearm then need to use it for real, they won't know what the deal is. If someone fired hundreds of rounds for practice, then need to use their firearm for real, their "muscle memory" will kick in and everything will be that much more accurate. Chances are you won't be shooting hundreds of rounds through a sawed off each time, just make sure you fire off a box or two of rounds every month or there abouts.
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-muscle-memory.htm

Enf of the pistol grip tutorial.
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Crickett, when you start out, put the target about 15 feet away. Then when you figure out what you need to do to hit the target, keep moving the target back. Make sure when you're only 15 feet away, that the target is not right up against the back stop to prevent anything from going through the target then hitting the back stop and bouncing back. Mostly I am reffering to the plastic wad in the shotgun shell. The chances are slim of that happening, but not non-existent.

They make low recoil shotgun shells. They are a bit more expensive than normal shells, but you may want to try those to start off until you get the hang of the sawed off. You can also go to a hunting or shooting store and get a recoil pad for the stock.

Put the stock of the shottie firmly against your shoulder, look at the target with a slight peripheral vision on your front sight and take a breath and slowly exhale and fire. Make sure you hold the stock firmly against your shoulder. You'll also want to stand as I stated for the pistol grip; if you're right handed, place your right foot behind you and your left foot in front of your body.

Above all, just be relaxed and have fun!!!

This won't work very well for shotguns or rifles, it's for pistols, but may come in handy for some. It's a target that tells you where you're going wrong with your shooting:
http://www.bghi.us/targets/rh_correction.pdf

This is a reply to Kat from the precious metals thread. I know a bit about firearms. There are a ton of people who know way more than me. My reply over there about "which firearm should I get for $600 was simply based on my thoughts and experiences. Other people who replied had different thoughts and they weren't wrong, just different approches to the same question. It's the same as e-goldstein liking silver bars and my preference for silver eagles and 90%... neither one is right or wrong... just preference. So after all that babbling Kat, thank you for the compliment :)