Gun Appreciation Thread

[JustinW]

Originally Posted by Rosenberg

im a big wheelgun fan, but the problem is that nobody wants to take the time to learn how to shoot them properly. i wont say that the .380 cartridge sucks, but a lot of the guns that utilize it do. i see your kel-tec clip there. and the 1911 is traditionally single stack

Shooting .357 magnum from a Scandium-framed ultra-light revolver is not easier or particularly fun to shoot.

I took the clip off the Kel-Tec and carry it in my pocket holster now.

My .45 is also single stack - but it's a double action - not a 1911A1.

 

[Ataturk]

I have a P3AT also and it's my go-to gun for concealed carry. The loaded pistol and the holster together weigh about 12 ounces, and it's flat as a board--hard to beat that.

 

[Ace Rimmer]

Originally Posted by JustinW

Shooting .357 magnum from a Scandium-framed ultra-light revolver is not easier or particularly fun to shoot.


I much prefer using standard pressure .38 Specials out of a AirLite Ti that I bought pre-HUD (2000-01). With such a short barrel (2") much of the added power of the 357 Magnum is wasted as it just results in more unburnt powder, at the expense of additional muzzle flash and recoil.

I have a Kel-Tec P3AT like yours, with a CT laser. It's not the ideal solution, but it can go pretty much anywhere in a DeSantis pocket holster. Unfortunately, my pair of Nudie AJDS is developing a fade pattern around the butt of the P3AT, and I also have a "spare mag" fade in the rear pocket.

 

[JustinW]

Originally Posted by Ace Rimmer

I much prefer using standard pressure .38 Specials out of a AirLite Ti that I bought pre-HUD (2000-01). With such a short barrel (2") much of the added power of the 357 Magnum is wasted as it just results in more unburnt powder, at the expense of additional muzzle flash and recoil.

Not even +Ps? What .38 do you carry it with? I shoot semi-wadcutter .38s most weekends, but put the magnum Hydro-shock back in for weekday carry.

Originally Posted by Ace Rimmer

I have a Kel-Tec P3AT like yours, with a CT laser. It's not the ideal solution, but it can go pretty much anywhere in a DeSantis pocket holster. Unfortunately, my pair of Nudie AJDS is developing a fade pattern around the butt of the P3AT, and I also have a "spare mag" fade in the rear pocket.

Hahah, yeh - I have some raw 514s with a nice pocket-holster fade ( I stitched some plastic ice-cream container material to the outside of the holster to minimize printing and my RRLs are sized-up by 2 for carrying the .45 or CZ82 IWB.

 

[Faded501s]

I just scoped up my new Ithaca Deerslayer III and the camera was just sitting there...so I figured I'd share. This thing is heavy as f#ck, over 12lbs dressed, but supposedly accurate to 200 yds. We have 6 days in November to shoot slugs so no real rush to get it sighted in. I do love the stock on this gun!

And the flipside...my trusty old upland bird gun. The Luigi Franchi 48/AL "Black Magic". At just a tad over 6 lbs this was the lightest 12 gauge available when it was given to me almost 15 years ago. Awesome gun...if you keep it clean!

 

[milosz]

Originally Posted by Rosenberg

i thought about getting one. never shot one but i heard that slide bite was a problem

I've got big hands and it hasn't been a problem.

 

[Ace Rimmer]

Originally Posted by JustinW

Not even +Ps? What .38 do you carry it with? I shoot semi-wadcutter .38s most weekends, but put the magnum Hydro-shock back in for weekday carry.

Until they discontinued them, I was using the standard pressure Federal Nyclad (Chief's Special load) 125 gr HP. It worked well because my reloads were designed to mimic my carry load as much as possible. I used 5.0 grains of Win 231 behind a 125gr JHP generic bullet.* Federal stopped making them so I switched to their Personal Defense line but they are reintroducing the Nyclad so I'll probably go back.


*: this is an "almost +P" load, use at your own risk!!!

 

[Ace Rimmer]

Originally Posted by Faded501s

I just scoped up my new Ithaca Deerslayer III

Always loved the old Ithaca 37 shotguns because they didn't have the disconnector. You could hold down the trigger and work the slide; as soon as the slide went into battery the gun would fire. Obviously only used during controlled drills, but it was fun to empty a shotgun in that manner. I wonder if the Deerslayers have the same feature.

 

[Shikar]

Originally Posted by i10casual

Shikar, I really want a shotgun but don't know where to start. I want one for home protection but I think bird hunting sounds pretty fun. I'm kinda frightend of ugly recoil. Should I be looking at something smaller than 12GA and what brans do you like? Thanks

Originally Posted by Pennglock

Clays (trap, skeet, or sporting) is really the funnest kind of shooting you can do. See if there is a trap range close to you. Recoil is not an issue. My 120 pound girlfriend shoots 12 gauge. For a starter gun, you can't go wrong with a Bennelli or Beretta. An over-under would be great for ease of use and menacing birds if you decide to get that a try.

Originally Posted by Ace Rimmer

^^ i10, see if you can find a buddy (or shop) that will rent you a gas-operated* semiauto 12** gauge that is fitted to your body type*** and shoot some 2.75" birdshot shells out of it. If you don't mind the recoil of that setup, you can buy one with confidence and use Federal reduced recoil buckshot/slugs for home defense. It's all I use in my HD shotguns and they kick just a smidge more than birdshot. *: some semi-autos use an inertia system to operate and will therefore kick harder than a gas-operated gun. The Benellis and Berettas Pennglock mentioned are inertia guns. Check out the Remington 1187/1100 or the Mossberg 930SPX (?) for popular gas-operated guns. **: nothing wrong with going down to a 20 gauge. It hits hard enough to get the job done, and ammo is widely available. You won't find speciality HD ammo like the aforementioned Federal reduced recoil but that should not rule your decision. A gun that you hate to shoot is useless. ***: an ill-fitting stock (length of pull, comb height, etc.) will increase recoil to the shooter. You wouldn't wear shoes that are too big or too small, right? Same thing with guns. A proper fit can increase comfort immensely, especially with long guns.

Originally Posted by Artigas

Stoke me a Clipper, I'll be back for Christmas! He's right! After years of shooting, I started flinching after shooting an old cheapie single-barrel break open, such was its recoil due to the low comb height. I'm still trying to get over it. Make sure your gun fits you. Check out Google, gun articles, ask somebody at a gun shop or a buddy to help you determine what a good fit would be.
I am sorry for my tardy response as I didnt check back in this thread. The semi-auto gas operated shotgun is a very gentle shotgun. I started out with a single shot break open when i was 9 or no and slowly progressed over the next 25 years to the O/U...then the heavier sporting O/U and finally some fancy Perazzi SCO grade ones....till i started to flinch occasionally and get even get a headache from the recoil. Now i was shooting about 500 shells on a weekend and 3-4k registered targets a year so it was a bit much. Now i primarily shoot a Beretta 32" Semi-auto that is 3 years old, the gold tekneys I believe is the name. The rib/sighting plane (is interchangeable so comes off easily) is off the barrel so its a little better balanced as that 32" bbl was a touch heavy. You point a shotgun anyway, so why have any distracting aiming point or rib on the bbl. I use the Ti chokes from Briley to keep the muzzle light, the gun points well with the long bbl (32" in a semi auto is about like O/U 34"). Dont go by cost of gun, my Perazzi is now a safe queen as are about 15 other italian O/U as I use the Beretta Tecknys for it all...Dove, Sporting, Duck, Pheasant etc. Like clothes, fit, matters a lot. Regards.

 

[JustinW]

So I've never been much of an AR guy, but this is just so tacticool, I think I need it ...

Where 2 kop?

 

[milosz]

Birthday from my parents was a GSG5 - looks like it will be fun. A wee MP5.

While I was at the show I traded a couple of Glocks for a VZ 58 - I've always wanted an AK (though 7.62x39 ammo wasn't much cheaper than 5.56 this show), and CZ always makes good product. No idea where I'll get mags, since it can't use actual AK mags.

 

[Rosenberg]

Originally Posted by JustinW

So I've never been much of an AR guy, but this is just so tacticool, I think I need it ...

Where 2 kop?

keep your battery stock high for your next tactical excursion lol. i love ARs but not so much the very common overdone ARs

 

[JustinW]

Originally Posted by Rosenberg

keep your battery stock high for your next tactical excursion lol. i love ARs but not so much the very common overdone ARs

I carried an M16A1 for a while, back in the day. Nice & light for carrying the rifle & ammo. But I much preferred the G3 I was assigned after that. I've thought about putting together a retro style clone of that M16A1, but I guess I'm just not that much a fan of the AR family.

Originally Posted by milosz

Birthday from my parents was a GSG5 - looks like it will be fun. A wee MP5.

While I was at the show I traded a couple of Glocks for a VZ 58 - I've always wanted an AK (though 7.62x39 ammo wasn't much cheaper than 5.56 this show), and CZ always makes good product. No idea where I'll get mags, since it can't use actual AK mags.

Happy birthday, mate! Congrat's on two cool rifles. Which receiver is on the VZ58?

 

[Fishbowl]

The Sig pistol is an excellent choice in a high quality and extremely well engineered gun. The thing you might want to consider is what you want the gun for, e.g., home defense, target shooting, concealed carry, etc., If the gun is for home defense, you can get away with a larger framed firearm, like a Glock 45, 1911 45 automatic, etc., Of course a smaller gun will do the same job. The problem with large frame guns is that they are heavy, bulky and difficult to conceal. Whereas a smaller framed .390, 9MM, .357 Sig, 40 Smith and Wesson with the current crop of designer ammo can be very effective. The old question about "what gun should I get" is often answered with "the biggest one you can carry. In a pinch, a small .25 automatic is better than no gun at all.
Pistols take quite a bit of work to learn to shoot straight with. It is said that the average gunfight takes place inside 21 feet (7 yards). While that may sound like a short distance, in a moment of heightened awareness, it can make most people miss the target completely. For that matter, it is not unusual to miss a target two or three feet in front of you when you are jacked up on adrenaline. No matter which gun you get, it is worthless unless you put some training into it. Knowing the law and not putting yourself in jeopardy by waving a gun around, unless you have a rock bottom reason of self defense can keep you out of jail and lawsuits. Also, you must learn to understand when that moment is that you would take one out to shoot another person who you believe is about to take your life, . . do you have the will to pull the trigger. A hesitation could be very costly.
Buying a gun to be macho is foolish. I know lots of people with Concealed Carry licenses and they go around announcing the fact that they have one. It takes some self control to conceal from everyone that you are armed. Don't advertise. A gun for defense is like having a fire extinguisher in the kitchen. It hangs on the wall year after year and you pray to God you will never need to use it, . . but if you ever do, you will be grateful it was there.
Before you buy, perhaps you should go down to a local indoor range and rent a few pistols to try before buying. I would avoid letting some gun salesman play to your emotions and ego before buying.
Get a decent quality gun. If you buy a junk car that breaks down, you can pull to the curb and call a friend to come and get you, but if you buy a junk gun, it could cost you your life if it jams. Take a personal defense firearms course, it will be money well spent. In the end, having done your homework you will make a decision based upon your needs and not someone elses.


Jim

 

[Fishbowl]

The fire on closing of the 37 was finally fixed when the re-organized Ithaca Co. came out with the model 87 (a 37 lookalike). One of the problems with the Ithaca 37 pump is that being a bottom shucker, it will jam if you short stroke it. One can learn to get past that fairly quickly.

I do love shotguns, expecially those Ithacas. I currently have a 12 guage 37 Featherlight and a 20 gauge Light Weight Remington 870 Wingmaster. Been through a Savage pump, Browning Auto 5, Mossberg 500, 12 guage Beretta Oynx over and under (found out I am a dyed in the wool pump guy with that one), several Wingmasters and my all time favorite; a 20 gauge Ithaca Deluxe UltraFeatherweight. Regret the day I let that one go and have been looking for another ever since.

Jim