Firearms Section

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by lil_red_v6

is taurus a bad hand gun, heard it jams alot

I have heard this too. Never owned one but I would definatly stick to the main lines. If memory serves correct it is a South African copycat company similar to the chineese copiers

[helmincamaro]

Originally Posted by patrickt

I have heard this too. Never owned one but I would definatly stick to the main lines. If memory serves correct it is a South African copycat company similar to the chineese copiers

yeah.... brazil if I remember right

[Redemption]

Originally Posted by Milk 1027

Want to get a CC permit in CA. I hear it's a PIA.

It all depends on what county you are in... Here in my county, FORGET it, not gonna happen.

But up in the Sierra's, where I have a vacation home, its super easy (file the paper work and check, then the sheriff hands you the paper). But gotta prove that I live there.

Do some research on your county. Its actually getting a bit easier in CA...

[Synergy1911]

Originally Posted by Milk 1027

Want to get a CC permit in CA. I hear it's a PIA.

Check out a great forum for everything you want to know about CA gun laws, CCW, CA legal AR/AK variants, hunting, long range precision and a huge classified section, along with many other sections. Its C5 for CA gun owners. It is free to join. I encourage all CA gun owners to join.
www.calguns.net

The Calguns Foundation is actually fighting really hard to overturn a lot of the idiotic CA laws. The have also fought against unlawful arrests or seizures for CA legal guns. All CA gun owners should know the laws for their guns and these guys may support you. In addition to NRA and CRPA http://www.crpa.org/
http://calgunsfoundation.org/

For all questions about CA gun laws, such as high capacity magazines, removable mags on a AR/AK or how to own a SBS check out: The CalGuns Wiki:
http://wiki.calgunsfoundation.org/index.php/Main_Page


For more specific info on CCW look here:
www.calccw.com

I am Synergy on both forums

[11BEE]

Originally Posted by wjmeyer

I'm new to guns and would like to get a small pistol, probably a 22, just for self defense if someone broke into my house (I now have an alarm system and would know if a window or door was breached). I don't want to blow an intruder to kingdom-come, just get his attention so he would change his mind and leave.... limping, perhaps.
What inexpensive pistol would you recommend? Thanks.

Personally, I would not get a .22. The ammunition is not reliable, and they tend to jam a lot. Additionally, it is a very fast bullet and will easily penetrate up to two walls in your home. You do not want to miss the intruder and hit someone in the next room or a neighbor.

If you strictly want a home defense weapon, I would suggest a shot gun. The click click sound of a shell being chambered is VERY distinctive and VERY loud. It will scare anyone away that is in your house. With the .22 you would have to travel into the room where the intruder is to fire at them. This puts you within feet of the intruder. The shot gun sound will echo and they will hear it rooms away.

Look at the Maverick 88 by Mosberg. You can get it new for about $180.

Load it with 5 shells. The first 2 should be no. 7 buckshot ( lots of small bb's) followed by 3 slugs ( one large piece of lead that will nock anybody down).

I know you said you did not want to blow them to kingdom come, but most home intruders are people that are addicts or desperate. Career thieves strike when you are gone. These intruders will most likely be high or drunk. A .22 will probably not register with this person as a threat. There have been cases when police have shot a amp'd up suspect 31 times with .45 ACP and they did not stop coming at them. The most effective way to stop someone is the shotgun.

[wjmeyer]

11BEE - Thanks for the informative response, I'll take a look at the Maverick 88 shotgun. Just like the gps tracker I added to my RS, I hopefully will never have to use it. Nice Transformers Camaro!

[Brokinarrow]

Originally Posted by wjmeyer

I'm new to guns and would like to get a small pistol, probably a 22, just for self defense if someone broke into my house (I now have an alarm system and would know if a window or door was breached). I don't want to blow an intruder to kingdom-come, just get his attention so he would change his mind and leave.... limping, perhaps.
What inexpensive pistol would you recommend? Thanks.

I don't have as much experience with pistols as I do with rifles, but while I was looking around at different pistols (waiting for my carry permit to arrive) I was looking into the Walther Pk380. It sells for around or a little under $400, depending on the retailer. According to the salesman, the 380 round is about the same size as a 9mm, but with less power. This (to my understanding, if someone knows better please correct me) gives the gun less recoil but still will have plenty of killing potential for a home defense weapon... unless your home has like a 60 yard long living room or something crazy like that

Oh, and as always - if you're new to guns, find someone with experience to take you out to the range and show you the proper safety rules, how to shoot, and (most importantly) how to strip your weapon and clean it so that it will last 100 + years. And go to the range often to get used to your weapon, so if a life/death situation does arise you won't be fumbling with the safety.

[11BEE]

Originally Posted by wjmeyer

11BEE - Thanks for the informative response, I'll take a look at the Maverick 88 shotgun. Just like the gps tracker I added to my RS, I hopefully will never have to use it. Nice Transformers Camaro!

You are very welcome!

Congratulations on taking your first step in becoming a Sheep Dog. I urge you and anyone else who sees this to read this article:

http://www.mwkworks.com/onsheepwolvesandsheepdogs.html

This is one of the best articles I have ever read.

[11BEE]

Originally Posted by Brokinarrow

the 380 round is about the same size as a 9mm, but with less power. This (to my understanding, if someone knows better please correct me) gives the gun less recoil but still will have plenty of killing potential for a home defense weapon...

There are more factors to recoil than just bullet size. Barrel length, gun weight and grip have more of an influence to recoil than the bullet does. Here is just one example. I have a Glock 34 with a 5.32" barrel that shoots 9mm and a Ruger LCP with a 2.7 " barrel that shoots .380. The Glock has little recoil, but that little Ruger kicks like an angry mule. The gas has much more time to dissipate pressure in the Glock due to the longer barrel and the gun is heavier so it does not fly up as fast.

My mother wanted help choosing a carry gun. She is disabled and asked to shoot my various guns. When she saw all of them that I brought, she immediately was drawn to the Ruger LCP and Beretta Tomcat (.32). Once she shot them each one time, she put them down and said NO WAY. Same with a S&W 642 Airweight. In the end she decided the Glock 19 in 9mm was the best bet. It was large enough to hold recoil down, but small enough to fit in her purse.

With all this said, a simple rule for any .32 cartridge or larger is the smaller the gun, the smaller the kick. The larger the gun, the smaller the kick.

[Johnny1]

Have conceal carry and still like revolvers. Have a S&W 649 357/38 I really enjoy carrying with two speed loaders in my pocket. And recently bought a Glock 26 new (with factory night sights which are hard to find) and put a 15 round extension spacer on it for better grip and a Lasermax in it. Also bought new a couple years ago a Glock 21 with factory night sights and put a Lasermax in it also. Thought there was a problem with the Glock 26, it was having a problem double feeding so I sent it in and they shot 150 rounds through it with no problem. Maybe I was limp wristing it and didn't realize it. Got it back and it shoots fine. But I still favor the S&W revolver. Easy to conceal and I know its going to fire every time.

[Brokinarrow]

Originally Posted by 11BEE

You are very welcome!

Congratulations on taking your first step in becoming a Sheep Dog. I urge you and anyone else who sees this to read this article:

http://www.mwkworks.com/onsheepwolvesandsheepdogs.html

This is one of the best articles I have ever read.

Great article, thank you for posting that link!

[NickJ]

Originally Posted by 11BEE

Personally, I would not get a .22. The ammunition is not reliable, and they tend to jam a lot. Additionally, it is a very fast bullet and will easily penetrate up to two walls in your home. You do not want to miss the intruder and hit someone in the next room or a neighbor.

If you strictly want a home defense weapon, I would suggest a shot gun. The click click sound of a shell being chambered is VERY distinctive and VERY loud. It will scare anyone away that is in your house. With the .22 you would have to travel into the room where the intruder is to fire at them. This puts you within feet of the intruder. The shot gun sound will echo and they will hear it rooms away.

Look at the Maverick 88 by Mosberg. You can get it new for about $180.

Load it with 5 shells. The first 2 should be no. 7 buckshot ( lots of small bb's) followed by 3 slugs ( one large piece of lead that will nock anybody down).

I know you said you did not want to blow them to kingdom come, but most home intruders are people that are addicts or desperate. Career thieves strike when you are gone. These intruders will most likely be high or drunk. A .22 will probably not register with this person as a threat. There have been cases when police have shot a amp'd up suspect 31 times with .45 ACP and they did not stop coming at them. The most effective way to stop someone is the shotgun.

You're concerned with wall penetration with a .22 but not shotgun slugs? And you advocate keeping an unloaded weapon for home defense? Yes, a shotgun with an empty chamber is unloaded. Given other options, there are better home defense weapons than a shotgun. A shotgun is easily deflected/taken away in close quarters, and is more difficult to bring to bear on target.

To the op, and others looking for self defense advice- if you're really serious, seek it elsewhere, not on a car forum.

[Brokinarrow]

Originally Posted by NickJ

You're concerned with wall penetration with a .22 but not shotgun slugs? And you advocate keeping an unloaded weapon for home defense? Yes, a shotgun with an empty chamber is unloaded. Given other options, there are better home defense weapons than a shotgun. A shotgun is easily deflected/taken away in close quarters, and is more difficult to bring to bear on target.

To the op, and others looking for self defense advice- if you're really serious, seek it elsewhere, not on a car forum.

There's plenty of people here that can weigh in on the subject. I myself served in the Marines from 04 - 08, and plenty others here are police officers, former and active military, etc. Hence why we have a 'firearms' sticky.

[66olds442]

I have a Springfield XD .40 pistol for home defense. The reason is because it has no safety, your palm and trigger finger are. Also I have a tac. light mounted on the rail so that even if I am stumbling around half awake the light will hopefully blind/hinder the intruder and give me an idea where the bullet will land.

I agree that a shotgun is a great home defense weapon mainly because it will most defenitly scare the intruder, but if you live in a small apartment, not as much as getting around corners with it is not as easy.