firearms

[Dingfelder]

I don't want to be argumentative here, but an 8 inch spread doesn't seem all that hard to hit at distances of 10 yards, much less further, unless you haven't either mastered or accurized your pistol, one or the other. I've shot that many times before and while I've been pretty darn decent with a rifle in the past, I've never been great with pistols. I've been amazingly accurate with both 357's and 45's, so I don't see why it's me ... it's probably that the guns were good.

A lot of discussions about firearms, as well as their carry(come to think of it, almost anything and everything about them) strike me as coming down to people pushing their preferences hard, sometimes VERY HARD.

 

[Dingfelder]

To be fair, I should mention my Dad's .25 auto. It was preposterously inaccurate, even at 10 yards. But that was considered preposterous at the time. It was really just a close-up defense gun, more or less a hold-out and a last resort.

 

[Elbear1]

I don't want to be argumentative here, but an 8 inch spread doesn't seem all that hard to hit at distances of 10 yards, much less further, unless you haven't either mastered or accurized your pistol, one or the other.  I've shot that many times before and while I've been pretty darn decent with a rifle in the past, I've never been great with pistols.  I've been amazingly accurate with both 357's and 45's, so I don't see why it's me ... it's probably that the guns were good.

A lot of discussions about firearms, as well as their carry(come to think of it, almost anything and everything about them) strike me as coming down to people pushing their preferences hard, sometimes VERY HARD.

Yeah thats the point...an 8" spread at 10 yards is not very good. Of course on the internet someone would disagree that a .45acp is as acurate as a medium legnth revolver in an average persons hands.

 

[XERTYX]

Either way I dont wanna be downrange from them. I'm a little wider than 8".

At the end of the day go with what makes you happy. As long as you are safe and responsible with it. On more than one occasion I have had to raise my Tshirt to ward off an aggressive person telling me to "GIVE ME YOUR MONEY!" wouldn't you know it? A .380 in my waistband was enough of a deterrent to get them to walk away.

 

[jeanmarie]

 we are discussing the possibility of taking a human life, a serious action under any circumstance.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>&nbsp;</div>

Serious action. Oh, bullshit. I have a high school friend who was run off the road, beaten, gang rapes, and dumped naked a ditch for dead. An elderly woman I know was kidnapped at knifepoint, forced to withdraw money at the ATM, threatened with death if she reported it, and pushed out of a moving car in a bad neighborhood in the middle of the night. Some people deserve to be put down like rabid dogs. It is a service to society to do so. In fact, I feel more sympathy for the dogs.

 

[jeanmarie]

Oh, I forgot to mention the store owner we know who was mugged twice as he left the store with the receipts to deposit them in the bank by a thug who turned out to be an employee's son. He had just given - not loaned, but given - the employee extra money so she would not lose her car.

 

[Queen]

Good lord what a depressing world view. And before you share more information about how horrible the earth is and how if I only knew these things second hand like you do; be aware that I’ve worked with the absolute worst of humanity in the past, I own guns, I’ve had first hand experiences with being beaten and in my teen years raped... and yet I’d still consider taking a life a very serious action.

 

[jeanmarie]

Good lord what a depressing world view. And before you share more information about how horrible the earth is and how if I only knew these things second hand like you do; be aware that I’ve worked with the absolute worst of humanity in the past, I own guns, I’ve had first hand experiences with being beaten and in my teen years raped... and yet I’d still consider taking a life a very serious action.

Second hand? These are people I actually know and results of attacks I have actually seen, not vague gossip or hyped up newspaper articles. No, the hyped up news would be the van dwelling couple who were recently stalked and murdered in the woods in Canada or the two teens who were killed near there or the dead man whose body was found just a mile or so away. If you have, indeed, actually worked with the worst of humanity, then you know what they are capable of doing, what they want to do and what they enjoy doing if they find vulnerable victims away from help and think they can get away with it. If you need to feel sorry for the people who do these things and feel there is some redeeming quality in them in order to keep your own sanity, then do so. But don't expect everyone to feel the same. I, for one, think the only value they would have is as fertilizer.

 

[B and C]

Sometimes the gene pool just needs thinning. The life you save may be your own or someone else's down the road. Do these types deserve my empathy, NO.

 

[Elbear1]

A Couple Who'd Traveled The World Together Were Killed Along A Highway In Canada https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/salvadorhernandez/couple-road-trip-killed-british-columbia

Its not worth not having...

 

[highdesertranger]

ok lets all take a deep breath and calm down. highdesertranger

 

[lenny flank]

My goodness, some people seem to have a really underwhelming sense of humanity .......

 

[Elbear1]

Interesting... a day after double mass slaughters

 

[INTJohn]

Since living in my pickup truck now fulltime I've settled on 2 'truck guns'. Neither is a handgun as I simply don't care to be bothered with the myriad number of handgun laws of each state and even within states depending on jurisdictions and often never even knowing what jurisdiction I might be located at.

I have in fact owned a .357 magnum for over 45 years, reloaded for it, etc. Its a great gun and was given to me as a gift and were it not for the massive and confusing hand gun laws at federal & varying state & local jurisdictions, I probably would have it with me. BUT, as written it was a gift and its monetary value alone today, new, well I can't believe what they sell for AND since its far more likely that it would be stolen from my vehicle, rv, etc rather than need it for self defense. I choose not to have it with me.

Rather I have determined my criteria for a "vehicle utility firearm" or when I was growing up - we called it a "truck gun"........
The truck gun has to be rugged, simple, small, easily maneuvered, of common cartridge and above all else CHEAP! A gun you don't have a lot of money into, good tho not great for any firearm need; something you have no emotional attachment with because its going to get beat up, thrown around, bounced around and you might lose it or have it confiscated, even if you've done nothing wrong.

My favorite 2?
1: An old .410 Western Field 3 shot bolt action shotgun. I paid 10$ for this gun almost 40 years ago from a guy getting divorced needed $$. I've cut the barrel on it to 18.5" with a pipe cutter. "Reamed' the end of it with a 3/8" drill. filed the end smooth and then "reamed" again with a 7/16" bit and chamfered with 1/2 " drill bit. Used a large chain saw file to dress up the interior barrel end and then checked all with a set of interior calipers at barrel diameter of .409 to .412 - PERFECT! I cut the stock a lil bit too and sanded round & smooth; can still shoulder mount - overall length? 34.5"

I use federal slugs in this peashooter as strictly a self defense tool. It is light, easily maneuverable, can easily point & shoot with one hand;; the lil 110 grain lead slugs at 7 yards (typical self defense range) have kinetic energy exceeding .357 mag & approaching 41 Magnum ballistics. The soft lead alloy expands RAPIDLY with capability of massive internal wound channel with no concerns for over penetration........ its legal pretty much everywhere with no special needed permits and it was CHEAP!

Gun #2: A Chinese SKS Paratrooper model chambered for typical AK 7.39 mm round. Fixed 10 round mag completely in its original state frum when I purchased it 30 years ago for 85$ - so yeah tiz all Cali legal when I go there and hang in the desert, etc. This is a great all around utility gun - good at everything, great at nothing, and again CHEAP (tho I see now todays market has these lil Chinese guns going for a lot more than I ever would have imagined.)

My 2 "truck utility guns"..............INTjohn

 

[Elbear1]

I thought for sure you were going to say a mosin

 

[INTJohn]

Moison 's a good old school mil bolt ala Springfield, Enfield and a K98 but I wouldn't go out of my way for one & ammo is no where near as common as standard US stuff or AK/SKS. The carbines are about the same size as a standard size SKS. The Chinese paratrooper sks is smaller than many 'youth' model guns and with 10 shot capacity its 30 cal in semi auto with light recoil. Rugged, dependable, made for combat abuse and good live aboard truck gun if you already own it like me. I bought the thing yrs ago new for a solid 30 cal my wife at the time could plink away with , small, low recoil & cheap. Bought a standard sks 20" barrel , Russian built, for me - 'his & hers' haha. Still have the Russian Built one, too - prolly sell it soon tho - just don't need/ use it anymore and can't believe what an old school Russian Built sks in mint condition goes for..........

There's a lot of good guns out there for vehicle/rv dwellin- many I like more than the lil paratroop sks but I already had the thing so why spend $$$ on something else. That lil Titan or Dickinson pump in 12 or 20 for 200$ or less - I've seen that Titan for 150$ in 20 ga new. That would make a great truck/rv gun if someone's wants something new especially for a smaller person and short on space.........

INTJohn

 

[Elbear1]

I thought they were .308/7.62?

 

[XERTYX]

Nah the mosin is 7.62x54R the R signifies a rimmed cartridge. 7.62 NATO is 7.62x51mm no rim. Obsolete cartridge more or less. Although I'd LOVE to have the M44 (if I recall) variant with an archangel stock. Archangel stocks allow for removable magazines so you can mount a real scope on them and still reload it. The normal mosins you can only mount a pistol scope to the rear sight base and load via 5rd stripper clips OR mount a true scope and reload by hand 1 by 1 and with severe difficulty.

 

[INTJohn]

That archangel stock on an M44 would make it nice for a nifty bolt but at 150$ish way past me just for a stock; then too a decent M44 is going for 500 to 750$$; teamed with that stock? 650$ minimum? Way past me for a truck/rv 'almost a throw away gun'.........

hell even my lil paratroop sks is advertised for 350 to 550$ If I had any brains I would sell it for 500$ along with all the ammo I've got for it and buy one of those lil Titan 12 ga pumps for 150$.

But I ran out of brains along time ago............INTJohn

 

[XERTYX]

Haha yeah I hear ya! I wish I'd had the brains to buy those SKS rifles when you could get a case of them at $20 each. Last one I bought had a broken stock and I paid I think $150 for it put on a $79 stock and eventually sold it with detachable magazines I'd found for cheap over the years for about $400-450 something like that.

One word of caution when upgrading a foreign made semi automatic weapon that should be mentioned. Pay very close attention to section 922r of the BATF regulations.

It varies from weapon to weapon but they can only contain a certain number of foreign made components. The reciever is already one. The bolt and bolt carrier are another 2. Muzzle brake is another. If you're over the number of max non US made components that's an illegal weapon.

Just an fyi. Doesnt apply to a bolt action to the best of my knowledge.

*EDIT*
If they are in their original configuration that doesnt apply. They were legal to import at the time they were. But once you swap stocks, thread the barrel for a muzzle brake etc it's no longer in its original configuration and must comply with current importation laws which it will not unless you trade out some components for US made ones.