The Firearms Thread (Questions and Discussions)

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Rowan

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There seems to be a lot of questions and interest related to firearms, so I thought we should start a thread. It can serve as a jumping off point for questions but also for firearms enthusiasts to "talk guns". :)

I'm a Sig (Sauer) girl myself but own a few other handguns, including a Taurus .38, a Heckler & Koch (H&K) P-30 9mm, and a Walther PPK (.380).

I've shot a lot of Colts and Kimbers (full size and concealed carry models), and have experience with Glocks (which I personally don't like). Was issued a Glock model 22 (.40 cal) and got rid of it ASAP--had to complete a Sig transition course. Some people love Glocks; I'm not one of them. ;)

For me, the Sig just feels right--every time I pick one up. In the end, I think it all comes down to what works for you personally, whether it's a revolver or a 1911, etc.

My first Sig was the P-220 (.45 cal), which I carried and love. It's my go-to weapon. I later acquired the P-220 carry (.45. cal) and the P-229 (.40 cal).

The H&K P-30 is nice because it comes with interchangeable grips and also has ambidextrous (dual) slide and magazine release levers. I prefer the Sig P-228 for a 9mm but the H&K is growing on me.

But for me the ultimate will always be the Sig Sauer P-220 full size .45.

Let the questions /answers and gun talk ensue! :D
 
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Cella

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*subscribes to thread*
 

Tiger

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I've shot H&K USP tactical (not much tactical about it), Sig P226 (.40, 9mm & 357 Sig), H&K P7 M13, P7 M10. P7s are nice once you get used to them. but my favorites were the P226s. I like 1911s too.
 

Rowan

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I've shot H&K USP tactical (not much tactical about it), Sig P226 (.40, 9mm & 357 Sig), H&K P7 M13, P7 M10. P7s are nice once you get used to them. but my favorites were the P226s. I like 1911s too.

A Colt 1911 was the first gun I ever fired. I like 1911s too, but I have a hard time with the grip safety--feels awkward to me for some reason. Kimber makes some really nice ones but I've got my eye on the Sig 1911. :D
http://www.sigsauer.com/products/ShowCatalogProduct.aspx?categoryid=25
 

Noah Body

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Hmm, nice looking weapon, especially the rail... if it has the same SIG workmanship I'm used to, I'd sign up for one of those. I own a P226 as well, and it's the only 9mm I've ever bought and kept. Very easy weapon to get used to.
 

Tiger

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Anybody have a favorite round? I like .45.
 

Rowan

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.45 here too......

On another note: What are the most common gun-related mistakes you see in movies or read in books?

ETA: **Will keep a list here and edit as needed:

From Tiger:
1. Thumbing down a hammer instead of using the weapons decocker

2. A "police officer, g-man, special agent, etc." letting his partner walk in front of his weapon's business end when covering someone

3. People being knocked off their feet by a round hitting them

4. Shooting a smiley face onto a silouette target with seven rounds fired in rapid succession at 25 yards with a Beretta

5. Several hundred rounds flying out of a weapon sporting a 30 round magazine

6. Running gun battles down city streets involving LEOs who don't seem to care what's behind or around the guy their shooting at

7. Bashing someone in head with Glock (polymer)

8. Movie: heroine taking left-handed aim at a guy with an Aug--with the ejection port pressed against her face.

From Rugrat:
1. In books, a silencer on a revolver, although that's less common now that the internet is available.

2. In film, a silencer that is so effective that the sound is a "phht," quieter than a whisper.

3. In both, cops who cock the hammer back in stress situations, like while searching a building.

From Summonere:
1. Glocks going click-click-click when the bad guy, supposedly out of ammo (slide in battery, no less), keeps pulling the trigger.

2. Semi-autos supposedly out of ammo, but the slide is clearly in battery.

3. Safeties engaged on pistols used to threaten others. (This seems most commonly observed among 1911 prop guns, in which the safety is not merely engaged, but the hammer isn't cocked, either.)

4. Semi-auto gunfire, no ejected brass.

5. Guy runs out of ammo and throws gun at opponent. (If I run out of ammo, I'm keeping my gun so I can bludgeon my opponent with it, or, in the event of finding more ammo, reload.)

6. Armed person (often LE) corners improperly, gets surprised by bad guy at close quarters, ends up wrestling with him instead of shooting him.

7. The private armed citizen is a fool, and an incompetent one, at that (especially if female; if male, he's usually a hothead, a redneck, or a bumbling nerd).

From RedWritingHood:
1. You've got replica written on the side of your gun.

From Drachen Jager:
1. Riding the action! Nearly every TV show and movie you see the actors ride the action of an automatic forward. You are supposed to pull the action back and then let go the spring pulls it forward. 99% of the time in film the actor holds the cocking lever/slide all the way forwards and back.

2. Quick deaths. It's extremely rare that someone dies within seconds after being shot only a couple of times.

From Rowan:
1. Characters discussing firearms like they're reading from a manual.

From KQ800:
1. Writers perpetuating gun myths when they should have researched better. Jack Reacher getting shot in the chest with a .38 special, but stopping the bullet with his pectoral muscle "since the .38 special has low penetration"

2. Hero getting shot in the shoulder but aside from an occasional grunt no diminished capacity or shock is induced.

3. As a follow up, after getting shot at close range with a large caliber handgun the hero is present a couple of days later with only a small sling indicating the wound.

4. Absence of sound. The heroine without hearing protection quick fires an entire 15-round magazine of 9mm through elevator doors while standing inside the elevator with her 16 year-old son and none of them get hearing damage. Or an untrained hero wrestles with the bad guy and the gun goes off next to their heads but none of them even flinches. That bang really hurts!

Note: In Black hawk down they got this right, with Twombley, a machine gunner screaming at his buddy to stop firing so close to his head. and just then a Somali gunman appears and the buddy has no choice but to slew his gun and fire right in front of Twombleys face. Every time they give him orders for the rest of the movie he shouts -"What?".

5. Racking the slide of a pump action shotgun over and over in every scene.

6. And, technically not a firearm but a main pet peeve of mine, when they use the AT4 antitank rifle and show a rocket flying out of it. Also, firing the weapon backwards with the rocket coming out of the nozzle. Gah!

From Ray H:
1. I hate when a suspect in a movie is threatening a person with a semi-auto, then racks the slide to show he is serious. Then one of two things happens, a round pops out and he wastes what could be the round that saves his life, or nothing comes out meaning that the chamber was empty in the first place.

2. Also, I hate when the shooters in movies (cops and suspects) "throw" the bullets out of their guns by repeatedly pushing their arms forwards as they squeeze the trigger.
 
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Ol' Fashioned Girl

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Good thread, Rowan. I've been kicking around starting one myself and never got around to it.

Glock was my first... but I didn't really like it much. It was too big for me at the time and I wasn't serious about learning to shoot. For CC, I have a Bersa .380. Love it. Good size and weight for carrying. I've got a full-size Bersa .380, too - not a whole lot of difference in the two; the CC model is just smoother and a tad smaller without hooky stuff to catch on the inside of pockets and linings.

We have some others, too, but they're Ol' Boy's and I don't shoot them much. I have a .22 I use for plinking - those .380 rounds were hard to come by for awhile and they're too expensive to throw willynilly downrange.
 

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1. Thumbing down a hammer instead of using the weapons decocker

2. A "police officer, g-man, special agent, etc." letting his partner walk in front of his weapon's business end when covering someone

3. People being knocked off their feet by a round hitting them

4. Shooting a smiley face onto a silouette target with seven rounds fired in rapid succession at 25 yards with a Beretta

5. Several hundred rounds flying out of a weapon sporting a 30 round magazine

6. Running gun battles down city streets involving LEOs who don't seem to care what's behind or around the guy their shooting at
 

Tiger

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Not sure this one fits, but how about someone getting knocked out by someone hitting him over the head with a Glock? Sure, the slide's metal, but I think it'd not be that different from getting clocked with a TV remote.
 

Tiger

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Not quickly enough. It can be hard to keep your cool when one of the little beggers plunks down through the neck of your shirt...
 

WriteKnight

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I've got to fire a Glock on a range on two separate occasions. Both times, they jammed on me. Both times, the owners 'swore' that NEVER happened before.

Don't care much for them.

I have a good selection of 'period' firearms, including matchlock muskets, cap and ball and flintlocks - use them a lot in my work. Yeah, they are all 'real' in the sense that I COULD load a ball in them, and rob a bank with them.

Keep the old S&W .357 'combat master' on hand for other purposes.
 

Ol' Fashioned Girl

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Question: how quickly does the brass cool down after firing? Can you really get a burn if you get hit by a case flying out of an automatic? What if it was, say, a bolt action rifle?

I have a lovely scar just below that little 'V' shape at the base of my throat where a .22 shell from the guy firing next to me hit me and STUCK while I was qualifying for my CC license. Yeah, they burn. Don't know about the rifle, though. Ol' Boy says they'll fling out and hit someone standing next to you, but the weight might keep it from sticking like the .22 casing did.

I've got to fire a Glock on a range on two separate occasions. Both times, they jammed on me. Both times, the owners 'swore' that NEVER happened before.

The only time Ol' Boy's Glock has ever jammed was 1) steel-cased ammo and 2) when I fired it. I blame the ammo and myself.

I have a good selection of 'period' firearms, including matchlock muskets, cap and ball and flintlocks - use them a lot in my work. Yeah, they are all 'real' in the sense that I COULD load a ball in them, and rob a bank with them.

We've got some great black-powder guns and I loved taking those out to shoot, even with the smell. Everything from a lady's or gentleman's vest-pocket derringer to a Colt Dragoon and a .50 Hawken.

That said, I don't see how we 'won the West' having to load and shoot... I can see how the development of the cartridge was a huge benefit.
 

Rowan

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Question: how quickly does the brass cool down after firing? Can you really get a burn if you get hit by a case flying out of an automatic? What if it was, say, a bolt action rifle?

M16 brass burns and always--always--finds a way down the back of your shirt, etc. :) Not sure how long it takes before it cools off (enough to touch) but I'd guess maybe a minute or two? Anyone tested this theory?

What makes me laugh are the people who show up at the range wearing Daisy Duke shorts (or shorts for men), tank tops and low cut shirts. And we can't forget the high heels. You can slip on brass while wearing range boots so WTF with the heels?!

ETA: I know we've got some rifle guys here (Summonere, etc.). I'm sure they'll be in at some point and can answer the rifle questions. I'm only familiar with the M16 :)

Posted by WriteKnight:
I've got to fire a Glock on a range on two separate occasions. Both times, they jammed on me. Both times, the owners 'swore' that NEVER happened before.

Don't care much for them.

My Glock jammed constantly. And I was using LE grade (expensive/carry) ammo. I'll never be a fan but I'll try and not be overly derogatory for those who do like Glocks... ;)
 
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OneWriter

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My MC carries a Glock 17. I'm told it's very popular among cops and relatively cheap, so (I'm told, but I'm open to different opinions) it fits the picture. His back up is a [FONT=&quot]Colt .357 Magnum. [/FONT]Any interesting story about this particular weapon?
Also, I'm curious: what bullets do you guys use? Different ones for different uses? When would you use a hollow point?
Thanks!! This thread was very much needed, Rowan. Thumbs up! :)
 

Rowan

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My MC carries a Glock 17. I'm told it's very popular among cops and relatively cheap, so (I'm told, but I'm open to different opinions) it fits the picture. His back up is a [FONT=&quot]Colt .357 Magnum. [/FONT]Any interesting story about this particular weapon?
Also, I'm curious: what bullets do you guys use? Different ones for different uses? When would you use a hollow point?
Thanks!! This thread was very much needed, Rowan. Thumbs up! :)

Quit reminding me of that fact! :D

For "carry" ammo, I use Remington Golden Saber "High Performance Jacket" (HPJ), Hydra-shok, and sometimes Federal. Remingonton/Hyda-Shok: This is what my bedside guns are loaded with. ;) The federal LE agencies (at least mine) generally carry the Remingon HPJ.

For the range, I go with Federal usually, but then I only go once a month (if not twice) for about an hour or so. It can get EXPENSIVE!
 
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OneWriter

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Sorry I reminded you my dick is a Glock guy... ;)
But it is common among cops, or did I get that wrong?
 

Rowan

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Sorry I reminded you my dick is a Glock guy... ;)
But it is common among cops, or did I get that wrong?

I'll let it go this time (J/K). :D

It depends--the feds go by bids. The classes prior to mine were issued Sigs and then I show up and they hand me a Glock. :rant:

I think most local/state are the same. Glocks are a lot less expensive than say Sig Sauer, H&K, Kimber, etc. I'd rather pay the extra $$$ for a Sig myself. "To hell and back reliability"

I'd love to get your thoughts after you've fired both. Ask that local source of yours to take you to the range! :)


NOAH BODY:

Check this out!! http://www.sigsauer.com/upFiles/proshop/product/2detail-got-sig-t.jpg
(even a pink one for the ladies although I prefer black): http://www.sigsauer.com/upFiles/proshop/product/detail-W-Got-SIG.jpg

and this: http://images1.cpcache.com/product/441380521v1_480x480_Front.jpg
 
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Ol' Fashioned Girl

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A hollow point is for when you absolutely, positively want to drop the guy/gal in his tracks and not go all the way through the corpse and into an innocent on the other side - even if there's a wall between you, a high caliber bullet will go through the target and then through the wall and hit the sleeping kid on the other side.

The hollow point will 'star' out or bloom like a flower on impact with soft tissue and take a turn - or two - at the first opportunity, making hash out of the target's insides. A full-metal jacket bullet will more likely make both entrance and exit wounds, leaving the target too much time to get to me before he falls down. I want the bullet(s) to kill someone who's trying to hurt me or Ol' Boy, without endangering anyone else. I do not intend for him/her/them to be able to keep coming at us.
 

OneWriter

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Can somebody fire a full-metal jacket with a revolver?
Oh, and is it true that revolvers don't leave cases?

What I'm getting at is the following: suppose your victim has an exit wound--would you immediately think "full-metal jacket bullet"? And suppose there are no case on the ground and you know your killer left in a hurry. Could you infer the gun was a revolver?

Ask that local source of yours to take you to the range! :)

Unfortunately my "local" source is not local, but I might see him next summer.
And yes, he said the same thing. (About going to the range. He didn't mind the Glock, though he used to have a S&W while on duty).

PS: Forgive my naivete, I'm here to learn. :D
 
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