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BARF Militia

I got all my stuff yesterday, too!

I hate them for sending that catalog. They're selling Styer handguns for $399!!! I wanted to get one while they were sold here, but they were $600 back then. :cry :cry :cry
 
Tom Knapp kicks ass.

I'm going tomorrow to do the paperwork on a Benelli M1 Super 90 with ghost ring sights. And then that's it. No more guns. Seriously. I mean it this time.

Unless they have something I really need.

BTW, mags finally came today, and yes it is depressing to read the ads. Man, I'd love one of those Styer M40s for $299. I handled one a couple years ago and thought they were a pretty cool little pistol.
 
sohijiro said:
the fact is he bought a gun that is not made during the ww2 era LOL

one out of the three firearms I own is from the 40s. The SKS is early '62, the Sig is late 90s, early 2000s, so :twofinger

Waste your money on gay shit like SU-16s, I'll stick to shit that has soul.
 
As advised, I'm posting this from another thread:

Redlined600 said:
I'm looking to purchase a firearm and was looking for some friendly advice/direction. Currently I'm looking at the Mossberg HS410. The main reason for this choice is, as you may have guessed, home defense. Any opinions on this choice?

I'm new to CA so I'll have to go through the entire process to obtain this gun on purchase, any recommendations of shops to go to? Anything I should know? Any one going to a shop anytime soon that wouldn't mind having a n00b tag along and maybe learn a thing or two?

Thanks for the help, guys. :thumbup
 
If you are looking at a shotgun my preference is for the Winchester Defender you can usually get at Big 5 for about $279, but that's just me. You need to have residency and a drivers license I believe to make the purchase. In your area I would check out City Arms in Pacifica http://www.city-arms.com/. The people at Jackson arms of the 101 are cool but the prices are high I've found.

Are you sure you want a shotgun? What do you want a gun for? Only home defense or some fun plinking? The problem with HD shotguns is that they aren't good for much else, unless you have private land to go blast clays on, so you don't get much practice with them. With a handgun you can take it to the range (Jackson Arms has a decent indoor range) to practice.

If I were you I'd try to hit up a friend to go shooting and try to figure out what you really want before plunking down the cash. If that's not an option you can wait till our next Barf shoot. Most of us are very open with sharing.

If you were in the east/north bay I'd go shopping with you but I avoid the sf area like the plague. :teeth
 
Oh, BTW, Vallejo Gun Show this weekend at the fairgrounds. Small but Miwall is usually there selling ammo, so I'll be there early Saturday. :thumbup
 
Thanks for the reply, Ratters. After some research, consideration and consultation, I've decided a handgun may suit my current needs more so than a shotgun. Reasons being I'm not living in a large house, but rather a small condo, a shotgun in close quarters may prove to be more of a liability than anything else if the situation arose. Secondly, after learning that there aren't many places to practice shooting a shotgun, a handgun is seeming like a better fit.

I talked with a few friends and a friend in the SFPD and they recommended a .45. Both had good things to say about the Glock 30. Lots of aftermarket, excellent dependability, etc.

Any thoughts on this?
 
Redlined600 said:
Thanks for the reply, Ratters. After some research, consideration and consultation, I've decided a handgun may suit my current needs more so than a shotgun. Reasons being I'm not living in a large house, but rather a small condo, a shotgun in close quarters may prove to be more of a liability than anything else if the situation arose. Secondly, after learning that there aren't many places to practice shooting a shotgun, a handgun is seeming like a better fit.

I talked with a few friends and a friend in the SFPD and they recommended a .45. Both had good things to say about the Glock 30. Lots of aftermarket, excellent dependability, etc.

Any thoughts on this?


Make sure to get some hollow point rounds for home defense. If you live in a small condo regular .45 rounds may penetrate through the wall and kill a few neighbors.
 
The 30 is a great handgun. Recoil is a tad stout due to the polymer frame but you just need to practice. You must also be very concientous about trigger discipline as there are no external safeties. Personally I keep a Glock 23 available most of the time but I'm pretty comfortable with it.

Best thing to do is go rent a bunch of guns to try and go with what feels best and comfortable for you, not because of somebodies recommendation. If you can wait a while till I have time to make it to the range you are certainly most welcome to try my handguns. I have examples of most of the common stuff.

Once you purchase one, the best thing to do is dry fire practice. Make sure the gun is unloaded. Take the magazine out of the gun and pull back the slide IN THAT ORDER and put your finger in the chamber to make sure it's unloaded. Once you've checked two more times practice holding the sights on a fixed target and pulling the trigger with the pad of your finger. Your goal is to get the trigger to fire without moving the sights off target. Do this for 15 minutes per night. This activity will improve your accuracy more than just about anything else. Hell, I need to start doing that again, I've been slacking.

Good luck finding what works for you.
 
Ratters said:
Best thing to do is go rent a bunch of guns to try and go with what feels best and comfortable for you,

What he means is comfortable in your hand, and for you to shoot. The Glock 30 has a huge, square grip, which makes it unusable for particular types of hands.

For all intents and purposes, modern cartridges are so good that it doesn't matter what caliber you use. So, pick a gun exclusively on how well it fits your hand, and how well you can shoot it. If you hit your target, that's the most important thing, because a miss from a big gun won't do any good.

So start coming to the BARF shoots, hit all the gun stores, handle everything you can. Make sure you can reach the buttons and levers, and that it fits your hand.
 
OK, now I know what I have to do. Any recommendations as to which shops wouldn't mind me coming in and fondling their guns? :wow

Also, any type of 'shop etiquette' I should know about? Aside from waving a gun you're handling in peoples faces, of course.
 
+1 on City Arms. Was there today looking at and handling all the 'stuff' i cant have. Handled the semi-auto Remington 11-87, the Glock 17 and the Glock 19 which I really like....

Not sure if this has been posted yet but check this ammo for the shotty http://www.polyshok.com

chart.JPG
 
Make sure you read up on the DoJ page on what you need to purchase a handgun (it's a little more involved than a long gun).

http://ag.ca.gov/firearms/index.html

As Zefflyn mentioned, make sure you try out a variety of guns via a range, to get a feel for what fits your hand and what you're comfortable with.

As far as etiquette at a store, this is what I do:

1. Check that the firearm is unloaded.
2. Keep your finger off the trigger at all times.
3. No dry fires, unless specifically authorized by an employee.
4. Return the handgun with the slide locked back and magazine out.
5. Adhere to all rules of gun safety outlined here:

http://ag.ca.gov/firearms/forms/pdf/hscsg.pdf

Also, don't be afraid to say, "Can you show me the controls?" If you're unfamiliar with a gun, it's better to ask than to make a mistake (that could be lethal).
 
One other etiquette thing is to not slam the slide forward with the slide release. Grab the slide and gently lower it. I always ask about dry firing and have never been told no, just always ask first.

All gun stores will let you fondle if you ask. Let them know you are looking for your first gun and they should have no problem letting you check them out. Jackson Arms also rents guns if you want to try some out. Hell, they might even refund the rental fees if you buy from them. Never hurts to ask.

One thing is a lot of gun shops are like motorcycle shops with newbies. They price things way high and hope the newbies bite and the more experience shoppers haggle a better deal. I use www.gunsamerica.com to check out average dealer prices. I've seen shops selling Glocks in the mid high $600s that should sell in the low/mid $500s. This is where going shopping with a knowledgable friend would really help.

There is a gun show at the cow palace in a couple weeks as well where you can check out many different things and do some good price comparisons.
 
Thanks for all the insight, all. I'm going to check out City Arms and Jackson Arms on my next day off and check some stuff out.

Is haggling "customary" in the gun world? Will I get looked at like I have 2 heads if I try to negotiate a deal in a smaller shop? Would I perhaps have better luck at a gun show where there's immediate competition, and if so, are the vendors able to issue a HSC upon sucessful completion of test?
 
Haggling kinda depends on the shop and knowing the going prices. I've haggled every gun I purchased at Canyon Sports cause that's the way they work it, unless they are having a manufacturer sale, where you don't have to. Trader's is a must haggle spot if they are not having a sale. They used to have raging good deal sales but I haven't seen one in a while. At Irvington Arms in Freemont Martin has four Kimbers for sale at really good prices so I wouldn't bother haggling there. Like I said, it just helps knowing the going rates or going with a friend who does.

The benefit of the gun show is that you can see what many of the dealers are charging and either purchase at the cheapest or use it as a bargaining point. I used to have a gun shop in Goleta (near Santa Barbara) that I really liked the owner but he often did not have the best prices. But if I found a better price at a gun show or another shop I'd bring it to him to see if he could match it. I was already a repeat customer of his so he never really batted an eye at doing it.

Don't necessarily make your purchase right away. If you find something you "have" to have tell them you are going to think about it and price compare at gunsamerica to see if it's a decent deal. That said I have no problem spending an extra twenty or forty bucks on a gun at a shop I like as opposed to ones run by a-holes.
 
Sweet, I just received my shipment of 1,000 rnds of .223 for my SU-16. I forgot that I had also ordered tracers (100 rnds).

Can't wait until I can try them.:teeth
 
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