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BARF Militia

WeekEndWarrior said:
can anybody recommend a good starting point for me?

I've never had a gun before.
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The end with the hole in it points away from you.:nerd






But seriously, the questions after your post are all relevant. Where do you live? If you can make it to a range with a friend who will let you try a selection of firearms you will likely make a better decision.
 
If I could only have one gun and not spend a lot of money it would have to be an over-under or a pump 12ga. You can shoot skeet or trap and you can use it for hunting just about anything the flies, crawls, jumps, or runs. It is also arguably the best type of home defense weapon. Another bonus is that it is cash and carry if you buy from a private citizen. So there you go, my recommendation is a 12 shotgun for your first gun.
 
I want it for protection.

I'm not a hunter so I don't think a rifle is what i am looking for.

maybe go to a range every once in a while.
 
WeekEndWarrior said:
I want it for protection.

I'm not a hunter so I don't think a rifle is what i am looking for.

maybe go to a range every once in a while.
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Semi-auto pistol in 9mm.
Relatively cheap to shoot
Capacity over revolvers and shotguns a plus.
Prices, quality, and reliability vary greatly.

Revolver in .38 spl/.357 mag
Preferably .357 because you can shoot both .38 and .357.
Ultra reliable, easy to use especially for people who have trouble racking a slide.
Fairly affordable for a quality gun.

12 ga pump shotgun.
Jack of all trades. Paper, clays, birds, mammals, and really big mammals, inanimate objects :laughing and everything in between
Cheap, reliable, easy to use.

All of these choices are relatively cheap to shoot and IMO offer enough punch for SD/HD if you use the right ammo. The handguns have a steeper learning curve and will take more practice than the shotgun to shoot accurately and precisely.
 
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WeekEndWarrior said:
I want it for protection. I'm not a hunter...maybe go to a range every once in a while.
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Since you plan on going to the range only once in a while, may I recommend jiujitsu for protection? If you aren't practicing all the time, then you shouldn't try to operate a gun in a stressful situation. :2cents

Home protection: I keep an escrima stick by my bed, and my gunsafe locked.

Gun fights are for cops and robbers. :troy
 
CoorsLight said:
Gun fights are for cops and robbers.
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Which means both cops and robbers have guns.

So CL is proposing that you be gunless in the presence of robbers, yes? Fail. :laughing

Get a gun, shotgun if you're not going to be a marksman with a handgun. Larger field of fire per shot, and the sound of a shotgun shell being racked should make most robbers depart the AO soonest. :laughing
 
Nope. Kinda like going to a bicycle... :laughing

Solid & dependable is your friend. Go pump action for more than two rounds, too.
 
if you are buying a handgun for home defense, and you are not familiar with upkeep ect with a gun get a revolver, they are the easiest handguns to shoot decently super reliable and you can keep it loaded forever with out having to worry about mag springs...

food for thought, revolvers are made around you hand and the geometry it takes to line up with a target... an auto is designed around the magazine and the shooters hand comes 2nd...
 
WeekEndWarrior said:
yea a shot gun would be nice too but wouldnt that kinda be like me jumping on a 1000cc as my first street bike?
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no shotguns are simplistic and hard to miss a target(you can sure miss though)... just gotta get used to the kick. just rapid fire that thing several times and you wont feel the kick anymore even with big duck, goose, or human loads.
 
ar15600rr said:
revolvers are made around you hand and the geometry it takes to line up with a target... an auto is designed around the magazine and the shooters hand comes 2nd...
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Wow. Just wow. I can think of 'bout a dozen examples of automatic handguns that totally blow away that theory. Mostly because the mags are not part of the hand grip.

Those automatic handguns that DO use the grip as the outer shell of the magazine are also (mostly) designed to be as ergonomically efficient in target acquisition.

And one advantage of an automatic handgun is that it holds more than the (safe) five or (less safe) six rounds in the revolver's cylinder, sometimes up to 15, depending on the caliber and length of magazine.
 
WeekEndWarrior said:
yea a shot gun would be nice too but wouldnt that kinda be like me jumping on a 1000cc as my first street bike?
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Is there a public range down by you? I have never been to the one at Fort Ord, but it's the nearest one to you that I am aware of. Are you ever on the San Jose side of the hill? I frequent a local range on Tuesday nights, and you would be welcome to try a few different firearms if you let me know where your interests lie. I have a Beretta 92FS Vertec which may be close enough to the Beretta you mentioned. If nobody else steps up, I would be willing, given enough notice, to make the trek to a range that is local to you. Of course, this only applies if you agree to keep the end with the hole in it pointed away from me. :twofinger
 
ar15600rr said:
if you are buying a handgun for home defense, and you are not familiar with upkeep ect with a gun get a revolver, they are the easiest handguns to shoot decently super reliable and you can keep it loaded forever with out having to worry about mag springs...

food for thought, revolvers are made around you hand and the geometry it takes to line up with a target... an auto is designed around the magazine and the shooters hand comes 2nd...
Click to expand...

a revolver would be my choice of handguns for the home. sure you only have 6 rounds but it should be enough for most circumstances. there is one story however where a pistol with more rounds could have changed the outcome. the owner had a 357 revolver and took out one of the invaders but when he ran out of bullets and turned to run back upstairs the invader shot him in the back and he later died.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2000/01/05/MN9637.DTL&type=printable
and
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2000/01/06/MN58497.DTL
 
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