Buying a gun (while I still can)

[price1869]

I'm going to go buy a gun today. Any recommendations? I want to buy a decent handgun.

[Reedus]

Glock 19 or Springfield XD. Also, I would take the 9mm over a .40 cause the ammo is much cheaper. IMHO

Reedus

There was a good discussion about this in the hunting forum

[Glockguy]

+1 on the G19. It is a fine pistol.

What do you mean "while you still can?"

If you are referring to the dems taking over, that won't affect you buying a pistol anytime in the near future. It may affect you wanting to buy long guns later, especially any AR-15 type weapons.

[Iceaxe]

I'm going to go buy a gun today. Any recommendations? I want to buy a decent handgun.

Impossible to answer that question unless you tell us what you intend to use the gun for?

If you are buying a gun to have as a toy I recommend a .22. They are a blast to shoot and ammo is cheap. My two favorite .22's pistols are the Ruger .22 Standard Target and the S&W Model 63.

The Ruger is extremely accurate at a good price. The 63 is small, light and stainless, which makes it great to carry in a backpack.

.

[Sombeech]

try to register as little info as you can. When they take away the guns, they'll first go after the registered users. Then, they'll just ask the criminals to give theirs up.

FLAWLESS.

[Iceaxe]

If you don't want your firearm's registered buy them used from a private party.

When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.

:2gun:

[Udink]

If you don't want your firearm's registered buy them used from a private party.
In Utah, that's not as much of an issue since we don't really have to "register" our firearms here. Sure, there's a record of the sale when you buy new, but if the gubment comes knockin' on your door to take them away (however unlikely that is), you can just say that you sold them to a private party.

[Udink]

Oh, and to keep on topic, I love my Springfield XD-40 Sub-Compact for concealed-carry. However, I haven't fired much of anything else, so I don't have much of a basis for comparison. I'm sure that if I'd spent a few extra dollars on a Glock, I'd like it just as much. Though I've got to say that I do love the looks of the XD better--got mine with a stainless slide.

[Win]

Folks, I moved here from NJ and believe me, you've got it good as far as firearms are concerned! In fact you've got it good in most everything! :cool2:

I own a few guns and my favorite semi-autos are the Sigs. They cost a bit more but are extremely reliable. I'm down to just a .45 for home defense but I would get 40 in a heartbeat if I was going to carry.

If you want to have a lot of fun .22s rock. I'm also a fan of revolvers and a nice vintage Colt or S&W in 357/38 would be alot of fun.

Win

[DickHead]

There isn't enough political will in DC yet to take our guns. There may be some new, watered down AWB, but most of the new house dems are from conservative states that won't stand for gun banning. The only thing more important than gaining power is staying in power. I expect to see very little changes in gun legislation. I'm more worried about my taxes going up.

PS:
As far as buying a new gun, it all depends on what you want it for. Home and self defense? Carry? Backpacking and camping?
Are you an experienced marksman or a rookie?
I'm going to buck the trend here and recommend a Ruger SP101 in .357 with the 3 1/16" barrel.
http://www.ruger-firearms.com/Firearms/FAFamily?type=Revolver&subtype=Double%20Action&famlst=9&variation=Satin%20Stainless

[Mtnman1830]

I love my Glock 22, its a .40

It has more stopping power than a 9mm

I also looked into the .357 sig anyone have any insight on this caliber?

Its basically a 9mm round with a .40 casing.... high velocity and the like...

[Win]

I love my Glock 22, its a .40

It has more stopping power than a 9mm

I also looked into the .357 sig anyone have any insight on this caliber?

Its basically a 9mm round with a .40 casing.... high velocity and the like...

I've shot the Sig 229 in 357 Sig and it was nice but a bit to "snappy" for me. The ballistics aren't that much different than the .40. In Sigs you can get interchangable barrels for 40/357 Sig.

You're right on about the .40 vs 9 MM, no contest.

Win

[basilone0331]

Scary as Nancy Pelosi is, I don't think dems will push for anything too extreme as they wouldn't want to screw up their shot at the presidency in 2008.

[wojo342]

I carry the GLOCK 27 .40. It is small, light and very reliable. I take it with me everywhere.

[Reedus]

I love my Glock 22, its a .40

It has more stopping power than a 9mm

I also looked into the .357 sig anyone have any insight on this caliber?

Its basically a 9mm round with a .40 casing.... high velocity and the like...

Ya, but what are you trying to stop? It does have more stopping power if you want to stop a charging grizzly, but for protection against thugs, the 9mm will put a quick stop to anyone. and the ammo is cheaper, otherwsie I would be inclined to take the ,40 over the 9mm

[psl53]

Scary as Nancy Pelosi is, Heck nothing scares me, that's what guns are for. LOL Isn't gun control being able to hit what you're aiming at?
Who ever said what do you want to do with the weapon is right, figure that out first. 22 ammo is cheap cheap cheap. I like the 40, more stopping power that the 9mm almost as much as a 45. The 357 sig is great but ammo is way expensive. Determine what your needs are going to be, are you going to carry, then weight becomes an issue.
Let us know what you decide.
Power to the Peoples!!
Peter[/quote]

[Scott Card]

I have actually been thinking about this lately also. What handgun would you recommend for personal safety AND for taking in the back country? I have never owned a handgun but my home is insured by Smith & Wesson and Bear River Insurance Company. :cool2: I'd like another "insurance policy" if you know what I mean.

[psl53]

Scott, Utah has a great concealed carry course that you should be able to access from their gov web site. There are so many choices, many people just love the Glock line, they're simple, light and reasonably priced. There are high end Kimbers and S&W makes a great light weight 45. I have Berettas in 9mm, 40 and 45. I like the way the come apart to clean and shoot great. It's all a personal preference kind of thing. Try to shoot the weapon you're considering; that will help you decide. Also remember that what weapon you're looking at in a store will weight a lot more once you load the magazine with rounds.
Peter

[Scott Card]

Maybe a better question is which gun should I avoid. Don't want it to jam at a critical point in time or do something funky.

[jumar]

Go take the hand gun course at Front site and you'll know what you want in a gun. LOL

[Iceaxe]

I notice that high power, high capacity, auto pistols are waaaaayyyy over represented in this forum. They are fun and have there place, but are most of you really only planning to use your pistol in a combat type situation? The high power, high capacity, auto pistols are the "IT" gun at the moment. And if I'm carrying a gun under the seat of the car or concealed for defense then the auto's are my choice. If I'm buying a gun for fun, hunting or combat they are not my first choice. Guess is what I'm saying is I'm seeing a lot of opinions and not many facts..... I think some of the gun noobs are getting bad advice....

Some things to consider when buying a gun....

First, what are you going to use your gun for?

If you are serious about home defense you might want to consider a shotgun and not a pistol. A shotgun is a much better weapon in close quarter combat.

.22's are your biggest bang for the buck. If you want to have a fun time blasting cans and targets this might be the gun for you.

If you have a serious belief that one day you will have to use a weapon to defend yourself from some type of foreign or government invasion then you want a high powered deer rifle with a good scope. Dollar per effectiveness nothing is as lethal on the battlefield as a sniper. Assault rifles are effective when used in trained groups employing fire team tactics. But for a one or two man team nothing is as deadly as a scoped high powered rifle.

Revolvers are a blast to shot, particularly the big mags. Revolvers are also more accurate then a auto. They are probably also easier for a noob to operate and fire accurately.

If you plan to hunt with a pistol you will want one of the magnum revolvers or one of the big single shots (I love my Super T/C in .223). I've shot several deer with a S&W 44.

As for high power, high capacity, auto pistols I like the 9mm because you can buy ammo really cheap if you buy it by the case at the local gun shows. Now if I were a professional like a cop I might consider something else. But the 9mm has killed more people then all other calibers combined, so it must be pretty efficient. 9mm ammo is probably the easiest pistol cartiage to find. Any one horse town selling bullets will have 9mm on the shelf.

Anyhoo..... I just wanted to make sure some of the noobies didn't get sold on a firearm that was not going to meet their needs. YMMV.

Fire away..... :rifle:

[DickHead]

Well said, Ice.
:five:

[Brian in SLC]

I notice that high power, high capacity, auto pistols are waaaaayyyy over represented in this forum.

That's 'cause they sexy and what Hollywood promotes.

Marshall statistics on firearms ability to put someone down gives the head nod to the .357 mag.

Its called "spray and pray" for a reason.

I think if I had to have one pistol for plinking, home defense, carry, in the car, on my person, and bear country...I'd have to be a wheel gun. .44mag probably. Or a .357mag.

Way better choices in types and kinds of ammo. Can be reloaded easily (the cartridge, not the gun). Much more "power" than an auto.

You'd never hunt any kind of game animal with a standard auto cartridge. I hear stories of the highway patrol guys trying to finish off deer that are wounded after having been hit by a car. Ugh.

NRA huh? I'm with Pres. Bush senior on that outfit. Slime ball lobbyists. Hard for me to not lump them all together, fair or unfair.

Not that I'd care to debate it on the 'net... At least the Brady Bill got rid of having to mark my checked luggage as containing a loaded firearm.

Amazing times. Assault weapons ban sunsets without a peep from anyone. Wife of a president on second carpet bagging trip to the Senate. And a woman (gasp!) will soon be third in line to run the country. And flat tops are in in Montana.

And so on...

-Brian in SLC ("liberal" gun nut)
Did I really just hit the "submit" button?

[snatch]

go w/ a 60 cal.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=epYM2Qvq4e4&mode=related&search=

[derstuka]

go w/ a 60 cal.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=epYM2Qvq4e4&mode=related&search=

Holy shiznit! :eek2: Well, the .50 cal handgun has been out for awhile now, so I guess this is possible.

Can't go wrong with a 9mm...like has been said, the ammo is cheap as hell compared to others, and it is a great all around gun. Shotguns are not bad for self-defense, however, that long barrel is a lot easier to grab than a pistol.

[shagster]

Well I own both a 9mm and a 40. The 9mm is a Kahr, light weight, easy to use and conceal, and nothing to snag on. My 40 is a Springfield XD in a 4 inch. This gun is also an excellent gun. A little bit bigger, but very easy to use and reliable. I have carried both and they are both very comfortable to carry( this depends on your holster also). Both guns are very realiable, and very accurate. I know I feel better having one with me. One very important thing about ownig a handgun for personal protection is being confident in your shooting ability, meaning lots of range time. Good luck choosing.

[jumar]

Have you had any problems with the mags on your Kahr? I had a Kahr 9mm, and after a while, the springs in both mags wouldn't push the round up enough to consistently get loaded into the chamber. So I had a lot of malfunctions.

From what I've heard, if you leave the mags loaded (which you likely will for carrying) then they end up with this problem eventually. You can supposedly get a different/better spring put in. I just decided to get a Glock instead, so I wouldn't have to worry about it. But I sure liked it better for carrying.

[DickHead]

This just in:
Now I can pack heat while wearing lycra....I got a new fanny pack for my Kel-Tec
http://bulldogcases.net/BD850OpenBlack.jpg
http://bulldogcases.net

[shagster]

Have you had any problems with the mags on your Kahr? I had a Kahr 9mm, and after a while, the springs in both mags wouldn't push the round up enough to consistently get loaded into the chamber. So I had a lot of malfunctions.


You know I have never had a single problem with my Kahr. I leave the mag full all the time, the spring seems to be strong still. It has been a great gun. Hopefully I don't run into any problems later on with it.

[jumar]

Yeah hopefully you won't have the same problem. It seemed more than coincidence that both my mags had the problem, so I just replaced the gun. It wasn't until later that I heard about the spring replacements. If you end up having problems you coudl probably just do that. Nice gun when mine was working. LOL

[Iceaxe]

I usually leave my mags 2 or 3 short when storing them loaded. The weak mag spring issue is a problem with all mags that are left fully loaded, some more them others. Some firearms handle a weak feeder spring better then others.

As a side note.... a similar problem resulted in many deaths during Vietnam. Once the soldiers began leaving their clips one short the problem pretty much went away. But many of the first 16's jammed during a fire fight as a result of weak mag springs when they were first issued.

.

[basilone0331]

Any magazine spring will compress over time if left loaded, full or near full. I keep several mags for all my firearms and rotate which ones are loaded about once a month. I don't know about the Kahr but in my experience if you pay for the cheap mags, that is exactly what you get. the Berretta mags they issues us in Iraq were so bad that we would only keep them loaded when on missionsand some guys bought their own for the Berretta which were far better, but our M-16 mags we had loaded for 7 months straight without any feeding problems with very little maintainence.

[DickHead]

I usually leave my mags 2 or 3 short when storing them loaded. The weak mag spring issue is a problem with all mags that are left fully loaded, some more them others. Some firearms handle a weak feeder spring better then others.

As a side note.... a similar problem resulted in many deaths during Vietnam. Once the soldiers began leaving their clips one short the problem pretty much went away. But many of the first 16's jammed during a fire fight as a result of weak mag springs when they were first issued.

.


The problem with the M16 (And other high cap mags) isn't that they weaken. The problem in leaving them fully loaded is that there is so much pressure on the spring that double feeding occasionally occurs. It takes alot more spring pressure in a 30 round mag to compress and extend to feed all those rounds than, say, a 1911 mag.
FWIW, I've shot a WWII vintage 1911 with mags that were loaded in the fifites and left in a bedstand. Fucntioned flawlessly.

[RedMan]

Remember that 9mm is perhaps the most widely available ammo on the planet.

Whatever you choose do yourself a HUGE favor and practice often.

[bruce from bryce]

Maybe the idiot Kerry will propose the legislation.

[greyhair biker]

I carry a WaltherPPK 9mm stainless and have loved it for years. I needed something heavy enough to know it was there but lightweight enough to carry on my pack while riding out in the boonies. I rarey go anywhere without it. Hey - where's Fourtycal...I never met an expert but he's the closest one I know on firearms :2thumbs:

[moabfool]

Great discussion. For anyone buying new, I heard something about the break in period for a new firearm. I read that you'll need to put 1,000 rounds through it before it can be considered reliable. Then again it could've been a ploy by the ammo companies. They had an ad on the next page. :ne_nau:

[stefan]

WaltherPPK 9mm


james bond eh? bet it gets you far with the ladies :haha:

[greyhair biker]

Why Yes...you've found out my true identity :naughty: