Those with handgun knowledge

[Penguinfan]

I have never been an advocate of carrying a gun, and I actually can't believe I am about to make the choice to do so, but unfortunatly that is the world we live in now. I am not interested in discussing the merits of packing vs not packing, I am just looking for some insight as I know little to nothing about handguns. I want something I can LEGALY carry that is fairly simple to use, nothing fancy, I am not looking to win any marksmanship contest or pissing match with some friggin pocket cannon, I just want to stop some asshole if ABSOLUTLY necessary, the hope is that if someone gets a look at it that they go the other direction.
All help is appreciated.


Penguinfan

 

[fletcher]

a sig p245 is a very nice gun its a 45 not heavy or big but will stop with the best and never jams easy to clean and use i have the blued with night sights and 4 mags for it. shoots great and true and will stop. small compact but very very powerful trigger pressure is mid pressure so won't shoot foot off and easy to wear on body imo the best 45 out there and i have had a few.

 

[THE KOD]

I also carry a Sig Sauer .45 auto with hollow points in a shoulder holster. I have a weapons permit to carry concealed which in georgia is legal. I own a business and carry alot of cash to banks at times so it wasnt hard to get.

With a new user a automatic can be kinda tricky if you dont go to the range and get some instruction and practice.

I also have a Colt .357 revolver thats a kick ass gun and very dependable.

The object with a protection gun that you are going to depend on to protect your family, it must not EVER jam or mis-fire.

If it does jam or mis-fire when you need it, then nothing but bad things happen after you say OH SHIT. Expect to be jumped on immediatley by the person you were going to shoot. That is their chance to survive and get the gun and kill you.

Spend at least 500 dollars or forget it. Saturday night specials are for stupid criminals. no .22 or .32 calibers. You can shoot some people about 25 times with these guns and not stop them.

Most sane people that have a .45 or a .357 pointed at them think twice about sticking around and usually go away. But what if they pull out a gun at that point ? Then its whoever shoots first the most accurately wins ? thats always fun times there.

Its not easy to shoot someone dead with a handgun. The taking of a human life is something that you may never get over.

Funny things can happen when you are in fear of your life. Not everyone can think clearly enough to even pull the trigger. I used to be a weapons instructor and I have seen many grown men crumble under the stress of life and death video tests called Shoot or Dont Shoot ! They have a weapon and are standing in front of the screen. The scenes are all nice and then a criminal will jump out from behind a dumpster and shoot you . Stuff like that. Its very stressfull and I have seen men break down and cry. Guys you would not think for a minute would buckle can and do.

If you think that a criminal could take your gun away from you and shoot you behind the ear, and then rape and pillage, then it might not be a good idea to get a pistol for family protection. Maybe a large rottweiler would be better.

For home defense a 12 gauge shotgun is ideal. Good doublebarrel run you from 250 and up. Get double .00 buckshot and you can shoot a hole in the door from ten feet about the size of a large pizza pan. If your in a apartment or condo though and you fire and miss the criminal the bullets can go through about three walls and kill your neighbors. If that happens then you will be looking at about five years in the slammer for negligent homicide.

So to sum it up. You get a gun to protect your family and you end up killing another human being, or the criminal shoots you and you wake up dead. Or you accidently shoot someone innocent and you go to jail ......

Maybe you should just forget it and take some tai kwon do classes.

Hope that helps


Scott King of Dogs

 

[Captain Crunch]

I own a 40 caliber Glock and can't say a bad thing about it. Scott makes a good point in that you don't want to skimp on price and get something that is not going to be dependable, because if you get in a harry situation, you don't want your gun to jam. Mine cost about $500 dollars and I would expect to spend atleast that much for a quality firearm. If you haven't used one much, I would also reccomend some form of training. Good Luck

Be sure and check the laws for carrying a gun in your state as I know they are different in each state.

 

[Penguinfan]

Thanks guys, I will definatly check the local laws here as well as get a decent amount of training. Not being arrogant, but I really don't care what I spend, dependability is the issue. Keep the advice coming as I would like to go to the firearems dealer and at least sound like I have a clue.

Penguinfan

 

[Jamaica1997]

TWO WORDS

GLOCK 22!!

 

[THE KOD]

TWO WORDS

GLOCK 22!!

Jamaica1997

Glocks have been known to jam. Everyone knows that much.
I would venture to say that a Glocks jam or mis-fire rate is about 1 in 200. That sucks if you shoot the gun much.

Scott King of Dogs

 

[PAWAQATSI]

It's a sad country that you guys live in.

 

[BADTODABONE]

Go to a shooting range, take lessons. Own a Colt 357 mag. Everyone jumps at the range when the blast and ball of fire rolls out of the barrel:firing:

 

[fletcher]

Pf i would not stear you wrong on this go with the sig p245 it will run you about 700 and with night sights about 785 ask you local dealer to see one and if they don't have a range go to one that does and ask to try 1 they will have 1 on hand it would be good for what you want take the class at the range by a trained person and use it at the range and forget head shots center mass practice. it is one of the best out their ,backed by many in law enforcement.

not knocking you glock guys had a glock 21 45 and it did jam a few times and just did not like the feel of the grip ,it shot fine but the jams pissed me off i shoot a lot and even had it worked on and different mag and still the same thing happened. so traded it for the sig i have had 3 sigs and never a problem. like i said the glock was just not a good fit for me, it must feel good to the hand and the jamming i was not thrilled with i have a few friends in law enforcement they carry both the glock as standard and sig p245 as 2nd side arm and know more who carry the sig as both. also didnot like the trigger squeeze of the glock but that is all personal but jamming is not.

i am not dirty harry but know lots about hand guns and i will put sig up at the top. and it is a fine crafted weapon and they stand behind their product it cost a little more but the cost is worth it for the weapon they put out.

A gun is not a toy you must learn every part of it and be able to take it apart and clean and put it back together,don't have others do it for you you need to know your weapon and keep it out of reach and site of children at all times if you donot have it on you and your wife is not going to use it which she should be trained jeri carries keep it in a lock box high up and hid. when home keep it to where you can get to it fast not locked but still out of site and reach but keep the mags beside it does no good to have them in 2 different places and never chamber a round unless you plan on fireing it. that how people get shot with empty guns, and also count your rounds as you squezze them off ,you don't pull the triger nice control squeeze like putting a golf ball. and scott is right must practice some places have full stress range used in law inforcement you can practice at where targets come from all over and you will see why i say count your rounds when you go to shoot and hear click with a guy with a hand cannon even though its a target you say oh shit. this type of range is for after you learn to shot the weapon. its not as easy as it looks on tv. when you qualify you are at 5 yards 10 and 15. not many times are you going to squeeze of rounds at 15 and its a long way away when you are there all the way back is 25 i think scott would know but with a hand gun looks very small practice center mass 5 feet to 5 yards more then anything that is where it will be used. then you go to full stress and the first few times you will take a person holding a can on soda a lady with grocerys its dim and quit very stressful but great pactice and you will have a few ole shits in there because of click, not counting rounds and poping in new mag trust me that is a given.

scott can add more as a instuctour i am sure he has heard the ole shits. another good practice is pin shooting i do this once a week with a few metro friends and you will see the power of the sig and 45 as opposed to a 9 or so and must hit a pin clean (bowling pin) for it to go down and its not as easy as one might thing. try the p245 i am sure you will find the size of it great and a true shooting weapon with great stopping power. think center mass in practice.

good luck and it is a good investment but you must have a trained mind and think things in your mind or when it comes time to squeeze one or 2 off for real god help that it never happens you will have the mind set and focus to do it. that's why you must practice. and know your weapon more then anything else can't stress this enough .

good luck you will do fine i would also buy the shot gun 12 g don't have to spend a lot to get a good one for what you want now if you are going to start hunting then i would invest more.

 

[marine]

While I was going through training for running around with a pistol strapped across my chest for some other jobs in the military I was pursuing I took a @ssload of marksmenship courses and what not. Also had a lot of classroom instruction with former criminals and law enforcement agencies.

One thing that they all agreed on, ESPECIALLY the thiefs and robbers was that the absolute number 1 deterent (other than any of the aggressive/attack dog breeds loose in the house) for them to drop their sh!t and get out of a house they busted into was the sound of a pump action shotgun. It makes a very VERY distinct sound that echoes thru the night and can not be mistaken for anything else.
Majority of the criminals stated that if they heard that sound they did not even think twice about hanging out and seeing if the owner was bluffing with an empty chamber.

Just some food for thought if you are looking to protect your home. Skip the double barrel shotgun and just get a pump action.
Or get a 140 pound German Shepard named "Fifi" and let it grow up on a diet of raw beef.

 

[marine]

Another good pistol...

I used to have a Thompson Contender. It was a single shot, break action pistol with the interchangable barrels. Not really good for toting around without being too obvious you are packing, but great to keep under your side of the bed in the house.

I had a 11 inch long .44 barrell on mine with a nice size 4x scope. Used to take it deer hunting for a lil extra challenge sometimes.
But in my home...
Basically, if I caught someone in my home I could give them a 2 block head start and at least make them think they had a chance.

 

[RAZ]

you've got some excellent advice from some very knowledgeable people. I carry a sig p239 and have an sig/auroro 12 g shotgun as well. Excellent reliability, you might want to consider the sig pro, you can get in 357, plenty of stopping power also readily excepts laser attach, reasonably priced and easy maintenance. I have been to the factory in Exeter, N.H. a few times, and have taken a course or 2 thru their Academy. a 357 revolver is also an ideal home piece, simple basic operation chance of jam nil.


Hope none of these things ever becomes an issue for you.

Raz

 

[Chanman]

Note to myself: Don't F*ck w/any of the above. dance2

 

[Turfgrass]

I have a Smith&Wesson model 345. It's a small .45 cal gun that is very slim so you can hide it under a coat. It holds 8 shots, 7+1 in the pipe. I've fired the weapon over 5000 times and in some small competitions, but I haven't had it jam yet. The price tag was about $550. Hope this helps.

 

[Captain Crunch]

Penquinfan, sounds like Scott and Fletch have a lot more experience with handguns than I do. I bought my Glock on the recomendation of a friend and have fired it about 30 times total. As far as the reliability, I haven't had any problems with it jamming up, but then again, I don't use mine very much, as it has stayed hidden in my room for many years.

I also have to agree with Marine on the pump shotgun issue. It does make a very distinct sound and lets your opponent know what they are up against. If you get one, get one with a short barrel like the ones you would see in police cars as the shorter the barrel, the quicker the shot spreads out. This gives you greater room for error and also peppering them with a 2' diameter circle of buckshot should just about drop them in their tracks, if not get their serious attention. Scott mentioned getting double 00 buckshot. If you are not familiar with the numbering system for buckshot, the bigger the number, the smaller the shot. 6 and 8 shot would be used for small bird hunting such as quail and pheasant. I would not get anything bigger than 4 shot and make sure you get them in a 3 inch mag. You let lose with one of those and even if you miss on the first shot, you should get a good second shot by the time they get done soiling their pants. Good Luck

 

[Private Petey]

That sig .45 that sex ape mentions is overpriced and well known for jamming. Look it up online or in any gun magazine. That smith & wesson 45 that somebody mentioned is the best for personal protection.

PP

 

[Penguinfan]

Gang , many thanks for the advice and please keep it coming. I like the idea of a shotgun under the bed to scare off a would be attacker. The only problem with trying to scare anyone is that I have always heard if you pick up a gun in a situation like that, you damn well better be ready to use it. That is something I will have to come to grips with, but in a situation where it is them or my family I hope it would not be a difficult decision.

Penguinfan

 

[THE KOD]

That sig .45 that sex ape mentions is overpriced and well known for jamming. Look it up online or in any gun magazine. That smith & wesson 45 that somebody mentioned is the best for personal protection.

PP

PP you know that is not true . Why you trying to antaganize fletcher ? You will regret it when you make the move to the desert city of sin.

Hey Petey what did the pit bosses say to you when you talked to them about your contest ideas ? Did you get to talk to any real big casino honchos ?


Scott King of Dogs

 

[AzRusty]

I'm at work and don't have to read all of the above but will later

I'm at work and don't have to read all of the above but will later

I have a few quick words for those considering buying a gun for protection. I grew up around guns and always knew to consider any gun I encountered to be LOADED.

If you keep your for protection keep it loaded but in a safe location that you can quickly get to without too much fumbling around IN THE DARK.

If you are going to buy a gun get one that is of good quality and that suits your skills and feels comfortable to you.

Before you even buy the gun go through the drills mentally of when you might be forced to use a gun to protect yourself, family or property.

You do NOT brandish a gun hoping to scare someone with it. When you take it out... you HOPE that you will not have to use it but you ARE prepared to use it.

If you encounter someone in your house after dark and you feel the need to use your pistol or shotgun against an intruder it is to kill. Not to scare, maim or frighten.

Make that decision and get it over with.

Same goes for in public or in your place of business. If someone comes into my office threatening my "girls or wife" with a weapon or have already caused them bodily harm before I get there. They are DEAD.

I have always hired women as therapists in my chiropractic office. But now times have changed. The neighborhood is going Hispanic with some rough types around at times especially in the late afternoon. My afternoon male therapist who has been with me is a boxing champ. But that still won't help against a pistol.

Had an encounter with cops who actually came into my office last week to question someone. Now THAT'S great for business.... damn. Anyway. After they were through I followed them out and asked them if I was ok with the way I have my gun.

I keep a .357 Smith & Wesson with .38 Specials in it.. hollow points...in my briefcase at all times. It's right next to me if I'm in my office. It's buried but it's there. When I leave the office my briefcase rides right next to me on the front seat.

Any Questions?

AzRusty

P.S. Kathy has completed her induction chemo, her counts are starting to rise and she may be home by the end of the week. There are some possible bone marrow matches but she will probably have to do at least two more sessions of chemo before being transplanted again. She has been in the hospital for 5 weeks now and our house looks like three vagrants have taken up residence there. And I just don't care.