What kind of gun should I get?

[coldharvest]

In addition to considering whether or not I'm an ill-informed mental patient

seriously mach, don't offer advice to women about where, what with or how to shoot creeps unless it's to tell them where you'd like to be shot yourself.

[rickshaw92]

mach blathered:

Or you can stick 'to your guns' as they say and ask a professional gun nut, or a seasoned vet if they would recommend a scattergun for you and see what they say.

Well why the fuck do you think she posted a gun question here at The Flag? Back on the meds with ya mach, you are a mess.

[Chimborazo]

Well, if you want a handgun I'd recommend a .357 revolver with a 4" barrel. If you're not opposed to a shotgun, I'd recommend a .410 gauge like this Mossberg Cruiser:

http://www.mossberg.com/images/Mossberg_Guns/930/New/50455.jpg

But again, try to shoot a lot of different things. Most important thing is that you're comfortable enough with whatever you end up with to put your rounds on target.

[Woodsman]

On a less facetious note, I think James and Chimbo make real good points with the .357 as a recommendation if you are serious about getting a gun (which I remain skeptical about, but since its so fun to discuss guns I am adding this mostly serious post anyway).

It's about as cheap as it gets to shoot (centerfire) thanks to .38 special rounds fitting in a pistol chambered for .357

.357 is about the starting point for deer hunting with handguns (you can use "small" guns for hunting deer - not many people do though). You could kill a bear with the right .357 cartridge (preferably one with a heavy cast lead bullet).

The only thing I don't like about revolvers is that since they are typically all steel, they are heavier than their semi-auto equivalents and due to their design, are longer than semi-auto equivalents as well. You can get newer models made out of Scandium or Titanium that are lighter in weight, but they are expensive and felt recoil is increased dramatically since there is less mass to absorb the force of the explosion. Also, with a revolver, felt recoil is automatically greater than a semi-auto because a semi-auto by design, typically has a recoil spring to help slow the reaction of forces from firing the bullet. The way to reduce felt recoil in a revolver is to have it ported (holes drilled through the barrel laterally [usually at the top of the barrel] so some of the force can be exited before the bullet moves out of the muzzle, which will of course reduce the reaction of force we know as "recoil"). The side affect of porting a barrel is noise - it makes a loud gun even louder.

Seriously, I wouldn't recommend that someone who is interested in science - in particular physics, statistics and engineering - start getting involved with firearms if they don't want a hobby, because shooting and ballistics is a dream system for a scientist since there are so many things to learn and experiment with when considering all the physical attributes that can be analyzed of a system that involves an explosion in an enclosed (or mostly enclosed) chamber pushes a bullet to an impact point well outside of the chamber and with a different trajectory depending on various physical factors involved within the system.

There is another system that does essentially the same thing only instead of moving a projectile, the force is used to move components through a system which provides transportation: the conventional automobile. We don't think of this while driving down the road, but a modern car uses a very similar technology as a gun does: adjusting a chamber to control the expansion of gas from an explosion.

I think shooting is my worst environmental habit. Mining lead and other minerals required for the powder, casing and bullets - it is tough on the environment. Think of all the fossil fuels used to extract all the minerals required to shoot a gun. The bullets are fairly inert when they are fired into the uplands (e.g. they do not attribute to lead poisoning in the ground water for example), but extracting and manufacturing costs us.

Generally, you are not going to need protection from bears in the wild, either. There are exceptions of course, but those places and circumstances are quite limited. Unless you are heading to Western Canada, Siberia or AK, you are probably not going to need to worry about bears (and actually I would be a little surprised if you are). Even in those places, chances are low of your getting attacked by a bear.

Humans are a different story. Most are real cool, but...you never know. Gun fights are not cool, but they are a lot cooler if you aren't in one while unarmed.

My real-world suggestion for someone considering starting out shooting "small" guns is to buy a .22LR chambered compact pistol. A rifle would even be better, but learning marksmanship (e.g. how to safely and effectively handle a gun in order to hit your intended target) can be accomplished best with the rimfire firearms - .22LR chambered firearms are inexpensive and the ammo is almost comically inexpensive. Practice makes perfect. If its cheaper to practice, it's probably going to happen more often.

As for make and model, that is a tough call. If I were in the market for a new .22 pistol, I would most definitely get the new .22 compact being marketed by Browning (linked below) or Colt (can't find link, but saw one at gun store). A little bit pricey, but what a beauty:

http://www.browning.com/products/catalog/firearms/detail.asp?value=028B&cat_id=051&type_id=803&content=1911-22-compact-firearms

Good luck!

[DrakeS]

mach blathered:

Or you can stick 'to your guns' as they say and ask a professional gun nut, or a seasoned vet if they would recommend a scattergun for you and see what they say.

Well why the fuck do you think she posted a gun question here at The Flag? Back on the meds with ya mach, you are a mess.

Rickshaw! (!!!) If you had a dollar for every time you kept your mouth shut..
You'd be broke. :)

[coldharvest]

mach blathered:

Or you can stick 'to your guns' as they say and ask a professional gun nut, or a seasoned vet if they would recommend a scattergun for you and see what they say.

Well why the fuck do you think she posted a gun question here at The Flag? Back on the meds with ya mach, you are a mess.

Rickshaw! (!!!) If you had a dollar for every time you kept your mouth shut.
You'd be broke. :)

Seriously mach, you know fuck all about this and you should fucking shut it.

[DrakeS]

Well think about this: would you recommend a large gun to a little woman who can barely lift the end nozzle to a firing position and a purse gun to a 300lb women with chubby fingers?

The rule is the more protective options you have the better, and the best example of a well trained person with guns for home protection is never having to use it.

Did you even know you could have a prefab gun with a illuminating pointer light? Has anyone ever recommended a grab bag to stash away with light, cell phone, extra ammo, key for deadbolt and stuff like that?

fs wrote : Right. Thanks for the input, gentlemens. I think.

See. If theres a postmortem for this thread, the disclaimer is that the girl can think ..take advice or leave it.

[DrakeS]

mach blathered:

Or you can stick 'to your guns' as they say and ask a professional gun nut, or a seasoned vet if they would recommend a scattergun for you and see what they say.

Well why the fuck do you think she posted a gun question here at The Flag? Back on the meds with ya mach, you are a mess.

Rickshaw! (!!!) If you had a dollar for every time you kept your mouth shut.
You'd be broke. :)

Seriously mach, you know fuck all about this and you should fucking shut it.

"you know fuck all about this "

Oh. Or o-hhhhhhhhh! You switched your view from 'perspective' to parallax. Since I never read any background into my chipper advice, I will keep mine-,.. as is as added to this cacophonous dispersal of suggestions and advice.

That way no one can be pointed at with a make-believe weapon and told to a)keep their opinion/view to themselves.
b) told to subscribe to their own (or else.)

Having lived on a farm, with probably plenty of reason to off intruders, don't you know anything about perspective?

You've never ever heard any stories about people shooting by mistake i.e. friends, relatives, neighbors because they were mistaken for enemies/intruders?

I have the perfect prescription advise for rickshaw, its called laying off the acerbic comments and quit disabusing the ignore option button. For your general health and sense of well being rickshaw...crying for some entertainment the way you are, people generally dont exist for you and your own entertainment....

[DrakeS]

In addition to considering whether or not I'm an ill-informed mental patient

seriously mach, don't offer advice to women about where, what with or how to shoot creeps unless it's to tell them where you'd like to be shot yourself.

reverse creepin'...that way were are not talking about a lot of spoiled carpet-lol's..hahahaha! But good luck fs, hope you never have to replace carpets or phone police about a little problem...

[rickshaw92]

3 posts in a row, you know what that means.......mach award!

mach babbled:

people generally dont exist for you and your own entertainment....

You do.

[michelle in alaska]

friendlyskies: diamonds aren't a girl's best friend. guns are.
they hold their resale value and you can sell them (usually) anytime anywhere.
i've needed something for both hiking (bear) and the city (two footed critters).
find a friend who knows guns and go to a few gun shows.
you'll find what you need.
and no shit about taking a gun class, people. like, that would never occur to anyone who's not familiar with them.
whatever.

[Woodsman]

i've needed something for both hiking (bear) and the city (two footed critters).

Glock 29 loaded with hard cast lead 200 grain bullets running 1200 fps +/-. Fairly light to carry, recoil not horrible, bullets will go clean through a Big brownie, hide, fat, and even bones.

Even a 12 gauge full of slugs won't guarantee you don't become mauled or eaten, but the 29 is adequate insurance considering its a lot easier to carry around than a shotgun.

Lots of folks carry G20s in AK, some carry big bore revolvers, big bore rifles, 12 GA, and others. Whatever you carry, make sure you can draw it, aim it and hit your target quickly, multiple times!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMbnmLLnsfw

[DrakeS]

Comments from rickshaw92 and coldharvest are really patently unfair to the online gun shopper. For one they are insinuating the op is brainless, stupid, lacking common sense, would trust anyone, is closed minded, unstable and lacks logical decision making capacity.

Whereas the only thing I am suggesting is a more rounded view that includes all perspective.

Its also contravening of natural law to assume or make presumptions or posses fact about my knowledge or experience around firearms or guns. To possses such knowledge or even profess to have such intimate or private knowledge about a stranger posting online would seriously breach all known privacy legislation and laws.

This is the WWW people, not a state or a canton within the state of Georgia. Cheerio.

[DrakeS]

I also think that commenting or making remarks to agitate conversation about something like this is a little ridiculous, unless you wish to drag in First and Second Amendment Rights regrading freedom to bear arms on one hand, and right to free speech on the other.

But esp from people who cannot make just claims to even know me. In other words, op will get the level of protection he or she feels most comfortable with and its a little silly to make counter claims to dispensed advice that has not even been commented on or dismissed outright.

But out of all the guns available for legal possession, and other forms of protection, no one has come forward to suggest a reason why a scatter gun would NOT be recommended or advisable.

Wow, Really helpful to someone who doesnt know a sight from a chamber. Way to go , guys.

FS why not just go to a gun show and reward your self with oodles and tid bits and knowledge and then you can come back and wait for someone to ask a question similar to yours.

[nowonmai]

Friendlyskies has long since given up on this thread. She aint goin to buy no shootin iron.