Posted on 10/25/2004 8:21:45 AM PDT by Another-MA-Conservative
Looking for some guidance and advice from freeper 2nd Amendment fans here. I hope it is not inappropriate to post such threads on FR, but it seems like a good audience for it.
I've never owned a firearm before, but I have at least fired long guns before in the distant past(shotguns and a .22 rifle).
Anyway, I'm looking to exercise my 2nd Amendment rights for the first time in my adult life. I'd like a "beginner" handgun, initially to just get familiar with them and for inexpensive shooting-range practice. My research so far has led me towards .22 rimfire semiauto pistols as a good starting point.
That said, I'm thinking about the Beretta U22 Neos 6.0... any good? It's gotten good reviews in the mags I've read so far and is reasonably priced.
I'm also a little nervous about how to go about getting my feet wet in this - I've never even been in a gun shop before. To my understanding, I have to take a training course in order to get a license, and that it's practically impossible to get a CCW license here in MA. Should I join the NRA? How do I find places to shoot? Most seem to be private sportsmens clubs... what's the deal with these?
So... any advice for a 2nd-Ammendment newbie?
LOL - Funniest thing is that you aren't exaggerating.
Well, SA handguns have shorter lock times. But I submit that most people, myself included, have a harder time maintaining sight alignment during the long, heavy DA trigger squeeze than during a short, light SA squeeze.
What happened there? And where?
well, lets see....
My Ruger MKII was stolen out of the glovebox of my car in PHX.
My Tokarov was taken by the Mesa police because I drew it to defend myself against a convicted felon who drew on me first (I have several misdemeanor convictions but no felonies). My landlord had tried to get me evicted for six months but was unable to come up with any valid reason until my wife came over with with her boyfriend she was living with (the convicted felon), and we got into an argument because he was there. The landlord called the police claiming I was pointing my gun at my wife (both her and I explained to the police my gun was not un-holstered until her boyfriend drew on me first, and I never pointed it at anyone until I drew it and I still wonder if things would have turned out better if I had just shot him instead of maintaining a 'mexican standoff' until the police arrived). The police didn't care, I was the criminal and her and her boyfriend were the victims...(I don't know what he told them and I didn't know he was a convicted felon until a couple months later)
My WWII Remington Rand M1911A1 was taken by the Denver Police Department because they don't believe Denver resides within the State of Colorado or the United States of America (both of which have clear and explicit provisions in their Constitutions that protect the right of the citizens to keep and bear arms) because they can enforce their city ordinance which is in direct conflict with both the state and national constitutions. I even fought Denver, cost me $3,500.00 in legal fees for crooked judges to say "Don't you dare try to quote the constitution in my court!! I determine the law not the jury."
Anyway, after several early setbacks, I am growing my collection slowly up here in the mountains and developing my fortress!!! My latest additions are a WWII Mosin Nagant 91/30 That I will use for my first deer hunt next year, and I got my brother's (deceased) Ruger MKII that was the match for mine that was stolen long ago....
Well there is something to say for that ...but
1. A tyro with a shotgun will get a hit at close range. Not so with a pistol
2. Regardless of whether it hits, a shotgun will intimidate the hell out of anyone.
3. A light load in a shotgun for reduced kick will be lethal or incapacitating.
Moreover you can easily make non-lethal loads (I know, I was once shot with rock salt when I was a kid).
4. A shotgun, particularly a break action one, is a safer weapon than a handgun.
A #3 20 gauge shotshell 7/8 oz load has, approximately, 16 quarter inch diameter pellets headed downrange at about 1200 FPS. It's too late here to do the math, but that's a lot of KE and momentum hitting the Bad Guy.
I don't like the Cult of the 12 Gauge - 20s are just as effective as a 12, and are much easier for more varieties of people to handle effectively.
Firing a shot "single action" releases the energy stored in a spring without the trigger adding any more. Firing a shot "double action" imparts energy into the spring and then releases it, without requiring any energy to have been stored there previously. Some pistols operate in an intermediate mode, where the hammer/striker is kept partially cocked and the trigger adds some more energy prior to release.
Revolvers come in three categories: single-action-only, double-action only (which cannot be "cocked") and single/double action (the most common sort, which can be manually cocked before shooting but can be fired without).
Automatics add two more categories for which I've not heard formal nomenclature, but which I'd call "intermediate action only" [e.g. the Kel-Tec P32] and "Glock action" [which operates in "intermediate mode" for the first shot, but which will fully recock when the action cycles and may be fired again by partially-releasing and re-pulling the trigger; unlike a single/double-action pistol, however, the Glock reverts to half-cock mode if the trigger is released fully].
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