Gun gun gun gun gun gun gun gun gun gun

[Prolescum]

I have no idea... Do I get to keep the ukulele if it's a yes?

 

[ImprobableJoe]

I have no idea... Do I get to keep the ukulele if it's a yes?

If it is the ukulele you brought with you, I don't see why you don't. If you stole it, you'd better hope the owner is armed with a toy robot and not a handgun.

 

[televator]

I like to remind myself that lethal weaponry isn't really something to smile about. That being said, I also own a gun. I had an ex-uncle who went a little crazy and was making threats against my family and I was off to the indoor shooting range within a week. Had to settle for a handgun even though it's not really my style...I have weak wrists.

 

[ImprobableJoe]

I like to remind myself that lethal weaponry isn't really something to smile about. That being said, I also own a gun. I had an ex-uncle who went a little crazy and was making threats against my family and I was off to the indoor shooting range within a week. Had to settle for a handgun even though it's not really my style...I have weak wrists.

I hope you at least bought a revolver, and not an auto. If you don't keep a firm grip on an auto, you're likely to suffer a jam. You don't want to limp-wrist it.

 

[Nashy19]

If a gun excites you this much, are you sure you're safe with one? :shock:

 

[ImprobableJoe]

If a gun excites you this much, are you sure you're safe with one? :shock:

That's probably why they have the waiting period, right? :lol:

To be fair, if I'd been able to walk out of the store with it today, I could have driven across the road to the shooting range and burned through a couple of hundred rounds, and I'd have also burned off most of the enthusiasm. As it is, I got to do the shopping and the buying, and none of the actual owning yet.

 

[ImprobableJoe]

At this point, I feel like it is important to take a couple of seconds to remind everyone that I'm a trained shooter and Marine Corps combat marksmanship coach. I'm willing to joke around online, but in real life I take firearm safety extremely seriously. While I understand that most folks here don't shoot, I expect that those of you who do own and shoot guns treat it with the respect it deserves.

OK, back to making fun of Prolescum getting drunk at a Bar Mitzvah, serenading someone's granny on ukulele, and then passing out in a pool of his own excretions while clutching a toy robot.

 

[Prolescum]

Hey, I don't own transformers now; I'm all grown up.

 

[Welshidiot]

At this point, I feel like it is important to take a couple of seconds to remind everyone that I'm a trained shooter and Marine Corps combat marksmanship coach. I'm willing to joke around online, but in real life I take firearm safety extremely seriously. While I understand that most folks here don't shoot, I expect that those of you who do own and shoot guns treat it with the respect it deserves.

Thank you for this.

Hey, I don't own transformers now;

Mmmmkay, I can just about believe that....

I'm all grown up.

Nah...my credulity won't stretch that far. You blew it.

 

[ImprobableJoe]

Hey, I don't own transformers now; I'm all grown up.

What's being grown up got to do with it? We'd all have been much smarter to have held onto our toys and such, since the world seems committed to reselling us our past at a significant mark-up.

Also, guns. I'm currently researching ammo and mods for my new handgun. It is an exercise in physics: mass times acceleration equals force. Force equals stopping power.

Interestingly, "stopping power" doesn't equal "killing power". Hollowpoint rounds expand on impact, which increases their force delivery but decreases their penetration. Ball ammo(also known as full metal jacket) will go right through someone but not actually hit them that hard... sort of like the difference between cutting someone with a razor or hitting them with a sledgehammer. Ball ammo is actually more likely to kill someone, because it causes an entry and exit would and passes through the whole body and is therefore more likely to hit vital organs and blood vessels. Hollowpoints make a bigger hole, but might stop before they hit anything vital. Just as importantly, hollowpoints are more likely to knock the person down, which means you don't have to shoot them as many times.

Maybe it doesn't matter, but I don't want to kill too many people in my life. My purpose for owning the gun is in the case of a home invasion. I'll grab it, crouch by my bed, and I'll shout out a warning while my wife calls the cops. Anything that is taller than my dog and silhouetted in my bedroom doorway, I'm going to shoot. I don't want him dead, but I'm not letting him get close to me or my wife.

 

[ImprobableJoe]

At this point, I feel like it is important to take a couple of seconds to remind everyone that I'm a trained shooter and Marine Corps combat marksmanship coach. I'm willing to joke around online, but in real life I take firearm safety extremely seriously. While I understand that most folks here don't shoot, I expect that those of you who do own and shoot guns treat it with the respect it deserves.

Thank you for this.

Well... we kid, and we joke, and whatever. That's cool, and fun and I've enjoyed myself posting this in a semi-whimsical way.

On the other hand, I've spent months researching this purchase. I've weighed all the factors against each other, with an emphasis towards safety at every stage. I'm not planning on keeping ammo in my house before I own a safe for the gun. I picked a gun that has enough safety to make me comfortable, but is simple enough for me to shoot in the dark in an emergency. I'm looking into various safes that will prevent easy theft or unwanted access, but will allow me to quickly access the gun if I need it. I'm planning on making the safe a semi-permanent part of the house, as in bolting it to a wall stud or into the floor, so that a thief can't steal the safe and break into it at his leisure. I plan on firing a hundred rounds a month through my gun, like clockwork, so that I can guarantee its reliability and my proficiency.

This isn't something I entered into lightly, no matter what sort of tone I take online.

 

[televator]

I hope you at least bought a revolver....

Sure did. Took some getting used to, but I guess it's like ridding a different bike...

 

[ImprobableJoe]

I hope you at least bought a revolver....

Sure did. Took some getting used to, but I guess it's like ridding a different bike...

Well, it is safer if you're unsure of your grip. It is also better if you're not planning on hitting the range very often. The springs in a loaded magazine tend to lose their springiness over time, which means that if you leave a loaded mag in a drawer or safe or in the gun for a couple of years, there's a chance the ammo won't load correctly. Revolvers obviously don't have that issue.

I hope you're all loaded out with crazy killer ammo... you only get one chance to make a first impression.

 

[televator]

Got some +P rounds, though that's not what I throw away at the range. It'll definitely have some knock back power in it, and my aim's improved (though I still had no flyers on my first day on the range with it). I'm trying a different grip in favor over the "tea cup" grip style. Also, the more I use it, the more the action improves for a smoother, less jerky trigger pull.

 

[ImprobableJoe]

Got some +P rounds, though that's not what I throw away at the range. It'll definitely have some knock back power in it, and my aim's improved (though I still had no flyers on my first day on the range with it). I'm trying a different grip in favor over the "tea cup" grip style. Also, the more I use it, the more the action improves for a smoother, less jerky trigger pull.

Yikes, teacup? You might even be better off with a single-hand grip! Not really, but close.

A little advice, next time you're at the range? Sort of tuck in your hips a bit, lean forward and squat down slightly. It will feel weird at first, but that's probably what you'll actually do when you're shooting in a real-world situation. In real life, no one stands straight and tall and presents themselves to the target at attention.

 

[televator]

A little advice, next time you're at the range? Sort of tuck in your hips a bit, lean forward and squat down slightly. It will feel weird at first, but that's probably what you'll actually do when you're shooting in a real-world situation. In real life, no one stands straight and tall and presents themselves to the target at attention.

I thought that was everyone's stance with a handgun already? Do some people really try to stand like that? Like...all straight and robotic? Maybe it's just strange to us... That kind of stance doesn't really scream "tactical" does it? I was taught to slump over, relax, exhale, and sight my target...not with the hand gun of course...I assumed the same thing kinda carried over from firing a riffle.

Yikes, teacup? You might even be better off with a single-hand grip! Not really, but close.

Well I couldn't believe that some guys prefer to fire their rifle in the kneeling position....with the rear weight of their body on their toes. Or how some raised their knee completely vertical and rested their leading arm's elbow on that...

I preferred the cross leg style with my right leg over my left. Low to the ground, weight spread out, stable.

 

[kenandkids]

All you had to do was ask, I could've given you one. If you wanted, I could've even given you a legal one...

 

[Prolescum]

What's being grown up got to do with it? We'd all have been much smarter to have held onto our toys and such, since the world seems committed to reselling us our past at a significant mark-up.

Memory isn't what it used to be...

All you had to do was ask, I could've given you one. If you wanted, I could've even given you a legal one...

Yeah, Joe. Why didn't you ask some random guy on the internet for one?

 

[Thomas Doubting]

I had some of the vehicles from M.A.S.K. if that counts...

Not really.

Anyways, guns and toys don't belong in the same conversation. You could totally blow your brains out if you mix up the two... or on the other hand experience the most embarrassing mugging possible. Or both, if the second one happens first.

First off, sorry for my crappy english.. i hope i will get my point across somehow.

Well actually they sort of do belong in the same conversation.
The kid that takes his plastic jedi sword or his rubber army knife or a stick (which can be very lethal if you use it "right", just like pretty much everything around you) when he wants to feel safe, is also more likely to hit somebody with it. When they grow a bit older, some people take a knife or make a nunchaku or take their grandpa's old scimitar or whatever (depending on where you live and what sort of weapons you can get), some of them carry them only to feel safe, others actually use them when they feel endangered and some of them happen to decide to use them for more than defending themselves. Some people do treat weapons like others treat toys, give them names, carry them around to show them to people, sleep with them under their pillows, spend time watching them or using them to "play" with and so on, weapons sometimes can be considered "toys for adults".

Some people with access to (more effectively) lethal weapons are carrrying them around to boast, feel safe just like the kid with the jedi sword, be prepared for "whatever". The problem with weapons is that they have a psychological effect on people, if you are pron to violent behavior, you are more likely to use a weapon. But even worse, if you own a weapon, you might turn more aggressive and it might "tickle" the violent behavior out of you.
It is of course true that people kill people, weapons are just tools, but having a weapon enables you to kill more effectively and to require less effort and determination to hurt or even eliminate somebody, fire arms even enable you to kill or hurt somebody without the physical interaction, meaning they don't have to hit the opponent several times or cut/stab/strangle/whatever them, they pull the trigger and it is done, it is just a tiny moment deciding between life and death. The restraint barrier (for the lack of a better term) is overcome much easier.

Let me try to rephrase, having a weapon not only can make hurting or killing people easier, it can also make the decision to do so faster and easier, maybe even "provoke" you to do so. There are studies showing that people with access to weapons tend to more aggressive behavior, also called the "Weapons Effect".

The weapons effect is a finding in studies of aggression suggesting that the mere presence of a weapon, words describing weapons, or pictures of weapons, may facilitate an increased likelihood of aggression, especially among angered persons.

The original investigation of a possible causal link between firearms and impulsive aggression was found by Berkowitz and LePage (1967). Under controlled laboratory conditions, previously angered and nonangered subjects were exposed to guns or neutral objects (badminton rackets) in the environment (on a table) and then given the opportunity to aggress. Results showed that angered subjects exposed to a rifle or revolver administered significantly more electric shocks than did those angered subjects exposed to neutral objects.

(read more here)

I do agree that in certain situations having a weapon can be considered necessary, also using it.. i grew up in a warring country.. i handled and used several weapons even as a kid, i will just leave it at that. However i learned to have a huge respect for weapons and i definitely don't want them near my children and relatives, even near myself. My old baseball bat and my legs and arms would have to do the job nowadays (they are not that ineffective either, but less likely to criple or kill a person).

Just a small story telling me that i am right with my "weaponophobia", and i am sure you know similar stories.. which didn't end very well.
Before the war, when i was around 7, my father had an automatic rifle hidden somewhere in the house, he had to keep it at home to be able to protect some politician in our neighborhood if something happens and to be ready to be armed whenever he gets an urgent call.
i have no idea how, but my big brother and I found it when we were alone at home for few hours and "played" with it. My father was shocked when he came home.. he beat the crap out of us although he realized it was his own mistake, guess it was a great decision to keep the ammunition on some other place, knowing my brother and me, we sure would have found a way to put them in and eventually use them.. I don't know what he did with them. but i guarantee you his weapons were not in the house the next day.
He was even required to have weapons at home, bad enough, but having the right to own weapons for "normal" citizens is a really bad thing in my eyes, it gives a lot of people the chance and even a justification to use them.. and gives others more opportunities to get a hold of them for any purpose.
Taking "very effective" weapons away from the average Joe wouldn't get us rid of violence and murder for sure, but i believe it would be a step towards a more calm and less violent humanity in the long run.

 

[ImprobableJoe]

All you had to do was ask, I could've given you one. If you wanted, I could've even given you a legal one...

Yeah, Joe. Why didn't you ask some random guy on the internet for one?

Yeah, why didn't I just do that? :facepalm: