All Things Guns & Ammo

[dodint]

50 yards is about 30 yards past the effective range for most shotguns.

[AuthorTony]

50 yards is about 30 yards past the effective range for most shotguns.

Oh, well then, I feel better.

[Shyster]

I imagine 16 gauge shot loads are probably easier to find that 16 gauge slugs. What kind of shotgun is it (e.g., single-barrel, double-barrel, pump)? Do you know what the choke is? Most older guns had fixed chokes, and the barrel might say somewhere on it. You're looking for terms like Cylinder, Skeet, Improved Cylinder, Modified, Improved Modified, or Full, or lettering like C, SK, IC, M IM, or F. If it's a double-barrel shotgun, there could be a different choke on each barrel. A lot of over-unders were choked something like IC/M or M/F for the two barrels.

Certain types of slugs shouldn't be shot through certain chokes, so you want to make sure, for example, that you're not firing slugs through a Full choke. You could damage the gun by doing that.

[PFiDC]

Tried out a few today. Thoughts on this model?

http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/wcs/ ... rrorView_Y

[tifosi77]

Speaking of S&W sidearms.........

L.A. County Deputies Get New Guns; Accidental Firings More Than Double

[AuthorTony]

Shyster - I checked the barrel and couldn't find anything indicating the choke. It's a single barrel Sears 16 gauge shotgun. Model is 101.04. A quick google search didn't turn up anything. My dad got it when he was a young teen so it should be over 50 years old.

[Shyster]

Sears-brand guns were made by other companies. I think that shotgun was made by Stevens/Savage. There are gauges you can buy to determine approximately what gauge a shotgun is bored for. This one seems to have good reviews:

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/985226 ... uctFinding

[AuthorTony]

Thanks - I'll check that out and see what I can determine. I don't really plan on shooting this much. I just wanted a shotgun to keep in my Jeep when I go camping or driving in the mountains.

[Shyster]

It would work fine for those tasks. But if it has any significant choke I think you should limit it to shot instead of slugs. Unless you want to hunt deer with it or something, a load of buckshot should give you most of the performance of a slug.

I need to pick up one of those gauges for myself. I inherited a Marlin Model 90 over/under shotgun from my grandfather, and like your gun it's a 16 gauge. The barrels aren't labeled, however, so I don't know what the chokes are. My research says that a lot of them were choked IC/M, but it would be nice to know which barrel is which. I also need to have a new recoil pad put on it. The original rubber pad has completely solidified and might as well be rock at this point.

[The U]

I'm thinking about buying my first gun. I plan on keeping it hidden/locked away somewhere in my house in case of an emergency situation. I anticipate going to the range once in a while just to keep fresh and familiar but I'm not going target shooting or practicing on a regular basis.

I've read that a shotgun is a good option for home/self defense because you don't have to be accurate with it in an emergency/home invasion situation. I have experience shooting handguns and kind of figured I would just buy a handgun and some ammo but I'm not 100% sure.

What is the consensus here? I'm not buying this gun because I like guns or because I want to have fun with it at a range every few months. I will keep this thing stashed away in a locked box/safe in a closet or up high where nobody (little kids) can get to it. I imagine having it for a long time and never needing it, but I think I want to have one just in case. I have a wife and 2 daughters....there have been a few incidents in the news (locally and nationally) that make me want to have one "just in case".

I wish there was a starter kit or new gun owner 101 so I can get everything I need all at once. What type of gun? What caliber? What type of small safe/lock box should I buy? Anything else I need that I'm not realizing? Main concern here is making sure friends/family don't shoot themselves. Secondary concern is making sure I can easily grab this thing and use it in case of a home invasion type situation.

Any/all thoughts would be appreciated.

[Morkle]

Looking to land a Russian SKS, and Sig P320.

I hate that I bought the 250 only for them to come out with the 320 a month later.

[AuthorTony]

I'm thinking about buying my first gun. I plan on keeping it hidden/locked away somewhere in my house in case of an emergency situation.

I'm no expert, but I've been told the ideal home defense weapon is a shotgun loaded with birdshot.

[Morkle]

I'm thinking about buying my first gun. I plan on keeping it hidden/locked away somewhere in my house in case of an emergency situation.

I'm no expert, but I've been told the ideal home defense weapon is a shotgun loaded with birdshot.

Pretty much. Makes a boom sound and you don't have to be accurate. At all.

[Shyster]

Pretty much. Makes a boom sound and you don't have to be accurate. At all.

That's somewhat of a myth. At tyoical across-the-room ranges, even from a open-cylinder choke (that is, no choke at all) the shot spread will be something like 4″ tops. For example, rifleshooter.com measured the spread of buckshot through various 18″ shotgun barrels with different chokes, and at 7 yards the spreads ranged from 1.75″ to a maximum of 5″. See http://rifleshooter.com/2013/01/defensi ... yard-myth/. For shotguns, aiming is thus much more important at close range than at greater ranges.

[Morkle]

The spread is still a greater consistency than one shot. Unless you're using a semi and pulling the trigger repeatedly.

[Shyster]

I'm thinking about buying my first gun. I plan on keeping it hidden/locked away somewhere in my house in case of an emergency situation. I anticipate going to the range once in a while just to keep fresh and familiar but I'm not going target shooting or practicing on a regular basis.

I suggest a full-size double-action revolver, such as the Ruger GP-100 or the Smith & Wesson 686, with a 4" barrel. Revolvers have a simple manual of arms—pull the trigger and they go bang. Pull the trigger again and they go bang again. And if somehow you get a dud round, you just pull the trigger to line up another one. They are less sensitive to being dirty or neglected than most semi-autos. They are slower to reload, but for a gun that might sit for years before ever being used, I think the greater reliability is an acceptable tradeoff.

Those revolvers come chambered in .357 Magnum, but I'd load mine with .38 Special. Despite the difference in numbers, .357 Magnum and .38 Special fire bullets of the same diameter. The only difference between the two cartridges is that the .357 has a longer case and is loaded much "hotter." There will be much less noise and recoil with .38 Special, and consequently it will be easier to shoot and easier to hit what you're shooting at. The .38 Special with premium self-defense cartridges is quite adequate for home/self defense.

[Shyster]

The spread is still a greater consistency than one shot. Unless you're using a semi and pulling the trigger repeatedly.

Certainly. But you do have to aim in order to hit. For example, a lot of tv/movies show someone just pointing a shogun (often from the hip) vaguely in the direction of the Bad Guy, and of course they hit center of mass and send the Bad Guy (in slow motion) through the nearest plate-glass window. Try that in real life and you are quite likely to miss entirely.

[cadams]

But .357 is so much fun to shoot

[PFiDC]

Someone once told me that another added benefit to a shotgun for home defense is the distinct cocking sound it makes when you chamber a round. Everyone knows what it sounds like and what it means. I would venture that would scare off a percentage of criminals. There are too many variables to consider in a situation where arming yourself with a loaded weapon to determine if it really is effective or not I think.

[Shyster]

But .357 is so much fun to shoot

I don't disagree, but I think the much lower noise, flash, and recoil of a .38 would be better for someone who isn't going to shoot it all that much.

[Shyster]

Speaking of shogun chokes, here's a basic introduction to chokes from the NSSF:
http://www.nssfblog.com/firstshotsnews/ ... un-chokes/

[dodint]

Hey, check out this can of worms:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqHrTtvFFIs

The video, which cannot be independently verified by the Guardian, appears to show a small calibre handgun strapped to quadcopter with an elongated frame. The author of the video has not replied to requests for comment.

In the video, the pistol appears to fire four times, propelled backwards with each shot by the recoil. The drone compensates for the force, adjusting its height and position after each shot.

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2 ... eo-youtube

Woooooo, all kinds of fun stuff can come from this. Everything from weirdo copycats shooting through multi story windows, to one uppers with more damaging weapons, or even legislators that could knee jerk and put the ban hammer on everything.

[tifosi77]

That is literally the dumbest idea I've ever seen realized.

There's a guy who flies a drone in my neighborhood; I need to find a suitable solution to that particular annoyance.

[Willie Kool]

That is literally the dumbest idea I've ever seen realized.

There's a guy who flies a drone in my neighborhood; I need to find a suitable solution to that particular annoyance.

Just get a RC helicopter to protect your airspace.

[dodint]

I take tif as more of a ground-based laser defense kind of guy.