Firearm Hobbyist Catch-All

kaostheory wrote:

So, for someone who has never fired a gun in their lives, what would be the best way to go about doing so? Should I try to find a nearby shooting range that rents guns? Do I need to have some sort of permit/license to do so (most likely a state-by-state thing).

Not sure about the permit, but that's what i planning on doing with my fiance. She's not shot anything beyond a bb gun. I think there's a state sponsored saftey class as well.

kaostheory wrote:

So, for someone who has never fired a gun in their lives, what would be the best way to go about doing so? Should I try to find a nearby shooting range that rents guns? Do I need to have some sort of permit/license to do so (most likely a state-by-state thing). I could probably just call up my uncle and he'd figure out how to get me shooting one of his guns, but that would require me talking to/bonding with the uncle I don't really like all that much.

Many ranges also offer introductory courses in firearm safety, which is what I attended before I started shooting. If you've got no one you know (and like) who's into shooting, then probably a course and a rent are your best bets. Being that your location says "Chicagoish", I don't know how easy it'll be for you.

This may be useful:
http://www.nraila.org/statelawpdfs/I...

Looks like you'll need an FOID to even hold a gun in Illinois.

My grandfather on my mother's side was a farmer in Indiana, so naturally he had a large gun collection. Sometime in the 70's his gun shed was broken into and a majority of the guns were stolen and never recovered (we suspect his son-in-law, a man literally named Punk). So he began to laborously rebuild his collection. He told me he ordered kits and put the guns together himself. That memory is hazy as I believe I was around 9 when he told me.

A few years ago, he collapsed in a Wall-Mart and hit his head. He was hemmoraging(sp?) and they couldn't stop it because any coagulant they used would cause heart failure due to the pig's aorta he had. As such, he lost 20 years of memory and became passively senile, similar to Alziemer's but very docile. When my mom (the only living direct relative) was going through his stuff to sell, she was stumped as to what to do with the items in his gun closet (a place I remember spending a lot of time in during my summer visits).

Many cousins came out of the woodwork to claim stuff and ask mom for things they wanted. Mom, without resorting to foul language because she hates it, pretty much told them to f*ck off, as they were all white trash that treated my grandparents like crap because they could (they were humble folks who prefered to be the bigger person at all times, God bless them).

So what is the point of this little sob story? Well, she ended up giving most of the guns to my cousin Tory who is not a deplorable little sh*t (or wasn't when all this went down) and actually hunts regularly. However, I was given a 12-gauge, pump action shotgun in great condition and a more for show double barrel shotgun that would probably blow my eyes out if I used.

I've never fired a weapon before in my life, let alone owned one. How do I go about getting it register? Do I have to? Any advice?

*edit Yes, I skimmed.

Yay, page 3.

Grenn wrote:

I've never fired a weapon before in my life, let alone owned one. How do I go about getting it register? Do I have to? Any advice?

Depends on your state and town. Check here or here.

Thin_J wrote:

It is indeed too short.

Also a bolt-action in .308. I like the look of the fairly new T/C Icon.
A 12-gauge coach gun. Just because.

Quintin_Stone wrote:

I have a gun wishlist of sorts that I keep adding to.

Springfield 1903
M1 Garand
Stainless Ruger Vaquero in .45 Colt, 4 5/8" barrel
2" or 3" barrel .357 revolver

It is indeed too short. So's mine really, but I have a feeling I'm just getting started.

My list:
CZ 75-B
Savage 16FXP3 in .308
1911. Don't know what kind, because there's about a billion choices. Plus I'd like to fire one first.

And if I ever go for the concealed carry permit, probably a Glock 19.

Grenn wrote:

I've never fired a weapon before in my life, let alone owned one. How do I go about getting it registered? Do I have to? Any advice?

I honestly don't know if you have to register it or not. I want to say you don't, but there might be state laws involved. Not 100% sure.

Rifles and Shotguns tend to be about like anything else you buy in a store here in Kentucky. You buy it, it's yours, that's kinda the end of it. Other than the shop calling in and doing the registration thing there's not even any process for pistols, which actually took me by surprise. I walked in, picked what I wanted, filled out a paper, and left with my gun.

Quintin_Stone wrote:

This may be useful:
http://www.nraila.org/statelawpdfs/I...

Looks like you'll need an FOID to even hold a gun in Illinois.

Very useful.

A person with a FOID card can loan a gun to a non-FOID card owner as long as the gun was used at a range and under the supervision of the owner.

Sounds like if I went to a range, they or someone else could loan me a gun to use

It is unlawful to carry or possess any firearm when a person is hooded or masked.

So much for wearing a skimask while hunting in the winter.

Quintin_Stone wrote:

Also a bolt-action in .308. I like the look of the fairly new T/C Icon.

It's hard to figure out bolt action stuff. I have that Savage on my list because people seem to be pretty fond of them and I too want a Bolt Action in .308, but there's so many manufacturers. Is Thompson/Center a good manufacturer? I'd never heard of them till now.

How the hell can this have gotten to page 3 without any discussion of gun control or gun legislation? This thread does not deliver.

Alien13z wrote:

How the hell can this have gotten to page 3 without any discussion of gun control or gun legislation? This thread does not deliver.

It also does not transfer to P&C.

Alien13z wrote:

How the hell can this have gotten to page 3 without any discussion of gun control or gun legislation? This thread does not deliver.

There's a thread on-going in P&C right now. Thin_J specifically said that stuff does not belong here.

Thin_J wrote:
Quintin_Stone wrote:

Also a bolt-action in .308. I like the look of the fairly new T/C Icon.

It's hard to figure out bolt action stuff. I have that Savage on my list because people seem to be pretty fond of them and I too want a Bolt Action in .308, but there's so many manufacturers. Is Thompson/Center a good manufacturer? I'd never heard of them till now.

Until recently they've mainly made single-shot pistols in rifle cartridges for hunting plus a lot of muzzleloading stuff. Last year they were bought by Smith & Wesson.

Yeah I figured I made that pretty clear from the start.

If you really want to have fun at the range might I recommend Zombie Targets?

I ordered some.

Thin_J wrote:

If you really want to have fun at the range might I recommend Zombie Targets?

I ordered some.

You got the zombie sticker for your AR-15 stock too, right?

Thin_J wrote:

Yeah I figured I made that pretty clear from the start.

If you really want to have fun at the range might I recommend Zombie Targets?

I ordered some.

Love em, especially the target regions being focused on the eyes and not the center-mass Nice touch...

Unfortunately for me I haven't fired a gun since I was 15 (left-handed .308 mag remington, I think), but I'm really hoping to get back into it. I'm interested in more of the long-range big-bore shooting than pistols, so anyone have any recommendations on a caliber and/ore rifle good out to, say, 1k meters? Sure I might not be able to hit the broad-side of a barn with it, but I'd like to be able to, eventually. Lol.

Quintin_Stone wrote:
Alien13z wrote:

How the hell can this have gotten to page 3 without any discussion of gun control or gun legislation? This thread does not deliver.

There's a thread on-going in P&C right now. Thin_J specifically said that stuff does not belong here.

It vaz ein choken! EIN CHOKEN! HAR HAR HAR

Alien13z wrote:

It vaz ein choken! EIN CHOKEN! HAR HAR HAR

I do not understand your Earth humor.

Quintin_Stone wrote:

You got the zombie sticker for your AR-15 stock too, right?

Nah. Even if I'd gotten it it would have arrived and I probably wouldn't have had the heart to stick it on the gun anywhere.

Plus my AR has the collapsible stock and there isn't anywhere to stick it anyway.

I think I'm going to save the targets for my next trip out with the little Mossberg shotgun though. Or maybe put one up at 100 yards after I get the new upper and optics for the AR just to see if I can blind them from a distance with any reliability

I shoot with a Glock and Diemaco, just, NATO doesn't let me take them home. That sucks lol
Oh, I started out with the FALL. Didn't mind that one either.

Thin_J wrote:

Yeah I figured I made that pretty clear from the start.

If you really want to have fun at the range might I recommend Zombie Targets?

I ordered some.

That's one excellent product idea which makes one slap his forehead in a "damn, why didn't *I* think of that" realization!!

A lone picture from wednesday, plinking with the pistol:

IMAGE(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v282/Thin_J/tehglock.jpg)

Hey ThinJ, were you ever in the military? You seem to have the older style BDU pants on and what seems to be the issued t-shirts that we wore under the BDU shirts.

Quintin_Stone wrote:

Then they did it again.

It's more a matter of weight versus controllability. The Thompson weighed up to around 11 pounds loaded, which mitigated the recoil of the .45's kick. Who these days is going to want to carry around a 11 lb SMG? The M4 weighs around half of that.

If anyone is pursuing this line and has unlimited cash and a little patience, you might try this one. Video of it in action. I would be interested in reliability numbers, but it seems like a good design, I always favor ambidextrous stuff.

cartoonin99 wrote:

Hey ThinJ, were you ever in the military? You seem to have the older style BDU pants on and what seems to be the issued t-shirts that we wore under the BDU shirts.

Nope. Those are actually shorts. That just happens to be the biggest loosest fitting t-shirt I have and it was hot that day.

Part of me does kind of wish I'd gone and signed up when I had the urge. The other part's glad because I know myself well enough to realize I never would have been anymore than a grunt and very likely would have gone to Iraq.

One of those things I grew up sort of wanting to do and when the age came I just... didn't. Not sure why really. Cowardice I suppose

Whoah, how did I miss this thread?

So far as the arsenal goes, I have:

Springfield Mil-Spec Operator in .45 (1911)
Kimber Eclipse Pro II in .45 (1911)
Rock River AR-15 (flat top upper, M-4 stock, 14.5" bbl)
Saiga .410 shotgun
Remington 742 in .30-06 w/ Leupold scope

I had a USP Compact in 9mm that I sold to buy the Kimber. It is a decision I regret. The USP shot great, with no reliability troubles whatsoever. I have had a lot of trouble with the Kimber (lots of FTE). It's got an external extractor design (that I understand Kimber has now abandoned). I've replaced the extractor and extractor spring several times, with no luck. I finally sent it back to Kimber, and they reamed the chamber out some, polished the feed ramp, and replaced the extractor again. It seems to work now, but I haven't put enough rounds through it to be 100% certain that it works properly.

Since I moved to Arkansas I haven't really been shooting. Now that I'm back in NOLA, I hope I'll get the chance to get back to it.

So far as the firearms wishlist goes:
HK MP5 (NFA)
HK-94 (SBR)
HK USC (UMP conversion)

Realizing I'll probably never be able to afford the above, potential substitutes are below:

Beretta Cx4
LUSA PDW 94
FN PS90
TDI Kriss .45

Other wishlist items include:
Springfield National Match M1A
SIG 556
M1 Garand
Browning Hi-Power
HK Mk23
FN Five-Seven
AK-47

Are you set on the 9mm version of the Cx4? The .40 S&W version is available at about $200 cheaper at a reputable dealer.

I too want a SIG 556. I'm a little sad I didn't spend the extra scratch and get the used one I saw the day I bought my AR.

Also, the USC is actually cheaper around here than the PS90. Check out Bud's Gunshop.

They ship to quite a selection of FFL dealers in pretty much every state.

That store's about an hour south of here. My next purchase will likely be made on a roadtrip there because their prices on the guns I'm interested in are upwards of $100 cheaper than they are at any more convenient dealers. They're $120 cheaper on Glock pistols, and $90 cheaper on the CZ75 I'm eyeballing since Paleo recommended it.

bennard wrote:

Whoah, how did I miss this thread?

Same here. I need to drag Slytin Locli into this thread, we've fired guns at his parents' house a few times now.

I don't get excited about guns anymore. It might be over-exposure (my dad has something like 200 guns), but I've fired a few beauties and a few beasts in my short lifetime. I guess this would be the biggest.

I do get a hard-on for sniper rifles, especially 50 cals and russian models.

Aetius wrote:

If anyone is pursuing this line and has unlimited cash and a little patience, you might try this one. Video of it in action. I would be interested in reliability numbers, but it seems like a good design, I always favor ambidextrous stuff. :)

Oh yeah, I forgot about the Kriss. For those of you who watch CSI: NY, this gun was a plot point of sorts in the season finale.

Alright, got my list and two things I forgot to list:
Sharps Creedmore in .45-70
Mauser k98
Springfield M1A

Thin_J wrote:

Are you set on the 9mm version of the Cx4? The .40 S&W version is available at about $200 cheaper at a reputable dealer.

I would probably go 9mm if I got one, due to being able to use cheap and readily available Beretta 92 magazines, for higher capacity magazines, and hopefully to get a suppressor at some point.

Thin_J wrote:

Also, the USC is actually cheaper around here than the PS90. Check out Bud's Gunshop.

That's not bad on the USC. They're hard to find around here. The only thing is that I'd have to get the gun, and then do some modification to it to get it to accept magazines with more than a 10 rd capacity.

While I'm at it:

bennard wrote:

Kimber Eclipse Pro II in .45 (1911)

I have had a lot of trouble with the Kimber (lots of FTE). It's got an external extractor design (that I understand Kimber has now abandoned). I've replaced the extractor and extractor spring several times, with no luck. I finally sent it back to Kimber, and they reamed the chamber out some, polished the feed ramp, and replaced the extractor again. It seems to work now, but I haven't put enough rounds through it to be 100% certain that it works properly.

Stories like this one kind of scare me when I think about dropping $700+ on a Kimber. The reliability issue stories continue pretty regularly even on the newest models. Is your Springfield as solid as I hear they tend to be? I haven't heard a negative word about them yet except that they aren't as smooth or generally as pretty as the Kimber stuff.

bennard wrote:

I would probably go 9mm if I got one, due to being able to use cheap and readily available Beretta 92 magazines, for higher capacity magazines, and hopefully to get a suppressor at some point.

Point taken on the mags in both cases. I've noticed how expensive pistol mags can be. It's kind of annoying that it's $15 for a nice mag for the AR-15 from Magpul but a new mag for my Glock runs me $20 at the very cheapest + shipping.

How much trouble is it really to get a supressor? I understand you have to pay a tax because it's a class 3 item and register it, but where do you even get the paperwork for that? I've read around on some forums and there doesn't seem to be much in the way of description of the whole process.

souldaddy wrote:

I do get a hard-on for sniper rifles, especially 50 cals and russian models.

The last gunshop I was in had a Dragunov clone. I drooled.