The Firearms Thread

[dangerousdon]

Honestly, not sure if this thread will take off or not...but I tried to take a look to see if there was another thread on the topic and didn't see one. I know on TSC we have some that are enthusiasts and others who have firearms but don't shoot that much. Occasionally there is talk in a thread about a handgun or rifle. But I thought maybe this could be a more centralized topic.

I want to make it clear as I believe that most of you already realize this, but all TSC Rules and Guidelines apply. In this day and age, firearms can be a heated discussion for various reasons...so please...ladies and germs...please, for the sake of this thread and civil discourse...keep this thread cordial and polite. If you are vehemently opposed to firearms...maybe you should just stay clear of this discussion.

Anyway...a while back...like a real long while ago, I had went in on a group buy here locally to purchase an AR-15 stripped lower receiver. Went through the FFL and all. I got a decent price and FFL fees were significantly reduced. It was a good deal then and by todays prices, it was a steal. Later I picked up a lower parts kit. But for as many years as I have had them...they sat in an ammo can on a shelf.

Fast Forward...I finally decided that now was the time to get this thing done. My original intention was to build an AR-15 from scratch. But recently I was just ready to get'er done and was willing to buy a complete upper receiver. Looked around the interwebz and I am sure you can imagine that the prices are astronomical, or stock is very limited. My Brother-In-Law pointed me to a manufacturer that he often buys things from and presto chango...I pulled the trigger. What I ended up buying was a an 80% AR-15 (everything but the stripped lower). I will still get my wish though, since what I bought was a kit. So yup...I need to put the whole kit and caboodle together. Brother-In-Law has done this several times and has all the tools. The wife and I are taking a trip to see her sister, in a couple of months, and I'll be taking my kit with me. My only hope is that the kit actually gets to me in time. Processing and Shipping is 4 - 6 weeks. As soon as I can...I'll share photos.

Anyway...what kinds of firearms do you want to talk about?

 

[Somnos]

There are so many to discuss. I have had the great fortune of having attended quite a few armourer and firearms training schools in the US and here in Canada so anything technical I am up for. HK, Glock, S&W, Remington...to name but a few. But just a general conversation on range time, drills, ammo choices etc would be good. As long as we keep it civil and we don't get into pro vs anti gun discussions it should be a great thread!

Right now I am eye ballling a 1911 and am interested in the Springfield Armory "Ronin" which comes in standard and commander and in 9mm, 10mm or 45ACP. I am looking at the 45 as the preferred option. Being a Glock guy though I don't know. She is a looker though!

 

[dangerousdon]

There are so many to discuss. I have had the great fortune of having attended quite a few armourer and firearms training schools in the US and here in Canada so anything technical I am up for. HK, Glock, S&W, Remington...to name but a few. But just a general conversation on range time, drills, ammo choices etc would be good. As long as we keep it civil and we don't get into pro vs anti gun discussions it should be a great thread!

Right now I am eye ballling a 1911 and am interested in the Springfield Armory "Ronin" which comes in standard and commander and in 9mm, 10mm or 45ACP. I am looking at the 45 as the preferred option. Being a Glock guy though I don't know. She is a looker though!

Oh man! A high quality Colt or Springfield 1911 is on my wish list! Probably in a 45 but I would entertain other calibers if the right one came around.

 

[Somnos]

Oh man! A high quality Colt or Springfield 1911 is on my wish list! Probably in a 45 but I would entertain other calibers if the right one came around.

1911 especially Customs ala Wilson, Nighthawk, Les Bauer can break the bank in the Great White North and so $1K 1911 (sub $1k in the US) that is great out of the box attracts my attention. I love 45ACP but don't discriminate against 22, 9, 40...

 

[The Monkey]

I have had rifles for a long time but just recently got into hand guns. Nothing to special just a 9mm and a 357. I have had a reloader kit for years but only in the last month set it up. This is a bad time to get into this hobby as prices and availability are problems. I have been playing with reloading primers since the cost of them is crazy!!

 

[Spider]

I've never owned a gun, but enjoy shooting and always wanted to get one (or a few). In the military, while deployed at least, I had to carry an M9 and an M16. I qualified expert on both of those. I will eventually get some guns, hopefully my first soon. I'll start off with a 9mm handgun (looking currently at the Taurus G3C). Something I can carry for basic defense and use for target shooting. Eventually I'll get into a hunting rifle & shotgun, and the dream, an AR15.

The irony is, my son got guns before I did. He started shooting Trap when it was offered at his high school. So we initially bought him a 20ga. shotgun. He quickly wanted to upgrade to a 12ga. and got one for his next birthday. He hunts with the 20 for rabbits and squirrels and got his first deer with the 12, all on my property. He recently got a 22 rifle, again for his birthday, which he wants to use for squirrels and such. I've always been interested in hunting, and went a few times as a kid, but never got anything and was never taught much about it. After him getting his first deer, and getting all the fresh meat to stock my freezer, I'm very interested in getting into hunting myself. He plans on getting a summer job, so he can buy a hunting rifle.

 

[Fightingillini22]

Didn't really grow up around guns, aside from shooting .22s back during Scouts. My wife's uncle is an enthusiast, and owns 50 or so acres ~45 minutes west of us that he hunts on. Takes gun safety very seriously but helped me shoot an AR-15 as well as a Desert Eagle one time when we were out there and I was hooked. The wife has a firm no guns in the house opinion but her uncle said I could start hunting and shooting with him if I got trained properly. So took a local CCL class just to get the basics down and range certified. Don't plan on CC anytime soon unless the wife changes her mind, but it was great experience and I look forward to her uncle taking me under his wing this season! He's got quite a bit of ammo stockpiled which is good with prices where they're at right now. Even if the wife allowed a gun purchase I'd be more inclined to pursue bow hunting this season...

Glad I got my FOID card before the Covid craziness started, my CCL has been processing for 5 months and they say the delay is over a year at this point.

 

[uacowboy]

I've been around guns my whole life and have owned a few. Currently just have a 9mm(S&W 915) but would love to get a .357 and a bolt action rifle. Just something about those simple mechanical workings that kinda draws my eye.

 

[dangerousdon]

1911 especially Customs ala Wilson, Nighthawk, Les Bauer can break the bank in the Great White North and so $1K 1911 (sub $1k in the US) that is great out of the box attracts my attention. I love 45ACP but don't discriminate against 22, 9, 40...

All of those are great...but yeah...costly! Looks like the Ronin is about $850 MSRP here in the states.

I have had rifles for a long time but just recently got into hand guns. Nothing to special just a 9mm and a 357. I have had a reloader kit for years but only in the last month set it up. This is a bad time to get into this hobby as prices and availability are problems. I have been playing with reloading primers since the cost of them is crazy!!

Reloading is rabbit whole unto itself. If things revolving guns and ammo ever normalize...I might try my hand at reloading.

and the dream, an AR15.

Honestly...an Ar-15 isn't as expensive as you think it might be. If you are looking for something very basic you can get one for around $600. Or you can piece together like a lot of people do. $600 is still a good chunk of change I realize, but some people think they cost over a grand. I mean, they can...but they don't have to.

So took a local CCL class just to get the basics down and range certified.

Happy you did this. Not sure what a concealed carry class looks like in your neck of the woods...sounds like it is decent. Here though...I would never recommend one of those classes as a learning the basics course.

but would love to get a .357

I have Ruger GP100 and I absolutely LOVE that gun. It's too bad that .357 ammo is really difficult to find right now. You can always shoot .38 Special out of it also (if it is a revolver)... but .38 Special is pretty hard to find also. Another wish list item I would like is a .357 lever action rifle. SO Cowboy!

 

[Fightingillini22]

Happy you did this. Not sure what a concealed carry class looks like in your neck of the woods...sounds like it is decent. Here though...I would never recommend one of those classes as a learning the basics course.

Thankfully the local one I took was lead up by two retired police officers, who really took the time to help you understand how to assemble, disassemble, shoot, and safely handle a handgun. Which is something I had zero experience with. It wasn't hunter safety, and it certainly wasn't rifle certification! But understanding the basics of firearms was what I was hoping to get and achieved. Will end up relying on my wife's uncle to teach me the rest. Actually think Illinois requires hunter safety for anyone born after 1980...so looks like I missed that cutoff and will have to take that too if I want a hunting license.

 

[Spider]

Honestly...an Ar-15 isn't as expensive as you think it might be. If you are looking for something very basic you can get one for around $600. Or you can piece together like a lot of people do. $600 is still a good chunk of change I realize, but some people think they cost over a grand. I mean, they can...but they don't have to.

Oh, I know. I've looked at a few. It's just not practical, right now. It'd be a fun "toy" (I know guns aren't toys, but you know what I mean). I'm looking to satisfy the more practical uses of the guns first.

And I didn't mention before, Amber's dad has a small arsenal. Probably 30-50 guns. So If I ever wanted to borrow one, I have plenty available to me. He just lent me a couple for my son to try out.

 

[Majorrich]

I do most of my training with Airsoft replicas. they fit my leather and I can reuse the bb's. Problem is, I went and left them sit too long and the seals have gone bad. Now I'm sitting on a mountain of ammo I'm afraid to shoot for lack of replacements. I reload all the calibers I use so have settled on just a few calibers to keep things simple. The queen of my locker is a Groundhog bustin' Remington 700 in 220 Swift. I'll eventually have to go to the range to sight it in as I got new glass. The hogs are out there but I missed the spring running.

 

[uacowboy]

Another wish list item I would like is a .357 lever action rifle. SO Cowboy!

Yes please!

 

[Quijote]

I didn't grow up with guns. Which is funny because when my grandmother passed away, we went through her house cleaning up and she had a loaded gun in every room. I never saw one when she was alive, and she lived next door.

But, I made up for lost time while working at a gun shop. It was a class 3 dealer, so I got to use a lot of the iconic guns like the fully auto Thompson and the "sawed off" double barrel coach gun. I also got to test the triggers on all the guns we had. My favorite trigger was on a Styer, so ended up getting a 9mm by them. I also got a 7mm-08 breech loader and a 12ga. The last 2 were used guns that were traded in, so I got them at cost. I also have a Browning FN 1922 that we got from my grandmother's house. She had it hidden in the shed in a plastic bag. It was rusted solid when we found it, so I took it apart and restored it and now it works great.

Some day, I would like to get a 1911 or lever action .44, but I don't need any more at this moment.

 

[CVargo]

I used to have a lot of guns. Rifles, shotguns, a few handguns, black powder, etc. Sadly all lost in a boating accident a few years ago.

 

[Spider]

I used to have a lot of guns. Rifles, shotguns, a few handguns, black powder, etc. Sadly all lost in a boating accident a few years ago.

Guns Lost..... Boating accident?

 

[dangerousdon]

Guns Lost..... Boating accident?

View attachment 52319

If you look around different Gun Forums...most gun owners have lost all their firearms in boating accidents.

 

[dangerousdon]

My favorite trigger was on a Styer, so ended up getting a 9mm by them.

I wanted a Styer handgun for the longest time...reasoning? The sights. I loved how they made their "triangular" sights. I swear...if you couldn't line up a shot on those sights...you just can't shoot.

 

[dangerousdon]

Oh, and @Quijote I was able to do a little shooting on the Steyr Aug when I was in the Marine Corps. We had a couple of weeks where we did some cross training with the famed Scottish Black Watch. Incidentally, this was the last British Unit to leave Hong Kong before the hand over to China. Anyway, it's not my favorite semi auto in 5.56 to shoot...it is still pretty fun.

 

[dangerousdon]

I'm looking to satisfy the more practical uses of the guns first.

My next hunting rifle I want to get is an AR-10 in a 6.5 Creedmore caliber. I know a lot of hunting purists will say this isn't what you should hunt with...but I disagree. It is much more lightweight than most traditional rifles and I am VERY familiar with the AR system. IN addition to hunting...I can also use it for distance shooting at the range. Oh yeah...daddy needs a new pair of shoes!