Ardill Is Going On A Spending Spree

[ardillacid]

Any gun nuts on phatmass? I'm looking to pick up a few firearms and was looking for any advice from yinz.

#1: 12 gauge shotgun. I've already decided on an over/under for this guy. Any recommendations?

#2: Hunting rifle. To be used for deer hunting/bear hunting/target practice. I was thinking somewhere between a .22 and a 50 cal.

#3: Handgun. I was thinking a 9mm. My bro-in law has a nice police issued Smith & Wesson that is very smooth, best handgun I've shot. I could be persuaded to get something more powerful though.

[Ed Normile]

12 gauge shotgun is good for medium large game, deer, pig etc when using slugs as the shot spreads and is fairly ineffective at normal hunting distance, forget the bear though, you would only make him mad, and a mad bear is a bad bear. Benneli make great shotguns but a tad pricey... 30.06, is a great hunting caliber for most game, not the bear though. Why do you wanna kill smokey anyway, ya cant eat him, chances are he may end up eatin' you.

9 mm is a great gun for a lady, hardly no kick at all. I like the .40 caliber, more kick and stopping power for a carry gun. I like the .45 and .44 long barrel as a hunting handgun.

Dude, if you bring a .22 rifle into the forest to hunt the squrrels are gonna laugh at you. Now if you want to teach your 2 year old brother how to shoot the .22 is the ticket.

ed

ed

[Lil Red]

j lol and winnie are gun nuts, aren't they?

[Maximilianus]

Unless you are going to exclusively hunt squirrels, and I know you won't, forget the .22LR or Short or any other chambering for hunting game. That being said everyone should have a .22, bolt or semi auto rifle or pistol. One of my favorite handguns is a ruger .22 cowboy gun, accurate and fun to shoot.

The .223, the civilian "equivalent" (they are not exactly the same contrary to what people say) to the 5.56 used by the M16 family, is good for hunting varmints. All around good hunting round are the .270, .308, 30-30 and 30-06. There are plenty of other rounds to choose from depending on what kind of performance and balistics you want form the round, but those should get you started.

As far as shotguns, IDK, don't use them much, the last time I fired one I think I fired bean bags and flash bangs out of them. My father uses a 12 gauge cantilever with rifled slugs in areas that do not allow centerfire rifles. It's like a short range .50 caliber rifle.

Handguns also depends on what you want to use it for, .357, .38, 9mm, 40SW, 45ACP. are all good.

Obviously i'm just covering calibers, choosign a brand and model is another animal.

disclaimer, I don't hunt, but am in the environment, and have spent time losing money down range.

Edited July 16, 2012 by Maximilianus

[ardillacid]

[quote name='Ed Normile' timestamp='1342402056' post='2455927']
12 gauge shotgun is good for medium large game, deer, pig etc when using slugs as the shot spreads and is fairly ineffective at normal hunting distance, forget the bear though, you would only make him mad, and a mad bear is a bad bear. Benneli make great shotguns but a tad pricey... 30.06, is a great hunting caliber for most game, not the bear though. Why do you wanna kill smokey anyway, ya cant eat him, chances are he may end up eatin' you.

9 mm is a great gun for a lady, hardly no kick at all. I like the .40 caliber, more kick and stopping power for a carry gun. I like the .45 and .44 long barrel as a hunting handgun.

Dude, if you bring a .22 rifle into the forest to hunt the squrrels are gonna laugh at you. Now if you want to teach your 2 year old brother how to shoot the .22 is the ticket.

ed

ed
[/quote]

Yeah, I was looking at some Bennelis. Built to last! The shotgun is going to be for skeet shooting and probably waterfowl, quail, turkeys, etc.

The handgun is probably not going to be for my conceal and carry. I'm not allowed to have firearms in my company vehicle. As that is my primary mode of transportation, it would be useless. I like the 9mm for accuracy/precision. If I want a cannon I'll get a .50 Desert Eagle.

The rifle is my main concern. I've never done a lot of shooting with rifles, just handguns and shotguns, so I have almost no knowledge about what to get. :/

And I definitely will be eating the bear meat. I am not muslim.

[ardillacid]

[quote name='Maximilianus' timestamp='1342402793' post='2455932']
Unless you are going to exclusively hunt squirrels, and I know you won't, forget the .22LR or Short or any other chambering for hunting game. That being said everyone should have a .22, bolt or semi auto rifle or pistol. One of my favorite handguns is a ruger .22 cowboy gun, accurate and fun to shoot.

The .223, the civilian "equivalent" (they are not exactly the same contrary to what people say) to the 5.56 used by the M16 family, is good for hunting varmints. All around good hunting round are the .270, .308, 30-30 and 30-06. There are plenty of other rounds to choose from depending on what kind of performance and balistics you want form the round, but those should get you started.

As far as shotguns, IDK, don't use them much, the last time I fired one I think I fired bean bags and flash bangs out of them. My father uses a 12 gauge cantilever with rifled slugs in areas that do not allow centerfire rifles. It's like a short range .50 caliber rifle.

Handguns also depends on what you want to use it for, .357, .38, 9mm, 40SW, 45ACP. are all good.

Obviously i'm just covering calibers, choosign a brand and model is another animal.

disclaimer, I don't hunt, but am in the environment, and have spent time losing money down range.
[/quote]Thanks, Max, I knew I could count on the Corps!

[Maximilianus]

You're in PA, right? You need a Pennsylvania rifle, it's high tech.

[img]http://www.trackofthewolf.com/imgPart/aal-015_1.jpg[/img]

Edited July 16, 2012 by Maximilianus

[Ed Normile]

[quote name='ardillacid' timestamp='1342403283' post='2455936']
Yeah, I was looking at some Bennelis. Built to last! The shotgun is going to be for skeet shooting and probably waterfowl, quail, turkeys, etc.

The handgun is probably not going to be for my conceal and carry. I'm not allowed to have firearms in my company vehicle. As that is my primary mode of transportation, it would be useless. I like the 9mm for accuracy/precision. If I want a cannon I'll get a .50 Desert Eagle.

The rifle is my main concern. I've never done a lot of shooting with rifles, just handguns and shotguns, so I have almost no knowledge about what to get. :/

And I definitely will be eating the bear meat. I am not muslim.
[/quote]

Have you ever eaten bear meat, I would rather eat deer, and I am no fan of deer meat either, too gamey tasting. The fall bear is supposed to be better tasting as they contain more fat stored for hibernation. You can't beat beef, and a lot easier to hunt too, just watch out for the farmers as they shoot back.

ed

Oh by teh way, most 9mm handguns are about as accurate as an airsoft pistol and maybe less effective. The 9mm tends to tumble as its a low power cartridge for the bullet weight, most law enforcement agencies have abandoned them, the FBI went to .40 caliber some time ago I read somehwere. But teh ladies still dig em.

ed

Edited July 16, 2012 by Ed Normile

[ardillacid]

Yep, I've had bear and deer, I think they are both good, if you know what you're doing

[sixpence]

venison: on nom.... someday when i have more $ I will take up bow hunting

[Maximilianus]

[quote name='ardillacid' timestamp='1342403283' post='2455936']
The rifle is my main concern. I've never done a lot of shooting with rifles, just handguns and shotguns, so I have almost no knowledge about what to get. :/
[/quote]

What are you looking for in a rifle, and how much do you wan to spend?

[ardillacid]

[quote name='Maximilianus' timestamp='1342404698' post='2455944']
What are you looking for in a rifle, and how much do you wan to spend?
[/quote]

That's a good question. I would like to keep each purchase under $1000. I'm probably going to go cheap on the shotgun, and top of the line on the rifle. Like I said before, I want to use it for deer hunting, likely some bear hunting, and I would like to enter my name in PA's elk lottery once I have acquired this rifle.

[Lil Red]

buffalo meat is where it's at

[Jesus_lol]

Dont go for an OverUnder shotgun unless you can afford a lot of money for them. the cheaper ones are not worth it. A remington 870 wingmaster is a great pump action, along with the mossberg 500. Both are super tough well made guns. The rem 870 can easily swap out barrels (for longer or shorter barrels, from no choke for slugs, to full choke or more for turkey shooting) very adaptable.

Semi auto wise, look into a Remington 1100?

As for a rifle, .270-.308 should cover you for deer and elk. Nothing wrong with a .30-06 either, but a .308 does a lot of the same power, with significantly less recoil.

I would recommend a Remington 700 (avoid the 770 like the plague), or one of the guns made by Savage. They put out a good rifle, very accurate and inexpensive. If hunting you are going to want to spend probably about the same amount of money on the scope as on the rifle, which is ok, as in the 500-700 dollar range there are a lot of great rifles available.

Also worth looking into military surplus guns such as a Lee Enfield, Springfield or Mauser if you want something with a bit of history and shooting with iron sights. typically inexpensive as well, a good mosin nagant should be less than 150$.

Also worth looking into is a lever action rifle in .30-30. excellent for deer. Not as powerful or flat shooting as .270, .308 or 30-06

Handgun wise there is a lot more you need to say about what you are getting it for. Semi auto or revolver? for target practice or concealed carry or both? Target/plinking wise i would say go for a full size frame gun, in 9mm, 40s&w or .45acp. 9mm is going to be way cheaper for shooting (the guy who shoots a 9mm all the time is way deadlier than a guy with a .44mag who cant afford to shoot it, and is afraid of the recoil)

Handguns lose a lot of power when you put them in smaller barrels, and the recoil can become quite savage. a 9mm in a small gun, while it may look harmless, can be much harder to shoot than a full size .45
Also, having a longer sight radius is a big boon to accuracy.

If you decide to go for a revolver, definitely go for a .38spl/.357 mag. it can fire both, so you can get a lot more practice in with the cheaper, light shooting .38 and keep the .357 around for fun or if you ever need it.

You basically need to have a .22 rifle. there is no reason not to, with ammo being 20$ for 500+ rounds. it is the best way to get a lot of fun shooting in, and overall experience. Pretty good idea to have a .22 handgun as well, to help train proper techniques(quickest way to learn wrong is to start with a overly large gun). 22 rifle is also good for all kinds of small game, varmints, survival and target shooting. And 22s are a lot of fun, anyone who tells you otherwise is compensating for something.

Get a ruger 10/22 for a semi auto rifle, you can make it look like anything from a m1 carbine to a G36c or AR15, and can fit 30 rnd mags or 50-100 round drum magazines in them for fun times. I have one of these, still works great from 1967.

And if you ever want to get friends into shooting, having a 22 is a great idea.


If you intend to use the same rifle for deer-bear hunting, look into something a little hotter like .30-06. It is going to be your most powerful all around cartridge(available in many different weights and loadings for different applications 170grain for deer, 220gr for larger game for example) Also, considering it has been around for 100 years, you are going to have to try hard to even find a walmart that doesnt carry the stuff. It should be capable of taking out anything in north america.

Most other cartridges dont start edging out .30-06 until you get into .300 win mag, .338 lapua magnum, etc. and those are really expensive (like 100bucks for 20 .338 rounds)

Guns like the remington 700 or savage's should be available in a multitude of different calibers.

Edited July 16, 2012 by Jesus_lol

[Maximilianus]

BTW, do not get a Desert Eagle in .50, just don't.

or a .577 T Rex, just don't.