I bought a Hoyt competition compound bow to work on shooting in my back yard (1+ acre). I took archery on a recurve and shot a friends light compound at the same time. The Hoyt I had was probably 50 lbs on the hold. Took one shot with it. Arrow took off at the speed of light, skimmed the ground and started it's way around the world. Scared me so much I sold it. But, it makes a great movie weapon.
Perhaps the biggest advantage to a shotgun is (assuming it is a pump action) there is probably no more intimidating sounds than jacking a round into a 12 gauge chamber. To someone in a dark, unfamiliar house, that sound should make them run for the door, which is the best outcome. My experience is that, even with an 18" barrel, a shotgun's pattern doesn't spread out that much in the 20-30' you are likely to shoot in a house. So you still have to place your shots. Go Blazers
Queue Zags telling you he is embarrassed for you that you could think that something like that could happen. (And the earthquake WILL happen, and if it's 9+, you better be able to take care of you and yours.....cause it will be BAD.) It's just a matter of when. If you are going to hunt both deer and elk, an '06 is a decent choice. For deer only, I would take a .243 Win. any time. It shoots much flatter, and it knocks the crap out of deer sized animals. It has FAR less recoil than an '06. If I was just starting into hunting I would have a .243 for deer and a .300 win mag for elk. There are some sexier new calibers out, but ammo is harder to find and pretty pricey. One more piece of unsolicited advise....consider getting a .22 pistol to practice with. Loads of fun and much cheaper to shoot. I love my Browning Buck Mark....about $400 (and made in the USA). Ruger Mark I, II, III are nice pistols as well (but a little goofy to field strip and clean the first few times.) Go Blazers
I don't really see the point in getting a .22 to practice with. There isn't enough recoil to simulate shooting a bigger handgun, so you're really just going for muscle memory. At that point, you might as well just get a gas blowback airsoft pistol because you can get all the same muscle memory, the guns cost about $150, you can shoot it in your backyard, and the ammo is about $15 for 10,000 rounds.
I do have a 460XVR, but would never shoot it in the house. The percussion would blow the ear drums out of everyone therein (not joking). Is the percussion of the 12-gauge low enough as to not present those kind of problems? I don't shoot shot guns, but my .40 is almost too loud. Hard to imagine a shot gun with that much powder would be quieter.
They're virtually exact replicas.... especially the Glocks. They break down almost exactly like a real Glock. The weight is similar as well, because most of the metal is comparable. It's a little off because of the lack of bullets, but you can practice mag changes, tactical reloads, and just drawing your weapon from a holster. The biggest advantage is that you can do it in the privacy of your backyard without worrying about the man busting down your door. There is a slight recoil because they run off propane, and the action works, but obviously it's not anywhere near the recoil of even a 9mm. I think it's probably comparable to a .22 though. This is the one I have. http://www.airsplat.com/Items/GP-KSC-G19-MET.htm
That's a good question, and I don't know the answer because I've never shot a 12 ga in the house. I suspect that, if there need arose that I need to do that, the hearing would have to suffer. I was in a pickup once when a guy shot a .44 mag with the barrel barely out the window. It wasn't funny. My ears rang for 3-4 days, no joke. TBH, I have a 9 on the nightstand. I seldom have the 12 ga. loaded, ready to go, even given the advantage the noise of a pump action makes when chambered. Go Blazers
To tell the truth, having this pistol is more fun than I thought it would be. But I'm trying to approach the firearm issue from a healthy perspective, where I learn sufficiently about it and have adequate supplies and training, but don't let it (either the gun or worrying about catastrophes) monopolize too much of my time or resources. Basketball, music, hiking, biking, work, family and friends all need to take a higher priority for me than firearms. So I'm just looking to approach this as just another hobby amongst many.
I'm about to get my wife a CCW permit here in FL...they have for $149 combined a 1 week beginner class and a separate CCW class for military/dependents. I tried to buy the aforementioned Beretta from a shop in CA--military, no criminal history whatsoever, pretty decent clearance, orders to the Sandbox, two forms of ID, documentation of "Expert" shooter in Pistol and Rifle, documentation for safety courses. Denied b/c I didn't have a CA driver's license. I showed my WA driver's license (no expiration as long as you're in the military) and my orders, and they said that if I didn't leave they would call the police. I still don't have a personal weapon.
A couple years ago I picked up a M&P 45. Then I had to get a HK compact .40, then the 460XVR, then I needed a better .45. Most of the recent part was driven by fears of the CA laws changing though. Wanted to stock up while I could.
Yep, already spent a nice amount on just the gun and ammo. But I'm trying to watch prices. Gun was $340, extra mag $40, $110 for 300 rounds of FMJ and $26 for 25 rounds of hydro-shock hollowpoints. The gun safe would have been $100 but a friend had an extra as well as hunting ear muffs and a couple of crappy holsters that will do the trick for now. Then some small things like the carry class, .40 cleaning kit, spare gun box. I think I'm done spending for except for ammo for a couple months. But I've seen the same gun go for cheapest $399 and believe it of not, $895 at a different table at the same gun show where I bought mine for $340. Seems like prices vary much more on guns than most things, so if. I do ever buy that shotgun or 06, I'll certainly put in my time price hunting. Armslist.com seems to have some good prices if you are willing to wait.
Ok, a few weeks after starting this thread and buying my first gun, I got my second. This time it was actually a gift from a good friend who thinks everyone should own a .22. I got a Ruger 10/22 and can't wait to just go plinking and practice shooting. //i.imgflip.com/5z59i.jpg Right now it's just out of the box, no scope or other accessories. I'll pick up a scope tomorrow, nothing special, and I'll keep the factory stock for now. I also need a few magazines and some ammo, which seems hard to track down at the moment. Anyway, I'm excited to have my new pinker, hopefully I'll get a chance to catch my dinner with it sometime in the coming year, rabbit or something. But I need to learn to shoot first, get a hunting license and then my friend will take me hunting and teach me the finer points. It's such a light, small rifle, and the ammo seems tiny, I've held BB guns with more heft. It's king of weird, but it's also kind of cool, a gun and ammo round much more about accuracy than destructive force.
