Weapons Survey...

[edbama2]

I own several guns living in the country and everyone in my household knows how to use them. My all around favorite is a plain old 12 guage shotgun. It takes care of snakes, rabid animals, amongst other things. I work nights and my wife has had to take out her 9mm when the dogs were going crazy one night. Some stranger was trying to open our front door. The dogs did not scare them, seeing her standing there gun in hand had them running. We don't have neighbors and these meth labs are not helping in the sticks. My step daughter has a 22 rifle and practices with it when I am home. The step son is aloud to use my shotgun or hunting rifle 270, and is very accurate. They have all been taught safety and I strongly encourage your local safety course if you plan to get one. And not just the gun owner, everyone in the house!!!!!

 

[alcmaeon]

Good thread, and thought I know better than to go there-- I just wanted to point out that Trauma centers, though they do see more gunshot wounds than they should, are statistically full of automobile accident victims and even falling victims are larger in number than gunshot victims. My source for those statistics are government data that anyone can look up. Car accidents account for the vast majority of trauma patients.


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[thunderkitty]

Alcmaeon- I agree that it's interesting how auto accidents surpass gun accidents. I also thinks its interesting that heart attacks are our # 1 killer, but you don't see McDonald's or any other fast food joints getting closed down or regulated despite this...kinda scary when you think about it. I figured that if you add up heart attack (#1), stroke (#3), hypertension(#13), cancer(#2), & diabetes(#6) you get 71.4% of ALL Deaths!

Hard to imagine isn't it? Not to mention the countless other deaths (such as Alzheimer's) that are arguably diet related. Personally I think this shows we need to watch our plates more than our backs!

 

[DuckLady]

Just so y'all know, I cleaned up this thread.
Any questions, email me privately.

Carry on.

 

[thunderkitty]

thank you terrielacy

 

[foxtrapper]

Quote:
For home defense, I believe a short barrel pump action shotgun, loaded with general shot, to be supreme. 16-12 gauge.

Short barreled for manueverability. I'm not talking a sawed off gun, just avoiding the long barrel waterfowl guns. Try running through your house with a yardstick, and you'll see what I'm talking about.

I recommend shot as opposed to slugs so that you don't have to be terribly accurate. A wide choke helps also. You're not normally dealing with shooting someone at a distance, so you don't need the accuracy of a sniper rifle or such. You really want to be able to "shoot from the hip" with some hope of effect. Shot pellets give you this.

I recommend the pump action both for control of the gun by you, and the tremendous psychological effect the sound of loading a round has on a criminal. I've never had to fire a shot in anger at a person, but more than once the sound of my shotgun cycling a round into the chamber has ended all activity by the...recipient.

I would also recommend the shotgun be a stout one. That way you can use it as a club or battering ram, while still reasonably expecting it to fire. These things do happen, and posessing a gun capable of doing the task is quite nice, imo. Not every problem person stays at a decent distance, and sometimes applying the side of their head to the barrel of the gun is necessary. As well you running around, battering the heck out of the gun off doorframes and the like. Again, that yardstick test. Look how fast you break a yardstick running around your house. You don't want a bent barrel. And that's another area the shotgun is superior. With a bent barrel, a shotgun just misses. A rifle with a bent barrel tends to explode.

The shotgun is also a top-notch all around gun. It'll take down varmits, large game, etc. Between the slug and the various shot loads, there's really nothing you can't successfully hunt on your place.

The pistol is another home defense and all around gun to consider. I rate it lower than the shotgun overall, but it has it's own unique place where it is supreme. Because it's small it's easily taken up. And that can be very important when you hear the front door get kicked off the hinges. At that point, a pistol on the bedstand is far handier than the big shotgun sitting in the back of the closet, or worse, locked up in a gun safe where you can't get at it. A pistol can be discrete. There are times that is good.

Pistols can be loaded with shot, giving you much the same advantage as a shotgun with regards to accuracy. Since a pistol can be carried on your belt, this makes them nice when walking on your place if you've got problems with predators. Though myself, I've yet to have a predator I come across stand by patiently while I get the gun out and take a shot.

The last weapon of choice, imo, is the rifle. Between shot placement and range, it's not what I want for home defense. If you don't hit the target, you simply miss. At least with the shotgun I've got a chance of winging you with some of the pellets.

With any firearm, you've got to practice with it to become comfortable and automatic with its controls. In a hostile situation you're going to be all afumble. So if you can't use the weapon, it's likely to be used against you. That's why I like the very basic pump action. No tricks, no fanfare. Similar for the pistol I would want a basic revolver.

And lastly, you've really got to understand yourself. If you're not going to use the firepower of a firearm, you'd be better off not picking it up. For with a gun in hand, you've greatly raised the stakes of the encounter. What may have been petty vandalizm by stupid kids can now become a murder scene, with you being charged. You've got to think very hard with a firearm.

 

[Davaroo]

It is said that a handgun is what you use when you need to fight your way back to your rifle or shotgun.

There is a place for all of these firearms in your list of possessions, if you want them. Learning and responsibilty is the prerequisite, however. You are well on your way kitty...

 

[SamG347]

Assorted rilfes and Traps.

 

[JudyMcKinn]

This has come around a few times lately, and I just now got it in again, so thought some of you might like to see it.
--------
Gun History

Whether you agree or not, it's an interesting lesson in history. Something to think about...

In 1929, the Soviet Union established gun control. From 1929 to 1953, about 20 million dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and
exterminated.
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In 1911, Turkey established gun control. From 1915 to 1917, 1.5 million Armenians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
------------------------------

Germany established gun control in 1938 and from 1939 to 1945, a total of 13 million Jews and others who were unable to defend themselves were rounded up and exterminated.
------------------------------

China established gun control in 1935. From 1948 to 1952, 20 million political dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and
exterminated.
------------------------------

Guatemala established gun control in 1964. From 1964 to 1981, 100,000 Mayan Indians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
------------------------------

Uganda established gun control in 1970. From 1971 to 1979, 300,000 Christians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
------------------------------

Cambodia established gun control in 1956. >From 1975 to 1977, one million 'educated' people, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and
exterminated.
-----------------------------

Defenseless people rounded up and exterminated in the 20th Century because of gun control: 56 million.
------------------------------

It has now been 12 months since gun owners in Australia were forced by new law to surrender 640,381 personal firearms to be destroyed by their own government, a program costing Australia taxpayers more than $500 million dollars. The first year results are now in:

Australia-wide, homicides are up 3.2 percent
Australia-wide, assaults are up 8.6 percent
Australia-wide, armed robberies are up 44 percent (yes, 44 percent)!

In the state of Victoria alone, homicides with firearms are now up 300 percent. Note that while the law-abiding citizens turned them in, the
criminals did not, and criminals still possess their guns!

While figures over the previous 25 years showed a steady decrease in armed robbery with firearms, this has changed drastically upward in the past 12
months, since criminals now are guaranteed that their prey is unarmed.

There has also been a dramatic increase in break-ins and assaults of the ELDERLY. Australian politicians are at a loss to explain how public safety
has decreased, after such monumental effort and expense was expended in successfully ridding Australian society of guns. The Australian experience
and the other historical facts above prove it.

You won't see this data on the American evening news or hear our president, governors or other politicians disseminating this information. Guns in the
hands of honest citizens save lives and property and, yes, gun-control laws affect only the law-abiding citizens.

Take note my fellow Americans.....before it's too late!

The next time someone talks in favor of gun control, please remind them of this history lesson.

With guns, we are 'citizens'. Without them, we are 'subjects'.

If you value your freedom, Please spread this anti-gun control message to all of your friends.
_____________

I don't know if this is all accurate info or not--but a lot of it has to be. Just thought it was something to think about.

 

[Davaroo]

Everything foxtrapper says about the shotgun is true and I would copy it all down if I didnt already know them.

I recommended the scattergun way back in this thread along with an assortment of barrels as the first choice purchase for those inclined to have a gun around the place. A Mossberg 500, to be precise. If I were to have only one firearm, that would be it.

However, there are many benefits to recommend the rifle when concealment and carry are not prerequisites. Having said that, there is one home and farm rifle that does excellent double duty as both hunting and defensive arm and that is the carbine, especially one chambered for pistol rounds.

I have a Marlin 1894CS leveraction in .357 magnum that is handy, light and offers a whollop out to 100 yds. With the extra barrel length of these guns, the power level of even factory ammo is substantially increased. With 2-3 types of ammo you would do alot in the way of farm pest and rural-stop assault control.

The one drawback to these little arms is their cost. They are often hard to find, even new, and then run into many hundreds of dollars when you do locate one. For the same money you could have a Mossberg with ALL the accessory barrels and an assortment of ammo to tide you over for a very long time.