Late to the party - One year of gun ownership thread.

[Flymph]

https://www.opticsplanet.com/winchester-active-duty-9mm-luger-115gr-fmj-handgun-ammo-100-rounds.html

Thats 49 cents a round free shipping if you get two boxes and its P+

I put in two orders over a year ago with them and they haven't delivered, luckily I haven't been charged, but I wouldn't do business with them.
Good deal on HP ammo tho.

 

[clanhanson]

I put in two orders over a year ago with them and they haven't delivered, luckily I haven't been charged, but I wouldn't do business with them.
Good deal on HP ammo tho.

The trick with OP is making sure the item is in stock with a quantity available listed. Call to make sure, they have good customer service. I've always received my orders from them in a timely fashion, usually less than a week. I've saved thousands using their discount codes over the last decade as well. There are better vendors but they don't deserve the hate.

 

[Mikej]

The trick with Optics Planet is just say NO. That way you'll know for sure that your chances to get things with less hassle and wait are much better.

 

[clanhanson]

The trick with Optics Planet is just say NO. That way you'll know for sure that your chances to get things with less hassle and wait are much better.

More for me then. They're great and will retroactively apply old coupons for partial refunds if you ask, even if you've had the product for a while. Like I said, I've spent well over $5k with them (probably closer to 10k) and only had one issue with slow shipping which was my fault anyway.

 

[Jay Walk]

It's November by now and I want to talk guns with my gun owner friends... a lot. They humor me but mostly just have guns and don't shoot much. I mean like once a year at best. I am shooting every month or multiple times per month even.

I pick up a Ruger sr22 pistol and fifteen hundred rounds of Aguila at six cents per round, to some that is expensive but not to Newbie. My neighbor and his wife are always willing to talk guns as well as go shooting so we go to our tucked away spot monthly (I go more often) and shoot quite a few rounds and clean up the garbage. Sometimes the spot is pretty clean and others it is kind of a mess. I like cleaning my guns too and learning about how they operate.

I really am loving shooting my guns.

The Ruger is a bit of a challenge to get it to run right, polishing the feed ramp seemed to help a bit as well as better mag springs. I suspect that Aguila is part of the problem as well.

A pistol, a rifle and a .22 for some cheap plinking, I should be good right?

Negative Ghost Rider, February is Gun Month...

 

[red442joe]

"Guns are FUN... I think I may need another..."
And so it begins.

"A pistol, a rifle and a .22 for some cheap plinking, I should be good right?"
How adorable!

Joe

 

[Hueco]

It's interesting to me that you were never really into guns and yet remember the calibers. I grew up never really into guns and couldn't tell you the numbers to save my life. Dad had a rifle and a shotgun…no idea the caliber or gauge. Good friend was stoked about his Kimber purchase when I was in high school…don't know if it was a .45, 9, or .38. First rifle I ever shot, bolt action something or other - 30-06. See, I remember that one because it was a marine who taught me to shoot and he thought it'd be funny as fück to see me get bit by the scope. And it was.

Interesting, what we pay attention to and remember. But, I digress. Welcome to the board. And, when you get into rifles…don't forget about the recoil .

 

[Hueco]

The Ruger is a bit of a challenge to get it to run right, polishing the feed ramp seemed to help a bit as well as better mag springs. I suspect that Aguila is part of the problem as well.

Careful, now, with the polishing. Shining something up == good. Removing too much and changing the angle == double plus ungood.

Most semi-auto .22LR's tend to like high velocity ammo...they need the extra oomph to cycle. The power of the little .22LR needs to overcome the recoil spring and throw the slide all of the way back. It's not that Aguila is the problem per se...just make sure you're using Aguila SuperExtra/SuperMaximum/Interceptor (any of the hyper velocity choices).

If you want the pistol to reliably cycle subsonic ammo, then you need to remove the force needed to cycle: ensure the slide and frame are perfectly mated, smooth, and lubed. Polish firing mechanism components to lighten the force needed to reset. Lower the poundage on the hammer spring (go too low and you may get light strikes. In general, rimfire requires more poundage here than centerfire), and lower the recoil spring weight.

If you lower the spring weights to the point that you can cycle subsonic ammo, and then using hyper velocity ammo...you're going to experience more felt recoil and wear and tear on components - not too dissimilar from running nothing but +P ammo out of your center fire handgun.

Good luck and don't brick your gun, eh?

 

[titsonritz]

"Guns are FUN... I think I may need another..."
And so it begins.

"A pistol, a rifle and a .22 for some cheap plinking, I should be good right?"
How adorable!

Joe

No clue, huh?

 

[Xaevian]

I hope this year long recap has a happy ending. For some reason, something seems...off.

 

[ma96782]

I make the purchase from a private seller, some are in baggies

Like these?




Aloha, Mark

 

[CLRTR999]

A pistol, a rifle and a .22 for some cheap plinking, I should be good right?

WRONG
You still need a good bolt action rifle, a lever action, a shotgun, a revolver, a 1911....

 

[Jay Walk]

I continue to practice at our tucked away spot out in the state forest through the winter and if too much snow will hit the indoor range, buying ammo weekly as well. In February I decided to purchase a shotgun because doesn't everybody need a shotgun?
Hatsan Escort Slugger 12G pump. It looks cool and it's dirt cheap at $189.
I don't shoot it right away but neighbor brings a few of his shotguns on our next outing. After shooting his stuff I start to think Man that 12G has a nasty kick, maybe I won't shoot that one much? But after a couple times running mine I really learned to enjoy shooting it. 12G ammo was pretty scarce there for a while but I was able to amass a good amount, shelves are full of it now.

Also in February I am really wanting a 22 rifle and the Henry Golden Boy Silver has peaked my interest. The reviews were good and the firearm did not let me down. Butter smooth and a beautiful walnut stock, it's almost too nice to shoot. I need to adjust the sights on that one though.

February... not over yet. I am wanting a 357. I really like the GP 100 6" with the wood inlaid grips. This one has not shown up on the shelves though. I end up with a Kimber 3" k6s DASA. I shot some 38 through this one first and It felt like 9mm recoil so pretty fun. After a few .357 round through it my hand hurt and I was wondering if I purchased a firearm that I was not going to want to shoot? Hickock45 loves him some revolvers and his video review of the Kimber showed his modified grip hold on the weapon.
I copied this technique at the indoor range and ran fifty rounds through it without the base of my thumb hurting. I really love this one and it is really probably my favorite.

So far.

 

[tac]

Hickock45 loves him some revolvers and his video review of the Kimber showed his modified grip hold on the weapon.

Hickock45 is 6ft 8in tall and can pick up a bowling ball in each hand. Naturally his grip on anything is going to differ from that of a standard human.

 

[quneur]

My tips:

1. Check the chamber before storage and make sure of muzzle control.

2. Check the chamber before cleaning.

3. Get equipment set-up before handling the firearm. You don't want to be fumbling around with equipment while taking out your firearm.

4. Keep the action open when not in use.

5. If you need to water your local plants, secure the firearm by placing it down and not by your natural holder, ie. armpit.

6. Pick up spent casing, bag them up and sell or recycle them. It can offset the cost of new ammo.

Its up to you but I avoid Winchester ammo in white boxes.

 

[Jay Walk]

After my February shopping spree I managed to make it five months without acquiring another firearm. In February I scheduled my CPL appointment with the CCSO. Seven month wait that put me at the end of September for my appointment. After five months the Sheriffs office called and said they had an appointment available the following week, I took that one and was able to purchase the permit in five months instead of seven, I received my cark in the mail maybe three of four weeks later.

I really was most interested in the Springfield HellCat for EDC but decided to rent one at my local range first as I did not want to purchase a gun that I did not like. I was surprised at how well it shot for being so small and I was really accurate with it. I ordered one and the day I picked it up ran 200 round through it and it was flawless.

 

[Jay Walk]

Congrats on the S&W. I have an S&W bodyguard that has been a fine gun for me. I'm sure yours will too. All that said, I think you may have been slightly taken advantage of with that ammo. If they are just range loads, $.50 a round is a little expensive. It also sounds like he dumped his chitty stuff on you. I would be very careful shooting anything that comes in a baggie. The stuff that is crusty should be a no-go and you should ask for your money back on those. You don't know how old it is, or if it is reloads which may or may not be dangerous. Unless you did the reloading yourself or have the utmost trust in the person that did it, you never know how much powder, what kind of powder, yada, yada, yada is in that bullet. One bad one could ruin your day. In the future stick to places like your local gun store or sgammo.com. Good luck and good on you for taking the training classes.

Good advice here, thank you for the reply.

Newbie is pretty ignorant on his first ammo purchase.
I have a good stockpile of factory new ammo now and paid 25 cents to 32 cents per round for it.

 

[Jay Walk]

Since you mentioned .357 twice, I'll assume you bought one of those and I'm laughing at the thought of you trying to find factory ammo

Kimber .357 is probably my favorite gun thus far.
My ammo stock is pretty sufficient now for the caliber.
Paid 58 cents to 76 cents per round. Ouch, to me it is worth it to fire that gun though.

 

[Jay Walk]

I'd say 150 is not enough to be proficient. If you want to be good at shooting, it takes regular practice and range time. Pistols, in my experience, are more difficult to shoot than long guns.

Your intial purchase is a good start, but I'd say to buy more for range practice. And then some hollow points for self defense.

Nice gun BTW, be sure to get some extra mags to make range time more efficient and enjoyable.

-Robert

Newbie thinks 150 rounds is a lifetime supply.
Newbie Shot 200 rounds through a new gun last week in 30 minutes.

 

[Jay Walk]

1000 at least for a new gun owner.

For me personally now, 1,000 rounds is critically low.