How do you select a firearm?

When I am looking to select a firearm I look at several things.

1) What is the purpose? What am I planning on using the damn thing for?

2) What calibers can perform the task at hand and are any of them common to other platforms I already own? If a new caliber is required what is the availability and am I willing to add the expense of stocking another ammo type?

3) How much am I willing to spend now and in the future? This plays into the aftermarket availability of parts.

4) What is the platform I am looking for?

5) Are the particular firearms that I am looking at comfortable for the purpose for which they will be used FOR ME? I don't care how it works for you, I care about how it works for me.

That being said my knowledge of firearms comes from having a sizable collection myself. Building multiple rifles in various platforms from the ground up. Shooting more guns more often in a year than most people will in their entire life time. Taking every opportunity to shoot and tear down any and every gun I can get my hands on (I am the only one some of my friends will loan a gun to as when they get it back it will be cleaner than when I got it and in some cases problems will be fixed). I am known in every gun shop within 50 miles of me on site and I have been known to fix problem guns while I am there shooting the E36 M3 with shop owners. I have personally taught more than a dozen people the proper care and use of their firearms including teaching several in the ways of long range shooting. I have been threatened if I show up at another concealed carry class here in town that I will be teaching it.

EDIT: Oh and I have thought about starting a "grassroots firearms" type of forum and considering I could get my hosting and all dirt cheap at work I could be convinced if people here are wanting of such a beast. Not particular firearm specific and try to recreate a similar atmosphere as to what we have here. Might make the GRM powers that be happy keeping the rather volatile (at times) subject off the forum here.

Dude... do it. I have a ton of questions on platforms I'm just not that familiar with.

basically all it will cost me is domain registration everything else is covered by work.

give me some suggestions for a name and I will start on working on things from this side. Oh and I will need a couple volunteers for mods more than likely to help keep things in line when I am not available.

I carry a pa-63 in 9x18 with wolf springs and wood grips. I want a 1911 in 45acp double stack. I wanted a Ruger Alaskan until I shot one. That was a bad Idea from the start.
The 45 I have been shooting is a rock island and fits me well. it also has less recoil then the 9x18.

In reply to Bobzilla:

The sig double stack .45 is the 227. I don't have any idea what the retail cost of the gun is. I have shot it and it is a bit fatter than the 226 I carry now. The plain version had no rail and a 1 piece grip. the "tactical" bersion had a long slide,threaded barrel, and an extended mag. Fully loaded the standard version is pretty heavy to carry all day so I will keep my 226 in .40 to wear to work.

On another topic I have to agree with Mr Six. The g36 is an excellent rifle. Right up there with my Valmet ak

In reply to rebelgtp:

Grassroots Gun Stuff (GRGS for short).

Bobzilla wrote: The HK feels weird to me. It's almost like a cross between a Sig and a Glock in the feel for me. I will say the FNP feels good though. HAve yet to shoot one. I may just pony up the cash and buy some Chip McCormick 10rd Power+ Mags.

I prefer Wilson Combat mags, especially if your 1911 has an aluminum frame. The steel followers in the CMC mags are rough on aluminum feed ramps.

Secretariata wrote: In reply to rebelgtp: Grassroots Gun Stuff (GRGS for short).

I have no problem with this so long as the folks in charge here have no problem with it using the "Grassroots" title.

Websites: The Firing Line and The High Road. Lots of crap but some good moderators.

I have a supervisor who swears by Gabe Suarez. I did the Chapman Academy. Check them both out.

"Self Defense" has a lot of definitions depending on the situation. The conventional definition of "imminent threat to life" usually means a distance of 21 feet or less. That's one second away. It's handgun territory. I get guys asking about buying rifles for "self defense", like they're going to plead "imminent threat of danger" from some potential attacker 200 yards away. I wouldn't want to try and sell that to a jury. If you have a farm or a ranch and you're expecting a pack of goblins with no hope of law enforcement, maybe. For a house or apartment, you're talking handgun/shotgun. Lots of difference of opinion on those two as to which is preferential. Me, I'm a handgun guy due to quicker handling and having a free hand for light or something else.

rebelgtp wrote:

Secretariata wrote: In reply to rebelgtp: Grassroots Gun Stuff (GRGS for short).

I have no problem with this so long as the folks in charge here have no problem with it using the "Grassroots" title.

I like my boomsticks. I like you guys, too, but I won't be able to hang out at a new site much-if-any. I already spend too much time here to make decent headway on my projects.

JoeyM wrote: I like my boomsticks. I like you guys, too, but I won't be able to hang out at a new site much-if-any. I already spend too much time here to make decent headway on my projects.

I see, so you are trying to progress beyond the collection of project automobiles and actually turn them into drivers? I haven't gotten that far yet.

rebelgtp wrote:

Secretariata wrote: In reply to rebelgtp: Grassroots Gun Stuff (GRGS for short).

I have no problem with this so long as the folks in charge here have no problem with it using the "Grassroots" title.

Also be advised many employer firewalls will block any website with "gun" in the address. May not matter to you, but can tend to limit traffic a bit.

In reply to Ian F:

Hmmm good point.

rebelgtp wrote: Oh and I will need a couple volunteers for mods more than likely to help keep things in line when I am not available.

Hit me up if you need anything.

I'll probably by divvying up time between here, there, and the epilepsy forums.

stroker wrote: Websites: The Firing Line and The High Road. Lots of crap but some good moderators. I agree with stroker on this. They're not perfect but are the best 2 non brand or type specific gun forums I've found.

I have recently discovered the joys of indoor shooting ranges. They have rental guns.

I'm much like you... I don't want to take someone else's word for things, I want to try it. I can't believe the difference in shooting between guns. I have shot several different firearms of the same caliber side-by-side and found big differences.

Going to a shooting range means you can rent different rifles and handguns and actually try them before you decide.

It all depends on what you need it for exactly. Personally, I'm a fan of the 12 gauge riot shotgun (18" barrel 5+1 capacity pump) loaded with #4 Buckshot (more than adequate at across the room distances, poor at going through your neighbor's domicile) for home use. For a multitude of reasons, mainly that its a lot easier to use a shotgun than a handgun, especially at 3AM when you're half awake. Rem 870 or Mossberg 500, your choice, I like the Chinese "NORINCO" knockoffs of the Remington, better built than the real thing unless you spend the cash on a police spec gun. And for walking around with, state laws permitting, whatever the biggest handgun you think you'll be comfortable carrying year round. If this turns out to be a .380 pocket gun then so be it, better that than a giant double stack .45 or Dirty Harry sized revolver that stays at home unless you're wearing a coat.

For fun beyond .22LR, I like the Mosin Nagant, stupid cheap to buy, and stupid cheap to shoot. Also stupid cheap to play gunsmith with and accurize.

Will wrote:

Bobzilla wrote: The HK feels weird to me. It's almost like a cross between a Sig and a Glock in the feel for me. I will say the FNP feels good though. HAve yet to shoot one. I may just pony up the cash and buy some Chip McCormick 10rd Power+ Mags.

I prefer Wilson Combat mags, especially if your 1911 has an aluminum frame. The steel followers in the CMC mags are rough on aluminum feed ramps.

My Springer is a steel frame IIRC. It's heavy, that I know. lol

I just found an AR build kit locally. Even includes the stripped lower, 3 p-mags and rear mbus. He's asking $700 obo...

The tech board on AR15.com covers just about anything firearm related you could possibly ever want, incredibly good info for nearly all firearms (not just ARs)

The general discussion board is pretty crazy, stay in the tech forums and keep your sanity.

+1 on the gun ranges with rentals. I've found some awesome guns that way I otherwise would've never experienced.

+1 on the shotgun. I prefer the 590 with the 8+1 capacity. It's safe to say if they made it past the first six rounds of buckshot, the last three won't help much.

Also, spend some time and learn your local laws. Find a local gun site, for me it's Michigan gun owners, and read up on the local rules. I will warn you, the gun group is an odd bunch.

Shadow- Two boards that are populated by people that use guns for a living are M4Carbine.net and Lightfighter.net. Both have experts in most if not all weapon types, and have a high bandwidth to noise ratio with ret. members of CAG that chime in occasionally. With your background you will fit in. Both are of the read more, post less.

Good luck, I'll see you there. Essayons, Eagle46 / S2

curtis73 wrote: I have recently discovered the joys of indoor shooting ranges. They have rental guns.

That is one of the things I miss about being In Portland. I use to be a member at a range there that had quite a large rental selection.

Granted up here I have longer ranges to shoot (one private spot was measured out at 1500 yards ), one of the publicly accessible ranges is a 1000 yard and the one closest to me is 300 yards and also has a walk through course and a tactical pistol course.

The range closest to me is also the one where the local police and the local national guard train as well. Kinda fun up there when some of those guys get up there. Last time I was there I had the FN sniper rifle out and I had a line of them wanting to try it out. Those guys were really giving each other a good ribbing when one of them would miss a shot.

1) 1st rule of gunfight - have a gun. Pocket gun. Hard to find one in 9mm. May have to go .380 but you'll be more prone to have it on you. 2) CC Rig. Heavy on CONCEAL. Printing can make you the first target. IMHO .45 is too big. 1911 was designed as a Cav gun to shoot horses out from under riders. .40 better but 10mm same knock down with more accuracy. Slim profile. Get to BS about guns with SF guys at the FRA I'm at. Their favorite seems to be Glock. Seen them dropped in the mud, run over and still fire. Don't like the lack of mechanical safety? There's a perfectly good safety on the Glock. . . 3 as a matter of fact. . . if you don't want to shoot something, keep your booger hook off the bang button. 3) Handgun is to buy you time to get to your rifle. . . AKM/AKMS receiver blank + drill press + AK47 parts kit + Duracoat = 1 BATF LEGAL unregistered defence rifle. In accordance to BATF regulations you are allowed to manufacture a firearm for personal use. Wan't to spend more money and have a Bridgeport? AR15 80% forged lower. Do not even look at any poly 80% lowers. Yea, you can finish them with a Dremel, but they have a high failure rate. 4) Home defence - Shotgun. 5+1 is fine. Statistically you won't even need that much ammo. I keep 3 to keep the spring from collapsing. Mounted with a Shot Lock. Remember 00 isn't spray and pray like in the movies. You're looking at about a 6" pattern at 5 yards. No pistol grips. . . get that stock to your shoulder and aim. 5) for 2 thru 4 have a combat flashlight. TARGET IDENTIFICATION. 6) Plinking. Ruger Marks. Also, fun little round is the .17 HMR or Hornet. Simular effective range as .22 but very little rise. . . flat tragectory. 7) Have fun!

You know there's at least 4 different sizes of the 1911, right?

stroker wrote: Websites: The Firing Line and The High Road. Lots of crap but some good moderators.

Those are two great sites.

Decide what caliber you think you need to carry, then get to a range and play with a variety of calibers and manufacturers. You will want to find something that not only fits your needs, but fits your hand and yields an acceptable natural point of aim.

Natural Point of Aim. If you shot rifles with the military, you know what that is. One of the greatest feelings in the world was the first time I realized that I did not think about aiming during a timed "practical pistol" competition session; I just went out and hit my targets. When I bring my pistol up to shoot, it points right where I think it should. That happens to be a 9mm Bersa BP9cc, but several other guns, including a Glock, a Sig and a Springfield felt right too. The Bersa was very narrow in the grip (single stack) and a lot less expensive and , so it carries nicely. My wife has been surprised to find that I am carrying, as the narrow grip just disappears IWB.

Go play and see what you like. That's the only way to know.

EDIT: Where are you located? I've brought lot of folks out to play at our range and most gun owners are like that also.