Getting a gun

Unless you're planning on becoming an avid shooter of guns, like going to gun ranges and stuff, all you need is a shotgun for at-home security.

It's common knowledge that if you're getting a gun to ensure the safety of you and your family, the best gun to get is a shotgun, not a handgun.

ive been considering getting one too ... why is a shotgun better?

Huzzah, now any burglars will have an incentive to shoot me rather than just steal my tv.

Sorry I know you already know all the arguments against and I can respect that, I'm just pretty anti-gun ownership.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/d...-risk-of-getting-shot-and-killed.html

"Overall, Branas's study found that people who carried guns were 4.5 times as likely to be shot and 4.2 times as likely to get killed compared with unarmed citizens. When the team looked at shootings in which victims had a chance to defend themselves, their odds of getting shot were even higher.

While it may be that the type of people who carry firearms are simply more likely to get shot, it may be that guns give a sense of empowerment that causes carriers to overreact in tense situations, or encourages them to visit neighbourhoods they probably shouldn't, Branas speculates. Supporters of the Second Amendment shouldn't worry that the right to bear arms is under threat, however. "We don't have an answer as to whether guns are protective or perilous," Branas says. "This study is a beginning.""

even though you are prob one of the few ppl on lp i would trust with a gun

On November 08 2012 22:53 MARSHALL28 wrote: ive been considering getting one too ... why is a shotgun better?

Spray and pray. All you have to do is aim in the general direction of someone and they're going to get hit. Plus it is incredibly powerful and more likely to take someone out in one hit than a 9mm round. There's also a strong psychological aspect for the victim. People are more likely to shit their pants when they see/hear a shotgun being cocked and aimed at them then a pistol. Finally it's safer for the general public. If you go on a shooting spree through your house at 3am chasing someone you dont really have to worry about stray bullets penetrating other peoples homes and injuring them. Shotgun pellets dont really do much damage individually, it's the concentration of them all at once that fucks shit up.

I bought a pistol, but only because I needed the ultra portability of keeping it in my car, where it makes sense. I intend on getting a shotgun for the home some time in the future for the reasons outlined above. Go rent a glock and take it to the range, accurately shooting pistols and hitting anything meaningful is harder than you think. Sure you'll hit the target, but it NEVER hits exactly where you want it to, and thats with careful aim. In the heat of the moment, at night, or after you might already be injured, you're probably barely able to hit the broad side of a barn. But yeah it's better than nothing. I would never really want to keep a pistol around at home because I dont need portability there. I want a fucking canon, i.e. 12guage. And while I dont have children, I have long considered whether I would even keep my pistol if I do have kids. It's just so easy for them to point it at themselves and pull the trigger. It would be impossible for a child to kill themselves with a shotgun. And yes I know there are a myriad of ways to secure your pistol, but if by some freak chance your child manages to overcome them, or has reached an age of intelligence where they can figure it out (but not smart enough not to look down the barrel), they can still inevitably kill themselves by accident with a pistol, whereas with a shotgun there is no reasonable way they could.

Just make sure you teach your family how to use it. I'm a firm believer in safety knowledge rather than safety abstinence, especially with children. Once your child is of an appropriate age, i.e. not a toddler, they are likely to lose interest in it once you remove the mysterious nature and show them how it works. I routinely take my g/f shooting and make sure she's practicing proper handling protocol, and quiz her every now and then to verbally explain certain functions of my gun, how it operates, how to hold it, pretend like you're loading it, etc. The same should be done with your children eventually, just so that even if they break your rules and try to explore the weapon, they at least know how to handle it so they wont go accidentally killing themselves/friends. Just last night I was watching some heart-breaking video of a beauty queen confess she was raped by her father, and was showing off all the guns she has bought to protect herself from then, and on several occasions the first thing I see is her finger on the goddamn trigger while waving the fucker around showing it at different angles. It's little shit like that which separate accident victims from safe gun owners.

On November 08 2012 22:44 PuertoRican wrote: Unless you're planning on becoming an avid shooter of guns, like going to gun ranges and stuff, all you need is a shotgun for at-home security. It's common knowledge that if you're getting a gun to ensure the safety of you and your family, the best gun to get is a shotgun, not a handgun.

Pretty much this. It took me about 20boxes to feel comfortable with my first gun(hk usp). I'm now carrying m&p shield as my everyday ccw. If youre not planning to concealed carry or work on your aim, it's just best to get a shotty to blast off.

If youre already set on a pistol for home protection, id recommend getting a .40 rather then a 9mm. .40 has a lot stronger stopping power then the 9. You can always count on your 40cal to have the guy down and disabled on your first round. I trust my life to the 40cal everyday and not the 9mm for one.

On November 08 2012 23:37 AndrewSong wrote: [QUOTE]On November 08 2012 22:44 PuertoRican wrote: If youre already set on a pistol for home protection, id recommend getting a .40 rather then a 9mm. .40 has a lot stronger stopping power then the 9. You can always count on your 40cal to have the guy down and disabled on your first round. I trust my life to the 40cal everyday and not the 9mm for one.

Yeah but cmon, people dont just eat 9mm rounds and brush it off. Aside from the psychological impact of being shot, the immediate reaction to the pain is going to be a quick assumption they are going to die and probably collapse from the impact anyway. People get shot with rubber bullets/beanbags by the police and usually assume they were dead before realizing they are ok. A 40 will completely destroy whatever it hits, but it's also harder to control. Unless you're a gun enthusiast you likely will never acquire the skill to accurately shoot it on a regular basis. A 9mm is just easier to control. I would feel safer knowing my accuracy is greater than hoping to god one of my remaining rounds actually lands on point.

I'd recommend a shotgun as well - also make sure you invest in keeping it securely locked.

As far as pistol - it's all preference i believe for what you're talking about, and I would almost lean you towards getting a big shiny revolver, you won't even have to fire that thing.

I'd also recommend getting out to a range and shoot a bunch of different guns and find one you like.

I agree with NewbSaibot with the fact that it doesn't matter much with regard to 9mm or .40 caliber. Obviously .40 caliber has more stopping power, but I would say it just comes down to preference. 9mm is plenty enough if that's what you want.

Some good advice so far. Considering ccw in the future to keep in the vehicle/on me but until I get some practice I doubt I would go that route...Shotguns from what I've seen are very cheap, more than pistols even, so I don't see why I couldn't consider both. Just seems like one of those counter-intuitive things I guess, where you assume a pistol is a better starter weapon than a shotgun since it's smaller, but I guess a shotgun is more reliable/easier to use in a moment of need. Good stuff LP! Also in regard to the 9mm vs .40, I want something that my wife can shoot as well. And although it packs less punch I think the recoil of anything bigger would scare her away from trying it more than once at the range.

im probably never going to check responses to this but here it goes anyways..

i grew up with guns and did target shooting competitively, actually got 2nd in juniors in oregon, so i know how to handle guns and grew up respecting them, but your points for getting one just seem silly to me.

During a home invasion ( ive read, im not 100% sure ) you are more likely to shoot a friend or family member than to shoot an actual invader.

If america every finds some crazy way to outlaw guns and then decide to come after you for them, a glock isnt gonna get you very far. They would have a massive gun turn in thing, and no one would do it, and then you would be hanging onto a felony.. or if they did it like in the UK you could just file for a shotgun or something "for sport".

Lastly, handguns are made for killing people, nothing more, so if you dont plan on doing that, i wouldnt get one.. its just going to collect dust somewhere and be something you think about selling every few years, and eventually it wont be worth more than 20% of what you paid for it.

At least with a shotgun you can easily go shoot clays or just throw anything up in the air and blow it apart, like a big kid toy, which is all guns really are unless you are a soldier or police or something along those lines.

On November 08 2012 23:11 TheLink wrote: Huzzah, now any burglars will have an incentive to shoot me rather than just steal my tv. Sorry I know you already know all the arguments against and I can respect that, I'm just pretty anti-gun ownership.

lol @ this being the only sensible response and being from the only non 'murrrican in this blog.

a fucking SHOTGUN? LOL

You have a child, they top the chart for responsibility. Its safe to assume youre already a responsible adult.

Why dont you make a proper emergency kit. Battery powered radio, canned food, bottles of fresh water, torches etc.

I think this would be more useful in a storm than a glock or a shotgun, but im guessing most Americans will disagree with this.

Also consider the reason you want lethal force. An incident that requires it would probably be very very dire and require immediate attention. By this I mean a home invasion in the middle of the night. To properly secure a pistol from a child will also result in you securing it from yourself. Whether it's a trigger lock, or kept in a safe, this all adds precious seconds or even minutes to your ability to use it. I keep my pistol in a holster, loaded with a round in the chamber, in the center console (arm rest) of my car. The idea is that it's ready to go at a moments notice, just squeeze the trigger. I would never keep it around the house like this, and thus in doing so it becomes less useful. The point being that since I am the only one who will ever use it, I dont have to worry about protecting it from anyone else when in my car. You can store a shotgun with the same carelessness around your home most likely. I suppose a child could learn to pump it, and then accidentally pull the trigger and kill a family member, but it's doubtful, and it gives you the freedom to store it in a more careless manner so that it's ready when you need it.

I just know that if I ever need to use a gun, if I TRULY need to use it, I want it to be usable immediately. If I cant justify this kind of immediacy, then I'll just stick to a baseball bat or ninja sword by the bed/door.

I'm one of those who think a thief will be more eager to shoot you when you have a gun and that the % of endangering your family becomes larger with waving a gun around, this topic makes me feel out of place. Also not of the belief that breaking into someones house warrants death. It kind of makes sense for people living in the country with nobody around.

On November 09 2012 01:15 Nazgul wrote: I'm one of those who think a thief will be more eager to shoot you when you have a gun and that the % of endangering your family becomes larger with waving a gun around, this topic makes me feel out of place. Also not of the belief that breaking into someones house warrants death. It kind of makes sense for people living in the country with nobody around.

its not about warranting death, its about self defense, not against your point just clarifying.

and lol @ the shotgun... unless u live in rural Arizona forget the shotgun, its ridiculously impractical.


Anybody with half a brain will go through a couple of ammo boxes in the range to learn how to properly handle the thing.


Talking from experience when i was a child, they will find and play with the gun, there is literally nothing more fascinating for a little male kid than a gun, so instead of hiding and putting locks on it (still use the locks obv) teach ur kid when he is old enough how to safely handle the gun so he wont blow up his brains when he finds it.

Also if the gun's purpose is only for home protection a revolver is a better option, easier to handle and not forget things in a panic situation and it doesnt jam, you would be surprised how often automatic guns jam especially if you are not very careful with maintenance which happens often over the years.

I say fuck it, go overboard with safety. Some electricity in the fence just before the moat you will dig and fill with acid. Get some barbed wire up and plant booby traps in your garden. Landmines, vietnamese type contraptions and such. Install new doors and windows that have solid locks and get some surveilance up. And to protect yourself from parachute trooper invader zombies just get some anti-air gear installed on the roof of your house. Make a bunker that can withstand nuclear war and serve as a noas ark for your family and closest friends.

With that said i'd be more worried about people who make excuses to prepare for events they can shoot at some stranger than a homeless guy looking for breadcrumbs. If you want to buy a gun then act like a man and instead of beating round the bushes with theories and rationalisations just walk up to your woman and man up. That is if you are trying to sell the story of owning a gun to her, which it very much seems like to me. Your points about owning a gun are vague at best. You don't need a reason to own a gun cause why the fuck not.

What gun would you guys suggest for someone who desires to aimlessly invade homes and steal peoples appliances and possibly shoot at infants and women ? I'm thinking an uzi because you never know if they have visiting parents sleeping in the guestroom or drunken friends passed out on kitchen floor. Take into account that villain is probably drunk, on drugs or both. His aim is to defeat someone with a 0.40 or a 9mm, possibly a shotgun.

There's an old saying, don't turn a burglar into a bandit.