New to the site and guns.

The place for beginners, or anyone else, to talk about gun, gear, and shooting topics with a minimum of jargon and/or geekery. The only stupid question is the one you don't ask that blows up in your face later.
thefifthscallop
Posts: 16
Joined: Tue Jul 27, 2021 4:16 am
Location: Portland, OR

New to the site and guns.

Post by thefifthscallop »

How’s it going everyone,

This site was recommended to me from a poster on a different forum after I started a thread about getting a firearm for home defense.

A little bit of back story:

My wife and I live in Portland Oregon, and have both never owned a firearm(I had a BB gun as a kid but I can hardly count that). Learning how to shoot has been something that’s been on my radar for about 6 years, and I have been trying to get my wife on board. Initially, I wanted to learn how to hunt, but after this last year, home defense has become a big topic for us. Crime in Portland has skyrocketed and shootings are up by something like 700%(not sure where I remember seeing that number). After months of talking about it, we have finally decided to take a hand gun safety class, which we will be attending on August 14th here in Portland.

Since we’re martial artists to begin with(bjj), we are looking at this as another skill that will help us be ready if things really start getting bad. I hope that it never will, but I really don’t want us to be ill prepared if it does.

I look forward to learning as much as possible on this site, and maybe even meet some cool people that are in the area.
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Jered
Posts: 7859
Joined: Wed Aug 20, 2008 1:30 am

Re: New to the site and guns.

Post by Jered »

Good on you.

I'd find a rental range and try a selection of pistols to find what you're looking for. If you can, I'd suggest getting a Remington 870 with an 18.5 inch barrel and practicing with that, too.

I'm not up on Oregon's gun laws, but, if you can, I'd recommend picking up an AR-15, too. If you're not allowed to do that, or can't afford it, Ruger makes a bolt action rifle that takes AR-15 magazines.

If you need help, there are local people here:

https://www.blazingsword.org/instructor-list-page/
The avalanche has already started. It is too late for the pebbles to vote.
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blackeagle603
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Joined: Tue Aug 19, 2008 4:13 am

Re: New to the site and guns.

Post by blackeagle603 »

Welcome to the dark side. We have brownies.
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"The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms has justly been considered, as the palladium of the liberties of a republic;" Justice Story
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randy
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Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2008 11:33 pm
Location: EM79VQ

Re: New to the site and guns.

Post by randy »

Welcome aboard!
...even before I read MHI, my response to seeing a poster for the stars of the latest Twilight movies was "I see 2 targets and a collaborator".
thefifthscallop
Posts: 16
Joined: Tue Jul 27, 2021 4:16 am
Location: Portland, OR

Re: New to the site and guns.

Post by thefifthscallop »

Jered wrote: Wed Jul 28, 2021 12:49 am Good on you.

I'd find a rental range and try a selection of pistols to find what you're looking for. If you can, I'd suggest getting a Remington 870 with an 18.5 inch barrel and practicing with that, too.

I'm not up on Oregon's gun laws, but, if you can, I'd recommend picking up an AR-15, too. If you're not allowed to do that, or can't afford it, Ruger makes a bolt action rifle that takes AR-15 magazines.

If you need help, there are local people here:

https://www.blazingsword.org/instructor-list-page/
Going to the range and trying different guns has been probably one of the most common bits of advice I’ve received so far. I will definitely take that to heart.

With that Remington style of shotgun you mentioned, which gauge are you referring to, and what would you recommend for someone just starting out?

Some handguns that have been recommended have been the CZ p10c and the glock 17. Have you had any experience with either of these, or are there others you would recommend looking into?
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Jered
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Joined: Wed Aug 20, 2008 1:30 am

Re: New to the site and guns.

Post by Jered »

thefifthscallop wrote: Wed Jul 28, 2021 1:11 am Going to the range and trying different guns has been probably one of the most common bits of advice I’ve received so far. I will definitely take that to heart.
Yep. Find one that fits you. Also, don't buy into the 9mm vs .45 ACP hype. A lot of the giant federal agencies are switching back to 9mm. I'd recommend skipping .40 S&W, too. I'm not a fan of it and it's going away from a lot of places.
With that Remington style of shotgun you mentioned, which gauge are you referring to, and what would you recommend for someone just starting out?
It's a 12 gauge. It'll have recoil, but the 870 has been around forever, so the design is really reliable. 12 gauge ammo is also easy to find in pretty much any configuration you want.
Some handguns that have been recommended have been the CZ p10c and the glock 17. Have you had any experience with either of these, or are there others you would recommend looking into?
Stay away from Taurus. Generally speaking, Ruger, Smith and Wesson, CZ, Glock, Sig, Beretta, H&K, or Walther should be good to go. I don't know anything about the P10C, but I've got other CZs and they're good. A double stack 9mm pistol is a good choice for your first handgun.
The avalanche has already started. It is too late for the pebbles to vote.
thefifthscallop
Posts: 16
Joined: Tue Jul 27, 2021 4:16 am
Location: Portland, OR

Re: New to the site and guns.

Post by thefifthscallop »

Jered wrote: Wed Jul 28, 2021 1:25 am
thefifthscallop wrote: Wed Jul 28, 2021 1:11 am Going to the range and trying different guns has been probably one of the most common bits of advice I’ve received so far. I will definitely take that to heart.
Yep. Find one that fits you. Also, don't buy into the 9mm vs .45 ACP hype. A lot of the giant federal agencies are switching back to 9mm. I'd recommend skipping .40 S&W, too. I'm not a fan of it and it's going away from a lot of places.
With that Remington style of shotgun you mentioned, which gauge are you referring to, and what would you recommend for someone just starting out?
It's a 12 gauge. It'll have recoil, but the 870 has been around forever, so the design is really reliable. 12 gauge ammo is also easy to find in pretty much any configuration you want.
Some handguns that have been recommended have been the CZ p10c and the glock 17. Have you had any experience with either of these, or are there others you would recommend looking into?
Stay away from Taurus. Generally speaking, Ruger, Smith and Wesson, CZ, Glock, Sig, Beretta, H&K, or Walther should be good to go. I don't know anything about the P10C, but I've got other CZs and they're good. A double stack 9mm pistol is a good choice for your first handgun.
Thanks for the info!
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Jered
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Joined: Wed Aug 20, 2008 1:30 am

Re: New to the site and guns.

Post by Jered »

You're welcome. The only bad question is the one that you don't ask.
The avalanche has already started. It is too late for the pebbles to vote.
thefifthscallop
Posts: 16
Joined: Tue Jul 27, 2021 4:16 am
Location: Portland, OR

Re: New to the site and guns.

Post by thefifthscallop »

Is there a gun that is more suited for a woman? I mean, I’m sure we will both want our own for when we go to the range, but we’ve also been talking about the idea of getting a concealed carry license. With the way things have gone the last year and a half in Portland, and what the trend is doing, there is certain parts of town even I wouldn’t feel safe in.

Just the other day an article came out about a homeless camp in one of Portland’s neighborhood parks. This has been historically one of the best, and now it’s over-run with tents. Needles everywhere. The city put in a bunch portopotties for the campers, and when cleaners came, they were threatened with firearms. Absolutely unreal. This is in a neighborhood with really expensive homes.
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randy
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Location: EM79VQ

Re: New to the site and guns.

Post by randy »

With Remington's corporate financial issues, an 870 might be hard to find at a decent price. A good alternative would be a Mossberg 500.

If recoil is an issue, you might look at a 16 or 20 gauge, but they will be harder to find and the ammo not as common.

With either you can always buy a standard hunting model and then purchase a short (18.5") barrel for home defense. I've used mine for Home Defense as well as Skeet and Sporting Clays just by swapping out the barrel.

The Glock 17 is a good one (I have one for my daily carry), but do some test shooting at a rental range first. Darlin' Daughter's hands don't let her hit the mag release reliably. She ended up getting a Glock 26 when she turned 21 and got her CCW. (a gun which is way too small to be comfortable for me to shoot).

Glocks are ubiquitous, parts, accessories, holsters etc. are plentiful and available just about everywhere, as are gunsmithing services (although it's design means you can do a lot of that yourself). Is Gun. Is Shoot.

The other brands mentioned by Jered are also good, and a lot falls to personal preference. Ruger, S&W Beretta, CZ and Sig are almost as common as the Glock. H&K and Walther are quality, but not as common, and tend to be more expensive.
...even before I read MHI, my response to seeing a poster for the stars of the latest Twilight movies was "I see 2 targets and a collaborator".
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