oldefoxx
Shooter
Like everybody else, I've been hindered by the upsurge in buy-them-while-you-still-can interest in guns and ammo.
The hardest hit sector has been in plinking/target ammo centered around the .22. This area really appeals to people because usually, the ammo is very cheap in comparison to other types. That is because the cartridges are tiny with respect to all those types. Many people who have spent large sums of money on higher caliber guns don't want to waste more money in target or plinking (shoot at any thing laying about) where you are wasting expensive ammo.
Raises the point of why buy expensive guns when it is too costly to just have fun with them? But I don't want to debate that point. To each his own.
I bought a Smith and Wesson 22A for protection. Yes I know, awfully small caliber for that purpose. But if I got broken in on by some teenagers, I don't necessarily want to kill or permanently maim them, just drive them off or hold them captive until the law shows up. A bigger caliber gun might make me hesitate to shoot. This small a round, I may decide to shoot more than once.
See, I got broke in on awhile back, and I am largely incapacitated as I need a walker to get around. I can't go hand to hand with anybody, and was just lucky that the people that broke in fled when they realized someone was home. I asked myself what should I have been able to do, besides call 911, and the idea of getting a pistol seemed best. So I did. Now I just need to get some suitable ammo, and either CCI mini-max or one of the Federals would be best from my research.
I miss-ordered a type of ammo that by its grouping with 22 LR ammo seemed to be a valid alternative. That was when I ordered .22 Maxi-Mag ammo. When I got it, I found that the shells are several times too big for the 22A that I have. Our of curiosity, I researched what guns take .22 Maxi-Mags. I found that a number of revolvers use it, and that you can have two interchangeable cylinders for those revolvers, one sized for Magnum rounds and the other for .22s. By switching cylinders, you can use the same gun for target practice or plinking, then trade out again for firing the bigger cartride. One site even rated .22 Magnum as being more inpactive than a .32,
Then I looked to see if I could find any semi-auto pistols that take these rounds. I found two mentioned, a P-30 and a Kel-Tek PMR-30. I read up on the PMR-30, and people really like it. But then I checked out the asking price for one, and they were more than twice the price of a 22A, so out of my league.
Why didn't I consider a revolver? Personal preference. I played cowboys as a boy so know what a revolver handles like, and learned semi-autos in the Marines, even teaching on the pistol range at Parris Island the last year I served. I just did not want to go with a .45, so got something smaller in terms of caliber.
Several things left to deal with then.
A cleaning/lubricating solution for the 22A. Searches led me to Gunzilla, and if you have to deal with lead/copper/plastic build-up, get Copperzilla as well. Gunzilla is a CLP, which stands for Cleaner/Lubricant/Preservative.
Hoppes is another choice, and my stepson (who would know) recommends 3-in-1 oil and a light grease for lubrication.
An attachable dot laser sight. Green is better if you plan to shoot outdoors or under bright lights, and goes a farther distance then red, but Red Dot lasers tend to be cheaper and do well enough indoors. The idea of putting a dot on somebody, say on their face so that they see that they are covered, just might intimidate them enough so that you do not have to shoot. Green can be better in this respect as well, because a green dot laser leaves a visible trail to the object, and the red dot laser does not. That would make it even more apparent where you are aiming.
With pistols, which are all unique in design, you have generally three mounting points for a laser sight. (1) on top of the barrel (and many people put on lasers that include a scope or a magnifier for better long range visibility), in which case you need a pistol that has a mounting rail on top. (2) Before the trigger guard and under the barrel, and for this you need a sight designed to work with that particular model of handgun. (3) a laser sight that lays on the right side of the receiver (the part of the gun that includes the handgrip and the trigger housing) and is part of a new set of handgrips.
Now here is something to know about laser sights: Aside from whether they or red, green, both, or include amber, and whether they have a magnifying arrangement or not, they have to be adjusted to sight in close to where the bullets should land when fired from a given distance and with respect to windage. This means they are adjustable, usually with an allen wrench that comes with them. They are also battery powered, using three small; batteries like you have in a wristwatch. These batteries need to be replaced when used up, and you get no spares with them. The batteries also have to be installed in a certain direction, and if you get this wrong, you get no light. And you need a simple button method for turning the light on and off, or a pressure pad that squeezing in your hand will turn on, and one small laser sight that I checked out requres you to turn the battery cap to a specific position with a small coin or screwdriver to turn it off or on. That proved to be a very poor design, so I sent it back for a refund.
Laser sights attach to the pistol using one of two rail systems usually. Rail systems are just two groves, one on each side of the gun, on which the sight is clamped. Where you position it along the rail is your choice. The Weaver rails are set 20 mm apart. The Picatinny rails are set 21 mm apart. Optic devices intended for Picatinny rails can be mounted on Weaver ralis by a little over tightening, but devices meant for Weaver rails probably won't mount well on Picatinny rails because of the added width involved. However, you won't really know until you try.
This could be a great time to decide on what your next gun purchase would be. Why? Not because prices in general are higher No, it is because of the ammo shortages that is extensive but only involves a handful of cartridge types. Look at what ammo is still available, then find a suitable firearm that uses that ammo. For instance, my grandson decided to buy a pistol, then asked me to find the ammo for it. It took me less than 20 minutes to find matching ammo online for him and order him four boxes. He got them a week later. I've been trying to buy suitable .22 LR ammo now for over four months, and you cannot even back order it at this point.
People who are snapping up plinging/target ammo don't really need it. They often have other guns that they use for hunting and stuff. But if the stuff is in short supply, then they want to make sure they get theirs first. Then they come on line to brag about it. If they really want to protect their 2nd Amendment rights, they should be involved in writing their Congressmen and signing petitions to keep those rights, not robbing the rest of us our change to get our fair share.
The hardest hit sector has been in plinking/target ammo centered around the .22. This area really appeals to people because usually, the ammo is very cheap in comparison to other types. That is because the cartridges are tiny with respect to all those types. Many people who have spent large sums of money on higher caliber guns don't want to waste more money in target or plinking (shoot at any thing laying about) where you are wasting expensive ammo.
Raises the point of why buy expensive guns when it is too costly to just have fun with them? But I don't want to debate that point. To each his own.
I bought a Smith and Wesson 22A for protection. Yes I know, awfully small caliber for that purpose. But if I got broken in on by some teenagers, I don't necessarily want to kill or permanently maim them, just drive them off or hold them captive until the law shows up. A bigger caliber gun might make me hesitate to shoot. This small a round, I may decide to shoot more than once.
See, I got broke in on awhile back, and I am largely incapacitated as I need a walker to get around. I can't go hand to hand with anybody, and was just lucky that the people that broke in fled when they realized someone was home. I asked myself what should I have been able to do, besides call 911, and the idea of getting a pistol seemed best. So I did. Now I just need to get some suitable ammo, and either CCI mini-max or one of the Federals would be best from my research.
I miss-ordered a type of ammo that by its grouping with 22 LR ammo seemed to be a valid alternative. That was when I ordered .22 Maxi-Mag ammo. When I got it, I found that the shells are several times too big for the 22A that I have. Our of curiosity, I researched what guns take .22 Maxi-Mags. I found that a number of revolvers use it, and that you can have two interchangeable cylinders for those revolvers, one sized for Magnum rounds and the other for .22s. By switching cylinders, you can use the same gun for target practice or plinking, then trade out again for firing the bigger cartride. One site even rated .22 Magnum as being more inpactive than a .32,
Then I looked to see if I could find any semi-auto pistols that take these rounds. I found two mentioned, a P-30 and a Kel-Tek PMR-30. I read up on the PMR-30, and people really like it. But then I checked out the asking price for one, and they were more than twice the price of a 22A, so out of my league.
Why didn't I consider a revolver? Personal preference. I played cowboys as a boy so know what a revolver handles like, and learned semi-autos in the Marines, even teaching on the pistol range at Parris Island the last year I served. I just did not want to go with a .45, so got something smaller in terms of caliber.
Several things left to deal with then.
A cleaning/lubricating solution for the 22A. Searches led me to Gunzilla, and if you have to deal with lead/copper/plastic build-up, get Copperzilla as well. Gunzilla is a CLP, which stands for Cleaner/Lubricant/Preservative.
Hoppes is another choice, and my stepson (who would know) recommends 3-in-1 oil and a light grease for lubrication.
An attachable dot laser sight. Green is better if you plan to shoot outdoors or under bright lights, and goes a farther distance then red, but Red Dot lasers tend to be cheaper and do well enough indoors. The idea of putting a dot on somebody, say on their face so that they see that they are covered, just might intimidate them enough so that you do not have to shoot. Green can be better in this respect as well, because a green dot laser leaves a visible trail to the object, and the red dot laser does not. That would make it even more apparent where you are aiming.
With pistols, which are all unique in design, you have generally three mounting points for a laser sight. (1) on top of the barrel (and many people put on lasers that include a scope or a magnifier for better long range visibility), in which case you need a pistol that has a mounting rail on top. (2) Before the trigger guard and under the barrel, and for this you need a sight designed to work with that particular model of handgun. (3) a laser sight that lays on the right side of the receiver (the part of the gun that includes the handgrip and the trigger housing) and is part of a new set of handgrips.
Now here is something to know about laser sights: Aside from whether they or red, green, both, or include amber, and whether they have a magnifying arrangement or not, they have to be adjusted to sight in close to where the bullets should land when fired from a given distance and with respect to windage. This means they are adjustable, usually with an allen wrench that comes with them. They are also battery powered, using three small; batteries like you have in a wristwatch. These batteries need to be replaced when used up, and you get no spares with them. The batteries also have to be installed in a certain direction, and if you get this wrong, you get no light. And you need a simple button method for turning the light on and off, or a pressure pad that squeezing in your hand will turn on, and one small laser sight that I checked out requres you to turn the battery cap to a specific position with a small coin or screwdriver to turn it off or on. That proved to be a very poor design, so I sent it back for a refund.
Laser sights attach to the pistol using one of two rail systems usually. Rail systems are just two groves, one on each side of the gun, on which the sight is clamped. Where you position it along the rail is your choice. The Weaver rails are set 20 mm apart. The Picatinny rails are set 21 mm apart. Optic devices intended for Picatinny rails can be mounted on Weaver ralis by a little over tightening, but devices meant for Weaver rails probably won't mount well on Picatinny rails because of the added width involved. However, you won't really know until you try.
This could be a great time to decide on what your next gun purchase would be. Why? Not because prices in general are higher No, it is because of the ammo shortages that is extensive but only involves a handful of cartridge types. Look at what ammo is still available, then find a suitable firearm that uses that ammo. For instance, my grandson decided to buy a pistol, then asked me to find the ammo for it. It took me less than 20 minutes to find matching ammo online for him and order him four boxes. He got them a week later. I've been trying to buy suitable .22 LR ammo now for over four months, and you cannot even back order it at this point.
People who are snapping up plinging/target ammo don't really need it. They often have other guns that they use for hunting and stuff. But if the stuff is in short supply, then they want to make sure they get theirs first. Then they come on line to brag about it. If they really want to protect their 2nd Amendment rights, they should be involved in writing their Congressmen and signing petitions to keep those rights, not robbing the rest of us our change to get our fair share.
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