Docwagon

Yeah, very few rimfires can be safely dry fired without a snap cap. An appropriately sized dry wall anchor will work as a snap cap for rimfires if you don't have one. As I'm sure you know, rimfires are touched off by pinching the rim between the hammer and the edge of the chamber (hence 'rimfire'). The hammer has the mechanical ability to keep going and will contact the edge of the chamber. After repeated strikes, the hammer will start to mushroom or bend, and the chamber will start to get a dimple. Eventually it won't put enough pressure on the rim to set off the primer, and the firearm won't touch off cartridges reliably any longer. There are a few rim fires that have a mechanical hammer stop that make them safe to dry fire, but they are the exception to the rule at this point. The owner's manual will say if they are safe to dry fire. Center fire relies on a primer in the center of the bottom of the cartridge, and there's nothing there but empty air when there's no cartridge, so the tip of the firing pin has nothing to strike against. The firing pin does have a stop, of course, but it strikes the stop regardless of if it hits a primer or not. The firearm is designed for that stop to be struck. Some early firearms with fixed firing pins on the hammer could supposedly crack with repeated dry firing, hence both the historic warning against dry firing and the admonishment of "modern firearm". Modern design uses a transfer bar (or a striker) and doesn't suffer from that flaw.

During our recent trip to Florida, a living conch. ...and the director of Catty Shack (a large cat rescue in Jacksonville) playing with a lion.

Stella is available stateside. I never tried it until we went to Italy, but have picked it up locally several times since.

Dry Firing as a training technique: Dry firing is one of the most important things you can do if you want to be truly proficient with a handgun. Almost no one can go to the range every day and fire live rounds. How do you keep muscle memory in place between range trips? Dry fire. Dry fire can be done with almost any modern firearm. The exceptions are rimfire, where some firearms will damage the firing pin and chamber with repeated dry firing. Check your owner's manual, but I'm unaware of any modern centerfire that can't take dry firing. Using a snap cap, which is an inert rubber and aluminum cartridge, can provide piece of mind and prevent damage to those that can't be dry fired. How to get the most out of your practice: 1) Make DAMN SURE the handgun has no live ammo. Do not have live ammo nearby. Make sure your magazine is empty, make sure the chamber is empty both visually (look) and physically (stick your finger in the chamber). Point the weapon in a safe direction and pull the trigger. NOW you are sure its empty and can continue with the drill. 2) Tell yourself what proper form looks like. This is not about just pulling the trigger and ingraining bad habits. This is about reinforcing good habits. You are not in a hurry. Are you getting a good sight picture? Is your support hand holding tighter than your dominant hand? Is your grip allowing the pistol to naturally point straight? Now press the trigger. Did the front sight move? Did you shove the gun in any way? Without recoil, you'll be able to see exactly how you are muscling the gun around if you are. 3) Balance an empty case on the slide of the gun. Repeat dry firing. Did the case fall off? If so, you're shoving the gun at some point. If no, you're doing it smooth, continue on. Once you get your trigger and grip control down, you can start doing draw drills and the like, but that's another topic. Right now you are diagnosing and correcting mistakes in your form. This will pay off on the range and in real life, because every bullet goes where the barrel is pointing as the bullet exits. The most common cause for misses is muscling the gun around and shoving it off target as you fire. The most common mistakes are: Milking: This will result in misses low and left for a right handed shooter. Milking is squeezing all of your fingers on your dominant hand as you pull the trigger. This is why you want to hold lightly with your strong hand and isolate your trigger finger. Shoving: This will result in misses low. Shoving is anticipating the recoil and pushing the gun down and forward to fight the recoil affect too early. This will be easy to see in dry fire, because you'll lose sight of the front sight as you shove. That's what causes most misses. Many people blame sight alignment or believe the sights on their gun are off, when in fact its these grip mistakes causing them to shoot consistently but inaccurately.

Yeah, I've got a Sears shotgun made by Winchester and another auto parts store 16g shotgun as well.

Yeah, they were everywhere before the Ruger 10-22 started taking a bite of the market. Mine is a "Western Auto Parts" branded example of the store specific runs Marlin used to do. I still use mine to shoot rabbits out of the garden, and when my son is big enough to graduate from his Rascal single shot .22 I'll be passing it along to him.

No problem. Let me know how you like it once you get it. I've found the Winchester DPX-1 bonded 130gr .38+P to be good carry ammo for the LCR. Recoil is easy to control, its accurate, and the bullet design is a win. With lighter weight bullets, you want mass retention for penetration. (Actually you want that with all bullets, but it matters a lot more in bullets that are already light before shedding mass). Bonded ammo means the jacket will stay on, helping to maintain mass and to resist fragmentation. An example of where this could come into play. Imagine someone is facing you with a knife or gun held forward. Now imagine you shoot and it hits there forearm. What I've seen from lightweight bullets is after it passes through the first thing it meets (the arm in this case) the bullet starts to come apart. Even if it continues on and strikes the chest, its now in fragments and won't penetrate deeply enough to get to anything that matters. 9mm Gold Dot, for example. Its a great round if the first thing it hits is what it needs to. However in the scenario of an intermediate strike it sheds the jacket and the lead core fragments, resulting in about 1-3" of penetration when it hits the next part of the body. That's clearly insufficient to reach vitals. With bonded ammo, the penetration will be deeper, although it still may fail to reach vitals it will have a better chance. Bonded becomes less important in heavier bullets, a .45 that splits into two results in fragments that are still as heavy as a 9mm is to start with (although the shape, irregularity of surface, etc means they won't penetrate the same) and will resist deceleration easier. The flip side of that coin is lighter calibers tend to recoil less, allowing you to send a second shot faster. That's why I recommend the .38+P over .357 in a 2". The extra fps don't result in much better terminal ballistics, but the faster followup shot can make a big difference in getting a second shot on target if the first fails to stop. That's a longer explanation than I intended so: TL;DR Bonded ammunition is better than non-bonded, especially in lighter weight bullets. Sometimes you'll have to shoot more than once to stop an attacker. In broad generalities, plan for 1-3 shots, but realize that's a generalization and shoot until the threat stops.

If cost isn't a concern, go with the .357. The added weight is negligible in terms of comfort and ease of carry, and will actually making shooting it a bit more pleasant. I would still stick with .38+P for carry though. The extra recoil and muzzle flash isn't worth the slightly increased FPS out of such a short barrel IMO.

Now, real quick, let me touch on why you should not plan to cock a revolver before a gun fight. 1) Time. You should train for a double action trigger pull because it is much slower to cock the hammer before each shot. Remember a revolver doesn't cock the hammer after each shot for you like a semi-automatic does. While it is possible to learn to roll cock a revolver and be back in single action as you bring the sights back on target this is very much an advanced skill and one that requires significant amounts of time and practice to keep on top off. The timing involved is precise, and you need to practice with the same gun, same ammo, etc. 2) You cocked the gun, didn't shoot, and the situation is ongoing. There is no safety on a revolver. Can you safely cover someone with it in single action mode? Can you safely manuever an obstacle to get to cover? Probably not. A short super light trigger is not optimal for self defense scenarios just for this reason. 3) You didn't shoot and the situation is over. Now you have a cocked gun in your hand, a live round under the hammer, and no mechanical decocker. That means you have to hold the hammer with one thumb and pull the trigger, then gently lower the hammer. That's easy to do, right? Of course it is in an administrative situation. It is as easy with the post-adrenaline dump shakes? Will you even remember to do it in post confrontation mindset? Maybe, maybe not, but you're significantly increasing your chances of having a negligent discharge. On semi-autos with a decocker, always use the decocker. As I've mentioned before, tell yourself out loud "decock and holster" until its so ingrained in you that you do it as part of the holstering motion without thinking of it. I shot a Walther PPQ for the first time today. I tried to hit the decocker, and of course it doesn't have one. I also tried to decock an H&K striker fired gun that also doesn't have one. Why? Habit.

I went out and did some shooting today with the owners of a local gun store. They have a nice setup. The water puddle is about 100y downrange, which is as far as we shot today. I hit 4/6 with my Security Six 4" revolver and my handloads on a human torso sized target at that range. My reloads are soft, and I was having to hold the sights about a foot over the target's head to arc them in, but I was able to do it. Lots of AR's. Cold. Must make fire. I'm in the middle. The three on the ground on the left are mine. SAR-1 AK-47 clone, Marlin model 60 .22, and my M1903. 100y, 4/4 with the M1903 shooting freehand, standing, using only the sling for support. The .30.06 knocked the target stand over after the 4th hit, lots of power behind that round. The peep sights are fantastic at longer ranges, and the WWII reproduction sling makes it easy to apply tension with your elbow and steady the gun. The back of the truck we rode out in. I stood guard at the gas station while they went in to get drinks and sammichs.

Get the hammerless. You aren't cocking it in a self defense scenario and its possible to snag the hammer and fumble your draw if you pocket carry or deep conceal. The LCR remains one of my favorite guns. I let 2 guys shoot it today (pictures in a bit) and neither had any issues hitting a 8" plate at 10y with it the first time they shot it. The trigger is sooo much smoother than a traditional DAO.

At an Indiana gun shop, all rounds were ejected from "unloaded guns" brought in to trade.

I would just add to stay away from the biometric safes. If you are sweaty, bloody, got a cut earlier in the day, etc. they are not reliable. I use a simple key. When I'm in bed, the key's in the lock. When I'm not, the key is not.

Unloaded guns are the mechanical equivalent of Schrodinger's cat. If you aren't observing the chamber, they have a tendency to not be unloaded. I've had plenty of people who shot themselves with an unloaded gun, and I guarantee you every fucking one of them said "it won't happen to me" just like everyone who just read this post did. Yet none of us are perfect, and all of us can be complacent. That directly translates into the idea that an unloaded gun is as dangerous as a baseball bat can bite you in the ass. Its a gun, treat it like a gun. If you have multiple firearms, you can afford a safe or secure gun cabinet. http://www.harborfreight.com/household/safes/59-digital-executive-safe-60289.html#.UyRMw_mKr2Y $320, http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/storage/safes-security/gun-safes/stack-on-14-gun-steel-security-cabinet-black-pad-bottom?infoParam.campaignId=T9F&gclid=CN6t49DMlL0CFYFhMgodgU0Aqg $183. http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/sentryreg;-safe-12-gun-cabinet?cm_mmc=feed-_-Home_and_Garden_Home%20Security-_-Stack-On-_-1028583&gdftrk=gdfV27960_a_7c2509_a_7c10868_a_7c1028583 $150. My in wall unit for my home defense shotgun and assorted paraphernalia costs me $90. http://www.factory-express.com/Product/STACK-ON-IWC-55-Security-Plus-In-Wall-Cabinet/40166?gclid=CMXniL7MlL0CFe5aMgodPSIAhA All of these are less than the cost of a quality firearm. If you have multiple rifles and shotguns, you can afford a way to secure them properly. Get your priorities right and instead of buying yet another shiny toy, buy a way to protect your toys and those around you, then go back to buying toys. You are doing your part to be RESPONSIBLE and keep them out of unauthorized hands and criminals hands. In the meantime, use the trigger lock that came with your gun or render it mechanically unable to fire. Pump shotguns can have a bicycle cable lock or a zip tie ran through the action, for example.

OK, let me be real clear on this. DON'T LEAVE YOUR FUCKING GUN WHERE A CHILD CAN FIND IT. Even if you don't have kids but people with kids visit, DON'T LEAVE YOUR FUCKING GUN WERE A CHILD CAN FIND IT. You know those stats the anti-gun folks love to spout about how your more likely to have an accidental injury or death in your home with a firearm than use it against an intruder? You know how we like to think those stats are tainted and aren't true? Well, I'd like to believe that they are fictional stats, too, but its really fucking hard when I see it with my own two eyes. I'm currently running a 3:1 ratio for children shooting themselves with found guns vs a gun used in self defense, and I'm being generous and counting self defense shootings outside the home. You want to know why? BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE LEAVING THEIR FUCKING GUNS WHERE KIDS CAN FIND THEM. 2 have been their own kid. 1 has been a visiting kid. This is entirely preventable. How? DON'T LEAVE YOUR FUCKING GUN WHERE A CHILD CAN FIND IT. Guns belong in one of the following: A secure container, such as a lock box, safe, or in wall unit. In a holster Quit being fucking cutesy with stash guns throughout the house like your fucking James Bond Ninja Assassin. If you're concerned about a home invasion, install in wall units or simply carry it in a holster around the house. That gun you think no one knows about because you put some screws under your end table and stuck the gun there? A 3 year old can see that because he's short. Under the sofa? Kids crawl and kids roll toys under the sofa and go fishing for it. I am seriously fucking tired of seeing children dead or maimed because of a group of assholes who can't be bothered to secure their guns or who are stashing guns so when the gub'mint comes to take their guns away they have an arsenal at arm's length to fight back. I'm sick of these assholes setting the tone in gun control debates because its a real issue THAT'S COMPLETELY FUCKING PREVENTABLE. If you are a paranoid tinfoil hat wearing asshole, don't buy a gun. If you are an incompetent fucktard gangsta wannabe, don't buy a gun. If you're not willing or able to have the logistics of safe storage, don't buy a gun. You're fucking it up for responsible gun owners, your putting others at risk, and you're putting yourself at risk of serious legal and ethical consequences.

....Alfred takes care of that sort of thing.

Is that you in the yellow?

Mission accomplished! Aircraft carrier landing, banner, everything! 5 pairs of jeans, 3 shirts, sport coat, and tie. I'm set for at least 3 more years.

Its because my wife is making me goes clothes shopping tomorrow. I'm thinking of running away from home. I *hate* going to try on clothes, but I haven't bought anything in about 2 years and my collection of pants that are suitable for wearing in public has diminished to the point she's using a female executive order to force me to go to the.....I can hardly say it....the mall. I'll miss you all.

I'm trying to think of something either witty or consoling, and all I'm coming up with is "I'm also very fucking tired of all of this snow and ice." I dunno, read it in a French accent or something.

Yup. Still the best way to get solicitors to solicit elsewhere.

I'm the guy in the tie.

I typically do my friends and dudes for beer.

Passed. Stare at the upper corners instead.