AlpineDude67
Active Member
- Feb 17, 2013
- 771
I am coming to this late, after all the shouting is over.
FWIW, I'd say this thread is kind of a lesson in how not to act - on both sides. For the experienced people here - remember that people who have little actual experience and knowledge of guns get their gun knowledge from the media and movies. The media portrays the AR-15 as something akin to the demon spawn of Hitler and small pox. Even people who have some interest in firearms may not have a positive view of the EBR because of all this negative press.
Let's not assume people are completely hopeless anti-gun zealots just because they don't understand that certain words and phrases have a negative history inside our community. I don't know whether this guy is a troll or what, but we don't exactly come off as a welcoming bunch in this thread. I would hate for this guy to be a legit novice just asking some innocent, poorly worded questions who is now totally turned off on firearms because "gun guys are just a bunch of dic$s".
That said, when you come on here looking for free advice and people take offense to how you phrase stuff, the appropriate response is probably "I'm sorry, I didn't understand" as opposed to talking back. To make this clear: when you talk about using a .22 for home defense purposes, you told everybody in here that you basically don't know jack about any of this. There is nothing wrong with not knowing - we all had to learn sometime. But nobody wants to be lectured by somebody who clearly knows so little - it comes off as just being an ass. So you probably need to be a little more respectful to the people who do know something and are willing to share their knowledge with you.
OP - I will give you the benefit of the doubt. You don't have to get an AR-15 if you don't want one. But neither a .22 nor a big hunting rifle is really an appropriate home defense gun. One is too small and the other too powerful. If you are 20 and in school - then I assume money is tight - so your most cost-effective choice is probably a Mossberg 500, pump action shotgun. They are typically a little bit cheaper than the Remington 870 which would also be a fine choice. You can probably get one second hand to save even more money. Buy buckshot for it, and take it to a range and shoot it a bunch until you are very familiar with how it works. There are many different opinions as to what is the ideal set-up for HD, some people want a pistol, some want a carbine like the AR-15, some want a shotgun. There are advantages and disadvantages to every choice out there. But none of them are as wrong as using a .22 or high-powered hunting rifle.
FWIW, I'd say this thread is kind of a lesson in how not to act - on both sides. For the experienced people here - remember that people who have little actual experience and knowledge of guns get their gun knowledge from the media and movies. The media portrays the AR-15 as something akin to the demon spawn of Hitler and small pox. Even people who have some interest in firearms may not have a positive view of the EBR because of all this negative press.
Let's not assume people are completely hopeless anti-gun zealots just because they don't understand that certain words and phrases have a negative history inside our community. I don't know whether this guy is a troll or what, but we don't exactly come off as a welcoming bunch in this thread. I would hate for this guy to be a legit novice just asking some innocent, poorly worded questions who is now totally turned off on firearms because "gun guys are just a bunch of dic$s".
That said, when you come on here looking for free advice and people take offense to how you phrase stuff, the appropriate response is probably "I'm sorry, I didn't understand" as opposed to talking back. To make this clear: when you talk about using a .22 for home defense purposes, you told everybody in here that you basically don't know jack about any of this. There is nothing wrong with not knowing - we all had to learn sometime. But nobody wants to be lectured by somebody who clearly knows so little - it comes off as just being an ass. So you probably need to be a little more respectful to the people who do know something and are willing to share their knowledge with you.
OP - I will give you the benefit of the doubt. You don't have to get an AR-15 if you don't want one. But neither a .22 nor a big hunting rifle is really an appropriate home defense gun. One is too small and the other too powerful. If you are 20 and in school - then I assume money is tight - so your most cost-effective choice is probably a Mossberg 500, pump action shotgun. They are typically a little bit cheaper than the Remington 870 which would also be a fine choice. You can probably get one second hand to save even more money. Buy buckshot for it, and take it to a range and shoot it a bunch until you are very familiar with how it works. There are many different opinions as to what is the ideal set-up for HD, some people want a pistol, some want a carbine like the AR-15, some want a shotgun. There are advantages and disadvantages to every choice out there. But none of them are as wrong as using a .22 or high-powered hunting rifle.