Former anti-gun, now carbine owner

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  • iplay4fun

    Member
    Aug 15, 2020
    46
    Welcome. I am also a new gun owner. I didn’t think I’d own a gun a few years back but here I am. I was always interested in shooting. I don’t live too far from MD small arms
     
    Also never say never - After diving into defensive handgun training earlier this year I tried my hand at steel challenges and now I’m hooked. Just gotta budget for ammo at these nutty prices and get good at ammo spotting.

    To my chagrin one thing I did not research before buying was ammo prices. Just a single 50 box of 9mm cost me $53 (out the door) yesterday. The counter guy joked "Only one?" and I said I can't afford any more! He said "yeah, the good days are over." Unless there's a significant market change, I'm going to have to really limit range days. This is already a really expensive fancy stick.

    I've seen a lot of videos where people fire A WHOLE LOT and I can't help but think how expensive that video must have been to make.

    I'm just learning where to shoot and don't have anyone to practice with yet so steel challenges and competition are out of the question, though if I ever had a pile of money to burn I'd love to try.
     
    Welcome. I am also a new gun owner. I didn’t think I’d own a gun a few years back but here I am. I was always interested in shooting. I don’t live too far from MD small arms

    I took the advice of a coworker who said to go there an hour before it opened and put your name on the door list. They put me on the rifle side even though it's a pistol caliber. I got there at 9:15 (opens at 10) and didn't get a lane until about 11:30. Next time I'm going even earlier and going immediately to get breakfast.
     

    gremlin42

    Active Member
    Apr 16, 2020
    696
    variable
    To my chagrin one thing I did not research before buying was ammo prices. Just a single 50 box of 9mm cost me $53 (out the door) yesterday. The counter guy joked "Only one?" and I said I can't afford any more! He said "yeah, the good days are over." Unless there's a significant market change, I'm going to have to really limit range days. This is already a really expensive fancy stick.

    I've seen a lot of videos where people fire A WHOLE LOT and I can't help but think how expensive that video must have been to make.

    I'm just learning where to shoot and don't have anyone to practice with yet so steel challenges and competition are out of the question, though if I ever had a pile of money to burn I'd love to try.

    Ouch, hope those were JHPs. There are a couple sites you should check on the reg - Simmons Sporting Goods, Rogers Sporting Goods, and Federal Premium have come through for me lately. I recently got 300 rds from Rogers at about .56cpr - painful considering it’s well over double what it used to be but in late 2020 that’s a reasonable price. Ammoseek.com is a good aggregator but not always up to date and you’ll want to make sure the sellers are good and will deliver to MD. We also have a couple members here who are sellers and occasionally still get restocked in popular calibers.

    If you want to do handgun training without spending 50 cents every time you pull
    the trigger, definitely look into dry fire drills and consider a home training system like iTargetPro (I use that at home to practice drawing and shooting ahead of competitions).
     
    Last edited:
    What made you change your mind?

    Over the years it's become evident that institutions we've entrusted and invested in to, at minimum, protect us... don't. Beyond hunger, homelessness or illness, we're not protected from violence (whatever your motivation) or exploitation. The fragile nature of our "polite society" is crystal clear, especially watching the goings on of this last, very challenging year. When I have a problem, since I work with them all day, I look to my tools.

    A gun is a tool with a specific function; a weapon being the use of a tool to perform a specific task. It's a subtle but important distinction that took a while to fully understand. Practically speaking, I'd rather have a tool and not need it than need a tool and not have it. I hope I never, ever, ever, ever actually need it. Ever. However, if I do, I wanted to have one and know how to use it as best I can. Safety, accuracy, efficacy, all that.

    Impractically speaking, being honest, loud and dangerous things are fun. See: motorcycles. In the spring I got a basic cheapo slingshot to discourage the squirrels in my yard and forgot just how fun it is hitting targets. I never actually hit the furry bastards, but my "target" is near enough to make them think twice about my garden. A few months of that and I thought, "this would be fun at a range with a gun and no Drill Sergeant." And it is.

    Put need and want together with finally a little more income to make it happen and here we are.

    Good luck.
     

    gremlin42

    Active Member
    Apr 16, 2020
    696
    variable
    Over the years it's become evident that institutions we've entrusted and invested in to, at minimum, protect us... don't. Beyond hunger, homelessness or illness, we're not protected from violence (whatever your motivation) or exploitation. The fragile nature of our "polite society" is crystal clear, especially watching the goings on of this last, very challenging year. When I have a problem, since I work with them all day, I look to my tools.

    A gun is a tool with a specific function; a weapon being the use of a tool to perform a specific task. It's a subtle but important distinction that took a while to fully understand. Practically speaking, I'd rather have a tool and not need it than need a tool and not have it. I hope I never, ever, ever, ever actually need it. Ever. However, if I do, I wanted to have one and know how to use it as best I can. Safety, accuracy, efficacy, all that.

    Impractically speaking, being honest, loud and dangerous things are fun. See: motorcycles. In the spring I got a basic cheapo slingshot to discourage the squirrels in my yard and forgot just how fun it is hitting targets. I never actually hit the furry bastards, but my "target" is near enough to make them think twice about my garden. A few months of that and I thought, "this would be fun at a range with a gun and no Drill Sergeant." And it is.

    Put need and want together with finally a little more income to make it happen and here we are.

    Good luck.

    This resonates with me - it’s gotten more evident recently that civilization is more fragile than most people will allow themselves to admit. When the shtf, the animal side of of human nature comes out. Having a protracted legal fight with a malevolent and dangerous person also affected my view of human nature and the value of 2A for individual protection.
     

    Oh3

    Member
    Jan 2, 2016
    90
    Carroll Co
    Welcome to MDS.

    The current ammo shortage sucks and hopefully gets back to pre-pandemic price/availability soon. I do most of my training either dry firing or using air rifles and pistols. Not ideal, but a lot better than using up all my ammo or going broke.
     

    W2D

    Ultimate Member
    Dec 2, 2015
    2,074
    Escaped MD for FL
    I think the flip side to the shortage is that apparently more and more people are coming to this same conclusion.


    Sent from my iBunker using Tapatalk Pro
     

    Biggfoot44

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 2, 2009
    32,876
    I'm only 10% joking when I tell people w/o pre existing ammo supplies ,to approach handgun selection Backwards .

    Get the ammo first , then select the gun to use them . Yes , I am mostly serious .

    Everyone else has been recieving the same advice , watching the same videos , and reading the same articles and internet .

    Despite their inherent qualities ( or not ) ammo in 9mm , .380, .40,and .38 special is $$$$ if it can be found at all . People will dig down to get a box or 2 to load the gun, and magazines . But enough ammo for meaning familiarization with new to you gun , much less basic skill building for new shooters is simply prohibitive .

    .38 Super , .357 Sig , .357 Magnum , .32acp , .45 Colt have been more available . .45acp not as available as a month ago , but when found is sometimes less expensive than 9, 40, 380 . 45acp has further advantage in that it is not as dependent upon the latest greatest trick bullets for effectiveness .
     

    Michigander08

    ridiculous and psychotic
    MDS Supporter
    May 29, 2017
    7,685
    Why were you "anti-gun"? When I was in high school, I never got interested in guns until I was in Army ROTC in college.

    I was never against people having it or hunting with it.

    The only thing I am anti is anti-commies.
     

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