Do you know how to operate a firearm?

Do you know how to operate a firearm?

THREAD DISCLAIMER: This thread is designed as a discussion for GFF members who know how to operate a gun and their experiences with using a gun. This is not intended as a “review” thread for guns nor a comparison thread of one gun over another. With this in mind, I want to keep this thread as newbie-friendly as possible. Furthermore, if specific “gun-speak” jargon is required, please provide at least a simple definition.

***This thread is not intended to discuss the moral/ethical view of firearms and guns, and furthermore a debate of gun laws is not encouraged here.***
You may state what the guns laws are in your particular area of residence, but don't start bickering whether they're good, bad, or whatever the case maybe. I say again, this thread is designed as a discussion of GFF members who know how to operate a gun and their experiences with one.

With this stated, happy posting shooting.


With the media and entertainment today, television shows and movies are filled with situations and characters that use a firearm or handgun as their primary offensive weapon and in a way, guns have become a staple of any modern action thriller. Countless video games, especially those of the first-person-shooter, allow gamers to simulate an experience of firing a multitude of projectile weapons, some based off of real-life weapons while others are pure science fiction contraptions, such as the gravity gun care of the PC game, Half Life 2. I’m getting close to honing in thirty hours on Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and have killed more than three hundred police officers, and seven hundred civilians, yet have never fired a single round of live ammunition in my life.

I have just finished watching a television documentary of crime scene investigators, it featured a section of ballistics experts firing several different types of hand guns and taking notes of how the bullet impacted the surface of a target, such as concrete, glass, wood, and a variety of other mediums. After watching this, it gave me an "inspiration" if you will, to make this thread and perhaps get it "in the open", so to speak.

I myself am very new and “uninitiated” with this topic – in other words as stated above, I have never fired a live round of ammunition from a gun. I have held real guns at military shows and arms shows. The closest I’ve gotten to fire a projectile weapon was with a pellet gun, and this was quite a while ago as well. As I was in the Air Cadets, a short time mind you, part of the curriculum was to be trained how to clean and maintain a rifle-but I never fired a single round. Of course, since this is getting close to a decade, much of this is long forgotten.

In this thread, discuss if you know how to operate a firearm and what your experiences are with one. For those who of you who are experienced, describe how easy/complex it is to OPERATE and maintain a firearm. Don’t just say, “Duh, you just point at the thing you want to die and you pull the trigger” (This reminds me of that Simpson’s episode where Homer gets the revolver, LOL).

You know, this gives me an idea for my next birthday. I want to go to a firing range and just learn how to shoot for newbs.

EDIT: Why the hell doesn't it let me make a poll. It says I can only do it within the first two minutes of making the new thread, but only spent like 45 seconds on it. Seriously. >_>

Jam it back in, in the dark.

You can go to a firearms store that has a firing range and purchase a membership to practice there. A place in-town, Champion Firearms, gives you unlimited ammo if you pay a set fee for a three or four-month membership.

I first started shooting when I was a young'un. Five years old, I started firing my old man's Enfield rifle. Needless to say, I've got a lot of experience under my belt since. I am not terribly good at gun jargon, but I read up on lots of firearms. I've tinkered with more than a few firearms, so my gunsmithing skills are decent.

I own a good number of guns, but I am proudest of my two M1911's, one of which has never been fired. I also have a Colt .45 Single-Action Revolver (Colt Peacemaker) which an ancestor of mine bought in the late 1800's.

I have also secured a hefty amount of WWII weaponry of American, German, Russian, and Japanese origin. I've got a nice collection... ;D I just got a Garand recently, too! Real sweet rifle. Gotta say, slipping in a clip can really bruise up your thumb even if you're used to the action ;(

Bottom line: can I fire a gun? Yes. Can I repair a gun? Moderately. I have yet to break one... =p

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I grew up around guns and have actually owned my own pistols from time to time. I fired my first gun when I was 8 years old when I went with my uncle to his ranch in Mexico.

My first real legal firearm is one I only recently acquired. A Glock 9mm. It's the only handgun I actually keep now for home security purposes. There was a time when in high school when all I did was buy guns so I could prove I had a bigger dick than everyone. At one point I owned a 50-caliber Desert Eagle. Monster handcannon although I got rid of it last year.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Answer: Yes.

Simply put, as my father has a close link to forensics, I have seemingly developed a great interest in firearms. In fact, though Metal Gear games and other FPS' have got me started on the topic of firearms, the main focus in stepping up to the realm of more realism has pertained to my intro to the world of Airsoft pistols and rifles. I'm not talking about $60 bargain spring guns or electric pieces of carp, I'm talking about performance high-end full metal Automatic Electric Guns in excess of $300. These Airsoft guns get as close as you can to the real thing. Providing realism to parallel real steel guns.

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Quote:

I own a good number of guns, but I am proudest of my two M1911's, one of which has never been fired. I also have a Colt .45 Single-Action Revolver (Colt Peacemaker) which an ancestor of mine bought in the late 1800's.

::looksup what an M1911 is on image google::



Sorry, again, I'm not Mr. James Bond.

How is the feel for one of these guns. How much does it hurt your wrist from the recoil, and how much does it hurt your ears (I guess decibles) when a shot is fired? Do you keep it just for keepsake or do you actually place it in your house strategically "just in case". ::goes and tries to rob Gechmir's house::

Thinking about it now, I'm quite curious as to see what types of weapons are allowed and which ones are off limits in Canada. I don't mean to go against the grain of the rules I set for this thread, but as to Canada's gun law, it's gotten me to think what handguns and rifles are allowed.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Encephalon

At one point I owned a 50-caliber Desert Eagle. Monster handcannon although I got rid of it last year.

I've fired .45's for years. And I've gotta say, I myself am scared of firing anything in the realm of a .44 Magnum or a Desert Eagle .50 =p I take it you didn't fire it enough to get used to the kick?

A lot of folks don't even touch a .45 because they claim the kick is scary, but it's all I've ever known really I've spread out in rifles, but not so much in handguns. I've got a Luger as well as a Jap Surrender Pistol, but they really don't compare. I would fire my Single Action .45, but I don't wanna risk damaging anything. I'll undergo some big repair on it someday.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Gechmir

I own a good number of guns, but I am proudest of my two M1911's, one of which has never been fired. I also have a Colt .45 Single-Action Revolver (Colt Peacemaker) which an ancestor of mine bought in the late 1800's.

Jealous. Pictures. Now!!

Ahem, James Bond has the Walther PPK, not the Colt 1911. Big Boss from MGS3 uses a Colt 1911...

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by Spatula

How is the feel for one of these guns. How much does it hurt your wrist from the recoil, and how much does it hurt your ears (I guess decibles) when a shot is fired? Do you keep it just for keepsake or do you actually place it in your house strategically "just in case". ::goes and tries to rob Gechmir's house::

Thinking about it now, I'm quite curious as to see what types of weapons are allowed and which ones are off limits in Canada. I don't mean to go against the grain of the rules I set for this thread, but as to Canada's gun law, it's gotten me to think what handguns and rifles are allowed.

The M1911 was the choice sidearm of our troops from 1911 to 1985 or so.

Ears ringing are a person-to-person thing. My ears ALWAYS pop from pistols, but not rifles. Very odd, I admit. Never fired a shotgun before, to be honest. Anything I've had to use a gun on at the farm is something veeeery threatening. Something with a hide too tough for buckshot or something of the sort. But some folks are never stirred by the sound of a gun going off. To be honest, as oddly as it sounds, the ringing isn't as bad if you're the one firing. Maybe just an odd personal quirk/tick.

Rob my house? Heh. Me owning this many guns should encourage opposite feelings ;D

Dunno a derned thing about Canadian gun laws. I'm in Texas, so there's a slight distance ;P

Double Post:

Originally Posted by Pietak

Jealous. Pictures. Now!!

Ahem, James Bond has the Walther PPK, not the Colt 1911. Big Boss from MGS3 uses a Colt 1911...

Big Boss uses a M1911 .45, Ocelot uses a .45 Single Action AKA: Peacemaker, etc =p I don't have a digital camera on-hand ;__; I'll try and locate one and get pictures up sometime!


((For the folks who dunno what we're discussing))

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Originally Posted by Gechmir

Ocelot uses a .45 Single Action

This is the greatest handgun ever made: the Colt Single Action Army. Six bullets: more than enough to kill anything that moves.

-Revolver Ocelot

It's sorta funny how I'm busy reading up on Wiki right now to make sure I understand what you guys are talking about. Basically all these numbers you're spouting out are the caliber - diamter of the round -, and it's funny how an ignorant person would think, such a small piece of metal can bring down a 200 lbs person, but then they don't appreciate that it's moving at about 230 m/s.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Be sure to read up on "hollow pointed" bullets, "Full metal jacketed" rifle rounds, NATO specifications on bullet size....

I'd put up definitions, but I got to go right now! ~_~

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Yeah I pretty much learned about hollow point and FMJ from reading Rainbow Six by Tom Clancy (sorta strange way to start to learn about guns and such), then I picked some of the terminology from various Vietnam war movies and the like. God damn, now for some strange reason ( gosh darn it I can't detect what it might be triggering this, mind the pun) I want to play a FPS now, too bad I don't have any, and playing on Metal Gear Online is sucky.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Don't play Hitman =p Fun game, but most laughably ridiculous gun physics EVER. I saw a trailer for the newest installment. Still horrible ;__; Evidently, game creators think a shotgun round to the chest makes you moon jump!

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

This brings me up to my next point. How "easy" is it to get a bulls eye from say, 30 feet away from your firing line to a target. Let's say the target is basically your typical circle target to test your marksmanship. It seems relatively simple to just align your handgun sights to the target and have a steady hand and pull the trigger. Does the recoil itself affect the accuracy of the very first round, as I'm guessing a millisecond later, the bullet would have reached past the muzzle and to the target. Is it true that the recoil would affect subsequent rounds if you were to disperse your rounds immediately right after the other- sequentially (ie, keep pulling on the trigger until the magazine is empty)?

What other factors make it difficult to shoot at an outdoor target?
For short distance targets, I wouldn't imagine wind would be a major factor, but perhaps how you grip your firearm and how much of a steady hand you have.

I was speaking idiomatically.

"Hug me and I make bad guys go away!"
Sorry... couldn't resist xp

Anyway, to answer the question: somewhat. I can fire one, but can't aim to save my life - literally. So I suppose you could only say I know how to operate a firearm if it's also okay to say I know how to fly a plane - I know how the controls work and what does what but damned if I could fly one and survive the landing xp

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Spatula

This brings me up to my next point. How "easy" is it to get a bulls eye from say, 30 feet away from your firing line to a target. Let's say the target is basically your typical circle target to test your marksmanship. It seems relatively simple to just align your handgun sights to the target and have a steady hand and pull the trigger. Does the recoil itself affect the accuracy of the very first round, as I'm guessing a millisecond later, the bullet would have reached past the muzzle and to the target. Is it true that the recoil would affect subsequent rounds if you were to disperse your rounds immediately right after the other- sequentially (ie, keep pulling on the trigger until the magazine is empty)?

What other factors make it difficult to shoot at an outdoor target?
For short distance targets, I wouldn't imagine wind would be a major factor, but perhaps how you grip your firearm and how much of a steady hand you have.

How easy is it? Well, it depends on experience. Holding the gun just right, being used to it and not afraid. Another problem is people squeeze the trigger and don't pull it. Squeezing applies your whole hand into the motion, holding your index finger still. If you do this, your aim goes to shit. Squeezing it, in the process of setting off a round, angles the gun off from where you held it. Hold something that is like a gun, and squeeze it real fast. The barrel end doesn't stay straight-pointed. It bounces. That sets off your whole aim from the get-go. I squeezed all the time with the .45, mostly because the big bang, though it didn't bother my ears as I personally fired, is a scary sound, to be blunt.

For recoil... If you pull the trigger and don't expect any kick, a round going off would instantly knock your arm off-aim (even a slight angulation adds up over a distance), I'd think.

Rapid-fire success involves popping a round, compensating from the recoil kick, and firing again. Unless you compensate from the initial kick, your arm will just get jolted back every time you fire.

As far as accuracy, close-range firing doesn't need wind calculated into it. Across a mile-long stretch, definitely. Wind can't effect it a ton, but the longer the bullet is airborne, the more the forces pile up.

Steadiness is factor, of course. With two hands on my .45, I can hit a target pretty damn well from 60 yards in succession if I have my glasses on, and that's pretty damn hard to do. I thank my steady-of-hand for that. But, I tried out for my college's handgun team. Figured it'd be easy as pie to get onto it. Well, I found out quickly that you HAD to hold the gun with one arm, your side facing the target. I always fired from my front, both hands on the handle. I am used to guns with big oomph. But firing that gun from that awkward position for the first time and only using one arm, I did horribly.

In order to be a good shooter, you need practice, patience, experience with your gun, and steadiness, plus a comfortable firing stance.

Any grip you're comfortable with it good, however, don't fire your gun gangsta style =p You'll break your wrist easily if you fire like that using a strong enough gun. Hell, a 9mm in succession could do it.

How ya doing, buddy?

I've used firearms once at a shooting range with aunt who is a now retired policewoman. I've fired a 9mm pistol, her Glock and a .38 revolver. I'm not sure what the actual specifications are, but overall it wasn't that difficult to shoot.

The learning curve is very slight and definitely different from playing a video game. Knowing how to aim was sort of inuitive, needed some coaching but got a couple of bullseyes with the 9mm and the Glock I believe.

The revolver surprised me with its kick and power since the other two pistols were weaker (relatively speaking), though it was pretty fun to fire them. I'd like to go back to a shooting range and fire some other guns, maybe some semiautomatic weapons or even a shotgun.

I don't own any and don't intend to get any in the future.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

i do now (just today actually) ...well, i guess it wasn't official, more accurately .. i've fired a gun in the shooting range.. but i would like to get a lisence soon

it was actually right what i imagined it would be, surprisingly. for some reason i just didn't believe that it'll be as light, easy as it would be on consoles, PC or arcade.
and as i also expected that my accuracy is not that good ,but they are in tight clusters so it's probably a good start anyways. me thinks it's all practice afterwards since i still cannot grasp the instructor's idea of letting my triggerfinger/hand loose and just *click*

i've tried 9mm, .45 and m16 - single birst (and it's not at all like america's army game :P ).
the recoil is not as strong as i expected....

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I don't know how to take it apart and put a gun back together like the Army, but basic Firearms i am good with, Pistols usually. I have had some experience with rifles and shotguns but that is threw hunting mainly.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I learned to operate a gun from Boy Scouts. i got my rifleman's badge at camp shooting a .22 rifle. I've been around guns all my life because my dad was in the army and has 2 handguns: a .38 special and a small caliber pistol. In addition, my neighbors growing up hunted all the time, so i was exposed to all types of rifles and shotguns.

Currently, i don't own one, but i do plan on buying a handgun for private use. something for protection and target practics, like a .40 handgun.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I've been clay pigeon shooting many, many times. I'm pretty good with a shotgun.

Also, I was in my school's cadet corps, and we had shooting practice on thursdays with .22 rifles.

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In Malaysia, every firearm owner has to go to the local police station/firearm depot and have the thing checked, and produce every and all bullets that were ever bought - if one is missing, there better be a proper explanation for that.

The very act of owning a firearm without a license, having possession of firearm accessories - even owning a used bullet case in Malaysia can easily lead to the death penalty (yet rapists and murderers get 20 years in prison.)

Unlimited bullets, ey...

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Some Malaysian dude

In Malaysia, every firearm owner has to go to the local police station/firearm depot and have the thing checked, and produce every and all bullets that were ever bought - if one is missing, there better be a proper explanation for that.

The very act of owning a firearm without a license, having possession of firearm accessories - even owning a used bullet case in Malaysia can easily lead to the death penalty (yet rapists and murderers get 20 years in prison.)

Unlimited bullets, ey...

That seems like serious business, but so is with any amount of drugs found on you, much like in Singapore. I like how Malaysia and Singapore takes the draconian approach to pretty much everything, but yet somehow I'm still quite surprised that the laws there allow citizens to get guns WITH licenses.

Originally Posted by myself, omg I broke the rules

and furthermore a debate of gun laws is not encouraged here.***

Okay, I'll stop!

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Well, I'll try to make this as 'reviewee' as possible and try to base it on how it was to operate and experiences. If you wish me to elaborate on anyones I can try my best to.

Pistols
Colt 1911 .45- After firing this I can tell why it's acclaimed by a lot of people as the best pistol. When I fired it had crazy kick and power, felt nice to demolish the target I was shooting at (vase). Operation is quite simple, it's like almost any other pistol I've learned about. It wouldn't take very long to teach you how to operate it.
FN Browning Highpower 9mm- Someone installed a new recoil spring in the one I used so it was pretty hard to pull back the slide to check the chamber =/. This was 'ok' to fire. The weird one with this is that you have to load a magazine to fire off the action, the action can't go off without the magazine. So whenever I do a full unload, we have to load an empty mag, which is quite annoying.

Rifles
Diemaco C7 5.56mm (M16A3)- I've fired this so much, after awhile it just gets boring, on semi that is. Learning how to use this rifle basically teaches you how to use A LOT of other rifles out there. I'm really glad I learned on my drills on this and stuff, load, unload, misfire. etc.
AK47- 7.62mm- I think the thing I noticed first is the amount of power this thing puts out. Really gave me a shock in the arm, it was the first rifle I've fired that chambered a 7.62 round. I was also suprised by it's accuracy, wasn't that great. This thing on auto is quite the beast, and fun too, but I really put a nice dent in my wallet for the ammo. Rolling the mag into the AK is quite nice too, I also really like where the mag release is positioned.

Machineguns
Diemaco C9 (M249) 5.56mm- This is like firing the C7 on auto all the time, but with a bipod, and a lot less recoil. The operation on this is different though when I was only familiar with rifles before learning how to use this. When you cock it, the bolt assembly actually stays to the rear, instead of instantly chambering a round in a loaded rifle. So you unload you actually have to cock it first when the belt is still in the machinegun. This was my favorite gun to use in the army in any situation . Box mags are a bitch though, always falling off.
C6 GPMG(FN MAG) 7.62- Works basically the same way as the C9. Also belt fed, but with a larger round. Extremely loud, if you don't wear hearing protection for this, it won't be long before you can't hear anything anymore, the person who is feeding the belt into the machinegun can actually feel the pulse waves after each round is fired. I know a guy whos ear plugs fell out, he fired about 50rounds, then he wasn't able to hear for 4days barely.
Bren L4 7.62- You can roll the mag into this too just like a AK, except on the top :P. I'm not sure what to say about this, works the same way as the C6, and fires just as hard.

Other
Diemaco M203 40mm(Identical to the Colt version)- A lot of games seem to interpret the arch for the M203 quite inaccurately it seems. The two times I fired these, the go pretty damn straight before going down. When aiming, if the target isn't that far away, you really don't have to arch as much as most games depict it. Makes a nice "thump" sound when you fire and has quite some recoil. More fun to fire from the side than the shoulder ^_~.
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Firearms I KNOW how to use though, are any bolt action rifles, gas operated bolt rifles, semi automatic shotguns, pump action shotguns, and machineguns. Basically I learned from reading and fiddling around with them with dummy rounds or whatever, or I actually fired them. I'm sure there are unique variets of each one that I'd probably know crap all about how to use though. I've never had enough time to fiddle around with any HK rollerlock weapons though to know how they work first hand, I've only read about them, but I'd really like to fire an MP5 or G3 someday.
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I don't know if you consider airsoft guns firearms, but I've fired countless amounts of those that I don't really want to name them all. If you want to ask what a certain one is like, you can ask, most likely I fired it already. I can tell you right now all AEGs feel the same basically, in terms of recoil or something along that line.
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Just a random tidbit, but I didn't know this until just recently. Someone at an airsoft game gave me a 30rnd M4/M16 thermold mag. They stopped producing these awhile ago so they're quite rare now. I was planning on selling it, but after reading up on the firearms act, apparently rifles are restricted to 5rnd mags, and pistols 10rnd mag. So now I don't know what to do with this mag that is all like......worth money! ;_;.

Originally Posted by Spatula

This brings me up to my next point. How "easy" is it to get a bulls eye from say, 30 feet away from your firing line to a target.

What other factors make it difficult to shoot at an outdoor target?
For short distance targets, I wouldn't imagine wind would be a major factor, but perhaps how you grip your firearm and how much of a steady hand you have.

Bulls eye with a pistol I guess you're asking? Just be ready for the suprise break and one common problem a lot of people have: you need to hold your pistol properly and cover a lot of area on the grip, align your thumbs well too, but the main problem is the actual trigger finger, a lot of people kinda "wrap" their index fingures around the trigger, so when they go to pull, the rounds actually go off to the side from the recoil, you wanna make sure to use the end meaty part of your index finger and give it a good pull, but not a 'jerk'.

For outdoors targets, I'm assuming you mean long range. I was taught how to adjust to wind though, though I've never actually put it into practice since the days I went to the ranges were never really THAT windy. If you're shooting outdoors with a rifle for civie shooting, I'd suggest a good optic, many people still prefer the iron sights though, I do in most cases.

FELIPE NO