Firearms

Originally Posted by Jiraiya

If the picture is correct, 5.7 caliber, thats pretty small. I think if your enemy had body armor too you'd be screwed unless you just sprayed and hoped to god you hit him in the face or legs.

Incorrect. Fabrique Nationale, the Belgian company which invented the P90, the FiveseveN, and the 5.7 round specifically designed it to absolutely circumvent body armor. A P90 is an excellent personal defense weapon against armored enemies.

As you can tell by the above, I'm quite the fan of firearms. The only ones I own are unfortunately quite pedestrian, a lever-action Winchester, two Remington 1100 12-gauge shotguns, and the most interesting of the bunch, a Ruger breakapart over-under shotgun. My interest, however, lies mostly in the firearms used by the world's militaries, i.e. assault rifles, machine guns and the like.

Edit: I'd like to add something: To the guy who said he'd like to own a Desert Eagle in .50AE.... No. No, you do not. That's way too much gun for any purpose except hunting very large animals, such as moose or bears. Not only that, it takes a hell of a set of wrists to fire it, and even then it has a nasty tendency to stovepipe (a condition where the gun goes barrel-up in the shooter's hands). It also frequently jams, due to the .50AE cartridge being too big to squeeze out of the ejection port at times. It's an entirely impractical weapon for shooting at people. If you're looking for a hand cannon, .44 revolvers are a much better choice.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Jiraiya

Yeah I understand, I hear that real Russian made AK's arent too bad. And no I havent had the priviledge to personally shoot an M16-A2, I've heard good and bad things. But for everyday target shooting or hunting, I dont need anything that cant go under water 200ft and still shoot or be dropped out of a plane and be ok :P

Harmonica: I think your referring to me about the Desert Eagle. Yeah it would be a monster to shoot and I think since I've had a lot of experience with my families .44 I could shoot it a few times and get gradual experience with it. And its not like Im gonna have to be all tactical with it, it would just be for target shooting. I like to KEEP AND EAT what I kill, not blow it to hell.

Well, it's sure an expensive piece for just plinking. Especially since it eats .50AE, which is really expensive, even moreso than other calibers. I guess if money isn't an issue it could be interesting, but it'll probably still manage to piss you off at some point. The real problem is, a semiauto with that large of a round is terribly impractical. The .44 version is indeed better, but unfortunately it's also getting rare.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by AliceNWondrland

A person who breaks into your home while you're there isn't after your stuff. If that's what he was after, he'd scope out your house and wait until you left, then break in.

I think that any rational person can safely assume that if a person invades your home while you're obviously at home, they're there to do harm to the people inside, not to steal your DVD player.

Some people are both desperate and stupid. You'd be surprised what these conditions, especially when combined, can make a person do.

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

In most home defense situations, a gun is really overkill. If you're worried about the safety of your home and family, before you consider purchasing a gun, consider a dog. German shepherds, retrievers of the Laborador or golden variety, the fact is that dogs know something is up when someone comes in the house without your permission. And most lowlifes don't have the guts to face down an animal with sharp teeth and a threatening bark. On top of all that, a dog is a companion, too. I know my Remingtons don't wag tails and run in circles when I get home. So yeah. Dogs are usually an adequate alternative, unless you're in a particularly bad area where people will kill your poor pooch just to get that drug money, if they're capable. But even then the dog's still a good early warning system. If you're allergic to dogs or something that'd be another thing too. But yeah. Dogs that have the potential to be threatening are an extremely good crime deterrent.

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

Originally Posted by David4516

This next comment is to every one in general: If you're thinking about buying a gun, do not chose one based on caliber. What I mean by this, is don't buy something simply because it's a .45 or a 9mm or whatever. Buy it because it has the features you're looking for, and because it fits well in your hand. Ergonomics (spelling?) can be very important. Caliber isn't nearly as important as most people think. As long as you can hit what you aim at, even a smaller round like .32 ACP can do alot of damage...

Exactly. It's not so much the size of the piece of hot metal that's entering their body quite forcefully, it's just the fact that there is a piece of hot metal entering their body quite forcefully. For home defense, smaller calibers are a better choice, because they have less potential to overpenetrate and ruin things in your house or even hurt the people you're trying to protect, which is sort of counter-intuitive.

How ya doing, buddy?