Firearms and Shooting

For most of my childhood, my parents did what they could to shield me from what they considered to be undesirable elements of the world, forbidding me from owning toy guns or knives of any sort, believing that this would dissuade me from ever taking an interest in them. Unfortunately, a burgeoning interest in history (largely due to my father), active imagination, and eventual access to the internet resulted in an deep fascination in these forbidden items. Throughout my childhood, I found that lengths of PVC pipe made excellent rocket launchers in imaginary firefights, while a plastic table leg and a piece of Hot Wheels track could double as a decent UZI.

As I aged, however, I needed a bit more. Repeated attempts to convince my parent's to let me acquire an airsoft or bb gun were rebuffed until my 18th birthday, when I was finally able to buy my own. One of the other legal privileges granted to me at that age was the ability to finally obtain a Illinois FOID card (effectively a firearms license). I had planned everything, I would get my FOID, save up some money, and hopefully have a nice arsenal within a year. Unfortunately, a small caveat on the FOID application put a kink in that plan, as state law requires a parental signature for applicants under 21.

However, I became that wonderful age this past April and got my FOID shortly after. Last Tuesday, one of my roommates and I used a day off in our schedules and made a trip to Pekin, Illinois to peruse some of the town's gun shops. This came home with me:



The Smith and Wesson Model 4046 is a pistol from an era before all handguns were soulless and polymer. It is a big, Miami Vice like pistol that was introduced by Smith & Wesson in 1990 to be the flagship for their brand new .40 S&W cartridge, and was widely sold to law enforcement, most notably the California Highway Patrol. Despite it's popularity in law enforcement, this particular series never really caught on in the civilian shooting world for a number of reasons. S&W's police type handguns (like the 4046) were all rather large and heavy handguns, designed to withstand long periods of heavy use. Additionally, a number of safeties were included at the request of law enforcement, notably a magazine disconnect that prevents the gun from firing without a mag in the gun. Both of these aspects failed to attract much attention in a civilian market saturated by Glocks and other makers.

My roommate, his girlfriend, and I all hit the range earlier today. Despite being 95 degrees in the range, we all had a fairly good time. I put about 80 rounds through the 4046 and found it to be a very nice gun with good sights and low recoil, thanks to the weight of the pistol. It is a DAO trigger with a smooth and short reset, but not a target trigger by any means. It is more accurate then me, but I did alright today. (No pictures of the target should be a warning )

Anyway, sorry if this was a little long winded. Anyone else's opinions or experiences with firearms and shooting sports is of course appreciated.

(I'm gonna try real hard to keep this apolitical too )

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bill22252 on YouTube. "See you space cowboy"

Resident Emerson Fanboi

Folding knives are fun, fixed blades are important.

Really the best way to make a kid absolutely detest something is to make them do it agaisn't their will.

They should of paided for weekly shooting lessons, and forced you to dress up for shooting competitions. You would never touch a gun again as an adult.

How is the FOID legal, what if you don't have parents who are still alive when you are 19 and have lived independently since their death? I really never understood age restrictions placed on people who live independently of anyone else.

Old Spice: That first part almost sounds like you were speaking from experience.

Whoever your legal guardian was before, they would be signing it.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bill22252 on YouTube. "See you space cowboy"

Resident Emerson Fanboi

Folding knives are fun, fixed blades are important.

Congratz Bill.

I shot a 9mm version of that gun. It was very nice. Not much kick, comfortable in the hand and pointed well. I was thinking about buying one. I went with a Sig instead, but it was close. I was also considering a Colt Gold Cup at the time.

This S&W series of autos reminds me of Pulp Fiction and specifically the Mr. Pink chase scene.


Chumgeyser on Youtube
E-nep throwing Brotherhood. Charter Member

Chum: Thanks. The S&W autos were very common in Tarantino's work, but a lot of the other cops in Miami Vice carried them too.

What Sig do you own?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bill22252 on YouTube. "See you space cowboy"

Resident Emerson Fanboi

Folding knives are fun, fixed blades are important.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/25/2014 04:20PM by Bugout Bill.

Quote
Bugout Bill
What Sig do you own?

P220 .45 (Western Germany stamped.) It is a sweet gun.


Chumgeyser on Youtube
E-nep throwing Brotherhood. Charter Member

Chum: Nice. There was a West German Sig P225 at the gun store I was at for the same price as the 4046. Very nice gun, but it only came with one mag and the 4046 came with three.

If I found the money, I'd snatch it up though.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bill22252 on YouTube. "See you space cowboy"

Resident Emerson Fanboi

Folding knives are fun, fixed blades are important.

I was lucky enough to buy one new, before the wall came down.


Chumgeyser on Youtube
E-nep throwing Brotherhood. Charter Member

Nice write up bill! Congrats on your first firearm One of many reasons to love America.

I am a LEO down here in SC so I have a decent amount of shooting experience (not anywhere close to the best, but I can get by with most weapon systems). I have a Springfield XD 45 compact that I got a couple of years after they came out (which was around 8-9 years ago). My wife has the same exact model, albeit in a different color, that I do. she has her concealed weapon permit and we both carry it when out about in town in a IWB (Inside the waistband) holster, which works perfectly as you have easy access if you need it, but yet it is still highly concealed (my wife is 506/135 lbs and you can't tell she has it on lol). As a matter of fact, she drilled a 100lb pit bull mix through the chest with it when it was running around our chicken cage a while back trying to get the chickens... mama don't play!

I have recently been getting into cerakoting, until I found out recently that I have to have an FFL (federal firearms license) to be able to paint them . My application for the FFL is on the way to the ATF now Here is my XD after I cerakoted it about a month or two ago.

My father and I always use to shoot sporting clays and skeet a lot when I was younger. Every now and then we might get the pistols out for a couple hours if there is time to spare. I have a Browning 525 over and under, Remington versamax tactical, Glock 19 with surefire x300, crimson trace laser grips, zev extended mag release, extended slide stop lever, Hiene straight eight ledge night sights, tungsten recoil rod, zev fulcrum trigger, and frame stippling.

Contact 570-486-9095



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/26/2014 08:14AM by KWB.

They just changed the waiting period in CA so that if you already own a gun your are exempt from the waiting period.

Razoredge: Nice work with the cerakote. The XDs have got their issues (almost entirely with their maker), but they are nice handgun.

KWB: Sounds like a nice set up on that Glock.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bill22252 on YouTube. "See you space cowboy"

Resident Emerson Fanboi

Folding knives are fun, fixed blades are important.

Quote
Bugout Bill
Razoredge: Nice work with the cerakote. The XDs have got their issues (almost entirely with their maker), but they are nice handgun.

KWB: Sounds like a nice set up on that Glock.

what issues may you be referring to? I know they had some issue w/ the XD-S (slim frame) but I haven't heard of others...

Razoredge: The recent recall they had was a bit of an issue, but I was more refering to the fact that when XDs were sold by the original manufacturer, they were about $300 cheaper. The fact that the XDM can't use the same mags is a bit annoying too.

They are nice pistols, though, with some features that make them a little nicer than Glocks IMO.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bill22252 on YouTube. "See you space cowboy"

Resident Emerson Fanboi

Folding knives are fun, fixed blades are important.

yeah that is annoying... what do you mean about the "original manufacturer"? are they no longer made by springfield?

Quote
razoredgeknives
yeah that is annoying... what do you mean about the "original manufacturer"? are they no longer made by springfield?

Springfield doesn't actually make them, they started out life as a Croatian handgun called the HS2000. Springfield bought the design and started producing them as the XD.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bill22252 on YouTube. "See you space cowboy"

Resident Emerson Fanboi

Folding knives are fun, fixed blades are important.

ahhh very interesting... thanks for that I didn't know!

I was never a fan of the xd line myself, just was to slim in my hand.

My glock is really nice, but it's not really even a glock at this point barrel, slide, and frame pretty much. And all that stuff makes it a $1800 peice instead of the orinigal $500 or so. If I did it all again I would just do the trigger, light, and stippling which I did myself.

Contact 570-486-9095

I've fired a Glock 17 and whatever the .40 version of a Glock 17 is. They are nice service handguns, but I wouldn't buy one unless I had too. They are a little too plain for my personal taste, not to mention a vendetta against them for squashing innovation in handgun design.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bill22252 on YouTube. "See you space cowboy"

Resident Emerson Fanboi

Folding knives are fun, fixed blades are important.

I actually wasn't a Glock fan at all before I got one. I don't like the way they look but they always go bang so I guess that with how simple they are make me like them. My favorite handgun is a 1911, specifically Wilson combat and Nighthawk.

Contact 570-486-9095

Wilson Combat's M1911s are gorgeous, Nighthawk is a little too tacticool for my taste. Wilson doesn't really hide the fact that while they do make usable weapons, they also make barbeque guns.

I love M1911s as well, but I would never carry one.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bill22252 on YouTube. "See you space cowboy"

Resident Emerson Fanboi

Folding knives are fun, fixed blades are important.

For the money Para makes a nice 1911 but still aways away from Wilson and Nighthawk.

Contact 570-486-9095

Para's are quite nice for the money, as are Springfield and S&W M1911s.

I've heard far to many complaints about Kimber unfortunately.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bill22252 on YouTube. "See you space cowboy"

Resident Emerson Fanboi

Folding knives are fun, fixed blades are important.

Kimber seems to me to be very finicky about what loads you use.

I would like to get a 1911 in the future. But I really need a better ccw than the 19 it just to big for everyday use before I get a 1911.

Contact 570-486-9095

One of the issues with Kimber is that they aren't made all that well, but that's another story.

Have you considered any of the Kahr handguns, Kyle?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bill22252 on YouTube. "See you space cowboy"

Resident Emerson Fanboi

Folding knives are fun, fixed blades are important.

Yes I have my dad wants a cm9. They don't really do anything for me for the price, they are pretty expensive. I've been carrying an lc9 a of late but the trigger is terrible ( I guess one could argue that if it was just a carry gun trigger shouldn't matter as you should have to reach for it anyway). But you still have to train with it, the trigger is long and hard.

I was also thinking about a .357 mag s & w snub nose. Then I could run 38 special if I didn't want to tear my hand.

Contact 570-486-9095

Quote
KWB
I was also thinking about a .357 mag s & w snub nose. Then I could run 38 special if I didn't want to tear my hand.

Can't go wrong there. I like autos, but I prefer shooting revolvers these days. IF I were to buy a new handgun, I would try to test fire one of these and see if I would like it as much as I think I would...



I think they have a new "polylite" version that shoots only .38 special as well. With the ammo they make today, there is nothing wrong with .38 special for self defense.


Chumgeyser on Youtube
E-nep throwing Brotherhood. Charter Member

Quote
KWB
I've been carrying an lc9 a of late but the trigger is terrible ( I guess one could argue that if it was just a carry gun trigger shouldn't matter as you should have to reach for it anyway).

My roomate said something similar about the LC380. I've never understood why being a carry gun is an excuse bad trigger.

The trigger on those guns is awful, very staple gun like.

Chum:

S&W Model 13

[www.imfdb.org]

.357 magnum, 3 inch barrel.

If I ever see one of these, it's gonna be real hard to walk away.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bill22252 on YouTube. "See you space cowboy"

Resident Emerson Fanboi

Folding knives are fun, fixed blades are important.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/28/2014 07:49PM by Bugout Bill.

.357 mag is a really nice cartridge primarily because you can you 38 as well. I always wanted a lever action in .357 mag.

Contact 570-486-9095

Hmm, my picture isn't showing up. I'll try it again. This is the handgun I'm interested in...




Chumgeyser on Youtube
E-nep throwing Brotherhood. Charter Member