Gun folks, have questions

[RayAllen]

X-mas is coming up and I may ask Santa for a gun. I am no gun expert and need some advice. When I was quite young my dad taught me to shoot a .22 Rifle, .22 pistol revolver and a 357 magnum. The last gun I shot was a .12 gauge shot gun which was about 2 years ago now. So I have not shoot a lot of whats out available to say the least.

Why I want a gun or two or three. Different reasons. 1st it would be nice to have something in the house just in case someone decided to break in ignoring my alarm system. Or maybe a hoard of Zombies..
2 Id like to get into skeet shooting and go to the gun range or my buddies land and work on marksmanship.
3 Id like to take up hunting- bird, deer, javelina


Id like to get a good medium range gun. Not something a boy scout would carry, but also not a expert military weapon. Something in the middle.


Any suggestions appreciated. May need to hit up a local gun show soon to see whats out there.

[justahobby]

A 12 gauge is versatile and should fit the bill for home defense, skeet, and bird. As for bird hunting: The gauge of gun will depend on the bird you want to shoot. 20 gauge is a common size for birds.

[Big_Pun]

ok ray for what you want to do its going to take more than one gun, for bird and skeet a shotgun will be needed. shotguns IMO are great home defense guns for someone who doesnt shoot alot, easy to aim and effective. for deer and javelina you will need some sort of bolt action gun, .243, .270, 30-06 are great guns with .243 being on the smaller end of the scale. i have a 30-06 i need to knock the cob webs off for deer season, if you want to go to the gun range with me your more than welcome to let me know.

[RayAllen]

Thanks guys, good info from both. I knew the shotgun could be used for several purposes and that I may also have to buy more than one gun to be able to do all that I want. My buddy has a 12 and 20 gauge shot gun that he uses for various purposes. Mainly skeet and birding.

When it comes to rifles and hand guns all I know is that a 9mm is fairly common but ive never held one. And as mentioned I have shot a 22 rifle way back when..

I really do not know much about brands- whats good, what to stay away from. I recognize smith and wesson, luger, beretta, derringer, colt and a few others if I here the name.

[rrasco]

M4 Carbine. At least you will have the zombie apocalypse covered and you could take it hunting if you really wanted to.

[allan]

7mm ruger MARK II, it's what I use. It's a bit heavy for some of the does in our area, but perfect for buck and elk. Shoots real flat for about 250 meters, 150 grain mags.

I had intended on getting a 270, although I was thinking that a 30-06 was what I really wanted. I sort of fell into the gun listed above, and have been pleased as punch with it.

For birds (all of them, I'm not as proficient as justahobby is), I use a 12 gauge remington. A buddy of mine picked up a all black semi-auto 12 gauge and I got a chance to fire it... but I really like the action when I manually reload between shots. It's the express model, about 25-350 range, not real expensive.

I had planned on getting Milly a 20 gauge for her birthday or christmas as it's a fine woman gun (jk ladies), but the truth of the matter is those guns require a bit more skill than the regular old 12 guage IMO.

If you go out with Chris, I may tag along with mine and you can get a feel for a bit of variety. But I got to tell you, a couple shots with mine is enough to hurt my shoulder. But when a buck is at the other end... I don't feel a thing.

[allan]

M4 Carbine. At least you will have the zombie apocalypse covered and you could take it hunting if you really wanted to.

The M4 requires a bit more of a close up doesn't it? 5.56 mm?

I got to tell you, and we use them in the military, I would rather have something with a bit more power to it. In our version we're shooting an amped up .22 IMO. Not being an expert myself.

[rrasco]

The M4 requires a bit more of a close up doesn't it? 5.56 mm?

I got to tell you, and we use them in the military, I would rather have something with a bit more power to it. In our version we're shooting an amped up .22 IMO. Not being an expert myself.

They're not the end-all-be-all, but I like them. I think they're more fun to shoot than anything. I'm sure they're powerful enough to take out some zombie brains though. :P I don't hunt, but I'm sure a bolt action 270 or 30-06 would be the way to go for that. I know people do hunt with ARs, I just don't know how it stacks against the competition.

[RayAllen]

thanks guys im taking notes and writing these guns down so I can check them out in person. Chris I will let you know on the Gun range, appreciate the offer to tag a long.

[Gseclipse02]

we need to have a range day some day ....

if you want to shoot a xd sc .40 or a sw body guard .380 ur more than welcome to .... i tend to go to the bullet hole ... but they dont have a shot gun range