Questions about the defensive gun.

[DonaldBabbett]

Many Americans may own at least one pistol, revolver, rifle and/or shotgun for home or personal security only and may NOT be gun buffs or even gun experts.
Some may never hunt, shoot competitively or shoot for fun even.

Perhaps they should have at least some some basic firearms safety training but in regards to maintaining their guns and defensive skills:


1. How often should they test-fire their gun at the range?
2. How often should they clean and inspect their defense gun?
3. How often should a gunsmith check out their gun even if she appears to be OK?
4. How often should they shoot their gun at a range for practice?
5. How often should they get fresh ammunition for their defense gun?

If one, lets say has a revolver in their nightstand most (or all) of the time on guard at home, is shooting a mere box of loads once a year at the local range sufficient to make sure their gun and the owner can still shoot in case of an emergency?

The thing is, the more you shoot, the more expensive it becomes and the more wear and tear your gun endures. One has to consider economics and how much personal time they have.

I would say one should have an extra defense gun as backup in case one has to go in the shop for repairs.

[AreWeFree]

Many Americans may own at least one pistol, revolver, rifle and/or shotgun for home or personal security only and may NOT be gun buffs or even gun experts.
Some may never hunt, shoot competitively or shoot for fun even.

Perhaps they should have at least some some basic firearms safety training but in regards to maintaining their guns and defensive skills:


1. How often should they test-fire their gun at the range?
2. How often should they clean and inspect their defense gun?
3. How often should a gunsmith check out their gun even if she appears to be OK?
4. How often should they shoot their gun at a range for practice?
5. How often should they get fresh ammunition for their defense gun?

If one, lets say has a revolver in their nightstand most (or all) of the time on guard at home, is shooting a mere box of loads once a year at the local range sufficient to make sure their gun and the owner can still shoot in case of an emergency?

The thing is, the more you shoot, the more expensive it becomes and the more wear and tear your gun endures. One has to consider economics and how much personal time they have.

I would say one should have an extra defense gun as backup in case one has to go in the shop for repairs.

Is your book on amazon? bajeesus.

[Whiterabbit]

if they could sign pro gun legislation petitions and vote against anti gun ballot measures, they can train however much they want, down to and including not at all.

[CJJohn]

I took the bait, see my thoughts below:




Many Americans may own at least one pistol, revolver, rifle and/or shotgun for home or personal security only and may NOT be gun buffs or even gun experts.
Some may never hunt, shoot competitively or shoot for fun even.

Perhaps they should have at least some some basic firearms safety training but in regards to maintaining their guns and defensive skills:


1. How often should they test-fire their gun at the range? I go at least once a week
2. How often should they clean and inspect their defense gun? I have Glocks that I've shot well over 1000 rounds before cleaning, and 1911s that I clean every trip. The Glock was basically a test, all of my defensive guns get cleaned every time I shoot.
3. How often should a gunsmith check out their gun even if she appears to be OK? Not sure, I never take them in, but I do all of my own work.
4. How often should they shoot their gun at a range for practice? See #1. Shooting is a perishable skill, I try to maintain my skills.
5. How often should they get fresh ammunition for their defense gun? In my opinion a carry gun's ammo should be replaced every 3 months. If it's locked in a drawer, I don't know?

If one, lets say has a revolver in their nightstand most (or all) of the time on guard at home, is shooting a mere box of loads once a year at the local range sufficient to make sure their gun and the owner can still shoot in case of an emergency? In my opinion, NO.

The thing is, the more you shoot, the more expensive it becomes and the more wear and tear your gun endures. One has to consider economics and how much personal time they have. I have a M&P Shield with well over 15000 rounds through it. I do not consider a Shield to be an expensive gun. I imagine S&W will be more than happy to send me a barrel when I wear this one out, if I ever do.

I would say one should have an extra defense gun as backup in case one has to go in the shop for repairs. I subscribe to the theory that two is one, and one is none. But, if you can ONLY have one, it should be a good one.

[8886]

Practice practice practice. If half your rounds don't even hit the paper at 15 yards, your doing it wrong.

Once you've been able to push past that goal, do what you want. For a handgun, I suggest every other month or so. As far as cleaning it depends on a few factors. An example: Glock 19 with 300 hundred rounds of FMJ shot... clean it.

See CJJohn's comment for defense ammo. I'd say a year is the MAX someone should carry it.

Most people I assume who buy a gun end up with a pistol. And I'm guessing it rarely gets shot. If someone wants to carry it, practice practice practice.

[wpod]

So what should be the result if someone buys a gun, some ammo, and it just sits unused?
Do you use your fire extinguisher once a week?
I'm all for proficiency.
What if they are low-income and can't afford ammo and range fees to shoot once a week/month/year? Is self-defense only for those that can afford it?
Most likely they'll never need it, but at least they'll have it, as the old saying goes.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

[omega]

home defense firearms

Perhaps they should have at least some some basic firearms safety training but in regards to maintaining their guns and defensive skills:


1. How often should they test-fire their gun at the range?
2. How often should they clean and inspect their defense gun?
3. How often should a gunsmith check out their gun even if she appears to be OK?
4. How often should they shoot their gun at a range for practice?
5. How often should they get fresh ammunition for their defense gun?

If one, lets say has a revolver in their nightstand most (or all) of the time on guard at home, is shooting a mere box of loads once a year at the local range sufficient to make sure their gun and the owner can still shoot in case of an emergency?

1. a new firearm should always be tested at the range for reliability at least a few times, to make sure it works without malfunctions, never use a gun for defense thats never been tested.

2. You should clean and inspect your gun after every use

3. if it's not malfunctioning, not needed, only if you have a problem that you cant fix yourself.

4. You should practice as often as you can to maintain skill, the minimum is at least a few times a year, you can also practice without ammo at home by dry firing, aiming, trigger control, when you cant get to the range, you could even practice with air guns at home, ammunition can get expensive.

5. Defense ammo has a very long shelf life, I would practice more with standard ammo and save the defense ammo, test the defense ammo to make sure it functions in your gun first.

[ojisan]

What omega said.

[ChuckDizzle]

1. How often should they test-fire their gun at the range?
2. How often should they clean and inspect their defense gun?
3. How often should a gunsmith check out their gun even if she appears to be OK?
4. How often should they shoot their gun at a range for practice?
5. How often should they get fresh ammunition for their defense gun?

1. I consider 50 rounds a month to be a comfortable amount for any defensive firearms. I'd rather shoot 50 rounds a month than 500 rounds once a year.

2. Clean every 6 months, no reason to "inspect" other than function checking at your monthly range trip.

3. Like every 20 years or so? If it ain't broke don't fix it.

4. See above, number 1.

5. All the time. I run a magazine of defensive ammo through my pistol every trip. So every three months I've replaced that ammo with new ones. For my rifle I use XM193 for both target and defensive so it's aways changing.

[ChuckDizzle]

So what should be the result if someone buys a gun, some ammo, and it just sits unused?
Do you use your fire extinguisher once a week?
I'm all for proficiency.
What if they are low-income and can't afford ammo and range fees to shoot once a week/month/year? Is self-defense only for those that can afford it?
Most likely they'll never need it, but at least they'll have it, as the old saying goes.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

Then you buy what you can afford to shoot. I can afford .40 SW, so that's what I shoot. If I was strapped for cash I'd be shooting 9mm at .20 a round or less. If I couldn't afford that then I'm going to .22 LR.

[send it_hit]

1. How often should they test-fire their gun at the range?
as often as they can afford

2. How often should they clean and inspect their defense gun?
after each shooting trip and after long periods of storage or carry without use

3. How often should a gunsmith check out their gun even if she appears to be OK?
not necessary, unless there is something they are concerned about

4. How often should they shoot their gun at a range for practice?
see question 1

5. How often should they get fresh ammunition for their defense gun?
unless the ammo sees poor conditions (ie. moisture, oil) it should be good indefinitely. If the firearm is a semi-auto and a round is chambered repeatedly over time, that round should be checked for set back regularly, and replaced if any is identified. I replace a chambered round after chambering it a dozen times or so, even without set back signs.

If one, lets say has a revolver in their nightstand most (or all) of the time on guard at home, is shooting a mere box of loads once a year at the local range sufficient to make sure their gun and the owner can still shoot in case of an emergency?
depends on the person. to test the function of the gun, sure. As long as the gun is stored in optimal conditions (cool, dry). For the owner, I'd strongly suggest more training than that. Shooting handguns is harder than most people think. Let alone in a moment of extreme stress, probably the most stress someone could ever experience in a moment.

The thing is, the more you shoot, the more expensive it becomes and the more wear and tear your gun endures. One has to consider economics and how much personal time they have.
sure, each person's economics and free time are different. It depends how important it is to you. The beauty of America, I have the right to bear arms and train daily, if so inclined. Just as another gun owner has the right to have a gun they've never shot in the nightstand for defense.

I would say one should have an extra defense gun as backup in case one has to go in the shop for repairs.
agreed

in bold

[mikeyr]

in 40+ years of shooting I have never had a gun go back to the shop for repairs. The only gun I own that I ever broke was my 9mm Luger, it was number matching when I bought it in 1978 its not anymore and I fixed it myself when I broke it. Unless you are doing modifications to a gun, I can't imagine ever needing to send it in for repair, so one gun is enough, don't need a backup. I try to shoot about once a week, I would say my average is 3 times a month. I do have friends that bought a gun for self defense, bought a box of ammo and put the whole thing in the dresser drawer and never fired it, its what they need to feel safe, I don't argue with them