Using search to avoid "stupid" questions
Upst'er,
Don't sweat the "stupid questions" part
too much. Trust me, everyone in this forum has asked a few of those. I've probably got more than my share.
(Some would give me a hard time and say I've asked more stupid ones than not.
)
It's good that you are aware of possibilities, and that you are willing to study a bit before asking too much.
But as long as members think a little before they ask (as you clearly and commendably plan to do), maybe do at least some archive searching (
SEARCH is your friend - see below), questions are unlikely to be "stupid". Elementary maybe, sometimes even naive, but that's what we're here for: to increase our knowledge about firearms and their safe, responsible use. One of the best ways to accomplish that goal is to read a lot of archives and current threads, then ask questions, and - eventually - to do one's share of answering some.
__________
Speaking of SEARCH, for new members, I recommend exploring that a bit if you haven't already.
You'll note that "Search" exists in the top menu of not only the THR homepage, but on every subforum (rifles, shotguns, pistols, etc) AND for every thread (like this one).
So, for example, if I were looking for information about stocks for Remington 870's, I'd go to Shotguns, click on search and enter "stock". I wouldn't search "870 stock", because that would yield any thread on
EITHER "870"
OR "stock", not just "870"
AND "stock". That's because the search functionality of the forum software (leased by THR, not written by) is relatively minimal. It doesn't allow more advanced search features like "870"
AND "stock".
(I'm pretty sure I'm right about that, but others will correct me if I'm wrong.)
However, one can search THR forums by using google (or other search engines) and they do allow more advanced search options to hone in on your specific topic. (E.g., best revolver - caliber larger than .38 spl but smaller than .45 casull - suitable for flying spagetti monsters, etc.)
Once search dishes up a page or 30 of threads on your topic of interest, then you can search thread titles for keywords indicating that it could be an informative thread for you. (Of course, danger lies there in. I can't count the number of times I've been searching for topic A, but get diverted onto even more interesting topics B - E during searches, and wind up spending hours reading...
)
{Also, reading thread titles looking for a particular topic will help you understand why it's important to create a good title for any threads you start. It's frustrating than to find threads with titles like "Help me make a decision!"
Try to indicate what you're asking for advice about, being as specific or general as you need.)
Once you open a particular thread that you've found using search, you'll find that you can search it for the keyword as well, and go right to the post(s) that have it.
You'll also find that when you open a thread found by SEARCH, the keywords you are interested in will be represented in
red, so you can find them easily by scrolling and scanning the thread.
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Enjoy, folks. Hope you learn lots. I've probably learned 5 or 10X more about firearms and their safe use
here in a year and a half than I learned in the past 45 years.
Welcome to THR.
Nem