Which gun myth(s) did you used to believe?

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38-45 Special

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A lot of people tend to believe things about firearms that just simply aren't true or are partially true but exaggerated. Often times this seems to be the case with those who have little to no experience with firearms themselves. Which gun myth(s) (and there seems to be a seemingly bottomless pit of them out there) did you used to believe? This could be about a particular type of firearm, ammunition, etc. or really anything related to firearms. NOTE: This thread isn't intended to mock anyone, as we all had to start somewhere and it's hard to know anything about something before you have experience with it.

Probably one of the wildest/craziest things that I believed for ages was that the rear sight on an MP5 was a place where you put oil in the gun in order for it to function properly. I guess this came from the appearance of the sight looking like a cap that could be unscrewed. Another I used to believe was that the numbers on numerous shotguns stood for how powerful they were (500, 590, 870, etc.), assuming that the higher the number, the more powerful they were. Another (lesser) myth that I believed was that a .410 was one of the most powerful shotguns on the market. I assume that I believed this partially because, at the time I was a youngster and a .410 was nearly the only type of shotgun I had ever heard of.
 
- ARs had to be kept clinically clean. Oiling an AR would attract dirt and cause malfunctions
- ARs are direct impingement
- ARs are too fragile for combat
- ARs are good for nothing but shooting poodles
- A 45 ACP wil knock a person down no matter where it hits them
- A grenade pin can be pulled with your teeth
- Commie guns were made to fire US ammo in a pinch
- Shotguns will knock people through plate glass windows and batwing doors
- Racking a shotgun will send everyone racing for the backdoor
 
That Jungle Carbines had a *wandering zero*. Learned much to the contrary on mine.

That Carcanos in general were junk. I have a gorgeous pre-war now.

That *cheap milsurps* will always be available.

That I could trust a 1911's safety lever.

That .22 magnum is inherently inaccurate. I guess I just needed to get a Marlin to know better.

That a .25's lethality was a joke. Seen three-times proven wrong

That the M-16 would never be a realistically lethal 600m+ gun. The M-16A2, 855 round and Hensoldt showed me otherwise.

The relative infallibility of the Garand.

That H&K products were the cream of the crop in Service weapons.


Anyhow, at my age I've forgotten more busted myths than those that I can recall.


Todd.
 
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When I was young, like many other
boys I would read every hunting and
outdoor magazine and book I could
get my grubby young mitts on.
I fell for the myth of the incredible
expanding bullet that would always be
found just inside the skin on the off
side of the animal. After growing a bit
and killing deer that I thought I did
something wrong on, I started some
serious bowhunting with a group of
people, and had my epiphany and
education. Disable the pump house,
drain the red reservoir and you have
your animal. Even after that, one of the
first times I got to hunt west of here,
A man tried to convince me that I needed
a ultra fast aerodynamic round to hunt
those deer. He just nearly convinced me.
Nonetheless, I still carried my dad's old
Marlin and my buddy used a single shot
H&R. We limited out- one cheap 30/30
reloaded round per deer, and nearly didn't have enough room in the car we drove to get all the venison back home.
Since then, I've also learned that a larger
diameter round doesn't need to expand
as it hits the target, since it leaves the
muzzle " expanded "
 
The ones I learned from my Dad. I slowly learned the truth from about 14 on, when I started working on guns. I'm sure there's a few I cling to. The last one I remember falling (which many still believe) is that .223 is not a deer hunting cartridge. My son's success with it in both bolt action and AR convinced me otherwise. He is a better shot than me, but not that much!
 
“Beware of the man with only one gun…” (“…because he [must really] know/s how to use it [effectively]”)

Almost always hogwash. In my experience, the man with only one gun (if it’s a handgun) typically stores it in a nightstand or sock drawer, gathering dust, and it has only been taken out to the woods once for plinking, with barely a cylinder or magazine through it.
 
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