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

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That reloading ammo saved money.
That 9mm was too weak for a service round.
That the military switched from .45 to 9mm because our soldiers were pussies.
That smoothbore muskets were inaccurate.
That older people 'know everything about guns and have the right opinions" ( i was wrong because insert - Fudds, Joe Biden, Compromise mentality)
Thought the .500 magnum had more ridiculous kick than it actually does.
That there was a national gun registry.
 
Longer barrel rifles shoot further.

For some reason this is Not True.
One would think a longer barrel woulf milk all the velocity a particualr round has to offer.
I have two rimfire examples of this.
One is a couple .22 S/L/Lr single shots one is a stubby Keystone Arms Cricket vs. A 1970's era Marlin model 101.
Both manual cocking single shot bolt actions.
The Cricket will cast rounds further down range than the longer barreled Marlin.
Same with a couple .22 magnums.
One a single shot Savage favorite model 30M vs. a pump action Taurus model 72 carbine.
Same box ammo and the shorter carbine will cast the rounds further down range than the longer barreled single shot SavageFavorite/Marlin 101.
 
Back when I was a kid and the dinosaurs were still a menace I read about the ferocious recoil of the 1911. Imagine my surprise when I finally grew up, made enough money to buy one, and shot it for the very first time.

Edited to add: At 83 years of age with a bum wrist to boot I'm still shooting them. Ferocious my foot.
 
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That semiautos are “just as reliable” as revolvers. :p
Revolvers are totally reliable and nothing ever goes wrong with them, so semiautos will never compare. :D

Back when I was a kid and the dinosaurs were still a menace I read about the ferocious recoil of the 1911. Imagine my surprise when I finally grew up, made enough money to buy one, and shot it for the very first time.

Edited to add: At 83 years of age with a bum wrist to boot I'm still shooting them. Ferocious my foot.
I thought that about .44 Magnum till I shot a Vaquero and thought it was no big deal.
 
Competition will or will not get you killed on 'da street'.
A person is unable to shoot a Glock because of the 'grip angle'. What does it mean not to be able to shoot a Glock?

Never believed '5 is enough' for carry.

Side bar - I shoot a 1911 quite a bit with WWB 230 gr. Well, I did - sigh. Mentioned that to a big guy, over 6 feet tall. He said that he once shot a 1911 in the Army and it damn near tore his arm off. Well, he was in the accountant's branch.
 
This is a neat thread. It's amazing how much gun myth gets baked into conventional wisdom and you don't even realize you bought into it until you learn otherwise.

That semiautos are “just as reliable” as revolvers. :p

Or it's corollary - that a revolver would never, ever let you down. I am a revolver person to my core, and this did not really register with me until I saw it for myself. Doesn't matter if it's the gun's fault, ammo's fault or something you, your gunsmith or a previous owner did. It can and does happen. Hopefully not at the Moment Of Truth™, obviously.
 
Revolvers are totally reliable and nothing ever goes wrong with them, so semiautos will never compare. :D

I see you've never had a primer back into a firing pin hole. Most of the time the cylinder can be beat out with a soft mallet or the heel of a boot, but the arm is absolutely unusable until such is accomplished.

That being said, I really do like revolvers (well, 'old' S&W revolvers anyway) but EVERYTHING has problems. It's a rule.
 
I see you've never had a primer back into a firing pin hole. Most of the time the cylinder can be beat out with a soft mallet or the heel of a boot, but the arm is absolutely unusable until such is accomplished.

That being said, I really do like revolvers (well, 'old' S&W revolvers anyway) but EVERYTHING has problems. It's a rule.
I’ve had a LOT of revolver malfunctions. :(
 
I used to believe that big bore bullets, at Magnum velocity, would be a best choice for antipersonnel purposes. Nothing wrong with big bores, and nothing wrong with high velocity, but one can overdo it.

Unfortunately, I did not fully understand the importance of an ergonomically-proper grip, to the long-term health of one’s hands, so, I fired too many .44 Mag rounds, through my rookie-year duty revolver, an N-Frame S&W Model 629, with K/L-Frame-sized hands. I have deep palms, so like the feel of an N-Frame grip, but my fingers are medium-length, and my thumbs are relatively short. To get enough finger on the trigger, for a DA pull, I have to hold an N-Frame with what some trainers now call an “h” grip. That sends more of the recoil force through the thumb, and violently torques the wrist, very unnaturally, with each shot.

At the conclusion of my rookie year, I became eligible to qual with an autoloading duty pistol, and, largely because my hand needed to heal, I carried a 9mm duty pistol, for about six or seven months. I then resumed carrying a big-bore Magnum revolvers, though a Model 58 .41 Magnum, which, notably, has a narrower trigger than the wide triggers typical of most N-Frames. This allowed a better grip, ergonomically, on the weapon, so, I was doing less damage, per shot, than with the 629, but it was still an imperfect grip, and each shot was causing cumulative damage. Relief did not come until 1990, when I transitioned to a Colt Commander duty pistol, and started using Ruger GP100 and K-Frame revolvers.

I sold that 629 to a colleague. I still have the Model 58, but its parts are too loose for me to want to shoot it, anymore. I may eventually buy another N-Frame, but I will only shoot it single-action, so I can use a proper, ergonomic hold, while being able to reach the trigger.
 
Revolvers never jamb. <-- tie one up with dirt or a small twig in the field and get back to me.

Only expensive scopes hold zero <-- this likely was true at one time, anymore seems like a lot of cruddy glass can hold zero fine. Just don't expect the adjustments to be repeatable.

Speaking of glass - illuminated optics are stupid and useless. Boy is that ever wrong! Finding black or gray crosshairs in a shadowed area of the woods puts that one to rest quick.

More magnification is always better -- maybe sometimes, definitely not all the time. These days I much prefer a compact low power optic. 3 pound scopes are all too common and definitely not my cup of tea.
 
[COLOR=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]The Old Wives’ Tale About Black Powder Firearms And Felons[/COLOR]​
 
That shotgun slugs were only good out to 100yds. Proved that one wrong several times.
Ok Of course I also believed the usual movie myths until I got old enough to know better:
1. That bullets go straight through windshields. Yeah, some can, most don't. I've bounced .38's and 9mm off a '75 caprice wagon. Shattered, yes, penetrated enough to hit someone inside, no. Got more penetration straight thru the doors than thru window glass.
2. That cars blow up when you shoot the gas tank. Yeah, maybe with a 20mm incendiary , but 5.56 , 30-06, and 300wm into same '75 caprice wagon with 1/4 tank of gas just made a steady fire from the holes, no kaboom.
3. That you can blow the tires out on a moving car. Yeah, if you hit the sidewall from close enough, it will go flat, but not right away. You hit the tread on a good tire and it may or may not penetrate and may not go flat for quite a while.
 
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