Gun shopping.

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Seancass

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this is for the bored only. there is no punch line.

Today i went to the local Sportsmans Warehouse to pick out my b-day present, a nice handgun. the salesman saw me coming from a mile away. he said "Hey, havnt seen you in here in a while." I knew that was a bad sign. He delt with some other customers because he knew i'd stand there and look for a while, and i did. then he came up to me and asked what i'd like to see first. went through a couple .44 and .357 revolvers, then a Kahr 9mm, then a couple dozen other semi-autos. finally he sets the S&W 686+ back down in front of me and tells me thats the one i want. and he was right again, except for the $620 price tag. He was even nice enough to go get me a box for it and set out the paper work. and i wanted to buy it, i just couldnt bring my self to drop $6-700(for the .357 or .44, i couldnt even pick a calliber.) I had to walk away. I wanted to buy something. i just didnt know what i wanted.

I still dont know what i want. or i know too many things that i want. I need either a .357 or a .44. Really could get either, the ammo is pretty similar here. Could use a nice, small auto for carrying. Also might get a Ruger .454, its cheap at a pawn shop. I know S&W's are good,they feel alright, not great to me, but they're %50 more than Rugers. If they're so good why should i not just get a used one and save some money? and i really like the Taurus Tracker, mostly for the feel/grip, but i havent heard much good about the company and the guys there flat out tell me to NOT buy it. They said they get most of them returned for repairs.

oh and i cant get the 1911 i really want, thats going to be my grad, present in a year.

so here i sit, b-day fast approaching, no closer to my new gun. I really want to buy about 5 cheaper guns instead of the S&W. I dont know how you guys do it. so many choices, and no income for the poor college student.


and lastly, i walked into Dicks sporting goods last night as a man was being handing his new scoped slug gun outside. i heard him say "so this thing is dead on right?" i almost slapped him. i just KNEW he was going to take it hunting without ever shooting it. and he had a kid with him. The employee just said "well, dont hold me to it, but it should be close. Dont blame me if you miss a 16 pointer!"


thats it. i quit.
 
I recommend the tank of all revo's the GP100 or SP101 Ruger. 3" for CCW 6" for hunting. Half the cost of the S&W and just as reliable. How do we college guys do it? Simple Grants and Scholarships. Keep the GPA up and you can apply for anything.
 
i almost said "I'll take it!" on atleast the following guns today in no particular order:

Beretta Cheetah, $500
Ruger 454, used, $500
Kahr CM9?, $400
Kahr other 9mm, $500
Walther PPK/S, $400-500 new/used
Ruger GP100, $450
S&W 686+, $620
S&W 629, $730
Taurus Tracker .357, $420
Uberti Colt SAA, $250-350
some C&B revolver, $250 w/ supplies
and almost a S&W .460 w/ a SIG pistol included, $1100 and then sell the sig.

so yeah, i've pretty much got it narrowed down.
 
I think your problem is "What are you going to use it for??" I base my shopping trips on that question. You have listed a wide variety of pistols and revolvers. One of them will not do everything. As a buyer I started narrowing down my requirements, at the time Concealed carry was not an option, house defense plus target practice was mandatory. I chose a M1911 Colt and still have it. Since the 30 years have passed I have accumalated a lot of firearms but I still am glad I got the Colt first. Especially since I had to convince my new bride that we could afford it.
 
You may find that what you need is a good game to get involved with like IPSC or IDPA or maybe even OLD WEST will help you focus your wants better. To me it isn't owning stuff but useing my stuff to have fun with that counts. Once you get into a game then the search is on for the perfect gun to suit your needs. When it all comes together you won't believe the fun you can have.

jim
 
Couple thoughts...

Not to pooh on the Taurus, but for $30 more, get the Ruger. You will not be sorry.

If you're a poor college student (and if you have loans, you will be a poor college student for at least 10 years after graduation :eek:), the Big Guns will be cost prohibitive to shoot. At $1/pull of the trigger, how much will you be able to shoot?

To me, you should look at either a .38/.357 or a 9mm. They are affordable enough that even a college student can skip two McDonalds runs and have ammo money.

I know you said "handgun," but another even more cost effective approach would be look at a high-end .22 or .17HRM. Savage, CZ, Ruger and others make really sweet bolt action rifles that act and shoot like big centerfires. Or get a really sweet target .22 pistol or revolver. You can practice a TON for the price of centerfire ammo.

Couple thoughts...and I envy your predicament!!!

Q
 
My first handgun was a CZ75B. It was a cheap $399 at Academy brand new. It shot awsome, and served me well for a couple of years as my only handgun. If you get one in 9mm, you can shoot a fun gun for very little. Just my $0.02.
 
When I was going to college and working part time, I knew I had to get the most out every buck that I could stash away for new (or used) toys. One interesting aspect of this situation was that I was fascinated by multi-caliber convertible pistols. Not your usual .22LR/.22 Magnum set-up, but something like a 1911 in Super 38, which could easily be converted to 9mm with just a barrel and recoil spring swap, and a new magazine. You could also add a .22LR conversion to it, making it three guns in one. Or maybe try going a little more basic, something like a Ruger SA in .357/9mm or .45LC/.45 ACP.
 
well, i already have the super cheap plinker in a Ruger Single Six .22 6.5". This is also my target gun. I'm getting pretty good with it. i need to start competing with it so the pros can put me right back in my place.

it has really come down to 4" Ruger GP100 and Kahr K9. The K9 seems like a better pistol than the CW9 and possibly worth an extra 100. that also puts it at the same price as the ruger.

lots of rifles have crossed my mind, but i think for this time i'll stick to the pistols.
 
UPDATE

I bought the Ruger GP100. it jammed after about the 3rd shot. then it would work for a few more, then jam again( jam should probly be "jam" ). and by jam i mean the double action trigger was too heavy to pull, then a couple tries at pulling the hammer and it would finally budge and i would fire it single action.

I took it apart and everything looked ok. oiled it and shot it again. Still would occasionally not pull in double action. My friend i was shooting with said it looked like the cartridges would back out while shooting and sure enough, they would come out over 1/8th an inch and hang up on the lefthand side of the gun in the gap where the cylinder closes.

Is this normal? will it stop after some "break in"? bad cheapo ammo?

also, the trigger is pretty heavy, so i think a trigger job might be in order. So far this gun has just failed to impress me on any front. you can imagine how frustrating it is to have your new REVOLVER jam!
 
I would also say, go look at places that sell used guns, that 620 dollar 686+ can become a 325 dollar 686, you miss one round in the cylinder but you save enough to buy a case of ammunition.

Used guns are where you want to be looking, and dicks and SW do not sell used guns. Find a good local shop and see what he hash. My quess is you are going to be shocked at the price differnces too.
 
Sean,
I had a new Taurus 650 CIA do that exact thing to me. After a trip back to the factory, she was good as new. It looked like they did some milling on the rear of the cylinder, but whatever they did, it works like a charm now. Definitely give Ruger a call.
 
it's only got 100-some rounds though it. i'll shoot it some more before i write it off completely. just upsetting when you buy the good brand and expect a better product and it isnt delivered.

also, i was shopping 3 used gun dealers and no steals came up in the year i looked.
 
Which brand of ammo are you using? Does it always hang on the same chamber? Does it cycle normally with the cylinder empty? It could be primer extrusion. You could try another brand of ammo and if it still does it, I would suspect the gun. I have two GP100s. The only time I experienced anything like what you described, is when I fired some reloads which didn't have the primers fully seated. I've never had a problem with factory loads of any brand/type, or properly assembled reloads for that matter. Also,

Edited to add: If you post over on the ruger forum, there is a gunsmith and a former ruger engineer who can probably offer more useful suggestions than I can.

http://www.rugerforum.com/phpBB/
 
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