Lies, Darn Lies and Statistics ... about Guns

230RN said:
Born, raised in NYC: "Only cops and criminals need guns."

I thought that was universally true in the US.

After I moved out to the free air of Colorado in the mid-sixties and bought my first handgun, I felt like a criminal with it in the house --to the extent that I closed the curtains when I examined it. Not kidding. That's how ingrained the "criminal" aspect was.

So before long I had killed three people with it, one only by accident, but two because of road rage and I felt they just plain needed killing, robbed four banks, two gas stations, and five quickie markets. I think I killed another person because it was on the Fourth of July at long range and I wasn't sure, but she did fall down when I fired.

This was before GCA 68 and all I needed was to prove residency to the dealer, so I could do all this without even registering the gun, or anything.

Terry, 230RN
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Same here except I was born in West Texas and the mobile in my crib was a collection of pistols. In Texas as soon as you are old enough to grab a pistol from the mobile then you are range qualified. At least that was the custom back in the 60s. :thumbup:
 
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Being a terminal skeptic I learned to question what I was told a very long time ago when I was young.

Instead of listing all the insane things I have heard over the years I will list some truths I have come to accept.

1) Statistics are only relevant when measuring 2 or more outcomes against each other. They are pretty much useless when not put into a context of like things.

2) Statistics without verifiable data to back them up are useless. I see statistics quoted on boards like this all the time without any way to verify them with actual concrete reviewable data to back them up. Completely worthless!

The media, the lefties and the righties love to quote statistics that have no meaning in the rest of reality.

"Mass shootings are up 25%"
-- what is the definition of a mass shooting?
-- compared to what?
-- what are the circumstances of these shootings?
-- what data are you pulling this statistic from?
-- how do I view the data this statement was drawn from?
-- what is the source for this data? who collected it?
-- how was the data collected?
-- how do I know that the data is comprehensive?
-- what proof is there that the source data is correct?
-- what formula did you use to come up with this static? can I reproduce your quoted figure using the same formula?

Answer to all the above questions: "Let me show you a video of the victims and their families".
 
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230RN said:
So before long I had killed three people with it, one only by accident, but two because of road rage and I felt they just plain needed killing, robbed four banks, two gas stations, and five quickie markets. I think I killed another person because it was on the Fourth of July at long range and I wasn't sure, but she did fall down when I fired.


Terry, 230RN
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Wow! That one purchase sure helped you commit to a career! Good for you!
:uhoh:
 
beeenbag said:
not sure if its a myth or just a common misconception, but the idea that every woman needs a tiny little gun. Brands also market this way as well, often small 380's and j frame size revolvers being offered in pinks and purples to appeal to women. In reality these are the most difficult guns for just about everyone to shoot, much less a typically smaller statured, weaker grip female.
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You got that one right. My wife shoots best with a K frame revolver with a six inch barrel
 
The Last Outlaw said:
Wasn’t the .454 Casull developed in the fifties?
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Yep. According to my "Cartridges of the World" book, the .454 Casull was developed in 1957, and announced in Guns and Ammo magazine in 1959. However, it wasn't commercialized until 1997 when SAAMI published its first standards for the cartridge.
However, the .44 Magnum was commercialized way back in 1955. So, Clint would have been righter if he would have said, "Being as how this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful, commercially available handgun in the world......." That wouldn't have sounded as "cool" though. :D
 
Heir Kommt Die Sonne said:
Its not a matter of "Seems" it's a matter of fact. They took down elephants with modified .303s before. Or with over loaded black powder rifles.
What the .416 and other magnum rifle cartridges do, is make the job alot easier and/or give you more range with the same amount of killing capability.


There's really no "need" for anything bigger than 30-06. Or even 300 winchester mag really. Its just nicer to be able to carry that power out to longer distances.
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I had a friend years ago who grew up in India where his parents were missionaries. He said the people in the bush would follow a herd of elephants and shoot them up the rear end with a .22 rifle when they defecated. They would then follow the elephant until it expired from peritonitis (sepsis).
 
Appalachiannative said:
You got that one right. My wife shoots best with a K frame revolver with a six inch barrel
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My wife has a shelf lined with trophies that she won with her 10.5" Super Blackhawks back in her IHMSA days, but she carries a M&P .380 Shield. ;)
She still has one of her .44 Magnum Super Blackhawks though. When she stopped competing in the silhouette game, she sent it back to Ruger and had the 10.5" barrel replaced with a more "practical" (her word) 6" barrel. She never uses it for anything anyway though. ;)
 
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21H40 said:
What is a myth that you were taught about firearms?
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Some of my favorites have something to do with needing a 338 Win Mag as the minimum caliber for hunting in Alaska, 30-06 is obsolete, 10mm is more powerful than 44 Magnum, etc. etc. Basically, any variant of the "bigger is better" mantra. If I listened to those guys, I'd be hunting with a field artillery piece.

PS. Honorable mention goes to "6.5 whatever is better than (insert any other caliber here)."
 
D.B. Cooper said:
I dunno, man. I've met some retired officers who worked the streets in the 70s, when PCP was in style. They've got some stories about people with seemingly super human strength and being seemingly incapable of feeling or acknowledging pain. Thirty hits must be an exaggeration, though.
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It's become quite the cliché any more, but there is truth to the statement "it's all about shot placement".
 
D.B. Cooper said:
Some of my favorites have something to do with needing a 338 Win Mag as the minimum caliber for hunting in Alaska, 30-06 is obsolete, 10mm is more powerful than 44 Magnum, etc. etc. Basically, any variant of the "bigger is better" mantra. If I listened to those guys, I'd be hunting with a field artillery piece.

PS. Honorable mention goes to "6.5 whatever is better than (insert any other caliber here)."
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I gotta agree there. Just can't see how anything found living on the north American continent could survive being hit in the chest with a .30-06
 
Shooting better with a large gun is not unusual... at range, regardless of sex. Or "gender," or whatever.

However, a lady carrying a small gun is suitable for the bad breath, gropey-feeley, didn't hear "no" ranges they are concerned about. Especially considering the tighter clothes they sometimes wear.

Moreover, I strongly suspect that in a skin contact shot, the explosive effect of a large ball of expanding hot gas following the bullet into the body of the aggressor will probably be as effective as the bullet itself.

Even the jet of hot gas from a revolver cylinder gap can do damage. I don't "strongly suspect" this... I know it.

So I'm OK with the "meme" about women carrying small guns.

Terry, 230RN
 
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Deleted by poster as being off topic about using two bars of soap and don't step on the one you dropped.
 
Revolvers rotate in a different direction based on if they were designed north or south of the equator. (Think toilet flushing myth.)

Ok… I started that one. I’ve only convinced 2 people to believe it over the years, so there is hope for humanity, yet.
 
Ummmm, no. It depends on whether the cylinder rotation agrees with the rifling twist direction. So there's a confounding factor you haven't considered and that's why only two people agree with you.

Whether the gun is fired from the left or right hand does not seem to have a measurable effect according to the most recent studies.



:ROFL:
 
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