New to the world of Gun ownership

[93EJ1]

Hi, my names Darell, I'm 19, and I work for Pepboys Auto. Today I broke down at lunch and bought myself a gun. Nothing special, infact from what I've read the past few hours its not even considered a decent gun. But for me its more than enough; it's an Norinco/Interstate Coach Model 99 SXS 12ga Shotgun. I've always wanted to be a legal gun owner, I mean it is a right, right? So I decided to purchase a firearm.

I've found this forum to be a great help and wish I had known about it prior to making my first purchase. But I'm glad I'm now a part of it and can use the knowledge gained here in the future. I am most definitely curious though, if anyone can reccomend a good 'FAQ' or 'Tips/Tricks' to keeping my gun clean, and to help me take proper care of it's mechanisms. And a recommendation on safe cabnets/cases for such a gun. I've handled firearms on a few occasions my favorite being an old SKS rifle my brother owned a few years ago. TIA for any replies and welcomes.

 

[MatthewVanitas]

Welcome to The High Road!

Glad to hear that you found a gun you like. The board has some mixed opinions on the Norinco coachguns, but it's certainly not a bad piece of gear if you enjoy using it, and got it for a good price. There are a very few, really junky guns out there, but I don't believe the Norinco 99 is one of them.

Coach guns are definitely nifty, handy, and powerful pieces of gear. Blasting the heck out of targets with buckshot may lack subtlety, but can be more satisfying than a rifle on some days. And there are certainly worse firearms to keep around the house for emergencies.

If you're ever looking for another inexpensive firearm to provide contrast, while still too young to buy a handgun, you might want to take a look at a Ruger 10/22 or Marlin Model 60. Both are .22 caliber rifles, cost $99-150 if you shop around, and will be extremely accurate, yet ammo costs about 2c per shot. Great way to get a lot of shooting practice for your buck. A fun target rifle is a good next option now that you have the serious emergency firearm taken care of.

If you're looking for specific information, I'd go to the Shotgun section of the forum and post a new thread with as detailed a question as possible, like "Got Norinco Coach Gun as 1st Gun, how do I start?" You should get some good advice from folks there, some who have and like the N99, and others who don't. Don't take the haters to heart.

Glad to have you here, and keep an eye on the Rallying Point sub-forum for a chance to meet up and go shooting with other THRfolks in your area. Oh, and the Search Engine is your friend, use it thoroughly before posting your new questions. Great bunch of folks here, good place to learn.

Welcome aboard,

-MV

 

[Valkman]

Welcome!

Now, don't call your gun a "shottie", don't name it , don't load it with "bullets" and don't call magazines "clips" and we'll all get along just fine.

 

[mnrivrat]

Welcome !

Hey nothing wrong with a double shottie named big Bertha ,accept maybe the inability to use clips to load the bullets !

 

[robert garner]

what mnrvrat said !

Now get a bunch of different shells; bird shot, buckshot and slugs
One barrel will handle the slugs better than the other determine which
now your set up to handle tree rats or vicious vermin of either bi or quadruped variety What could be more democratic than that?
KEEP YOUR BOOGER HOOKS OFF OF THE BANGSWITCH
DONT POINT YOUR BOOMSTICK AT ANYTHING YOU DONT WANNA SEE DESTROYED
ALL BOOMSTICKS ARE LOADED AT ALL TIMES (even when you just took your fingers outa the breech)
and last of all when ya go to get a handgun remember all homage is due to
brownings 1911

 

[loose cannon]

a few comments,,,you mentioned likeing sks rifles ,living in calif theyre pretty darn regulated, but you can still have them.1 of the big bargains today are yugoslavian sks's.unfortunately they have a muzzle that is capable of launching grenades.the good news is there was a "yugo"that didnt have a grenade launcher muzzle called a m59.

interordinance of north carolina has em for $135(dealer cost) in very good condition,if you can find a good dealer ,have him order you 1. he will have to mark up the price for his profit ,but it should be less than $250 out the door i think.dont forget to get a bunch of stripper clips.(groved steel "speedloader"
holding 10 rounds allows a 1.5-3 second reload)

as for 22's id go ruger 10/22 carbine all the way. theyre easier to clean and more reliable than marlin m60's tho the m60 holds 5 more rounds.above all id be looking to relocate to a neigboring state like az,nv ,or oregon in that order.
the gun laws are far more friendly there.or if you have the gumption stay and fight the antis.

sadly a gunowner in calif has a huge bullseye painted on him.safe shooting.

loose cannon resisting saying"go glock"when its time to buy a pistol.

 

[hso]

Welcome to THR!

Don't be down on your side by side. Norinco makes them for Cowboy Action shooters and for simple home defense. There are gunsmiths that even specialize in making them more authentic looking and reliable just for CA shooters so you got yourself a heck of a home defense shotgun that with a beat up pair of jeans and boots would let you slide right in with a good local group of CA shooters.

Cleaning your double barrel won't be nearly as difficult as facier guns. Just get a shotgun bore snake and some clp and a rag and you can keep her clean and rust free for years.

 

[gunner03]

Welcome, I've had guns since I was about 12 and thought I knew alot about them. Since finding THR' I've found how little I know. Now I mostly listen and learn.Hang out here, and you will learn at least few things!
Ask most anything and you will get everything from facts to opinions,all of which can be very helpful.The best thing will find is the amount of experiance and the willingness of all to share.

 

[93EJ1]

Thanks all for the kind words. I did find that the salesmen at Big5 had a heck of a time putting the forend on the gun itself. He said the cut on the forend was a bit rough so he widdled it a bit with a pocket knife. I was rather timid to ask the questions I wanted since my gun had gathered a small crowd. I mean, there's 10 13 y/o kids buying airsoft pistols and I'm a rather young guy[6'1 160] buying a [to me] large weapon. I want to make my first experience with the gun a gratifying one, so in the next 9 days I'm going to stock up on a rather varied assortment of ammunitions.

I am slowly learning of the different kinds of shot you can load into this gun. I really had no idea that you had so many choices. I bought the gun as a fun toy to take out and shoot small homemade targets with. I'm not a big guy so I don't want to go with a giant recoiling slug but I most definitely would like to try the different shots to see their effects and find what is right for me. I think I might order a nice cleaning kit from Cabellas or such.

This is most definitely NOT a HD device to me. I do own an illegal set of brass weaponry for my fists[hope I'm not leading anyone to believe this is a safe or smart idea] but thats about as good as I need for my home. I don't mean to ruffle feathers but in my part of the country, more specifically read community I don't necessarily need much protection. I just wanted a new hobby and I'd like to abide by as much safety and legal procedures as possible.

Big 5 does do one thing I like, and that is FORCE purchasers to buy a lock before you even get your firearm. Now with my SXS the salesmen recommended a padlock 'rope-style' lock. I wanna make sure there is almost NO way this gun can be fired w/o knowing. Since the gun has 2 triggers I can understand there would be difficulty finding a trigger lock that can keep both triggers locked, but isn't there an alternative? I almost want to buy a small safe to keep it in, but the cost might be out of the question at this time.

Also, I have always had a fondness for the pump-action shotgun and its abilty to hold shells within. I'm not hunting so I don't need to have the extra ammo on tap like that, but I wonder if I'm going to like the dual hammer feature the Coach style guns have. With a pump-action you have to pump to prime the gun for firing, with mine all I have to do is pull a hammer back right? Again, excuse my 'Noobness' I'm just rather curious and want to be as safe as humanly possible.

 

[dasmi]

Big 5 does do one thing I like, and that is FORCE purchasers to buy a lock before you even get your firearm.

That isn't Big-5, that's California. And everytime I'm forced, I return it right after purchase, as is legal under California law, which states you must have proof of purchase of the lock, but not the lock itself
If you're anywhere near San Diego, join the SD Shooters yahoo group, at http://shooting.forsandiego.com. You can join us when we do our semi-monthly shoots. Lots of different guns to try out. You can see assorted pictures from recent get togethers at http://shooting.sixforsure.org.
Also, I bought a shotgun at Big-5 yesterday as well. Welcome to the club, and welcome to THR.

 

[93EJ1]

Consider me joined, I can't wait to make it to the next meet. Hopefully I can convert my gf to have the same fondness for firearms as I. Thanks for the link

 

[dasmi]

Sure, no problem. Look forward to meeting you.

 

[f4t9r]

welcome
nothing wrong with the gun you bought , now learn and buy more

 

[El Tejon]

Welcome to THR, young man.

Put your trust not in gadgets and doohickeys to keep you safe, trust your knowledge of The Four Rules. Software trumps hardware.

 

[grimlock]

Just don't bring brass knuckles to a gunfight, ok? Your double should always remain an option.

 

[dasmi]

Just don't bring brass knuckles to a gunfight, ok? Your double should always remain an option.

+1 on that. Keep your shotgun ready to rock.

This is most definitely NOT a HD device to me. I do own an illegal set of brass weaponry for my fists

Also, you may want to refrain from mentioning any illegal activities or items you are involved with. It isn't much of a stretch to assume various letter agencies monitor this forum.

 

[MatthewVanitas]

IRT Trigger locks: bad idea overall. You're far better off with a cable-type lock. Problem w/ triggerlock: with most of them, you can still chamber a round. Any object which allows you to chamber a round and have metal bits tangled up in the trigger is a recipe for a disaster. With many firearms, a cable-type lock can be arranged so as to prevent the action from being closed, thus there's no way someone can get a round into firing position.

Kudos to dasmi for hooking up a newbie.

No problem on all the n00bn355 questions, that's how all of us learned. Still recc that you post a specific Norinco Coach Gun thread in the Shotgun area of THR in order to get the most specific info about function, practice, ammo, etc. I don't know diddly on shotguns, but those guys know a ton.

I'd say more, but I'm sure dasmi and the SD crew will hook you up with whatever knowledge and experience you need. I've always covetted a coach gun, so it's cool to see a newbie gravitate right to it. Shoot safe,

-MV

 

[jmbrowning]

Welcome to the Dark Side, Noob!

93EJ1: Welcome to the club, buddy! Now, some might claim that 19yo is about 12 years too old to be hoisting your first smoothbore, but, nonetheless, congrats on your purchase.

I have been on a shottie spree lately myself and I purchased that same Big 5 ChiCom coachgun also. It'll be joining the Benelli 390(12G), Win SX2 Mk I (12g), Savage 24D (22WMR/20g), M6 Scout (22H/410), Win9410, and ,of course, the H&R 20g (meets pipe cutter at 18.25" home gunsmithing experiment).

A few tips:

1. Get gun safety training. Probably the most worthwhile, considering your gun, would be a basic hunting safety class (Even though it is cylinder choked, you can still take game out to 30 yards). This makes you eligible for a hunting license which is a great reason to get out of the typical SoCal subdivision crap for at least a day.
2. Get a safe. Make it twice as big as you think you would ever need it. Consider also all the important non-gun stuff you might stick in there when you are not at home (your laptop, family photos, jewelry). I started with a small sheet metal cabinet and it served me fine for about two years (then I got a 3'x4'x5' Cannon safe ).
3. After YOU have learned gun safety, definitely take your GF out to the range. Even better, consider taking her to the hunter safety class with you. When you do go shooting for the first time, use extra light target loads to get a feel for the gun. Wally World has decks of cheap 12g birdshot, leave the Win AA for when you decide to stuff the hulls yourself.
4. If you can spring the extra cash (~$20), get a cheap clay thrower that mounts to your spare tire. The hand thrown clays are OK too, if your GF doesn't mind. This and a case of clays makes for a REALLY fun and addictive way to spend an afternoon.
5. I'd concur that you VERY carefully consider what you are doing, before you decide to use your new firearm/weapon for home defense. Most everybody here already has and knows what to expect after a "shoot to stop" scenario. The shoot is only the first step, then criminal investigation, then civil liability. I am not saying it is wrong to use deadly force, just know what you are getting into before you do.
6. If you do want to learn to use your weapon for personal defense (and it is not a bad choice for that), pay for training. Not a Hollywood flick, not a DVD from the back of a magazine, but a certified firearms instructor who will teach you in a classroom and carefully critique you on the range. It'll cost money but it's worth every penny.
7. Like all people who share a hobby, we are really excited that you have decided to try out our sport/passion/pastime/money-burning exercise! You are becoming a part of a great American tradition and will pass it on to your kids/nieces/nephews/grandkids/neighbors/coworkers. Consider joining the NRA (they get a lot of flak, but you'll have to pry from my cold dead fingers my Clinton-era "My President is Charlton Heston" t-shirt).
8. HAVE FUN! Don't get put off by the crusty elitists or the mall ninjas, they're just part of the scenery! Definitely continue to participate here and post a few pics of you and the Li'l Miss blasting clays at the range!

PS. it is easier to put the forend on and lock it in place if you do it when the shotgun breech is opened. Otherwise, the latch won't close all the way.

 

[Sry0fcr]

Welcome. My EM1 is faster.

 

[Lambo]

The Sisters and I say"Welcome"!I'm some what a Newbie to this Board myself.

 

[AnthonyRSS]

BA/UU/R

Buy Ammo, Use Up, Repeat..

Welcome to The High Road,

Have fun

Anthony