Owners manuals...

[halfmoonclip]

Got a Smith BodyGuard .380 recently, and I'm pleased with the pistol. Did a quick scan of the manual, to see how to field strip it, before a trip to the range. Been shooting for half a century, and this gun isn't hard to figure out.
This evening, actually thought I'd read the manual, even though chancing my man card.
Good grief. Fifty six pages, and half the print was red. (Full disclosure; 10 pages were for the laser included on some models)
Still, a lot of the manual was courtesy of the legal department.
If this was a rookie's first pistol, it would be overwhelming.
My car has an owner's manual only slightly shorter than War and Peace.
But there is a condensed, 'what you need to know', quick reference, with the full manual for more detailed explanations.
How about something similar for firearms?
Moon

 

[cfullgraf]

Yes, the manufacturers go a bit overboard these days with their manuals.

Enjoy your Body Guard .380.

I was a bit overwhelmed with the manual that came with my M638 revolver a month or so ago.

 

[JohnKSa]

I always figured that reading the manual was part of the experience of buying a new gun. That aside, there have been a few times it's kept me from doing something ill-advised, and it's been surprising how many times questions come up on the forums that can be answered from the owner's manual.

 

[drk1]

Congrats on your new BodyGuard. About the manual, it's always a good idea to read it, but it's largely a lawyer thing.

 

[stonebuster]

"When all else fails, read the instructions", dad sarcastically told me.

 

[Old_Grouch]

"When all else fails, read the instructions", dad sarcastically told me.

"And, if you're still having difficulty, follow them" was the sarcastic addendum to that that I was given.

 

[JTQ]

But there is a condensed, 'what you need to know', quick reference, with the full manual for more detailed explanations.
How about something similar for firearms?
Moon

I think that would be handy. However, regarding the extensive detail, and Cautions and Warnings found in owners manuals, I've been on gun forums long enough to have read a whole bunch of posts from a folks with apparently a large variety of gun experience who seem to know next to nothing about a gun they own. If people would read the owners manual, there would be a whole bunch fewer problems.

 

[gobsauce]

"When all else fails, read the instructions", dad sarcastically told me.

My dad always told me to read the manual. I always found it so annoying.. until my senior year of college, when I was given an opportunity to work in a lab.

Turns out, manuals are an absolute godsend.

(Shout out to MicroFab for writing the best manual I've ever read )

 

[jmorris]

But there is a condensed, 'what you need to know', quick reference, with the full manual for more detailed explanations.

I always wondered why ruger beat so many words into their barrels. If they would leave them pretty and fill pages in a book instead, I'd be fine with that..

 

[jmorris]

If people would read the owners manual, there would be a whole bunch fewer problems.

True but then those of us that do read them, wouldn't seem as smart...

 

[tws3b2]

I always flip the pages until I stop seeing red. Then I start reading.

 

[halfmoonclip]

Without a doubt, there is useful information in the manuals.
But some questions remain unanswered, like "Is dryfire okay?"
On reflection, it is a wonder that gun companies have the nerve to sell guns to us at all...
Thankfully, they do.
Moon

 

[jmorris]

Without a doubt, there is useful information in the manuals.
But some questions remain unanswered, like "Is dryfire okay?"
On reflection, it is a wonder that gun companies have the nerve to sell guns to us at all...
Thankfully, they do.
Moon

Spoken like a guy that doesn't read the manuals....

https://ruger-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/_manuals/RugerAmericanPistol-Pro.pdf

FWIW I answer a lot of questions using screen shots of manuals and a link to them to answer countless other questions.

 

[buck460XVR]

I'm surprised they even include owners manuals anymore and have not gone the route of so many other manufacturers and say go online or request one.

 

[jmorris]

So many others are not as deadly. Others that are deadly also include them. Like cars, there are more people that don't read them for cars than guns and they are in every glove box. Probably why cars kill so many more people than guns do....

 

[Otto]

I'm surprised they even include owners manuals anymore and have not gone the route of so many other manufacturers and say go online or request.

Every manual I use are in PDFs stored on my phone, accessible instantly. The service manual on our tractor is 742 pages and the owners manual is another 196….the list goes on and on.
Paper is a thing of the past.

 

[buck460XVR]

Paper is a thing of the past.

Yep....kinda why I'm surprised when they are included. Same goes for the old installation/software/driver CDs that used to come with anything used with your computer. Have a whole drawer full of them we have collected over the years and have not yet thrown out. Heck, most new computers don't even come with a CD drive anymore. Everything now is "in the cloud", on a flash drive/SD card or portable SSD.

 

[CapnMac]

Yep, the old manuals tended to be more terse and germane--although the Colt pistol manuals from the 80s were "one size fits most" which made them less informative.

Much like the 563 page manual for my '22 Escape, which covers all the possible model variations and trim levels, including hybrids--which was long reading figuring out all the doodads.

And, yes, like above, I'm surprised that there's not more in the way of online or "get the CD" stuff with both firearms and vehicles. Especially as virtually all electronic consumer products have no paper manual at all--at best a Quick Start Guide, then the https link.

Which makes me suspect The Legal Department decided there's some potential liability reason to not have online manuals for firearms rather than zillion-page paper ones.

Some of the manufacturers do have their Manuals online; and YT covers a ton of things in the manuals.

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

Once my sister and I were waiting around in the car for something and began reading the manual for a 2001 Chevy Lumina. It was hilarious -- nearly adjustment or control instruction was followed by a warning that ended with a possibility of fire and death. The level of hyperbole was such that after a few pages these warnings became mere background noise, defeating their own purpose.

 

[Otto]

But some questions remain unanswered, like "Is dryfire okay?"

Dry firing is like kissing your sister…. and I avoid it whenever possible.

 

[JohnKSa]

I always wondered why ruger beat so many words into their barrels.

They were sued after some kid stole one of their handguns, shot himself with it and lost a leg. The manual for the gun noted how to carry the gun safely while loaded, but the kid didn't steal the manual and didn't have that information. Since Ruger lost the initial trial, they put the notice on the barrel--read the manual and if you want one free, we'll send it to you.

 

[stonebuster]

They were sued after some kid stole one of their handguns, shot himself with it and lost a leg. The manual for the gun noted how to carry the gun safely while loaded, but the kid didn't steal the manual and didn't have that information. Since Ruger lost the initial trial, they put the notice on the barrel--read the manual and if you want one free, we'll send it to you.

By that logic, car manufacturers should have warnings to "read the manual" painted on car doors so they don't get sued by underage car thieves.

 

[JohnKSa]

Ruger won on appeal, but apparently the whole deal made quite an impact on them. I'm not saying everyone should do the same, just explaining why Ruger did.

 

[bangswitch]

Got a Smith BodyGuard .380 recently, and I'm pleased with the pistol. Did a quick scan of the manual, to see how to field strip it, before a trip to the range. Been shooting for half a century....

I've been shooting revolvers that long too, and have never field stripped one. The most you have to do to clean one is remove the stocks and swing out the cylinder. If it's working properly when you buy it, no reason to take it apart.

But I agree totally, the manuals are a bit wordy and make you think you're too stupid to own a gun. But.... they have to be written for the ones who ARE too stupid to own a gun. The makers don't control who buys them and they don't want to get sued. If you get hurt, they can wave the manual and say "Told You So".

 

[cfullgraf]

I'm surprised they even include owners manuals anymore and have not gone the route of so many other manufacturers and say go online or request one.

I think it is a CYA thing. If the manufacturers include a printed manual in the box, they can claim,"The manual was in the box, the customer did not read it". On line stuff is more difficult to prove if the customer downloaded it.