Owners manuals...

[Riomouse911]

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".

I think he was referring to field stripping his new Body Guard .380 Auto rather than the Model 49 Body Guard .38 Spl.

And yes, tearing open revolvers isn’t needed very often, if ever.

Stay safe.

 

[halfmoonclip]

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.

I wish Smith wouldn't try to reuse historic names. This is a Bodyguard .380, not the revolver version.
Yeah, I know how revos work....
Moon

 

[halfmoonclip]

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

Spoken like a smartass who couldn't be bothered reading the rest of the thread.....
The gun that initiated this discussion was a Smith & Wesson, not a Ruger.
Though it seems a worthy idea that Ruger shares that information.
Moon

 

[jmorris]

Spoken like a smartass who couldn't be bothered reading the rest of the thread.....

Ok, I didn't read their manual. It is on their FAQ page though.

 

[halfmoonclip]

Ok, I didn't read their manual. It is on their FAQ page though.

View attachment 1189592

And I'm glad they offered that information someplace; thanks for sharing.
But, again, we've been talking about printed manuals.
To their credit, the BG manual is specific to that pistol, although it includes several variations (safety/no safety, laser or no).
BTW, all of our vehicles came with (extensive) printed manuals, though the caveats are extensive. As Dave De Laurantis observes above, sometimes the cautions get overwhelming.
At least they offer a specific index, so you can (as those insurance adds suggest) you only have to read what you need.
Moon

 

[film495]

a condensed reference might be quicker, but then nobody would ever take time to real the whole manual. I mean I'm not genius, but 56 pages in a manual. How long can it possibly take to thumb through 56 pages going as slow as possible. an hour? two? Doesn't seem like an unreasonable burden. Maybe I'm weird, but I always rather liked reading owners manuals.

 

[bangswitch]

I wish Smith wouldn't try to reuse historic names. This is a Bodyguard .380, not the revolver version.
Yeah, I know how revos work....
Moon

Oops, sorry. I know little about the current plethora of plastic fantastic semiautos of any brand. I thought the term "field strip" was sort of odd, applied to a wheel gun. Give me a BHP or a 1911 if it's stick-fed, and I'm happy.

 

[chicharrones]

Paper is a thing of the past.

I've been in the print and print finishing industry since 1987. The first 8 years as an operator, then the last 28+ years as a field tech. I plan to put in another 11 years before retiring at age 70.

Sure, newsprint and periodicals are all but dead, but print for packaging and instructions in the packaging still exists. The world is full of consumers purchasing packaged goods, and printed marketing materials have made a big comeback.

Personal computing devices and the internet put a real scare in the industry as it shrunk and consolidated. So much so that people wouldn't seek employment in our industry from about 2010 through 2021. Successful existing print companies have been purchased by 40 year olds over the last few years. And us old timers are training up our replacements, all of which are in their 20s.

 

[JohnKSa]

...print for packaging and instructions in the packaging still exists. The world is full of consumers purchasing packaged goods, and printed marketing materials have made a big comeback.

Yup, I don't mind having access to online manuals, but I want something in print for any gun I own.

 

[halfmoonclip]

a condensed reference might be quicker, but then nobody would ever take time to real the whole manual. I mean I'm not genius, but 56 pages in a manual. How long can it possibly take to thumb through 56 pages going as slow as possible. an hour? two? Doesn't seem like an unreasonable burden. Maybe I'm weird, but I always rather liked reading owners manuals.

Up to a point, I agree. But there are enough red-print caveats that my eyes started to glaze over.
Of course, a buddy finally read the entire manual for his car. He found several features he didn't know he had.
Moon

 

[film495]

Up to a point, I agree. But there are enough red-print caveats that my eyes started to glaze over.
Of course, a buddy finally read the entire manual for his car. He found several features he didn't know he had.
Moon

I had an auto for 5 years, and then found out I could just open the rear window. I hated the hatch on that car and always hit my head on it. My own worst enemy I guess. Hey, you're right - if they had a unique features section - maybe I would have found it sooner ...

 

[Boom Vang]

I remember when the "manual" was printed on the inside cover of the box...

 

[chicharrones]

I remember when the "manual" was printed on the inside cover of the box...

Interesting!

The shortest manuals I have are for my H&R 999 and my Marlin 39AS. The H&R has one 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper folded in half to create 4 pages. The Marlin is an even smaller folded card.

 

[Otto]

Sure, newsprint and periodicals are all but dead, but print for packaging and instructions in the packaging still exists. The world is full of consumers purchasing packaged goods, and printed marketing materials have made a big comeback.

Sig P365 owners manual has had 9 revisions. The latest version is only online.
Does Apple include a printed owner’s manual with their phones?
Even Ford began phasing them out 3 years ago.
The only thing I print are shipping labels.

Is the car owner's manual history? 2021 Ford F-150 ditches traditional paper copy

Ford is limiting the traditional owner's manual to basic information in the redesigned 2021 Ford F-150, Mustang Mach-E and other vehicles.

www.usatoday.com

 

[CajunBass]

I bought a 76 Ford Bronco, about 1978 or so. The owners manual had ten pages on the radio, and two paragraphs on how to operate the 4WD system.

Most of the guns I buy are used, and don't come with an owners manual anyway, Of course they're revolvers, so if you've seen one, you've pretty much seen them all.

I do have the box for a 1951 Smith and Wesson M&P 38. No owners manual, but on the inside of the box top is everything you need to know about how to operate the gun, in English and Spanish. Less than 200 words I'm sure. None in red. Things have changed I understand.

 

[chicharrones]

Sig P365 owners manual has had 9 revisions. The latest version is only online.
Does Apple include a printed owner’s manual with their phones?
Even Ford began phasing them out 3 years ago.
The only thing I print are shipping labels.

Is the car owner's manual history? 2021 Ford F-150 ditches traditional paper copy

Ford is limiting the traditional owner's manual to basic information in the redesigned 2021 Ford F-150, Mustang Mach-E and other vehicles.

www.usatoday.com

Bummer. Ford phased out all their sedans, too (which has nothing to do with print). Beats me on Apple, my current company iphone and company ipad are made in China with Chinese printed packaging. I can't speak to Sig as I don't own any.

I haven't bought a new gun in a year. That was a Ruger and they still provided a printed manual.

I can tell you that print and print finishing in Texas and the surrounding states has recovered well and is chugging along strongly with goals of growth. And we've heard a lot of good things in other parts of the USA as well. Of course, most folks I know don't even realize printing companies exist. It's like a shadow world to outsiders and we've been hiring folks from outside of it for the last several years.

 

[halfmoonclip]

The only thing I print are shipping labels.

Otto, you certainly aren't alone.
It does beg the question, legally, how are the gun/car companies covering their 6, when some consumers aren't online? Some folks simply don't have Internet access, and a (somewhat destitute) buddy depends on a library (or bar) with the 'net.
The admonition to "read the owners' manual" wouldn't hold much water.
Moon

 

[Speedo66]

How about restaurants? It galls me when I walk into one and they want me to photo a symbol and read on a phone rather than giving me a menu.

I always ask for a physical menu and so far have always been provided one.