Pistols and Rifles

[Dorsai]

Here's the deal. As a non-law enforcement civilian, if you ever need to use a firearm, of any kind, it will be at handgun distances. Kind of difficult to successfully articulate why you were in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm when you popped Mr. Unsocial at 100yds. I'm not saying there will never be a circumstance like that where it is justifiable, but.....

So, why a shotgun or rifle? Power, accuracy, magazine capacity, control. And there are short and long pistol distances. The point is, a carbine or shotgun is hugely more effective than a handgun at handgun distances. For those reasons, they are desirable. Get training on all of them. But especially the pistol since you are unlikely to carry the long gun outside the house.

[Jay585]

Wanted to expound on my thinking for sticking with pistols only (for now).

The house I'm currently renting is less than 600 sq ft, and is 10 paces by 12 paces long. I am uneducated in this aspect, but doesn't seem like something you want a long gun for. In addition to the tiny home I live in, I live between Boise and the Oregon border. So what, you say.

Well I came from the east bay area - Richmond, CA specifically. That place and this place I'm at now is no comparison as far as safety goes. Politics here are heavy to one side, so antifa civil unrest and all that doesn't seem likely. If it did occur, it is my assumption is that it would start in Boise and probably be squashed pretty quickly. IMO, for many situations that I can envision occurring here, a pistol with a red dot and lots of practice would solve damn near everything. What it wouldn't solve, I (in theory) could get away from.

So it is for these reason I am considering selling off my long guns. If this thinking is flawed, let me know and I will reconsider.

[TGS]

So it is for these reason I am considering selling off my long guns. If this thinking is flawed, let me know and I will reconsider.

I don't think it's flawed at all. My buddy that I mentioned in a prior post had to actually get rid of half his clothes to fit in his 490sqft place, so I don't blame you.

But will you always be living in this same space? What about when you move out? Will you have regretted selling those guns? Will you most certainly be in a financial position to buy the guns you want when you get a bigger space?

[Alpha Sierra]

Wanted to expound on my thinking for sticking with pistols only (for now).

The house I'm currently renting is less than 600 sq ft, and is 10 paces by 12 paces long. I am uneducated in this aspect, but doesn't seem like something you want a long gun for. In addition to the tiny home I live in, I live between Boise and the Oregon border. So what, you say.

Well I came from the east bay area - Richmond, CA specifically. That place and this place I'm at now is no comparison as far as safety goes. Politics here are heavy to one side, so antifa civil unrest and all that doesn't seem likely. If it did occur, it is my assumption is that it would start in Boise and probably be squashed pretty quickly. IMO, for many situations that I can envision occurring here, a pistol with a red dot and lots of practice would solve damn near everything. What it wouldn't solve, I (in theory) could get away from.

So it is for these reason I am considering selling off my long guns. If this thinking is flawed, let me know and I will reconsider.

Your thinking is flawed. Maintaining reasonable proficiency with a rifle is much easier and quicker than it is with a handgun. You will not make money selling the rifles you have now and you will bleed more cash when you go to replace them later, because you will want a rifle eventually.

On top of that, living where you are I cannot imagine the fun I would have with one of my long range rifles and a truck's bed full of steel. Seriously, not everything in life is about defensive shooting.

Lighten up and shoot guns just for the g-damned fun of it. And I will tell you right here and right now that smacking a 12" round at 800 yards with the rifle perched on a stepladder and a gamechanger is a lot more fun than running yet another drill on B-8 repair centers.

[Casual Friday]

Wanted to expound on my thinking for sticking with pistols only (for now).

The house I'm currently renting is less than 600 sq ft, and is 10 paces by 12 paces long. I am uneducated in this aspect, but doesn't seem like something you want a long gun for. In addition to the tiny home I live in, I live between Boise and the Oregon border. So what, you say.

Well I came from the east bay area - Richmond, CA specifically. That place and this place I'm at now is no comparison as far as safety goes. Politics here are heavy to one side, so antifa civil unrest and all that doesn't seem likely. If it did occur, it is my assumption is that it would start in Boise and probably be squashed pretty quickly. IMO, for many situations that I can envision occurring here, a pistol with a red dot and lots of practice would solve damn near everything. What it wouldn't solve, I (in theory) could get away from.

So it is for these reason I am considering selling off my long guns. If this thinking is flawed, let me know and I will reconsider.

The size of the home doesn't factor into the decision for me. Neither does Antifa. The reason the size of the home isn't a factor is because 5.56 trumps all pistol rounds when it comes to stopping people from doing what they're doing. A low recoil, shoulder fired firearm with 4 points of contact is just flat out easier to get hits with than a pistol.

I'm not saying you're wrong, ultimately it's your decision, I just don't agree with your reasoning.

[breakingtime91]

Wanted to expound on my thinking for sticking with pistols only (for now).

The house I'm currently renting is less than 600 sq ft, and is 10 paces by 12 paces long. I am uneducated in this aspect, but doesn't seem like something you want a long gun for. In addition to the tiny home I live in, I live between Boise and the Oregon border. So what, you say.

Well I came from the east bay area - Richmond, CA specifically. That place and this place I'm at now is no comparison as far as safety goes. Politics here are heavy to one side, so antifa civil unrest and all that doesn't seem likely. If it did occur, it is my assumption is that it would start in Boise and probably be squashed pretty quickly. IMO, for many situations that I can envision occurring here, a pistol with a red dot and lots of practice would solve damn near everything. What it wouldn't solve, I (in theory) could get away from.

So it is for these reason I am considering selling off my long guns. If this thinking is flawed, let me know and I will reconsider.

certain rifles and mags could be made illegal to buy past a certain date with a simple vote... dont sell them

[Cookie Monster]

certain rifles and mags could be made illegal to buy past a certain date with a simple vote... dont sell them

I got an AK, a good one. I have never shot it. I bought 30 magazines for a gun I have had for a decade and have never fired.

Small house, all the other reasons. I am down. I have been on a slow three year process of getting get of 1500 things, I am probably over that number but my counting sucks. However, I would keep one long gun around. Just because.

Most likely I will never need or use a handgun. It’s 4 pounds of steel, plastic, and lead I carry that I think makes me feel better.

[farscott]

From a financial point of view, firearm prices are fairly depressed, especially those for shotgun and AR-15 rifles, at the moment. As such, this is not the time to be selling long guns; if anything, it is the time to be buying.

One of my 870P shotguns came in handy after a tornado in 2014 did its thing to our neck of the woods. I also find shotguns to be inexpensive and versatile, moving from bird hunting to deer hunting to self-defense, with the same $250 gun and a change in ammo. After Sandy Hook, about the only ammo that was readily available was shotgun ammo.

[rob_s]

If minimizing, and you only care about "self defense", then I always come back to Glock 19 (and more than one of them). You don't "need" a rifle or a shotgun, and frankly both come with a lot of their own baggage (needing two hands to effectively operate them to their fullest being the main issue). Have yourself 4 Glock 19s (carry, nighstand, truck, living area with the latter three "secured" in some sort of quick-access lock box) with some decent sights. You can even buy them right out of the case with Ameriglo now.

Anything else, to me, is either (a) gravy, (b) fun, (c) paranoid delusions, or (c) other purposes (hunting, required by work, etc.).

The potential benefits of long-guns, even inside the home, are undeniable, but they are not a panacea. I own both carbines and shotguns that could be described as "self-defense" purpose. Mostly because I already own them and see no point in selling them. But if I *had to* sell them for some reason (financial hardship, downsizing the home and losing the big safe, etc.) I wouldn't feel bad about it.

I can say that I've never shot anyone, inside my home or otherwise. What I *have* done is gotten out of bed at 2 am at the insistence of the wife to go "check on that noise", and when I do I retrieve the Glock w/ light plus handheld light and go walk around the house. I wouldn't want a long gun in that instance. I can't say for sure, but I suspect that this is how most things go vs a confirmed smashing of glass and muffled voices of intruders that would lead me to grab, or wish I could grab, a long gun. But I also don't feel terribly under-gunned with my Glock 19 with a G17 mag in it.

[mmc45414]

From a financial point of view, firearm prices are fairly depressed, especially those for shotgun and AR-15 rifles, at the moment.

I have some extra stuff but this is my consideration right now. In a couple of cases I am going to go ahead and take some hits for a few hundred here and there, but that is mainly because I want some other stuff. Like I would rather have a pistol with a RMR to shoot than an M1-A that I hardly ever do. But just to free up space in a closet, I would consider that undoing the decision someday would cost a lot more than you will generate in cash right now.