Am i to young to get a pistol?

[w00dg0blin]

Tyflier-I understand what you mean about "impressions". People judge other people by what they see. That's life.

<climbs back on the soap box>
Owning a firearm (or several) is a HUGE responsibility. Ultimately, the owner is solely responsible for what comes out the business end. You have to secure them and practice gun safety all the time. While it's a right in this country it dosen't mean that everyone must have one. I am firmly against monkeys owning firearms. It really frosts my tail when a child gets hurt because a firearm wasn't secured properly, or when a firearms instructor shoots himself while cleaning his firearm, or even when a cop has his firearm stolen because it was stored in his car! They are deadly weapons and must be treated as such.

On another point; hunters should only harvest the animals they need. Killing just for sport is wastful and just wrong. I'm actually kind of against trophy hunting too. You can't eat horn.

 

[wstphal]

I kind of think I qualify as a rabid anti-gun... I guess my experiences prevent me from really seeing them as fun. I got shot at, saw people die, and a good friend of mine died. I can't think of guns as anything but extremely violent tools. Seeing children with them disturb me.
In training, shooting was fun... I got to shoot rifles, tank cannons, machine guns, a whole lot of weapons.
But... when I realized what it is I was training towards...
I've got nothing against their use in self defense but... the whole "fun" concept... guess that vanished when I really understood the ramifications.

No, you're not rabid. You reflect on your experiences, you admit that training was fun, but then wartime experience changed your view. You don't jump on the hunters on this thread as wicked evil people. You just have a different set of experiences that have led you to a different set of conclusions, which you describe in vivid but rational terms. Nothing rabid about you on this score, my friend.

 

[wstphal]

Fact: The 22 pistol was a favorite weapon of the Mafia. Fact: The Ruger Mark I 22 pistol was a favorite of the CIA (they simply added a silencer to it). According to a U.S. Department of Justice document, "Guns Used in Crime", dated July 1995, "from 1982 to 1993, of the 687 officers who were killed by firearms, 9.8% were killed by a 22 caliber handgun or rifle." That's 67 slain police officers. Still think they aint much good for killing?

I stand corrected. I have shot the Ruger Mark I, it's very nice at the range, but I just never thought of the 22 RF round as having enough stopping power to be used to kill people, except at point blank range. Thanks for educating me on stuff I didn't know!

 

[Kokopelli]

Oren, I just wanted to say again how much I appreciate your point of view. It always gives me a fresh outlook on a problem or issue, from a viewpoint I may have never come to on my own. Definitely, growing up in such a militant area, guns would be viewed completely differently. America hasn't fought a foreign war on it's own soil in almost 200 years, and the last war we had on our soil was between our own people. It's hard for Americans, I think, to understand war if they haven't been in the military and gone to other countries to fight them, because it's never been brought to us ("us" being people alive today, not the entire history of the country obviously).

No, you're not rabid. You reflect on your experiences, you admit that training was fun, but then wartime experience changed your view. You don't jump on the hunters on this thread as wicked evil people. You just have a different set of experiences that have led you to a different set of conclusions, which you describe in vivid but rational terms. Nothing rabid about you on this score, my friend.

Thank you both for your choice of attitude and words.
It means allot.

Oren.

 

[charlie1]

im 16 and i want a pistol but my mom says i cant till im 20 or till i move out. i have 3 rifles and 2 shotguns but she says if i get a pistol ima shoot myself. im thinking about getin 2 and belike this similie:twoguns: lol

You are not too young to get a pistol if and only if you receive proper training and supervision from an adult who can properly teach you how to be safe with it and who keeps possession of it when you are not shooting it, and if you are mentally mature enough to understand a gun is not a toy and that you are using a deadly weapon. If your firearms training comes from hollywood you need to get out of firearms right now!

I got my first pistol, a 1911, when I was 15 or 16 then a Glock 17 and at around age 18 or 19 a colt python. Ever since I was 16 I have carried a fire arm in my car and now legally on my person with a permit. However, times have changed and it would be stupid for you to carry a hand gun now unless you can legally do so. Most states require you to be 21 to purchase and possess a hand gun. You can legally shoot a hand gun at any age with adult supervision.

 

[Chip]

The 22 pistol was a favorite weapon of the Mafia. The Ruger Mark I 22 pistol was a favorite of the CIA (they simply added a silencer to it).

Also, the Walther P.22 is the sidearm of covert operators such as the Israeli Mossad. I'd imagine they dispatch a lot of bad guys.

 

[w00dg0blin]

Speaking of constantly learning stuff.

I was double checking my fact about the supressed Ruger Mark I being used by the CIA. It might have been a High Power that was carried over from the OSS days of WW II. Anyhow, the U.S. Navy Seals still use a suppressed Ruger Mark II .22 caliber pistol. Who knew?

There are alot of calibers out there that are better than the 22 (almost all of them). When it comes to "silenced" guns you can't beat a 22 though. They say it sounds like spit hitting the sidewalk. Also, I can't find solid statistics of how many 22's are used in violent crimes; some say 14%, some say 10%. Either way it's still alot. A 22 might be a mouse gun but it's still better than throwing rocks.

 

[Leew]

Pistols in general are for short range close in shooting. One significant thing about the 22 caliber is that it has plenty of power to inter the brain cavity but usually not enough power to exit the other side. It bounces around inside your head instead. From that point of view it can be very deadly.