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Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 10:44 pm
by Pete Zaria
ammosmoke wrote:@Pete- If you like big revolvers, you should get a smith and wesson 500! :twisted:
The .500 is a solution with no problem to solve.
Except for hunting BIG GAME (think 800 pound plus animals) it's a useless gun. It recoils so much that it takes a second or two to get your gun back on target after firing a shot, meaning in a combat situation, follow-up shots are slow. In addition, ammo for it is so expensive that it's not economical to practice with it frequently, and practicing with your chosen weapon is critical.

In my opinion the biggest useful defensive handgun cartridge is .41 Mag or .44 Mag maybe. Those are controllable enough to get back on target in a reasonable amount of time, but still suffer from overpriced ammo. Note that bigger cartridges (.454 Casull, .460 S&W Mag, .500 S&W) have their place in hunting, but not in self defense, in my opinion.

.357 is my choice because guns chambered for .357 will also shoot .38 Special ammo which is a lot cheaper (and fine for practicing with), and packs more than enough punch for defensive purposes. I don't have handloading equipment anymore, but my Dad does. He's loaded 110 grain semijacketed .357 hollowpoints (over Unique powder, don't know the exact powder charge) to around 1600fps, which is over 625 ft/lb of energy. Those rounds will do 10+ inches of penetration on ballistic gel, and expand very reliably, making them a prime choice for self defense. It's possible to load them even hotter, too, but I wouldn't recommend it. I've seen .357's shoot 158gr bullets at nearly 1500fps, for almost 800 ft/lb. Crazy stuff.

Sorry for taking this thread off-topic...

Peace,
Pete Zaria.

Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 10:50 pm
by ammosmoke
LOL, I didn't mean for self defense necessarily, I just meant get it because it is cool!

Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 10:52 pm
by Hubb
Pete, it seems that you have a fond interest in firearms. :D

Twitch, have you ever used the knucks? I don't mean against another person, but, say, a punching bag? I've used them and the tighter you squeeze them, the harder they hit.

Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 11:02 pm
by MrCrowley
They can't search you unless they have a vaild reason, right?

Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 11:02 pm
by Ragnarok
Pete Zaria wrote:The .500 is a solution with no problem to solve.
I've heard that said about a few different guns.
However, these solutions usually find a problem - they become disproportionately popular in films and games (especially the .50 Desert Eagle, that thing has become too common), where of course they don't have the weight, size or ammo limits of reality.
Did I fire five rounds or six... Actually, I fired 29, from a 8 round magazine but we'll ignore that, because I only ever have to reload when I have cover to hide behind, and I only run out of ammo when it's critical to the plot or to allow a fist fight instead.

"Beware the man with a spudgun, because he probably built it, and it's much heavier than it looks."

Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 11:03 pm
by patton
how do you conceal a knife like that. it looks pretty crazy

Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 11:06 pm
by Hubb
MrCrowley wrote:They can't search you unless they have a vaild reason, right?
In most cases, however, I am not familiar with Australian law. Assuming that it is similar, the cops do need a reason to search the person. Either they were suspicious of him or they saw the knucks.

This does leave us wondering what he did.

@patton: You would be amazed at the places certain items can be concealed.

Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 11:20 pm
by TwitchTheAussie
Never used my knuckledusters and the cops just search me coz honestly a lot of people say Im dangerous and mentally unstable :roll: . Then again its all the rich people who say that and yeah squeeze em tight for the power. As for guns the best I can do is shooting with a .222 rifle occasionally.

Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 11:24 pm
by Hubb
TwitchTheAussie wrote:...honestly a lot of people say Im dangerous and mentally unstable :roll:...
Well then. I am going to speculate on this one for a while.

Posted: Mon Nov 05, 2007 12:18 am
by Novacastrian
That's it, i'm a gunna get me A BIGGER KNIFE :twisted:

Posted: Mon Nov 05, 2007 2:51 am
by TwitchTheAussie
And Im gonna down a few bourbons.

Posted: Mon Nov 05, 2007 8:02 am
by thrasmussen
In my opinion any object that can be thrown up against another person with enough force to harm them can be classified as a weapon. That's why I think firearms bans are so stupid, because even if the people can't figure out that most robberies are done with weapons that aren’t even legal, they should be able to understand that if you take away all the weapons in the world you still have rocks! And if you take away the rocks you still have fists!

Posted: Mon Nov 05, 2007 8:50 am
by Ragnarok
Continuing the point about what "weapons" can be used for other than attacking people, guns have no practical purpose other than killing or destroying things. Now, although destroying things can be fun, being killed isn't.
Now, I don't hate firearms - I'm very interested in them, and I won't pass up a chance to take a shot or two if it's ever available. That opportunity doesn't come up often, but it's still welcomed when it comes.
I recognise them as important, but not as a tool of destruction.
Finally, you haven't needed to keep the King* of England from coming into your house and pushing you around for ages.

Knifes and blades however are key to an advanced society - it's bladed tools that first set humanity on the way to being the dominant species.
Baseball bats aren't "important" to society, but their primary purpose is a lot more benign than firearms.

*I know it's a Queen. I'm British, I've sworn an oath of allegiance to her in the past (for the Army Cadet force), and probably know a lot more about her than you do.
If you don't recognise the reference, search for "The cartridge family" on Google.

Posted: Mon Nov 05, 2007 9:48 am
by ShowNoMercy
Ah, see thats the rest of the worlds opinion because you guys cant own guns legally. See here in America, we can and so why not take advantage of that? Who knows maybe Hillary will win and we will have to bust out the guns to defend ourselves against the evil tyrant. :wink:

Posted: Mon Nov 05, 2007 9:57 am
by spanerman
Ragnarok wrote:
Pete Zaria wrote:The .500 is a solution with no problem to solve.
I've heard that said about a few different guns.
However, these solutions usually find a problem - they become disproportionately popular in films and games (especially the .50 Desert Eagle, that thing has become too common), where of course they don't have the weight, size or ammo limits of reality.
Did I fire five rounds or six... Actually, I fired 29, from a 8 round magazine but we'll ignore that, because I only ever have to reload when I have cover to hide behind, and I only run out of ammo when it's critical to the plot or to allow a fist fight instead.

"Beware the man with a spudgun, because he probably built it, and it's much heavier than it looks."
the DE has a use though, for israli tank crews need a gun with high stopping power and it neednt work at long range....plus in chrome its ''proper pimpin''