hey there guys and gals new to forum any help?

[shoei]

hello there, I'm fairly new to guns, i recently had a motorcycle accident that left my wrist and knee broken, stuck at home with months of recovery i got into guns and have kinda liked it, i may have went out a lil crazy, like i said i have no experience with guns but hope this forum will help, i currently now own an ar-15, 1911, a thompson, a ruger 306 hunting rifle, a remington 12 gauge, a 9mm, and a glock.


my questions are


how often should i clean them and how?
whats the best deal on ammo?
how to get better at shooting and forms?
how to know if I'm getting a deal on a firearm?
should i upgrade any parts?
anything i should look into investing into(parts,cases,mags,ammo,cleaning stuff)?

again thank you for the help, i have recovered from my accident( still in therapy).

[johnwilliamson062]

You need to find someone local to help you with a lot of that stuff. I'd recommend you start with some classes.

How often you clean depends on what you use to clean, how much you shoot, how you store, and whether you had an authority figure mercilessly inspect your firearms in the past.

[ballardw]

whats the best deal on ammo?
"Best" would be a matter of what you want or expect from your ammo. If the activity is precision long range then ammunition with the best accuracy in your firearm. If the interest is plinking then price may be more important. For actual self-defense then reliability as tested in your weapon may well the most important criteria.

how to get better at shooting and forms?
Practice and practicing the right things properly. Again their are many facets. I would normally recommend starting practice at relatively short range with a .22 rifle. Short range because you get some sense of success and it's easier to change targets if you're walking down range, .22 to save $ and avoid recoil. After getting to understand what you are capable of then expand to longer ranges, action type shooting, bullseye or what ever your interest may be.

how to know if I'm getting a deal on a firearm?
If you are satisfied is the main thing.

should i upgrade any parts?
I would recommend staying away from "upgrades" until you know what and why you are replacing a part.

anything i should look into investing into(parts,cases,mags,ammo,cleaning stuff)?
Start with good safety equipment, glasses and hearing protection. I try to have at least 5 tested magazines for anything with a detachable magazine. That way I have some to practice with and a couple in kept in reserve. Please note that the internet is full of opinions on any brand. Someone out there will swear Brand X is the greatest thing ever made and someone else will say the exact same item is the worst garbage ever. I seldom take any one source as the revealed truth.

Cleaning equipment is sometimes a hot button issue with some folks but if you find a brand of equipment that has been around for 50+ years it probably gets the job done.

There are times you may have to set a dollar limit ahead of time. I would sometimes really like to by scope X but $2,000 isn't going to fit the budget so I look for a reasonable deal at maybe $300.

Don't ignore BB or pellet gun as an option for inexpensive practice.

[DaleA]

Welcome to the Forum Shoei. Just curious about your list.
1. AR-15,
2. 1911,
3. Thompson,
4. Ruger 306 hunting rifle,
5. Remington 12 gauge,
6. 9mm,
7. Glock.

Is #3 a Thompson single shot pistol, if so what caliber?
Is #4 a .308 caliber?
What brand is #6, your 9mm.
What model number is your Glock?

Your list is pretty impressive for someone not into guns. Is there a story about how you acquired them?

I won't take offense if you decline to answer.

Hope you heal up soon. It would be miserable trying to enjoy shooting with a busted wrist unless you have someone willing to help you out...even then probably not too much fun.

Good luck.

[g.willikers]

Welcome Shoei,
Sorry about your crash.
As an old timey cycle (sickle) rider, I feel your pain.
Been down a few times, too.
Crash bars are your friends.
As to your questions:

Cleaning
Quick and dirty way (unless you like spending all day and enjoy it):
Soak action in mineral spirits, then brush clean.
Spray with non chlorinated brake cleaner or equivalent to dry.
An air compressor works, too, if you have it.
Be careful with some plastic parts and some finishes, though.
Always test any cleaner first on an obscure part.
Polymer parts, like on modern pistols seem immune.
ATF is a good cheap lube.

Best ammo prices:
Check with places like luckygunner.com, ammotogo.com, cabelas.com, and all the rest of the internet mail order houses.

To check gun prices, galleryofguns.com and Budsgunshop.com can give you a rough idea.
But always give the local shops a chance, as they're possibly a better choice for continuing service, especially for someone new to the game.
Trying to save a few bucks isn't always such a great idea.

For learning to shoot, there is no substitute for good instruction.
Learning how properly from the start is the only way to get really good.
Unless you know what and how to practice, anything else is pretty much a waste of time.
Check in your area for instructors.
If you're stuck at home, there's a lot of good videos on the subject on youtube.
Unfortunately, there's also plenty of lousy ones, too.
For starters, look for the videos from folks like Jerry Miculek, Mike Seeklander, Todd Jarrett, Clint Smith.
After viewing some of theirs, you will be more able to tell who knows and who doesn't.
And airguns really help, especially for someone who is still somewhat housebound.

Hope this helps some.
The rest of your questions have already been answered.
For any other questions, we'll be here.

[Aguila Blanca]

All of the following are only my opinion. I'm a hide-bound old curmudgeon -- many (on this forum and elsewhere) will disagree with me. Take it for what it's worth.

Originally Posted by shoei

how often should i clean them and how?

Unless you are shooting corrosive ammo, cleaning after every range session is good but not necessarily required. After every second or third outing might be about right, or if you find crud is affecting the action.

Pay attention to your AR-15. If it has the original action design, there's a gas tube from the chamber area out to the front sight base. That needs to be kept clean. They sell long pipe cleaner-like things for the purpose.

Each firearm has specifics for cleaning. If you didn't get owner's manuals, call the manufacturers and ask -- usually they'll send you one for free. You can also often find them on-line, such as here: http://www.stevespages.com/page7b.htm

whats the best deal on ammo?

It changes almost daily. Best deals are usually (not always) on-line. Just keep looking and comparing.

how to get better at shooting and forms?

Practice.

how to know if I'm getting a deal on a firearm?

Check prices of completed auctions on sites like Gunbroker.com

should i upgrade any parts?

My view is, if it ain't broke don't fix it. IMHO a lot of people spend money changing out parts that aren't broken and probably never will break, but they feel a need to say they have a ___ hammer or trigger in their megablaster XYZ. If something about your gun doesn't work right for you, replace it. Otherwise, use the money on ammo.

anything i should look into investing into(parts,cases,mags,ammo,cleaning stuff)?

Investing? Unless you're into serious collector-grade firearms, guns are not an investment. Buy what you need. Don't buy junk, but don't throw money away. The universal cleaning kit you can buy at Wal-Mart for $8 will clean your firearms as well as a $50 kit from Cabela's.

[rickyrick]

Get on PSAs, and other retailers mailing list... I get deal blasts daily.
If you post your region, someone could probably tell you some local places

[shoei]

thank you guys so much for the help, I've even able to go the range a total of 3 times, i live in del valle tx, theres not a near gun range unfortunately. i came into guns after my wreck since my fiancee said to wait for another bike, i only have two left now. i started with my ar than started getting more this literally started about two months ago, sorry i haven't replied i been busy with work since i just returned to it. i have cleaned my guns but not sure i have done it correctly, i have 1000 rounds of ar, 500 40. and about a 100 for each other gun. thank you guys for all the help I'm hoping to get better at aiming. my guns all stored in a gun safe i recently bought.

to give some specifics of my guns for those interested

my ar-15 is a lwrc with a leopold scope
my glock is a model 22 .40 cal
my 9mm is a ruger lc9
my shotgun is a remington 12 gauge
my hunting rifle has a .306 cal
my Thompson(.45) and 45. 1911 pistol are a 100 anniversary collectors edition 319 out of 1500 (auto ordinance)

thinking about buying a .50 cal rifle as my last gun for a while idk yet tho

any other tips i would very much appreciate thank you guys.

[g.willikers]

any other tips i would very much appreciate thank you guys.

How much time do you have?
Since you asked - training, practice, more training, more practice...........

[Aguila Blanca]

The only way to improve shooting is to practice. Just remember, though, that the old adage "Practice makes perfect" is NOT correct. If you practice bad habits, you will learn bad habits and make it ten times more difficult for an instructor to help you later.

The correct advice is "Perfect practice makes perfect." Find an instructor or read a couple of books to learn proper sight picture, proper breathing, and proper trigger control and then practice those things. Keep in mind that not all instructors are marksmanship instructors. The NRA "Basic Pistol" (or whatever they call the new, "blended learning" on-line version of it now) is primarily about SAFE gun handling and shooting, not marksmanship. An instructor certified to teach that may or may not be qualified to coach you on proper shooting technique. [Queue up howls of angst from NRA instructors. Save it -- I R 1]

A good place to start would be an Appleseed shoot, if there's one in your area. However, you don't seem to have a rifle that's appropriate for an Appleseed.

http://appleseedinfo.org/

[Chaz88]

my hunting rifle has a .306 cal

I am not familiar with that caliber. Could you give the details on the firearm, please?

[shoei]

Appleseed sounds good I might just start with that, might buy a .22 or borrow one from someone idk who but I'll ask around jaja, I have about every other weekend to go to the range but than again bullets aren't cheap and I feel like I waste more than perfect my aim.

[Old Bill Dibble]

Maybe .30-06?

That is a lot of guns awful fast for someone with no experience with guns. Be careful.

[Aguila Blanca]

Originally Posted by Shoei

Appleseed sounds good I might just start with that, might buy a .22 or borrow one from someone idk who but I'll ask around jaja, I have about every other weekend to go to the range but than again bullets aren't cheap and I feel like I waste more than perfect my aim.

A semi-automatic .22LR rifle with a few extra magazines is the ideal choice for an Appleseed shoot.

Don't waste ammo just shooting if you don't feel you're improving. It's too easy to learn bad habits, and too hard to UNlearn bad habits. You can probably find some decent how-to-shoot videos on Youtube, BUT ... the problem is, anybody can post a video to Youtube, and you don't know if the guy is the world's best teacher, or the worst worst screw-up. Knowing which videos to watch and which to ignore can be a challenge.

Books are better -- publishers of printed books are less likely to invest in putting ink on paper if they don't see some value and potential market to the book.

[shoei]

Ok so if I was to buy my own .22 what brands are good what should I avoid? What should I look for?

[marines6433]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

[Aguila Blanca]

Originally Posted by Shoei

Ok so if I was to buy my own .22 what brands are good what should I avoid? What should I look for?

Your search starts and ends here: http://www.marlinfirearms.com/Firear...oading/795.asp



Also available in stainless as the 795SS.

The Ruger 10/22 is VERY popular and uses interchangeable magazines, but it's not noted for stellar accuracy. Mossberg makes an affordable model similar to the Marlin but, according to my range owner who used to work for Mossberg in his younger days, the Marlin is a better rifle.

[johnwilliamson062]

A 10/22 is a great gun for an appleseed.

Is what I used to say.

I found a deal on a nice pink furniture CMMG dedicated 22lr upper right before Christmas last year and decided the wife couldn't complain if something EXTRA was under the tree. I just took it out for the first time today as she has not shown any interest. I was impressed. I was shooting off an awkward rest as I hadn't put a sling on it, I haven't been shooting much lately, and it still did quite well. I was also able to mount a normal set of AR sights on it.
They aren't cheap, but will install right on the lower you already have. Seems like you have some money to spend anyways

[shoei]

so i got my last two guns for a while seeing how i got a lot still to learn about guns i went with the .22 rifle i thought about the upper but figured a separate gun in general would be good, and i got a armalite ar-50 figured this would be good stopping point for a while till i figure my way around guns i got to cleaning my lock and my lc9 but had trouble taking apart my 1911 might have to take it in i don't want to damage it.

thank you again guys for all the help.

[g.willikers]

For 1911s there's plenty of videos on youtube for disassembly (and re-assembly, of course).
No need to take it to a shop.
They aren't difficult.
It isn't as if there's a lack of knowledge about them, after 105 years, now.

[shoei]

I looked up YouTube and as I was trying to disassemble there a part where after you take out the spring your supposed to turn it counterclockwise but it doesn't go all the way, that's where I stopped put it back together and left it alone it's a collectors so I didn't wanna take a hammer and flat head to it

[dakota.potts]

On ammo:

If you are looking at good priced ammo, you will likely be tempted by two types of ammo: steel cased and remanufactured (reloaded). I recommend you stay away from both of these. Steel cased ammunition can be hard on gun parts, contain less than stellar components, and is often coated in a lacquer or other preservative that can cause some gumminess. Remanufactured ammunition is once fired brass that is reloaded by a company and sold as new ammunition. Both have their place and plenty of people use both of them with great results (I have a gun that only shoots steel ammo and the others never see it) but I recommend you stay away from both until you understand what they are and the risks and rewards of using them. Until then, stay with reputable brass ammo from companies like Winchester and Federal.

If you are going to be out on the range a lot, make sure you have a good pair of impact resistant eyewear and you will find an investment in electronic hearing protection to be very rewarding.

Since you value your guns in collector's condition, you should consider getting a good gunsmith screwdriver's kit as well as a punch set that comes with a soft hammer (plastic and brass head). These will help you with the disassembly you're talking about without marring up your firearm.

[Machineguntony]

Holy moly! What a way to start into the hobby.

Welcome to the hobby.

The questions you ask require a lifetime to answer. Often times, the answers are debatable; however, that's part of the fun.

For example, you would think the question, 'how often should you clean a firearm is a straightforward question'. Nope. There's a thread right now about this very question, with the lazy people saying it's ok to never clean, the obsessive people saying to clean everytime after a session, and the millenials saying clean whenever. Haha.

Oh, and if you should ever cross over into the NFA world, remember...it's a silencer, not a suppressor.