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View Full Version : WhichGun.com - A new resource for researching firearms


jersey_emt
April 27, 2011, 12:59 AM
http://www.whichgun.com/img/logo_300px.png (http://www.whichgun.com)

On April 15th, I launched WhichGun.com (http://www.whichgun.com), a firearms reference and buying guide that I have been working on as a personal project. Some TFL members had done some testing prior to launch, and I've received feedback from other visitors about small bugs and glitches. These are all fixed, so I am very proud to announce that WhichGun.com is open and ready.

The firearms directory contains information, specifications, photos, user ratings, and user comments on over 1,000 firearms, with more added daily. If you need help choosing your next gun, WhichGun.com can certainly help to narrow down your list of possibilities, and perhaps guide you towards models that you had not previously heard of or considered.

The semi-automatic pistols directory is complete, and the revolvers directory is about 75% complete (I have all current S&W, Ruger, and Taurus revolvers in the database). I expect all 4 sections (pistols, revolvers, rifles, and shotguns) to be complete within 2 weeks.

After the firearms directory is finished, the next step is articles, followed by a directory of local FFL's, shooting ranges, gunsmiths, etc.

Any comments, suggestions, and constructive criticism is appreciated -- please contact me at [email protected] and let me know your thoughts about the site. I know I need to improve the filtering/searching system, as it is currently limited to only one filter option at a time. You can search for all full-size pistols, all SIG Sauer pistols, or all 9x19mm pistols, but you cannot search for all full-size 9x19mm SIG Sauer pistols. This improvement is already on my to-do list for the site.

Thanks again, and I hope that many TFL members find WhichGun.com (http://www.whichgun.com) useful.

-Justin L. Franks
Owner, WhichGun.com (http://www.whichgun.com)
[email protected]

PSP
April 27, 2011, 07:00 AM
I took a quick look. This should prove to be a fine source of information as it grows and people participate. I plan to register and add comments. Thanks for the effort. Good job. ;)

jersey_emt
April 29, 2011, 12:32 AM
I've just finished rewriting the filtering and sorting code this evening. It still needs to be properly tested, but I think I've got it, and it should be added to the live site tomorrow. This will allow multiple filtering options, so you can easily find all full-size 9mm Smith & Wesson pistols, all compact .45 ACP Kimber pistols, and so forth. The URL's are going to look like '/firearms/pistols/type:full-size/manufacturer:smith-wesson/caliber:9x19mm', '/firearms/pistols/type:compact/manufacturer:kimber/caliber:45-acp', etc.

I'll post again once this enhancement is live. It will make it so much easier to narrow down your search or find a particular gun.

jersey_emt
April 29, 2011, 03:31 PM
The enhanced filtering/sorting feature is now live. Any filtering option you select will remain until you remove it. If you click on 'Subcompact' pistols, then 'SIG Sauer' pistols, then '.380 ACP' pistols, you will only see all subcompact .380 ACP SIG Sauer pistols. You can remove each filtering option individually using the 'remove filter' links, or can remove all filtering options at once using the 'remove all filters' links at the top of the left column.

If you find any bugs or glitches, or have any other comments or suggestions, please let me know by emailing me at [email protected].

spodwo
April 29, 2011, 07:20 PM
This is very nice - I have been looking for a pistol in .40 of a small size and noted my choices are limited....but what a great site!

Terry A
April 29, 2011, 07:27 PM
Great site Jersey! I added it to my favorite links list. Thanks for posting it.

In the "Rifles" section, will that include assault rifles & military style weapons?

jersey_emt
April 30, 2011, 02:41 PM
Terry A, each section (pistols, revolvers, rifles, and shotguns) will eventually contain all currently-produced firearms as well as all firearms commonly found on the used market.

If you are asking whether the rifles section will include information on AR-15's, AK-47's, and the like, the answer is yes. Will it include information on true (select-fire) assault rifles, most likely the answer is also yes. But because the market is so limited due to the post-1986 restrictions on civilian ownership, they will be the last to be added. Semi-automatic, bolt-action, lever-action, pump-action, and single-shot rifles will be added before any select-fire rifles.

Just like you can filter pistols by form factor (full-size, compact, etc.), rifles will be able to be filtered by type (semi-automatic, bolt-action, etc.).

catnphx
April 30, 2011, 03:02 PM
Very nicely done. I too will add to my favorites and spread the word. Keep up the good effort and work.

Terry A
May 1, 2011, 08:06 AM
Thanks for the updated answers Jersey!

ClayInTx
May 1, 2011, 09:07 AM
Good work, Jersey.

I suppose the cartridges on the right side of each entry represent approval rating of the gun. It would be good to have some way of determining if the approval rating is valid or just someone pushing, or un-pushing, a particular model; but that’s asking a bit much, I suppose. Not really much of a way to do that.

I suggest a separate entry for each caliber of the same model; such as the Ruger SP101 in .357 and .327 should each have its own entry.

Yeah, I know. You gave me an inch and I’m on my way to the mile.

I’ve put the site into Favorites and will likely register. I have one gun for which I would like to turn the rating bullets upside down.

Clay

SPUSCG
May 1, 2011, 09:15 AM
The kel tec pf9 and p3at say da/sa, there dao. But nice site. what does the numbers after "ccw factor" mean, a user rating or something?

jersey_emt
May 1, 2011, 12:56 PM
I suppose the cartridges on the right side of each entry represent approval rating of the gun. It would be good to have some way of determining if the approval rating is valid or just someone pushing, or un-pushing, a particular model; but that’s asking a bit much, I suppose. Not really much of a way to do that.

Under the rating it shows how many votes were cast for each firearms' rating. Any rating with a higher number of votes is more reliable, since one person's individual rating contributes less to that gun's overall rating.

The kel tec pf9 and p3at say da/sa, there dao. But nice site. what does the numbers after "ccw factor" mean, a user rating or something?

I fixed the Kel-Tec errors. The numbers after CCW Factor is that gun's CCW Factor, a calculation based on a handgun's size and firepower. This is all explained on each firearms' page (i.e. http://www.whichgun.com/firearms/pistols/view/kel-tec-pf-9) under Concealed Carry Factors, including a link to a detailed explanation (http://www.whichgun.com/concealed_carry_factors) of how these numbers are calculated.

jersey_emt
May 2, 2011, 12:47 AM
A very good suggestion was made to me in order to improve the site -- allow multiple selections per filtering option. If you go to B&H Photo's page for DSLR camera shopping (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?ci=6222&N=4291645407&cm_sp=Filters-_-Category-_-SLR_Digital_Cameras), on the left you can select multiple manufacturers, megapixel counts, LCD screen sizes, and so forth.

On WhichGun.com (http://www.whichgun.com), a similar system will allow you to, for example, easily find all compact and subcompact pistols manufactured by Ruger or Kel-Tec and chambered for .380 ACP or 9mm. With these filter criteria, you would be presented with the Ruger LC9, Ruger LCP, Ruger SR9c, Kel-Tec P-11, Kel-Tec P-3AT, and Kel-Tec PF-9.

This would obviously be a much more powerful system for discovering which firearms fit your requirements.

I've already started rewriting some of the code and have made some progress towards making this feature available. If all goes well, this 'super enhanced' filtering system will be live by the end of this week.

If anyone has any additional comments or suggestions, or if you have found an error or bug, please let me know about it.

Jamie B
May 2, 2011, 06:00 PM
The capacity seems to be odd.

Most capacities are mag capacity + 1 for the chamber.

The Ruger SR1911 lists 8, while it comes with both 7 and 8 round mags.
Capacity would be 7+1 or 8+1.
Which number does the capacity of 8 reflect?

The Walther P22 is listed as 10.
The P22 mag has 10 rounds, plus 1 in the chamber.

Are the site listings based upon mag capacity alone, and ignoring 1 in the chamber?

waymore
May 2, 2011, 08:57 PM
seems like a good website. one problem is I can't view many pages on iPad the formatting is off and you can't see text.

KyJim
May 2, 2011, 09:12 PM
Outstanding from my first quick peek! Lots of work put into it.

As far as stating capacity, I think just listing the mag capacity to be fine.

jersey_emt
May 3, 2011, 12:45 AM
Capacities listed on the firearms index pages are the magazine capacity for that firearm.

If you click on, for example, the Walther P22, the capacities listed in the firearms detail pages are the total capacity, represented as 10+1 in this case.

jersey_emt
May 3, 2011, 12:47 AM
waymore, I have no way of testing the site on an iPad. I'm on a Mac and tested in Safari, and it was my understanding that Safari on the iPad used the same rendering engine as the Mac OS X version of Safari.

If you could provide some screenshots on your iPad, it would be greatly appreciated.

waymore
May 4, 2011, 11:03 AM
jersey, I went back on the sight today and could not reproduce my problems I was having. maybe my iPad was just acting up. if I can reproduce the problem I'll send you a screenshot.

spacecoast
May 4, 2011, 06:35 PM
Looks fine on my iPad.

Roger Ronas
May 4, 2011, 10:05 PM
Checked out the site. Liked it so I registered.

Roger

jersey_emt
May 6, 2011, 02:55 PM
Well, it took a lot more work to update the filtering system than I first thought, but it is done. You can now make multiple selections for each filtering option via checkboxes. I've also added a way to change the number of results per page from the default of 20 per page -- there is a dropdown to select 10, 20, 50, or 100 firearms per page.

Since I had to rip out and rewrite quite a bit of code to get this working, some bugs are probably present. If you notice any problems -- whether you receive an actual error message or something just doesn't work the way you'd expect, please let me know about it at [email protected].

Sample: All subcompact or pocket pistols, manufactured by Kahr, Kel-Tec, Ruger, or Taurus, chambered for .380 ACP or 9x19mm.

http://www.whichgun.com/firearms/pistols/type:subcompact,pocket/manufacturer:kahr,kel-tec,ruger,taurus/caliber:380-acp,9x19mm/sort_by:ccw_factor/sort_direction:desc

Drummer101
May 6, 2011, 03:09 PM
Would it be possible to have a picture of the sight picture?

jersey_emt
May 7, 2011, 02:47 AM
Would it be possible to have a picture of the sight picture?

Unlikely. I have permission from most gun manufacturers to use their images of their firearms on my site. But very few (if any) include photos showing the sight pictures on their website, printed catalog, etc.

DBLAction454
May 7, 2011, 12:51 PM
Cool site... I moseyed around for a bit... :)

hogcowboy
May 7, 2011, 01:49 PM
Jersey, are you going to have a section for derringers such as Bond Arms or did I miss it? I know you made short work of the Dan Wesson stuff but this would be a whole other section and may not fit into your design concept. Since this is a different category, I didn't know whether to post here or in your General Handgun forum so I posted in both. Feel free to ignore which ever.......Larry

jersey_emt
May 11, 2011, 12:19 AM
Larry, I think I'm going to put derringers and single shot pistols in with the revolvers. There aren't enough different models out there to warrant an entire section IMO. If I find out that there are a lot more of these types of handguns out there I will consider adding a new section.

jersey_emt
May 11, 2011, 12:20 AM
I've just added the ability to filter by trigger type (DA/SA, DAO, etc.). This should make it even easier to narrow down your search.

jersey_emt
May 19, 2011, 01:04 AM
The shotguns section (http://www.whichgun.com/firearms/shotguns) is now active, with all currently-produced Mossberg models in the database. I'm working on adding Remington shotguns now, after which I'll work on other shotgun manufacturers (Benelli, Ruger, Beretta, etc.).