How to learn everything there is to know about guns

[Ms. JEP]

As I get older (27) I realize more and more just how vulnerable I am to the outside world. I decided I would teach myself everything there is to know about guns, gun laws, and shooting. Any recommendations on where to start my education before I move forward and attain my "right to bear arms"?

 

[joncaparso]

As I get older (27) I realize more and more just how vulnerable I am to the outside world. I decided I would teach myself everything there is to know about guns, gun laws, and shooting. Any recommendations on where to start my education before I move forward and attain my "right to bear arms"?

You have come to the right place!
Keep your eyes open and read, read, read.
And post, post, post.

You will be wicked smaaaat in no time.

If you wanna go shooting, post where you are from and you will get offers by anyone in your area. Once you get to the range ask questions. People are really generous with their firearms and love to talk about them.

Welcome!

 

[mctrinket]

Join the following groups:

Commonwealth Second Amendment, Inc.

Gun Owners' Action League - GOAL.org - "Protecting Your Freedom Begins Here"

 

[TOY539]

Basically due the opposite of anything the present idiots in the Washington say to do so. Seriously do the completely opposite of what they say you should do. Ok that said you've taken a right step by coming here. Look around the forum you'll definately learn a thing or two. I know I have, and by the way take no advice from Obama.

 

[Rob Boudrie]

The LenS course on gun laws would be a worthwhile investment. You can take it before you take one of the more generic courses that includes law so you can recognize the mistakes, or take it after to unlearn the stuff you were mistaught

 

[Infinite Jester]

I realize more and more just how vulnerable I am to the outside world.

Just making that statement puts you leagues ahead of the victim class out there. Taking that first step in seeking self defense in a time of crisis is one all of have made. Taking that class Rob mentioned would be advantageous to navigating the maze of Mass gun laws.

 

[Taka]

Join the following groups:

Commonwealth Second Amendment, Inc.

Gun Owners' Action League - GOAL.org - "Protecting Your Freedom Begins Here"

This

And read everything there is here on NES. The wealth of knowledge is amazing (ignore the occasional stupidity).
To me the most impressive thing about the NES forum is peoples willingness to share their knowledge.
As you gain knowledge don't forget to give it back when ever you can.

 

[Ms. JEP]

Easier said than done

Just making that statement puts you leagues ahead of the victim class out there. Taking that first step in seeking self defense in a time of crisis is one all of have made. Taking that class Rob mentioned would be advantageous to navigating the maze of Mass gun laws.

All,
While I am not a lawyer, I do legal research everyday, so I know I can research on gun laws, I want reali life perspective on the laws.
Also, this frum is a little oerwhelming. Where do i start to "read read read"? Also, for those who want to post to this thread - while I am not an Obama supporter, I don't believe in cutting people down. Feel free to leave your political convictions, but can I suggest that you use words that support your platform instead of smearing your opponents. This approach will give your words more power and respect.

 

[Nicole]

For laws, start with Stephen Halbrook and John Lott. After that, you can tackle state aws - LenS does a good seminar that will get you started if you are in MA.

For guns themselves, grab a few introductory books. They needn't be new. Get a few perspectives and then start filling in holes using online forums as you become aware of the holes.

And finally, a word of advice - your desire and opinion of how other people should "speak" holds no more water than anyone else's. Everyone here has different motivations and intended target audiences. Walking into an existing group and suggesting they change their forms of expression to suit your particular prejudices isn't going to win you fans. (Yes, I am aware of the hypocritical circle this is setting up - you are of course free to speak as you please, just trying to give you a heads up on the "local culture" as it were).

Good luck and welcome!

 

[Len-2A Training]

All,
While I am not a lawyer, I do legal research everyday, so I know I can research on gun laws, I want reali life perspective on the laws.
Also, this frum is a little oerwhelming. Where do i start to "read read read"? Also, for those who want to post to this thread - while I am not an Obama supporter, I don't believe in cutting people down. Feel free to leave your political convictions, but can I suggest that you use words that support your platform instead of smearing your opponents. This approach will give your words more power and respect.

Welcome. Best place to start is the MA Gun Law sub-forum, by reading the Stickies there. You will have to separate the wheat from the chaff however.

Normally I would not recommend my MA Gun Law Seminar to absolutely new people, as a little "street experience" in the gun world will lead you to ask better questions and I prefer my seminars to be interactive. However, if your real-world job is doing legal research, you might have an easier time grasping my material even without real firearms experience.

On the other hand, if you take my seminar before taking your BFS course, you might be very tempted to challenge your BFS instructor on a lot of points and piss him off no end. I had to sit thru 16 hours of MA Hunter Safety last Summer biting my tongue as the instructors (including an EPO) spewed tons of bad and illegal info to the 42 students in the class. I was a student there, not an instructor and no-one there knew my background or that I really understand many/most of our arcane gun laws.

 

[Contramnky]

Ms. JEP,

Welcome to the forum! Rather than reiterate the great advice others have already shared, I'll answer your questions and address some points:

- Under each of the various forums there are STICKY threads, meaning they are a permanent fixture, and with good reason. They contain a wealth of readily accessible knowledge with which to enlighten and guide you on your journey into the world of firearm ownership.

- While you may not be an Obama supporter, there are some on this message board, as you surely understand there are many who are more of your ilk. Many members of this board are VERY politically active, as evidenced by the 19 JAN 2013 civil rights protest at the state house in Boston, MA. While I understand and appreciate your message regarding tolerance and how it enables effective communication, don't hold out that others will embrace it. As with everywhere else, take all political statements with a grain of salt, or disregard them as opinion. Either way, don't let them get to you, get you down, or get under your skin. In fact, I would recommend getting some thick while perusing this forum.

- The fact that you're involved in legal research is great! Maybe *YOU* can be an asset to *US* as well! Should become passionate about firearms, there are many organizations (listed above, COMM2A, GOAL, etc) who could always benefit from a citizen willing to support civil rights protections.

- Before asking a question, I would recommend using the search function (top right hand corner) to query the forum. Odds are the question has already been answered. The other benefit to doing so is that you will prevent members from having to answer the same questions over and over and over (example: I want to buy my first shotgun. Which one should I get?) Ensuring you take this quick little step will endear you to other members, and engender their good will.

- Have you shot a gun before? While you are in the process of learning and getting your firearms license, there are means available to you to get some real hands-on experience. As mentioned, most gun owners would be happy to help a newbie in the process of learning. Additionally, there are places like the Mass Firearms School in Holliston, MA, where you can fire a variety of rifles and pistols under the watchful eye of staff members.

I hope this helps, and I applaud you for exercising one of your most precious natural and civil rights.

Godspeed,

- Phil -

 

[Ms. JEP]

Nicole, than'ks for the advice. I think that, or I hope that, what I was suggesting was that instead of just saying "obama sucks" - Say "Obama sucks because.....and no offenes to toys539 ....Instead of saying "take no advice from Obama" - support why I should not take his advice. Gun enthusiasts tend to lose their momentum and support when they say thay "hate on obama", but do not say why. Does that make sense? I want the gun enthusiaists to gain support, and I think the first step in gaining support is to send a message, a consisent message, full of facts and conclusions.

 

[Nicole]

Nicole, than'ks for the advice. I think that, or I hope that, what I was suggesting was that instead of just saying "obama sucks" - Say "Obama sucks because.....and no offenes to toys539 ....Instead of saying "take no advice from Obama" - support why I should not take his advice. Gun enthusiasts tend to lose their momentum and support when they say thay "hate on obama", but do not say why. Does that make sense? I want the gun enthusiaists to gain support, and I think the first step in gaining support is to send a message, a consisent message, full of facts and conclusions.

Ah. Thank you for the clarification. There is a huge difference between "Show your work" and "Don't say things I don't like to hear" and I'm afraid I misinterpreted your post as the later instead of the former.

By way of response/tangential ramblings: You have a valid point. I would point out though that while you are going to run into a lot of Republicans in any kind of group of gun enthusiasts, the younger generation of gun nuts and particularly on NES is much more libertarian than party-line Republican. As TOY said, "the current idiots." If you started a thread asking if people liked GWB and his policies, I think the answers here would be overwhelmingly "NO." I think there's a general sentiment of finding him less despicable than Obama, but a large consensus of posters here has no love for the Republicans. And that is where the non-gun nuts lose us - there is an assumption that all gun nuts are Bible-quoting, abortion banning, gay-hating white guys with Republican party cards and that doesn't describe most of the gun nuts I know, and certainly not the ones on NES.

For us, it is a given that nearly all the policiticians in DC are liars, scoundrels, and notable for sticking their noses into things they don't understand. If you haven't reached a similar conclusion, your average NESer will conclude that you just haven't been paying attention.

Just to illustrate, Joe Biden recently suggested that no one (particuarly women) needed an AR for home defense, instead they should have a double-barreled shotgun and just shoot through their door if they feel scared. What is wrong with this?

1. ARs are more ergonomic and have considerably less recoil than your typical shotgun, which means your average person will do better if handed an AR and is certainly more likely to practice with the AR.

2. A double-barreled shotgun allows two shots before reloading. An AR will allow minimally 5, potentially several times that depending on magazine choice. Why is this a good thing? Talk to a hunter. Ask if they've ever heard of someone shooting a 100+ lb deer right in the heart/lungs and watched the deer run off. They will laugh and tell you it happens ALL the time. Bullets are not magic. One shot =/= one kill. It can, but there's certainly no guarantee of that. Now imagine a home defense scenario. You are scared out of your mind, so your aim is likely a bit off. There may be multiple attackers. They may be on drugs. They are just as able to run towards you as run away if you shoot them. And it may take multiple hits to make them stop being a threat to you. Do you want two shots or as many as you can get? I know I sure as heck want more than two!

3. As a responsible, law-abiding citizen, shooting through an exterior door is generally verboten, both ethically and legally. If someone is still outside and has not breached the door, they are not yet an imminent danger to me. I cannot shoot someone just because they are standing in my yard yelling scary things. Additionally, if they are on the other side of the door, it is unlikely that I have identified the target and impossible to know if the shot is a good shot (e.g. there could be police or helpful neighbors coming up the walk behind the threat and I can't see them). Shooting through your front door because you are scared is likely to land you in jail and is not something you will see advocated amongst responsible gun owners.

4. Biden also encouraged the use of a "warning shot" into the air. Such things are generally illegal. In most jurisdictions, the discharge of a gun is the use of deadly force. You can't employ deadly force just because you are scared, you must have a reasonable fear of imminent death or grievous bodily harm. And if you DO have such a reasonable fear, why on God's green earth would you waste ammo on a warning shot? Moreover, if you have such a reasonable fear, you are very unlikely to have the TIME for a warning shot. If someone has given me reason to believe they are about to kill me, I want them to stop and I want them to stop RIGHT NOW.

In conclusion, Biden went on national TV and told people to use guns that are less effective, with which they are likely to be less proficient, that are more likely to fail to stop a threat, and encouraged them to engage in multiple behaviors that are illegal. He has NO clue what he is talking about, and it is painfully obvious to any gun nut that this is the case. And this is what happens darn near every time the politicians start talking about guns. If you want examples, start a thread asking everyone to contribute examples of "dumbest things politicians have said about guns" and ask them to explain to a newb why it was a dumb thing. That should be sufficiently amusing to engage us.

For more on this general theme of why what the media/politicians say is stupid and uninformed, you should read the following post. Correia kicks ass, and reading this post would be an excellent start on your gun education.
An opinion on gun control | Monster Hunter Nation

 

[Len-2A Training]

Nicole, that was an awesome response and on-point!

Wish I could give you +100 rep points for tha response!