New gun owner research and questions

^Yeah what he said. When I got into optics and learning more about guns in general, I too wasn't sure about this and confused adjustability to the dot size. When I got my first red dot sight, which was for an AR, I thought the bigger MOA number would mean more adjustability. Wrong! lol Just meant how big the dot was at any given distance. So now that I know better, I'll use a 6 MOA dot for anything up to 50 yards, and 3MOA at most for anything farther than 50 yards. Ideally a 2MOA one if I'm shooting to 100-200 yards, but those seem to be a bit harder to find. I don't have a dot sight on any pistols, but if I did I'd put a 6MOA on it, same as what I have on my shotgun.

MOA is really just a way to normalize size for distance, so you don't always have to say "X inches at Y yards". Easier to just reference everything in MOA. What's funny is that on my long range precision rifle, I have everything in MRAD, but when I look at grouping sizes I measure or convert to MOA lol

 

I’ve actually kinda been trying to remind myself to start thinking of group sizes and such in mils just because from what I understand, that’s what things are trending towards for the future. But when I first learned, I was taught MOA and all of my optics have MOA adjustments/reticles. So I honestly usually forget and just always think MOA in my head and reference it when people ask. And I do still think MOA is easier for a new shooter to grasp.

 

I'm still in a dilemma about what to do as far as home defense. Right now I have my CC pistol by my nightstand, and also a shotgun and an AR at the ready just over in the closet. If someone were to break in I have 3 options, don't know which I would go for lol But on the other hand, having all those options means they would be easy to steal if someone were to break in when I'm not home...which realistically is the most likely case. I probably should invest in a gun cabinet/safe. I just don't want to deal with the hassle of it now because I probably won't be in this house for more than like 6-10 months, and they're a PITA to move.

 

Nice. Thanks.

 

They are really the same system but one is metric one is for imperial units. Growing up in Europe I'm just as versed in the metric system as the US. The only reason I convert things to MOA is because all the distances at ranges here are in yards. If I go to a range where distances would be in meters, i would strictly use MRAD instead.

 

If you’re near Va let’s do it.
I’m curious too.
I’ve got a DD


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Where are you at? I'm in SE VA, but I'm a member at Frontline Defense in NC because that's the only place that's been open in the last couple of months plus it's the best range I've been to so far and the only one around here that goes up to 1000 yards. If anyone from here goes there, it would be cool to meet someone new and shoot with. I don't know anybody that goes there.

 

The concept of MOA is easy to grasp, its application to windage and elevation not so much. Sure, 10moa is basically a 100yd/1moa measurement at 1000yds, but your bullet ain't flyin' in a straight line so, it ends up being counter-intuitive for distance or anywhere your bullet drops like a mo-fo.

I found mils to be more conducive to long range shooting in that the yardage nearly lined up with the number of mils needed for elevation, at least in my application. For example, 1000 yds is ~10 mils of dial. This won't be true for the variety of ranges nor will it be true for every zero, trajectory, bore-to-sight distance or a mount's built-in MOA/MILS, but I found it close enough from 600-1100 yds on my 100yd zero .308 shooting 168gr FGMM with 20moa(6.6mils) mount and 2.75" bore-to-sight height....beats having to figure out 20.25 - 33.75 moa. If you want to remember 600 yds is 20.25 moa of dial, so be it..I find 600yds needing 6mils of dial way more easy. Of course, you could have a dope card taped inside your ocular lens cover.

If you're bored to tears and want to find out which works more fluidly with your platform and its use, the academic answers are out there. You just have to know the factors to input. I would say there's a personal break-even point for ease of use vs distance. For me, that number is ten. Dialing 10 moa gets me how far? Dialing 10 mils gets me 1000yds.
YMMV

 

I've watched and read some of Todd Hodnet's theory on miling and decided I'm too dumb.

 

Straight up Rt 81 until you almost hit WV.
Peacemaker is the range I go to if your ever up this way.
They have a 1000 yard range also.
I'll take you as my guest.

 

Wasn't there a shotgun specific thread?

Anyway, I'm a big fan of Mossberg 500 series and the Remington 870.
Obligatory picture of my home defense 590M1A
Light/laser easily accessible using my left hand ring finger.

 

That place looks legit! I meant to go by there next weekend if the Memorial Day CCS race weekend was going to take place. Was planning on bringing some guns and going to Shadowhawk with a friend on Saturday, which apparently is right next to Peacemaker, then go race Sunday/Monday. But now that it got canceled I don't plan on going anymore. It's 4 hours from my house so it doesn't make any sense. But if I go to Summit Point for the next couple of events and I have another day off that I can spare (or at least a few hours), I may take you up on that!

 

Sounds good.
I’m 20 minutes from Summit.


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Rugers are good guns. Usually fire just about any ammo. Just find something that YOU are comfortable with. My CCW is a Magnum Research Baby Eagle II .45acp. They call it a "semi compact" but its as large as my M&P9 but made of all steel. I'm not exactly "little" and can hide full size guns under a shirt with my Crossbreed Supertuck holster. Hell if I could find a IWB holster for my Desert Eagle I'm pretty sure I could hide that monster also.

 

Sorry but I gotta disagree with this concerning their autoloading pistols. Revolvers? Bolt guns? Sure. Good shit. Semi auto rifles, good enough I suppose. But their semiauto pistols are utter junk. No offense. I’ve handled a few of them at different times and places under varying circumstances and they all ran like shit. If this wasn’t a thread for a new gun owner I wouldn’t make it such a point to point this out, as we all have our own opinions. But for his own safety I have to strongly advise against them, just like Hi Point and Taurus.

 

I wouldn't put Ruger pistols in the same category as Taurus or HiPoint lol...not even close. My Security-9 which is my CCW gun is a great little gun for the price point. I've got probably around 800 rounds through it so far with no issues. It's not too heavy, it's comfortable for my hand, trigger is pretty good, and accurate enough for a 4" barrel. The thing just works. Nothing negative to say about it at all, I love it. Shot it back-to-back with an M&P Shield compact, and I liked the Ruger more, and it was cheaper too.

 

Yes.

Do a title search for either "shotgun" or "shotguns", you'll get quite a few shotgun specific threads. Whether they stay on topic is, well, you know...

 

For the price I like ruger .I like their customer service . My ruger's have always gone bang when I asked them to. Can't say that about some of the more expensive guns I own.

 

As long as no one is recommending a Glock to a new gun owner, I'm happy. Hell, as long as no one's recommending one to anyone, I'm a pig in shit.

 

I got a Ruger P85 when they first came out. I traded a clapped out FJ600 racebike for it and regretted the deal almost instantly after I shot that POS. The only thing good I can say about it is that it functioned properly for the 3 mags I put through it. I don't remember how I got rid of that piece, but whatever I sold or traded it for I was just glad to get it gone. Not the worst weapon I have ever had, but certainly the one I disliked the most. I have had other Rugers that I liked a lot, before and since, but the P85 was the worst gun they ever produced.