Yet Another Firearm Thread

That's a hell of a piece, Mike. Is that for shooting down hurricanes?:D
John you have, email;)
Kis, I seriously hope I never spend more than 2 weeks (combined!) of my life in an RV. If I'm going to camp, I take a tent. If I'm going on a trip, I stay in a hotel. The cramped living quarters and compromises of an RV are too much for an introvert like me.

The in-laws decided to ferry the family down to Disney World over this past summer. Of course, everyone else would get their own hotel rooms once there, but the ride down...Mom, Dad, my wife, her brother, his wife, their 12 year old, their 11 year old, their 10 year old, and their 9 year old. Notice I am not included in there. God smiled upon me with the blessing that is extremely busy seasonal work;) 14-15 hours with those people. Large, passionate (quick to kiss/quick to throw a punch), loud people.....no RV for me thanks;)
 
Steely_Gunz said:
Final random question, how well do shotgun shells keep long term? I have some that were not kept in the best of conditions that go with my single shot 12g. However, I never fire the thing. Some of them are close to 9 years old. If you think they would still work, I'd just give them to my father-in-law to put through mom's new 500.
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Under Optimal conditions shotgun shells can keep quite a helluva long time, but at 9 years old and not kept under the best of conditions, it's anyones guess.

My Father was a gun collector for most of his adult life and even reloaded his own shottie shells in his younger years. Right at this moment i have dozens of boxes of his reloads, both shotgun and rifle that are probably double the age of your shells or more, i also have dozens of store bought loads that are at least 15 years old or more. all of these shells are stored in original boxes that probably date back to the 1970's at the earliest, probably collector items in their own right.

About 5 years ago i took a box of 12 ga bird shot that is 15+ years old out to the field with me and touched about 1/2 a box off before i decided not to tempt fate any further, mostly because the old double barrel that i was using is one of the guns that i never ever saw my dad fire. there wasnt a dud in the box, they all fired as if i had just bought them. as a side note, these shells are all regular grain loads....not magnums and such. and all were kept safe and dry in the house for virtually all these years.

OTOH, i remember seeing something on discovery channel about these guys firing and old truck mounted korean war howitzer in some ski area to prevent avalanches, these guys were firing loads from that era and commented that they have yet to find a dud.

my biggest concern for old shells though is that as gunpowder ages it tends to become more unstable, mostly because the nitro in it separates from the rest of it, forming a highly flammable, highly unstable glaze. if your shells were ever dampened or kept where they freeze/thaw, i would probably opt to just not use them.

thats just my opinion though.....more gun savvy people may dispute what i've said here, but i've mostly been an advocate of being safe instead of sorry.
 
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Thanks, Karda:)

I was hoping someone would get to that question. To be quite honest, I just found the shells after years and years of riding in a old jeep cherokee chief I used to drive.

See my grandparents, sweethearted as they may be, are absolute loons about all the doomsday calamities that will undoubtedly kill us. When Y2K was about to hit, my Grandfather stocked me up with more 12g bird shot than I could ever hope to shoot. It got stuck in the back of the jeep in a cubby hole as to not roll around and sat there until I cleaned the thing out when it died for good some year earlier. It is now sitting on the work bench collecting dust. As far as I know, it never got wet. It LOOKS like its in good shape, but I didn't know if it would be ok to shoot.
 
Steely_Gunz said:
Thanks, Karda:)

I was hoping someone would get to that question. To be quite honest, I just found the shells after years and years of riding in a old jeep cherokee chief I used to drive.

See my grandparents, sweethearted as they may be, are absolute loons about all the doomsday calamities that will undoubtedly kill us. When Y2K was about to hit, my Grandfather stocked me up with more 12g bird shot than I could ever hope to shoot. It got stuck in the back of the jeep in a cubby hole as to not roll around and sat there until I cleaned the thing out when it died for good some year earlier. It is now sitting on the work bench collecting dust. As far as I know, it never got wet. It LOOKS like its in good shape, but I didn't know if it would be ok to shoot.
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It's prolly OK.... heat and cold variations can damage powder, though, and make it erratic.

Let a buddy shoot it first. If that goes Ok, reassess.... :p

Andy
 
it be fine.

shoot.

keep oil off it, messes with primers.

sand off, by hand, any corrosion on brass.

still stick with cheap pump concept. no need to spend money on shop gun.
 
Well the father-in-law took care of this issue for me. I was really leaning toward a handgun, even though my wife is not crazy about it (i'm working on her;)). However, with the situation with her dad being so sick, I am not going to press the issue at all. It'll come in time.

However, her dad is providing me with a 12 gauge Remington 870 Express which I assume is meant as a Christmas present (Dad is still stop and go enough, that we are not sure if Christmas in the cards for him or not:(). It came from the factory with an 18" barrel and extension tube for 6+1 capacity. I have the factory stock, but it already had a pistol grip installed on it (I guess for "cool factor"). At any rate, I now have a firearm that I believe will serve my purposes. I have also been told that he is indeed willing his .38 special to me. However, I am viewing it as a "loan" until Brenna's older brother wants it. It should be passed from father to son as it was before. However, he has 4 kids, is not a "gun person", has no real way to keep it locked up, and it has no external safety (that dad could find). The .38 special is an heirloom that will hopefully get passed on out of my hands to the rightful owner.

This weekend we plan on going for a visit to see Bren's folks. If dad is up to it, we're going to take mom to the range to see how bad the mossberg punishes her shoulder. I think that even if dad is too sick to go, maybe my wife and I should take her mom for some education and target practice.
 
I think that even if dad is too sick to go, maybe my wife and I should take her mom for some education and target practice.
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and to get her out of the house and occupy her mind with completely different stuff.

Great idea.
 
Steely_Gunz said:
Well the father-in-law took care of this issue for me. I was really leaning toward a handgun, even though my wife is not crazy about it (i'm working on her;)). However, with the situation with her dad being so sick, I am not going to press the issue at all. It'll come in time.

However, her dad is providing me with a 12 gauge Remington 870 Express which I assume is meant as a Christmas present (Dad is still stop and go enough, that we are not sure if Christmas in the cards for him or not:(). It came from the factory with an 18" barrel and extension tube for 6+1 capacity. I have the factory stock, but it already had a pistol grip installed on it (I guess for "cool factor"). At any rate, I now have a firearm that I believe will serve my purposes. I have also been told that he is indeed willing his .38 special to me. However, I am viewing it as a "loan" until Brenna's older brother wants it. It should be passed from father to son as it was before. However, he has 4 kids, is not a "gun person", has no real way to keep it locked up, and it has no external safety (that dad could find). The .38 special is an heirloom that will hopefully get passed on out of my hands to the rightful owner.

This weekend we plan on going for a visit to see Bren's folks. If dad is up to it, we're going to take mom to the range to see how bad the mossberg punishes her shoulder. I think that even if dad is too sick to go, maybe my wife and I should take her mom for some education and target practice.
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Jake, sounds like a good shotgun and a good plan about the .38. I have my fathers old Ruger 10/22 that I'll never sell. It will be passed to my kids. If you ever make it to Utah, look me up. I'll take you and your wife shooting. I'm sure she would have a great time with the right pistols and rifles.

Heber
 
Revolvers do not typically have safeties. Some recent revolvers have a built-in lock that can be activated with a small key.
 
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