Guns, Guns, and more Guns.

[NickyJ]

in any case..until a year ago I had one of these at home



Stgw 90 / Sig 550

I gave it back once I was released from military duty...could have kept it for 100.-- but I'm not that much of a gun nut

For 100 dollars? You are a nut for giving up such an awesome gun when you could have had it for so cheep.

100 francs which is about 120 dollars, but yeah. they would have modified it to only allow semi-auto-mode, though.

but I just saw no point in keeping such a gun around, especially now that there's small kids in the house

Keep it up above the fireplace like they do for 18th century muskets. You never know when the zombie invasion might begin.

 

[emzie]

Keep it up above the fireplace like they do for 18th century muskets. You never know when the zombie invasion might begin.

Keeping an unsecured semi-automatic rifle above your fireplace when you have kids is a horrible idea.

 

[NickyJ]

Keeping an unsecured semi-automatic rifle above your fireplace when you have kids is a horrible idea.

You've heard of kidding, right? I mean, I figured it was quite obvious that you would keep it in a much more secure place than that.

 

[Flying Pig]

Keeping an unsecured semi-automatic rifle above your fireplace when you have kids is a horrible idea.

Without ammunition around? The worst that could happen is they could take it off, mess with it and scratch it, and frankly if you're any decent parent your children should know 'don't touch mummy and daddy's ornaments' as basic.

 

[NickyJ]

Without ammunition around? The worst that could happen is they could take it off, mess with it and scratch it, and frankly if you're any decent parent your children should know 'don't touch mummy and daddy's ornaments' as basic.

True. Heck, when I was about five years old, I had already learned: 'Don't touch the gun under any circumstances. Or else...' Frankly, I didn't feel in a hurry to find out what 'or else' was. Even if 'or else' was left out, I knew better than to touch it.

 

[AL_DA_GREAT]

Exactly what my old service rifle looked like, except I don't had a few of the add ons different. Best assault riffle ever.

 

[emzie]

Without ammunition around? The worst that could happen is they could take it off, mess with it and scratch it, and frankly if you're any decent parent your children should know 'don't touch mummy and daddy's ornaments' as basic.

Perhaps if ammunition was hard to get ahold of, I'd agree. And it may very well be hard to get ahold of in the UK. In the US, you can buy it at Walmart. You can buy it at Walmart here, too, but you have to show a firearm license.

In Switzerland, where the semi-automatic rifles are ubiquitous, even if you've secured your ammunition separately from your rifle, your kid's friend's parents might not.

Not to mention, I'd find it weird if you were displaying an assault rifle above your mantel. An old musket? Yeah, that's decorative. A Sig550? That'd look weird.

 

[cardgame]

That's a pretty short barrel. I'm not really sure if I recognize it. Looks a lot more like an SMG to me.

 

[Flying Pig]

That's a pretty short barrel. I'm not really sure if I recognize it. Looks a lot more like an SMG to me.

The mechanism on an SMG works in a completely different way, in short it lacks a hammer and a lock inter alia. Compare that one with the Steyr AUG thing that the Irish use; effective range about six feet but it's small and light and good for an army that's not really too bothered about actually fighting with the things. To paraphrase Chesty Puller - 'where does the bayonet go?'

In Switzerland, where the semi-automatic rifles are ubiquitous, even if you've secured your ammunition separately from your rifle, your kid's friend's parents might not.

True, but they also very likely have a rifle exactly the same as yours, so the risk of it being stolen and used for crime is very low.

 

[emzie]

SOMEWHAT RELATED NOTE GUYS

I got my wife to agree that a rifle with a trigger lock, in a locked case with ammunition secured separately is not dangerous. She wants me to admit that "target shooting is just the excuse you're using for a testosterone rush." I don't have a great response to this. Someone help!

True, but they also very likely have a rifle exactly the same as yours, so the risk of it being stolen and used for crime is very low.

I'm more worried that a kid brings over unsecured ammunition from his parents to the house with the unsecured rifle -- which is a greater risk since the rifle and ammunition are standard issue.

 

[IglooDame]

Keeping an unsecured semi-automatic rifle above your fireplace when you have kids is a horrible idea.

I'm not familiar with the inner workings of that rifle, but I'd think that an unobtrusive key-lockable bolt/plug that disables the rifle (filling the firing chamber and/or preventing the bolt from going forward, etc etc) could be machined relatively easily. Or better yet, assuming the owner is familiar with breaking down the rifle, they could remove the firing pin and keep it somewhere secure.

 

[AL_DA_GREAT]

@contre. Take all the knives out of your home. Knives kill more people than guns in the west. Also sell your car, take out all the junk food and definetly alchohol and ciggarettes. She will say I know they are bad but I like them to much. Then you say the same.

One good way of being safe is to keep different parts of the gun in different places. Take out the barrel and store it seperately from the rest of the gun.

 

[emzie]

She will say I know they are bad but I like them to much. Then you say the same.

That's a good response. But I think I have to overcome the double standard. At the end of the day, I want a bolt-action rifle, not a semi-automatic or a hand gun.

 

[IglooDame]

SOMEWHAT RELATED NOTE GUYS

I got my wife to agree that a rifle with a trigger lock, in a locked case with ammunition secured separately is not dangerous. She wants me to admit that "target shooting is just the excuse you're using for a testosterone rush." I don't have a great response to this. Someone help!

Take her out shooting? I mean, to a rental range where you can rent a .22 pistol or rifle. I've taken over a dozen "new shooters" (from 'have literally never touched a gun before' to 'it has been a decade or two since I last shot a gun') to the range, and one really didn't enjoy herself, a couple more were more or less neutral, and the rest mostly bug me to go again.

If you can make it down this way, my wife and I will take you both to the range.

 

[NetGear]

I did break rule #2 and occasionally pointed the barrel toward my eye. That is, when i completely disassemble it and clean it.

Silly technicality aside, the 4 golden rules should not be messed with. Its not just for you, but for others as well. I don't care if you checked 100 times to see if its emptied. If you point it at me, we're gonna have a problem.

 

[Cutlass]

This one is my carry gun - KelTec P4AT, shoots .380ACP:

What's the .380ACP like? I've inherited a Colt .380 automatic pistol. Hasn't been fired in probably 40 years.

 

[emzie]

Take her out shooting? I mean, to a rental range where you can rent a .22 pistol or rifle. I've taken over a dozen "new shooters" (from 'have literally never touched a gun before' to 'it has been a decade or two since I last shot a gun') to the range, and one really didn't enjoy herself, a couple more were more or less neutral, and the rest mostly bug me to go again.

If you can make it down this way, my wife and I will take you both to the range.

I think we'd have to drive to the States to do that. There's not much in the way of shooting ranges around here. The ones that exist are pretty restrictive.

 

[GamezRule]

SuperJay! When I'm a bit older, we are going deer hunting!

 

[Grisu]

Without ammunition around? The worst that could happen is they could take it off, mess with it and scratch it, and frankly if you're any decent parent your children should know 'don't touch mummy and daddy's ornaments' as basic.

a gun is still a gun and should never just lie around with or without ammo. Kids are kids and while you might have been able to tell your own children not to handle your guns (and they might even obey) there's no telling what their friends will do. I'm rather liberal on gun laws, but when people keep guns at home unsecured that's where I draw the line. Such people should not have the right to own guns taken away, IMHO.

In Switzerland, where the semi-automatic rifles are ubiquitous, even if you've secured your ammunition separately from your rifle, your kid's friend's parents might not.

ammo for the SIG-550 is rather easy to come by as they're used in every rifle club throughout the country (and there are a lot of those)

I'm not familiar with the inner workings of that rifle, but I'd think that an unobtrusive key-lockable bolt/plug that disables the rifle (filling the firing chamber and/or preventing the bolt from going forward, etc etc) could be machined relatively easily. Or better yet, assuming the owner is familiar with breaking down the rifle, they could remove the firing pin and keep it somewhere secure.

standard way to do it (and you're required to do that while in the army unless you have a gun cupboard) is to take out the whole firing mechanism and lock it a away in a separate place, which is what I did.

 

[IglooDame]

What's the .380ACP like? I've inherited a Colt .380 automatic pistol. Hasn't been fired in probably 40 years.

My wife's carry gun is a Colt Mustang .380ACP Pocketlite. They're like full-size 1911s that have been left in the dryer too long and shrunk. It's a tough gun to shoot (the recoil is not massive, but it's sharper than just about anything else, and anyone with average-to-large hands has difficulty keeping a traditional grip on it because there's not much to hang on to), and one of the toughest to shoot accurately (short sight radius and short barrel). If it wasn't for the fact that they are about the same size as my wallet and not much heavier, I wouldn't own them.

I think we'd have to drive to the States to do that. There's not much in the way of shooting ranges around here. The ones that exist are pretty restrictive.

Come on down, Manchester NH isn't too far away is it? Three hours' drive from Montreal, maybe four from Ottawa?

standard way to do it (and you're required to do that while in the army unless you have a gun cupboard) is to take out the whole firing mechanism and lock it a away in a separate place, which is what I did.

There you go.