Monthly Archives: May 2014

Free For All Friday 5-30-2014: 40 vs 9, PX4’s, Boron BCGs and…oh yeah…a new writer!

9I met my buddy Chris at my very first SHOT Show. He was there as Gabby’s photographer and that’s when we were introduced. After 5 minutes of chatting, it was like we’d been buddies since high skool. I’m proud to say that as of today, Chris will be coming on board as a writer for Gun Noob! I’m sure he’ll be making a post soon to fully introduce himself but in the meantime let me just say he’s going to be bringing a great new perspective to the site. So welcome him aboard! Continue reading


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Free For All Friday, 5-23-2014: shotgun tubes, R.I.P. ammo and Monty Python…

800px-Tomb_of_the_UnknownsFirst off, it’s Memorial Day weekend. I know I have a bunch of international readers so I’ll explain: Memorial Day is a day we set aside here to honor those who have died while serving in our armed forces. It saddens me that so many people look at it only as a day off to grill meat or go to the beach and forget what it’s really about. As far as I’m concerned, one day isn’t nearly enough to even remotely honor our fallen. They should be remembered and thanked every single day. It takes a certain kind of person to wake up and say “I’m going to dedicate my life, and possibly give my life to protect a whole bunch of people who will never know my name.” That kind of mentality, that kind of thinking is the greatest kind of thinking and they are far greater people than I. We at Gun Noob thank all of you for your service to protecting the freedoms we hold dear. Continue reading


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A Great Tool for Researching the Market Price for Guns…

gbWouldn’t it be nice if there was some way to see what a gun is selling for at any give point so you can have a good idea what you’ll be paying out the door instead of having to take a guess at the price vs. MSRP? They do it with cars, after all. You can go to sites like edmunds.com and look up what people are paying for the cars at the time of sale. That gives you some great bargaining power going in to a dealership. It’s a shame you don’t have the same thing for guns so that you know what that Glock or 1911 is typically sold for.

Good news! There actually is something like that! There’s a couple of catches, however, but we’ll get to that in a moment… Continue reading


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Free For All Friday 5-16-2014: 1911s, CCW Behavior Shotguns and Kahr pistols…

warhammerSo the wife is insisting that I take up a hobby that has nothing to do with computers. She thinks it’s unhealthy sitting in front of my screen all the time and wants me to “unplug”. Guns don’t count because blog and, apparently, my love of Formula 1 racing doesn’t count either because I spend the whole time with my iPad in my lap chatting with other fans because…well…I’m a Formula 1 fan in a NASCAR world and I’m the only person I know who follows it. So anyway, in order to make her see the error of her ways, I’ve started playing Warhammer. Think of it as the geekiest game of chess you’ve ever seen…that or think of it like a real life RTS game like Command & Conquer or Starcraft. You have armies of hundreds of little miniatures that you’ve assembled and painted then you make them battle. It’s an absolute blast to play and the strategies are challenging. She will regret this.

Oh yeah, this is a gun site… Continue reading


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The Importance of Spotting Scopes

scopeGrab a rifle, slap a scope on it, get a box or 12 of ammo and then head to the range, right? Well, yeah, in the grand scheme of things. So you get to the range and set up on the 100 yard lane. Then you wait for the line to go cold. Then you hike way out there, set up your target then walk way back. You shoot a few rounds….and you have no idea if they hit paper or not. You try to look through your gun’s scope but it’s a tiny view and you can see some holes but you’re not sure. So you wait for the line to go cold and you walk way out again. Turns out you were hitting just near the bottom of the paper and that hole you thought was a bullseye was actually a fly that had landed. So you walk all the way back, make a couple of adjustments to your scope then try again. You think you’re closer but you have to wait until the next cold range. After about an hour of shooting, you’ve just gotten sighted in and you’ve fired about 12 rounds. Thank goodness you’re not on the 1000 yard line!

Or you could get a spotting scope… Continue reading


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Free For All Friday 5-9-2014: Mosins, Competition and Pocket Pistols.

1aI’ve got something big cooking. It’s going to be a couple months before I get to even hint at what it is but trust me, it’s awesome. At least I think it’s awesome. You could be like “meh” but in the meantime, I’m super excited about it and you should be too.

Also, it always amuses me how sometimes I get a batch of questions and messages that deal with one very specific subject. This week, it was about my beloved Mosin Nagant. Not only did I get a message on FB from a reader telling me he bought one and loves it (glad to hear it, dude!), but I got 2 emails with a similar story THEN I get a question from quite possibly our biggest fan Skyler (who has almost single handedly been keeping this weekly column alive and we thank him greatly for it). Hey, Skyler, if you’re reading this (and I’m pretty sure you are), send me a private message via Facebook when you get the chance, please. Continue reading


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Let’s talk about “stopping power”…

45I often mention those conversations that will just send a forum into a flame war. The myth of “stopping power” is one of the most notorious of those topics (second only to “which is better: a Glock or 1911?”). I am in the “shot placement is far more important that bullet size” camp of thought. Many, however, believe that a .45 will kill anything in heaven or earth and create a small mushroom cloud in the process. The problem is, most “studies” have been conducted poorly and in a way that is guaranteed to confirm what the author already believes. In other words: most studies are crap. They use a lot of circumstantial evidence of hearsay and the results are about as dubious as the data that led to them. Continue reading


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Beginner Gun Review: Remington 597

IMG_2303Let’s talk about hipsters for a moment. According to urban dictionary, this subculture rejects the mainstream in favor of the ironic and independent lifestyle. They generally have very productive jobs and have above average income yet dress like homeless people, all in the name of irony. They criticize things for being mainstream and brag about liking things “before they were cool”. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not ripping on hipsters. I’ve been a hardcore nerd since I said my first word as a baby (“condominium”, for those who are wondering) so it would be hypocritical for me to criticize a fringe culture.

I bring up the culture because I have a feeling that this review is going to get VERY hipster. So put on your grandpa hat, don’t shave for a while and grab your scarf and skinny jeans. Today, we’re talking about the Remington 597. Continue reading


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Free For All Friday 5/2/2014: Target shooting caliber

22I was in an off mood earlier this week. Surprisingly, the resulting editorial went over quite well and I’ve gotten more than a few messages from readers agreeing with the sentiment. Oddly enough, even though I made absolutely sure not to mention any offending blogs in the article, I got a couple of messages from some bloggers who felt I was specifically talking about them. Here’s a pro-tip: if you’re not mentioned by name and yet still feel that you were being called out, you might want to do some introspective soul searching as to why. I’m not sayin’ nothin’, I’m just sayin’. Continue reading


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