Educational

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Quick Answer of the Week: What the heck is a “Carbine”?

Sometimes, you’ll hear someone refer to a gun as a “carbine” (official pronunciation: car-bean). What is it?

Carbines are pretty much all guns that are between handguns and rifles. Rule of thumb: if the barrel length is shorter than 18-20 inches but bigger than a handgun, it’s a carbine. The most common examples you’ll find are the AK47 and AR-15. Submachine guns are also considered carbines.

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Quick Answer of the Week: What is the difference between a “pistol” and a “revolver”?

Well, a revolver is a revolver and a pistol is a pistol. Thanks for stopping by!

Oh…you wanted more. Ok then.

A revolver is a gun that has a cylinder with a number of chambers that hold the ammunition. When the hammer is cocked, either manually or by way of a double action trigger pull, the cylinder is rotated to line up a fresh bullet with the barrel. The vast majority of revolvers chamber 5 or 6 rounds.

A pistol, on the other hand, the chamber that holds the bullet is actually a part of the barrel. There can be single shot pistols, multi-barreled, semi-automatic and machine pistols. Most pistols today are of the semi-automatic variety and are fed bullets from a removable magazine.

In the grand scheme of things, all guns can be referred to as pistols. For the most part, however, it’s generally understood that revolvers are revolvers and anything else is a pistol.

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New Guide: getting your “others” involved…

Just added a new guide to the reference section. I had debated for a while about posting this one because I know some people would probably get offended by the overall tone but if it gets even one person interested in shooting then it’s worth it.

In particular: how to start your wife/fiancee/girlfriend/etc with shooting.

Pop over to the General Reference section and check it out!

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What is “Match Grade”?

I’ve been lusting after 1911s as of late and a term I keep hearing pop up is “match grade”. After I noticed that, I started seeing it everywhere: “Match grade barrel”, “match grade ammo”, etc.

What the heck does that mean though? Well, it’s a combination of things. The root of it is the component has to be built to the highest manufacturing standard possible in order to be considered “match grade”. It’s mostly geared towards competition. Competitors want to eliminate every factor possible in order to improve their grouping and so they want barrels, bushings and such to behave as perfectly as possible every time.

There’s a problem though, “match grade” doesn’t always translate to “the best there is”. It really depends on the manufacturer. Just because a gun has a match grade barrel doesn’t automatically mean it’s going to be more accurate or dependable. If you have a match grade barrel but bargain basement bushings and a 10 year old recoil spring, the gun will still fire like crap. Think of it this way: yes, you could put racing tires and track suspension on your Volvo station wagon but in the end, it’s not going to make a bit of difference as the car itself can’t take advantage of them. In that same thread, putting a match grade barrel in a cheap gun isn’t going to make it anything other than a cheap gun with an expensive barrel in it.

Put a match grade barrel and components in a top of the line 1911, Glock or Sig and that’s an entirely different story.

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Coffee and Ammo. What could go right?!

Look at it this way: if you are in a situation where you feel the need to shoot someone in order to save your life, chances are your hands won’t be as steady as you think they will.

Actually, I think it’s a safe bet you’re going to be shaking like a…thing that shakes a lot. Anyway, if you’ve been practicing at the range with a steady hand and a bad-assed pose, how well do you think you’re going to handle it when you’re pointing that gun at a home invader at 2am? Continue reading →

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Quick Answer of the Week: WTF is “Trigger Stacking”?

I’m sure you’ve come across this phrase often. Like so many terms in the gun world, reviewers always seem to assume you know exactly what they’re talking about. Every review I’ve seen tends to refer to “trigger stacking” in a bad connotation, but never explained why. Continue reading →

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A Very Important Video

When you go to class for your carry permit, they pretty much just cover where you can carry and when you can use it. Then they kick you out the door with your paperwork and it’s up to you from that point on. 

So what do you do AFTER you’ve had to use your gun? The great Massad Ayoob covers just that subject. If you have a carry permit, this should be required viewing.

http://www.gunsandammo.com/2011/05/26/video-after-a-real-shooting/

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