My First Shotgun

[OverNinja]

Think yourself lucky. In the UK, a shotgun is the only firearm that every citizen has the right to own - in theory. That's subject to a £50 fee, photos on file (but not prints) and a detailed home inspection.

More costly here €72 for purchase and posession permit.
You also have to apply for the permit in person at the police station.
Self defense is in most cases not a valid reason for purchasing a gun.
And after purchasing your gun, you must again visit the police station with the gun, so they know what you have.

[ComicJam]

Think yourself lucky. In the UK, a shotgun is the only firearm that every citizen has the right to own - in theory. That's subject to a £50 fee, photos on file (but not prints) and a detailed home inspection.

More costly here €72 for purchase and posession permit.
You also have to apply for the permit in person at the police station.
Self defense is in most cases not a valid reason for purchasing a gun.
And after purchasing your gun, you must again visit the police station with the gun, so they know what you have.

Same in the UK, you need to go to the police station to apply.
Thankfully, that's a good thing in my book (guns scare the life out of me)!

Cheers!

[Valentina]

I'm buying a Benelli Nova 12ga by installment right now.
Probably not tinfoil hat worthy, but funny timing all the same.

Overninja: but hey, on the plus side you get to walk into a police station with a longarm and if that's not an adrenaline dump you're a cooler customer then I.

[ThunderMonkey]

Ha! I've got two more teef than you, then, redneck!

Oklahoma City an Tulsa are plenty big cities. As a further aside, I grew up in Urban southern California. Moving out here to a town of 7,000 struck me as madness, but I told myself "I'm an hour from a city, in case I ever want to go to a mall or eat at Olive Garden or something." I've lived here 4 years now, and I've been into OKC maybe half a dozen times. I don't miss it at all. Not the road rage, not the panhandlers, not the noise. And now I've got a shotgun. I just need to knock out half my teeth, so I can blend with the visiting Arkansas-types.

HEY! We have all of our teeth. We just don't wear shoes very much. The toothless folks reside in either Kentucky or South Carolina.

[MilitiaJim]

...(guns scare the life out of me)!

One day of training can fix that.

Ha! I've got two more teef than you, then, redneck!

One of which you stole from a dead raccoon...

n the UK, a shotgun is the only firearm that every citizen has the right to own - in theory.

Wasn't the Magna Carta supposed to guarantee the right of every free man to arm himself?  Unless the Brits are no longer free people?  (Hell, I can't claim that I am, I live in NYC.)

[TheTSKoala]

Great news!  You own the gun that is more terrifying racking than it is actually firing.  (Seriously.. the sound of chambering a shotgun terrifies me.. lol)

As for ammo.. pps.. shell loads and such.. what are you wanting to shoot?  And what distance?  

Home defense?  I prefer non-lethal rounds.. just in case the ACLU wants to make a case out of my intruder and try to overturn the Castle Law. lol.  Remington makes a quality shell.. though iirc, a bit pricey per shot.  To get a get a feel for mechanics and familiar with the gun.. #7.5 should do the trick.  It's been awhile.. but.. #7.5.. maybe 60 cents per round?  (Might even be cheaper.. maybe 50-40 cents per round.)  I haven't played around with my 12 gauge in awhile...  

[Gentry]

Great news!  You own the gun that is more terrifying racking than it is actually firing.  (Seriously.. the sound of chambering a shotgun terrifies me.. lol)

When I brought the gun home, I had a conversation with my kids that went like this:

Kids: Why do we need a shotgun?

Me: So if there somebody in the house, I can shout "who's in my house?" and then go like this <rack rack!> and then there's nobody in the house.

Kids: Oh. Cool.

Right now I'm just going to head out into the boonies on a FoF's land and shoot stuff (melons, jugs of water, an old TV, you know, the usual). Someday I might get brave and go to someplace rangey and official to try out sporting clays or something, but I probably don't want to put up with the chestbeating and macho posturing at a gun range any more than I want to put up with it at a WH40K tournament (though I'm happy to hear people be encouraging on this front). For the moment, I just want to be familiar and comfortable with the weapon, so that it's not a boogeyman in my closet--it's something I can reach for confidently if the worst comes to pass.

And I am finding nice cheap shells. Wal-Mart's got them at 100 shells for 25 or so bucks, though I'll probably experiment with a variety of loads to see if I want to be picky.

[Agent 333]

For home defense I recommend bird-shot: It's less likely to penetrate walls and accidentally hurt a family member. It might not put down an intruder, but he'll know he's been shot. Plus, you know, <rack>.

[TheTSKoala]

100 rounds for $25.  Not bad at all.  Just don't forget your maint. after firing... (Dirty guns make armorers cry.)

What's the type you picked up? 

[Gentry]

Yeah, a cleaning kit is next on my list (as well as trolling YouTube for cleaning demos and tips).

I picked up Winchester Super-Target xtra-lite shells, at 1 oz. of #8 shot. 

[Mister Andersen]

For home defense I recommend bird-shot: It's less likely to penetrate walls and accidentally hurt a family member. It might not put down an intruder, but he'll know he's been shot. Plus, you know, <rack>.

What about beanbag rounds, or are they a cop-only thing?

[foproy]

civilians can own them, but loading your own with rocksalt is cheaper.
http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/CategoryListing.aspx?catid=6068

[Gentry]

Yeah, beanbag is like 8 dollars a shell. Per Shell. That's a little outside my budget, though again, I'm half tempted to pick up two or three, just to see.

[TheTSKoala]

civilians can own them, but loading your own with rocksalt is cheaper.
http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/CategoryListing.aspx?catid=6068

Rock Salt, just an FYI.. terrible for the health of your weapon and completely ineffective outside of 6'.  And even in 6'.. you may not kill. 

#8 shot is perfect for learning the mechanics of your weapon.  Make sure to practice clearing the breach, loading, etc.  And.. one piece of sage advice.. learn to have your finger on the trigger when you intend to fire.  Finger rest along the metal above the trigger guard.. and finger the trigger only when your intent is to fire what you're aimed at.  Save yourself alot of potential scary moments.

[foproy]

the rock salt was a less then lethal option. i have always been under the opinion the a corpse cant sue.