How To Become a Gun Expert

So you would like to be a gun expert, hey? Maybe you are interested in guns and would like to know more about them, but at this point know very little. That can be easily changed. Important at the beginning is a respectful attitute toward gun and a strong sense of their potential for harming you and/or others if care and caution are not always observed in their handling. If you have a willingness to learn, this article and perhaps a few other websites should be enough to get you started on the right track.

From there, you can enroll in many excellent gun training schools such as GunSite, FrontSight, and many local NRA certified instructor led classes to further your knowledge and skills. Whether you are interested in hunting, competitive shooting, or just home defense, the options are limitless as to where to take your newfound knowedge of guns. Expert handling of guns takes time and energy, but is certainly a worthwhile and rewarding venture.

Step 1  

Know proper firearm safety. There are a few things that you must ALWAYS remember when dealing with guns. These rules are very basic, but CRITICAL and cannot be stressed enough. Without these, you will get hurt ... it is just a matter of when not if. Guns are NOT toys; there is no room for tom-foolery or games with them. They are tools made to do one thing. Remember that and you will do well. If you are unable or unwilling to always abide by these simple rules, then you certainly should stay away from guns and save yourself a lifetime (possibly a short one) of grief. With that said, here are rules to live by (literally).  

• All guns are always loaded. Never assume a gun is safe until you have personally checked it and verified it is unloaded
• Always keep your finger off of the trigger until you are ready to shoot
• Never point your gun at anything you are not willing to destroy ... always keep your gun pointed in a safe direction.
• When shooting, always know your target and what is beyond it.
• Store your gun in a safe manner away from children's reach

Step 2  

Know all the Types of Guns. There are many types of guns. There is no way that an article such as this could describe every variation, but here are the major types of guns available today.  

• Revolvers - These are what is sometimes affectionately called "wheel-guns" or "six-shooters". Old west handguns were typically single action, 6-shot revolvers. Today you can still buy these, but additionally double-action, or DA/SA variations in 5-shot, 6-shot, and even a few 7-, 8-, and 10-shot variations.
• Automatic Pistols - These are more modern by design, though they have still been around for roughly 100 years. These typically hold more rounds than a revolver (typically 7-18 rounds), but are more mechanically complex. These are what are usually referred to as "semi-autos" or "autoloaders." They come in single action (which, unlike SA revolvers, do not require the shooter to manually pull back the hammer for each shot), double action, and combination SA/DA variations. These are used widely for military, police, and home defense applications.
• Rifles - These fall into a number of broad categories - Muzzle Loading, Bolt-Action, Lever-Action, Pump-Action, and Semi-Automatic. These are used primarily for hunting and military use.
• Assault Rifles - Common in military use, fully automatic or select fire rifle with a high capacity detachable box magazine.
• SubMachineguns - Fully Automatic firearms that are chambered with caliber pistol rounds, mainly used by Law Enforcement tactical teams and bodyguards. They are mostly phased out in the military in favor of carbine assault rifles but they are still present in the military in a much more limited role.
• Shotguns - These differ from the rest of the guns mentioned above in that by and large they don't shoot a single bullet (though they have slug variations available). For the most part, these shoot cartridges full of small BBs of various sizes (the "shot"). They also fall into categories like single shot, double barrel, pump, and semi-automatic. These are mostly used for hunting birds, other small game, and for home defense.

Step 3 Know the calibers

• .22: A rimfire round, inexpensive to shoot, ideal for target shooting and small varmints.
• .22 WMR [Winchester Magnum Rimfire]: Also a rimfire round, it is a .22 magnum, with a significant bit more punch than a standard .22.
• .25 & .32: These are convenient for small carry weapons, lack recoil, but provide little stopping power. If absolute minimal size of weapon is critical, these calibers are going to be your choices.
• .38 Special: It is a traditionally popular round for protection and was carried for many years by law enforcement personnel. It is still used relatively widely as a personal protection round. It can be shot from .357 Magnums, but with less energy and less kick.
• .357 Magnum: The scaled up version of the .38 special. A powerful round, effective for stopping medium game, this is used in large and small revolvers for hunting and personal protection. This round has a LOT of penetration potential so use for home protection isn't always advisable (see rule - know your target and what is behind it ... like your neighbor's house!)
• 9mm: A great all-around cartridge, widely used by law enforcement and popular for civilians. Also known as 9x19mm, 9mm Luger, and 9mm Parabellum.
• .380: Considered by some to be the minimum effective defensive round, it is really a 9mm short. While the 9mm is certainly a more effective protection round, if you are extremely recoil sensitive, or need a very minimal sized weapon, this would be a round to consider. Also know as the 9x17mm.
• 10mm: A high pressure, potent semi-auto round, roughly equivalent to the put-down power of a .41 magnum. Originally slated to be an FBI round, the somewhat snappy recoil proved to be a bit much for many attempting to qualify, so instead it has found its niche with some hunters and other enthusiasts. It is not widely used, but still has a following.
• .40 Smith and Wesson: The second attempt at a 10mm round ... a 10mm short if you will. The .40 S&W round has found wide scale acceptance and is used by many law enforcement agencies.
• .41 Magnum: A more potent round than the .357 magnum, but not quite so hot a round as a .44 magnum. This round is typically used in revolvers for hunting smaller to medium game. A potent amount of put-down energy, with slightly less kick as its .44 big brother.
• .44 Special: This round is pretty much a ".44 short". It can be shot from .44 Magnums, but with less energy and less kick. A much more pleasant round to shoot from a .44 Magnum for target practice, and also used in smaller "snub-nosed" revolvers for personal defense.
• .44 Magnum: A VERY potent round, and popular for hunting medium game, and as a hunting backup weapon for same.
• .45 (long) Colt: The classic "cowboy round". An effective round by any standard, found mostly in the single action "cowboy style" revolvers of yesterday and today.
• .45 ACP [Automatic Colt Pistol]: Used during WWII and several other conflicts, this is a very effective round for protection. Still used by many law enforcement agencies, its perfect match of bullet weight with relatively low velocity equals some serious short range stopping power. This and the 9mm are two of the most popular types of handgun ammunition in use.
• .45 GAP [Glock Automatic Pistol]: This is pretty much a ".45 ACP lite". It is designed for more manageable handling in smaller, lighter concealed carry .45 caliber handguns. Not nearly as popular as the .45 ACP, however.
• .454 Casull: The .454 Casull can deliver a 250 grain (16 g) bullet with a muzzle velocity of over 1900 feet per second (580 m/s), developing more than 2000 ft•lbf (2.7 KJ) of energy. Until the release of the S&W .460 and the .500 Magnum, the Casull was the most powerful handgun round available.
• .460: This magnum round drives a 200 grain. .45 caliber bullet at speeds around 2,300 fps. It is somewhat eclipsed by its big brother (the .500 magnum), but is still a very formidable round for hunting.
• .50 ACR[American Colt Rifle] This is the size of round found in the .50 caliber round found in the huge sniper rifles you likely have seen. This is NOT something to be played around with, and you may need a special liscense to purchase a weapon able to fire it.
• .50 AE [Action Express]: Most commonly used in the Desert Eagle handgun. Considered too powerful for personal defense use. This is the pistol version of the ACR round.
• .500 Magnum: This is the new "big boy" on the block. It is presently "the most powerful handgun ever made". Designed to take down a bear, its recoil and report are far too potent for any personal defense applications; it can fire a 500 grain bullet at .30-30 rifle speeds. It's only practical application is as a bear, pig, or large game backup gun. If your hunting rifle lets you down, this is the gun you want strapped to your side... or perhaps something more controllable. Note-The extra zero is negligable and does not denote bigger size.
• .50 bmg [Browning Machine Gun]: Was designed for a long range machine gun round, as of late it has seen some use as a sniper rifle round.
• 20mm vulcan: the largest rifle round ever made, originally used for machine guns. the anzio ironworks 20mm is the only gun that fires the massive cartridge.
• 7.62x51mm NATO: Rifle round used in "Battle Rifles" which are assault rifles chambered for high power calibers.

size is simular to the .308 winchester but they are not interchangeable, some examples of weapons using this caliber are the G3 and the M14.

1. • 7.62x39mm M47: Rifle Round most commonly used in the AK-47 series and the SKS, probably the most common ammunition round in the world, and is comparable in power to the .308 caliber round.
   • 5.56x45mm NATO: Rifle Round used by most western militaries and is known for its low recoil, examples of firearms utilizing this caliber are the M16/AR-15 series and the G36, and is also comparable to the .223 caliber round in size.

Tips

• Some definitions:
  
  
  1. • Single action (SA) revolver: a revolver requiring the hammer to be manually set (cocked) for each shot. The trigger then causes the hammer to strike the primer.
     • Double action (DA) revolver: a revolver in which the hammer is cocked automatically in the first part of the trigger pull. Many of these can also be fired SA, as well, significantly lightening the trigger.
     • Double action only (DAO) pistol: a pistol in which there is no external hammer and the trigger pull cocks the internal mechanisms. These have longer, heavier trigger pulls than SA pistols.
     • Double/Single (DA/SA) pistol: a pistol which can be fired in double action or single action mode. These are commonly carried uncocked, as the first pull of the trigger will cock it before firing, and the action of the slide will cock it for the next shot, lightening the trigger for follow-up shots.
     • Single action pistol: unlike the SA revolver, the SA pistol only needs to be cocked before the first shot. The slide's action will cock it for subsequent shots. Many of these have no external hammer, which means that a round in the chamber means it is cocked.
     • Black-powder rifle: each shot requires the powder, primer, and then the bullet be loaded into the gun. Commonly called muzzleloaders, as they are loaded down the barrel.
     • Single shot: a gun that cannot accept a magazine and has no internal magazine. It must be manually reloaded between shots.
     • Bolt-action: a bolt must be manually operated between shots to eject the spent casing and feed the next cartridge.
     • Lever-action: like a bolt action, but worked with a lever attached to the trigger guard.
     • Semi-automatic: fires one round per trigger pull with no other operation required between trigger pulls.
     • Full-auto: when the trigger is squeezed, it will fire until the magazine is expended or the trigger is released.
     • Burst fire: fires multiple (generally 3) shots with one trigger pull.
     • Double barrel: generally found in shotguns, these guns have two single shot barrels, allowing the shooter to fire twice before reloading.
     • Pump-action: like the bolt and lever actions, one must work the firearm's action manually. In this case, the forend has a grip that must be pulled backward, then pushed forward. Common in shotguns, some rifles also use this action.
     • Visit gun shops, gun shows, and ranges to learn a lot about guns. People in those places will often be more than willing to tell you a lot.

Warnings

• Guns are dangerous when used by the ignorant; make sure you know exactly what is going on at all times. Guns are not inherently unsafe ... but people are. Stupidity on the part of people is the reason for most gun related incidents.
• Never take gun safety lightly.
• Do not ever make threats with guns.
• Always follow all proper safety rules.
• Limit your exposure to lead in the bullets. At a shooting range, you are more likely to get lead poisoning than you are to get shot accidentally or intentionally. At indoor (and even outdoor) shooting ranges, it is possible you will be breathing in a trace amounts of lead dust (though even the most active shooters rarely experience too much of a problem from this, you should be aware of it). As long as the range is well-ventilated, there should be no problem.
• After a trip to the range, wash your hands thoroughly with cold water (to minimize absorption) or you risk ingesting lead or getting it into your eyes. This is especially important when using unjacketed bullets.