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Skrappy here, new to OCDO

Skrappy

New member
Joined
Jun 6, 2012
Messages
4
Location
broomfield
Hello all here in the Colorado section, Glad to be a new member of the OpenCarry forums. All my friends call me Skrappy so you can all do the same. I'm new to Broomfield but I have been in Colorado for close to 5 years now. I have always had a love for guns and have been shooting rifles with my father ever sense I was a tot back in Georgia. The decline of the economy and rise in shady government actions has been causing people to do some odd and dumb things for some time now, but recently seeing such things as a "zombie" attack down in Miami has made me laughingly consider revisiting my old hobbies. But the more I think about going and buying a new gun the more excited I get. I have owned rifles but never a handgun. I have wanted one for a while but financially never gotten around to it. I found OCDO because I would like to OC my soon to be new tool/toy but wanted to be sure of the laws first, and boy am I glad I did considering how many GFSZ'z are in the Boulder and Broomfield area and Denver's no OC(I think that is some BS myself). Its cool to be able to learn from the forums and post questions now.

Thanks to the guys that have already welcomed me to the forums!

I'm sure several of you are interested in what I'm planning on picking up, and even more so could give some advice... I can say off the bat that I am not a fan of Glock, and I am looking for a single-action/double-action full sized pistol, weight isn't an issue. Right now I am leaning toward the Baby Eagle II, anyone have any particular experience with this firearm be it positive or negative. I'm also up for ideas on other single-action/double-action's. I was thinking sense it is my first pistol and I am used to shooting rifle prone or on a rest that I would go with a smaller caliber(no 22 tho) to help me get used to shooting with the unsupported recoil, any opinions on this?
 

Motofixxer

Regular Member
Joined
May 14, 2010
Messages
965
Location
Somewhere over the Rainbow
Welcome aboard, my first suggestion would be to read and study. I compiled a bunch of info Here to get you started. Some is state specific but there is lots of general info there.

As for what to buy...go to a range that rents and you can try all kinds of brands and models. I wouldn't worry much about recoil. If your familiar with shooting, you shouldn't have many issues.
 

M-Taliesin

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2011
Messages
1,504
Location
Aurora, Colorado
As for what to buy...go to a range that rents and you can try all kinds of brands and models. I wouldn't worry much about recoil. If your familiar with shooting, you shouldn't have many issues.

Howdy Scrappy!
To echo the poster above, that's some terrific advice. We have a range near here, the Firing Line, where you can rent and try out a variety of pistols. That way you can learn about different handguns that you might find illuminating.

My own experience started with the purchase of a P94 Ruger .40 cal. My friend and pardner corrupted me when he me to the range where I fired my first handgun in more than 30 years. It ended up awakening some old sentiments. He had a 9mm handgun and a .40 cal handgun. I learned that I seem to shoot better, and with better control, using a .40 cal than a 9mm. So, I ended up buying the P94 as my first handgun. I also figured to get a CCW permit at some point, so wanted a compact for concealed carry. That led me to buy a .40 Springfield XDm, which is a terrific little pistol. It came with a couple of different magazines, and the gun shoots really well and is more than reasonable for accuracy. Later on, I got my Judge 410/.45LC and love that revolver. You'd think the recoil on that gun would be significant, but it really is smooth. I also recently got a .45 1911 A1 at a real good price, and I love that handgun. Sadly, I've only put 2 rounds through it so far, but intend to fix that before much longer.

Meanwhile, I bought a 626 S&W .38 revolver for my wife. She did not like firing that gun, and we thought.... "Girl!"
But both my pardner and I fired that gun and found it to be fairly brutal on the hand. We got rid of that pistol and set about to find her a suitable semiauto.
She hasn't got terrific hand strength, and has trouble pulling the slide on most semiauto handguns.
But then one day, we were at a gun shop and saw a Walther PK-380, and she racked the slide without any trouble at all.
"We'll take it!" was my immediate response. So she started with that one, and she can shoot, too!
Later on, on another visit to a gun shop, I discovered she can also rack the Beretta Px4 Storm 9mm easily enough that I immediately bought that one for her as well.

For home, I have a 12ga Mossburg Maverick loaded with 000 shells.
Those are some hellish rounds to be on the wrong end of!
I felt a pump action shotgun would be terrific, in that the sound of the pump being racked should be enough to send any home invader running.
The best gun, IMHO, is one that never needs to be fired in self defense. But if it does, should be capable of transmitting a message.

If you'd like to explore a few different handguns, I'd be happy to meet up with you and show off some of our guns.
Maybe even give you a chance to fire some of them in the bargain!

Blessings,
M-Taliesin
 

O2HeN2

Regular Member
Joined
Jan 23, 2012
Messages
229
Location
Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA
Look at the EAA Witness line of firearms

Right now I am leaning toward the Baby Eagle II, anyone have any particular experience with this firearm be it positive or negative.
Sorry it took so long for me to reply, Skrappy. You might want to look at the EAA Witness line. Both it and the Baby Eagle are CZ-based designs. What I don't like about the Baby Eagle [warning: opinions ahead] is the the safety goes UP to take it off. In a stressful situation you clench and an up-disengaging safety is completely counter to this natural reaction.

You press down on the EAA's safety to disengage and it is located on the frame, placing it very naturally under your thumb. Very 1911ish, in fact.

One of my carry guns is an EAA Witness Subcompact, probably the most comfortable gun I've ever held. I also have a full-sized Witness. If you ever get down to the Colroado Springs area gve me a heads up and you can at the very least try holding them and see how they fit your hand.

And I bet the EAA is cheaper than the Baby Eagle II and available in polymer (that I'm not familliar with, I have the steel versions), to boot.

O2
 
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PFC HALE

Regular Member
Joined
Jun 20, 2012
Messages
481
Location
earth
Welcome Skrappy!

I have a H&K USP .45 fullsize and it has a decocking mechanism on the safety toggle. This makes the pistol ready at level 0 but takes a full pull of the trigger to fire instead of hammer back all the way and hair trigger pull. It is a very accurate pistol able to handle the rigors of abuse and weather, price is below $1000 if you look at the right places. Easy to maintain and shoot.

you can get it in right hand operation, or get ambi controls for left hand operation. This is a 10+1 capacity, i think they make higher cap mags.

Randy
 
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