Rick016
Member
I've been mildly interested in guns for years, occasionally plinking cans with the .22 with my dad while growing up or range shooting with a friend who took me a few times. I came into posession of my father's 3 rifles several years back when he became diabled, but I haven't shot any of them, the old .22, his .30-06 hunting rifle my mom and I got him when I was a teenager and a third rifle that I'm not sure what it is, for some reason it's seems to me my father once said it was a 7mm.
Anyway, onto my gun ownership, after a trip to the range a while back with my friend, he and I had been discussing what I might buy. I had shot his Ruger P94 .40 cal and I liked it but it had a little more kick that I cared for, so we decided a 9mm was probably going to be my first purchase. I had been perusing online a lot and reading reviews about a bunch and I hadn't really made up my mind, I was setting a little money aside a a time to save for it. I took a trip down to Atlantic City with two friends for my birthday and Happy Birthday to me, I hit $2000 on a slot machine that I played on a whim because it had caught my eye, I'm usually a card player. So, I did what any good husband would do, I came home from the trip, gave my wife $1000 and when I found out there was a gun show going on in town, I headed over with $600 in my pocket. I was still undecided as to which 9mm I was going to buy, I had considered a Taurus, a S&W, a Ruger, s Beretta and a Kimber. After getting a chance to see them somewhat side by side and hold them in my hand, I decided on the Beretta PX4 Storm 9mm. It was a black, sexy Italian that felt really nice in my hand....sounds a lot like my wife, lol. I got my carry license a few weeks later. Even though it was the full size Storm, I didn't mind carrying it too much, it is very nice to shoot, but I decided to get something that concealed a little easier. After checking around about several compacts and asking about and handling a few, I determined that I didn't need nor want to go extremely small. Ultimately, I chose a stainless Walther PPK/S .380, I had the have a James Bond in my collection, lol. I read about some of the early design issues and the recall info on them and eventually got a new one from well after the recall from my local gun shop. We had some complications with the S&W/ Walther split, there was some confusion between the shop and whoever their distributor is as to the proper number to order it under and it took 9 months to get it, but I finally got it. During that wait, I got impatient and spotted a steal on a blued Taurus PT 1911 .45ACP on Gunbroker and decided that I couldn't pass it up. Because of the issues and long wait on the Walther, I actually ended up receiving both of them within the same week. The Walther shoots nice, it's now my daily carry gun. The Taurus is decent, well worth the deal I got for it.
After that, I had a few more things in my head that I'd like to have to round out my handgun collection until I'd consider it complete. Mainly a revolver and a Judge or Governor. I turned my attention to the revolver. After firing a friend's .357 mag revolver, I decided on that. That same day I actually got to fire that .357 mag revolver, a .44 mag Desert Eagle and S&W 500(that thing was scary mean, lol). After some research, I wasn't really finding a .357 revolver that I really liked the look of, I've really gotta get something I like the looks of as well as having good functional reviews. Then one day I started watching the Walking Dead and wondered "What is that revolver he's got there?" The answer I'm sure many of you may know if you're the fan of the show is a Colt Python .357 mag. Well, more research revealed the rare and no longer in production status of the Python, therefore the increased value of such a firearm and I decided that was out, paying $2000 or more for a "not factory new" gun is a ways outside of my comfort zone. Then one day while looking online, I come across the S&W 686 Competitor and it was love at first sight. A coworker of mine (the S&W 500 owner) recently became FFL'd and has a small business on the side now. I am not a competitive shooter, I realize I'm buying a Harley when a dirt bike would do, but that is possibly one of the meanest looking revolvers I've ever seen. I went to the closest Cabela's, they didn't have a Competitor but they had a regular 686 so I could actually handle the frame, so I'd know the feel but obviously lighter. It felt nice, I came home and the next day I paid my coworker the down payment he needed to order me one. Of course, I noticed at the time that it was a "Featured" gun on S&W's website, I'm not sure if that affected availability, I know it's a Performance Center gun and I figured it could be a long wait. Been about 2 months already, I'm becoming really anxious to become a S&W owner(I know, I know, but in my mind my Walther doesn't count, lol.)
Anyway, there is my long-winded introduction, thanks for reading if you took the time. I'm probably going to have some questions I'll post sometime later.
Anyway, onto my gun ownership, after a trip to the range a while back with my friend, he and I had been discussing what I might buy. I had shot his Ruger P94 .40 cal and I liked it but it had a little more kick that I cared for, so we decided a 9mm was probably going to be my first purchase. I had been perusing online a lot and reading reviews about a bunch and I hadn't really made up my mind, I was setting a little money aside a a time to save for it. I took a trip down to Atlantic City with two friends for my birthday and Happy Birthday to me, I hit $2000 on a slot machine that I played on a whim because it had caught my eye, I'm usually a card player. So, I did what any good husband would do, I came home from the trip, gave my wife $1000 and when I found out there was a gun show going on in town, I headed over with $600 in my pocket. I was still undecided as to which 9mm I was going to buy, I had considered a Taurus, a S&W, a Ruger, s Beretta and a Kimber. After getting a chance to see them somewhat side by side and hold them in my hand, I decided on the Beretta PX4 Storm 9mm. It was a black, sexy Italian that felt really nice in my hand....sounds a lot like my wife, lol. I got my carry license a few weeks later. Even though it was the full size Storm, I didn't mind carrying it too much, it is very nice to shoot, but I decided to get something that concealed a little easier. After checking around about several compacts and asking about and handling a few, I determined that I didn't need nor want to go extremely small. Ultimately, I chose a stainless Walther PPK/S .380, I had the have a James Bond in my collection, lol. I read about some of the early design issues and the recall info on them and eventually got a new one from well after the recall from my local gun shop. We had some complications with the S&W/ Walther split, there was some confusion between the shop and whoever their distributor is as to the proper number to order it under and it took 9 months to get it, but I finally got it. During that wait, I got impatient and spotted a steal on a blued Taurus PT 1911 .45ACP on Gunbroker and decided that I couldn't pass it up. Because of the issues and long wait on the Walther, I actually ended up receiving both of them within the same week. The Walther shoots nice, it's now my daily carry gun. The Taurus is decent, well worth the deal I got for it.
After that, I had a few more things in my head that I'd like to have to round out my handgun collection until I'd consider it complete. Mainly a revolver and a Judge or Governor. I turned my attention to the revolver. After firing a friend's .357 mag revolver, I decided on that. That same day I actually got to fire that .357 mag revolver, a .44 mag Desert Eagle and S&W 500(that thing was scary mean, lol). After some research, I wasn't really finding a .357 revolver that I really liked the look of, I've really gotta get something I like the looks of as well as having good functional reviews. Then one day I started watching the Walking Dead and wondered "What is that revolver he's got there?" The answer I'm sure many of you may know if you're the fan of the show is a Colt Python .357 mag. Well, more research revealed the rare and no longer in production status of the Python, therefore the increased value of such a firearm and I decided that was out, paying $2000 or more for a "not factory new" gun is a ways outside of my comfort zone. Then one day while looking online, I come across the S&W 686 Competitor and it was love at first sight. A coworker of mine (the S&W 500 owner) recently became FFL'd and has a small business on the side now. I am not a competitive shooter, I realize I'm buying a Harley when a dirt bike would do, but that is possibly one of the meanest looking revolvers I've ever seen. I went to the closest Cabela's, they didn't have a Competitor but they had a regular 686 so I could actually handle the frame, so I'd know the feel but obviously lighter. It felt nice, I came home and the next day I paid my coworker the down payment he needed to order me one. Of course, I noticed at the time that it was a "Featured" gun on S&W's website, I'm not sure if that affected availability, I know it's a Performance Center gun and I figured it could be a long wait. Been about 2 months already, I'm becoming really anxious to become a S&W owner(I know, I know, but in my mind my Walther doesn't count, lol.)
Anyway, there is my long-winded introduction, thanks for reading if you took the time. I'm probably going to have some questions I'll post sometime later.
