In Episode 1 of Guns Week, Mike and the Mug Club's resident gun aficionado, Mr. Guns and Gear, take on all of the basics you need to know about a handgun. Topics covered include how to be safe, how to learn how to shoot, and how to maintain it.
00:00:02.000The Founding Fathers understood that only an armed people could truly be a free people.
00:00:08.000So this week, I invite you to join me and Mug Club's resident gun aficionado, Mr. Guns and Gear himself, as we tackle the subject of firearms from every angle possible.
00:00:21.000In today's episode, let's take on all of the basics that you need to know About a handgun.
00:01:02.000There aren't that many, we've talked about this, entry points for people out there.
00:01:05.000There are a lot of gun hobbyists and there are a lot of videos online from incredible speed shooting, unbelievable trick shots, feats, and then people arguing about you being an idiot for purchasing a certain firearm, using a certain caliber.
00:01:19.000This is hopefully designed to inform you and help you.
00:01:22.000Look, if you haven't purchased a firearm, know what you probably need to take into account.
00:01:26.000How to be safe, how to learn how to shoot, maintain it, the basics.
00:01:30.000And then if you want to move on down the trail, great.
00:01:32.000But it does seem like with the gun community sometimes, they forget that there are rungs to the ladder.
00:02:26.000So this is a semi-automatic and a revolver.
00:02:28.000Maybe a good place to start would be having the ladies bring out some firearms and kind of going through the process of Picking a firearm, a handgun that would be appropriate for you.
00:02:47.000There was no real specific technical purpose for that, but it was nice.
00:02:51.000So, walk us through here, for folks who may not know, the firearms.
00:02:56.000First off, if you have a handgun, what would be the primary purposes for someone purchasing one?
00:03:01.000So, what I always say about when you're trying to pick your first gun, if you want You know, choosing rifle, pistol, shotgun, whatever the case may be, I recommend for your first gun to get a handgun of some sort, whether it be a revolver or a semi-automatic, which we'll get into here in a second.
00:03:16.000The reason for that is, you can always have your handgun with you.
00:03:20.000Most situations, you can't just run around with an AR-15, but you can with a handgun, so it gives you options.
00:03:26.000You can carry it, you can take it, you know, out in the woods, if you're afraid of cats, whatever the case may be.
00:03:55.000If you're carrying it, the smaller you go, the harder to control, but obviously the easier to conceal, the trade-offs.
00:03:59.000Right, there's always a trade-off with guns, no matter what.
00:04:01.000You're giving up something to get something.
00:04:04.000So, for example, here on the table we have this gun here, which is a Ruger .22 caliber pistol.
00:04:09.000That would be a great gun for someone who wants to learn how to shoot, because very low recoil, not a powerful round at all, but the benefit of it is very, very low recoil.
00:04:20.000It's not as loud as some of the other options as well.
00:04:22.000So, the downside, of course, is that .22 is not good as like a bedside gun, right?
00:04:58.000So, my opinion is, for self-defense, your minimum caliber you should go with, if it's a semi-auto, is .380, which is this one here that we have for the Walther PPK.
00:05:07.000And the reason for that is just, there's a lot of studies that have been done on it, and between .380 slash 9mm up to .45, there's not a lot of difference in terms of stopping power, as you just said, in the real world.
00:05:19.000If you actually look at the data, it's pretty darn close.
00:05:22.000But .380s will be, generally speaking, smaller.
00:05:43.000If you are a healthy, 25 year old, 6 foot tall, 200 pound man, probably not what I would recommend.
00:05:50.000But then we go over here to the Walther PPS, which is a 9mm.
00:05:54.000But it's a smaller 9mm, so 9mm is going to be a little bit more powerful, it's also going to give you more options for defensive carry, better rounds, it's also cheaper.
00:06:05.000But a small gun like that is going to have more recoil, it's going to jump around, harder to shoot well, and of course you have less capacity.
00:06:11.000Let me show that kind of for people who may not know, this is what would be considered more of a full size.
00:06:15.000You can see here the PDP versus the PPS.
00:07:07.000Now, the downside of that is if you're going to carry it all day, it's a little bit bigger, it's a little bit harder to conceal, but it's easier to shoot well.
00:07:13.000You're feeling to take into account too many round Kenny.
00:07:17.000That's more of his calling card, so it's not relevant.
00:07:26.000So this one here is a 686+, I believe, from Smith & Wesson.
00:07:29.000So it's chambered in .357 Magnum, but for revolvers, .357 Magnum will also take .38 Special, and for revolvers, that is the Weakest, I guess we'd say, caliber that I would recommend for defensive use.
00:07:42.000It's very similar to .380 in terms of how it performs ballistically.
00:07:45.000But this gives you the option, of course, to use .357 Magnum, which is a much more powerful round, but it's going to have much more recoil.
00:07:52.000And capacity is limited with revolvers.
00:08:29.000But if you're somebody who just doesn't ever want to maintain your guns, which we'll talk about as well, and you just want to leave it in the sock drawer, there's been a ton of little old ladies that had a six-shot revolver that they haven't shot in 20 years that have defended their homes with it.
00:10:25.000That's kind of my rule of thumb on that one.
00:10:27.000Okay, that seems to make sense I know a lot of people will say treat every firearm like it's loaded and so again This is one of those things that I think there's gonna be a little bit of chat about.
00:10:33.000I think you treat every firearm as though it's loaded if it's the first time you're dealing with that firearm.
00:10:37.000But people who say like treat every firearm like it's loaded They say, well, how do you use our laser system?
00:10:48.000And just like we talked about here, like there's no way at some point we've cleared all these firearms to make sure that it's not aimed at something that we don't want to break.
00:10:54.000I mean, there's a nice lawn chair over there.
00:11:06.000Okay, so for people who don't know, let's go, and I've gone through this before when we've done Change My Minds, let's, you know, revolver is relatively simple.
00:11:21.000How would you ensure that that is safe?
00:11:23.000Okay, so with the semi-automatic, first thing you want to do is drop the magazine.
00:11:26.000This is actually, I would say, one of the most common ways that people have a negligent discharge, which is when the gun goes off and they don't want it to.
00:11:34.000If you don't drop the magazine first and then you rack the slide, you're going to drop, you're going to put it around the chamber rather.
00:11:54.000So, revolvers are going to open 99% of the time, one of two ways.
00:12:00.000So, it will open pushing this button forward, like this, on a Smith & Wesson style gun.
00:12:05.000On a Colt gun, it works the opposite way.
00:12:08.000But, after that, all you need to do is look into the chamber, or excuse me, the cylinder, and you can see there are no rounds, so it's unloaded.
00:12:14.000Okay, so all of these firearms safe, unloaded, and I guess now we're going to load them up and take them to the range with some basic tips for people like Gerald, who couldn't hit the broadside of a barn.
00:14:13.000So if your hand's too low, it can cause a limp-wristing malfunction like he was just talking about, meaning the slide can't go all the way back and all the way forward to get the next round.
00:15:21.000The way I like to think of it is you want to, as you come out to present, kind of clamp like a vice, just like Stephen was just saying, up on top.
00:17:09.000So, again, you're going to have your thumb up and you make an L with your offhand and you kind of come in at a 45 degree angle, just like that.
00:17:17.000And what you want, again, is no gaps here on the frame.
00:17:21.000There's no gap, I'm sticking my finger in there, he's grabbing my finger.
00:18:20.000First off, what do you prefer, and can both work?
00:18:23.000So, for stance, what I tell people is most people have played some sort of sport, whether it be volleyball, basketball, football, whatever.
00:18:56.000And that can be within the, you know, sort of your tolerances as to what is comfortable for you.
00:19:01.000And people have health issues and everything else.
00:19:03.000Have you run into this too, being a gun guy, like you go to these functions, you go to these expos, and I say it because I want as many firearm owners out there as possible.
00:19:50.000So, for loading a gun, talking about semi-automatics, there's two essential ways to do it.
00:19:55.000So, either you can lock the slide back first by hitting our slide lock lever here, insert the magazine, then either drop it with the lever or pull it back, either one, whatever.
00:20:05.000Okay, now I've heard people say that you're a retard if you do one or the other.
00:21:29.000If you find yourself shooting four, five, six shots, whatever the case may be, and your grip starts slipping, it's because you're not gripping it tight enough.
00:24:34.000You were honestly really good with both of them once you made those little corrections, which has proven the point that it doesn't have to be overly complicated to get proficient, right?
00:24:43.000If we're talking about a defensive scenario, and of course adrenaline is dumping, and we understand all those things, that would be more than serviceable for what you need.
00:25:20.000For people who don't know iron sights, or I think traditional metal sights, this, it's not a laser, but when you look through this looking glass, you will see a dot, and that's basically supposed to make target acquisition faster, and I think for most people it does.
00:25:41.000Red dots on pistol sides are pretty reliable.
00:25:44.000Before they were very fragile, would break.
00:25:46.000The good ones now are fine in terms of durability.
00:25:48.000This is one of them, it's a Holosun 509T.
00:25:53.000That said, with people who are new to guns, I think it's easier, well it's easier for them to get hits with red dots, but I think it's easier for them to get proficient with iron sights.
00:26:03.000So the reason I say that is, People who are new to firearms, when they go out to present, very often will miss the dot, i.e.
00:26:11.000it's not there, they don't see it, and they end up doing this.
00:26:14.000A lot of this, trying to find the dot.
00:26:16.000Now there is a solution for that, it's called the ACSS reticle, but that's a video for another day.
00:26:22.000My main thing is usually tipping the gun down helps.
00:26:26.000I've almost always noticed that if I'm looking through the way I would look at iron sights, take it and tip it down, you find the red dot.
00:26:32.000If you miss the dot, it's probably 90% that it's high.
00:26:36.000Additionally, newer guns like this PDP is actually a perfect example.
00:26:39.000The reason this Yep, so when you grip it, you do that.
00:26:46.000That's literally why it's there, that's why they designed the frame like that.
00:26:53.000That said, if you do a bunch of dry presentations, meaning no rounds and you just kind of come up like that, practice over and over again, you absolutely can get it, but there is a steeper learning curve to learning red dots on a pistol than there is on a rifle.
00:27:43.000With red dots, just like lasers actually that you just had out here, one of the things, again, with newer folks is they want to get everything right.
00:27:49.000This is More so for women than men, just in my experience in teaching people.
00:28:13.000So when you're loading a magazine and a pistol, I recommend always grabbing it like this.
00:28:17.000And the reason for that, is that if I don't know any number of scenarios that you're not in a typical stance like I am right now you're on the ground you whatever somebody just knocked you over if you have your finger like this you have kinesthetic awareness we all do so you can you don't have to look at it per se okay and it's just there we all know where this is
00:30:03.000Additionally, it has match sights on it, which are just More precise than other ones and the grip texture is also a little bit tackier if you will.
00:30:12.000The magwell will also help you keep a good grip on it as well.
00:30:15.000I'll take a few shots and then we'll obviously have Gerald do it and you can blow us away.
00:32:54.000Now, everything that you just taught, correct, but of course I would lose my thumb potentially with a revolver because you see this cylinder gap.
00:33:01.000If your thumb is over there, there's gas that escapes.
00:33:04.000And so, the way people shot for a long time, and now they, do people say tea and saucer or teacup?
00:35:29.000Yeah, so if you have a semi-automatic, obviously every gun is going to disassemble a little bit differently.
00:35:34.000On these, we've already verified that we are clear, which is important.
00:35:38.000Always verify you're clear before you do this.
00:35:39.000So we're going to let our slide go home, point in a safe direction, pull the trigger, pull back slightly, and these two tabs pull down, slide will come right off.
00:35:47.000This is the basic components that you're going to disassemble your gun to.
00:35:50.000Obviously the gun can be disassembled much more than this, but for average maintenance, you do not need to do any more than that.
00:35:56.000These are what they would call CLP, so you have some that are cleaning, like more so solvents, and then some that are very specific lubricants, which we'll probably use more with the rifles.
00:36:10.000Well, depending on the brand, it's either cleaner, lubricant, protectant, or cleaner, lubricant, and preservative, depending on the brand.
00:36:17.000Generally speaking, if you don't know what lube you're looking at, what I recommend for a cleaner or lubricant is something that's petroleum-based.
00:36:21.000is true, Germany, they wanted something that they could use that would be fine for all
00:36:26.000metals, woods, as well as leather holsters.
00:36:28.000So I've used this specifically for revolvers because they often sit like in a leather holster
00:37:24.000And what you want to look for when you're looking through to see how clean your gun is, is look through the rifling and you want to be able to see the rifling without a bunch of crap in it.
00:37:32.000So before you start cleaning it, just look and you'll see there are things in there.
00:37:48.000And also, on semi-automatics, you want to make sure that your feed ramp, this area right here, which is where the bullet hits and then goes up and in, is clean because that is key to reliability.
00:37:57.000So, additionally, basically all of the metal parts that are wear parts, we're going to hit with some CLP.
00:38:04.000I personally like to take a brush and brush it around, make that CLP work, because what the CLP is doing is actually constantly breaking down the carbon that's in there.
00:38:15.000So even if you don't get all of it out of there when we clean it up here in a second, it's still going to continue to break down that carbon.
00:38:21.000It's also going to help with lubrication.
00:38:27.000And what I've always done, that's worked pretty well for me, is I'll do exactly what you're doing, grab that, basically a nylon toothbrush, right, anything, they have firearm brushes, but some of this nylon's not going to scratch.
00:38:52.000Because as somebody who's a newbie, I'd just be like spraying all over the place, and you didn't do that.
00:38:56.000No, so what you want to think about is where your contact points are.
00:38:59.000So on a semi-auto, generally speaking, they're going to be right here, right here, right here, and right here.
00:39:04.000And then additionally, in your trigger component area here, what you don't want to do, the thing that will get you in trouble, is if you start fishing around in there and digging around in there.
00:39:14.000There's very small springs in there, you don't want to do that.
00:39:16.000Basically, just get everything that you can see, that is there to see, clean that up.
00:39:22.000Anything beyond that is armor level maintenance.
00:39:24.000So this is, you've brushed it, so then you wipe off the excess with a t-shirt.
00:40:16.000Uh, wipe all that out, is what I'll do, and then, what, and you can correct me where I'm wrong, what I would typically do after I'm using a CLP, It's tough sometimes with an aerosol like this.
00:40:32.000And what you want to see, what you want to lubricate, is all of the wear points.
00:40:36.000So, like we just talked about, the touch points up front, touch points on the rear, where that slide is actually riding on those rails.
00:40:43.000And then, as you shoot your gun, you'll see wear, but I'm not sure if the cameras can pick it up out here in the bright sun, but you can already see some wear there on the barrel.
00:40:50.000So wherever the wear is, that's where you just want to put a little bit of oil.
00:41:14.000With something like Ballistol, because it's actually pretty friendly to metal and wood, what I do, and you can tell me if it's right or wrong.
00:41:20.000Again, I've had five different people coach me.
00:41:26.000And each of the cylinders kind of soak it.
00:41:27.000Sometimes I'll soak the whole thing if there's a lot of... And with a revolver, one thing that kind of sucks, it's not the easiest thing to do, is you have to run this boar snake... Through each one?
00:42:49.000If you want to dive in deeper, you can go as deep and as intricate as you want.
00:42:53.000This is, again, designed for people who are afraid of firearms.
00:42:55.000Hopefully you know basic safety, how to shoot, how to maintain your firearm, how to make a choice, some other videos coming on rifles and common myths, and we get to shoot the gel, which is fun.