Worst Handgun Myths/Fallacies

[PepperGarza]

1. (insert a firearm) is the only reliable gun for self-defense.

I hear that Most often from Beretta, Glock and HK owners. I confess to owning a Glock, but believe one should own a reliable gun that you shoot well. The Glock works for me and the S&W works for my wife.

2. You can make up for in caliber and mass what you lack in accuracy.

If you can't hit the target, caliber and mass mean nothing.

[Lavid2002]

I was in work and I was reading an article...and I said MAN why do these people want assault weapons to be outlawed...people sue them for hunting and sporting!
"Whats an assault rifle?"
Its hard to define...like an ar-15 or m16
"Well there right you cant use dem for huntin!"
Why not?
"Well there wont be any meat left on the think youll rip it in half with an m16!"

I just went about my buisness..not bothering to explainthat a 62 grain 5.56mm bullet is nothing compared to the 7mm Mag. that ive seen some hunters use on deer. Or that a .50 cal wouldnt rip a deer in half...no matter how big her imagination is....

[Thunderhawk88]

Is this the video Y'all were talking about?



http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...72&q=gun&hl=en

[BillCA]

How about the myth that youngsters aren't mature enough to be handling firearms?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-dznkGyxlk
His smile says it all.

[Thunderhawk88]

How about the myth that youngsters aren't mature enough to be handling firearms?

You mean like this??

[jakeswensonmt]

movie fallacy annoyance:
When an evildoer points an automatic pistol at our hero, pulls the trigger, and it goes CLICK -- Surprise! Out of ammo! But why wasn't the slide locked back by the empty mag?

50 caliber myth:
"50 caliber rifles can be used by terrorists to shoot down airliners". I don't know about you, but for me leading a 767 traveling at 450mph at 25,000 feet is gonna be a real tough shot.

so tired of this 9mm myth:
"9mm is 'spray-and-pray.' You can hit a person again and again with a 9mm and it won't even hurt them. 9mm's can be stopped by ordinary clothing." OK, here's my Taurus with a full mag, empty it out into your belly button and tell me how much it didn't hurt. Go ahead, the ammo's on me.

is it too soon? CCI Stinger myth:
I was told by a young Walther P22 wielding squier at the range a couple weeks ago that "these CCI stinger .22's are a better self-defense round than a 9mm. That's why Cho used the P22 to kill all those people." Uh-huh. OK.

Ruger 22/45 story:
An older gent at the range looked over my 22/45 and told me that I should get the conversion kit, as he had, that allowed the pistol to shoot both .22's and .45's. Seems to me that the magwell (and everything else) is going to be a bit tight on those .45 shells...

false ancient lore of the M-16 (and AR15)
"The M-16 is crap. It was made by Mattel on the same assembly lines as Barbie. It does nothing but jam. That's why our soldiers ditch theirs and use nothing but captured AK47's. But on the plus side, the tumbling 223 round works like a circular sawblade and will saw a man/oil drum in half if you hit him/it just right."

[BillCA]

Thunderhawk -- tell that happy youngster she done good! You can also give her "coach" some kudos as well.

jakeswensonmt
.50 Cal myth... at 25,000 feet that's over 4.5 miles (up!) plus whatever lateral offset because the plane isn't flying directly overhead. More to the point, however, firing a .50 BMG at a 767 that's landing is going to require quite a bit of skill to make a shot at about 2500 yards on a moving target. Your chances of hitting something vital enough to down the plane are pretty slim.

M-16/5.56mm myth: A bullet enters the right shoulder from the front and the bullet tumbles so much it will come out the front of the left ankle! (created by misinterpretation of how many hits were taken by a combatant).

movie fallacy annoyance II:
Why is it that the BG's 1911 or Glock runs dry, the slide fails to lock open AND the bad guy presses the trigger twice in a row with the sound of the hammer falling? I've never seen a DA Glock (yet).

[chilie23]

gun control will limit crime

awb will limit crime


month longs waiting periods, 3 day waiting periods, etc will limit crime

[Thunderhawk88]

BillCa, thank you. That is my oldest granddaughter. She comes and spends a month each summer with us. Last summer, before she flew out, her Mom (my oldest daughter) called and asked if I'd teach her to shoot, and if I could do it on the same rifle she had learned on. She staerted with that .22 Savage, and by the end of the month was shooting 9mm and .38spc.

[FM12]

I once had an acquaintance tell me that he could keep my .45 auto from shooting by putting his finger in the barrel so the bullet couldn't come our. He actually wanted to show me, but I declined.

Also that some people call Smith & Wessons "Smith & WESTERNS".

[Ocraknife]

Also that some people believe the sound of a pump shotgun being racked is such that it will bring all man, beast, and vehicle to a screeching halt. Yes, it can be an intimidating sound, but come on.

Well one certainly made my bowles feel all watery when one was racked and pointed at me (in a case of mistaken identity)

[Mantua]

Anyone who owns more than one gun is a paranoid nutjob waiting for the SHTF, then End of the World As We Know It, and another Waco waiting to happen. And probably planning a killing spree to boot.

[pesta2]

I worked for this small company that is very anti gun. The VP told me one time “anyone that owns a gun can not wait till the day they get to use it to kill someone.”

[Ocraknife]

14. Any "hydrostatic shock" theory relating to handgun bullets.

The S&W .460 magnum would likely inflict some nasty hydrostatic trauma

[Sturmgewehre]

11. Hollow-point bullets are inhumane because they're outlawed in the Geneva accords.

This one is forever repeated on the internet. It drives me nuts... the Geneva Conventions say absolutely nothing anything even mildly related to this.

[Southern_guy]

That TEC-9s are unreliable. My father fired one for almost 15 years, never cleaned it, and yet it never exploded. When I finally cleaned it last week, it looked like someone had dumped crushed Poptarts in the chamber.

[ClassicSWC]

While not a myth, this is movie/tv show related and drives me nuts. Good guy hears a noise and draws his weapon and points it. Another good guy comes around the corner to be staring straight down the barrel. First good guy keeps pointing his gun at the other good guy and usually chatises him for "almost getting shot". Just saw that the other night on SVU. What the heck? I'd be ticked at having a loaded firearm pointed at me.

As for myths: "The .30-30 and .35 Rem are only 100 yd guns."

[CGSteve8718]

Guns can "go off" without even being touched. Sheesh.

This may be hard to believe but a officer told us this while we were in Iraq getting some informal weapons safety classes. He told us a personal story to back it up. Well, to be fair, in his story the weapon was being held, although it was not in condition 1...

I hope that guy doesn't read these forums.

[okiewita40]

Here is one I heard a long time ago.
myth: a glock can go through a metal detector without setting it off.

[DrLaw]

Bud Helms said:
Well, throwing the gun away when it's empty bugs me. That's like pitching the stereo out the window when the CD is finished.

What, you don't throw it away?

What I think is a myth is that gun magazine article authors ever disliked a gun. I see is praise for guns that turn out to be crap. I cancelled all my subscriptions after being burned by the 'expert' authors three times buying on their reccomendations.

The Doc is out now.

[springmom]

Hm. I have two, although they're related to holsters.

1) "Straightening out your clothing when you get out of the car tells everybody you have a gun". Really? That's funny. Every time I've gotten out of a car since I was, oh, 15 or so, I've always taken a moment to make sure my blouse or tee shirt is straight, slacks or skirt are straight, purse isn't bunching up my sleeves, whatever. And I've only been carrying for two years....so....

2) "Fanny packs just SCREAM 'gun'". Fanny packs may scream "awful fashion sense" or "I'm old" or "I am carrying my diabetes supplies" (one of our friends does this). The only people to whom it "screams" gun are other gunnies, and even then you're likely wrong.

Springmom

[don_hamer]

These are all good myths. Some I haven't even heard of.

[Cpl Nobbs]

I'd like anyone to come up with a actual case of handloads being a significant factor in a shooting case.

I think that is one of my favorite myths.

my other favorite gun myth is "gun free zones"

[otasan]

"tumble in flight"

[chilie23]

Here is one I heard a long time ago.
myth: a glock can go through a metal detector without setting it off.



ahh yes the CERAMIC glock ha