Gun Advice?

SMITTY wrote:Kroil is good - also one of the best penetrating fluids .. but for that I just use acetone & tranny fluid. Kroil is great for firearms though.

This stuff is great for the AR. It's a little heavy for the smaller pistols though, but good stuff nonetheless:

Can Kroil be used to clean other parts of firearms or is just for barrels?

Can clean anything with it that's not rubber or plastic - not sure if it will damage those 2 materials, but it's just good practice to keep petroleum products off them.

It's also a good lubricant too. You don't want to go crazy with lube unless your storing the gun for a long period of time .. or unless it's an AR-15 - you can't over-oil those.

SMITTY wrote:Can clean anything with it that's not rubber or plastic - not sure if it will damage those 2 materials, but it's just good practice to keep petroleum products off them.

It's also a good lubricant too. You don't want to go crazy with lube unless your storing the gun for a long period of time .. or unless it's an AR-15 - you can't over-oil those.

So, I'd have to remove the grips from it every time I clean it? Grips on my gun are plastic. That's just crazy. I'd get a little spray bottle and squirt it in a few places to clean.

I should just take the thing apart and clean it for the hell of it just so I can edumacate myself on how it comes apart and goes back together.

You don't have to get that crazy - just don't dump it directly on the grips. Moisten a rag or cleaning patch with it, and wipe the firearm down - just the metal. The grips are tough enough that a few swipes with an oily rag won't mean their instant demise.

I hate cleaning my guns (never have the time), so I do it fast. I've got Hoppes, Kroil, or whatever I happen to be using at the moment all over things I shouldn't ... and you'd never know the difference. Main thing is, as long as the thing isn't dripping with oil, your fine.

You also NEVER want to fire ANY gun with excessive lube in the bore! First law of physics - fluids do not compress! The results can be disastrous - best case, only to your firearm. I always run a patch or Boresnake thru a brand new firearm, just to be safe. I've also fired them right out of the box, so ...

Just leave the inside of the barrel LIGHTLY coated with oil - any puddling is BAD - especially when shooting.

Thanks for the help Smitty. I wasn't planning on dousing the gun in oil. I've been watching a lot of YouTube videos and reading as much as I can about caring for it.

It was bothering me what you guys had said about the use of lithium grease. So, this morning I pulled it apart and gave it a good cleaning. There was lithium grease on the slide, slide rails and barrel. I sprayed everything down with Break Free CLP and let it sit for a moment. Then I used some Q-Tips a rag and a small screwdriver to clean the lithium grease out of the slide and in along the frame.

I ran a bore patch through the barrel several times to get all the CLP out of it, there was also quite a bit of carbon in it. I've never fired it so it must've been the previous owner. I also used some gun grease on the slide rails as opposed to the CLP. I used a few little drops along each side of the frame and slide.

Then I lubed the barrel and slide and the guide rod. I wiped down the spring, didn't put lube on it. But I also wiped down each part to get the excess off.

Oh yeah, I also bought a Chip McCormick Power Mag. It fits so much nicer than the Taurus OEM mags. Much tighter fit and the carrier seems to be much nicer. I've included pics of the Taurus mag and the CMC mag in the gun.

congrats on your purchase.

does the taurus 45 have the internal lock with key mechanism?

when you get the 870, select a barrel length and choke that suits your style then purchase an extra barrel, preferably the 18" variety

Black_And_Blue wrote:congrats on your purchase.

does the taurus 45 have the internal lock with key mechanism?

when you get the 870, select a barrel length and choke that suits your style then purchase an extra barrel, preferably the 18" variety

Yeah, it does. It's in the hammer. I think the new ones have it in the slide on the right side. Mine was built in 2008; same year I got married incidentally. I actually don't use the hammer/slide safety. I keep it unloaded and the ammo in a separate location anyway.

I'm looking at the 870 synthetic in 18.5". Although I was in Dick's this past Saturday and almost bought a different shotgun. Forget the name of it, started with an "E"; same day I also looked at a Benelli which I didn't care for the plastic stock and pistol grip. The other shotgun I didn't necessarily care for either, though it was a bit more comfortable to shoulder. That was actually one time I'm glad my wife was with me; she put the brakes on that purchase rather quickly. I don't want to buy a shotgun I'm going to regret later; especially a no name brand from a chain store.

Why keep your handgun unloaded if it's for personal protection? Two seconds is what it takes for someone to be across your home and in your face, a mere two seconds. Can you find your handgun and ammo, and put the two together in that amount of time?

cabinover wrote:Why keep your handgun unloaded if it's for personal protection? Two seconds is what it takes for someone to be across your home and in your face, a mere two seconds. Can you find your handgun and ammo, and put the two together in that amount of time?

It's unloaded for now because I don't have anywhere to secure the loaded magazine with the gun so my kids can't get to it. The plan is to have the magazine separate from the gun but in the same nightstand. I'd have it in it's own little locked box. The gun is also in the nightstand in it's case locked up.

I COULD put the loaded magazine in the same case as the gun and lock them up. Which I may end up doing.

Which brings me to my next question. I've heard a lot of mixed things on leaving magazines loaded. Does the spring wear out fast with the magazine loaded or should I not even worry about it?

Oh, currently I only have 50 rounds of FMJ 230 grain aluminum cased Blazer cartridges; it's what was given to me when I bought the gun. I'm planning on getting some JHP cartridges to leave as the loaded mag just haven't been to the store to pickup more; also not sure what's a good JHP brand/type. I've heard the Blazer aluminum cartridges are a bit on the dirty side.

I'm On Fire wrote:

cabinover wrote:Why keep your handgun unloaded if it's for personal protection? Two seconds is what it takes for someone to be across your home and in your face, a mere two seconds. Can you find your handgun and ammo, and put the two together in that amount of time?

It's unloaded for now because I don't have anywhere to secure the loaded magazine with the gun so my kids can't get to it. The plan is to have the magazine separate from the gun but in the same nightstand. I'd have it in it's own little locked box. The gun is also in the nightstand in it's case locked up.

I COULD put the loaded magazine in the same case as the gun and lock them up. Which I may end up doing.

Which brings me to my next question. I've heard a lot of mixed things on leaving magazines loaded. Does the spring wear out fast with the magazine loaded or should I not even worry about it?

Oh, currently I only have 50 rounds of FMJ 230 grain aluminum cased Blazer cartridges; it's what was given to me when I bought the gun. I'm planning on getting some JHP cartridges to leave as the loaded mag just haven't been to the store to pickup more; also not sure what's a good JHP brand/type. I've heard the Blazer aluminum cartridges are a bit on the dirty side.

I have magazines that have been loaded over 20yrs for pistols that work just fine. I have not experienced any issue. A good safe is good piece of mind. The problem I can see with what you are doing is what has happened to others. Either you may think the chamber is empty when it is not or think you loaded on in and did not. Consistency and repetition is the key to safety and self defense. Find a routine and keep it. You are new to it but it will become 2nd nature.

Flyer5 wrote:I have magazines that have been loaded over 20yrs for pistols that work just fine. I have not experienced any issue. A good safe is good piece of mind. The problem I can see with what you are doing is what has happened to others. Either you may think the chamber is empty when it is not or think you loaded on in and did not. Consistency and repetition is the key to safety and self defense. Find a routine and keep it. You are new to it but it will become 2nd nature.

Yeah, that's exactly why I don't leave any magazines in the gun. I'm afraid I'm going to forget that one is loaded or there's one in the pipe. If I did leave a mag loaded it definitely wouldn't be in the gun. I'd have it in the case with the gun but not with it. I've heard conflicting things about leaving one loaded. Some people are like you who leave them loaded for years and others claim not to. I have read more "I've been leaving them loaded for "X" amount of years" though.

I try to go home every night and spend a few minutes running snap caps through a mag and then through the gun to try and get the motions down. Sometimes my daughter will sit on the bed and watch me; I think she likes the sounds the slide makes when it slams shut or the sound of the mag going in. I remind her it's not a toy and not to touch it. And she always says, 'I know." half the time I chase her out of the room. I always make sure there is nothing in the chamber and I've not put any live rounds into a mag for fear I'm going to leave one in the gun. If I do put them in a magazine I make sure I take them out before things get put away. I'm not quite setup yet to leave things "loaded" or in magazines. I'm slowly getting together my ammo boxes and safes.

What I really need to do is get to a range and shoot. Range time is crazy expensive and I have to wait until next month since I missed the sign-up window for this month. Either that or I need to make friends with someone in PA who has a range in their yard I can go shoot for free. *hint-hint*

If I might interject.

Having raised four daughters in a house with firearms, there's going to come a time when her natural curiosity may not work like you think/hope. She now sees Daddy having fun with that thing called a "gun". She has no concept of what it is, or what it is capable of, . . and just telling her no and/or chasing her from the room will likely lead to just heightening her curiosity. You can either control how she learns and satisfies that curiosity, or maybe put it off and she may one day be in a situation to learn on her own - the wrong way.

My daughters were equally curious. And this being rural farm land where there are probably more guns than people in this county, they all had friends who had guns in their house that I have no control over. At early ages I showed them all how to safely handle guns while under my supervision.

I also took them with me to the range so they could not only see that safe use and why it is so important, they could also see the potentially destructive power of firearms.

That all satisfied the natural curiosity every kid has in a safe, supervised manor. It also prepared them how to deal with anytime they might encounter firearms while not at home - which included learning how to spot unsafe behavior with firearms at their friends homes.

The good news for you Dad, is girls learn faster than boys and when they are taught properly, they treat guns with more respect because they aren't driven by the guy bravado gene !

Now, many years later my daughters and I still enjoy shooting together and I'm proud to see them safely make sure their guns are clear before and after every use and that they are 100% of the time mindful of where the muzzles are pointed and to keep fingers off triggers (they still chuckle about all the times I was screaming at TV actors about that).

There are way too many instances of parents who put off their kids natural curiosity which ended in tragedies. I'm a firm believer that it's better to teach them properly while they are young before they learn the wrong way.

Paul

Yes, range cost can be expensive. Does PA have state land they allow shooting on ?

We have lots of state land around here. A call to the local Forest Ranger station proved very helpful. They gave me directions to a bunch of state land areas close by that I can legally shoot in. And what ones I couldn't.

Paul

Sunny Boy wrote:If I might interject.

Having raised four daughters in a house with firearms, there's going to come a time when her natural curiosity may not work like you think/hope. She now sees Daddy having fun with that thing called a "gun". She has no concept of what it is, or what it is capable of, . . and just telling her no and/or chasing her from the room will likely lead to just heightening her curiosity. You can either control how she learns and satisfies that curiosity, or maybe put it off and she may one day be in a situation to learn on her own - the wrong way.

My daughters were equally curious. And this being rural farm land where there are probably more guns than people in this county, they all had friends who had guns in their house that I have no control over. At early ages I showed them all how to safely handle guns while under my supervision.

I also took them with me to the range so they could not only see that safe use and why it is so important, they could also see the potentially destructive power of firearms.

That all satisfied the natural curiosity every kid has in a safe, supervised manor. It also prepared them how to deal with anytime they might encounter firearms while not at home - which included learning how to spot unsafe behavior with firearms at their friends homes.

The good news for you Dad, is girls learn faster than boys and when they are taught properly, they treat guns with more respect because they aren't driven by the guy bravado gene !

Now, many years later my daughters and I still enjoy shooting together and I'm proud to see them safely make sure their guns are clear before and after every use and that they are 100% of the time mindful of where the muzzles are pointed and to keep fingers off triggers (they still chuckle about all the times I was screaming at TV actors about that).

There are way too many instances of parents who put off their kids natural curiosity which ended in tragedies. I'm a firm believer that it's better to teach them properly while they are young before they learn the wrong way.

Paul

I too grew up in a house with firearms. I don't always chase my daughter out of the room when I'm messing with the gun. It's just sometimes, I'd like a minute to myself without a kid up my butt all the time. You know, a minute without cartoons or toys.

I've sat her on the bed and let her ask about the gun and point to parts of it and tell her what they were. I haven't let her touch it because she's 4 and it might be a little heavy for her. My son on the other hand held it, I went over it and then he lost interest in it and went back to whatever it is he does. Although he did say he'd like to go to the range.

I'm like you, I don't hold my Children's curiosity back. I do want to be safe about certain things but I'm not going to shield them from things.