i dig the handgun forum on here, i’m kinda just looking for an expanded version of that.
over the last year and a half i’ve really moved over to shooting pistols almost exclusively. I figured i better get proficient if i was going to carry, and i’ve also come to really enjoy pistols more than rifles.
any advice as far as other forums? i’m mostly into production class IPSC, CCW, and defensive pistol tactics. I just own glocks right now, i’m not much of a 1911 guy, i’m interested in sig, HK, smith and wesson etc though.
The is a great bunch of guy’s over at http://mp-pistol.com/boards/
(warning some are not the biggest glock fans and reading how much these M&P’s rock may lead you to buy one… or 2 or 3 )
If your into Ruger LCP’s then http://elsiepeaforum.com/forum/index.php is an
absolute must. (Jeff Quinn from Gun Blast recently started posting there and one or 2 other big names in the shooting world)
I say google your interests and read around. (it doesn’t take long to see the lessor managed forums by all the fighting and arguing and “know-it-all’s” but i’m sure
pretty much EVERY forum is going to have those.
But don’t let them shy you away from all the great free knowledge to be had out there.
If you are looking for highly detailed technical information (TDP quality information for handguns) then you’re going to have a very difficult time finding it in one place IF you can find it at all. The HKPRo guys may know some of that information about H&Ks, the Beretta forum guys may know some of that about Berettas, the Smith & Wesson forum guys may know that sort of information about Smiths, etc.
We have lots of people here on M4C that know handguns extremely well. There’s no deeper knowledge pool about the 1911 as a practical sidearm anywhere else on the web.
You may find that some other websites have pockets of useful information about a specific range of firearms, but it’s going to be damned difficult to match, let alone exceed, the level of information that’s routine here.
Agree with JW. Brand/model-specific forums will potentially have more technical and/or historic information but if you want to know or discuss application issues you’re going to weed through a LOT of safe-stuffers, dirt-shooters, and minutia-collectors to get to anything meaningful.
Of all the other forums I know about, the Smith&Wesson forum is probably the closest to what you may be looking for. There is a VERY low signal to noise ratio over there and there are some guys there who know almost everything there is to know about S&W revolvers.
While I do like his little insights and observations, you must take his info with a grain of salt as I have never heard a disparaging word on any firearm he has ever reviewed.
As M4C grows we’re constantly looking for ways to improve the forum for our members. If you or anyone else has suggestions please feel free to share them. We’ll discuss them internally and if all goes well we will implement the change!
In response to that, I would suggest you expand the pistol forum to be forums. Perhaps separate out the topics, not brands. The constant “which 9mm?” and fantasy questions “only one handgun” threads bring down the level of discussion, in my opinion. Not that I’m not guilty of indulging in those very discussions…
That’s not a bad suggestion at all. I like that it’s not broken down by brand. I would maybe add something for holsters etc. I know that tends to fall in the “Tactical Gear” section now but handgun-specific questions on holsters etc. might be a good idea.
i guess i’d like to see the handgun section expanded. I’m a little hesitant to suggest a glock, hk, sig, ruger, etc subforum, as this place is really focused more on training and tactics and less on gear. Perhaps a concealed carry forum, practical pistol shooting forum, LE/duty forum… could maybe split out revolvers and autos.
I guess my biggest concern is just making sure the forums will each get use, and won’t turn into bullshit fests… though i know the mods here won’t allow that.
I thought that IWB would go in Concealed Carry and 6004 would go in Service pistols, but I can see how people wouldn’t go that way automatically. I can’t figure out exactly how to phrase it, but I think there would be room for a “deployed” handgun user. Issues with IBA and drop legs, etc.
There is a competition forum already, but perhaps an IDPA/IPSC forum as well?
If you want information from people who actually shoot their handguns a lot & under real training conditions (i.e. - from a holster, under time pressure. Not some Ransome-rest group size crap or “slow fire”) - then look at www.brianenos.com
When I was into it, I was shooting about 15,000 rounds of handgun ammo per year (i.e. 3 sleeves of primers, 5000 each). ALL of it was rapid fire. Only time I did not draw from a holster, it was because I started with the unloaded gun on a table, gun in a glove-box, gun in a briefcase, etc. I shot handguns in NO LIGHT situations w/ hand-held Surefires, low light, bright sun light, in the rain, over snow, etc. I shot from less-than arms length distance out to about 45 yards. The site is all about that. That site is for people who actually shoot their handguns.
Before anyone pans such shooting as “not tactical enough” - think twice. Look at who shoots this: Magpul’s new handgun video was made by a guy who has done all of this type of shooting plus shooting overseas in defense of our great nation (I put him on our old Glock team back in 2005). Most people have seen the Blackwater video featuring Todd Jarrett. He trains those who carry handguns & subguns as part of their job. Many have seen the old Jerry Barnhart (aka “the Burner”) videos; Jerry is too busy doing tactical training for those headed to unpleasant places right now to shoot much on the circuit anymore. Guess where he learned to shoot? And all of Ft. Benning’s AMU does this sort of shooting; they even host an on-base shoot every year featuring realstic training scenarios (past shoots featured a captured AK, an AT4 simulator, etc). If all that is not “good enough” to be of benefit, I don’t know what is.
If your new focus is on actually hitting targets - at speed- with a handgun, then the forum you want is BrianEnos.com
Not to toot our own horn here, but there are a LOT of guys who have been carrying concealed in some capacity (including as armed professionals) for a long time here on M4C, and the wisdom they’ve picked up is often superior to what I see on lots of other websites.
If I have a concealed carry question I’m quite sure I can get a darn good answer here from any number of individuals who know the topic well. I’m by no means the world’s foremost expert on concealed carry, but I’ve done a fair bit of it and I’ve learned some lessons that have been very valuable to others I’ve coached about it in my non-internet life as well as my forum time.
As far as the defensive carry forum goes, if this thread is representative of the level of discourse over there, I’m not interested:
That thread is a good example of why M4C has been structured as it has, because the dominant voices over there were NOT the voices of actual experts, but of people with limited experience and limited understanding. We aspire to be better than that here.
Good Lord… Ahh, WTF does that “Numbnuts” “Idot” tv host LAV know about the 1911 anyway? Obviously not nearly as much as a bunch of those guys anyhow… :rolleyes:
Perfect example of why I rarely stray from this site. Gotta thank the owners and mods here for creating an atmosphere where SMEs are welcomed, respected, and have a place to share their knowledge/experience absent a bunch of bugger eaters.
i hate getting gun advice from places other than here… i will be checking out that brianenos forum though. I really would love to see m4carbine.net’s handgun section expanded a bit. I think it’ll have to be done slowly and deliberately, rather than just dumping a pile of new forums on us, but there is room to grow for sure.
Outside of the guys here who are deployed in iraq and afganistan, most of our membership depends on a handgun as our primary most of the time. ie-civilians and LEOs.
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