I have mentioned several times that I follow used gun listings in my area.  I also frequent stores that buy/sell/trade firearms.  Most of my deals are acquired by knowing more about the firearm than the seller, right place right time deals, and just going into a store without any plan on what I'm looking for.  I have plenty of reasons for focusing my purchases only on used guns. Price is only one part, buying a firearm that is already broke in is another.  Many of the lessons I have learned may appear common sense, but none the less, you must remember them since missing a small detail may be the difference between a deal and a money pit. Here are a few tips, hints and tricks I've learned in my years of shopping.

1. Guns don't lie.  Unlike when buying a used car, guns show their scars.  you quickly learn the difference between holster wear and a gun that has seen more than its fair share of beatings.

the profile page looked empty and it kept bothering me that it said i hadn't created a blog.  i don't have anything important to say, and if i did say something it would probably just piss people off. 

so, i don't blog.  i shoot.  i shoot often.  i don't shoot in competitions.  that (competitions against other people) isn't my thing.  i only play "with" other people because it's social but i don't ever feel like i'm competing "against" them. 

i like any kind of game where you have to hit a target and accuracy counts.  it doesnt' matter if its pistols or rifles or pellet guns or archery or pool or bowling or lawndarts or whatev.  i just like to see if i can train my eyes and my body to make it a repeatable event and then finetune it to improve that accuracy. 

I don't know if you have  this same thing happening to you. I have a friend who makes more than enough money to buy brand new high end rifles, guns, shotguns, and  machine guns. We go shooting about once a month at a local indoor range. Almost every time we go shoot he has a new gun. Great, it's just that he seams to get the greatest deals in the world on guns that are over a grand for less than a grand...ahhh!!! I'm all for getting a good deal, but it's  ridiculous how many he gets'. Where gonna go shot tomorrow with his newly acquired  FNH/P .45acp 15+1 that he got for $625 DOLLARS...What!!! That guns'  msrp is 1200...sick!!! More power to him, but it's starting to bug me...just a little! It almost feels like he just wants to brag about his great deals. I know it's just me being a little jealous, but the fact that he makes considerable money and gets these outrageous deals are little sicking sometimes. I wish i got deals that great! The only saving grace i have with him is that me and my 15 year old can out shoot him any day of the week!!! Which erks him just a bit! Ha! So I'll continue to shoot with him just to try out all the new toys he brings and to wipe that little smirk when my 15yr old out guns him!!!

I work in a large office.  There are 400 people just on this floor. Out of this populated cubicle farm we have massive discussions about guns, shooting, hunting, and archery. There are only a few people I can think of who don’t at least own a gun.  However, there is one individual we all dread.  For now I will call her “PETA”. She is about as anti-gun as you can get.  She blames hunters for “ruining nature” she blames guns for EVERY kind of criminal act ever. No, really, I mean EVER!   She actually blames guns for the Holocaust.   Well, after a normal discussion about applying for this year’s antlerless tags she struck.

“how could you kill a defenseless creature and butcher it for your own entertainment?”

So, I'm having a bit of an issue sleeping... again...  So, I decided to tell a little story.

Back in 2003/2004, I was stationed at the stumps (29 palms California for those who don't know).  I got stuck standing gate guard one day.  Down the road, I see an odd looking car approaching the main gate.  The car rolls up and rolls down his window and hands me his ID.   I recognize the driver as a Gunny, but it doesn't dawn on me why I know him as a Gunnery Sergeant.  He had never been in my chain of command. I said to the driver (Oorah! Gunny) Then I look at his ID, there was something odd about it, but I don't feel that I should mention what it was.  Then I saw the name.  It was a name that I recognized very well.  I looked at him, then his ID, then him again... then the ID again.  He then says "You know who I am."  It was R. Lee Ermey.  I couldn't believe it.  I yell out "OOHRAH GUNNY!!" and I went to wave him on.. Other Marines started getting curious as to why I shouted so loudly and started looking out the guard shack.  He then says "Give me a second" and pulls over to the side of the road.  He got out of the car and popped open his trunk and pulled out a bunch of pictures, then starts signing autographs.  It actually took three prior tries to give me an autograph because he misspelled my name.  On the fourth try, I decided to hand him my ID.  Luckily, it wasn't that busy at that time of the day.  Traffic did get a bit backed up.  But, no one cared.  Everyone loves the Gunny.  And, everyone got autographs.  I found out later that many of the Marines get autographs from him in that area.  He doesn't live far from 29 Palms.  Oddly enough, I lived in that town too back from 93 - 95 and didn't know he lived there.

Several years ago, one of my few remaining uncles died. He'd lived quite an interesting life and had developed quite a gun collection. I was fortunate to receive a very early model Sig Sauer P226 from his collection.

From the start, I've liked this wonderful handgun. It fits my hand very well and I love the weight of the full metal construction. I'm not a great shooter, but I do OK and have enjoyed a couple of Tactical Pistol courses from Makhaira Group in Colorado with it. I've added Hi Viz sights, but I did like the original contrast sights, too.

Since I’m sure there are more than a few outdoorsman here I will share with you an experience I had a while ago, and again just recently.

Here is where you have to think alittle, what is your favorite game animal to hunt and what weapon do you prefer to hunt them with?

If you like what you see please visit my blog at robertdeboer.com It has all my post, gear reviews, and other things. Anything helps and shoot true!

I thought I would start a new segment on my blog specifically geared toward new shooters. As I learn and grow I thought I might share my experiences in order to help others who are also trying to learn the fun sport of shooting. I hope to cover all the basic things that beginners need to know or things that would help them out; often things I learn after the fact. So without further ado, let’s get started.

If you like what you see please visit my blog at robertdeboer.com It has all my post, gear reviews, and other things. Anything helps and shoot true!

Ok, I’m going to make this short, simple, and to the point. This has been debated, argued, posted, commented, tweeted, and facebooked from the beginning of time till the end in one form or another. I’m not even going to bring in numbers and statistics because I don’t know them enough, don’t have enough time to spend days researching it, and because there are so many that everyone has a 1 year supply for their opinion.  So I’m going to use basic, common sense facts that anyone can see. I’ll say it once and be done with it, so here it is.