Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

Here's one of me shooting:

Hey jjaj2022,

Thanks for sharing all the photos! I'm sorry to hear that you had that experience and glad that you not only came out ok but also motivated to protect yourself if attacked again.

I've been beaten, stabbed & shot at before - all without me having done anything against my attackers... I plan to give anyone who attacks me in the future the best fight that I can. Hopefully I wont have to and I work hard to avoid any possible conflicts - but ya never know!

Nice guns you have - why no rifle/s?

Sweet picture! What other guns do you have? I think Oregon is an open carry state, right? Do you have your CCW permit? It's near impossible to get one here in Cali. I have an Arizona CCW permit but California doesn't honor any out of state permits. What a surprise huh? I'd much rather be judged by 12 than carried by 6, so I do what I have to do.

I have a friend who is working on getting an AK for me. I really never got into rifles because I was primarily interested in guns for self protection but now I kinda want a rifle just because.

I've owned a few guns over the years and shot more than a couple of others. Besides the AR above, my main gun now is a Glock 19. I do have my CCW (CHL here in Oregon). Oregon is open carry but at least 2 cities here - Portland & Beaverton are not.

Are you familair with Packing.org? They have tons of info on CCW & gun laws in general, plus forums, links to defensive trainers & a lot more. Interestingly, some California counties are essentially shall issue for CCW - check out Packing for more info.

I dont know how familar you are with California's maze of firearms laws but one thing to be aware of is that most AK variants are banned there so if you want to get one you'll either have to get a version that is Cali. legal or keep it outside of the state.

Personally, I prefer a rifle to a shotgun (or a handgun for that matter) for protection/defense.

Not to mention that it must be pretty hard to hit accurately out very far with a pistol-grip only 12 guage...

I'm thinking about getting a .45 pistol sometime soon to use on a shooting range not too far from here, but my father has several rifles in the house.

Cool! What brands & models are you considering?

I don't know, I have to look more into it.

Packing.org is a great site. There are some county's that will issue permits but it's not as easy as it sounds. You have to establish residency and if you don't know someone, that can be hard. My gun grabbing grandparents have a home in Mendocino county and according to Packing.org, the Mendocino county sheriff hands them out like candy. The problem I have is my grandparents won't go for that. I'll have to wait until they leave their beach house to the family and then I'll apply.

About the AK that I might get, I doubt it will be legal and I doubt it will be kept out of state. I pretty much don't give a shit about gun laws.

The only problem I have with rifles being used for self defence is the fact that after they hit the bad guy they can continue to travel through walls. So, if you have neighbors or other people in the home, you run the risk of killing someone else besides the bad guy.

Here's a great place to just look around and get an idea of prices:
http://www.gunsamerica.com - If you get the chance, try shooting as many possibilities as you can before you buy.

Yeah, the counties do tend to require residency.

I dont blame anyone for ignoring gun laws but you should be aware that the penalties are very harsh if you get busted. And there are many good rifles legally available with minimal hassle, by California standards anyway. It's also good to realize that all electronic communications are monitered. It seems like I hear about someone getting busted every week for something they posted to a forum or on Myspace, etc...

As for using rifles for self-defense and your concern about over-penetration - it depends on the caliber and ammunition used. With the right caliber & ammo choices, rifle rounds can penetrate less than pistol or shotgun rounds. For example, .223/5.56 is popular for just that reason. With the 7.62x39 round that is usually used in AK variants, I'd go with a lower-velocity soft-point. Additionally, you can often change the angle of your shot to minimize or eliminate hitting someone or something that you dont intend to.

If you haven't done so already, I strongly suggest investing in high quality defensive firearms training with whatever guns you'll be using for that purpose.