Gun advice

[cloudyday2]

Oh one other question. I am left-handed and my left eye is dominant, but my right hand and arm are stronger. I throw with my right hand and so forth.

I wondered whether I should be holding the gun with my left hand or my right hand. The revolvers all seem to be designed for right-handed people, so I thought maybe I should use my right hand even though my left eye dominates.

 

[Darkhorse]

Oh one other question. I am left-handed and my left eye is dominant, but my right hand and arm are stronger. I throw with my right hand and so forth.

I wondered whether I should be holding the gun with my left hand or my right hand. The revolvers all seem to be designed for right-handed people, so I thought maybe I should use my right hand even though my left eye dominates.

I would say "only if you can make yourself use your right eye to sight".

I can voluntarily shift my sighting to either eye, but I think it's more difficult for most people...

 

[MarkRohfrietsch]

I would say "only if you can make yourself use your right eye to sight".

I can voluntarily shift my sighting to either eye, but I think it's more difficult for most people...

I need to try it!

 

[MarkRohfrietsch]

At close range, sights likely would make little difference; fiddling with a laser while under stress, looking for the on switch might waste valuable time. Go with the little .38; buy cheep ammo (not +P) and it won't be too bad.

I had a snub-nose S & W .38 (I think it was the detective special); I found a picture of one on the internet:

While I could not hit a bulls eye with it, I could hit a man sized target at 10 yards all day.

 

[cloudyday2]

At close range, sights likely would make little difference; fiddling with a laser while under stress, looking for the on switch might waste valuable time. Go with the little .38; buy cheep ammo (not +P) and it won't be too bad.

I had a snub-nose S & W .38 (I think it was the detective special); I found a picture of one on the internet:

While I could not hit a bulls eye with it, I could hit a man sized target at 10 yards all day.

Thanks, that seems like good advice. Next I need to take a gun safety class and get enough practice to feel confident with it. Then hopefully it will gather dust and never need to be used.

 

[ChavaK]

I would shoot left handed. Being cross dominant is a disadvantage.
I am right handed and left eyed and I have to shoot with one eye closed
(yes, I've tried the tape over the glasses and all the other tricks without
success) which I find less than ideal. I haven't really spent time with
long guns, but when I do I am going to shoot them left handed. I've tried
right handed and it doesn't work well.

 

[Faith.Man]

I am a 68 year old gun owner/shooter/collector. I also have psoriatic arthritis in most of the joints in my body and degenerative disc disease in my back. Personally, I find 1911's in .45 ACP very comfortable to shoot. I'm looking forward to getting one in 9 mm. Of the guns I own, my Argentinian Browning High-Power clone in 9 mm is a pure pleasure to shoot, so is my CZ 52. But my favorite handguns are Glocks, Sigs, CZs and Walthers. There isn't a gun made that fits my hands better than the CZ 75 series. One other gun is a pleasure to shoot. That's my sole revolver, a short barreled S&W 686 .357 that I generally shoot .38 specials in to keep costs down. The CZ 52 is fun to shoot and usually draws a crowd at the range. Ammo availability may be a factor unless you order online.

 

[MarkRohfrietsch]

I am a 68 year old gun owner/shooter/collector. I also have psoriatic arthritis in most of the joints in my body and degenerative disc disease in my back. Personally, I find 1911's in .45 ACP very comfortable to shoot. I'm looking forward to getting one in 9 mm. Of the guns I own, my Argentinian Browning High-Power clone in 9 mm is a pure pleasure to shoot, so is my CZ 52. But my favorite handguns are Glocks, Sigs, CZs and Walthers. There isn't a gun made that fits my hands better than the CZ 75 series. One other gun is a pleasure to shoot. That's my sole revolver, a short barreled S&W 686 .357 that I generally shoot .38 specials in to keep costs down. The CZ 52 is fun to shoot and usually draws a crowd at the range. Ammo availability may be a factor unless you order online.

Interesting; I have a CZ 85 clone, and it is a pleasure to shoot; I also have a 1911, and other than a slight bit more muzzle jump, I don't find the recoil any more intense that the 9mm. I am currently running mid pressure home loads of 127 gr copper plated hard lead in the 9 and 230 gr. factory reloads in the .45; both are very accurate, but I shoot slightly better with the .45.

What's your opinion?

 

[Faith.Man]

Interesting; I have a CZ 85 clone, and it is a pleasure to shoot; I also have a 1911, and other than a slight bit more muzzle jump, I don't find the recoil any more intense that the 9mm. I am currently running mid pressure home loads of 127 gr copper plated hard lead in the 9 and 230 gr. factory reloads in the .45; both are very accurate, but I shoot slightly better with the .45.

What's your opinion?

My current 1911s have not been shot, all new - two Sigs (full size carry 1911 and a C3 Commander/Officer Hybrid) and a Colt Commander. My previous 1911 Springfield Armory I traded for a Sig P220. The Sig P220 is a pure pleasure to shoot. I bought a EAA Witness CZ clone years ago when CZs were hard to find. I can't get a full mag through the EAA before I get a failure to fully seat. So I have to bang on the slide to get it to seat. That gets old quick. It is accurate and feels good for the first few rounds it will feed unaided. (It's either going to a gunsmith or a gun to trade) My CZs have been added recently: a CZ 75B; CZ 75B Compact; CZ 75 Compact Decocker with rail (P01); and a CZ RAMI Decocker all in 9 mm. The two CZ decockers and the two Sig 45s will be going to the range with me soon. I've read the warnings on CZ decockers not having the best triggers but both of mine feel great. Only a range trip will confirm that.

 

[ChavaK]

I have a Ruger 1911 that I really like but don't shoot a whole lot due to it being a .45.
I went to a gun show a couple of weeks ago and picked up a 1911 colt .22lr (made by Walther).
I love this thing! It is fun to shoot and deadly accurate. It's going to be great to practice with
since the ammo is so much cheaper (and readily available now!).

 

[ChavaK]

A few other issues I forgot to mention. A few years ago I was diagnosed with some psychotic illnesses that are still on my health record. I don't know if that affects my eligibility to buy a handgun or not. I already have some guns, but they are not my own and I don't know if they are functional. I thought that if I had to shoot and kill a burglar it might be better if I was the gun owner?

I think as long as you have not been involuntarily admitted to a mental hospital you won't have a problem.
Also remember that you never shoot to kill.....you shoot to stop the threat.

 

[MarkRohfrietsch]

My current 1911s have not been shot, all new - two Sigs (full size carry 1911 and a C3 Commander/Officer Hybrid) and a Colt Commander. My previous 1911 Springfield Armory I traded for a Sig P220. The Sig P220 is a pure pleasure to shoot. I bought a EAA Witness CZ clone years ago when CZs were hard to find. I can't get a full mag through the EAA before I get a failure to fully seat. So I have to bang on the slide to get it to seat. That gets old quick. It is accurate and feels good for the first few rounds it will feed unaided. (It's either going to a gunsmith or a gun to trade) My CZs have been added recently: a CZ 75B; CZ 75B Compact; CZ 75 Compact Decocker with rail (P01); and a CZ RAMI Decocker all in 9 mm. The two CZ decockers and the two Sig 45s will be going to the range with me soon. I've read the warnings on CZ decockers not having the best triggers but both of mine feel great. Only a range trip will confirm that.

A bit of tuning by a gunsmith or polishing by you may make the difference; try either Lithium or Die Makers grease on the slides and barrel bushing; also, pick up some Wolff Main-springs (various compression weights) and try a fresh main spring and maybe one with a bit more "weight" to it.

I checked and it seems that EAA pistols take slightly different springs, but Wolff offers them too: https://www.gunsprings.com/index.php?page=items&cID=1&mID=19

Try the new springs and the grease first, if you move the slide and it's tight, polish the tightness out of it. I expect that you could have it running a whole lot better in short order.

My NZ is an exact clone of the CZ85B; no decocker; and I'm OK with that.

 

[MarkRohfrietsch]

I have a Ruger 1911 that I really like but don't shoot a whole lot due to it being a .45.
I went to a gun show a couple of weeks ago and picked up a 1911 colt .22lr (made by Walther).
I love this thing! It is fun to shoot and deadly accurate. It's going to be great to practice with
since the ammo is so much cheaper (and readily available now!).

Some of the guys up here have Sigs and GSG 1911s in .22; good shooters (I have shot a couple); GSG makes a slide, barrel and mag release kit that is plug and play in any single stack 1011 with a 5 inch barrel; I may ask my wife for one LOL.

 

[Faith.Man]

A bit of tuning by a gunsmith or polishing by you may make the difference; try either Lithium or Die Makers grease on the slides and barrel bushing; also, pick up some Wolff Main-springs (various compression weights) and try a fresh main spring and maybe one with a bit more "weight" to it.

I checked and it seems that EAA pistols take slightly different springs, but Wolff offers them too: https://www.gunsprings.com/index.php?page=items&cID=1&mID=19

Try the new springs and the grease first, if you move the slide and it's tight, polish the tightness out of it. I expect that you could have it running a whole lot better in short order.

My NZ is an exact clone of the CZ85B; no decocker; and I'm OK with that.

 

[Faith.Man]

I have polished the hammer making sure it mates well with the slide ramp. It still feels like it is exerting too much pressure. The next range trip was a little better but more time consuming work needs to be done with a stone. My problem is somewhat more complex because I have two slides for the Witness: a 9mm that came with the gun; and a .40 that I bought later. Both have exactly the same problem. Both slide assemblies are complete so I really want to make this work. I can work on the hammer again and lube everything as you suggest. It's worth the effort.

 

[MarkRohfrietsch]

Plain old valve lapping compound can be applied on tight slides; may require multiple applications, and work them by hand. This will also alleviate tightness.