Shooting a Rifle
 

I plan on buying a rifle soon and was wondering if the impact from discharging it would be too much for my brain.

I'm very sensitive to jolting. How could I lessen the impact?

Thanks, and God bless.

Nick

Easy! Don't buy the rifle.

I live in the worst part of Las Vegas. DOWNTOWN Las Vegas to be exact. This is this only place I could afford to live, i'm collecting Social Security, taking care of two kids and places are getting broken into here left and right. I have to be able to protect my family.

BTW, I didn't ask whether I should buy the rifle or not...I asked how to reduce the impact so my head doesn't jar.

Smart ***.

SpaceCadet,

If you feel you must have a firearm, a rifle is not for you - the kick would be bad for you, it will percuss your injury, and most probably disorient you in an order not to be further able to be of any assistance to your loved ones.

MyHeadHurts is actually trying to help, no matter how short the answer, being that you will hurt yourself... the explosive noise of the shot would also affect you, and most likely give you more problems than you want..........and a rifle is not something useful to defend your home with, if you are not experienced .

You should contact law enforcement, and ask about handguns, if you must have a firearm, and go thru the proper procedures for protection - you have enough problems from your history....don't bring down more on yourself.

Keep moving forward with the positives you are thinking about and working toward as best you can and best wishes guy.

Recoil
 

All weapons have recoil please reconsider. Also most triggers only require 14 pounds of pressure to fire the weapon. A three year old can fire one. I would recommend a strong pepper spray and taser. If you know a law officer you trust speak to them. BTW firearms and depression are usually bad neighbors.

Would a handgun w/ a silencer reduce the kick?

A good alert dog is usually a better deterrent than a gun. IMO.
They will hear things long before you would and hopefully bark or growl..making the bad guys go elsewhere.
Plus,
Consider adding up the time to actually wake up & be alert, get the gun out of it's safe & secure place & load it, and then scare off any possible intruder ..
Hopefully a gun will be stored away in a locked place where kids /
impulsive actions will be prevented.



I think maybe 14 ounces of pressure to fire vs 14 pounds?

I suppose a lil .22 would do the job enough to scare someone off and hurt a lil bit if you absolutely had to shoot..
Following all the laws of your state of course.

Nick,

First, you do not want a rifle. They are of little use in a close quarters defense. There are a number of short barrel (legal length) sold for personal protection like a Mossberg 500 Defender. A pump action shot gun would be best. Women feel better using a shot gun. They can hold it clutched between their arm and check like they hold a purse. It points where ever they turn. A pump shotgun stored where a child can't reach it would be safest. A 12 gauge loaded with buck shot will blow through a closed interior door. Mount an LED flashlight to the forestock.

Any criminal knows the sound of a shotgun being racked (the sound and motion of loading a shell into the chamber), even through a locked interior door.

As for the sound and percussion of firing it, take it to a range with an personal defense instructor. Most of the training will be without firing the shotgun. When you are going to fire it, wear foam ear plugs plus head phone style hearing protection. After training and practice, you will have time to recover from the event.

Regarding a silencer, you can get them in Nevada. There is a background check (probably an obstacle for you) plus a $200 fee to ATF plus the cost of the silencer. Added to the cost of a reliable pistol that will accept a silencer, you are talking some serious money, $1200 to $2000. Plus, a handgun is not very effective in close quarters. It needs to be aimed accurately and any gun pro will tell you than that means shooting a box of ammo per month. Add to that the added risk of a handgun being a prime target for theft and it can make your home even more of a break-in risk.

Another option is a semi-automatic 22 caliber like a Ruger 10-22. It can hold a clip or 10 or 25 to even 50 rounds. It will fire through a door and has a short barrel. They sell for about $350 and are quiet shooters. There are studies supporting the self-defense value of 22 caliber weapons. You can shoot them at the range very affordably.

In any choice, you need to consider how to keep your home safe from occupants and visitors using the weapon carelessly. Find a defense of the home firearms course to take first. Learn how to handle each weapon (trainers often have weapons to use).

An alternative is a extremely high decibel screamer personal alarm. You will likely find them at shops that also sell pepper spray. 120 db or higher sound can disable an intruder so they will flee. It will also bring attention to your home. They can be carried with you when out in public. Some have pepper spray or a strobe. The sound and strobe would be good for a home.

They are very affordable, $20 to $40, so they would be an excellent choice for each of you. You could buy a few and stash them in the apartment and still have one for each of you to carry.

I would recommend the personal alarm for affordability, safety, and versatility. Plus, a personal alarm will not be a risk for those 'downer' days.

I have owned guns for decades and the safety risk they bring into your home is constant. My wife and I both have concealed carry permits but never do carry.

So, go buy a few personal alarms. Then, get some firearms training so you understand the risks of firearms. I believe firearms training should be required of all junior high students with annual refreshers. Understanding firearms is valuable regardless of whether one owns a firearm. You kids will need to understand the danger of a firearm and respect them.

In my day, almost very young boy (8 to 10 years old) had or frequently shot a BB gun or pellet gun. I started shooting pellet guns at 4 or 5 years old. Today, it is illegal to shoot even a BB gun with most city limits. Even sling shots are illegal within city limits in most cities.

So, get some good training. You will be glad you did.

My best to you.

Safety
 

All good advice I would also look into what maay be done to keep an intruder out. Sense you are on a budget there may be ways to safeguard your loved ones and yourself. Like making it a layered type defense.

First as difficult to get in as you can make it.
Second if break in is occuring then a cheap motion alarm to alert you.
Third a safety plan to get everyone to the safest place.
Fourth whatever method of defense you have chosen for your protection.

A old coke bottle could be easily balanced on a door knob but would fall at the lightest touch.

Thin string with bells can be strung across windows.

There are probably lots of common sense, cost effective things you could do.

Hope this helps.

I spent 20 years in the home security industry. Trying to fortress and alarm your apartment is a losing battle in my experience. A decent door deadbolt and normally secured windows is as good as trying to make a fortress. Never lock a door KNOB. It is a waste of time and causes people to forget to lock the deadbolt.

A fortress makes your home look like a target. A dog has drawbacks. Biting neighbors or yapping at anything creates an additional stress. A very well trained dog would be great but it takes strict discipline to train a dog for a family security need.

We have had two home protection dogs killed by police lately here in Idaho.

You can buy "Barking Dog" alarms.

I run a company that designs rifle accessories. As a normal course of R&D, I have to be around rifle-shooting. For the record, I have never had the slightest sense that the noise and/or recoil has aggravated my brain condition in any way. Every brain situation is different, of course, and YMMV, but that is my experience.

Oh, if an apartment or close housing situations, any shots fired that miss the intended target, could harm innocent people, so that is a concern.

tough situation..

YMMV is very true.

I have been shooting since my military days in the 60's; and even now, 2 years after injury, go or try to go every 2 weeks, for small arms and rifle fire to keep up.......earplugs and muffs.

Since my mTBI I have to cut most sessions short or end up with rebounding pounders for hours after, but as you said, each are diffent.........and Im not stopping my practice.

But, as has been said, SpaceCadet, Train , look into remedies, find what suits you and your family needs, and find safe methods.

Be safe.

Hi,

Really? The guy who is rabidly suicidal two weeks ago is looking into getting a rifle "to protect his family" and y'all are seriously engaging in the conversation?

Nick, please please please get treatment for your depression. It is lying to you about the worth of your life and the best way to solve problems.

Trust me; I have been there. There are better ways out.

I'm trusting that he is truly concerned for family safety and not for any other use.

I really hope no one would post here asking about rifle/guns/home safety if they were planning to do personal harm to themselves.
Plus, it usually voids any insurance policy payouts to the beneficiaries.



I don't know how the bad guys are entering the homes/apartments - breaking down the door, thru windows left open?

I'd beef up the inside locks and add safety latches, and maybe a few baseball bats stashed around the home, just in case a bad guy gets inside.

I don't know if the baddies are armed or just trying to break in & steal things.
And are they entering empty homes vs when people are at home?

Eowyn wrote:
"Really? The guy who is [__] suicidal two weeks ago is looking into getting a rifle
"to protect his family" and y'all are seriously engaging in the conversation?"
__________________________________________________ _________________________

Thank you, Eowyn, for this.
I thought much the same, took it as a joke post or not serious, perhaps OP in a "playful" state of mind? ;)
Second thought was, or an unspoken "Help?" of sorts?

Maybe this post was missed by some?
If I was stuck in a very bad area I would consider some ways to protect my self & family.
Other protection methods have been mentioned.

If I had a list of things that I would never do, killing myself would be in the top 3.

I've already tried anti-depressants. They didn't really do much for me. My psychiatrist made a real good point. Let's say that someone is missing his thumb. Every time he tries to pick something up, he drops it or has trouble holding it. This makes him depressed. No matter how much medication he takes, it's not going to fix the underlying problem. Let's say that a man is depressed about his wife leaving him. If he takes the highest dosage of Paxil, will that bring his wife back? No.

What am I trying to get at? I have horrible cognitive problems and I seem to be getting worse all the time, instead of better. If I take an anti-depressant, will that fix my brain injury? Nope. Talking about it doesn't help either because communication is my biggest flaw and it ****** me off / makes me depressed when I can't get my point across.

I forgot where I was going with this.

I'm not gonna blow my brains out. I love my son too much to do that and would rather suffer for the rest of my life than take my son's dad away.

Everyone else, thanks for all the useful information. You've all been a great help.

Nick

I can understand Eowyn's concerns considering your past posts SpaceCadet.

You had not related your progress from the posts before , but now it seems you may be moving forward, as long as it is forward progress.

Good tidings, guy.

Keep the positives developing, and keep forward motivations .

Good luck.

Taking anti-depressants isn't going to make you un-concussed, but it can make your brain stop producing chemicals that make you think killing yourself is the best way to deal with being concussed. I don't know if you go back and read your past posts, but if you do you might note a bit of a contrast between how you're presenting yourself today vs. how you presented yourself a couple of weeks ago.

My thought was that buying a rifle was such a ludicrous solution to the break-in problem that the break-in issue could only possibly be a cover story for getting a gun to kill yourself.

In any case, if you are having highly unstable moods as your posts seem to suggest, having firearms in the house doesn't seem like the best idea.