Average Joe
Member
Don't do it, unless you like wearing stripes.
Shooting .38 Specials in the garage?
- Thread starter BigBlock
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As others have said, this is a bad idea. Even with the doors closed, this will be very loud. Your neighbors will call the police. They won't be happy.
Airborne lead comes from two places: the primer and the base of the bullet. A small portion of the base of the bullet vaporizes when the shot is discharged. FMJ bullets are NOT enclosed on the base, so they really don't help reduce the airborne lead. JHP bullets are covered on the base, so this reduces lead compared to JHP. But you still have the lead from the primer compound.
And then there is the issue of the unburnt powder.
If you want to do target practice in your house, get an airsoft gun or a pellet gun.
Airborne lead comes from two places: the primer and the base of the bullet. A small portion of the base of the bullet vaporizes when the shot is discharged. FMJ bullets are NOT enclosed on the base, so they really don't help reduce the airborne lead. JHP bullets are covered on the base, so this reduces lead compared to JHP. But you still have the lead from the primer compound.
And then there is the issue of the unburnt powder.
If you want to do target practice in your house, get an airsoft gun or a pellet gun.
jaydubya
Member
"Don't do it, unless you like wearing stripes." Or locally, red coveralls.
Find a convenient range, and join it. Keep your right to bear firearms by recognizing that there are thousands of laws, most of which you know nothing about, which can take it away from you. Forever.
Sincerely expressed, Jack
Find a convenient range, and join it. Keep your right to bear firearms by recognizing that there are thousands of laws, most of which you know nothing about, which can take it away from you. Forever.
Sincerely expressed, Jack
AK103K
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- Dec 27, 2002
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- 7,610
What, no basement? 
Nope. We used to do it all the time and no one was ever the wiser. The dog hiding out at the corner of the yard because he didnt like the gunfire was a better clue.
We used to shoot our machine guns in my buddies basement all the time. He had neighbors pretty close. Put some blue foam insulation sheets in the window wells, start the mower, put in ear plugs and a set of ear protectors, and have at it. We shot into approx. 18" around by 18" high sections of available trees stacked and staggered two high and three deep against a block wall.
The only time we ever missed was when we got the bright idea to shoot the 1919 down there. If all you hold is the pistol grip and dont put sandbags on the tripod legs on the concrete floor, it gets interesting fast. Oh, and dont set up under the fluorescent light tubes either.
30/06 will go right through a block wall with little troubles(water pours in later). Glass down your neck pretty much sucks, but its better when its your buddys.
Oh, another, OH... make sure the old lady dont come back home after she already left for the market and dont know your down there when you cut loose. Brooms on the back of the head when your not expecting it and have a loaded gun in your hands aint cool.
Ventilation is a big issue if you shoot a lot. After a couple of 30 round mags and we were usually running up stairs for air.
Nope. We used to do it all the time and no one was ever the wiser. The dog hiding out at the corner of the yard because he didnt like the gunfire was a better clue.
We used to shoot our machine guns in my buddies basement all the time. He had neighbors pretty close. Put some blue foam insulation sheets in the window wells, start the mower, put in ear plugs and a set of ear protectors, and have at it. We shot into approx. 18" around by 18" high sections of available trees stacked and staggered two high and three deep against a block wall.
The only time we ever missed was when we got the bright idea to shoot the 1919 down there. If all you hold is the pistol grip and dont put sandbags on the tripod legs on the concrete floor, it gets interesting fast. Oh, and dont set up under the fluorescent light tubes either.
30/06 will go right through a block wall with little troubles(water pours in later). Glass down your neck pretty much sucks, but its better when its your buddys.
Oh, another, OH... make sure the old lady dont come back home after she already left for the market and dont know your down there when you cut loose. Brooms on the back of the head when your not expecting it and have a loaded gun in your hands aint cool.
Ventilation is a big issue if you shoot a lot. After a couple of 30 round mags and we were usually running up stairs for air.
hotshotshoting
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- Aug 16, 2008
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- 270
the easiest solution.... would be to use the money it would take to put in a safe and legal solution... and buy a property that it would be legal to shoot on, and then build your range first... either way your probably looking at at least 30k-100k / lane for safe operation of a normal pistol.... (not in city limits)
Fishman777
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- Sep 20, 2007
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- 520
Unreal...
Notice that the original poster cares more about getting lead poisoning than he does about other people's safety.
Unreal.
If you screw up and shoot a neighbor, then what?
If you do this and sell this home, you would be exposing others (potentially kids) to unsafe levels of lead just because you are too cheap and lazy to go to a range.
Are you really serious?
This has got to be one of the most selfish things I've ever heard in my life. You really need to wake up and grow up. So I have a question. If this guy does this and shoots someone or poisons someone, are we all liable because we had knowledge that he was going to do something illegal?
Do not do this.
Notice that the original poster cares more about getting lead poisoning than he does about other people's safety.
Unreal.
If you screw up and shoot a neighbor, then what?
If you do this and sell this home, you would be exposing others (potentially kids) to unsafe levels of lead just because you are too cheap and lazy to go to a range.
Are you really serious?
This has got to be one of the most selfish things I've ever heard in my life. You really need to wake up and grow up. So I have a question. If this guy does this and shoots someone or poisons someone, are we all liable because we had knowledge that he was going to do something illegal?
Do not do this.
I will tell a story on myself just to show how much power we are playing with. I had a bunch of those Speer plastic cases and bullets that fired using only primers. No problem indoors of course, not enough power to hurt anything, I said to myself.
So I set up a bunch of newspapers on an armchair and taped on a target. Shooting fun.
Oh, the plastic pellet, propelled only by a primer, went through the newpapers and the back of the chair and dented the dry wall. Oh SH*T!
Jim
So I set up a bunch of newspapers on an armchair and taped on a target. Shooting fun.
Oh, the plastic pellet, propelled only by a primer, went through the newpapers and the back of the chair and dented the dry wall. Oh SH*T!
Jim
azhunter122
Member
DO NOT do it! Bad idea for all the reasons stated above.
BlindJustice
Member
Very good advice for a bery bad idea.
I think stories about attempts like these start with:
"Hey, BUbba, Hold my beer, watch this!"
Wouldn't a membership at the nearest range be
better, leagaly, safety & helathwise?
R-
I think stories about attempts like these start with:
"Hey, BUbba, Hold my beer, watch this!"
Wouldn't a membership at the nearest range be
better, leagaly, safety & helathwise?
R-
Guns and more
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Save yourself a visit from the police and practice with airsoft.
AK103K
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- Dec 27, 2002
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- 7,610
Yup, your responsible for everything someone else is thinking and "might" do on the internet.
Take a breath and get your color back. Some of you need to lighten up. All he said was he lived in the suburbs and had up tight neighbors. He didnt say where they were or how close. I used live in the suburbs too, had people on the sides of me, and a clean 1000 yards shot out my back door and took quite a few out there too. My buddy lives in a "neighborhood", but you'd have to deliberately work at getting a round out of his basement where we used to shoot. I've been at outdoor club ranges that would have been more of a safety issue to the surrounding community.
I got out where I used to live because the "city" people started moving in and acted a lot like some here about shooting. Just because you cant do it or dont like the idea doesnt mean its not safe and unreasonable for others to do it. More probably do it than you even know. I've been shooting various things in my house and others for about 45 years now, and NEVER had a round leave the house above ground, and those few rounds from that 1919 were the only ones I ever saw miss the backstop in all that time. Even then, it wouldnt have mattered if we did sandbag the legs and deliberate aimed off the backstop, we were 8 feet below the ground level and we could have shot through the wall a ll day long if we wanted to.
If you think its bad in the suburbs, you had better stay there. Its a whole lot worse out here in the countryside, people are shooting out and about all the time, but especially during deer season. Then again, thats usually more of a "city people" problem then too. The locals seem to be better shots and know what a "deer" looks like.
Orange_Magnum
member
The idea mentioned earlier about a pellet gun is a good idea. A pellet hand gun. That way you can practice moving and shooting, etc. Cheaper in the long run, and legal to boost.
JImbothefiveth
Member
If you want to shoot in the house without lead poisoning, try dry firing.
It's great for reducing flinches, and I cut my groups in half since I started dry firing. Get some snap caps but you SHOULD be able to dry fire safely without them. Getting some QUALITY snap caps is probably a good idea anyway though.
From ruger's FAQ:
It's great for reducing flinches, and I cut my groups in half since I started dry firing. Get some snap caps but you SHOULD be able to dry fire safely without them. Getting some QUALITY snap caps is probably a good idea anyway though.
From ruger's FAQ:
woad_yurt
Member
Some places may not have laws against firing a gun within city/town limits but most of them do have laws against careless or dangerous use. Check out their legal definition of careless/negligent/dangerous/etc. You may qualify no matter what you do, seeing as it's in a residential garage. And, if something bad does happen accidentally, the liability-determining question is usually "given these circumstances, was the outcome foreseeable?"
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tawcat
Member
What part of all the above do you not understand?
The Bushmaster
Member
Very simple...DON'T DO IT!!!
Stevie-Ray
Member
They still make that stuff? I used that about 20 years ago, a T/C Contender in .44 mag with a cardboard box with carpet in it. Good solid backstop as the plastic bullets didn't even think about going through the carpet. As I remember it, the casings were red, the bullets black.
Fishman777
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- Sep 20, 2007
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- 520
Disappointing...
I pointed out the liability issue because I think that this is a legitimate concern.
It is a more legitimate concern than a lot of the paranoid "self-defense" scenarios that I've seen posted on this and other shooting forums.
In our society, people sue each other all of the time. You are probably more likely to get sued than you are to be the victim of a home invasion or a bear attack (I thought that I'd throw the bear thing in because it is such a popular topic on many shooting threads).
Let's just say that the guy that posted this thread actually decides to set up a shooting range in his garage, and he does accidently shoot and kill someone. This is not that far-fetched. I'm sure that the authorities would investigate this guy further. If they did even a little digging of his or her internet activities, which I'm sure that they'd do, they might find this thread.
The liability concern that I have is this: what responsibility do you have if you have knowledge that someone was even considering engaging in an activity that was illegal and could result in injury or death of one of his or her neighboors. Would you have a legal and moral responsibility to report this to the authorities? I'm asking this because I don't know.
I know that I would have a hard time forgiving myself if something were to happen.
I pointed out the liability issue because I think that this is a legitimate concern.
It is a more legitimate concern than a lot of the paranoid "self-defense" scenarios that I've seen posted on this and other shooting forums.
In our society, people sue each other all of the time. You are probably more likely to get sued than you are to be the victim of a home invasion or a bear attack (I thought that I'd throw the bear thing in because it is such a popular topic on many shooting threads).
Let's just say that the guy that posted this thread actually decides to set up a shooting range in his garage, and he does accidently shoot and kill someone. This is not that far-fetched. I'm sure that the authorities would investigate this guy further. If they did even a little digging of his or her internet activities, which I'm sure that they'd do, they might find this thread.
The liability concern that I have is this: what responsibility do you have if you have knowledge that someone was even considering engaging in an activity that was illegal and could result in injury or death of one of his or her neighboors. Would you have a legal and moral responsibility to report this to the authorities? I'm asking this because I don't know.
I know that I would have a hard time forgiving myself if something were to happen.
Chill. The OP said he was thinking about shooting .38s in his garage and was asking for feedback. Thinking about doing it and asking for feedback aren't illegal. THR satisfied any moral obligations by giving the OP plenty of feedback.
The Bushmaster
Member
The reason why I live in the country...I can shoot on my property and NO ONE tattles on me. In fact they come up to my range and bring guns, ammunition, sodas and chips...
eatont9999
Member
They will hear you anyway.
I sometimes shoot .22 colibris in my attic at my pellet gun backstop. I use a single shot bolt action rifle. The ballistics change a lot, but I can still put holes in cans and other stuff without going to the range.
I sometimes shoot .22 colibris in my attic at my pellet gun backstop. I use a single shot bolt action rifle. The ballistics change a lot, but I can still put holes in cans and other stuff without going to the range.
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