When it comes to my guns, the manual is the bible.

Well I don't read every word I go through and read most of the sections. 80% of the manual or so is read and that is before I even shoot it which I believe is the way to go. I know some people won't look at the manual untill they are in trouble or have problems with the guns. I feel bad for them.

Chronic over-researcher...I haven't even bought my pistol yet, and I've already read 4 owners manuals.

I've also watched two gunsmith videos, 2 armorers videos and read this forum, too

Originally Posted by Holly

I want super powers, too!

Not until you have been bitten by a radioactive spider or been to that planet(and back)that Kal El is from.
with the new obummercare I would try for the planet trip thingy first!

If I am shopping for a gun I will download the manual before hand to see if there are any deal breakers about the gun in the manual.

Thanks that's a great idea that never entered my mind but one that I'm for sure going to take advantage of from now on!

I read handgun manuals.

Reading is fundamental.......

Everytime I buy a Handgun I always read the manual,and I've been shooting handguns for 30 years.

I definitely recommend reading your manual for any gun you purchase. Just for an example. Some pistols can be dry fired without damage to the weapon either with the clip in or not. I own an SR9 and I have seen countless videos of other SR9(c) owners dry firing their weapon without the clip in. The manual for the SR9 warns not to fire any SR series with the mag removed because it may result in damage to the mag disconnect mechanism and/or striker. I found a little better explanation online.
"The SR9 has a magazine safety, which is located in the slide. When inserted into the pistol, the magazine pushes the magazine safety upward, allowing the striker to hit the primer of the cartridge in the chamber. Without the magazine in place, the striker rubs on the mag safety, creating a harder, gritty trigger pull, which over time if done repeatedly, will degrade the SR9’s trigger pull."
My point with this being it might sound basic to read your manual but there are some people who do not because they believe all fire arms are the same. I only bring this up because it is something I have seen lately. Just my 2 cents.

I guess my choice should have read "yes i did" as it was my first handgun. I can say that it wasnt as good as i thought it would be. But i did read it and absolutly got alot out of it.

A friends springfield manuel recomended the reader to use the six o'clock aiming method.
It would have been nice to read that sort of thing in my PX4 manual.
Mybe a more in depth cleaning procedure.

I'd much rather spend the time to read the manual and then say "I could've done without that" as opposed to saying "damn, I wish I'd read that" after hurting my self, someone else, or the firearm, because the manufacturer "changed something"...

Whatever works for ya

Lotsa good stuff in there,,,
Along with lotsa needless Nanny State stuff as well.

But not reading it is simply ignoring good information.

Aarond

.

Read the manual? That's cheating!

Real men don't read no stinking instructions,until you screw something up.

Like the Ruger example,it's a pretty good idea to.There's almost always a tidbit in there you didn't know or forgot about and different guns are...different.Older designs rarely remain the same,time almost always adds upgrades that may drastically change the gun so the manual is your first source for that info.What ammo can you use,can you run increased pressure rounds in it or stuck with std ammo.I wanted a Sig Trailside and knew it was target ammo only going in.Trigger guards were breaking because some people ran HV in them,when it clearly states the gun isn't designed for it.Live and learn.

Bullet goes here
Finger goes there
Bullet comes out here
Gun goes BANG

Yep, now I can toss the manual. (jk)

Seriously I really do go through it to ID the itty bitty pieces parts and give her a good scrubadubdub. Not only do I read it, I download it and zoom in to check the fine print.

What manual?

Instructions are for troubleshooting problems.

Just kidding - I read them sometimes. More often than not, I actually download the manual before I even buy the gun, to familiarize with it and see if I really want it.

The only problem is that there is just very basic ingo in the manual. I don't expect an oversized manual but more info, in general, would be helpful.

#3 I refuse to risk not knowing something about my firearm that I could've learned by reading the book that came with it. That would be pretty stupid.

Depends on what the manual says. Some manuals don't come with a take-down guide, so I then buy a seperate one for reference.

Reading the manual thoroughly is fine if your Scotty or Hank Hill, but refering to the manual is fine if you have a question. Similar to reading car manuals, you only go to it when you want to know what kind of oil or brake fluid to put into it.

The one's that don't read them are know it all's. JMO

Originally Posted by tk421991

Depends on what the manual says. Some manuals don't come with a take-down guide, so I then buy a seperate one for reference.

Reading the manual thoroughly is fine if your Scotty or Hank Hill, but refering to the manual is fine if you have a question. Similar to reading car manuals, you only go to it when you want to know what kind of oil or brake fluid to put into it.

This brought up an interesting point to me. I read all of my gun manuals, but I've never read any of my vehicle manuals (other than referring to them as you have mentioned.) Seems counter intuitive.

I read them and where possible safe them to file when I can find them on line. Had no choice at first on my 1911 and M1 Carbine and backed it up with online versions.