SVreX wrote: It's just a matter of the right tool for the job- hammer wins on this one).
If you guys ever saw me try to hammer a nail, you'd quickly disagree...45-years and I've still never figured out the technique. Or more than likely just don't have the hand-eye coordination to do it - I was the kid who struck out at T-ball. Frequently. 
I would use a gun but carry a hammer in my belt to drive miss fires flush. Get someone to feed you shingles and you will be done in no time
petegossett wrote:SVreX wrote: It's just a matter of the right tool for the job- hammer wins on this one).If you guys ever saw *me* try to hammer a nail, you'd quickly disagree...45-years and I've still never figured out the technique. Or more than likely just don't have the hand-eye coordination to do it - I was the kid who struck out at T-ball. Frequently.
I was that kid too, then I got to reading a guide about hammering nails, for the blind. The trick is to not try too hard, when driving nails downward you want gravity to do all the work. It then becomes pretty easy to drop the hammer right where you picked it up from when you were starting the nail.
It also helps if you don't set the nail straight. Set it at an angle toward you, matching the arc of your arm. (Doesn't work with roofing nails).
Roofing nails are different. Most people try to hold them between their index finger and thumb- like pinching. It works better if you hold them between your index and middle fingers, with your palm pointed up (the letter "H" in sign language).
dean1484 wrote: Get someone to feed you shingles and you will be done in no time
SVreX wrote: It also helps if you don't set the nail straight. Set it at an angle toward you, matching the arc of your arm. (Doesn't work with roofing nails). Roofing nails are different. Most people try to hold them between their index finger and thumb- like pinching. It works better if you hold them between your index and middle fingers, with your palm pointed up (the letter "H" in sign language).
Very much this. You will miss when driving nails by hand. Setting it gently then getting your paw out of the way makes the inevitable finger banging (hehehe) less painful.
For that size area, I'd use a hammer. Guns take some time to set up properly and you're always fighting the air hose. They are best for long, straight sections.
Also, be sure not to step on the nails. Also, if you do step on a nail be sure to have a friend nearby who isn't too big of a panzy to pull it out of your foot. Trying to pull it yourself because your friend got all woozy from the nail in your foot sucks. (Some portions of this advice may be based on personal experience)
That size, hammer. Also, my wife is a pro at finding them with her tires.
Advantage of the nailer and hose is that you can use it to save someones life. Back in 1986 or so I was putting a roof on a house, three stories up on the side we were working over jagged rocks. I was inside on staging and other worker was outside on the roof nailing down the tongue and groove I was handing out and placing. He turns, trips, falls backward and starts sliding down the roof headfirst. Nailgun went flying but somehow the hose was wrapped around his leg. I caught the hose and stopped him just as his head reached the edge.
He bought me lunch for the rest of the week. 
In reply to KyAllroad:
Did he trip on the hose? 
Probably, he was a bit of a spaz. Couple of weeks later he fell off the staging on the side of the house about 20' to soft sand.
I saw him a couple years ago at my fathers' funeral and he'd gotten out of construction and was a computer programmer.
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