No Argument Here

I can’t argue much with this line of reasoning (in favor of large-capacity magazines in your handgun):

Gun control advocates who try to justify restrictions on law-abiding citizens may sometimes look at how violent crimes unfold to justify their argument. They might say that most gun fights only involve a few rounds, for example, so why would you need a 15-round magazine?

I’ve had that conversation.

And, to be fair, most gunfights actually are over after just a few shots. Most don’t even need to hit to end the fight because most bad guys are cowards who want easy meat, not someone ready to fight back.

The problem with this is that it assumes the average is universal. The average gun battle may only have, say, three shots fired, but a lot of them only have one round discharged. That means some involve a whole lot more.

Statistically, of course, that is absolutely correct.  When the argument comes to grief, however, is also part of the law of averages, in that you have to ask yourself:  “How many home invasions or self-defense situations involve multiple attackers?” 

The answer, of course, is “precious few” (outside a BLM or Antifa riot).

But I know that when it comes to self defense, one should always expect the best but prepare for the worst.  And frankly, this is the conundrum we gun owners face every day.

It’s probably best to illustrate this by using my own position, because I’ve tortured myself for years about quantity vs. quality:  should I rely on a hi-cap 9mm Europellet gun, or a limited-cap .45 1911?

The answer, for me,as any fule kno, is the 1911, because I trust that a single wound made by the .45 bullet is going to likely end the business more reliably than a single round of 9mm.  I practice long and often to make sure that my first shot is right on target — but that doesn’t mean that my decision is a correct one, especially if my home were to be invaded by more than a single goblin.  Four of the bastards, as in the linked article?  Phew.

Next to my chair (actually, in a pocket on the side thereof), is my Springfield 1911, loaded with an 8-round Chip McCormick Power Mag (+1 in the tube).  What I should do is load up a 10-round mag in my chair gun (I may have a few knocking around somewhere) and have a spare mag of similar capacity sitting in the pocket.  My reloading speed with a 1911 mag isn’t as good as the pros, but it’s nothing to sneeze about.  I don’t carry 10-rounders on my belt when I go out, though, simply because I don’t have a mag-holder large enough for the longer 10-rounder, and the longer mag likewise is problematic to carry so I content myself with three 8-round Power Mags (one in the 1911, the other two in their holster).  And frankly, it’s too much of a PITA to keep exchanging the 8- and 10-round magazines every time I leave the house and come back.

So I guess I’ll have to rely on just the one 8-rounder in the chair gun (but with a 10-round backup).  Long ago I made the decision that carrying a heavy old 1911 and spare mags around is worth the hassle (YMMV) because I have absolute faith that it will suffice to protect me in pretty much any situation outside the house.  (If I were to need more, there’s always the trunk, ’nuff said.)

Next to my bed (on top of the drawer) can be found my S&W Mod 65, loaded with of course only 6 rounds of .357 Mag.  A little while ago, though, I added my backup S&W 637 (5 rounds of .38 Spec +P) simply because of the above argument.  That’s 11 rounds, and if necessary I can shoot the two revolvers simultaneously (yes, I’ve practiced a lot shooting the little 637 left-handed.)  And yes, while I have several speedloaders for each gun right there, I’m under no illusions about my reloading speed with them, despite many, many hours of practice.  I’m no Jerry Miculek, for sure.

Then again, under the bed is my loaded AK, and if I get but a minute or so’s warning, I would suggest that 20 rounds of 7.62x39mm Commie should suffice for pretty much any number of attackers.  (I know, should be a pump shotgun, but I don’t have one of those yet, shuddup I’m working on it.)

On a tangential note, however, I should point out that most people seem content with the low-capacity (5 rounds) in a shotgun tube mag, on the basis that a single charge of 12ga. 00 Buck should be a showstopper — which, generally speaking, it is.  It’s more or less the same argument I have for using a .45 instead of a 9mm, although of course I’m not equating the efficacy of 12ga. buckshot to the .45 ACP hollowpoint.  But there’s also no argument that the 1911 (or Mod 65, for that matter) are a great deal less cumbersome than a long gun in a confined space such as my tiny apartment, so there’s that side of it.

One last note:  I have pretty much decided that “close at hand” is of paramount importance.  Whether in my chair while writing, or next to the bed while sleeping, my guns are both well within arm’s reach and can be brought to bear in close to two seconds.  (I’m not going to take this to the extreme and have a “bathroom” or “kitchen” piece because a) the likelihood I’ll need either is vanishingly small and b) I don’t own that many self-defense guns, any more.  At least 95% of my time at home is spent in the char or in bed, so I’ll leave the remaining 5% to chance.)

So there’s the argument, from my personal perspective.  As we all do, I’m faced with all sorts of compromises when it comes to self-defense, and I’ve made my decisions based on preference, likelihood and circumstance.  Yours may (and probably will) differ, but I thought you might want to see my thought processes, in case that helps you refine your thinking and make your own decisions.

And now, if you’ll excuse me, it’s time to head to the range.  All this gun talk has made my finger itch.

Gratuitous Gun Pic: Ruger New Model Blackhawk (.30 Carbine)

If ever there was a handgun chambering that could be called “pointless”, it might be the venerable .30 Carbine.  Originally designed for the M1 Carbine of WWII (itself a replacement for the Colt 1911 Government, and carried by support personnel and so on), the .30 Carbine cartridge itself is often derided as being inadequate as a manstopper — although from a carbine-length barrel, it has better ballistics than the .357 Mag fired from a revolver.

It makes even less sense in a handgun.  AMT once made one of their Automag models thus chambered, to general derision, but Ruger takes the cake with its single-action Super Blackhawk model (7½” barrel).

Why, one may ask, would one choose a single-action revolver (with its signature clunky reloading mechanism) as a companion piece for a carbine?

I’ll tell you why.

Because pound for pound, there is no more shooting fun than touching off a few (okay, lots of) .30 Carbine rounds out of this bad boy.  The 18″ jet of flame comes out the muzzle, the cylinder-gap flash a couple inches too, and the recoil is about the same as a .357 Mag out of a long-barreled gun weighing nearly four pounds (!), i.e. very manageable.

And then there’s the noise.  At the range, few guns can cause a “prairie dog” scenario among the other shooters, as they quit shooting their own guns and crane their necks back from the partitions to ask “What the hell was that?”  I once even had a Good Samaritan rush over to see whether I’d had a barrel blowup.

As you can tell, and if you are a Reader Of Long Standing, you will no doubt realize that I have owned such a gun before. The only change I made to the Blackhawk was to change the grips into some meatier stuff which a) made it fit better in my hand and b) attenuated the recoil still more.

But lo, there came a Time of Great Poverty, wherein your Humble Narrator was forced by the moneylenders into selling his beloved .30 Carbine Blackhawk, and many bitter tears did he weep in the doing thereof.

However, the buyer was a Longtime Friend and Loyal Reader, who agreed to my terms of not selling the gun in the future unless I go right of first refusal.  He never sold it.

Anyway, many years passed by until a couple weeks back, when we were idly chatting about this and that, and we came to discover that I had a gun of particular interest to him, and yes, he would absolutely entertain the idea of a straight swap thereof for the Blackhawk.

Say hello to the Prodigal Gun:

And this, O My Readers, is the gun that I had intended to shoot at the range until the foul pestilence known as the Upper Bronchial Respiratory Infection laid me low.

Next week, I promise.


One additional note:  along the way, I (and my buddy) had occasion to lay up an adequate supply (+/- 1,200 rounds) of .30 Carbine ammo to feed both the M1 Carbine and the Blackhawk.  Both of us had purchased a couple hundred Remington soft-point rounds (which the M1 carbine doesn’t chamber very reliably) and for reasons of price, also about 500-odd rounds of the steel-cased Wolf ammo — which, according to Reader RHT447 who knows about these things, is not good to shoot out of the M1 carbine because the steel casing beats up the action fearfully (and may have been the cause of the extractor breaking, as chronicled earlier on these pages).

Of course, the Blackhawk pays no heed to such fripperies, and being a Ruger digests the steel casings as candy.  So it’s the lovely Korean-surplus FMJ ammo for the carbine, and the Remington SP and Wolf ammo for the Blackhawk.

I wonder which one will run out first.

Gratuitous Gun Pic: S&W Mod 19-3 Combat Magnum (.357 Mag)

Smith & Wesson have made several excellent revolvers over the many years of the company’s existence;  in fact, they’ve made so many that the blizzard of differently-numbered models is bewildering, especially to an Older Man Of Little Brain And Much Confusion like myself.

Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t look on any specific model with a jaundiced eye, oh no.  Rather, we should regard each of them with extreme pleasure… and which brings us to this particular model, the 19 (from Merchant Of Death Steve Barnett) — which many regard as one of the very best:

I guess the only question to be asked is:  “Would this be an acceptable gun for the Governor’s BBQ party?”

My answer would be:  “Of course it would.  It’s absolutely gorgeous.”

My own taste would run instead to the blued 6″ version (because blue is less show-offy, and the 6″ barrel handles the .357’s recoil better than the shorter 4″):


…but it wouldn’t matter, because it’s still the same damn fine revolver.

And yes, I know:  the K-framed Mod 19 may not stand up to heavy shooting of the .357 Magnum cartridge, the N-frame (model 27) being perhaps better-manufactured for that purpose.

But honestly — and I say this as an owner of a K-frame Model 65 in the same chambering — exactly how much intensive .357 Mag shooting can one handle before there’s an aching wrist in the picture?

I just think the K-frame revolvers fit better in my hand than the beefier Ns;  and that is one of my major criteria in buying a handgun, any handgun.  And for those of an historical bent, it should be pointed out that S&W has been making their K-frame revolvers since the late 19th century.

Discuss.

Different Boolets

Look, I’m not some hotshot competitive shooter — never was — but I have to tell you, this has never happened to me:

I’m not nearly so particular about my magazines and ammunition after an event as I am during it. Checking the magazines on my 9mm competition pistol was proof of that.

I keep the guns immaculately clean and assiduously oiled. When I unloaded the magazines, I realized another problem waiting to happen. Instead of being filled with match-grade competition ammunition, I found it loaded with rounds from three different manufacturers in two different bullet weights. That’s NOT a recipe for consistency.

Really?  I shoot quite a bit, and I also shoot several types of ammo — of whatever caliber except my carry .45 ACP, which has been pretty much unchanged for about two years.  But all the other stuff?  I’m all over the place when it comes to ammo choices;  but I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve stepped up to the line with disparate ammo in my magazines.  In fact, the only time I’ve ever loaded different types of ammo into a mag (or cylinder, for that matter) is when I’m doing a literal comparison between two different weights or brands, and that’s a conscious action.  And when I’m done with comparing, you’d better believe that the magazine is empty.

When it’s time to reload to prepare for the next session (after spraying Ballistol then compressed air into the mag to clean out the gunk), it’s one bullet type/weight and one only.  This kinda shit?

Not gonna happen.  That’s just sloppy.

Gawd knows I’m no paragon of virtue when it comes to shooting.  But when it comes to my ammo, my discipline is ironclad.  I might not know exactly what ammo I’m shooting (especially when shooting ,22 LR), but you can bet money that the ammo will be consistent within the magazine.  Even if I’m just plinking at cans and such.

Total Agreement

This guy has produced a Top 20 Best Guns Ever Made video (delivered in a no-frills, dry-as-dust format), and it’s probably one of the first such made that I have absolutely no disagreement with, at least for the first dozen.

Basically, he’s included “popularity” as one of his criteria (hence the inclusion of the Glock), and that’s fine;  when you end up making millions and millions of a particular gun, it’s hard to argue with his reasoning.

Hell, I don’t even argue much with his ranking — if indeed it is a ranking and not just a list — and my only quibble is that he’s included both the Winchester 94 and Marlin 336 lever rifles, and as far as I’m concerned, that’s really just a double entry of pretty much the same gun.

And yes, he’s only talking about cartridge-firing guns, and repeaters (e.g. no single-shot ones like Sharps rifles).

But those are just minor quibbles.  I found myself nodding along all the way through.  And I agree with leaving the Colt Python off the list.

You may all pick your jaws up off the floor.

Inescapable Comparison

“Oh good grief, here’s Kim grinding on about old stuff again.”

Yeah, guilty as charged.

Watch Jay Leno’s glorious love affair with his 1940 Lagonda 4.5-liter V12.  His is a direct, faithful copy of the cars which were taken straight off the street and raced at Le Mans in 1939 — and placed 3rd and 4th, the very first time they were entered.

After watching that, tell me you don’t want to smack him over the head and take his car.  And if you feel a little intimidated by the size and manual strength needed to drive the thing, you need to take some double-strength manly pills.  Me, I’d do it all in a flash.

Now watch Henry Chan shooting what is, to me, the firearm’s equivalent of that Lagonda:  the Mauser K98 bolt-action rifle.  (For background, here’s Ian McCollum.)

Same idea, same technique, same principle for both:  outstanding performance, infallible reliability and guaranteed to put a smile on your face every time you take it out for a spin.

Like the one on Jay’s face.

I need to get back out to TDSA and shoot my K98, because I want to get that same smile.  (And I use a rubber recoil pad, just like old hickok45 does.)

I don’t have a Lagonda, though.  Bummer.