Category: The Gun Thing

Not just the guns, but all the stuff that goes with them

Proper Load

The Gun Thing

As Longtime Readers know full well, I’ve never been a fan of the NATO 9mm Europellet in its 115gr FMJ configuration.  I think it’s puny and ineffective, and my only personal experience in its application was seeing a man shot seven times with that load, and surviving the encounter (long story, irrelevant to this discussion).

My only other experience with seeing the effect of a gunshot wound up close and personal was at a morgue (also a long story, not that interesting) where the pathologist showed me the result of a single .45 ACP Silvertip bullet on the deceased’s internal organs — “hamburger” would be the best description.

As a result, I’ve always preferred the latter over the former — real world situations, so to speak.

The other day I was browsing among the assortment of 9mm pistols out there from which I’m going to have to make my choice as a replacement for the Browning High Power, which is destined for Daughter’s next birthday present.  Of course, knowing me as y’all do, it should come as no surprise that the leading contender is the excellent CZ 75 B, in its original configuration:

CZ claims that it is the greatest handgun ever made, and while we might all quibble over the manufacturer’s obvious puffery, I would certainly have no problem with its appearance in the top 5 of all 9mm pistols, and nor would anyone else, I think.

One of the stipulations I would make in buying any 9mm pistol, though, is that it could handle a “heavy” 9mm bullet.  This would rule out any of the smaller- or pocket pistols like the SIG 365, Springfield Hellcat and so on — you know what I mean.  I need a large frame to handle the heavier recoil meted out by what I would consider to be the best choice for a 9mm stopper, the Winchester Silvertip 147gr:

I know that there are similar loads to the Silvertip — the Winchester Ranger comes to mind, also in 147gr — but once again, I’ve seen what the Silvertip has done to an actual human being (as opposed to ballistic gel or putty), so I’m pretty sure that it would be a good choice.  Current prices for the Silvertip are about a buck a round, so about the same as any other decent self-defense load extant.

With this gun, loaded with this cartridge, I would feel almost as adequately armed as with my 1911 loaded with 185gr JHP.  For practice (and only practice) there’s the El Cheapo 115gr ammo.

Feel free, as always, to discuss the issue in Comments.

Quote Of The Day

QOTD, The Gun Thing

It’s probably been around forever, but I only saw it recently:

“Handguns put holes in people.  Rifles put holes through people.  Shotguns remove chunks from people.” — Clint Smith

The whole gun thing, in three short declarative sentences.

Gratuitous Gun Pic: Volquartsen Scorpion (.22 Win Mag)

Gratuitous Gun Pics

Just when I thought I was getting too old for gun lust, this damn thing comes along at, of course, Collectors:

It’s a little too “operator” for my taste, but every millimeter of this Volquartsen Scorpion just exudes quality and accuracy.  I didn’t even know they made semi-auto pistols anymore.

And yes, .22 Win Mag is too expensive to shoot, blah blah blah.  Don’t care, because I have well over 1,000 rounds lurking in Ye Olde Ammoe Locquere, and I’ll never shoot it all with just a bolt-action rifle.

Want.

Other People’s Lives

Hunting

During our semi-regular phone call yesterday, the fiend Mr. Free Market breezily informed me that this coming weekend he will be blasting birds out of the sky at this address:

Even worse, the weather forecast is for “sunny with mild temperatures”, so I can’t even wish that he’ll freeze his nuts off.

ENVIOUS.

Another Take On The New High Power

Gratuitous Gun Pics, Gun/Ammo Tests

Some time back I looked at the new replacements for the John Moses Browning/Dieudonné Saive P35 High Power from Springfield and EAA Girsan.

At the time, I was unaware that FN Herstal had made plans for their own replacement for the older P35, which, as Ian McCollum pointed out in his latest video on the topic, makes all sorts of sense for FN, in that it makes manufacturing less costly and more modern, and gives FN a platform for future generations of their 9mm handgun.  (It would help if you watched Ian’s as-always immensely knowledgeable analysis of the new High Power compared to the older P35.)

Here’s my take after watching Ian’s video:  I hate the new gun with a passion.  Here’s why.  (To avoid confusion, I’m going to refer to the new FN gun as the High Power, and the older version as the P35.)

The new High Power is big and blocky, with an oversized grip and all sorts of changes to the P35’s disassembly process.  Myself, I have never had a problem in taking the P35 apart, mostly because the process is a lot less fiddly than the (also-Browning-designed) Colt 1911.  The P35’s appeal to me has always been its sexiness — that slim profile is gorgeous, it prints less in a carry holster, and mine works very well — admittedly, after a fair amount of improvement by a master gunsmith (and a reworked hammer to avoid the infamous P35 hammer bite).

I don’t care that the High Power now has a larger ammo capacity (18 vs. 13/15 rounds), because 13 rounds has always served me just fine;  I’m not some SpecOps or SWAT guy, just a civilian who has always loved the P35 for all the reasons stated above.

And by the way:  the High Power now has a longer (plastic ???!!!) guide rod, which means that the once-closed front end of the slide now has an ugly great hole to accommodate the longer guide rod (and did I mention it’s made of plastic?).

My knock on the old P35 has always been that it should been built to handle the .45 ACP cartridge.  My suspicion is that the bigger High Power will easily do so — and mark my words, I bet that FN will soon release a .45 ACP version of the High Power.

Anyway, Ian takes the new gun for a spin, and it feeds all sorts of ammo flawlessly — although I note that he didn’t shoot any +P loads.  My guess is that the High Power should handle them with ease — not always the case with the P35, or at least my P35.

Now I want you all to know that my dislike for the new FN is not rooted in my well-documented dislike of modern stuff.  I just don’t think the new High Power is a proper Browning High Power, but rather a “re-imagining” (their word)  of JMB/DS’s 1935 design.  Which is fine, but they should have called it something else.  And did I already say that the new gun is fugly?

Pass.

If I were to replace my P35 with a new-model 9mm pistol, I’d rather get a SIG 210-9:

 

…or else a new-manufacture CZ 75 B:

…or I’d just get a new Springfield SA-35 clone, and be satisfied:

I don’t just buy guns because they can shoot well.  If I did, I’d just buy a frigging fugly Glock.  No, a gun has to be beautiful, and sexy, and fit my hand, and… and… well, you should know the rest by now.

Your opinions, of course, may vary.  (I should point out that Ian, even though he likes the new HP, is quite sympathetic towards people of my ilk, as you can see in the first video.)

French Friday III: Random Objects Of Interest

Friday Feature, The Gun Thing

(go here for Part I and Part II)

…in which I look at some things that the Frogs have done well.

One would think that French gun manufacturing would be as quirky and silly as the Frogs are themselves, but that is not the case.  Othias and Mae have expounded on early French guns at length, and while the French have had their missteps, they’re no worse and often better than the Brits, Germans and Americans, to name but some.

The question, as is so often the case, is “But what have they done for us recently?”

Let’s look at longtime gun manufacturer Chapuis Armes as an example.  I won’t go into much historical detail about them (see here instead), but let me draw your attention to this little thing:

It’s the Chapuis Chasseur Classique side-by-side shotgun, in either 12-, 20- or 28 gauge.  (They also make O/U shotguns, if you’re that way inclined.)

“But Kim,” you wail, “such beautiful guns cost way too much and anyway, we can’t get them Over Here.”

Au contraire, mes petis choux, you can find them at Bass Pro and Cabelas.  And yes, they cost over six grand apiece, but then again, these are fine sporting guns (not your Mossberg/Winchester pump guns), and I think they compare very favorably to others of their ilk, such as the Beretta Iubileo.

But it doesn’t stop with shotguns.  Chapuis also makes rifles, especially of the “dangerous game” type.  Here’s the Elan double rifle:

…and the Rols straight-pull bolt-action:

Both rifle types come in extremely manly and commonsense chamberings:  none of that “8mm Lebel” or “7.5x54mm” nonsense.

Feel free to visit their USA website (which is in English, even) to get the details.  Warning:  there may be extreme drooling.