Category: The Gun Thing

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

Just Imagine

The Gun Thing

Here we go, with yet another of Kim’s imaginary scenarios.

Your house and all your belongings were destroyed in a fire while you were away on vacation.  Fortunately, you were extremely well-insured, and your payout will enable you to rebuild your life almost completely.

However, you decide that you’d rather move out into the boonies and live in the mountains, e.g. on a piece of land such as this one:

…and you could afford to build a log cabin such as this one on the property:

 

So having established all that — and please refrain from making any criticisms or comments on all the above, the really important question is this:

What guns would you choose to have on hand, on your new property?   (And to make it a little challenging, assume that for the first year, you only have room for a twelve-gun safe for long guns in your new house;  and your wife / girlfriend has limited you to six handguns so she can buy better-class kitchen appliances or some such nonsense.)

Note that the locale will have all sorts of critters roaming around that you may have to deal with, so choose accordingly.

My choices are below the fold.

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Hollywood Useless

Media Assholes, The Gun Thing

I remember once watching a movie where the bad guy screwed a silencer on to the muzzle of his revolver (!) and how people looked at me like I was the crazy one, when I burst out laughing during what was supposed to be a suspenseful scene.

All my Loyal Readers will know why I was laughing, of course, because we are all familiar with the term and concept of “cylinder-gap flash”.

I was reminded of the episode when I saw this GIF over at Kenny’s place:

Note the initial size of the gas explosion at the cylinder gap…

Gratuitous Gun Pic – Remington 7400 (.270 Win)

Gratuitous Gun Pics, The Gun Thing

Also just in at Collectors is the rifle for those who are leery of owning an “assault rifle”, or whose state government provides the leeriness:  the semi-auto hunting rifle of all time, in the all-time hunting cartridge.

I once had one of these exact guns, traded it for something else, and regretted the trade almost immediately afterwards.  (The fact that I remember this gun and not the gun I traded it for speaks volumes.)

I know, it only has a 5-round magazine, but 10-round mags cost only $30 or so.  And the gun itself is a decent buy at just under $800 — remember, Collectors has premium pricing so if you find one elsewhere cheaper, be my guest;  but Collectors doesn’t sell crap or broken guns.

Gratuitous Gun Pic – S&W 1500 (7mm Rem Mag)

Gratuitous Gun Pics, The Gun Thing

I don’t tout stuff from Collectors Firearms as often as I used to, but this one’s a steal:

These rifles were made by Howa in Japan using S&W specs, and they’re as good as any of the Weatherby Vanguards or Browning shotguns they also made in that era.

I would upgrade the scope (if necessary), thread the muzzle and pop either a brake or suppressor on the end to attenuate the 7mm Mag’s recoil.

And I could afford to do all that because the rifle costs less than $500 (!!!).  An absolute bargain — but get there quickly because it just came into stock at Collectors, and at that price it’s not going to stay there for long.

Bypass

The Gun Thing

A comment to yesterday’s teaser about my trip to San Antonio, I got this:

That wasn’t the purpose of the trip, but on the way down, I saw signs for not one but TWO gun shows — one in Waco, the other further south in Temple — and I didn’t go to either.

The reason is quite simple, and it has nothing to do with time — I always allow plenty of it for my road trips, just so I can stop to smell the roses, so to speak, along the way.

I’ve talked before about my disillusionment with gun shows, and to a large extent this is why I didn’t turn off the beaten path to either the Waco or Temple shows.  I was in no mood to be pissed off by only seeing a surfeit of overpriced guns I wouldn’t accept as a gift (e.g. AR-15, Glock), and I had no pressing need for still-overpriced ammo either.

Besides, I know what I’m getting for Christmas, and it’s a doozy.  More on that, later.

Interesting Thought

The Gun Thing

Getting rid of the revolver:

While I’m typically kitted out with a capable 9mm, on some occasions I’ve run errands with little more than a .38 snubbie in a jacket or coat pocket. And I used to carry one in the console of my car for my “extra” piece.

Not any more, and I’ll tell you why: it surely seems like a sole attacker today is the exception, not the rule.

All sensible arguments.  I have to admit to subconsciously feeling the same way every time I run over to the booze store or 7-11 with only my S&W 637 on my hip, even though I have two speedloaders handy, and can reload reasonably quickly.

Admittedly, the above condition accounts for maybe 10% of my trips away from the house;  for the rest, it’s the 1911 with two spare mags.  But I’m thinking that “90%” should become “all the time”, because if I’m caught inside a store during a flash mob looting spree, even only eight shots of .45 ACP beats five rounds of .38+P, and reloading another eight is far quicker than reloading another five — not to mention the “New York reload” option of just drawing the backup 637 instead of reloading another mag into the 1911…

Choices, choices…

Corollary thought:  unless you live in the boonies, the old Swiss K31 or Mosin carbine is not going to cut it as a trunk gun.   During a situation of mob violence in a suburban / urban setting, it looks as though it’s SKS time…