Category: The Gun Thing

Interesting article about “point” vs. “aimed” (using the sights) handgun shooting.

One of the things Tarani didn’t talk about is that point shooting offers people with totally shit eyesight (like me) the chance to hit the target without taking half an hour to align fuzzy sights with an indistinct target.  This is why my recent handgun acquisitions have tended towards guns with rudimentary or no rear sights, e.g. the S&W Mod 65:

…and my backup Mod 637 has never had a rear sight:

Note that both are essentially short-range weapons:  the Mod 65 has bedside duty for those little indoor reindeer games, and the Mod 637 is for those occasions where the intended target is in halitosis range.

Neither my 1911 nor High Power have an adjustable rear sight:

…which means that for all intents and purposes, my target shooting days are over.

Which is also why nowadays my practice with the above are all point-shooting drills resulting in targets that look messy, like this:

…which, I would respectfully suggest, should be adequate for the job at hand.

Looks as though the ammo pipeline is opening up a little:

Sadly, it looks as though the “7-cent” days are gone forever, but at least it’s there for the taking.

Ditto this, from Speer:

I’ve heard good things about this RHT stuff (see link for explanation), and 65 cents per isn’t too bad for .45 ACP.

I can’t afford either at the moment, but there ya go.

I know, I know… Smith & Wesson has decided to leave Massachusetts because the MassGov hates them, wants to tax them out of business, and wants to make it illegal for them to manufacture products (AR-15s) which account for 60% of S&W’s sales.

So unsurprisingly, S&W said, “Fuck you” and are planning to move to…

…Tennessee?

I mean, I have nothing but love for the Davy Crockett state, but what are we Texans?  Chopped liver?  S&W didn’t even consider Texas for relocation, and surely we could compete with Tennessee in the “nice places to do business” competition.

All that said, the Maryville area is a pretty area.  I’ve been there several times to call on a former client (hi, Pat!) and it’s only a stone’s throw from the Smoky Mountains.

Of course, the announcement could have been wrong, in that S&W are planning to move to Marysville TX, which is a little unincorporated area just south of the Oklahoma/Texas border;  but then again:

…probably not.

I still think we should have been given a chance, though.

Okay, once again I am compelled to stand athwart the tide of gun trends, and cry “STOP!”.

The object of my discontent is this trend towards “assault pistols” such as the ones which appear here and feature guns like these:

Let me make my feelings on this type of gun quite clear:  if they were full-auto (select fire), i.e. sub-machine pistols, I would take one in a heartbeat.  But as pistols, they’re shit.

Bulkier and heavier (ergo  unconcealable) than a regular Glock, 1911 or S&W semi-auto, firing the same Europellet poodle-shooter ammo as most pistols nowadays seem to be doing [sigh], and beloved of SWAT-fanbois everywhere, they fail as pistols and are inferior to pistol-caliber carbines in terms of accuracy and punch.

Aesthetically, they look like shit — cobbled together by some Bubba in his workshop somewhere — and they’re overpriced.  Such is fashion, and it’s as true for guns as it is about, say, shoes:

(The one on the left looks like the shoe equivalent of an assault pistol, and the pink disasters are actually from Balenciaga.)

I think the problem started when CZ converted their wonderful Skorpion subbie into semi-auto:

…and all of a sudden, AR and AK variants of the same concept started sprouting like poisonous mushrooms.

Your taste, your choice (and dollars), of course, and if you think that owning one of these makes you look like some kind of “operator”, be my guest.

On the other hand, if you want one of these because it causes anti-gunners, the media and gun-fearing wussies [some overlap]  to reach for their smelling salts, go right ahead.

Just don’t expect me to join you.