Colt

Classic Colts

Posted on by Caleb

Colt Cobra and Pocket 9

Top: Colt Cobra .38 Special
The Cobra is an aluminum framed revolver on Colt’s D-frame that was produced until 1981. Unlike its competitors from S&W, the Corbra (and Detective Special) are unique because of their six-shot capacity. Also, the cylinder rotates clockwise from the shooter’s perspective, unlike S&W and Ruger DA revos.

Bottom: Colt Pocket 9
The Pocket 9 was a single-stack 9mm before it was cool, and an early attempt from Colt to get back into the CCW game. The gun was eventually discontinued allegedly due to a patent infringement lawsuit from Kahr, and was never heavily produced. Today used models will fetch a hefty price as the gun has a cult following both with hipster CCW dudes and (of course) Colt collectors.

ammo

Legendary stopping power

Posted on by Caleb

Everyone who’s ever been on the gun section of the internet knows two things. The first is that you carry a .45 because they don’t make a .46, and the second is that you carry a .357 Magnum because shooting twice is silly.

Sorry, I know you probably caught the derp from that opening statement, but bear with me here. A forum thread got me thinking about something, specifically the “legendary stopping power” associated with the classic 125 grain .357 Magnum loads. If you’ve read the internet, these are very well regarded for producing rapid incapacitation in badguys, and truth be told do produce some pretty impressive wound trauma in obstructed shots. But the question that ran though my mind this morning was whether or not the .357 Magnum did anything in those situations that a modern JHP wouldn’t have done?

cougar magnum (300x225)

This is the problem when we talk about “stopping power” because what causes a human being to stop can be complicated. Physically, there are only two ways to actually stop the human body: make it stop pumping blood, or disrupt the central nervous system. However, there are lots of document cases of people being “stopped” whose wounds were not incapacitating in any way. Similarly, there are lots of documented cases of people with serious wounds fighting well past when conventional logic says they should have stopped.

One of the more interesting areas of self-defense shootings is the concept of the “psychological stop” – where the person who has been shot realizes they’ve been shot, and decides that regardless of the severity of the wound, it’s time to rethink their life choices up to that point. I’ve seen gun articles that suggest that this could be part of the reputation of the .357 Magnum for putting dudes down – the tremendous muzzle blast and concussion associated with cooking off a 125 grain magnum out of a 4 inch gun makes it somewhat difficult to ignore the fact that you’re being shot at.

Ultimately, I think a lot of the legend of the .357 Magnum’s “stopping power” is just that: a legend. Yes, there are tales of it producing incredible one-shot stops, but you can find those with any round. There are also plenty of stories about it failing to stop badguys, which are also common with plenty of other rounds. It seems that the common thread in all of these stories is simple: marksmanship matters.

concealed carry

Carrying in a non-permissive environment: risk/reward calculation

Posted on by Caleb

Yesterday I showed a picture of my collection of wee-little wheelguns, all of which are awesome and useful for things. I mentioned that some of them are used for carrying in NPE, or non-permissive environments; that’s a subject that I’d like to expand on today for our readers that are relatively new to the CCW world. For our seasoned readers, please feel free to share your own experiences in the comments.

Ruger LCR22

As we have this conversation, it’s important to understand that there are different levels of NPE. In very broad terms, an NPE is a place where the carry of guns is forbidden either by policy, such as a place of work, or by law, such as a federal building. Because the type of NPE can vary greatly, the consequences can also range from “being asked to leave” all the way to “go directly to jail, do not pass go.” What that means is carrying into an NPE becomes a risk/reward calculation that you need to have performed before you get there. Here are five examples to help kickstart the thought process.

1. Carrying in the mall
Simon Properties is one of the largest owners of mall property in the US, or at least they were when I lived in Indiana. Every mall there was a Simon mall, and every mall in the Indianapolis area forbade the carriage of firearms. However, because in Indiana “no-guns” signs don’t have the force of law, the “worst case” scenario if I was caught carrying would be that I would have been asked to leave, which I would have complied with. So the risk in that case is very low, and the potential reward of being able to defend myself is very high.

2. Carrying in a “30-06” establishment in Texas
In some states, there are “no guns” signs that do have the force of law. What that means is that carrying in these places is technically a crime, and if you’re caught could carry appropriate penalties. Many states, including South Dakota and Washington, have statutory provisions against carrying in bars, regardless of whether or not there is a posted sign. So the risk here is higher, because fines, misdemeanors, and possible jail time are not things we want. The reward is roughly the same in this instance, because we’re generally talking about public places.

3. Carrying at work
I’m fortunate that in my day job I carry a gun every day. I don’t need to worry about showing up at work with a gun and getting fired for it. Unfortunately, most Americans are not in this position, and many people could be fired if they were discovered carrying at work. So the risk here is actually pretty high, because “getting fired” isn’t just a loss of a job, it’s a loss of money, of quality of life, and could also become a black mark on your resume making further employment difficult. For most people, a reasonable middle ground is simply keep your gat locked in your car, and have some other more PC form of weaponry available for in your office, like OC spray. You’re a lot more likely to get mugged on your way to the car, or in the parking lot of the Kroger when you stop to get groceries than you are to have to fight off an active shooter in your work place.

4. Carrying at your child’s school
Note that I say “your child.” This one is complicated, because the legal patchwork that is the “no guns in schools” policy isn’t nearly as clear as you’d think. That being said, I’m also not qualified to comment on this, because I don’t have children. So evaluate this one on your own, understanding that the possible repercussions could involve serious criminal offenses. But the flip side is of course being armed and in a position to stop a mass shooting at a school or related event.

5. Carrying in government buildings
Don’t. Most .gov buildings have metal detectors and security anyway, and the ones that don’t like post offices aren’t worth it. I just accept the fact that my government wants me disarmed in any situation I may interact with them.

Those are five examples of NPEs, and possible risk-reward calcuations. I carry in Type 1 places all the time; mostly because I keep my gun concealed and don’t stress about it. I use a small gun in a very discreet holster and go about my life.

Uncategorized

Unarmed people can be dangerous

Posted on by Caleb

Post by Active Self Protection.

Don’t believe the narrative when they tell you that someone is “unarmed.” Watch that whole video.

revolvers

Little revolvers for big things

Posted on by Caleb

small revolvers for big things

“Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? And well you should not.” From top to bottom: Ruger LCR-22 with Crimson Trace grips, used mostly for NPE and as a kit gun; Smith & Wesson 640 Pro Series .357 Magnum with Ergo Deltagrip, used as EDC pretty regularly; Smith & Wesson 638 Airweight .38 Special, just purchased and will likely be used as a BUG and for NPE; Ruger SP101 .357 Magnum Wiley Clapp, EDC; and last but not least a genuine Colt Cobra .38 Special, used for when I want to feel like Bud White.

training

The Altar of Competency

Posted on by Caleb

The ability to perform a skill on command regardless of circumstance is the highest level of that skill

This can be as broad as you like, or as narrow as you like. But it’s really the only thing that matters if you’re training for a skill. Let’s say your goal is to be able to perform a successful Triple Nickel Drill with a revolver. The Nickel is 5 targets, two shots each, at 5 yards, with a mandatory reload somewhere in the sequence. It doesn’t matter how many clean runs you put together on your practice range by yourself, it only matters if you can do it on command when it counts.

That’s an example of a Triple Nickel, but I don’t want people to get too focused on that drill itself. What I’m talking about today is “on command performance.” It’s the goal of every serious athlete, and if you’re serious about shooting it should be your goal as well.

Continue reading →

concealed carry/Crimson Trace/revolvers/Smith & Wesson

Improving the J Frame – Sights…sorta.

Posted on by Tim

For reasons that are probably not entirely rational, I find that I’m extremely fond of my little Smith & Wesson 638. It’s become my little buddy…we’re going everywhere together these days. The other day I even packed it as my only firearm on a trip to the gym. If generic apocalyptic event had transpired on my way to, time in, or return from the gym I would certainly have been in quite a pickle armed with just a 5 shot J frame, but thankfully the world as we know it did not decide to end at an inconvenient time for me. Good job, world. Now about this ebola thing…

There are, of course, some things I’m not terribly fond of on my little 638. Chief among them is the sights. The J frame still uses the same sort of gutter-style sights that you could find on a S&W revolver manufactured before the turn of the last century. Seriously. Go over to The Arms Room and take a gander at this hand-ejector model manufactured in 1896 and note the similarity in the sights between that gun and my model 638 manufactured well over a century later. If anything, the sights on that old hand-ejector might be a skosh more high profile than the ones found on the modern J.jframe

Under ideal conditions it’s possible to wring some surprising accuracy out of the sights as they sit on the revolver. While at a friend’s place function testing another gun some weeks ago, I pulled out the 638 and fired the first 5 rounds out of it. To my great delight, all 5 shots were essentially touching the 1″ square pictured to the right. A 1″ square is an exceptionally tiny target but I frequently use a target that small to work on accuracy fundamentals because it leaves zero room for error. (You can download another similarly useful target with a 1″ square here.)

As soon as the conditions aren’t ideal it becomes much more difficult to use the sights with that sort of precision. A few smiths out there will actually mill a J frame for more modern sights like small Novak sights or even these purpose built J frame sights from D&L. While there is a demand for such products and services, it doesn’t seem like it’s enough for someone to make a living doing just that modification. The cost is pretty high and the wait times can be substantial…and the service isn’t always available for the Airweight revolvers.

To improve the sights on my J, I used some old school trickery and some new age stuff: A Sharpie and some new grips from Crimson Trace.

One of the things you can do to improve the existing sights on a J frame is to add some contrast. I started using the brightest flourescent yellow paint I could find on black sights years ago to try and make at least the front sight easier to find in a hurry. On the 638 we already have a light colored front sight, so I added some contrast by blacking the rear sight notch out with a Sharpie. It’s not as good as a proper set of sights, but I find that it does help me get a quicker read on the sights. Enough so that I haven’t yet found the need to paint the front sight a loud color…the silver front seems to stand out plenty well on its own in combination with the blacked out rear.

 

The LG-105 for the J frame revolvers are the most economical , most concealable, and, at least in my experience, the most durable.
The LG-105 for the J frame revolvers are the most economical , most concealable, and, at least in my experience, the most durable.

The Sharpie/contrast trick does very little to aid you in low light. As it comes from the box, the little revolver is next to useless (from an accuracy perspective) in conditions of low light. You are limited to point shooting and hoping that’s good enough to get the job done. As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, I’m not a fan of relying exclusively on point shooting.

I’m generally a fan of Crimson Trace’s products but I think their offerings for the J frame and similar small handguns make the biggest difference in, for lack of a better term, “shootability.” I can make shots with a laser-equipped J frame that I would have absolutely no hope of making otherwise. Crimson Trace has a couple of different models for the J frame with each having their place. The LG-305 grips are fairly large and are ideal if you’re looking to make the tiny J frame grip more substantial. A larger grip on the J frame, believe it or not, often makes it easier to shoot. If you are belt carrying the little revolver then the larger grip might well be the best option for you.

I often carry the revolver in a pocket, so the 305’s are out. That leaves the LG-105 and LG-405. The 405’s have some really nice features and actually do make the little revolvers a bit more comfortable to shoot, but I’ve always gone with the LG-105 grips because A. they’re cheaper, and B. being made of hard plastic they’ve proven to withstand the abuse of daily carry extremely well.

It does add somewhere between $150-$185 bucks (depending on your luck in finding deals) to the cost of the revolver, but I think it’s still a bargain. You can literally put these grips on, adjust the laser to match your sights (if your revolver shoots as well as mine does!) and you’ve just made the little weapon much easier to hit with in most conditions…and let’s face facts: When you’re using a 5 shot .38 revolver with a sub 2″ barrel on it, hitting is of primary importance. Anything you can do to make hitting easier with a handgun like this is a wise investment because low capacity and on-the-bubble terminal ballistics performance makes getting the maximum effect from each shot that much more critical.

news

Open carry advocate has gun stolen

Posted on by Caleb

An active open carrier had his gun stolen last night in Oregon. There are some really juicy bits in this story, which I’ll pluck for your amusement.

William Coleman III was robbed of his Walter- brand P22 (emphasis added)

Of COURSE it was a P22. I really like the P22 as a fun, plinking gun. It’s nice to shoot, has good aesthetics, and is generally a fun little gun. But it’s not a carry gun. I’ve also noticed that a certain type of person will buy guns like the P22 for carry when they can’t afford a better gun, because of the way it looks. Of course.

just after 2:00 a.m

Rule of stupid in effect here! Don’t go stupid places, with stupid people, at stupid times. 2am is a stupid time. I understand that as a law abiding citizen you have the right to be wherever you want when you want, but just because everything is permissible doesn’t mean everything is beneficial. No story that ended well ever started with “well, I was minding my own business at 2am when…”

Coleman, 21, was talking to his cousin in the 17200 block of NE Glisan St., after purchasing the handgun earlier that day, when a young man asked him for a cigarette, police said.

And there’s the coup de grace. Just minding your own business at 2am, hanging out in a bad neighborhood. Seriously, let’s revisit the rule of stupids here. Why are you open carrying at 2am? Why are you anywhere but your own rack, sound asleep like a wee little baby at 2am on a Tuesday night/Wednesday morning? If you’re out “patrolling your neighborhood” like a sheepdog, then you’re an idiot. Actually look, I just can’t come up with any version of the story where this guy isn’t an idiot.

Like most OC people, it’s all about him, and it was all about him to the point that now thanks to his inattention and stupidity, there’s a stolen gun on the streets. Way to go, jerkoff.