I wouldn't be a gun blogger if I didn't weigh in on the fairly recent gun blogosphere ramblings on caliber snobbery and some outright 1911 mis-information.
First of all, Syd at Front Sight, Press has an anecdote of a .380ACP not penetrating a skull. This compells him to proclaim his unconfidence of the .380 as a man stopper. First of all, yes, the .380 is an anemic caliber compared to the mighty .45ACP, but does it make it unworthy? I say no and here is why. I carry a 9x18 Makarov in my front pocket a lot, now the 9x18 round is an over glorified .380ACP, why would I carry such a loathesome caliber over say a .45ACP or .357Magnum? Simple, because it fits me best.
The Makarov pistol is a compact semi-auto that is absolutely reliable, fits my hand(!) and carries 8+1 and another 8 on my hip in full view because it looks like a Leatherman. It is quite litterally, the only gun I can get into a pocket, fits my hand, is reliable and in a reasonable caliber (it ain't a .32 for Pete's sake).
Why not a J-Frame .357 or similar? Believe me, I'd LOVE to have one of those little fireballs, but I have a hell of a time wrapping my huge paws around one of those little suckers. I've fired Judge's 640 in full anger and the gun tries to rotate in my hand so much I can't be confident of reliably hanging on to it during a stressful moment. The Makarov fits me and I'll have it on me when I can't or don't want to carry the K-Frame .357 or a Government .45ACP (my other carry pieces).
About that 1911. Some knuckleheads has it in their head that 1911 are tempermental, malfunctioning POS's that require many $$$ of gunsmithing to make right before you can carry them. BULL! I have three and have handled many more and they all work great. I have a Colt Mark IV that i've not done anything to the feed mechanism, a Kimber that is likewise unaltered and a Rock Island that is lock stock. They run, period.
The ONLY issue with them is that you HAVE to have a good magazine for them. This isn't such a problem with most semis because there aren't that many magazine choices, you get the factory mags and Pro-Mag and that's about it. The 1911 however, WOW does it have magazine choices, every Tom, Dick & Harry makes one and it is usually an "improvement" over everything before it. Rest assured, if your Blastomatic 2000 (thanks Tam) had 2,000 different mag manufacturers and 500 different frame manufacturers and examples that are nearing 100 years old, you'd have issues with mags.
So, if you don't have a 1911, what are you doing here? Go! Go now and buy one! Also, don't let some interweb jockey shame you out of carrying that fart gun, they have a purpose so get your mousegun freak on!
First of all, Syd at Front Sight, Press has an anecdote of a .380ACP not penetrating a skull. This compells him to proclaim his unconfidence of the .380 as a man stopper. First of all, yes, the .380 is an anemic caliber compared to the mighty .45ACP, but does it make it unworthy? I say no and here is why. I carry a 9x18 Makarov in my front pocket a lot, now the 9x18 round is an over glorified .380ACP, why would I carry such a loathesome caliber over say a .45ACP or .357Magnum? Simple, because it fits me best.
The Makarov pistol is a compact semi-auto that is absolutely reliable, fits my hand(!) and carries 8+1 and another 8 on my hip in full view because it looks like a Leatherman. It is quite litterally, the only gun I can get into a pocket, fits my hand, is reliable and in a reasonable caliber (it ain't a .32 for Pete's sake).
Why not a J-Frame .357 or similar? Believe me, I'd LOVE to have one of those little fireballs, but I have a hell of a time wrapping my huge paws around one of those little suckers. I've fired Judge's 640 in full anger and the gun tries to rotate in my hand so much I can't be confident of reliably hanging on to it during a stressful moment. The Makarov fits me and I'll have it on me when I can't or don't want to carry the K-Frame .357 or a Government .45ACP (my other carry pieces).
About that 1911. Some knuckleheads has it in their head that 1911 are tempermental, malfunctioning POS's that require many $$$ of gunsmithing to make right before you can carry them. BULL! I have three and have handled many more and they all work great. I have a Colt Mark IV that i've not done anything to the feed mechanism, a Kimber that is likewise unaltered and a Rock Island that is lock stock. They run, period.
The ONLY issue with them is that you HAVE to have a good magazine for them. This isn't such a problem with most semis because there aren't that many magazine choices, you get the factory mags and Pro-Mag and that's about it. The 1911 however, WOW does it have magazine choices, every Tom, Dick & Harry makes one and it is usually an "improvement" over everything before it. Rest assured, if your Blastomatic 2000 (thanks Tam) had 2,000 different mag manufacturers and 500 different frame manufacturers and examples that are nearing 100 years old, you'd have issues with mags.
So, if you don't have a 1911, what are you doing here? Go! Go now and buy one! Also, don't let some interweb jockey shame you out of carrying that fart gun, they have a purpose so get your mousegun freak on!
1 comment:
I wouldn't be passing judgment based on a failed skull penetration. The skull is one of the strongest bones in the body and there have been many, many validated medical reports of bullets failing to penetrate the skull. In most of those cases the bullet deflected around the skull. They include up to and including .45 ACP rounds.
Bullet placement is THE most important factor regarding stopping power. A .22 will kill you if it hits the right spot. A .45 just gives you more wiggle room.
The keys to self defense handguns are to shoot what is comfortable, carry it all the time, and practice as much as possible.
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