Revolvers Are Great: Revolver vs. Autoloader for CCW (Part 3)

Differences. It's all about the differences.

Will You Carry It?

It's all about size, weight, ease of concealment, and feeling comfortable with the damn thing. All of the above could be a deal breaker. Two people could buy the same 16 ounce revolver and have two different outcomes as far as being willing to carry the gun. Different modes of carry affect how it prints and feels. People are shaped differently. 

There are so many factors, but different holsters can mitigate any issues. So I believe that choosing between a revolver and a semiauto will depend on other factors more than exact comfort. I could be wrong, especially when someone that wears more form fitting clothes has to make a choice, which means more concern about comfort and printing. 

Training Up

Revolvers seem to provide more of an "easy entry" path to conceal carry. Checking to see if a gun is loaded and basic functions seem so obvious and intuitive with a revolver. That's why gun-store clerks seem to naturally try to put snubnose revolvers in the hands of women. Small revolvers can be a handle to shoot, but so can the lightweight .380s. 

Of course, the modern "troupe" is that you can getting anyway hitting the target, if you hand them a Glock G19. But I am not so sure that they wont' be shooting themselves in the thigh, if they take such an easy-to-shoot gun as their CCW gat.

So a revolver seems to be harder to shoot accurately. That probably is mitigated, because most non-LEO legal carriers will have to defend themselves at close range. But again, the semiauto has another advantage, mostly. Because of the long double-action trigger of revolvers, a person with an autoloader can most likely get their shots on target quicker. But then again, that is probably not needed.

For a more in-depth look at the differences between proficiency with an autoloader and a revolver, here is a video by Caleb Gidding:  

Ammo Cost

Ammo cost doesn't seem to a big deal, if you're just going to get a gun and not shoot it until you need it. But that doesn't seem very responsible. My wife wants to learn about handguns, get her CCW permit, and shoot regularly. And I want to shoot more. I'm of the opinion that you should shoot with your carry gun with carry ammo (at least analog, which ammo companies are capitalizing on) - NOT .22s or easier-to-shoot larger guns - at least when you are practicing for carrying.

So, practice costs money for range time and ammo.

(brass-cased FMJ 50 round box - 12/13/21 on LuckyGunner.com)

9mm        $23.50

.380        $37.00 (57% more)

.38 Special    $38.00 (62% more)

9mm wins this category on a round by round basis. But how many rounds would you put through a CCW gun at all - or in each caliber?

A Gun Is A Gun

Eventually, you have to make a choice. The conventional wisdom is that autoloaders have won the fight, but revolvers can ease an entry into CCW. And if one can handle the trigger pull and recoil - and make hits on target at typical non-LEO civilian ranges - then a revolver is good enough. So be it.

Kel-Tec's Chassis-System Pistol

Who knew that Kel-Tec has a pistol in it's line up that uses a serialized chassis instead of a serialized frame? Well, I did, sort of.

Credit: KelTecWeapons.com

A few years ago, I saw that the PF-9's serial number was on the back of the gun, and it appeared not to be on the polymer grip frame. So, I looked a little further, and walla! - I found nothing. So the thought of being able to easily, and without a transfer "tax" slipped from my mind.

credit: UBuy.gr

Last week, my wife said once again that she wants to get her CCW and a small pistol. .380 would be most practical size wise, but 9 mm is always more available. So I've been looking at all kinds of guns, and of course I drifted back to the absolutely lightest pistol (not revolver) - not the smallest one (that might be the Kahr CM9/PM9) - the Kel-Tec PF-9.

Then I started looking for recent, good video  reviews of and comparisons with the PF-9. There aren't many. Then I stumbled on the a recent video about the P11 - the original double stack micro 9. Which made me check Kel-Tec's sight for dimension info, and naturally to their "so long" video for the P11. Which is on You Tube, on Kel-Tec's channel. So I started scrolled and stumbled on this, their video for switching the grim frame of the PF-9.

Wait a cotton picking minute! That's a chassis system, but ...

If you watch the video, then you realize that taking the gun apart and putting it back together could be a comedy of errors. Stuff can fall off the chassis, and there is a distinct possibility that you will assemble a nonfunctioning pistol - if you're not careful. 

And what is the advantage for you to switch grip frames with the PF-9?: (1) Change colors. (2) replace a broken grip frame without having to retransfer your firearm

So for the earliest chassis-system pistol that I know of, Kel-Tec has done a piss-poor job of capitalizing on it. Could they already have done a slim double-stack modern micro 9?

Staten Island Xmas Spirit

Let's Go Brandon

"To my friends on the South Shore: You're Welcome."

The ""Perfect" CCW for Wife AND Me

 Okay, okay! You caught me. I can't stop thinking about myself, when I am researching guns. My wife is looking for a CCW handgun, but I am the guide, because I know more about guns than she does. So I look for her, and I of course think about what would be best for me.

While stopping by a gun store, my wife said that she wants to get the smallest gun possible. The salesperson said that people don't look for guns anymore, because of - cellphones. So, his opinion was the largest and controllable is ideal. Well, all around food for thought.

We have gone from the .357 Ruger LCR as the probable choice a year or so ago back to thin autoloaders. But taking a step back, we were leaning toward thin 9mm autoloaders for a couple of reasons: (1) they are thin and (2a) 9mm is the most available cartridge right now, and (2b) I've got some at home.

When my wife - let's call her Marie - was looking at the guns in the case and handling some, she was drawn toward the Ruger LCP II in .380 ACP. At the time, the gun store/range had no .380 ammo. She said fine; let's get something in 9mm that's really small.

 I went in a second time by myself, and I found out that their 50-count boxes of .380 are going for $100.  I reported back to Marie, and she was definitely on board with 9mm. On that second trip, I asked to look at the Kahr CM9. My wife doesn't have problems with racking slides, but I had heard that Kahr's were notorious for having hard-to-rack slides. She had no problem with the CW9 at our last range session (actually she had less problem with me racking the slide through the "locking-breach bum"), but I was convinced that the CM9 would be far worse. I was pleasantly surprised that the gun-handling operations were so easy. It is left to be seen if my wife feels the same way.

credit: Kahr.com

So, for this exercise that hopefully will end in an actual purchase, and I am taking that the Kahr CM9 has the idea.

credit: Kahr.com

The micro doublestack 9mms sort of put a wrench in the works, because they appear to be so "perfect," but we will see.

Wife's CCW Gun

My wife has decided once again that she wants a CCW pistol. Truth be told, I've been prodding her a bit.

And she has settled on the Urban Carry G3 holster.

AND she is now considering semiautos again. In the past, she was dead set on the .357 Ruger LCR.

So, here we go! Of course, this is all dependent on my wife's range (rental) sessions. But as a guy I feel compelled to be prepped for the chaos ;)

Standing Army (Part 1)

Is a standing army really allowed in the United States?

Is the goal of the Biden administration to create a standing army to suppress and control patriotic Americans?

Apparently, the Biden Administration is expanding the 1033 program that funnels "military grade" equipment to police according to The Free Thought Project.

Is the Biden Administration really giving more stuff to the police?

The 1033 Program

Standing Army: Biden Surpasses Trump on Flow of Military Weapons to Cops by Matt Agorist on TheFreeThoughtProject.com suggests that the Biden Administration is arming the police to make a stand against anti-government forces.

The 1033 program that gives military equipment to state and local police has been around since 1995. But it was an expansion of previous programs dating back to 1943. The most visible examples are the MRAPs (mine resistant ambush protected).

credit: Omaha World Herald

The Law Enforcement Support Office (LESO) is a division of DLA Disposition Services, a subordinate command of the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA). It administers the 1033 program(1). They also hand out grenade launchers and full-auto firearms.

According to The Free Thought Project, the Biden administration has matched in one quarter what the Trump administration did in the last two quarters of last year when it comes to giving military stuffs to police. So does that really amount to creating a single standing army, like The Free Thought Project "article" sort of claims.

Well for one thing, "Standing Army" is really an opinion piece. For another thing, there are not strings attached for the police departments to be federalized. And as the editorial explains, the Biden administration has taken a supposed backhanded approached to the further disorganized Black Lives Matter movement: ignore BLM and arm the police more. 

Standing Arm[ies]

So back to this "standing army" thing. It's sort of a misnomer. But the further concentration of militaria in the hands of agents of the government is troubling - though it is decentralized among many government agencies. The founding fathers wanted the people to be armed on par with the military. The restriction of weapon types to government agents severely handicaps the sovereigns of our nation - the individuals.

Citizens are faced with growing armies on the state and local level. For example, the NYPD can mobilize 36,000 to quell an uprising or suppress other freedom activities. The NYPD is armed with service pistols, body armor, shotguns, select-fire Armalite-Rifle-based rifles, HK MP5 submachine guns, sniper rifles, helicopters, and MRAPs. For a population diminishing well below 8 million that still doesn't seem like much. But it is the ability to concentrate power that is oh so troubling.

On a more decentralized level, even with small police departments, they are able to call on surrounding small agencies, state police, and even the national and state guards. Again, the individual doesn't stand much of a chance, especially when you factor in the weight of statutory law in many states and localities. 

[TO BE CONTINUED]

(1) "Law Enforcement Support Office," Wikipedia.com

Trump Is No Friggin Saint

 

Trump is no friggin saint.

But he has fought more for the interests of the common man than all the knaves in Congress.

Biden's Approval Rating (YouTube Edition) 1/28/21

Rough day for Biden. He scaled back the volume of his YouTube videos, and viewers hate them more.

89% of "voters" disliked his videos for the day.

Biden's Approval Rating (YouTube Edition) 1/27/21

credit: BlazingCatFur.ca

Just for today's videos, Biden pulled down an impressive "dislike" rate on the YouTube White House channel of 82%.

Biden is consistently disliked on YouTube. For his White House channel, he is averaging a historic "approval rating"  of about -83%!

Biden's Approval Rating (YouTube Edition)

credit: BlazingCatFur.ca

Biden's having a very rocky start on YouTube. His White House channel is the most disliked I've ever seen.

The average for his videos was 83% disliked on 1/22 and 81% on 1/23. Jumping forward to today, his 22 videos were disliked by an average of 84% by those who voted.

Noteworthy for today, Kamala Harris getting vaccinated was the most disliked video so far with 94% disliking it.