Five Pistols You Should Shoot Before You Die
Every enthusiastic shooter and collector has a list of guns they want to own, or maybe just to shoot. How to narrow it down?
Well, that is not easy. But I have managed to narrow my recommended list of pistols down to five. So, without further ado, here are five pistols you should shoot before you die, in no particular order.
Colt/Browning 1911
My personal 1911.
There isn’t much that hasn’t already been said about John Browning’s famous old workhorse of a martial pistol, and if you’ve been involved in guns and the shooting sports at all in recent years, you’ve probably already handled and fired a 1911 of some sort. If you have not, you should. Here’s why:
You could probably more easily name the handgun companies that are not making a 1911 clone than those who are these days.
The 1911 design has certainly stood the test of time. It is probably the most successful and influential American martial sidearm ever, having served from 1911 to the present (although nowadays only with certain elite units.) The only weapon that even approaches that service life is the .50 caliber M2 machine gun, also a Browning design, which has been in service since 1933.
I have been fond of the 1911 since I was issued one while serving as a Company Aidman in the Army. That copy may well have been the same one the Old Man was issued in 1944-1945 during his stint in the U.S. Army Air Corps. It was old and loose but still reasonably accurate, and it shot and shot and shot. Nowadays I have a Rock Island Armory (Armscor, from the Philippines) copy of the 1911 with what is essentially Colt Series 70 guts. It is in mil-spec trim, Parkerized with fixed sights. I bought the piece as a nostalgia purchase, but it is a good shooter, and I sometimes hang it on my belt in place of a six-gun when bumming in the mountains. If I ever need a sidearm in a hurry, the tough old hard-hitting .45 will get the job one.
There are fancier versions around. My oldest friend has a Les Baer 6” long-slide target gun, which is amazingly precise, especially with his ammo; he is persnickety to the point where he made a chamber cast of the gun and custom-ground dies to match, and he hand-weighs every powder charge. It is a neat piece, fun to shoot and accurate, but you honestly cannot go wrong with a plain old mil-spec bullet-chucker. If you buy a good solid 1911 and take even halfway-decent care of it, it will be in service long after you have gone to your reward.
P-08 Luger
One of the .45ACP Lugers, a rare bird indeed
Georg Luger’s Parabellum pistol has a lot going for it. Unfortunately, it has some drawbacks as well. But it is still an interesting piece to handle and shoot. Here’s why:
The Luger, at least in the eyes of this shooter, may be the most beautiful pistol ever made. It is graceful, with beautiful lines; the grip shape fits most hands perfectly and when pointed, bring the sights naturally into alignment with the eye. Unlike autos with a slide, the front sight is fixed firmly to the barrel, while the rear sight is on the receiver, to which the barrel is attached directly.
Those are the good things. But there are bad things. The sights on most production Lugers are rudimentary. Like a lot of late 19th-century German technology, the Luger consists of a gazillion screwy little parts that must be well-fitted for the gun to function. And even then, Lugers do not have the best reputation for reliability. They are finicky about ammo and prone to jams. I would have hated to have been the poor Gestapo or SS son of a bitch whose life depended on one of these.
I have a copy, a 1938 Oberndorf P-08 with the standard 4” barrel and retaining its Nazi proof-marks. All the numbers match, the gun has the original magazine, and I have tried newer aftermarket mags, even playing around some with the feed lips to try to improve function, but the thing still stovepipes on average once with each eight-round mag I feed it. The trigger is creepy and gritty.
Still, the Luger is an iconic gun. When working properly it is easy to handle and very accurate. Try one if you get the chance, but when you do, bear in mind that you are handling a design that is over a hundred years old. I love my Luger, but I would not bet my life on it. For that kind of work, I would stick to my 1911 or one of my sixguns and be glad of having the choice.
Mauser Broomhandle
One glance at the old Mauser pistol immediately suggests the idea that here you have something designed before the standard pattern of autoloading pistols was finalized. It is still worth trying. Here’s why:
Folks familiar with firearm history normally associate the name Mauser with rifles, and justifiably so. But in 1896 the Oberndorf rifle-makers tried something new, bringing out what they called the C96 pistol. The new semi-auto sidearm was chambered in a small-bore, high-velocity cartridge, firing an 86-grain .30 caliber bullet at 1,400 fps – pretty hot stuff for the day, and in fact the highest velocity in a handgun round until the advent of the .357 Magnum. Later versions were available for the regular 9mm Parabellum round.
The C96 is an odd-looking duck by today’s standards. It has a big, square action with a long, thin barrel. Instead of having a detachable magazine in the grip, as most modern autos do, the C96 has a non-detachable box magazine in front of the trigger guard. The fixed mag is charged through the top of the action using stripper clips.
Likewise odd by today’s standards is the grip, a round wooden handle that looks more like it belongs on an agricultural implement than a sidearm. This round grip is the genesis of the nickname “Broomhandle.”
C96 pistols commonly came with a wooden “holster” that doubled as a detachable shoulder stock, converting a long, heavy, awkward sidearm into a short, whippy, underpowered carbine.
But C96s can be fun to shoot. I have only fired a couple, both old, rough pieces, one of which came to the States via China somehow, or so its owner told me. I had no trouble breaking clay pigeons with that one at fifteen yards, and the 7.62mm piece discharged with a loud, satisfying crack but delivered little recoil. The other was a “red nine” 9mm pistol that delivered decent accuracy and a bigger slug with a tad more kick, but only a tad more. Both guns were very manageable even with that odd grip.
44 AutoMag
I am not a big fan of super-pistols, but the original AutoMag is unique enough to merit a try-out, if you ever get the chance. Here’s why:
Unlike the Desert Eagle, one of the more common magnum-caliber auto pistols made today, the AutoMag did not use the revolver cartridge. Instead, the original .44 AutoMag originally used cut-down .308 brass to make a rimless pistol cartridge that delivered .44 Magnum-level performance. The AutoMag Corporation called the cartridge the .44 AMP (AutoMag Pistol) and built the AutoMag pistol to fire it, a hulking, 57-ounce brute with a short-recoil action featuring a rotating bolt with forward locking lugs. The first guns were shipped in 1971 and the AutoMag Corporation went bankrupt in 1972, having shipped less than 3,000 pistols, of which they supposedly lost money on each copy.
The AutoMag pistol and its manufacturers have gone through several iterations, and a version of the gun is back in production today, but those California-made originals are scarce as honest politicians and expensive as crooked politicians. The gun is clearly a product of the Seventies, sporting a gleaming stainless-steel finish and a big ventilated rib. I have handled one but, unlike a certain Inspector Callahan, have never fired one. I am looking forward to the opportunity. You should too.
Sig P-210
The Swiss-made Sig pistol has the reputation for being, possibly, the finest semi-auto handgun ever made. There are versions around today in current manufacture, but I would recommend trying one of the originals. Here’s why:
First: Here is a sidearm so fine, the Swiss used it. Not only did they use it, a Swiss man, one Max Müller, designed the P-210, adapted from the older Swiss Pistolet automatique modèle 1935A, which borrowed several design elements from – wait for it – the Colt/Browning 1911.
Designed in 1947, the P-210 was adopted by the Swiss military and some police agencies in 1949. The Swiss Army used the P-210 until 1975, when it was replaced with the Sig-Sauer P220. The Danish Army (Denmark has an army? Who knew?) still uses the P-210 today.
The Sig is an interesting piece, with a grip shape reminiscent of the Luger and a slide that runs inside, rather than outside, the frame rails. The initial production units used a magazine release on the bottom rear of the grip, making quick reloads a little more difficult; sights on these original pieces were, well, less than optimal. Later versions came out with long slides and better sights.
But the selling point of the P-210, as I have always understood it, was its reliability and accuracy. The gun runs, if you will pardon the phrase, like a Swiss watch. I’ve yet to have the chance to try a P-210 for myself but look forward to the opportunity.
Honorable Mention: Salvatore-Dormus 1891
The First.
OK, now, to be fair, you are not going to get to shoot this one or probably even handle it. But it is worth mentioning the first production semi-auto pistol ever. Here’s why:
In 1891, Archduke Karl Salvatore of Austria and Count Georg von Dormus received a patent for what they rather unimaginatively called the Salvatore-Dormus Pistol.
This was an interesting piece, a delayed-blowback action, the delay for which was provided by the shooter’s finger pressure on the trigger, which does not seem like the brightest idea in gun design. The pistol was charged with five proprietary 8mm Dormus into a Mannlicher-Carcano style magazine. The clip containing five rounds was fed into the top of the action; when all five rounds were expended, the clip dropped into the hollow grip of the piece, where they could later be removed through a trap-door in the butt of the piece. Power was reportedly on the .32ACP level.
Only about fifty of these guns were ever made. Thirty were submitted to the Austrian Army, which rejected the design.
Oddball it was, and the Salvatore-Dormus may not have the immortal robustness of the 1911, the precision of the P-210, the grace of the Luger or the wallop of the AutoMag, but it was the first, and that’s not nothing.
In Conclusion
Wheelgun man I have been and wheelgun man I remain, but there is sure as shooting a place in any gun cabinet for a semi-auto pistol or three. One contender that didn’t quite make the list is the Ruger Mk I-II-III-and so on family of rimfire autos; we have two in the cabinet, the Old Man’s old 6” Ruger Standard he bought in the 1950s and Mrs. Animal’s straight-shooting Mk III Competition Target, with which she routinely drops mountain grouse out of treetops with head shots.
Pistol or revolver discussion aside, the best advice for anyone looking to take up a sidearm for the serious business to which sidearms are put is this: Find one you like, one you can shoot, one you can handle quickly and well, and practice, practice, practice. Proficiency will make up for a lot of other issues in choices of sidearms, especially when and if things get… interesting.
Speaking of which, in the next exciting episode: Five guns useful for survival situations.
Not a pistol, but you must shoot this:
https://www.smith-wesson.com/firearms/model-460v-revolver-5
I like my wrists and don’t want a front sight embedded in my forehead.
I have one; that fatty brake makes it not as bad as you’d think. Don’t get me wrong, it still kicks like a mule, but not so much that it’s not controllable.
It is also BY FAR the loudest firearm I lost in a boating accident. Even double protection is barely sufficient indoors.
Is is three phase?
I fired a Luger a long time ago. As you say, it ain’t much to write home about but it looks cool.
It’s too neutral for me: not enough polar moment of inertia. I like a dram of muzzle weight to help me feel that I’m on. I’m a squeezer who doesn’t have this problem, but, for someone else who hooks a lot of finger through the trigger, superbly “balanced” pistols are easy to pull off the paper.
I also have one of these
https://www.gunsinternational.com/guns-for-sale-online/pistols/star-pistols/star-model-sm-super-380-acp.cfm?gun_id=101251294
Neat gun, but it is fairly inaccurate and will stovepipe anything other than FMJ.
No shit?
I thought I was the only person that had one of those thumb-bitin’ sons of bitches.
It is an oddity of a gun.
Never shot the original Luger but shot the P38 (Swedish version) that succeeded it. Like lots of weapons from that era, much heavier than it looks like it should be. One reason why it was pleasant to shoot.
The only 1911 I recall shooting was a compact version, which was fairly unpleasant to shoot and I rarely hit paper with it.
The P38 did succeed the Luger officially but it was never widely accepted as such by those who carried them. The Luger was still most soldiers’ preference.
Kind of like the 1911 versus the M9 – the new one made far more sense as a military weapon.
Very similar, yeah, except that the byzantine German military procurement system kept producing Lugers even after the P38 went into production, so there was much jockeying among officers to get the Luger rather than the P38.
Imagine how much harder it would have been to win the war if the Nazis had actually had a rational war production strategy.
A couple years or so ago I read a new history of the Second World War. I think by Beever. After I finished it, I said to myself, “Hitler was both the Allies’ biggest enemy and friend.”
It’s honestly, truly, completely absurd how much of a strategic moron he was.
All those captured generals sure were eager to blame Hitler for their loss and not themselves.
“All those captured generals sure were eager to blame Hitler for their loss and not themselves.”
Well, Hitler declared war on the United States for no other reason than he thought the Pearl Harbor attack was very daring and audacious. Every single adviser, both civilian and military, strongly counseled against it. He did it anyway.
Never put artists in charge of anything. They are stupid.
?
Mojo needs more sugar! Stat!
No no! I am on a meat-and-cheese fast.
He also thought that declaring war on the US would spur the Japanese to attack the Soviet Far East and draw troops away from the Eastern Front. Didn’t happen that way.
Oh, Low-Carb/Keto/Atkins kind of diet? Cool. Only time I have been under 200Lbs in 20 years.
“He also thought that declaring war on the US would spur the Japanese to attack the Soviet Far East and draw troops away from the Eastern Front. Didn’t happen that way.”
Yeah because the Japanese knew that they had a completely full plate with China and the US, and had absolutely no incentive to pick another fight. A country ruled by a cabal of retired generals and admirals versus one ruled by a charismatic syphilitic corporal turned artist.
Yes, Atkins, but I’m starting off with an elimination diet meat fast first (although I do allow myself a bit of cheese).
It works magnificently for me in all ways. Alas, I am weak and succumbed to the temptations of the devil (sugar and flour) and must now pay for my sins.
Indeed. The Allied bombing of Germany would have been a helluva lot more costly to the RAF and USAAF had they faced Me-262s in force in mid-1943 rather than small numbers of them in late 1944. Fortunately, Hitler prevented that from happening by ordering changes to the design multiple times.
I just finished watching a multi-part documentary on WWII, and it became readily apparent how much contempt Hitler had for his generals. He was also very reactionary and stubborn, which really caused the Nazis to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
They could’ve had the entirety of continental Europe if they hadn’t been so tied up in bailing out the Italians, antagonizing the Soviets, and pissing off the Americans. Between his complete lack of operational focus and his total inability to stomach strategic retreat, he overextended by double while simultaneously drawing the ire of every other industrial power across the globe (minus Japan)
Hitler prevented that from happening by ordering changes to the design multiple times.
Looking at our current procurement process, I guess you’d have to say he was ahead of his time.
Well, the revolutionary in Hitler hated the old Prussian aristocracy that still comprised the bulk of the general officers.
Trashy – “…if they hadn’t been so tied up in bailing out the Italians…” – and, as Viking pointed out, not demanding that Japan declare war on Russia after Pearl Harbor as payment for Germany declaring war on the US. Even if that war was a “Sitzkreig”, where Japan and Russia looked at each other while eating sandwiches, it’d have forced the Russians to take a few divisions away from the German front.
Helping the Italians in Greece cost the Germans 6 weeks against the Russians. That’s the difference between conquering Moscow – and 50% of Russian manufacturing – or not. Ultimately, it was kind of irrelevant, since in either event, a brutal, murderous totalitarian state would gain power. But it is interesting from a counter-history POV.
Corporal really was Hilter’s level of incompetency.
For example – Why in the world would he launch a campaign in North Africa without first taking Gibraltar and sealing the Med off from the British Navy (and eventually American reinforcements)? What the hell?
Desperation. Plain and simple. He knew he needed Italy to win the war, and Italy was going down in flames.
Why would he stop his army from destroying the BEF and French Army on the beaches of Dunkirk for several days, allowing much of them to escape and fight another day? Why would he put so much money and effort into the Atlantic Wall when 1940 proved the limitations of huge static fortifications? Why delay the start of Barbarossa by six weeks or so while he dallied with an invasion of England that was never going to happen because British naval superiority made it impossible? Why constantly shift strategic goals in Russia, shifting forces among Army Groups North, Center, and South? Why attack Russia while being completely unprepared for winter fighting? Why fight a devastating, protracted urban campaign in Stalingrad that chewed up an entire army instead of simply besieging it and moving on?
And the single biggest mistake, pursuing Nazi racial policies zealously in the east while the war was not won. Ukrainians and Belorussians mostly hailed the Germans as liberators. They hated the Soviets and hated Stalin and would have been valuable allies against the Soviets. Instead, they ended up having to fight the Red Army as well as a troublesome partisan war.
Nice summary of his more major blunders, Chip.
My understanding of Dunkirk, though, is that the Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe were already badly overextended, and nobody could have foreseen the legendary “small boats” evacuation. That one, at least, is understandable.
Halfway through the “Battle of Britain” which the Germans were winning, he ordered the Luftwaffe to switch from hitting British airfields, military, and industrial targets – to bombing militarily worthless civilian targets.
Why delay the start of Barbarossa by six weeks or so while he dallied with an invasion of England that was never going to happen because British naval superiority made it impossible?
If the Luftwaffe had won the Battle of Britain (I think they came very close indeed) and owned the skies over the Channel, would the British navy have been able to impose its will? Did the Nazis have the tools and doctrine for air v ship fighting?
Honest questions.
They lost the battle because they took the pressure off the RAF and got chopped up while bombing shops in London.
The Battle of Crete showed that the Germans might have had the capability to kick in the door by air assault. It would have been bloody, but a lot more likely for a win than an invasion of Russia with no real goals.
RC , there is absolutely some truth to that. The order actually was originally issued by von Runstedt, not Hitler, for exactly those reasons. However, the reason it lasted three days was because Goering was insistent that the Luftwaffe would destroy the armies on the beaches by themselves, without ground forces.
I was wondering less about infantry air assault than using airplanes to sink ships. The Nazis would have needed to bring a lot of shipping across the channel, even if they had a handful of airborne assaults on the ground.
I have no idea if the Germans had a good enough torpedo bomber (and torpedos). I wonder if the Stukas might have been sufficient to do the job on the Royal Navy, though. The Nazis would have had the advantage of using land-based planes, as well.
During the Battle of Crete, the Brits took a lot of naval losses from the German dive bombers. Enough to clear a path for German ships across the English channel? Maybe – if the entire German war effort had been focused there.
Instead old Adolf got distracted and went off to other things in the south and east.
Regarding the aborted Operation Sea Lion…..they simply had no real means for transporting large numbers of soldiers for such an invasion because the Royal Navy had such a high level of superiority over the Kriegsmarine. They didn’t have anything remotely comparable to the LCVP the Allies used on the beaches of Normandy, let alone LCTs or LSTs. The plan called for improvised landing craft fashioned out of barges. The escort fleet in the plan was puny, especially when you consider the massive flotilla that participated in D-Day.
At best, the Germans might have been able to establish a small foothold on the English coast that could have held out for some length of time, but the logistics would have doomed it before too long. Resupply by air would have been the only option due to British naval superiority and that just wouldn’t have been sufficient for extended operations.
I don’t think they had any torpedo bomber.
At this point, we’re a semi-auto household for handguns – a couple of Sigs, a Kahr ultra-compact carry, and a chonky Para-Ordnance P14-45 (1911 with a double-stack mag). The 1911 is the only one listed above that I have shot. For the foreseeable, the gun budget is tied up in optimizing what we have (including the battle rifle (nearly done!) and the combat shotgun (barely begun), and buying ammo for what we have. I don’t see any new guns on the horizon, but a wheelgun would definitely be on the shortlist.
I have a bad feeling, though, that Mrs. Dean is going to like the combat shotgun, and I’m going to have to get one put together for her since she’s a lefty. Beretta makes left-handed semi-auto shotguns, but none with a short barrel, etc. Which would mean that will be my next new gun.
You lack diversity. Report to your local FFL immediately. ?
I’ve been in and out of my local enough over the past couple of weeks, its like Norm walking into Cheers.
“Afternoon everybody.”
“DEAN!”
Animal, was it hard to finalize your lists? Did you second guess the final five after writing the article?
These have been really enjoyable. Not enough of a gun guy to have an opinion, other than I approve of the lack of Tuppeware on this list.
I’ve second-guessed all the lists to one extent or another, but all in all I’m pretty satisfied.
Like the previous lists it appears you went for the arms that were unique and were precedence setting at the time or on future designs.
I’ve never shot any but the 1911, but look forward to taking apart a Luger just to try to figure out how it ticks.
I expected the VP70 to be on the list or a P7 series.
I was expecting a CZ, Berretta 92, or one of the wonder nines from the 1970’s.
I like my CZ-75.
I haven’t gotten the new one out to the range. Soon.
I have shot one and assure everyone that the 44 Auto Mag failed for a good reason.
You could just buy a model 29?
I did. And a 629. And a Ruger Blackhawk, and a Super Blackhawk. And a Ruger carbine. And a Winchester 94.
44 Mag performance is for hunting and a good wheel gun is fine for that. The 44 auto mag is fun to shoot but redundant and not practical in any sense.
It was old and loose but still reasonably accurate, and it shot and shot and shot. Nowadays I have a Rock Island Armory (Armscor, from the Philippines) copy of the 1911 with what is essentially Colt Series 70 guts. It is in mil-spec trim, Parkerized with fixed sights. I bought the piece as a nostalgia purchase, but it is a good shooter,
My Armscor RIA is not a good one. It is off at the smith.
Having said that, I like the 1911. Just not that particular one.
Broomhandles often come up for sale at Amoskeag Auction. I haven’t bid on any. I know too little about them. Gun Jesus had a video on authenticating them. After watching it, I’m happy I never bid on any because I realized how little I know about them.
Missing guns… H&K P7. My brother had one we fired thousands of rounds thru and was a pure joy to shoot. Only thing we ever had a problem with was some aluminum cased rounds. The action was so fast and the aluminum so fragile that the casings would get torn up on eject and get stuck sometimes.
It was Hans Gruber’s gun in that Christmas movie.
I seem to remember someone savaging the original Auto Mags for misfeeding and expense. I seem to recall the AMT versions to be even shittier.
My FN FiveseveN is a lot of fun to shoot, and I’ve never had a misfeed so far, but I don’t have a lot of rounds thru it.
My FN FiveseveN is a lot of fun to shoot, and I’ve never had a misfeed so far, but I don’t have a lot of rounds thru it.
I’ve been eyeing up the Ruger 57. Haven’t pulled the trigger yet.
That’s about $4-500 you can spend on ammo. They’ve got good reviews from what I’ve seen so far.
I really need one or the other as a complement to my PS90, however I’m getting gunshy (yuk yuk yuk) because the ammo is becoming ridiculous.
I saw the AE 5.7 ‘on sale’ for about 50% more than I paid for it 6 months ago, and 25% more than the good FN ammo.
Here’s a “good” (relative to other costs right now) deal.
https://palmettostatearmory.com/5-7x28mm-40gr-hornandy-v-max.html?avad=74383_b1bc96131&utm_source=Avantlink&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=cl
Get it before it disappears.
That’s about what I paid for a case of 9mm recently.
/checks ammoseek
Wow.
err… the price per round is about the same as the price per round for a case of 9mm.
Yeah, my brain is working.
I think they just sold out. I was trying to place an order, and I received a “requested quantity is not available” message.
Scratch that. I tried again and was able to order a couple of boxes.
Another I’d consider for the list – CZ-75.
Newsom is just fucking with Christians now.
Our church voluntarily canceled services before the gummint told them to. They’re allowing limited services now, but the conditions are really not worth the effort.
Yeah, but looking at Mittens and Evan McMuffin, your church really seems to suck government dick.
Yes. It got beaten into submission in the 19th century.
Mittens and McMuffin and Harry Reid
Do you even Romans 13 brah? Just roll over whenever an authority tells you to. Barf.
On the other hand, Acts 5:17-42.
Hey, to totally change the subject again – don’t you (robc) work in Charleston? Or is that somebody else here?
I’m trying to do a visit sometime next week during a beach trip with the family and am looking for a place to park. Dealing with parking in unfamiliar places is about my LEAST FAVORITE and MOST STRESSFUL thing in the world. So if you (or anybody) has any advice about where to park a 15-passenger van reasonably close to White Point Garden, I’m all ears.
Street parking exists, whether you can find it or not, I don’t know. I spend little time IN Charleston, I live/work in the area, but neither are in Charleston proper.
I have parked there by the battery before, but it was fall, not summer, and it was a Jeep Cherokee. There is a ton of public parking (garage and lot) north of Broad St, depends how far you are willing to walk.
Thx. Probably aiming for a weekday, so maybe that’ll be less crowded. And Broad Street wouldn’t be a bad walk for this crew.
Roberts says: it’s all good so you have no recourse.
It’s a tax!
Charlie Daniels passed away.
I’ll bet you the Devil ain’t getting his soul.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSxSc3ylAkg
I am sad.
‘Cause I ain’t asking nobody for nothin’
If I cant get it on my own
If you don’t like the way I’m livin’
You just leave this long-haired country boy alone
__________
Honestly, truly, that song went a long way to encapsulating my nascent libertarian beliefs.
I would like to have a P210
#metoo
Also, I want a DE .357. I don’t care about the flaws, or the price. (La la la, I can’t hear you!)
A buddy of mine has the .44. I’ve shot it. It is a heavy gun. It was fun though:)
Did you get a good grouping? Last time I shot a .44 revolver, it was awful. Plus, it’s uncomfortable after a few reloads.
*looks at girlie hands*
I do pretty well with my .38 snub, and .357 6″ though.
.44, it was a revolver
It was the .44 DE Auto. I don’t think I did:) I only took a few shots. Fun to try, but I wouldn’t own one:) I drive tacks with my old 38 revolver. It’s a .38 S&W and after 25 years, I found out you weren’t supposed to shoot .38 Special out of .38 S&W. OOPS! Lol.
weren’t supposed to shoot .38 Special out of .38 S&W
I did not know that either until I was reading about .38 SPL +P revolvers. Ended up with the Ruger 5737.
Related. 210 also made this list
https://youtu.be/mcQnpZFN4FM
I got another one!
An actual, no-shit Colt 1911.
So 2.5/20.
Sad!
These are great, Animal. Keep ’em coming!
OT: Central planning!
Those pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters are far more precious due to a national coin shortage brought on by the coronavirus and resulting shut down.
As a result, the Giant supermarkets chain is the newest member of a growing list of retailers limiting cash transactions and/or demanding exact change.
“Due to the national coin shortage, select Giant registers can only accept credit, debit, and electronic payments at this time,” company spokesman Christopher Brand said in response to PennLive questions about coin shortages on Friday.
Later in the article:
The Post writes the pandemic “significantly disrupted” the supply chain and circulation patterns for America’s metal money.
On one hand, the US Mint slowed production of coins to protect workers amid the crisis, the Post writes. On the other, coin deposits from banks also plunged these past few months, bringing the normal circulation to a near standstill that still hasn’t thawed.
“Stores have been closed. The whole system of flow had come to a stop,” Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell recently told House Financial Services Committee. “As the economy reopens, we’re seeing coins begin to move around again,” he added, according to the Post.
Trump!!! Why does he hate American monetary regime.
Not a big deal, just get them to give you paper change to the nearest dollar unless they’re just using that as an excuse to move to digital transactions for some reason.
On Topic:
https://booksbikesboomsticks.blogspot.com/2020/06/from-conversation-elsewhere_30.html
I think the Luger is the first of these guns that I have actually shot. The journey of a thousand rounds starts with a single gun.
I’m a huge 1911 fan. Or really, a 2011 fan, as I don’t have any single stacks right now. But everyone should try out a tuned up 1911/2011 if they get the chance. It’s good to experience perfection at least once…
Everyone should also shoot a Glock 19. The Glock 19 is the manual transmission of the pistol world. Just as if you can’t drive a stick shift, you can’t really drive; if you can’t shoot a Glock 19 to a reasonable standard of performance, you can’t really shoot.
I’m glad you included a Sig, my favorite. My EDC is a 239.
OT: Petition to restrict Gauleiterin Whitmer’s powers
The Board of State Canvassers signed off Monday on summary petition language from a group that wants to repeal the 1945 law that grants Michigan governors the power to take unilateral actions during declared emergencies.
A group called Unlock Michigan needs to collect 340,047 valid petition signatures in 180 days to put its initiated legislative proposal to repeal the Emergency Powers of Governor Act before the Republican-controlled Michigan Legislature, which has challenged Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s emergency powers in court. If the Legislature approves the repeal, Whitmer wouldn’t be able to veto the repeal.
This just in…
Governor Whitmer has now deemed pens as probable carriers of Tom Hanks Disease and are no longer allowed within Michigan borders.
Why stop there?
Governor Whitmer, using her unilateral emergency powers, has dissolved the state legislature. Easy peasy.
When the spouses of the legislators are forced into prostitution, then I’ll be impressed.
You mean the same line of work as their spouses?
The State Senate will no longer be any concern to us.
Is that legal?!
I will make it legal.
This thing. It is a very cool thing. It is a thing I want. It is a thing I will not get.
Is this an invitation for a reverse caption contest?
No…? It’s a FB link. Can you not see it?
Try this link.
Your original link works, it just does not look like a link.
Never mind, browser is in stupid mode.
Tardis m8 wot is goin on in ur profile pic?
It’s a box flying majestically through the air?
My TARDIS is so low grade, it’s really a Porta-potty flying away in a burst. Derp posted the original video last week.
It sums up my current feelings about everything in life right now. 🙂
I’ve shot two of those (1911 and the Luger). Don’t own either, but really wish I could have gotten my mits on my great uncle’s 1911s – given to him by Gen. Patton.
I do own one oddity that definitely won’t make the list of guns you want to shoot – Nambu Type 14. I’ve only shot it once, using WWII surplus ammo, and that was one too many times – horrible gun. One of my university professors (who was also a gunsmith) was in love with that pistol though – matching serial numbers between the gun and the magazines, and I have the leather holster that came with it. Professor offered to buy it off me on the spot, but I wouldn’t part with it.
An issue 1911 was the first gun I qualified on at a trim 150 lb and 18 years old. I couldn’t believe the “whump” of that gun… until I had to qualify with the 12 ga. shotgun right after that.
In Afghanistan you could find anything and everything ever made, so I got to shoot a bunch of oddball weapons, including a Luger. The 1911 is an exquisite piece of engineering.
I own a SIG (P320) and I love it for about any purpose, but if you’re going to have to kill someone up close, I think the 5-shot S&W .357 with the shrouded hammer (or anything comparable) is about as “business” as you can get. Eminently concealable, can’t get caught on anything if you have to pull it – or even maneuver it inside a pocket – and it effing blasts what it hits. (I know, I know, Animal, you already covered wheel-guns. Jes’ sayin’…)
True story. In the ’40s my dad was a service provider (Trash hauler, a step above a garbageman, according to my mother). Anyway, he had a regular route and was popular among the maids, janitors and chauffeurs of his clientele. One day a maid gave him her boss’s 1911, because she was afraid of guns. My dad kept it of course but was too expensive for the Fourscores to shoot, I probably shot it a dozen times (rounds) at about 10-11. Then a cop convinced my dad that it was contraband and offered to trade him for it, my dad picked out a Ruger, $37.50 at the sports store, cop bought the gun and they traded. We shot the Ruger a whole bunch more than the .45. Some where, probably still in Mpls, that gun is still around, waiting, waiting to come home.
One day a maid gave him her boss’s 1911, because she was afraid of guns.
Did she steal it?
I would think technically, unless her boss gave her permission. It was a gun that he brought back from WW2, according to the info I remember.
I believe that 1911s were sold through the Civilian Marksmanship Program, back in the ’60s. I saw one quite recently that must have been redone, clean, not worn, parkerized.
Another great article by the Allamakee County maestro. Thanks, Animal
Donald J Trump:
They name teams out of STRENGTH, not weakness, but now the Washington Redskins & Cleveland Indians, two fabled sports franchises, look like they are going to be changing their names in order to be politically correct. Indians, like Elizabeth Warren, must be very angry right now!
___________
You know he sent that from the toilet, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Any time there is a Trump tweet that looks composed on the fly (err, so to speak), that’s exactly how I envision it, thanks to SugarFree.
I find it hilarious, BTW, that we are tagged as Trumpalos, when this site publishes the best Trump satire I have seen anywhere. In both print and animated form.
His Twitter foo is peerless but he’s weak and feckless otherwise. Still much better than the most likely alternative though.
Of all the things I have missed during this bullshit that is the last few months, pro sports isn’t one of them. I have no plans to resume watching – while being preached at by millionaires – when they resume their seasons.
It would take a lot for me to stop watching the NFL. I’m just being honest. I’m a football junkie.
The other sports I have a lot less patience with.
I was already pretty much done with them. The boring games, rules changes to make sure there is no defense, endless commercials, asshole players…
I understand completely. I have to tune out a lot of the bullshit to enjoy the product on the field. It’s getting to be a lot to ignore.
I do agree that the pace of the games and endless commercials are terrible, in particular. I can ignore the social signaling and preening during pregame but I don’t have all day to watch a single game.
Shockingly, Mrs. Dean has indicated that the posing and preening from the NFL has her thinking about giving the season a pass. We’ll see, of course. We’re on Fubo now, and I’m not sure how we would watch games not being broadcast to our market, anyway.
“Indians, like Elizabeth Warren, must be very angry right now!”
Snerk.
Pew pew pew.
I’m getting a little jelly of you guys. Can’t have a gun, but even if I could, I wouldn’t be able to afford going to the range and practicing.
Who says you can’t have a gun?