Saturday, December 28, 2013

Doe, a Deer...

Yesterday we were talking to friends and when questioned about wildlife we mentioned that in the fall we see bachelor mule deer, but never a herd. As if on cue, a small mulie herd dropped onto our patio this morning to pick through what's left of my Sweetie's flower garden. Alf the Wonder Beagle, being of course a free-range beagle, went ballistic...I believe visions of venison danced in her head. Apparently the deer didn't see Alf as an apex predator, so they nibbled a bit and wandered on.

A note on pocket pistols...there's always a place for pocket pistols (in the pocket...LOL!). Yesterday, for example, we had bunches of errands, but no public time. The LCP ended up as my only carry gun for the day. An LCP is in my pocket now, and when I take the Wonder Beagle for her hike, I'll stuff it in the left-hand pocket when I holster up.


The Once And Future German King?

You know what's funny to me? I sort of like the idea that the .380 pistol is evolving back into what it was. In no time at all, I'll be touting the Walther PK380 (wasn't that the first of what we might think of now as a lightweight "mid-sized" .380s?), or, heck, even the PPK/s as the ideal carry guns...easy to shoot, as long as you have the newer versions, etc. Okay, let's go whole hog, to the Browning BDA .380 or Beretta 84! Twelve + 1 rounds of pulsing .380 power!

Joking...joking! But a PPK/s is about 22 1/2 ounces, a little over 6 inches in length; the Beretta 84 a little bigger, but in that weight range. That brings them to about Glock-sized in all but weight. Granted the New Gen .380s are lighter, which is a good thing for CCW, but they're still holster guns.


Sig P232

I guess you could split the baby and go with an absolutely classic Sig P232, a little bigger, but lighter than the Walthers or Berettas/Brownings (with fewer pew-pews, of course). The 232s I've shot have been wonderful guns and super accurate (I shot them with ball)...I think the finger-groove rubber grips on recent ones suck, but that's just me. Brigid at Home On The Range did a fairly extensive review of the P232 a while back, BTW. I liked the P232s better than the P239 9mms, which were the first Sig dedicated CCW guns back in the back when. If you're good with that looooooooooong trigger — which is not as big a deal to me as some have made it out to be — I guess you could add the P250 .380 to that list and get the 12 + 1 .380s in a Sig-ish package.

Not saying that back to the future is going to be a big trend, but once you make the decision to carry a larger .380 in a holster, you might as well have a good look around the "mid-size" .380 universe. I'm obviously A-OK with the cartridge (Cor-Bon DPX 80-gr, if you please), and I don't think the mid-size .380 is an irrational idea. The mini-9mm can be nasty little bastards to shoot, and you probably couldn't force a mini-.40 on me...the only one I have that's even close is an ancient brickbat of a Star FireStar .40, which I keep around to remind me not to pay attention to "experts" (which means, of course, you should take what I say with a massive grain of salt!).

13 comments:

Hoop said...

Sig, Walther, Browning, Beretta; How 'bout a Bersa .380? Accurate, inexpensive and as reliable. as an anvil.

KevinC said...

Would fact that the P232 and PPK are blowback and the new Glock is (allegedly) locked-breech make the Glock easier to shoot?

Jason K said...

With guns like the LC380 & the new Glock .380 and improvements in modern ammo, I think the .380ACP makes better sense in a pocket pistol than 9mm.

kmitch200 said...

Espcially if you want to, you know, shoot it enough to become proficient with it.

Greg Tag said...

Colt Government .380 or the Mustang, or the SiG P238.
Compact, accurate and PLEASANT to shoot.

The locked breech really absorbes the recoil, and they are much easier to slide-rack.

Still better than the competitors, as long as you can remember to manipulate the thumb safety.

Regards
GKT

Anonymous said...

S&W 380 Bodyguard in a Desantis wallet holster has never been detect by anyone yet even when I told friends I was carrying. Need to practice shooting in holster. Good carry combo. Nasty surprise for mugger

DamDoc said...

I stll like my p239 in 9mm... the long trigger pull is the safety that is over-ridden in flash, without removing the aim from the threat, by pulling the hammer back... then short, short short!... and if you dont have time to pull the hammer back, then go with the long trigger pull.. the gun is Sig accurate, and is comfortable to shoot ALL day long... and isnt that model kinda retro that may come back again? worth a look!

Michael Bane said...

You know, I can't recall ever shooting a Bersa...I've handled them at SHOT. Locked breech .380s seem to have less recoil, but I don't know how much of that is in my head. I do know my Sig 238 is the most accurate .380 I've ever shot, even better than my old Mustang...but's it's a single action trigger (as is the Mustang), and pretty good for a pocket pistol at that.

Before the Back-Up Gun Nationals (which I'll probably shoot for fun next year) I went out and shot several of my small 9mms in prep for the match. The LC9 shot right alongside the STI LS9; I made the decision on holsters (the LC9s Blade-Tech didn't arrive in time) and extra magazines.

mb

Anonymous said...

Speaking of small 9 mm's; What's the current "four-one-one" on Kimber's Solo? It had a rocky launch with some mag' issues and concerns with recoil spring life and what loads the gun is restricted to. I never even read anything on it anymore and it's not advertised very much by Kimber. It did look good initially and it seemed to be very accurate. Was it ultimately rejected by actual users?

Life Member

Michael Bane said...

The Solo I had shoot just fine with one, count 'em, one type of ammo (Cor-Bon), but was a bear to shoot. I know people who are absolutely screaming crazy for the Solo, but every one of them is a veteran USPSA/IDPA shooter. I believe the Solo is about the rock bottom minimum for a mini-9 and I stand by my comments that the Solo, 938, CW9, Shield and LC9 are guns for experienced shooters only.

mb

Anonymous said...

Hey, I have never 'met' a gun I couldn't learn to love so I take a .380 any day. That said, I think with the emergence of the mini 9mm's o the market now there is little reason to consider the .380 in terms of SD/CCW. Now for collection and just plain old fun, it's on! I have the Bersa (I call it the poor man's PPK) and it's both sharp looking and fun as hell. Happy Holidays to All!

Will said...

Michael:

Late 90's, I picked up an AMT .380 mkII(?) single action blowback, together with a Pocketlite Mustang. Same size guns, the AMT was all stainless, and weighed probably twice the Mustang.

I shot the AMT first, and it beat the hell out of my hand. Same ammo in the Mustang, I thought it was a squib load, due to recoil being so light. I took it apart to check for a bullet in the barrel. Twice! Nope, just soft shooting with the locked breach.
Dramatic difference, and just amazing considering the weight difference.

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