I spent the weekend with my leg elevated, walking as little as possible, wired into a machine that pumps ice water around my knee. Today I'm going through my research material for the new season of GUN STORIES WITH JOE MANTEGNA, then order whatever research material I need to write the script.
Busy busy! Have some cool stuff coming up when I get the medical go-ahead to leave the house. I'm hoping to get the Kimber K6s revolver ASAP. I already had plans to do a big snubbie round-up for DRTV. Now that I'm back on crutches, the Ruger LCR 9mm is my daily companion in the Null SMZ shoulder holster.
Kimber K6s
I have LCRs in 9mm and one of the new .327 Magnum 6-shot ; I also have an LCRx .38 Special. with a hammer. A more "apples to apples" comparison with the Kimber will be the Ruger SP-101 .357s (5-shot), Ruger's all steel little brickbat of a snubby. I have 2 SP-101s, a Wiley Clapp version fitted with Novak sight and a hammerless SP-101 built by revolver-meister Grant Cunningham, who had a substantial amount of creative input into the little Kimber.
LCR 9mm
What I don't have is a Colt "Dick" Special, and they have sadly become collectable. I've shot Detective Specials, and my Mom had a Colt Cobra she carried in her purse. I have a lot more rounds through that Cobra than the vaious Detective Specials.
I suppose you can make an argument that the old, slightly larger, S&W K-frames like the 2 1/2 inch M19 or, in stainless, M66 or the semi-mythical M10 with fixed sights and a 2-inch barrel belong in this discussion. I carried a blue M19 2-/1/2 snub for years, and I can't imagine what cased me to get rid of it. The Detective Special clocked in at a little over 21 ounces, the M19 2 1/2 inch a bit beefier at a little over 30 ounces; my hammerless SP-101 at 25 ounces. Th Kimber at 23 ounces. The polymer framed LCRs come in around 17 ounces.
Looking forward to snubbing up.
Got a note from USPSA today on changes in the provisional Carry Optics. The division remains provisional but with the following changes:
• Authorization for all levels of USPSA and Steel Challenge
• Expanded stippling, contouring and texturing of the grip frame to include undercut trigger guard and grip reduction
• Expanded slide profiles to include serrations and cosmetic cuts not completely through the slide
• Increased weight limit of 45 ounces, including optic and empty magazine, allowing more pistols to compete
• Required use of a slide-mounted optic, prohibiting guns without an optic.
All in all, good and intelligent changes. It doesn't change my plan to run my G19 with an RMR. Yes yes I can give you chapter and verse as to how such a set-up won't be "competitive.' It's not inconceivable thatI might fall down the competition rabbit hole again…I've done it many times before. But for whatever personal/worthless reason, I want to master the G19 in 2016. Before the surgery I was carrying a G26 as EDC and the Ruger LCR as proof positive I was paranoid. I have a G26 shoulder holster coming fro Survival Sheath Systems very soon, so I anticipate going back to the G26 as primary until I finish the build on my carry G19. Lucky enough, I found the frame and miscellaneous parts on "SHOT Show exhibit gun," better deal than the real thing.
I'll keep you posted…gotto go do me some podcast!
I studied the new Kimber at their website and it DOES look good. How does it lock up? If it's similar to my Ruger SP101 DAO, or even a S&W Triple-Lock, then it will be super and I just may "pop" for one. I like the 6-shot capacity of the new Kimber.
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Michael.. warning, warning, warning!!!!! dont tell the doc you are feeling depressed!!!! ;-) Love the revolver talk, thanks.. new interest of mine. Cant wait to hear about the kimber... stay off the knee, and thanks ahead of time for the podcast...
ReplyDeleteI don't live far from you, and have been watching the snow all day.
ReplyDeleteI'm one of the lucky ones that bought a dick special in the 70s and still have it. Great piece of work.
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ReplyDeleteThe Kimber I shot locked up like a vault. So does my Grant Cunningham SP101. My inclination is to suck it up and buy one, because that's the only way you can really truly see how it runs. I never used to care one way or the other about the shorter barreled GP-100s. But I came across a Wiley Clapp version at a good price, which allowed me to get it overhauled by Gemini Cusrom. I carried it all summer in a Survival Sheath System chest holster. Shot incredibly well; carried easily.
ReplyDeleteOne never knows, does one?
Michael B
ReplyDelete"Like." And can't wait to see more. The SP101 in .357 (with hammer) was my "Dick" pistol, when I was one in Boulder during the mid '90s. Unfortunately, I never carried it. It was more than a brick with the wrong holster, but it was "on standby."
There are two things about SSS holsters that make me hesitant to order. One is the gun holster being suspended from the top, like a sign board. This tends to cause the grip to lever outwards, as the gun pivots on the cylinder or slide, while the straps pull the top inwards. Look in most any holster catalog, and you will see this when worn by a model.
ReplyDeleteWhen the muzzle end strap is mounted below the barrel, like the Aker and Galco (original Jackass model?), it pulls the gun against the body, enhancing concealment and comfort. If the holster is a flat on one side type, with the hangers then shifted inboard of the gun centerline, it appears to work a bit better than the centerline hanging type, but not as well as the high/low mounts.
The other missing item is a speedloader rig that holds more than 2. That doesn't balance any gun. Needs to hold at least 4 or more. Maybe with a knife or flashlight. I'm real tired of rigs that aren't balanced.
Balance my SSS with speed loader & knife!
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Should I point out that we had to turn the A/C back on today down here in Orlando?
ReplyDeleteNO, Ok I think that may be rubbing it in a bit too much.
Speedy healing to you sir.
My 1st pistol was a gen3 Dick Special. I currently own a gen2 as well as a 2 1/2" S&W 66. I personally think S&W should have never discontinued the 19 & 66 shorties. In the day, all "real" plainclothes guys in my area had to have a 66 2 1/2, and IMHO it would still make a good 1st pistol for beginners.
ReplyDeleteMichael,
ReplyDeleteYour stories about the guns you are carrying reminds me of the song, "To all the Girls I've loved before."
So what about the Ruger LCP? Where does that gun fit in your daily load-out?
How different is the recoil impulse between the .375 LCR shooting non-+P .38s and the 9mm LCR?
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