does anyone own a saturday night Special ?

I'll admit to owning:
_ Jennings J22 to carry with a magazine of CCI Stingers when woods walking. I'll admit to buying that one.
_ Phoenix Arms .25 Raven because it was a gift. I actually used it to shoot a sapling in two so I could slide my car down an ice-covered road without losing my rear view mirror.

I also had temporary custody of a .22 short Roehm RG 10 and a .32 S&W Clerke first.

As for 2" barrel revolvers: For my personal protection I bought a .38 snub, and later bought one for my estranged wife because her office was in a bad neighborhood. Imported J frame clones, so I guess those qualified as SNS.

Oh yeah. At the Kingsport Press, I helped in production of Robert Sherrill's book "The Saturday Night Special", 1975. Sherrill, long time gun control advocate who began to doubt some of the arguments in favor of gun control.

Not trying to be "that guy", but my understanding is that the term Saturday night special was a term that originated with the anti-gun left, and that it has some racist connotations. I read that years ago in a gun magazine, which of course doesn't make it true. Anyone else heard this?

I'm not aware of racist connotations but I do remember the term being coined by gun control control advocates in support of the Gun Control Act of 1968. That prohibited importing so-called "cheap guns" used to commit crimes.

I admit one of my first guns was a used RG-14.22 that would spit lead back in my face nearly every time I pulled the trigger. I quickly traded it for a new-in-box Jennings J22 .25. The Jennings would occasionally jam and I quickly realized you get what you pay for. I saved my money and traded the J22 on a brand new Smith 39-2 which I still own.

I bought a new, nickel-plated Jennings J22 at a gun show in 1987, for $55, I think. It was actually a pretty good shooter, and reliable with CCI MiniMags, which was pretty much all I could get at the local K-Mart back then. I was sworn in on the job only a couple of months later, and dropped it in a pocket now and then, both on and off duty (though my primary off-duty the first few years was a .38 snub.)

I still have it, but haven't shot it in years. I expect it would do just as well now as it did then.

I also have a Phoenix HP22A, purchased new in 2009, long after the SNS term faded from the common use it once had. Great shooter, but too clunky and too burdened with safety features to be anything but a plinker or trail gun, to me at least.

No such thing.

saiga308 said:

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i got one
Tanfoglio GT 27 25 ACP
it has a mighty powerfull round and packs a mighty power punch bought it in 1988 for 50$ as a backup being a security officer in the las vegas casinos way back then and had it stuff it in a ankle hoister.

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I got the same,in chrome. My mom was nice enough to kick in for Fathers Day 1977 or so. The gun always fires but a bunch of metal got torn up on the slide,at the recoil spring which I dremeled back into shape.

Heavens to Betsy, no. Why would anyone want one of those awful things...

...or an evil "Assault Rifle" (hey, that's what AR stands for, right?)

...or a sniper rifle with a telescopic sight

...or an assassin's weapon with a "silencer".

...or a "machine gun" made using a bump stock

...or, or, or

The ban on importation of inexpensive handguns was for one purpose only. To disarm those who could not afford more expensive self-defense options. As a result, they needed to be vilified in order for this action to be palatable to the public. Just like any and all attempts by freedom hating liberals to vilify any weapon. They are attempts to gut the Second Amendment and turn citizens into compliant subjects.

Phoenix hp22 is a good gun for what it is. I have worn 3 out because they are just so much fun.

And my grandma carried an RG 32swl snub. I bought it from her before she passed. Way overpaid because it was hers and the money was going toward everybody having a small Christmas gift. She would do without her meds just to buy everybody a $5 gift. It’s not a bad little gun though, just not very pretty.

Jennings J-22 nickel, reliable with most .22 ammo. It has to be carried in condition 3; unloaded chamber since it won't pass the drop test. Otherwise an OK firearm. A good tacklebox gun.

FL above nails it, it's BS, there's no such thing so NO I do not have anything like that.

I'm not going to agree with any BS sayings the anti gun folks dream up!

DM

What do you consider a "Saturday Night Special"? The train that leaves at mid-night on Saturday? Or a zip-gun.

I carry a FIE Titan .25 ACP (when not carrying a Kimber .45 ACP) as a boot gun. or in my pocket. Makes a good key chain fob. Loaded with Fiocchi 35 grain XTP/HP it beats the hell out of a sharp stick.

IMO, it's more of a concept, than a physical object. In essence, it could be a Kimber K6s to
some, or a Jennings 22 to others.

Yes. an RG in .22. Taken off a subject in 1987 who tried to use it against me, and awarded to me by the court when convicted. They did that sometimes back then. One chamber only goes off about half the time because it had been dry fired and made a dimple in the cylinder under the cartridge. That's why I'm still around.

But I must say, I would like to see one of the gun mfg's make a DA .22 small like this. It really is handy in a tackle box or slip in a pocket. S&W used to make small frame .22 and .32's Ladysmiths years ago that were small like this.

I got a used Kel-Tec P32 for around $120.

I got an NEF (H&R) five shot 32 magnum snub for the same.

They both go bang every time.

Rossi Princess 7-shot .22. The build quality seemed pretty good at first, but after about 50 rounds the Zamak top strap was flame-cut over halfway through!

If they had just used steel it would have been a real winner of a pocket pistol.....

Saddlebag Preacher said:

Yes. an RG in .22. Taken off a subject in 1987 who tried to use it against me, and awarded to me by the court when convicted. They did that sometimes back then. One chamber only goes off about half the time because it had been dry fired and made a dimple in the cylinder under the cartridge. That's why I'm still around.

But I must say, I would like to see one of the gun mfg's make a DA .22 small like this. It really is handy in a tackle box or slip in a pocket. S&W used to make small frame .22 and .32's Ladysmiths years ago that were small like this.View attachment 775837

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I have an RG 22 I bought many years ago when I was living in my car. I never shot it much and haven't shot it in years, but I still keep it around because it keeps me humble.

NIGHTLORD40K said:

View attachment 775856 Rossi Princess 7-shot .22. The build quality seemed pretty good at first, but after about 50 rounds the Zamak top strap was flame-cut over halfway through!

If they had just used steel it would have been a real winner of a pocket pistol.....

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Just use a file to square up the flamecut area, and put a steel insert in. That's what they did with the high(er) quality Zamak guns. I have had a couple which were built that way...but they were centerfire guns.

rodgers330 said:

I'm not aware of racist connotations but I do remember the term being coined by gun control control advocates in support of the Gun Control Act of 1968. That prohibited importing so-called "cheap guns" used to commit crimes. .

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The term Saturday Night Special is totally racist and considerably predates the antigun movement's adoption.
I guess we are too High Road for me to spell out the complete phrase.
In an era of low paying, six day a week jobs, Saturday nights got very lively in the ghetto.
An old gentleman of color told my Dad "Boss, if you could be black just one Saturday night, you would never want to be white again."

A lot of fun was had but there were also disputes ending in cutting and shooting.
Bad, bad Leroy Brown with a .32 gun in his pocket for fun and a razor in his shoe was definitely out there.