If you can shoot a single-action wheelgun effectively, and have one in a magnum caliber, they make a bit of sense.
Good long range accuracy and good power, yet just a wee bit more "trail friendly", marking you as "probably not a maniac"
. A DA wheelgun won't be much different in any aspect.
Let's get real guys: some are going to panic if they see an AR15 over the shoulder. Hell, some COPS will. And...I would argue, some smugglers will.
That this is even an issue makes me sad. Time was, all we needed to worry about was wild animals.Why, I remember------------------------------
I assume you're joking
. The US/Mex border has been crazy for as long as there's BEEN a border down there
.
That said, living in Tucson now I pay attention to the crime reports and so far, the smugglers of all sorts are trying to avoid high bystander counts. Mostly.
Which brings us back to the AR15.
My take is, let's assume a scenario for a sec. You crest a ridge and spot the bales of pot actually being cut out of the burlap sacks and loaded into trucks. You're...well, call it 300 yards out and uphill (this is actually a pretty likely combination in that country). They spot you. They'll have guns, count on it...but likely not scoped bolt guns and likely not the skills to reach out to 300yds without at least walking rounds in. UNLESS they're Federales, but even then 300yd fire should be...rough at best.
If you don't have a rifle and just walk away while keeping them in sight, odds are you'll be fine.
If they see an AR15, I think the odds go UP that they'll want to chase you, assuming you to be border patrol or some sort of spotter, ranger, whatever.
If what you have is, say, a 357 Blackhawk, you can shoot from prone and at least give 'em something to think about at that range. If it closes to about 100 yards, you're in damn good shape. Precision fire from a 357 at that range means only about 2" to 4" tops bullet drop and likely 8" or less groups, which means somebody charging in on foot is in danger. As is a radiator or tire if they're on wheels.
If there's enough of 'em, eventually they'll flank you and you're screwed unless you can find some good broken ground and you're one hell of a shot. The good news is, that'll take time and they won't want to spend that time. Plus the sound of a running gunfight is going to carry.
WORST case is walking up on something going on at close range. That's when a high-cap slidegun comes into it's own, or better yet an AR. But now we're back to situational awareness. At longer range I'd rather have the wheelgun and at least in terms of odds, we have some control over the range of engagement in that kind of country.
