I just had a scary thought...

[lanternlad1]

I was looking at pictures of the 2009 Shot Show and noticed the glut of .380 pistols being produced. P238 from Sig Sauer, the P380 from Kahr, Kel-Tec P3AT clones by both Ruger (LCP) and Taurus (738), the Micro Desert Eagle from Magnum Research, and the PK380 from Walther and a few others have all introduced small, concealable .380s lately. And it occurred to me...

Could the Gov restrict certain handgun calibers from the general populace?

I know its done in other countries. In some South American countries you can only purchase handguns up to .380acp. This is done so that the people will have something to protect themselves from criminals with, but won't pose a threat to the the police/army. Is our Gov capable of doing the same? It would make sense to a lot of the elitist politicians out there - give the people what they are legally required by the constitution to have, but not at a level that threatens the ruling classes.

Do the gun manufacturers know something we don't? Or are they just trying to jump on the CCW bandwagon? I know I'm being paranoid, but what do you think?

 

[Hoppy590]

AHAHAHA

to try to rationally predict what an irrational body may do is... well irrational.

the .gov is beyond thought and logic. dont try to introduce such concepts

 

[seale]

The gun makers are just jumping on the ccw bandwagon. .380 isn't going anywhere. The powers that be TRIED to ban the 5.7 X 28 cartridge a few years ago but they couldn't pull it off.

Banning calibers is NOT a strategy that will work in America. It has worked though in the parts of the world that don't have the stones to declare 100% independence from the queen (UK/Aus/Canada), probably because you need a more subservient populace before you can go arbitrarily cherrypicking calibers to ban (mexico bans calibers but it's because they don't really have government down there). They had to use a tad more effort to convince the American public that a folding stock was "evil."

 

[Treo]

I think it comes down to which is true, are we being governed by a bunch of well meaning idiots who truly believe that gun control laws will save lives? Or are we being governed by a bunch of globalists who would like nothing better than to create a socialist utopia (under the auspices of the U.N.) right here in America. A bunch of people who know damn good and well that gun control laws affect criminals not one whit, but serve to dis-arm the very people who would resist their plans.

If the latter is true I promise they will push an AWB as hard as they possibly can and get rid of any semiauto they can stretch the definition over,while doing every thing in their power to marginalize & discredit gun owners.

Is any of this starting to sound familiar?

 

[WardenWolf]

Note: "dearth" means "lack". I believe the term you mean is, "glut", meaning "abundance."

Honestly, I am kind of surprised that they never passed laws restricting civilian use of military calibers, preventing them from ever being accessible to the public. It would have been easy enough to justify under counterintelligence laws: if the enemy can't obtain large quantities of unfired examples of a cartridge, they would have a much harder time determining your troops' capabilities.

There is, however, a tradeoff: this would severely restrict production capacity in time of war. Since only a few military suppliers would be set up to produce the round in any quantity, you would not be able to rapidly kick all arms plants into gear producing the round for the military.

 

[Kind of Blued]

Could it happen? Yeah. How? The same way every other infringement has been passed since the early 20th century.

There's been no talk of it, even on here really, and there's no reason the gun companies would "know something we don't know". They're just reacting to the market.

"Shall issue" has made concealed carry permits incredibly popular. Not all of those people are outright gunnys who take pride in packing a 1911 24/7. A lot of them weren't even too pumped to start carrying, but with a gun as small as a P3AT or the like, they think "Why not?".

 

[WardenWolf]

The compact .380's put the "concealed" in "concealed carry". That's really what it boils down to: they provide a gun compact enough to properly conceal in a wide variety of places. Let's face it: a full-size .45 worn under the coat may legally be "concealed", but that doesn't mean the outline isn't visible when you're in certain positions, or that it's comfortable.

 

[moooose102]

certainly it is possible, the way they do it is by tacking a anti-weapons bill to a true good for the country bill that will certainly pass at the last minute. the idea is hopefully, not enough representatives or senators will realize that it has been done, and when the bill passes, so does the weapons ban. isnt that nice? i really hate the way our government works. the whole system NEEDS to be restructured!

 

[Izaak Walton]

Could the Gov restrict certain handgun calibers from the general populace?

Yes, Glock 25 (.380) can’t be had in the US.

 

[bikerdoc]

The only thing elected officials care about is votes. They use the the rule of thumb for every call or letter the get they figure ten more are like thinking.
Therefore call and write and express your opinion. Me i belong to several senior and community groups, a couple as an officer, Im not shy to tell them how many votes I can influence in their district. They understand that kind of talk because they dont want to leave office and have to get a real job!

 

[W L Johnson]

"Yes, Glock 25 (.380) can’t be had in the US."

Is there a reason for this? The Bersa, Taurus, Sig, and CZ .380's are imported in without a problem that I am aware of. Are the Beretta .380's US or Italian made?

 

[Duke of Doubt]

Too puny.

 

[W L Johnson]

"Too puny."

I see said the bind man. Guess I never notice after all these years that there are no foreign made mouse guns being sold in the US. I heard there was some law about that but what is it based on? Is it weight or outer dimensions or both?

 

[TexasRifleman]

I know I'm being paranoid, but what do you think?

You're being paranoid.

CCW permits are being issued in greater numbers than ever, gun makers want in on the action.

No need to panic yet.

 

[Duke of Doubt]

Outer dimensions. That's why FEG PMK380s had those funky thumbrest left grips. I have to admit, they were great for hooking into the rear waistband.

 

[hso]

It is trying to provide products to the growing CCW community.

 

[dogtown tom]

Izaak Walton:

Could the Gov restrict certain handgun calibers from the general populace?

Yes, Glock 25 (.380) can’t be had in the US.

True, but not because of caliber.

To qualify for import a pistol must score 75 points based on the following system:

Characteristic Points:
Length: for each 1/4" over 6" 1
Forged steel frame 15
Forged HTS alloy frame 20
Unloaded weight w/mag (per oz.) 1
.22 short and .25 auto 0
.22 LR and 7.65mm to .380 auto 3
9mm parabellum and over 10
Locked breech mechanism 5
Loaded chamber indicator 5
Grip safety 3
Magazine safety 5
Firing pin block or lock 10
External hammer 2
Double action 10
Drift adjustable target sight 5
Click adjustable target sight 10
Target grips 5
Target trigger 2

 

[Mello]

The recent Supreme Court case of DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ET AL. v. HELLER held:

"The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a
firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for
traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home."

The decision went on to cite: " United States v. Miller, 307 U. S. 174, does not
limit the right to keep and bear arms to militia purposes, but rather
limits the type of weapon to which the right applies to those used by
the militia, i.e., those in common use for lawful purposes."

So, this decision both protects the right of the people as an individual right and states that the right to those types of weapons used by militia. That type of weapon used by a militia could be argued to be military weapons used by our armed forces now.

 

[expvideo]

Starting these "what if" threads only gives the antis that read this board ideas.

 

[LGswift]

Could the Gov restrict certain handgun calibers from the general populace?

In Canada, .25 and .32 caliber pistols are prohibited. I believe the reason is to prevent the Jennings, Raven type firearms from being imported into the country, although these same pistols are legal in .22 and .380.

Remember to keep your firearm ownership a right and not a priviledge as it is in other countries.

 

[ServiceSoon]

Appears to be good planning on part of the firearm industry. I plan on picking up a 380 auto soon. How did they know?

 

[VTKFJoe]

I'm hoping that this glut of .380s will mean an increase in .380 production and maybe a drop in the price of said ammo.

They are all making them because Keltec sold so many p3ats. They see a demand.

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

The real question you are asking is this one:

Do the gun manufacturers know something we don't?

And I think the answer is NO; they have no more clue about our crazy congress critters than we do. But I see why we could become suspicious with all the .380 offerings. I just think that it's mighty difficult to make a really small concealable 9mm. Kahr and Rohrbaugh have done it, but it's not easy and involves opening yourself up to more liability if you're not carefully building a gun that will contain the pressures of 9mm over time, and some companies don't want to take that risk, or spend the R&D money necessary to minimize that risk. It's quite easy (relative to a 9x19) to make a very small gun in this caliber that won't injure people (the new Walther for example), and fairly easy to make a tiny gun in this caliber (Ruger, KelTec, Kahr).

Also, straight blowbacks are mechanically simpler and so (I would presume) cheaper to make, thus resulting in higher profit margins. Of course one of the new .380s is a locked breech, however.

I suspect that the caliber is also simply seeing a bit of a resurgence (which can be helped along with marketing). The demand may be coming in part from buyers who want something of a bit softer shooter, such as women (and men who have owned a PM9 or PM40 ).

 

[Kind of Blued]

True, but not because of caliber.

As you displayed with the scoring system that you posted immediately following, it is indeed largely due to the caliber.

The same gun, holding the same number of cartridges, but chambered for the MORE POWERFUL 9mm Luger could be legally imported.

It makes no sense whatsoever, but what else is new? It's gun control.

 

[lanternlad1]

Note: "dearth" means "lack". I believe the term you mean is, "glut", meaning "abundance."

You are correct, sir. My vocabulary is not the best at 2am. Its fixed.


"Starting these "what if" threads only gives the antis that read this board ideas."

I think that you are underestimating the Antis. I never recalled reading about a "What If" thread regarding microstamping or bullet serialization before those things came to light.

"What If" threads also alarm gunnies to think in directions they might otherwise not have, and to be on the lookout for such possible actions, IMO.