Sam1911
Moderator Emeritus
A few random thoughts:
1) Defensive fighting with a gun isn't for fun and nostalgia. If you ever have to use a gun to save your life, you want something that absolutely works as dead simply as possible, and works lots, and works well. No one trying to fight off a mugger, rapist, or killer (or multiples) ever said, "dang, this gun isn't old-school cool enough and I wish it held fewer rounds." Everything in about the use of force is deadly serious and deserves the very BEST we can do. Not whatever probably might work usually. Guns are universally not magic talismans that always produce the effect we wanted. Choosing any one aspect and "dumbing it down" so the deck is stacked just that much more against you is utter foolishness.
2) Choosing a defensive cartridge and gun must be a clear-headed considered balance between the most power you can handle and the speed/sureness with which you can deploy it. This isn't bullseye shooting and how well you can cut out the circle at 25 yds has almost nothing to do with whether you'll be able to stop the guy who's on top of you or running at you before he kills you. You need the greatest amount of structure-destroying power/penetration you can get and still deploy it at a high rate of fire, accurately, under any and all conditions/positions.
3) Modern guns are evolving, not devolving. Contrary to popular belief, things are vastly better now in the gun world than ever before. Guns of improved power are available, relatively inexpensively, which are lighter, slimmer, easier to maintain, far more likely to be reliable, and ergonomically more tuned to the shooter's ability to deploy and control them. It doesn't take more than a few days' pay to buy a modern sidearm that's optimized for defensive uses in many ways -- with designs educated by all the guns that have come before and excelling the old guns in important, useful ways. It is a very rare situation indeed where someone MUST choose an old iron mouse gun because they can't get a more capable weapon.
4) Practice! After training, practice is the very most important part of prevailing in a lethal encounter. The gun must be an extension of you. That takes lots of time spent building that "relationship" between you and the gun. Ammo, ammo, ammo. Sure, that .32 S&W Long is a neat-o cartridge, but are you REALLY going to buy 10,000 rounds of .32 S&W ammo and make that gun part of you? Is that neat old iron beauty even going to last through that kind of month-in, month-out workout? Are you going to be able to find carry gear and parts for your Orgies .32, and is there anything at all it could possibly do better than a new compact or subcompact Kahr, Glock, Shield, etc.?
So you're a cowboy action shooter and get 5,000 rounds a year through your .36 or .44 cap and ball guns? Well, that's great. Better keep a brace or more loaded up. Most folks who've survived lethal force events don't even recall that they shot 6+ rounds, they go by so fast. But you don't shoot to the point of mastery with your cool old antiques? What possible logic could there be for choosing to reach for that to protect your wife and children's lives? Pride? You want to be in the papers for pulling off a cool stunt, like defending the homestead with an old C&B revolver?
Any gun will do, if YOU are up to it. But look at your neat antiques and ask yourself if you really WILL put in the time and the ammo with that gun in realistic practice.
...
Lots of shooting can be GREAT fun. Fun and coolness can be the point of so much trigger time. That's wonderful! But when you're talking about taking the life of a person to prevent him from taking your life, or that of your loved ones, don't let (ahem) "craps & giggles" be the deciding factor in any choice you make.
1) Defensive fighting with a gun isn't for fun and nostalgia. If you ever have to use a gun to save your life, you want something that absolutely works as dead simply as possible, and works lots, and works well. No one trying to fight off a mugger, rapist, or killer (or multiples) ever said, "dang, this gun isn't old-school cool enough and I wish it held fewer rounds." Everything in about the use of force is deadly serious and deserves the very BEST we can do. Not whatever probably might work usually. Guns are universally not magic talismans that always produce the effect we wanted. Choosing any one aspect and "dumbing it down" so the deck is stacked just that much more against you is utter foolishness.
2) Choosing a defensive cartridge and gun must be a clear-headed considered balance between the most power you can handle and the speed/sureness with which you can deploy it. This isn't bullseye shooting and how well you can cut out the circle at 25 yds has almost nothing to do with whether you'll be able to stop the guy who's on top of you or running at you before he kills you. You need the greatest amount of structure-destroying power/penetration you can get and still deploy it at a high rate of fire, accurately, under any and all conditions/positions.
3) Modern guns are evolving, not devolving. Contrary to popular belief, things are vastly better now in the gun world than ever before. Guns of improved power are available, relatively inexpensively, which are lighter, slimmer, easier to maintain, far more likely to be reliable, and ergonomically more tuned to the shooter's ability to deploy and control them. It doesn't take more than a few days' pay to buy a modern sidearm that's optimized for defensive uses in many ways -- with designs educated by all the guns that have come before and excelling the old guns in important, useful ways. It is a very rare situation indeed where someone MUST choose an old iron mouse gun because they can't get a more capable weapon.
4) Practice! After training, practice is the very most important part of prevailing in a lethal encounter. The gun must be an extension of you. That takes lots of time spent building that "relationship" between you and the gun. Ammo, ammo, ammo. Sure, that .32 S&W Long is a neat-o cartridge, but are you REALLY going to buy 10,000 rounds of .32 S&W ammo and make that gun part of you? Is that neat old iron beauty even going to last through that kind of month-in, month-out workout? Are you going to be able to find carry gear and parts for your Orgies .32, and is there anything at all it could possibly do better than a new compact or subcompact Kahr, Glock, Shield, etc.?
So you're a cowboy action shooter and get 5,000 rounds a year through your .36 or .44 cap and ball guns? Well, that's great. Better keep a brace or more loaded up. Most folks who've survived lethal force events don't even recall that they shot 6+ rounds, they go by so fast. But you don't shoot to the point of mastery with your cool old antiques? What possible logic could there be for choosing to reach for that to protect your wife and children's lives? Pride? You want to be in the papers for pulling off a cool stunt, like defending the homestead with an old C&B revolver?
Any gun will do, if YOU are up to it. But look at your neat antiques and ask yourself if you really WILL put in the time and the ammo with that gun in realistic practice.
...
Lots of shooting can be GREAT fun. Fun and coolness can be the point of so much trigger time. That's wonderful! But when you're talking about taking the life of a person to prevent him from taking your life, or that of your loved ones, don't let (ahem) "craps & giggles" be the deciding factor in any choice you make.
