MacTech
Member
First off, a disclaimer, this thread is more of a thinking exercise, a thought experiment, I hope I never have to see the events theorized here become a reality....
Secondly, my primary home defense weapon is a shotgun, a 12-gauge pump, *not* for that cool "Cha-Chunk" noise, no, but because it's better than a handgun at stopping the threat quickly and effectively
Anyway....
I have a couple semiautos, as well as a couple revolvers, one .22 rimfire, and one centerfire of each, (Ruger Mark II Semiauto, H&R 949 9 shot revolver, Kimber Custom II .45ACP 1911, Ruger New Blackhawk Convertible with the .45ACP cylinder fitted), recently, the Mark II has been acting up, I've been fighting a light-strike issue, I pull the trigger, nothing happens, so I have to wait a few seconds to insure it's not a hang-fire, then I have to work the bolt to eject the light-struck cartridge and chamber the next one, simply put, I can't rely on the Mark II to go *bang* every time at the moment
This got me thinking, about a fundamental fact of semiautos, if I'm in a life-or-death situation, and I need to count on my weapon to go *bang* when I pull the trigger, and I get a *click* instead, well, "Houston, we may have a problem!"....
two weekends ago, I got so frustrated with my Mark II's tempermental operation at the range (3-4 light strikes per mag), that I unloaded the remaining mags, and ran the ammo through my H&R 949 revolver, the 949 performed flawlessly, in single or double action (I spent most of my time in single-action though, that's just the way I grew up shooting revolvers, I always shot SA, even on DA revolvers, more accurate), if I did encounter a dud round (one of the rounds put through the 949 was a dud), all I had to do was pull the trigger again to bring up the next cartridge (I disassembled the dud, it had no primer compound in the base of the cartridge), the stoppage was absolutely minimal, I didn't have to "Tap-Rack-Bang" it...
That experience got me thinking, if I was limited to just my .22 handguns for defensive use, there's no way I could trust my Mark II at the moment, a light primer strike or a dud round could be somewhat problematic, having to eject the bad round and chamber a new one, and what if the Mark II took this point to become tempermental, two, three, four, or even more light strikes in a row, that could end badly
Right now, I'm doing some troubleshooting on the Mark II, as my confidence in it's reliability is currently nonexistent, but the fact remains, I now realize that a stoppage (light-strike, dud round, stovepiping, FTE) in any semiauto, even my Kimber Custom II, takes more time to clear than a revolver, the revolver's stoppage-clearing drill for a light strike or a dud is simpler, and more instinctive, "pull trigger again" (or in the case of a SA, "cock hammer and pull trigger again)
So, for the moment, and maybe longer, my Ruger New Model Blackhawk with 7.5" barrel has become my "nightstand gun", it's stoked with 230Gr Speer Gold Dot ammo, and will be accompanied by either my SureFire G3 or NovaTac 120P flashlight for target identification....
So far, the Blackhawk has been utterly reliable, it also has a far more pleasant and controllable recoil, even when shot one handed, and it's quite a bit quieter than the Kimber, thanks to that extra 2.5" of barrel, besides, I'd imagine a home invader would be a lot more intimidated being on the wrong end of that 7.5" barrel, looking down the cavernous muzzle of the Blackhawk, and seeing the other chambers in the cylinder loaded with Gold Dot hollowpoints
Personally, I find the simplicity and reliability of the revolver a *huge* theoretical advantage over the quick-reload ability and slightly higher mag capacity of my 1911, if I'm ever facing a theoretical home invader, and I have to defend myself, i'm sure one well placed (and theoretical to boot) 230 grain bullet will quite effectively theoretically stop the theoretical home invader, theoretically.....
then again, this is nothing more than a theory after all....
Secondly, my primary home defense weapon is a shotgun, a 12-gauge pump, *not* for that cool "Cha-Chunk" noise, no, but because it's better than a handgun at stopping the threat quickly and effectively
Anyway....
I have a couple semiautos, as well as a couple revolvers, one .22 rimfire, and one centerfire of each, (Ruger Mark II Semiauto, H&R 949 9 shot revolver, Kimber Custom II .45ACP 1911, Ruger New Blackhawk Convertible with the .45ACP cylinder fitted), recently, the Mark II has been acting up, I've been fighting a light-strike issue, I pull the trigger, nothing happens, so I have to wait a few seconds to insure it's not a hang-fire, then I have to work the bolt to eject the light-struck cartridge and chamber the next one, simply put, I can't rely on the Mark II to go *bang* every time at the moment
This got me thinking, about a fundamental fact of semiautos, if I'm in a life-or-death situation, and I need to count on my weapon to go *bang* when I pull the trigger, and I get a *click* instead, well, "Houston, we may have a problem!"....
two weekends ago, I got so frustrated with my Mark II's tempermental operation at the range (3-4 light strikes per mag), that I unloaded the remaining mags, and ran the ammo through my H&R 949 revolver, the 949 performed flawlessly, in single or double action (I spent most of my time in single-action though, that's just the way I grew up shooting revolvers, I always shot SA, even on DA revolvers, more accurate), if I did encounter a dud round (one of the rounds put through the 949 was a dud), all I had to do was pull the trigger again to bring up the next cartridge (I disassembled the dud, it had no primer compound in the base of the cartridge), the stoppage was absolutely minimal, I didn't have to "Tap-Rack-Bang" it...
That experience got me thinking, if I was limited to just my .22 handguns for defensive use, there's no way I could trust my Mark II at the moment, a light primer strike or a dud round could be somewhat problematic, having to eject the bad round and chamber a new one, and what if the Mark II took this point to become tempermental, two, three, four, or even more light strikes in a row, that could end badly
Right now, I'm doing some troubleshooting on the Mark II, as my confidence in it's reliability is currently nonexistent, but the fact remains, I now realize that a stoppage (light-strike, dud round, stovepiping, FTE) in any semiauto, even my Kimber Custom II, takes more time to clear than a revolver, the revolver's stoppage-clearing drill for a light strike or a dud is simpler, and more instinctive, "pull trigger again" (or in the case of a SA, "cock hammer and pull trigger again)
So, for the moment, and maybe longer, my Ruger New Model Blackhawk with 7.5" barrel has become my "nightstand gun", it's stoked with 230Gr Speer Gold Dot ammo, and will be accompanied by either my SureFire G3 or NovaTac 120P flashlight for target identification....
So far, the Blackhawk has been utterly reliable, it also has a far more pleasant and controllable recoil, even when shot one handed, and it's quite a bit quieter than the Kimber, thanks to that extra 2.5" of barrel, besides, I'd imagine a home invader would be a lot more intimidated being on the wrong end of that 7.5" barrel, looking down the cavernous muzzle of the Blackhawk, and seeing the other chambers in the cylinder loaded with Gold Dot hollowpoints
Personally, I find the simplicity and reliability of the revolver a *huge* theoretical advantage over the quick-reload ability and slightly higher mag capacity of my 1911, if I'm ever facing a theoretical home invader, and I have to defend myself, i'm sure one well placed (and theoretical to boot) 230 grain bullet will quite effectively theoretically stop the theoretical home invader, theoretically.....
then again, this is nothing more than a theory after all....
(the 870 is in the headboard compartment)
