Thoughts on Handguns?

[Boris]

If I shot everyday at a home range, I would be damn good at hitting things in it. It's for real. He misses plenty, but he's great.

[Kazuya Mishima]

Yeah, I don't think Hickock45 is particularly guilty of video editing or only showing the hits. I've watched enough of his videos to see plenty of misses.

He is self-taught for the most part, and doesn't consider himself a great shooter.

IMHO, the old fucker can shoot pretty good.

[Grandpa's Spells]

He's usually doing one or two long takes. My impression was that he was legitimately doing it, but my experience shooting at that range is almost nil and I wondered how hard that was once you got some practice. The short sights are tough for me once you get past the "put the front site on the target" at close range.

[johno]

Personally, I don't fret about accuracy beyond 15-20 feet.

[Grandpa's Spells]

Get one of these, obviously.

[milosz]

Is that guy a particularly gifted shooter? Hitting the gong at that range, even occasionally, with a subcompact he's shooting for the first or second time seems surprising.

The difference in inherent accuracy with a 3" subcompact barrel and a 4.5-5" barrel is actually quite small and the difference between two brands' 3" barrels of the same caliber also fairly small. He's shot from that position thousands of times with the Glock equivalent of a P320, it wouldn't take much to know how to aim to hit the gong.

[The Venerable Bogatir X]

Yeah, I don't think Hickock45 is particularly guilty of video editing or only showing the hits. I've watched enough of his videos to see plenty of misses.

He is self-taught for the most part, and doesn't consider himself a great shooter.

IMHO, the old fucker can shoot pretty good.

This.

That old fart is a helluva good shot. Dig up the video of him with the .357 Magnum 3" barrel and watch what happens when he puts a paper target to the left of him.

[TerryB]

Is that guy a particularly gifted shooter? Hitting the gong at that range, even occasionally, with a subcompact he's shooting for the first or second time seems surprising.

Hey tard, if you're an old man who goes to all the trouble buying and testing weaponry and putting it on youtube, etc etc, you're probably pretty good at your hobby

Signed,

terryB

[Grandpa's Spells]

Is that guy a particularly gifted shooter? Hitting the gong at that range, even occasionally, with a subcompact he's shooting for the first or second time seems surprising.

Hey tard, if you're an old man who goes to all the trouble buying and testing weaponry and putting it on youtube, etc etc, you're probably pretty good at your hobby

Signed,

terryB

I get the sense it's more of a bell curve, like in so many things.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTGmTrQXrwg[/youtube]

[TerryB]

:snigger

[Herv100]

Anybody shot the LCR in 38? I got my wife a 380 LCP, but that thing has wicked recoil because of the light weight and has jammed at least once every range session.(me shooting, she hasn't shot it yet) I was hoping the LCR has more tolerable recoil because of the slightly heavier weight and nicer grip, and obviously it will be more reliable.

I'm trying to find something cheaper than the Sig p238, which I heard shoots real nice.

[Sua Sponte]

Spend the coin on the p238. Sweet little shooter as long as she's okay with the 1911-like manual of arms. Nothing wrong with the LCR in .38 but most do not shoot long, heavy double action triggers in light handguns well. Trainable but it takes effort and the skill is quickly perishable and .38 spl is not all that light a recoiler in such a gun.

If you are interested in .380 give the Browning 1911-380 a look. Bit larger and not as concealable but ergo's are good and the extra barrel length gives the round and extra 100-150fps in most loadings, a non-trivial improvement for .380. Check luckygunner.com blog for a very nice ballistic gel study. A couple of commercial loadings perform pretty well.

[johno]

Anybody shot the LCR in 38?

Yes. I shot my buddy's LCR, right after shooting my own S&W 642 snubby. The LCR is a great snub nose .38 - the trigger is way better than the one on my S&W.

IMO, have your wife rent & shoot one to see if she likes it. Snubbys are snappy to shoot, compared to similar semi-autos. But, as you said, very reliable (and simple) to shoot. Let her know she isn't going to shoot this thing every day, and it's not a fun-to-shoot target handgun. It's for self-defense business.

Next step (if possible) before you buy: figure out how she's going to carry. Try out a holster system & see if it's practical & comfortable for her.

*****

If the .38 is not her cup of tea, try out other .380 semi autos. The Glock, the Sig, the Taurus all have good reputations. The Sig is probably the highest quality .380, but it's not as simple to operate as the other two are.


EDIT - my recommendation is different from Sua Sponte's because I'm assuming your wife is not a "gun person." With that assumption, I favor a revolver or Glock/Taurus type system.

[Sua Sponte]

Then let me go ahead and add that for some people whatever the drawbacks there may be with small frame revolvers, their near utter reliability with point-and-pull ease of use make them the right choice. In defensive application, 5 yards worst case, most typically less than 3yds, often much less, the length of pull becomes a largely non-issue. My wife loves the p238 but readily admits that the mere idea of having to remember disengage a manual safety under extreme duress is not something she'll bet her life on. At a diminutive 5'0" and ~100lbs, the LCR in .38spl is too much for her liking so she has a LCR in .22lr and a Crimson Trace. Not ideal but surely better than nothing.

While we're on the subject, I am not at all a fan of handguns of the Glock-alike variety for marginally trained users. Even moderately trained users such as law enforcement will have their finger migrate to the trigger under duress and the negligent discharge is soon to follow. The LA County Sheriff's department is reported to have this problem after dropping their double-action first pull Beretta for the S&W M&P.

All that said, it's just my opinion. Johno's advice is sound. Take her out, let her try as much as she can, and let her choose what she's comfortable with. Then an NRA or other professional course or two wouldn't hurt at all. Followed by at least some regular dry fire and a range day a month. You probably know all this but if not, just sayin'.

[Shapecharge]

An average family of say five should be spending a minimum of 20k a year on weapons, ammo, range time, and professional instruction if you really want them to be safe. With the right modifications you can make your personal home into a kill house. Set up your portable bullet trap style walls in the living room while watching the Olympics then during commercials run a room clearing exercise with the kids. Use the family dog in a "hostage rescue" simulation. And I guaran-fuckin'-tee you after you've bought your third 65" flat screen from CostCo because little Timmy keeps putting two into the screen when working on stoppage drills he'll learn how important keeping his eye on that front sight really is. Work on retrieving weapons, and getting quickly to covered positions using silent commands every time the doorbell rings. Consider using cherry bombs you've stockpiled from July 4th as "blast simulators" to get the wife and kids used to these loud sounds so that they can learn to control flinch responses to gunfire.

[Grandpa's Spells]

Why not the SP101 over the LCR if it's in a purse?

[Shapecharge]

If you want the reliability of a wheel gun and she's going to carry it in a purse then there's absolutely no reason not to carry the S&W .500 Magnum.

[Blaidd Drwg]

Why not the SP101 over the LCR if it's in a purse?

The LCR trigger is so vastly superior to the SP101 in stock trim. That LCR in both .357 and .38 it is one of the nicest shooting pocket revolvers I've tried.

[Herv100]

If you want the reliability of a wheel gun and she's going to carry it in a purse then there's absolutely no reason not to carry the S&W .500 Magnum.

I have shot one, and it might be more comfortable to shoot than the LCP

[johno]

.500 Magnum.

Shape is a Texan, this is clearly.

*****

Purse/briefcase/backpack carry...any off-body carry: I think it's too easy to lose control of your firearm or to forget it somewhere.

I think it's better to commit to whatever handgun he/she can carry on-body, rather than to "upgrade" and carry the bigger gun off-body. JMO

[Herv100]

Thanks for the ideas. I'll get her to shoot some and see what she likes. I guess I might have to spring for the p238, as it can be a fun range gun for her but also a small carry gun. I was looking to not have to get two separate guns. I also kind of wanted something similar in size to the LCP, in case I want to pocket carry it from time to time when she's not using it.

[Shapecharge]

So you really like my ideas about turning the house into a gun range? Thanks.

[Grandpa's Spells]

I've tried a few, revolver and semi-auto. I find Glocks a little bulk for my small, fat hands w. short fingers, but 1911s and Berettas generally fit better.

This was my experience as well, switching XD for Beretta. In case it's a hand size thing, I also really liked shooting 9mm Sigs, and Ruger revolvers, and any range with rentals will have both. Consider ammo cost in your decision.

Finding Glocks big was user error, at least on my part. Took a course this weekend and Gen 3 & Gen 4 Glock 17 and 19 are very easy shooting guns.

[Herv100]

Just got a gen 4 G34 m.o.s. The grip is bigger than some guns, but it feels fine even though my hands aren't huge. The gripping technique ive been taught uses the left hand in a way that makes the grip thickness a non issue. A thicker grip might even be better

[tough old man]

My new SR1911 in 9mm