California Says One Gun a Month, So...

Brought the P232 .380 home today. Here it is with some of its similar siblings. (top: Sig P232, from left: Sig P238, Ruger LC9, S&W Shield, Glock 27)

The P238 is much smaller for the same ballistic load (6 rounds of .380). The LC9 and the Shield are more powerful (9mm), yet lighter and a smidge smaller. The Glock 27 is not much bigger in profile (though it is considerably wider) and carries 9 rounds of much more powerful .40.

The P232 is essentially a clone of the Walther PPK, so it's reflective of a design from the 1930s. The other guns have newer designs and/or more modern materials. The P232 is a big, heavy gun for what it is.
But it's beautiful and that's what matters.

The only ppk/clone in my arsenal at the moment is my Makarov. Not much of a looker but really fun to shoot.

I've been carrying a Sig M11-A1 for the last few months and I've really been enjoying it.

The Sigs all feel like quality.

Given the price, they should.

You're not lyin'. I've been a Sig guy for nearly three decades. When I first started, the PD was making the change from .357/.38 revolvers to 9mm Semi-autos. Back then, they didn't issue anything and you had to buy your sidearm. We were provided with a list of five approved sidearms and I chose the M9/92FS. It was a fine quality weapon, but I couldn't shoot the thing at all. Go ahead and yuck it up, but it was because the thing was just to big for my hands. I had to have one grip for operating the safety and then I'd have to switch to another grip to cycle the weapon. Obviously, that was far from optimal. So, I went out and found a factory nickle-plated P226 and the rest is history.

The only thing close to a stinker I've ever gotten was the very first production run of a P220 with the 1913 rail. But, that's only because they didn't make a lot of them because the shape of the front of the frame and slide was different, and awkward. This made finding leather, even duty leather, problematic at best.

In my mind, unless you're going to spend major money on a semi-custom (Les Baer, Nighthawk, etc.) or full-custom 1911, Sigs are the most accurate handguns "out of the box" that there are. Sometimes, just sometimes, you get what you pay for.

I like my p250, once you learn how you're supposed to fire a double action only pistol, it shoots great.

I prefer to carry my Grandad's old Giles 1911, but currently, it's down because the front sight broke off (that's the 2nd one in a few thousand rounds...I'm not sure what's going on there), so for now it's my p-229. I'm not complaining, but I shoot the Giles gun better.

Is there anything sillier than a revolver that shoots an automatic pistol cartridge?

















Sigh.

Well, at least it's a very common, popular automatic pistol caliber.


It's 10mm.

As long as it shoots properly, so what?

ah, moon clips. So much fun.

Took some friends shooting yesterday. Here's one shooting the .500 Magnum loaded up with that Double Tap ammo I bought a while back. 400 grains, 1800 feet/second. Stout!



The video cuts too soon. He let out a great Oh-ho-ho laugh immediately after.

Achievement unlocked: Smacked yourself in the face with a magnum handgun.

One surely could with that. But he didn't come close to actually whacking himself.

Gun of the Month returns with a vengeance after my bank balance went "down under" in September and October.

Picked up the 10mm revolver today...



And one I didn't expect goes in the queue for next month...Beretta 92 INOX Brigadier!



I had in mind either a Glock 21SF, an S&W 19 Classic, or an S&W 329PD. But the shop had this, so I went with it instead. I love 92s/M9s, so I may make a Frankengun with my M9A1 (railed) lower and the INOX upper.

Picked up the Inox Brigadier today, and put this one in the queue for next month:



Glock 35: longslide .40 with adjustable sights. It can use the Glock 22 magazines I got during Freedom Week.

If this thing proves reliable, it's going to become my new home defense gun, replacing the Smith & Wesson M&P45.

Plenty of firepower (15 rounds) and the extra half-inch of barrel will give already potent .40 S&W rounds a little extra punch.

I think I'm going to add a light to it.

Is the 10mm a popular round? I remember quite a few years ago when the 10mm and the 40 cal were just coming out but I'm wondering if they ever caught on in a big way.

10mm has always been a niche round, but it's steadily gaining in popularity, as evidenced by more guns in that caliber being introduced. It's a good round, but kinda overpowered for most uses. Weirdly, it seems to be growing popular for defense against four-legged threats.

.40S&W had great early success, owing to its its adoption by the FBI, and, subsequently many other law enforcement agencies. I bought a S&W 4006 in that caliber back in the 90s because it was what the CHP were using. But it seems to have peaked as more agencies are going back to the 9mm which, with modern ammunition, pretty much eliminates the benefits of the .40.

I'm seeing more 10mm guns in the shop and fewer .40s. .357 Sig and .45 GAP? They seem almost extinct, at least here in California.

.40 and 10mm's popularity waxes and wains. .40 anything last year wasn't selling at all. I almost picked up one of those 35s with the red dot ready slide last year new for $375, but the gun shop also had a Glock 31.

10mm was never popular, but it seems to be gaining ground. Ruger and S&W have new offerings in the caliber. .40 definitely seems to be in decline (at least where I've been).

aaaaand.....as of one hour ago I'm "baby sitting" a gun collection for a while. Our friend/neighbor has a shit bag cousin living with her (his wife kicked him to the curb) and he's an alcoholic. While he's getting a psych evaluation at the local VA she is taking the VA counselor's advice to "get his guns out of the house" while he is on overnight mental observation. I totally support removing guns from the hands of the unstable because he could be a threat to the whole neighborhood. So they are now unloaded and tucked away safe. One shotgun, two pistols, and three rifles. Amazingly enough one of the pistols is the exact make & model my son bought a couple of years ago - a Smith & Wesson SD9 (see pic). Great for what they are designed for and they always have good deals on them at Academy Sports and other chain stores. The other pistol is made in Egypt - whatever! I'm not a big gun fan so it might be a quality weapon - I have no idea.

It's the same here, and I've heard from others that the 40 just doesn't have much appeal, at least at the moment. It may be like you said that modern 9mm has made it redundant. Not much more oomph over a 9, especially considering the growing popularity of the 10mm. Of the handguns I own, the one I shoot the least is my .40 XDm. Not that it's a bad gun, I just have a fantastic CZ-75 and a 92fs that I've been tinkering with. My Glock 31 is my carry gun so it goes with me on my monthly range trip and makes for a fine cool down after I'm done with my rifles.

.357 Sig seems like a great round: a hotter 9mm, and a bottle-necked case for reliable feeding. The industry support is sadly just not there. And .357 Sig is doubly hobbled here in California as even if any new guns are introduced, they won't be legal to sell here.

I bought a Sig P229 .40 a few months back, and I got a .357 Sig barrel for it, because I wanted my .357 Sig to be, well, a Sig. Turns out the California version of the P229 has a grotesque loaded chamber indicator that requires a groove in the chamber that my barrel does not have.

Not sure how to fix that. Mod the barrel (risky, expensive) or delete the LCI, leaving a gaping hole on top of the gun. Maybe just forget the .357 Sig.

Might still consider a conversion barrel for one of my .40 Glocks...

Unless you know exactly what you're doing, never cut into a barrel. Gun go boom. There isn't a .357 sig barrel with the LCI cut?

Yeah, that's what I meant by risk.

Didn't find one when I looked before.

Oh that sucks, at least you can find a glock barrel.

Lone Wolf makes a .357 Sig conversion barrel for the Glock 35. That should make for some excellent muzzle velocities.

Very nice, let me know if the longer barrel helps cut down the fireballs.

So, I took the 610 to the range yesterday, and it was a bit of a trainwreck.

I fired 6 rounds of Armscor 10mm--didn't seem like particularly hot stuff--and all six cases got stuck in the chambers. Stuck so bad, I had to find a screwdriver and tap them out.

I fired a few cylinders of .40 S&W through it, and those functioned perfectly. .40 S&W out of a stainless steel N-frame is very, very light shooting.

And, of course, I managed to bend up the first moon clip a little bit.

Going to have to try it again with some different 10mm ammo to see if it was the gun or the ammo. I've had problems with Armscor before--the primers in their .357 Magnum loads are so hard that they don't fire reliably in a couple of my guns.

Sounds like armscor cases expand a bit.

Yeah, I'm hoping that's the problem.