California Says One Gun a Month, So...

Just got back from the range with the DE. Not my first time shooting one, but man does that brake ever make a difference in felt recoil. I put 50 rounds of armscor 300gr XTP through it pretty much straight out of the box without any issues or malfunctions. Accuracy on it is great.



That's my first grouping with it at 7 yards, and outside of the one flier i got them all to touch the 3 inch circle.


I backed the target off to 10 yards and this is the grouping I got. I'm seriously impressed with the accuracy of my DE.

Pics don't show!

Huh, I'm seeing them.

Little brother got of jail today, so here he is with big brother.

so very tiny.

If I had a nickel...



Actually, it's pretty huge by modern standards. I think my SIG P238 is smaller, definitely thinner, and is a .380. But the Beretta is still a cool little gun.

.380s have gotten so small, that there's little benefit to the .32 ACP, and I think it's probably going to die out. Don't know about other states, but here in California, there are only a couple other .32 auto pistols on the market.

The only .380 I've shot was my father's S&W 380EZ. The only .32 I've even seen that wasn't an antique was something a guy special ordered and was making a bit of a fuss over. The guy was a Wormtongue looking guy and this was obviously his first handgun. And he was arguing with the guy behind the counter of this Fudd-y Florida gun shop and I won't forget this one line he said. "They say it's been tested for 30,000 rounds, so If I were to take it to the range I should be able to shoot that much, right?" I just did my 4473 and got my browning buck mark and left. Pretty sure they ran that guy out.

My dad has a Mauser HSc .380 that used to belong to an ex-wife who passed away. He offered it to me last year when he was cleaning house but I passed. I've never liked the ergonomics of that little pistol and, personally, I don't have any use for 9mm kurz.

If it was wartime version in .32ACP, it'd at least be worth something, but it's 1970s production .380.

Well @Paladin called it.

I would expect nothing less.

I was at the gun store yesterday picking up a couple of my handguns from the gunsmith, and while I was waiting I saw what I thought was a used M1A in a display case. I'm checking it out, and see the price tag. over $24,000.00 .

Sooooo turns out it wasn't an M1A. It was a full on M-14.

Welcome to the bullshit of the Hughes amendment. By closing the NFA registry it turned fully automatic weapons from niche range toys into investment capitol.

Speaking of firearms as an investment, i got some ammo for the .429.

Heres the .429 in between a .357 sig and a .50AE, and is the picture showing up upside down for everyone or just me?

Here's a round in the gaping maw of the desert eagle.

24,000? I can't imagine spending that much on a collection of every gun (for every purpose) I would ever need put together. That is an insane price!

what is the recoil like on that desert eagle? I couldn't imagine myself getting that weapon back on target quickly for a follow-up shot.

The .50 with the brake is surprisingly controllable and quick. If you look at the first groupings I posted, the fliers came from me having fun and actually firing too quickly. I'm 6' and 210 and the recoil was not unpleasant by any means. If you have a strong grip and hold the thing properly acurate follow up shots are as fast as you are. Some things I will advise if you get one. First is practice your grip, its a very easy gun to limp wrist. The other piece of advice I have is to break it in. It IS a high end, tight tolerance gun, put 500 rounds through it at the range before taking it out on the trail, and keep it well oiled and it will do its part.

wow....if I ever was interested in getting one this information killed it! I'm 165 pounds and 58 years old....I think the biggest handgun I would consider is a .45 revolver firing .45 LC rounds!
Call me old fashioned but I love revolvers especially single action. Just so much fun to shoot and as accurate as I could ever shoot (from the standing position).
When I was in Alaska a lot of my peers were getting .44 mags like the Ruger black hawk & red hawk - yeah those rounds will rip right through a car with lethal power to spare when they exit, but that recoil was outrageous! my .357 was enough for me and I wouldn't call that pleasant to shoot with 125 grain HP.

I've been wanting to get another revolver. Before the cough I was eyeing a performance center 686 plus. 7 shots of .357. The rossi I had was great for the 45 rounds i shot through it before it broke. I only got the .429 barrel because I could just order it. I've been social distancing pretty much this whole year. I'm excited to go shoot it though. It's the energy and velocity of a .44mag fired from a rifle length barrel.

.357 is reasonable recoil especially if you are used to handling even more. I like the .357 revolver because of the option of shooting .38 special rounds in it. Goodness my mother was very accurate shooting .38 rounds out of a heavy .357 revolver way back in the day. I like revolvers in general because you never have to worry about clearing a jam - simpler is better especially under pressure (god forbid).

What you have in the simplicity of operation of a revolver you lose in the more complicated reload and smaller capacity. Wheel guns have their place but by and large autos are easier to operate under stress.

What you have in the simplicity of operation of a revolver you lose in the more complicated reload and smaller capacity. Wheel guns have their place but by and large autos are easier to operate under stress.
- the burger king

agree with you up to a point. Auto loaders are usually faster - pull trigger until the magazine is empty, put in another magazine, rinse & repeat. That said if you have a misfire or jam of any type then (unless you drill and drill this unnerving scenario over & over) you might have a costly delay.

Then again I haven't shot a big variety of autoloading pistols. My son at one point had a Smith & Wesson 9 mil (similar to one in the pic)




and lawdy that trigger pull was HEAVY! He couldn't hit shit with it - neither could I. He carried & shot an Army 9 mil when he was a combat medic so shortly before he got out of the Army he bought a 9 mil because he has quite a bit of experience with them. Granted for personal or home security it will put lead in the general vicinity of your target pretty fast at very close range - which I guess is the point. But a miss with a 9 mil doesn't equal a hit with a .22 magnum so I'm going with the "use the gun you can shoot with the best" approach here. That and shooting should be fun & relaxing no matter what the motivation, and the side benefit of that attitude almost always ends up with better & more lethal shooting, so it's a win-win situation.

Of course some rounds have the sad combination of poor ballistic performance and poor reliability like the .25 ACP I don't see any benefit to that round.

I had the .40cal version. the triggers on those particular models were at ~14lbs. Of course they are budget pistols and you get what you pay for. Get a Beretta 92*, the M9A3s* already have the "D" hammer spring (which you can get for ~ $50 from beretta and help the double action pull greatly) and a deleted backstrap. They also are much better than an issue one that has been shot to death. Get a cz-75*. Bit of a spongy trigger, but consistent. The sig p-320* is a good striker fired pistol. Little bit of practice and you'll feel confident using one to get to a rifle or shotgun. *Assuming you can ever get one

I've got a couple of Colt SAAs in .45 Long, and I've never thought there was all that much recoil. The biggest handgun I ever fired was a .44 Magnum with hand loaded "bear loads" according to the owner, and it wasn't that bad.

I've got a couple of Colt SAAs in .45 Long, and I've never thought there was all that much recoil. The biggest handgun I ever fired was a .44 Magnum with hand loaded "bear loads" according to the owner, and it wasn't that bad. - MAOHS

from reviews I've been reading/watching a lot of folks say the Colt in .45 long recoil isn't very "sharp/harsh" especially of course with the cowboy style handle which ergonomically reduces felt recoil no matter what rounds are fired. Who knows I might consider getting one since I have an indoor range only 20 minutes away I go to with my son anyway.
No Burger King I'm not getting a rifle or shotgun since I only bow hunt and don't enjoy shooting long guns for fun & recreation.

I've never shot .45 Long Colt (though that'll probably change at camp next month because one of the guys just bought one) but muzzle velocity for factory loads seems to be pretty close to .45ACP, which makes sense. It's a big, relatively slow-moving bullet so felt recoil isn't going to seem as snappy.

a couple of hours ago I checked out some youtube vids on the .45 LC in ballistic gelatin (should the home/self defense situation ever present itself - knock on wood that it doesn't) and it's more than adequate for my needs, and the prices are reasonable for the various guns I looked at online. Please let me know how your boots-on-the-ground shooting experience goes!

Yeah, .45 Colt (there is no such thing as .45 Long Colt ) is essentially .45 ACP. Or rather, .45 ACP was designed to be equivalent of .45 Colt.

Incidentally, cross another one off my list...



Smith & Wesson 627 Performance Center. N-frame, 8 shot .357 Magnum. Smooth action and niiiice trigger.

I have no idea what kind of defensive rounds would be available for it. All I've ever seen has been Cowboy Action stuff. With the popularity of the Judge, it wouldn't surprise me if there were some though.

Anything other than the low powered/lower recoil "cowboy loads" used for the cowboy speed shooting you mentioned, any of the other .45 rounds would be fine for self defense. Granted I'm going off the internet research I've been doing on the caliber, never having owned one. The biggest revolver I've ever shot was a .44 mag Ruger black hawk/red hawk? a bud of mine had in Alaska - not a fun gun to shoot I must say.

Not much other than the grip of a revolver to eat its recoil before it gets to your hand.