California Says One Gun a Month, So...

I weighed like 150# at the time - even with the cowboy grip that recoil got my attention!

Yeah, I don't think that body weight really matters unless you weigh as much as an average house cat.

Well, I'd like to return to the Gun-of-the-Month program, but everything--and I mean everything!--is stupidly expensive.

I've been wanting one of those Marlin Dark lever actions--not sure if I prefer the .30-30 or the .45-70--and, with a retail price of around $950, they're going on GunBroker for $1300, $1500, $1800 or more. Much as I'd like one, when you add on the nearly 10% California sales tax plus the transfer and DROS fees, I'd be looking at a minimum of $1600 to get my paws on one. Think I'll leave it in the store for the time being.

Maybe it's time to pop for that Ruger LCR in .327 Magnum. I can find 'em for about 10% over retail...

I love single action - you can't beat that light trigger pull! There's a big gun show just down the road from me this weekend, so I might check it out seeing what they have in .44 specials.

You're stuck on .44 Special! I'm telling you, .45 Colt is a better choice. Ballistically, it's nearly identical to the .44 Special, comes in the same-sized guns, has better ammo selection, is cheaper, and, if you want, you can get some pretty stout loads for it.

But, if you must have a .44 Special, remember that all .44 Magnum revolvers can fire .44 Special. You might have an easier time finding a single-action in .44 Magnum.

is .45 Colt ammo (generally) easier to find than .44 special? Since both rounds are very similar that might be the deciding factor for me.

I just checked out some Ruger Blackhawk & Vaquero prices - definitely affordable and I do like Ruger reliability & quality.

Yes, .45 Colt is more common, there's more variety, and it's cheaper.

And I think .45 colt is making a bit of a comeback because you can fire it out of a .460 (Along with .454)

Well, I managed to find a Gun-of-the-Month, after all. Probably paid a 10-15% apocalypse markup. It's also single action (thanks to some truly stupid California law) but, thankfully, I can lawfully convert it to double action...

Chiappa Rhino .357 Magnum 3 inch stainless.



It's ugly as sin but the low bore axis reputedly reduces muzzle flip considerably. It will be interesting to do a comparo with the Smith 627 I got a month or two back.

Love it! I actually would've preferred the green frame like that, but the store only had stainless models.

Store here only had this one, for some reason guns are in high demand. It took me a few days to find this one as even wheel guns are in short supply. I do recommend the type of grip that mine has as it just makes the gun fit your hand almost perfectly.

Your grip is definitely better for shooting, mine would be better for carrying.

They were designed with ccw in mind, right?

I'll take anything over stainless. They all remind me of a plastic children's toy cowboy gun.

Yes, I think so.

The Yankee Marshal on YouTube has been a big proponent of them, though he never settles on a carry gun for very long.

I suppose you like what you like--and I used to think stainless guns were the wrong color, too--but stainless is just better. It doesn't have a coating (like blued steel) that can be scratched or blemished or worn away. It resists rust. And it's really strong.

My preference going forward would be stainless steel that's been Cerakoated (like the Rhino @TheBurgerKing just got). That's a really tough finish and you can get it in many different colors.

I don't think I would have bought mine if it were stainless. Ive personally never cared for that kind of finish. That green coating is great, and looks nowhere near as bright as the picture I posted, that's just the work of the camera flash.

Haven't seen the green Cerakoat on the Rhino in person, but I imagine I'd really like it.

I was kinda like @oldfella1962 once upon a time: I thought guns should be blued or parkerized. Not bright, not shiny.

I've come around on bright. I think stainless steel--particularly the matte finish that S&W puts on their guns--looks really good. I'm not there yet on shiny; chrome and nickel-plated finishes don't do it for me. And certainly not Bling-Bling gold.

I do like the colors available now. I have a Desert Eagle in burnt bronze--a color I originally hated--and I think it's gorgeous.

Correction: my gun is not stainless. It is nickel-plated.

I saw the burnt bronze desert eagle a while ago, it did look good. I'm liking the color on the rhino, it makes it stand out less, which is good for a carry gun. I hope I can get some ammo fot it soon. The only thing I have for is right now is a box of +P .38 special.

Yeah, it's hard to find ammo for anything common right now. Probably much easier to get .357 Magnum than 9mm, .45, and 5.56mm/.223 though.

I can get all the 9mm Mak and .50AE I want but even the .357 mag is scarce. I stocked up at the start of the year so I'm in no way hurting for ammo, I just didn't own a .357(mag) until a few days ago, and I never shoot my .38.

Yes ammo choices are all over the map:
.22 Hornet
.375 H & H Magnum
7 mm-08 Remington

basically calibers that sound made up IMHO!

Picked up the Rhino, trying it today.

Next month's gun? Glock 21SF .45 ACP.

Shot several of my new guns I hadn't tried out yet.

The Tomcat .32 was very easy shooting. Say what you will about .32 ACP, I think this would still kill someone stone dead with a well-placed shot. The gun shoots left and low for me at 7 yards.

The S&W 627 Performance Center shoots very well. I need to adjust the sights.

The Rhino does indeed have weird recoil. It's weird in that you expect muzzle flip that doesn't happen. This concept has a lot of merit.

One funny but: I lost count shooting the Rhino at one point, popped it open, and found I had one live round left. Put the live round next in clockwise order, closed it back up, pulled the trigger, click. Wrong rotation, dummy. Opened it back and set the live round to go off next counterclockwise. Pulled trigger, click. Huh? Oh, yeah...fires from the BOTTOM chamber, not the top.

so because there's no muzzle flip on the rhino, does the gun transfer more recoil straight back into your hand (thus increasing felt recoil) or is that not a factor?
That said any thoughts of getting a .45 revolver are on the back burner because of the current ammo shortage. I mean it's bone dry all over town.

Hard to say, but my subjective experience is that the Rhino's recoil is more pleasant than that of the 627 (which is a bigger heavier gun). I think where the recoil goes may have a bigger impact than any absolute difference between them.

Yeah, it's hard to find a lot of stuff. And when you do find it, it's expensive.

The Glock I bought today probably cost me $100-$150 more than the same gun would've a year ago.

It doesn't transfer more energy, the energy coming back just isn't over the line of your palm, so the gun's mass isn't trying to fly over your hand.

Yes. In physics terms, there's no (well, little) torque created by the recoil.