Didja ever wake up, rub your eyes, hop over to the window and say, …
“Huh. Okay.”
It’s still coming down hard. Wonder how much we’ll get? It’s a great time for it – the guests are all gone so there’s no traction issues which would mean a lot of work. We could certainly use more moisture, the Spring plants should start growing soon and it sure would be nice if things greened up a bit. Let it snow all day for all I care, I’ve got a solar panel squeegee and I’m not afraid to use it.
Didja ever look at a dumb political sign and say, …
“Or else what?”
Kid, let me explain one of the harsher political realities. It’s the reality that makes peaceful discourse so very important, the reality the Confederate States should have paid more attention to. I’ll use only five little words for fear of stressing your attention span, and I’ll whisper it so as not to make you feel unsafe, okay? If you really want to know, just highlight the next line down…
We’ve got all the guns.
Speaking of which, what would the commentariat here recommend to someone who wanted to purchase a rifle/handgun combination (two guns, not one that serves both roles) which use the same ammunition? Ideally the handgun should be concealable, which might limit the caliber of ammunition available.
We don’t have quite “ALL the guns,” but I suspect we have enough of them.
Note to self: buy more ammo.
jabrwok, there are plenty of more qualified folks here, but you might look at a 9mm handgun and a 9mm carbine rifle. I have both. I also have plenty of other options, but the 9mm is my main caliber. No problem concealing the Springfield XD compact 9mm.
My first thought is Marlin lever action and some nice double action revolver in .357 Magnum.
But I’m old. Kel-Tec makes some pistol caliber semiautos for the rimless cartridges, but I don’t have much experience with them. They’re so … plasticy.
I should probably elaborate a bit. I work in an academic environment in a Texas junior college. Concealed carry on campus is now legal, so that would be a factor. I’ve got no experience with concealed holsters, and my wardrobe has never been designed with that function in mind.
I’ve got no dog in the various religious wars relating to types of handguns, but I’d lean towards a semi-automatic rather than a revolver, and preferably one without too many sticky-out bits that might get snagged on clothes in an emergency situation (knock on wood).
There’s more flexibility on the rifle side of the question. Getting compatible ammo is a nice-but-not-necessary idea. I just figured that that would be cheaper and easier to deal with.
glock19 and ruger pc9, new model. takes same mags even. i have a keltec sub 2k that takes beretta mags, but my m9 is a tad bit hard to conceal. armorer for a large military college, 30 years army.
Consider a J frame S&W in .38Spl/.357 and a Marlin lever. If the Marlin is too pricey, go with an H&R breaktop in .357 Max. At 100 yds, a 180-gr bullet is within 100 ft/second or so of 7.62 NATO velocity. You’ll have to go with a used one, but they never wear out.
No firearm that I have owned ever took action on its own, or put a bullet where it wasn’t pointed. Sounds like good control to me!
jabrwok, concealed carry takes some thought. IMHO you first figure out how you are going to carry that concealed pistol. Under the shoulder, small of back, ankle, or? Next, pick out your holster. It needs to be comfortable and accessible. If it chafes, you won’t keep wearing it, and if you can’t get to the firearm reasonably quickly, it won’t help you much. Finally, get the weapon that can fit in that holster that you can shoot well.
As far as bullet size goes, it’s like a business – bigger is better, but location is key. It’s better to have a .22 that goes where you want versus a .44 that you can’t hit with. 9mm is a sweet spot for most people in that the round does decent damage with reasonable recoil, making it ubiquitous and cheap.
Finally, rifles generally use different cartridges than pistols do. Pistol cartridges are simple cylinders, where rifle cartridges neck down to the bullet, allowing for more powder to drive a smaller projectile faster, increasing the range and accuracy. The (small) subset of rifles that use pistol cartridges are called carbines, and are short ranged in comparison to a normal rifle.
jabrwok – If money isn’t an issue think about a .357 take down leaver gun such as the Chiappa Alaskan that can be taken down and carried in a back pack discreetly.
https://www.chiappafirearms.com/p/id/107/product/1892-Lever-Action-Alaskan-Takedown-Rifle.php
As for a companion gun, don’t be fooled by all the hype about autos. They are wonderful but require more training than a revolver. If you pull the trigger on a revolver and it goes click you simple pull the trigger again and if it goes click you reload with a speed loader. With an auto you have to (a) rack the slide, (b) look inside (c) clear the jam/dud round, or change the mag (d) let the slide go forward and (e) resume shooting. An auto requires three things, practice, practice and more practice. While you need to practice with a revolver the need isn’t as great.
Another thing to remember about autos, some don’t have an exterior hammer or safety like the Glock. Again they are a fine firearm but require more training and practice. The tendency in a high stress situation is to grab an item with all four fingers and thumb. This leads to the index finger inevitably coming into contact with the trigger and the grabbing action causes the trigger to be depressed. This safety issue is why two police departments in the area where I live have moved away from Glocks and those who have them, like NYPD, are getting the trigger pull adjusted so it’s harder to pull the trigger. This isn’t as much of an issue with a decent revolver, because the trigger pull is heaver.
I know, it’s all as clear as mud. Good luck in your quest.
Maybe add something to this conversation, there is 9mm ammo for pistols and 9mm ammo for rifles and the stuff for rifles is NOT for use in pistols. While cleaning out my sister estate we found an ammo can of the ‘for rifle stuff’. She didn’t own a 9mm rifle. The cartridges looks the same, the only way to tell the difference is to look up serial numbers. Glad no one got into it for target practicing.
Jabrwok, first find a handgun that you like, if you can get away with a bigger gun Glock 17 or 19 or a S&W M&P is a good choice. If a large double stack gun isn’t going to work for carry the M&P Shield or Glock 43 are easier to carry buy harder to shoot. If you need to go smaller there are options in .380 or even .32. What ever you are looking at try to shoot one before you buy if possible, find a range that rents guns or find someone in your area who will go to the range with you. I don’t know of a pistol caliber carbine that will take pistol magazines other that the full size double stack ones, if your handgun isn’t a double stack Glock it’s likely you will have a hard time finding a rifle that used the same magazines. If you can’t use the same mags why not just get an AR and have a better rifle for likely less money?
This is something else to consider. I did the common caliber pistol/carbine thing once, and honestly found it of little use. Maybe if you’re traveling in the saddle for months it makes sense, but unless that’s what you have in mind you might not want to lock yourself down to that.
Jabrwok, as you can tell everyone will have a different opinion 🙂 Mine is that you should find a local range that rents guns and go shoot a bunch. I favor Sig guns myself but YMMV. You can’t really go wrong with a good quality AR15, no need to get it in the same caliber — a rifle and a pistol are for different situations. As far as holsters go, I’m a fan of https://mitchrosen.com/, they have some really affordable high quality stuff in their Express line.
First decide what you really want these guns to DO for you. Protection? Hunting? Both?
Be prepared to have to “dress around the gun” for concealed carry.
For good stuff, you’re looking at $1K, at least.
Be careful of internet advice.
🙂 🙂 🙂
😀 Possibly the wisest words ever written.
Once upon a time, this was my answer to this. Not terribly “conceal” friendly, though, and the Henry (while pretty) is very heavy.
https://www.henryusa.com/rifles/big-boy/
https://www.smith-wesson.com/firearms/model-629
In defense of semi-automatic pistols;Yes, they do require a certain degree of practice. (“you say that like it’s a BAD thing!”)
should practice. I compete in IPSC (since 1983) and have experienced every type of jam possible with a semi-auto Usually a 1911. Malfunctions are caused by one of 2 things: (2) bad ammunition (1) bad maintenance. Replace magazine springs after no more than 2000 rounds of ammo, or when you get a feeling you ought to do so. Springs are cheap; Failure To Feed is expensive.
Shooting several thousand rounds a year during 30 of competition years provides plenty of experience with malfunction reactions. Tap/Rack/Bang solves most of them; insuring that a magazine is fully seated into the grip in the FIRST PLACE and using quality ammunition, are two measures to avoid the rest of them; when in doubt, grab a new magazine and rack the slide. Malfunction resolution time: three-four precious seconds. (I know, I know.)
Having ensured the aforementioned pair of Bad Things, the only time I experienced a malf which couldn’t be resolved in 4 (drop the mag/insert a new one) was the time when my trigger yoke broke.
I knew you guys were the right people to ask! Lots of useful advice and ideas (and warnings!) here, and I thank you all for the feedback.
I have a couple of contacts at work who own several guns each and have facilities for trying them out, so I’m going to work with them to see what works for me before I commit to any purchases.
One of those contacts suggested 12 gauge shot guns as an alternative to the rifle, so I’ll be exploring that option as well.
I’ll admit, part of my motivation is seeing all these teeny-bopper “activists” trying to take away a right that I’ve never before felt much need to exercise. They irritate me (same reason I bought a battle flag of the Army of Tennessee…I’m contrarian that way). So no explicit goal other than to have, occasionally shoot, maybe hunt at some point, and as a self-defense tool should that ever arise (never has yet, but the day is young).
So again, thank’ee all. I’ll be bookmarking this thread for future reference:-).
😀 For the same reason, this past month I’ve been craving an AR15. Just because f*ck those kids.
what something larger than a 223 AR? look up the Sharps 25-45
Once you deviate from your initial limited inquiry and admit you might be open to other suggestions, this subject becomes a 55-gallon drum of worms, not just a little can thereof. Books have been written on the subject . . . many books.