I’m going to town this morning. The big town about 50 miles away. This means a costume change. I have a drawer full of presentable blue jeans, a couple of t-shirts and a couple of overshirts I set aside for these occasions. Also the bat-belt accessories get trimmed down.
There’s a ritual to these things. I live in the desert and sometimes don’t see strangers for months at a time. Being naturally an introverted misfit, this has not enhanced my social grace. What I’m trying to say is that I really don’t like to go to town, but now with the glaucoma thing it’s necessary or I’ll gradually go blind. I need the eyedrops, and the only place I can get an affordable discount is at a Wal-Mart. They don’t put Wal-Marts out where I live. So I do what I’ve always done when faced with a task I’d rather shirk: I reduce it to ritual.
Part of the ritual is arming myself. I’d go without pants before I’d go without my gun, but I’m really (really) trying to deflect attention so I’m not going to carry the .44. Ordinarily I’d bring the 1911 just because it’s my second-favorite pistol while still far more concealable than the Taurus*, but when – like today – I’m working up a case of nerves I’ll dust off a little number that’s been on loan from Ian for years.
And it always reminds me of how probabilities and magnitudes affect our choices. Day to day, the probability that I’ll actually need to shoot something is pretty low, but still higher than where you probably live. There’s no social cost to being seen carrying a gun, so there’s no reason not to carry a big gun in a comfortable holster. On the other hand the consequences of not having a gun when a gun is needed are really fairly low. When I shoot a varmint, I’m more often defending the dogs or chickens or just removing an irritant – I’m really in no personal danger. Still, big gun.
In town the chance of needing to shoot some(body) is vanishingly low, though not quite zero. And if I do need to, it’s not going to be just one of those things. It’s going to alter and maybe ruin – maybe end – my life. Also, in town the custom is to go concealed. So, little gun.
Above, my everyday gun – a beater Taurus .44 Special. Puts big slow bullets in things. When used on varmints up to dog-size, resolves issues quickly. Lousy sights, okay trigger, moderate recoil. Weighs a ton.
Below, my ‘go-to-town’ gun – a Hungarian PA-63 in 9mm Mak. Puts small zippy bullets in things. Lousy sights, comically bad trigger, ouchy recoil. Small, slim and light like a feather. This pistol is made to be carried by a person who doesn’t expect to shoot it.
Hence, high impact/low probability – the chance that I will draw this pistol with intent to fire today is so low it barely registers on the list of things worth worrying about. But paradoxically if I do, I’m going to spend the entire time wishing to hell I’d brought a bigger gun.
And now I’m going to town. Later.
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*And mind you, this is just my nerves talking. This ain’t NYC we’re going to. I could throw a shirt over the Taurus – or even not – and probably nobody would say a word to me as long as I didn’t pass a “no guns” sign. With the 1911 I regularly do that, and nobody says anything. People here are generally casual about guns, it’s no big deal.
The nearest Walmart here has a “no guns” sign- at least half the time. That’s something I don’t quite understand; are they a kill zone or not? And when? And when they have the sign up, it isn’t one of those with a picture, but with rather small print that you wouldn’t be able to read unless you walked right up to it and made an effort.
Does your not have one? Or have you just not noticed it? If you haven’t, don’t go looking for it. Armed and ignorant and non-compliant is better than dead.
So . . . you have a workin’ gun and a goin’ to town gun . . . next up, a BAR-B-Q GUN!!!
🙂 🙂 🙂
Joel, by 9mm Makarov, I presume you mean 9×18. If so, how’s the round perform? I’m thinking about a P-64 for a pocket pistol, & it fires the 9×18. I’m not a fan of 9mm–actually, I prefer things that begin with a “.4”, despite a lingering love for my .357, & I kinda like my Tokarev–but I’m curious about the 9×18.
I really have no opinion, TB. 9X18 Mak appears to be a somewhat zippier .380 ACP. It’s substantially smaller than 9mm Luger, so if that’s your minimum caliber you might want to say nay to the P-64.
I think of Makarov as a prole-killer. How it does as a combat round, I genuinely don’t know.
Recently got a PA-63. You are right about the recoil. Way more than expected. Still, is a handy little package for certain things.
I can relate to having “the anxiety” sometimes, when it doesn’t seem like it should be a big deal. I have made numerous appearances in certain places where I rilly rilly don’t want to get made*, and I guess after this many years I must have got good enough at it that I don’t usually worry too much. But…
For me, what usually produces the anxiety is the backup gun. When I go to “the big town” I more often sweat numbah two, which is usually a 38 J on the ankle (very accessible while driving). I think part of the sweating is the ritual of preparing, mentally, to be around that many unpredictable people…which is at least a bit arbitrary (it’s not like some events down here can’t themselves be a little…let’s say… dense for my tastes), but nonetheless real. And really dumb, I think, to be more practically concerned about being made and SWATted by some “Demand Attention” schmuck, than about actually running in to a problem that requires clearing leather.)
Your use of the term “ritual” strikes a chord with me. Ultimately, when I get there, it’s still all just Condition Yellow and avenues of escape. But I am totally with you on the fear that, in a city, I might only briefly survive an otherwise completely successful defensive engagement. And a thought that ridiculous and depressing is probably what requires the ritual in the first place.
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* The faculty lounge is one thing, but they’re almost invariably too self-absorbed to be looking. An outdoor event in downtown Chicago however, with blues everywhere just looking for an excuse to do some perpin’, is quite another. 🙂
Hey, thanks anyway for the answer, Uncle J. .357 was my minimum, but that 7.62 Tokarev is, as you say, a pretty zippy little round. It actually impressed me. A bit surprising, for a .30″.
Hell, as Col. Cooper used to say, a .22 isn’t optimal, but one in the tear duct will ruin a goblin’s day.
Had to go look up the PA-63. Looks similar to the Polish P-64, i.e., just a different part of the Sovbloc’s take (more or less) on the PP/PPK.
I already expect something that little (and made where it was) to be heavy on recoil & light on accuracy, so I’m forewarned. Still, a $200 pocket pistol, at least one built to be tough & reliable, is hard to pass up. The Sovs made awful good tractors, even when they were trying to make other things. Interestingly, they made durable, but shitty, cars. I may be wrong about the durability, but anything that can be kept running in Mother Russia has to have a tough base.
Thanks again.
For those who haven’t looked it up, the PA-63 is rather a sorta civilianized, lighter take on the basic military Makarov design.
Still, a decent pocket gun for the money if not exactly a “universal one-shot-stop” piece . . . of which there are actually none.
I assume because of the fixed barrel, both the combloc pistols I have that are based on the PP/PPK are surprisingly good at putting rounds on target – within the limits of their rudimentary sights. The Mak, being made of steel so it’s heavier and having a more substantial grip, is much easier to shoot but neither pistol is really what I’d call inaccurate. They’re both better pistols for the money than something like a Jennings or a Hi-Point, if you can get ammo for them. Like you said, they’re just so…Soviet.
I have a Mak, bought new for $129 back when they were importing a ton of them. I like it and upgraded it and polished the action, etc. Nice new rubber grip. I find the recoil a bit too snappy for my taste due to the fixed barrel. The 9×18 is probably OK if you are using decent hollowpoints.
I don’t use it for carry for one reason: The finish is not up to sweat. I suppose one could oil it every day but why bother? Plastic guns do all that a lot better. But if you don’t mind “patina” on guns it could be a good carry gun. Certainly slim enough.
As far as I’m concerned, the carry debate is over. 9mm rules, might as well get over it. I just bought two boxes of Magtech (Brazillian) 9mm for $11.49 a box in a Cabelas store. Doesn’t get much cheaper than that. Of course it is only practice ammo, but still…
A Walther PP from hell?
I have a good friend who is a Total Gun Phreak and owns all the hi-tech, plastic-fantastic, gazillion-capacity guns available. His carry piece is a Mak in his hip pocket. He cares not about what carry does to the finish, but maintains the piece operationally in a dedicated manner. His thought is, “it works every time, and I always have it with me”. Hard to argue with that.