prole Posted December 31, 2010 Posted December 31, 2010 I'm for reals. Style is, of course, important. So is carry-ability. My hands are fairly small. I'm looking at .380s but could be talked into bumping up. Any thoughts on the Beretta Tomcat or Cougar? Quote
rob Posted December 31, 2010 Posted December 31, 2010 (edited) .380 is fairly underpowered, although the Walther PPK is a very nice weapon. Â Personally, I'd reconsider the .380 in favor of: * 40 SW (if you like beretta, the 96 is a nice handgun) * 10 mm (Glock 29 is a good "subcompact" in this caliber) * 357 SIG (the Glock 33 is a great concealed carry weapon, smallish, fun to shoot, and can go 9+1, or 10+1 (or more?) if you get a magazine extension.) Â That said, a good shot with a .380 is better than a miss with a .45. I think most people agree that you should get the most powerful cartridge that you can shoot well. Go to Wade's and shoot a lot of guns. Edited December 31, 2010 by rob Quote
Hugh Conway Posted December 31, 2010 Posted December 31, 2010 ahhh the Fairweather special. He tried to commmit suicide... and failed. So now we get his posts. Quote
Fairweather Posted December 31, 2010 Posted December 31, 2010 .380 is fairly underpowered, although the Walther PPK is a very nice weapon. Personally, I'd reconsider the .380 in favor of: * 40 SW (if you like beretta, the 96 is a nice handgun) * 10 mm (Glock 29 is a good "subcompact" in this caliber) * 357 SIG (the Glock 33 is a great concealed carry weapon, smallish, fun to shoot, and can go 9+1, or 10+1 (or more?) if you get a magazine extension.)  That said, a good shot with a .380 is better than a miss with a .45. I think most people agree that you should get the most powerful cartridge that you can shoot well. Go to Wade's and shoot a lot of guns.  All poor choices, Rob. But I'm impressed nonetheless.    Based on the uses described: S&W 442 (.38 Special). An uncomplicated DAO revolver that requires a deliberate trigger pull.  If one has their heart set on a .380, I'd say the Ruger LCP is the way to go. It's only about 9 ounces and you can get one for around $300. Quote
Coldfinger Posted December 31, 2010 Posted December 31, 2010 (edited) Pick your choice of .38 +P (town) or .357 (trail) in a j frame Smith or Taurus depending on $$, most .380's are toy guns and not very accurate or good with barriers. Â Â Edited December 31, 2010 by Off_White Quote
Nitrox Posted December 31, 2010 Posted December 31, 2010 What, is 911 not good enough for you? Â Â Quote
billcoe Posted January 1, 2011 Posted January 1, 2011 I'm for reals. Style is, of course, important. So is carry-ability. My hands are fairly small. I'm looking at .380s but could be talked into bumping up. Any thoughts on the Beretta Tomcat or Cougar? Â If you were stuck on .380, I'd 2nd the Ruger. Small, light...and it's a .380. If money was no object, I'd get a Springfield EMP or a Rohrbaugh 9mm. Remember that if you are going to carry, get the Concealed Weapons Permit and do it legal. Â Curious, if you feel like sharing, why are you are getting a gun? Quote
Dane Posted January 1, 2011 Posted January 1, 2011 Go to the local indoor range and rent everything you think you might want to buy. Then find a good beginning defensive hand gun class that will have class loaners. Send me a pm if you want more detailed info or suggestions on a school. Â Asking for realistic gun advice on a climbing board is like asking for realistic climbing advice on a gun board. Asking for credible advice on life saving equipment is better left to people you can look in the face and know their back ground before the conversation starts. Â You don't know me, my back ground or likely give a shit but I'll offer this bit of free advice. Â 99.9% of the gun owners in America looking for a reliable self defense tool would be better served with a good course in situational awareness, a working cell phone and being articulate enough to use it, than owning any firearm. A decent sized dog can do much of that for you and do it better, except of course dial and talk on the phone. Â Â Quote
Nitrox Posted January 1, 2011 Posted January 1, 2011 Dane's advice is solid. Â Dane's advice is wasted on a troll thread and retards who think guns should be illegal. Â Â Quote
JayB Posted January 1, 2011 Posted January 1, 2011 So is someone threatening you? Live in a dangerous neighborhood? Or are you just interested in target shooting? Â Quote
Dane Posted January 1, 2011 Posted January 1, 2011 Free advice is generally worth what you paid for it... Â Prole asks what I assume is an honest question. Obviously some personal banter going on over long held angst between posters and I didn't see CF's original post. It is a forum, political, spray, thing I suspect more than a gun thing. Â The only one here using the terms "retard" and "troll" is obviously a gun rights advocate. Â While Nitrox and I might very well hold similar opinions on our 2nd admendment rights my personal belief is such public antics (all too common from both sides of the gun issue) are likely the reason more don't support our right to own a gun. Â Hard to hear the fringe element of any issue with much clarity. Â Â Â Â Quote
billcoe Posted January 1, 2011 Posted January 1, 2011 Danes advice is better than my advice. Â You might start out with the class depending on your level of knowledge. I know someone who just did that, ie, took a class from an expert, and was very happy he did. Quote
Off_White Posted January 2, 2011 Posted January 2, 2011 I didn't see CF's original past. Â It didn't regard Prole at all, and was clearly a joke involving a different somewhat unpopular poster and not a credible threat, but it still seemed just a little off in a gun thread so I deleted the one line. No big deal. Â Â Quote
Dane Posted January 2, 2011 Posted January 2, 2011 Ha, Ha, I shared a hotel room for 4 days with CF recently....he has a rather different sense of humor at times Quote
rbw1966 Posted January 2, 2011 Posted January 2, 2011 Some shoot revolvers well, others autos. Rent both and see which feels better. Â I've got an old Llama .380 I might get rid of. Like a miniature 1911. Too small for my hand. Quote
AlpineK Posted January 2, 2011 Posted January 2, 2011 All you need to do is ask what kind of gun Dirty Harry has. [video:youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnMLGkj91Og  Quote
Coldfinger Posted January 2, 2011 Posted January 2, 2011 Good 'ol Dirty Harry and his S&W N Frame!  OffWhite was just fine in his editing job, just bad humor (funny tho).  I'd still say try a J or medium frame in .357, make sure it's stainless steel, not parkerized or lightweight scandium frame.  Buy the ammo here: Bang!  Let's put it this way:  Either: You go to exit 38, and on the way back those lovely Russians send somebody up the trail with a shotgun or .45 to hold folks up while they rummage the cars and something goes wrong.  or  You run across a pissed off bear or moose.  What Dane says is absolutely true, best keep your eyes open and see either from a long way off and use your brain. But in either case I bet the .380 stays in your pocket and it ends up in a used gun case where you bought it the next day.  I just can't see actually drawing a .380 on anything or anyone, and yes a big part of that is b/c I'm actually a nice guy. Quote
tvashtarkatena Posted January 2, 2011 Posted January 2, 2011 Good 'ol Dirty Harry and his S&W N Frame!  OffWhite was just fine in his editing job, just bad humor (funny tho).  I'd still say try a J or medium frame in .357, make sure it's stainless steel, not parkerized or lightweight scandium frame.  Buy the ammo here: Bang!  Let's put it this way:  Either: You go to exit 38, and on the way back those lovely Russians send somebody up the trail with a shotgun or .45 to hold folks up while they rummage the cars and something goes wrong.  or  You run across a pissed off bear or moose.  What Dane says is absolutely true, best keep your eyes open and see either from a long way off and use your brain. But in either case I bet the .380 stays in your pocket and it ends up in a used gun case where you bought it the next day.  I just can't see actually drawing a .380 on anything or anyone, and yes a big part of that is b/c I'm actually a nice guy.  If I ran across a pissed off moose at exit 38 I'd focus more on dosages than calibers.  Seems like some Zen time at the gun range might shift the focus from "Gettin' those Motherfuckers" to "Damn, this is fun..." with the choice of firearm adjusted accordingly.  Having said that, get the least accurate, smallest caliber weapon with the least number of rounds to maximize overall safety of everyone involved, including yourself. Other than that: put 911 on speed dial and always wear running shoes. Quote
Coldfinger Posted January 2, 2011 Posted January 2, 2011 If I ran across a pissed off moose at exit 38 I'd focus more on dosages than calibers. Â Nice, now that you mention it Exit 38 probably does have a lot of addled folks on antidepressants. Â Having said that, get the least accurate, smallest caliber weapon with the least number of rounds to maximize overall safety of everyone involved, including yourself. Other than that: put 911 on speed dial and always wear running shoes. Â Priceless! Â I've always found sidearms are useful when dealing with the odd NOLS course or Boy Scout Troop, but we're not PC. Â Happy New Year to you, was wondering when you'd chime in. Quote
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