Saturday, April 28, 2007
Update
Okay, I have single-action auto fever. My first in my second collection was the Feg 9pjk-hp9. Then I bought a Bersa Thunder 380. The wife took it over, but then found me a Llama Minimax .45 single stack. This was great, now I had a 9mm and a .45, but they were the same size. Great except for carrying in the hot Tennessee summers. Later I picked up a little 9mm in a sweetheart of a deal. It is a Cobra derringer. Single action, 2 shots, tiny but easy to conceal. Not exactly what I wanted, but a good last ditch gun. Then Thursday, I stopped in a pawn shop and saw it. A Llama Especial .380. Not the blow back model, but one of the early ones made like a 5/8 scale 1911. The price seemed good, so I went home and went back the next day. It's home with me now. I just have to find a couple of spare clips now.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
The Quest Part One
A long time ago, in a land far, far away, a group of people felt the urge to protect and serve the general public. We called them law enforcement officers and the operate on many different levels. We have them at the city, county, state and federal levels and they belong to many different organizations, all of which have mutated and evolved over many years to meet differing needs. As the times have changed, the needs of the LEO have changed.
Originally, the Officer's probably carried whatever type of firearm they wanted to or happened to own. The idea of a standardized weapon or set of weapons probably didn't occur until at least the 1970's and then it was mostly in the larger forces. I think I remember reading that it was the NYPD who first declared their officers could only carry a particular type of weapon. It had more to do with identifying who was an undercover or plain clothes officer in a high stress situation than for any other reason. Unfortunately, until the FBI shooting in the '90's, legalities and politics played more of a role in selecting police weaponry, that performance did.
Okay, from roughly the 1920's until the 1980's, most police departments relied on a particular revolver caliber over all others. This article is a short history of this cartridge.
The .36 caliber cap and ball revolver was one of the staples of the Civil War and the old West. The .44's and .45's got most of the glory, but the .36 from Remington and Colt as well as others was extremely popular. As people began converting the cap and ball to modern cartidges Colt developed a cartridge called the .38 Colt Short for use in these guns. The .38 referred to case diameter rather than bullet diameter. The .38 Colt Short fired a 130 grain bullet at about 770 ft per second. The actual bullet diameter was about .374 or .375 and the bullet was externally lubricated.
In 1875 Colt created an "improved" version of this cartridge called the .38 Colt Long. This cartridge fired a 150 grain, .357 or .357 diameter, internally lubricated bullet at 770 ft per second. This cartridge was adapted by the army in 1892 and remained in service until 1911 although it performed poorly in the Spanish--American war and resulted in the adoption of the 1911 Colt in .45 ACP by the army.
To further confuse things, in 1877 Smith and Wesson introduced their own 38 caliber. Called the .38 S&W it fired a 148 grain lead round nose .360 bullet at roughly 720 ft per second. This became a popular round with law enforcement. Colt adopted this round, athough they called it the .38 Colt New Police and loaded a flat nose bullet in their rounds.
In 1922 Smith and Wesson and Colt created a new version of this cartridge which launched a 200 grain bullet at 620 ft. per second. Smith and Wesson called it the .38/200 while Colt Preferred the .38 Super Police.
In 1902 Smith and Wesson introduced an inproved version of the .38 Long Colt. It had the same basic cartridge, but utilized more powder and took advantages of improvements in handgun manufacture and modern metals. Unfortunately it would chamber in the older, more fragile guns, and police officers tend to be poor, so new cartridges were loaded in old guns and bad things happened. To prevent this, the cartridge was lengthened and the name was changed to .38 Special. Within a year of production the .38 Special was switched to smokeless powder. Because it was loaded to relatively low pressures, the cartridge was capable of handling more pressure and eventually would be released in higher pressure loads called +p and +p+.
The .38 special is an extremely popular cartridge and filled a great need. It is capable of great accuracy and can be packaged in long barrelled target guns. It is most seen in modern times in short barrelled revolvers that conceal easily. It is easy to forget though that the 3, 4, and 5 inch models were once considered the medicine necessary to combat the "new" crime wave, the traveling bank robbers of the Bonnie and Clyde era. The new heavy metal car bodies were ample protection from the .38 S & W and .38 Colt Long cartridges. The more powerful .38 Specials would penetrate the car bodies. With a 158 grain bullet traveling at roughly 770 p/s it gave a little more punch.
Modern .38 Specials are available in barrel lengths from 1/2" to 10". Some specialized autoloaders will fire the cartridge too. Ammunition is available in anything from 90 grain to 180 grain standard loads. Specialize fragible ammo offers even lower bullet weights. It is availabe in +p and +p+ loads offering higher performance if you and your gun can take it. Revolvers are offered in heavy, heavy-medium, medium, light and ultra light frames. Some of the short barrelled revolvers offer only 5 rounds but others offer 6.
In 1934 Smith and Wesson introduced a lengthend version of the .38 Special. It held more powder still, worked at much higher pressures, and offered even more power. Originally it used the same cartridge but the chance for mistakes was there so the cartridge was stretched a little. it was called the .38/44 as Smith and Wesson used the heavier frame of there .44 caliber revolver to tame the powerful round. Later medium and heavy medium frames would grow from the round that was eventually named the .357 Magnum. You see the new gangsters were using bullet proof vests and armored cars and it took a bullet traveling at least 1000 ft/sec to penetrate them. The .357 Magnum launched a 158 grain bullet at around 1200 ft/sec. In 1984 Remington stretched the .357 Magnum case out to create the .357 Maximum. It was designed as a silhouette cartridge for the Ruger Blackhawk revolver. It was a little too hot and wore out topstraps, so it has been limited to mostly single shot pistols for silhouette and handgun hunters.
Interestingly enough in 1900 Colt introduced the .38 ACP in the 1900 model. Designed by John Browning, this cartidge and pistol launched a 130 grain .355 diameter bullet at about 1050 ft/sec. It never caught on. Browning would later introduce a 9mm Long and 9mm Short (.380 ACP) as well. The shorter but more potent 9mm Parabellum did in the .38 ACP and 9MM Browning Long. In the 1920's the .38 ACP would be loaded to higher pressures and chambered for the 1911. Pushing the 130 grain bullet at 1280 ft/sec this round could penetrate the armor used by the thugs of the time.
In the 1980's the 9mm Parabellum took over law enforcement when everone went hi capacity crazy. The 9mm was developed in 1902, so it was the same age as the .38 Special, however it was designed for smokeless powder and made more efficient use of it's cartridge capacity. Oddly enough in Europe, the 9mm is seen strictly as a military cartridges and the .32 and .380 are widely used by police. There have been several attempts to make a shorter 9mm for police use. In 1934 the Germans experimented with a round we call the 9mm Ultra. The 9mm Parabellum is a 9 x 19 mm, the .380 is a 9 x 17mm. The Ultra was a 9 x 18mm round and still capable of being fired in a direct blowback weapon. This is the cartridge that the Russian Makarov round was based on. In 1974 Walther attempted to bring the Ultra back as the 9 x 18mm Police. It was chambered for the PP Super. I believe Sig Sauer made a couple of pistols for this round also. It never caught on. Odd since performance had to similar to the 9mm Makarov which sends a 95 grain bullet out at around 927 ft/sec. Of course, part of the charm of the Makarov is its price. You aren't going to pick up a Sig or Browning for what a Mak or FEG will go for. Anyway, next time out we will take a look at the cartridges that follow the .357/.38.
Originally, the Officer's probably carried whatever type of firearm they wanted to or happened to own. The idea of a standardized weapon or set of weapons probably didn't occur until at least the 1970's and then it was mostly in the larger forces. I think I remember reading that it was the NYPD who first declared their officers could only carry a particular type of weapon. It had more to do with identifying who was an undercover or plain clothes officer in a high stress situation than for any other reason. Unfortunately, until the FBI shooting in the '90's, legalities and politics played more of a role in selecting police weaponry, that performance did.
Okay, from roughly the 1920's until the 1980's, most police departments relied on a particular revolver caliber over all others. This article is a short history of this cartridge.
The .36 caliber cap and ball revolver was one of the staples of the Civil War and the old West. The .44's and .45's got most of the glory, but the .36 from Remington and Colt as well as others was extremely popular. As people began converting the cap and ball to modern cartidges Colt developed a cartridge called the .38 Colt Short for use in these guns. The .38 referred to case diameter rather than bullet diameter. The .38 Colt Short fired a 130 grain bullet at about 770 ft per second. The actual bullet diameter was about .374 or .375 and the bullet was externally lubricated.
In 1875 Colt created an "improved" version of this cartridge called the .38 Colt Long. This cartridge fired a 150 grain, .357 or .357 diameter, internally lubricated bullet at 770 ft per second. This cartridge was adapted by the army in 1892 and remained in service until 1911 although it performed poorly in the Spanish--American war and resulted in the adoption of the 1911 Colt in .45 ACP by the army.
To further confuse things, in 1877 Smith and Wesson introduced their own 38 caliber. Called the .38 S&W it fired a 148 grain lead round nose .360 bullet at roughly 720 ft per second. This became a popular round with law enforcement. Colt adopted this round, athough they called it the .38 Colt New Police and loaded a flat nose bullet in their rounds.
In 1922 Smith and Wesson and Colt created a new version of this cartridge which launched a 200 grain bullet at 620 ft. per second. Smith and Wesson called it the .38/200 while Colt Preferred the .38 Super Police.
In 1902 Smith and Wesson introduced an inproved version of the .38 Long Colt. It had the same basic cartridge, but utilized more powder and took advantages of improvements in handgun manufacture and modern metals. Unfortunately it would chamber in the older, more fragile guns, and police officers tend to be poor, so new cartridges were loaded in old guns and bad things happened. To prevent this, the cartridge was lengthened and the name was changed to .38 Special. Within a year of production the .38 Special was switched to smokeless powder. Because it was loaded to relatively low pressures, the cartridge was capable of handling more pressure and eventually would be released in higher pressure loads called +p and +p+.
The .38 special is an extremely popular cartridge and filled a great need. It is capable of great accuracy and can be packaged in long barrelled target guns. It is most seen in modern times in short barrelled revolvers that conceal easily. It is easy to forget though that the 3, 4, and 5 inch models were once considered the medicine necessary to combat the "new" crime wave, the traveling bank robbers of the Bonnie and Clyde era. The new heavy metal car bodies were ample protection from the .38 S & W and .38 Colt Long cartridges. The more powerful .38 Specials would penetrate the car bodies. With a 158 grain bullet traveling at roughly 770 p/s it gave a little more punch.
Modern .38 Specials are available in barrel lengths from 1/2" to 10". Some specialized autoloaders will fire the cartridge too. Ammunition is available in anything from 90 grain to 180 grain standard loads. Specialize fragible ammo offers even lower bullet weights. It is availabe in +p and +p+ loads offering higher performance if you and your gun can take it. Revolvers are offered in heavy, heavy-medium, medium, light and ultra light frames. Some of the short barrelled revolvers offer only 5 rounds but others offer 6.
In 1934 Smith and Wesson introduced a lengthend version of the .38 Special. It held more powder still, worked at much higher pressures, and offered even more power. Originally it used the same cartridge but the chance for mistakes was there so the cartridge was stretched a little. it was called the .38/44 as Smith and Wesson used the heavier frame of there .44 caliber revolver to tame the powerful round. Later medium and heavy medium frames would grow from the round that was eventually named the .357 Magnum. You see the new gangsters were using bullet proof vests and armored cars and it took a bullet traveling at least 1000 ft/sec to penetrate them. The .357 Magnum launched a 158 grain bullet at around 1200 ft/sec. In 1984 Remington stretched the .357 Magnum case out to create the .357 Maximum. It was designed as a silhouette cartridge for the Ruger Blackhawk revolver. It was a little too hot and wore out topstraps, so it has been limited to mostly single shot pistols for silhouette and handgun hunters.
Interestingly enough in 1900 Colt introduced the .38 ACP in the 1900 model. Designed by John Browning, this cartidge and pistol launched a 130 grain .355 diameter bullet at about 1050 ft/sec. It never caught on. Browning would later introduce a 9mm Long and 9mm Short (.380 ACP) as well. The shorter but more potent 9mm Parabellum did in the .38 ACP and 9MM Browning Long. In the 1920's the .38 ACP would be loaded to higher pressures and chambered for the 1911. Pushing the 130 grain bullet at 1280 ft/sec this round could penetrate the armor used by the thugs of the time.
In the 1980's the 9mm Parabellum took over law enforcement when everone went hi capacity crazy. The 9mm was developed in 1902, so it was the same age as the .38 Special, however it was designed for smokeless powder and made more efficient use of it's cartridge capacity. Oddly enough in Europe, the 9mm is seen strictly as a military cartridges and the .32 and .380 are widely used by police. There have been several attempts to make a shorter 9mm for police use. In 1934 the Germans experimented with a round we call the 9mm Ultra. The 9mm Parabellum is a 9 x 19 mm, the .380 is a 9 x 17mm. The Ultra was a 9 x 18mm round and still capable of being fired in a direct blowback weapon. This is the cartridge that the Russian Makarov round was based on. In 1974 Walther attempted to bring the Ultra back as the 9 x 18mm Police. It was chambered for the PP Super. I believe Sig Sauer made a couple of pistols for this round also. It never caught on. Odd since performance had to similar to the 9mm Makarov which sends a 95 grain bullet out at around 927 ft/sec. Of course, part of the charm of the Makarov is its price. You aren't going to pick up a Sig or Browning for what a Mak or FEG will go for. Anyway, next time out we will take a look at the cartridges that follow the .357/.38.
Monday, April 9, 2007
45 vs 9mm
In my misspent youth, many armchair wars and comparisons were made in the highschool library before and between classes on this mighty topic. Indeed, many magazine articles were penned on the subject in the early and the late 1980's. You see many police departments across the country were switching from revolvers to autoloaders, and the 9mm was autoloader king. Although it seems that the debate should have been between the merits of the 9mm vs. .38 special, or 9mm vs. .357 magnum. Now the military switch from the 1911 to the 92 stirred the fires even more, and was more on topic, although magazines seemed to want to compare both the 9mm and the .357 to the .45.
Now in the olden days I was a fierce defender to the .45 auto over all other handguns, mainly fueled by old Mike Hammer novels and episodes of Magnum P.I. My friend was a big fan of the Beretta Brigadier, which evolved in the 92. After much reading I changed my allegiance from the 1911 to the Sig P220, but other than that no change. My friend agreed that the Sig P226 might be a match for the Beretta, too.
Now, I never owned a 9mm parabellum or shot more than a few round through one until last year. I had owned a .45 Ruger, and shot a 1911. I had also owned a couple of .38 specials and .357 magnums. I know have in my limitted collection, 2 9mm's, 1 .45 ACP, and a .380 ACP. I recently had the opportunity to unleash my weaponry at unsuspecting paper targets, jugs of water, and aluminum cans.
First of all let me explain my reasoning behind the purchase of a 9mm. Ammo's cheap. I no longer reload, so I buy the stuff. The local organization to make people think they are buying cheap stuff at reasonable prices, Walmart, sells a 100 round box of Full Metal Jacket Winchester value packs for about $10. The same package in .45 ACP is $26. Oddly enough .45 and .22 are the only calibers they carry hollowpoints in.
Now to effectively compare the 9mm to the .45, one would need to have identical firearms chambered for each. Since the 9mm generally uses a smaller, lighter frame, this is difficult. The only way I could think to do it would be to aquire a 1911 in both calibers to fire side by side. Than is not currently in my power to do. My test guns were as follows.
9mm Parabellum: One Hungarian made Hi-Power. It is a little over 5" tall, 1.5" wide, with a 4.6" barrel. It weights about 2 lbs unloaded. You can add about .5 lbs to that with a 15 round magazine.
One Cobra Derringer: it is 5.5" long, 3.5" of which is barrel. It is 3.3" tall and weights 16 ounces empty. It holds 2 rounds of 9mm.
45 acp: One Llama Minimax: 7.3" long, with a 3.5" barrel. It is about 4.6" tall and weighs 2lbs. It holds 7 rounds in the magazine. The magazines weight a little less than the ones for the Hi Power.
One Volunteer Commando Mark 3, not mine, borrowed. Weight 8 lbs, I have no idea on the other dimensions, but I know it had a barrel longer than 3.5".
Now this isn't a fair test. The Hi Power has over an inch longer barrel than the LLama. But I didn't have a chronograph, or wet pack or anything remotely scientific. This is all strickly subjective.
First off, I am very happy with the Hi Power, it just feels good in my hand and the more I shoot it, the better I do. The recoil is not bad at all. There are two things I don't like. One, the stupid magazine disconnect makes the trigger feel stiffer than the 7.5 lbs it is and slows reloads as you have to pull the clips completely out. Second, the hammer bites me a bit. Given time and a nice gunsmith, I will soon fix both issues. I can shoot the Hi Power well single handed. I like the layout of the safety, mag release and slide release. I also like the weight and barrel length. The profile of the old design is much slimmer than most of the double actions I've handled. Only the CZ-75 seems to approach it for comfort in my hand.
Well, the overall layout of the Llama is similar, so most of what I just said applies here, also. Now, .45's are loud, but I have never felt they kicked that bad. My last .45 was a Ruger KP90D, which was an aluminum frame with steel slide and barrel. I no longer have it, but if I remember correctly the Llama is smaller, but heavier. The Llama feels lighter than the Hi Power loaded. The shorter barrel makes the Llama feel less balanced to me and it also feels flatter and taller. It shoots well though. I can fire both one and two handed and it does good enough for almost any self defense situation. I don't really like the grip safeties on the 1911 design and this one rattles a little, so it might need some attention. The other bothersome item is that spent brass often bounces off my head, especially firing 2 handed. A firmer grip helped the issued a lot, but occasionally I still took a hot piece of brass in the forehead. The Llama has more barrel lift than the Hi Power, and a bit more recoil. I put most of the barrel lift to the shorter barrel. The recoil is from the larger cartridge. It isn't much worse than the Ruger, the all steel gun's weight probably makes up for the loss of barrel length on recoil.
The Commando is a semi-auto replica of the Thompson. Auto-ordinance makes a more authentic replica, as the Volunteer used aluminum and plastic, resulting in a reduction from 14 to 8 lbs. The commando uses M3A1 magazines. With a thirty round magazine, it is a handful, and I had never fired one before. I don't like the sights and couldn't hit very well with it, but it absorbed the recoil and lessened the noise considerably. I would place the recoil as similar to a field load out of a 410 shotgun.
The Cobra barks bad. The 9mm out of the shorty barrel lets you know you fired a gun. It isn't uncontrollable, and I thought it was more pleasant than .38 specials I've fired through similar weapons, but it is not an experience for a novice.
My wife shot her Bersa, complained a little about the recoil. I let her shoot the Hi Power, then her gun again and she seemed to like hers better, especially the double action trigger, which is nice. I also let her shoot the Llama, she only made it through 3 rounds and gave it back. She felt the recoil was too much. I think it may have been the sound more than the recoil though.
Okay, 9mm vs .45, get one or two of each, both are good. All things being equal, I can shoot the 9mm accurately a little faster than the .45. It really boils down to the guns. The Llama and the Hi Power are very similar in size, so I can carry either in a similar situation. The Hi Power gives me double the number of shots and a little less recoil, flash, and noise. On the other hand if it comes down to extra ammo, the Hi Power's loaded clips weight quite a bit more. I tend to carry the Hi-Power more if I'm out and about. The Llama tend to go with me when I'm working outside. Don't know why, just the way it is. The Cobra tends to go everywhere with me.
I want to aquire 4 more firearms soon. I want a Makarov, just for a smaller, reliable concealed weapon. I might take the FEG version of one if the price is right. I also want a full size 1911 pattern weapon. I am looking at the Rock Island Armory stuff, as I am on a budget. I missed a good deal on a Norinco and am kicking myself. I would like a short barreled Hi Power. I've seen them. I also want to get a Firestorm 9mm for the wife. I also need to pick up a .22, either an auto or revolver, but not a little one, I want a target model for eliminating barn rats and other small vermin. It doesn't even have to be double action.
Now in the olden days I was a fierce defender to the .45 auto over all other handguns, mainly fueled by old Mike Hammer novels and episodes of Magnum P.I. My friend was a big fan of the Beretta Brigadier, which evolved in the 92. After much reading I changed my allegiance from the 1911 to the Sig P220, but other than that no change. My friend agreed that the Sig P226 might be a match for the Beretta, too.
Now, I never owned a 9mm parabellum or shot more than a few round through one until last year. I had owned a .45 Ruger, and shot a 1911. I had also owned a couple of .38 specials and .357 magnums. I know have in my limitted collection, 2 9mm's, 1 .45 ACP, and a .380 ACP. I recently had the opportunity to unleash my weaponry at unsuspecting paper targets, jugs of water, and aluminum cans.
First of all let me explain my reasoning behind the purchase of a 9mm. Ammo's cheap. I no longer reload, so I buy the stuff. The local organization to make people think they are buying cheap stuff at reasonable prices, Walmart, sells a 100 round box of Full Metal Jacket Winchester value packs for about $10. The same package in .45 ACP is $26. Oddly enough .45 and .22 are the only calibers they carry hollowpoints in.
Now to effectively compare the 9mm to the .45, one would need to have identical firearms chambered for each. Since the 9mm generally uses a smaller, lighter frame, this is difficult. The only way I could think to do it would be to aquire a 1911 in both calibers to fire side by side. Than is not currently in my power to do. My test guns were as follows.
9mm Parabellum: One Hungarian made Hi-Power. It is a little over 5" tall, 1.5" wide, with a 4.6" barrel. It weights about 2 lbs unloaded. You can add about .5 lbs to that with a 15 round magazine.
One Cobra Derringer: it is 5.5" long, 3.5" of which is barrel. It is 3.3" tall and weights 16 ounces empty. It holds 2 rounds of 9mm.
45 acp: One Llama Minimax: 7.3" long, with a 3.5" barrel. It is about 4.6" tall and weighs 2lbs. It holds 7 rounds in the magazine. The magazines weight a little less than the ones for the Hi Power.
One Volunteer Commando Mark 3, not mine, borrowed. Weight 8 lbs, I have no idea on the other dimensions, but I know it had a barrel longer than 3.5".
Now this isn't a fair test. The Hi Power has over an inch longer barrel than the LLama. But I didn't have a chronograph, or wet pack or anything remotely scientific. This is all strickly subjective.
First off, I am very happy with the Hi Power, it just feels good in my hand and the more I shoot it, the better I do. The recoil is not bad at all. There are two things I don't like. One, the stupid magazine disconnect makes the trigger feel stiffer than the 7.5 lbs it is and slows reloads as you have to pull the clips completely out. Second, the hammer bites me a bit. Given time and a nice gunsmith, I will soon fix both issues. I can shoot the Hi Power well single handed. I like the layout of the safety, mag release and slide release. I also like the weight and barrel length. The profile of the old design is much slimmer than most of the double actions I've handled. Only the CZ-75 seems to approach it for comfort in my hand.
Well, the overall layout of the Llama is similar, so most of what I just said applies here, also. Now, .45's are loud, but I have never felt they kicked that bad. My last .45 was a Ruger KP90D, which was an aluminum frame with steel slide and barrel. I no longer have it, but if I remember correctly the Llama is smaller, but heavier. The Llama feels lighter than the Hi Power loaded. The shorter barrel makes the Llama feel less balanced to me and it also feels flatter and taller. It shoots well though. I can fire both one and two handed and it does good enough for almost any self defense situation. I don't really like the grip safeties on the 1911 design and this one rattles a little, so it might need some attention. The other bothersome item is that spent brass often bounces off my head, especially firing 2 handed. A firmer grip helped the issued a lot, but occasionally I still took a hot piece of brass in the forehead. The Llama has more barrel lift than the Hi Power, and a bit more recoil. I put most of the barrel lift to the shorter barrel. The recoil is from the larger cartridge. It isn't much worse than the Ruger, the all steel gun's weight probably makes up for the loss of barrel length on recoil.
The Commando is a semi-auto replica of the Thompson. Auto-ordinance makes a more authentic replica, as the Volunteer used aluminum and plastic, resulting in a reduction from 14 to 8 lbs. The commando uses M3A1 magazines. With a thirty round magazine, it is a handful, and I had never fired one before. I don't like the sights and couldn't hit very well with it, but it absorbed the recoil and lessened the noise considerably. I would place the recoil as similar to a field load out of a 410 shotgun.
The Cobra barks bad. The 9mm out of the shorty barrel lets you know you fired a gun. It isn't uncontrollable, and I thought it was more pleasant than .38 specials I've fired through similar weapons, but it is not an experience for a novice.
My wife shot her Bersa, complained a little about the recoil. I let her shoot the Hi Power, then her gun again and she seemed to like hers better, especially the double action trigger, which is nice. I also let her shoot the Llama, she only made it through 3 rounds and gave it back. She felt the recoil was too much. I think it may have been the sound more than the recoil though.
Okay, 9mm vs .45, get one or two of each, both are good. All things being equal, I can shoot the 9mm accurately a little faster than the .45. It really boils down to the guns. The Llama and the Hi Power are very similar in size, so I can carry either in a similar situation. The Hi Power gives me double the number of shots and a little less recoil, flash, and noise. On the other hand if it comes down to extra ammo, the Hi Power's loaded clips weight quite a bit more. I tend to carry the Hi-Power more if I'm out and about. The Llama tend to go with me when I'm working outside. Don't know why, just the way it is. The Cobra tends to go everywhere with me.
I want to aquire 4 more firearms soon. I want a Makarov, just for a smaller, reliable concealed weapon. I might take the FEG version of one if the price is right. I also want a full size 1911 pattern weapon. I am looking at the Rock Island Armory stuff, as I am on a budget. I missed a good deal on a Norinco and am kicking myself. I would like a short barreled Hi Power. I've seen them. I also want to get a Firestorm 9mm for the wife. I also need to pick up a .22, either an auto or revolver, but not a little one, I want a target model for eliminating barn rats and other small vermin. It doesn't even have to be double action.
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