Shot placement and caliber matter. Color, not so much.

Posted on June 27, 2013 by Oleg Volk

The revolver shown actually works very well.

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18 Responses to Shot placement and caliber matter. Color, not so much.

  1. Sean says:
    June 27, 2013 at 12:32 am

    Wait didn’t you do a shoot with this gun before? looks familiar.
    Glad to see Danica again by the way.

  2. Matthew Groom says:
    June 27, 2013 at 7:43 am

    I have long argued that caliber is less important. You’ve likely heard the internet adage “A .22 in the hand is better than a .45 left at home”? Well in the same vein, a .22 to the brain or CNS is better than a .44 Magnum to the extremities or non-vital organs. I stress this to my non-shooter friends that it is more important to select a gun (if you only intend or only have the money to buy just one) which you can shoot well, are are aesthetically attracted to (if you don’t like it, you won’t play with it; it must be something you are interested in as an object), and in a usable caliber. I would define “usable” as any caliber which can easily and regularly penetrate a human skull, which is practically all of them. I sometimes carry a Kel-Tec P-32 with a combination of Gold Dots and FMJ, not because I think it’s just as good as any other caliber I own, but because I accept that even if I shoot a villainous foe with a .41 Magnum in the face, I might still end up in a Judo match with them on the pavement before their personal biology decides they are dead.

    Therefore, color IS important, if that is part of the appeal to the owner. People cherish custom engraved pistols and revolvers, with gold inlays or custom color schemes, because it’s personal; it’s unique, it’s aesthetically pleasing. A gun isn’t like a person that will have other character attributes that are discovered or get better after time. For most people, the inherent accuracy, or the trigger pull, or the fact that it doesn’t like this kind of ammo, or that kind of bullet shape will never be discovered. A gun is a thing, and like a hat or a purse, it will be love at first sight, or it will be a pipe wrench, and not everyone is cut out to be a plumber.

  3. BLADE says:
    June 27, 2013 at 7:48 am

    Nice Grip.

  4. LarryArnold says:
    June 27, 2013 at 12:23 pm

    Sorry, I have to disagree. Sort of. (The headline is correct.)

    The firearm that my CHL students have the most trouble with is the lightweight .38 revolver. The great secret of the gun culture is that the lighter a gun is, the more it kicks. (It’s a secret because we all know it and forget to tell the new chums.)

    I’ve seen lots of women (and some men) buy their first gun thinking “it’s small, it’s light, it’ll be easy to shoot.” Just the opposite. Shooting fifty rounds with one from 3, 7, and 15 yards (the Texas practical) hurts. The common reaction of a first-time shooter shooting one of them is, “This isn’t the gun I want.”

    Lightweight .38s serve a very useful purpose as dedicated carry guns. They should not be an inexperienced shooter’s first, or anyone’s only gun.

    • Scott J says:
      June 28, 2013 at 6:03 am

      Exactly, Larry.

      I always tell anyone who asks me about becoming a gun owner NOT to start with a snubbie or pocket auto no matter what they’re told.

      I carry a SP-101 with full house magnums most of the time. I am adamant to folks that such a thing is most decidedly not a beginner’s gun.

      • Will says:
        June 29, 2013 at 12:47 pm

        Scott:

        Regarding your statement on the pocket auto. I would qualify that to mean “blowback” types. Those are painful to shoot. However, locked breach types, such as the Colt Mustang (yes, even the “Pocketlite”) are fairly gentle on the hand. I’m thinking some sort of handy label differentiating between the two types of action would be very useful. Maybe “whackback” and “smoothmove”? Suggestions, anyone?

  5. "lee n. field" says:
    June 27, 2013 at 4:49 pm

    Dude, that’s distracting.

    I’m looking at getting a Charter snub myself, your basic steel Undercover.

    • Oleg Volk says:
      June 27, 2013 at 4:54 pm

      Strangely, that’s the one I am eyeing as well. I have a liking with little DAO revolvers even though I am not a fan of DAO in semiautos or larger wheelguns.

      • Steve says:
        June 29, 2013 at 11:34 am

        Oleg –
        Look into the Ruger LCR with the Hogue Recoil Tamer grips. I have the .357 magnum version, and it is quite comfortable shooting .38s, and tolerable shooting stout magnums.

    • Ex says:
      June 28, 2013 at 11:13 am

      Mine weighs 12oz. unloaded . Hardly know it’s with you. Not the best made gun out there but it goes bang when you pull the trigger.
      Try and find the On Duty model with the half hammer. Doesn’t snag but still has enough of a hammer to cock. The only one I’ve seen for sale is the one I bought at a Denver gun show.
      I shot it once with the +P’s – without ear muffs. Won’t do that again. Not looking forward to ever having to use the thing in a fight and as you say, not a good first gun – or even second.
      I tries the .45 XSD but that’s still too cumbersome to carry easily and all the time. Love to find an old 9mm Walther but no luck yet.

  6. Tommy Boy says:
    June 27, 2013 at 6:24 pm

    wait, there’s a revolver in this picture?

  7. Y. says:
    June 27, 2013 at 7:08 pm

    It’s still a revolver.
    A 9mm semi-auto can be much more handy, equally powerful yet far more compact.

    • Lyle says:
      June 27, 2013 at 7:22 pm

      Are you tellin’ her she can’t pack what she wants? ; )

    • LarryArnold says:
      June 28, 2013 at 12:25 am

      [A 9mm semi-auto can be much more handy, equally powerful yet far more compact.]

      And with a “neck” line like hers, it’s an invitation to a brass dance. 😉

      • Y. says:
        June 28, 2013 at 12:07 pm

        Shush Larry! Don’t give it away.. 🙂

        I’ve not yet seen a brass dance, but I’m looking forward to..

        • LarryArnold says:
          July 2, 2013 at 2:31 am

          I’ve seen too many. I was too busy trying to make sure the gun the dancer was holding was pointing safe to watch the fun. It’s an instructor thing.

  8. Lyle says:
    June 27, 2013 at 7:20 pm

    What; no mother-of-pearl? Well those grips are a lot better anyway, I’m sure.

  9. Bill Nance says:
    June 29, 2013 at 5:17 am

    Larry, you are 1000% correct.
    I have had literally dozens of female students who had never shot a gun before show up with snubbie .38s, almost invariably light-weight guns with 12-pounnd triggers (Charter Arms). that they couldn\’t shoot worth a damn. Yet give them a 9mm or even a .40 semi-Auto and they could operate every aspect of the gun with minimal training.

    I want to take every gun shop clerk who says \

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