Sport Shooters

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OK, I made up my mind to buy a handgun. My needs are for personal protection, must be small, and be in the price range I can afford, $400. area.

Because of my price limitation, I can't look at Smith, HK, Glock. Instead I'm looking at smaller companies that still have a good reputation. My biggest problem is caliber size. I want a hard hitting energy. Here's what I got so far:

.357/.38 spl. Winchester ammo 158gr JHP: muzzle energy @490. 3" brrl.

.44 special Winchester ammo 180gr JHP: muzzle energy @400. 3"brrl.

.45 acp Winchester ammo 185gr JHP. muzzle energy @440. 3.25" brrl.

The .357 & the .44 are snubbies, 5 shot capacity. the .45 is a semi-auto 6 +1 shots. The snubs have a 2.2" barrel. and the little auto has a 3.25" barrel.

Accuracy is not a factor, since any need for defence would be 20 foot range. I think if you can't hit your target in 2 shots, you should carry a machette instead. I can't imagine a scenario that would require more than 5 shots. I'm leaning towards a snubbie. 5 shots is enough, and in a fanny pack, the gun would be secure & accessible. I'm leaning towards the .357mag. , the variety of loads are immense.

The gun I'm thinking of getting is the Mag Pug, Charter Arms. The cost I've seen so far is $359.00, 5 shot capcity, 2.2" ported barrel.

First thing, don't buy new if you can find a good used handgun. You can find some very nice used pieces at very reasonable prices this way.

Realize that how the gun fits the hand is important in a small, defensive handgun. I would prefer the .45 from several points: (1) the ammo comes in magazines that are easily changed and (2) you get two more shots with the .45 than you do with the .38/.357 pistols. I recommend Pachmayr neoprene grips on my pistols because no matter how sweaty your hands get, the pistol remains solidly attached to your hands -- something that cannot be said for plastic or wood grips. Uncle Mike's and Hogue's also make neoprene grips. The neoprene grips also help to soak up the recoil in these small pistols and that's a good thing.

It is imperative to see how the snubbies fit your hands -- whether .38/.357 or .45 -- especially the .357 Mag. I would not recommend a .357 Mag in a snubbie unless it was ported to keep the muzzle under control, and you'll probably wind-up shooting .38's in it anyhow. The .38 Special with Federal Hydra-Shoks gets the job done.

What kind of 185-grain JHPs do you intend for the .45? I have had reliability problems with the semi-wadcutter shape, so you need a rounder nose for reliable feeding. I would prefer a heavier bullet if you can shoot it accurately. CCI Lawman 200-grain JHPs are good as are the 230-grain Federal Hydra-Shoks. Whatever you use, make sure that they feed reliabily from the magazine. You may have to have the feed ramp polished to get reliable feeding. I would install a Combat Commander-type extended ejector. This ejector just about eliminates any kind of jams.

So if you're on a budget, check the fit of the pistols in your hand, and then get as much pistol as you can handle. Over gunned is as bad as undergunned in serious social encounters.

Opps, I fogot about the .44 Special. This is certainly adequate. You need to look at the size difference between the .38/.357 and .45. I tend to go with the standard calibers because they are more commonly found -- I guess I have a mental block on the .44 Special.

That being said, the Charter Arms guns have a reputation as a good solid gun. I would have a gunsmith look over any of your choices, to make sure that the piece funchtions reliably. Cylinder timing is critical on revolvers. Put the hammer on full cock and trip the trigger while keeping the hammer under control. If you can wobble the cylinder with your other hand, the cylinder timing is off -- you sould not have wobble -- as this can indicate an enlarged stop notch on the cylinder or a worn stop. Check for reliable indexing -- does the hand move the cylinder reliably 1/5 of a rotation each time or is there some slop. You may not get enough travel for lockup.

The automatic is easier, because you are more concerned with springs and these are easily replaced. Very few things to go wrong with a .45 auto. Assuming that your auto is a small version of the 1911, make sure you check: (1) thumb safety operation -- safety ON, trigger and slide locked; (2) grip safety OFF -- hammer stays cocked when trigger is pulled; (3) half cock -- hammer must not drop to half cock when slide goes forward; (4) disconnector.

To check disconnector -- with pistol UNLOADED, cock hammer and pull trigger; the hammer falls. With pistol UNLOADED, push on muzzle end of pistol to unlock the pistol and squeeze the trigger; the hammer must not fall or follow the slide forward. If it does, you need a new disconnector (and maybe hammer and sear).

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