Pocket Gun

Status
Not open for further replies.
I have no difficulty at all shooting a small pistol effectively.
Alrighty then.

And can do it just as fast as a larger gun or faster.
Having observed numerous students in realistic defensive training using many different firearms, and having a pretty good understanding of Newtonian physics, I do not find that claim to be credible.

And Like I said, you can carry in your pocket, coat, Appendix what every.
I referred to a post from someone who wanted to carry in a pants pocket.

There is nothing faster than a pocket pistol in a jacket pocket when the defender is already grasping it. And that can usually be accomplished with discretion. Usually.

But pocket carry offers no advantage over a waistband holster, and if the defender is sitting, pants pocket carry can be a poor choice.
 
A bigger grip, longer sight radius, greater weight, and a greater moment of inertia all help with controlled, rapid shooting.

Those are all reasonable but only one is really a major issue. There are lots of pocketable guns with large grips and reasonable weight. Granted the sight radius is a function of length and that really is an issue; however a defensive pocket gun would most often be used a BBD (Bad Breath Distance) and most likely used without sighting. I've pocket carried both the Beretta 81 and Colt 1903 (the Pocket Hammerless) and neither would be called tiny.

The Beretta 81:
standard.jpg

My Type 1 Colt 1903 that has the longer 4" barrel:
standard.jpg

The key has been to find a good holster that will hold the gun securely and position it for use. For those two I most often use an old Alessi pocket holster.

Here is a slightly smaller Type 3 Colt 1903 with the Alessi Holster:
standard.jpg
 
Again speak for yourself. I have no difficulty at all shooting a small pistol effectively. And can do it just as fast as a larger gun or faster. And Like I said, you can carry in your pocket, coat, Appendix what every. And do some drills with one in your pocket and practice. Faster than you think. I understand you are making a "Generalization". But not all folks train the same way.

I think that Berettas are my favorite guns; whatever the reason. You certainly can't argue the popularity of Ruger-Glock-S&W (sales are there). I've ordered the 3032 Tomcat and was going to order the .22LR Bobcat ('gotta love those names) but I saw the Taurus Poly P22 and bought it, just to see. I love it. I know that the.22 is not in the realm of your point when you say " I have no difficulty at all shooting a small pistol effectively", but for me, it really is. It is a great little gun and after several days, I absolutely can shoot the thing effectively.
 
I think that Berettas are my favorite guns; whatever the reason. You certainly can't argue the popularity of Ruger-Glock-S&W (sales are there). I've ordered the 3032 Tomcat and was going to order the .22LR Bobcat ('gotta love those names) but I saw the Taurus Poly P22 and bought it, just to see. I love it. I know that the.22 is not in the realm of your point when you say " I have no difficulty at all shooting a small pistol effectively", but for me, it really is. It is a great little gun and after several days, I absolutely can shoot the thing effectively.
I considered a .32 Tomcat. Has no ejector. I won't carry one unless it's free. I'd prefer a 81 to the Tomcat.
 
Lack of an extractor is secondary to the advantage of not having to rack the slide for some people.
 
I think that Berettas are my favorite guns; whatever the reason. You certainly can't argue the popularity of Ruger-Glock-S&W (sales are there). I've ordered the 3032 Tomcat and was going to order the .22LR Bobcat ('gotta love those names) but I saw the Taurus Poly P22 and bought it, just to see. I love it. I know that the.22 is not in the realm of your point when you say " I have no difficulty at all shooting a small pistol effectively", but for me, it really is. It is a great little gun and after several days, I absolutely can shoot the thing effectively.

Take just about anything and train consistently and diligently for 10 years and you might just be surprised what people can do. Ten years ago, I would have never dreamed I would be shooting a pocket gun like I can now. And still remember my very first shot with one. Damn near missed the whole target at 7 yds. And that one shot sent me on a quest to improve to almost a compulsion. Most expecially Pocket guns, but any small Barrel with a DAO trigger. Had the LCR22 out last weekend and can just have fun shooting that little sucker all day long. And every range trip each week a pocket gun will always be shot. In the summer take a small BB gun and just practice over an over. Draw and shoot tin cans thrown in the air. And so many nice small barrel 22.cals out there. And Yes, have always wanted a Poly22. Need to just get one, thanks for reminding me.
Consequently, If I had to draw a big heavy gun now, just about anyone could probably beat me. Your body, mind, eyes, everything just keeps on adapting until some things just seem natural.
 
It is SO much fun to shoot and SO easy to clean and SO easy to grab and go.
 
… and one of the few reasons I like winter is the ability to wear a heavy coat and "pocket Carry" a Series 70 Mark IV with eight rounds of 230 grain goodness in a coat pocket!

Hey, many moons ago one night it stopped what was turning ugly early fast!

Mean while a P32 now with a decade of service in the pocket beats strong words.

A friend that pocket carries a semi auto Ruger LC(?) 9 ,their 9mm Keltec clone, let me shoot it and I am thinking hard about saving my change for a bit. Drops right in the overalls pockets and disappears...trigger pull seemed a little light but could get used to it fast. It has actual sights.

-kBob
 
Hey Todd,

Apparently 11/15 is national pick on Todd day... I saw that AMT long slider and my first thought was "shoot. Jerry Ahren carries TWO of those concealed!" and "I wonder if Todd reads Ahren fiction?"

A friend got one of the little DA .45ACPs early on and my only dislike was the lack of useable sights. I will say that at 3 and 7 meters one did not really need them AND there was that whole 230 grain .45 cal goodness thing going on.

At the time I was carrying a Star PD IWB at the time and that AMT was tempting....except when things got beyond seven yards.

-kBob
 
There are a couple of things about small Pocket guns and DAO. When you shoot them so often (380), you just become immune to the recoil, until you feel you are just shooting a 22.cal. Especially with mild shooting guns like the Pico and Kahr. Which then, you realize you can train often with a a small 22.cal at so much less in cost. Fast point and shoot with these guns is just fun and satisfying when done well. Now after shooting so often with a smooth DAO, I actually do not like light striker fired guns. Just do not do as well. I use to hear folks say the LCR22 had a strong trigger. Gosh, I never felt this or even paid attention to it. Feels just fine to me.
 
Thibaut writes:

..was going to order the .22LR Bobcat ('gotta love those names) but I saw the Taurus Poly P22 and bought it, just to see. I love it.

Doesn't surprise me. I have one of the older, aluminum-framed PT22 pistols, made in 1998, and I like it a lot. With what I've run through it (MiniMags and AutoMatch), I've never had a problem. Shoots pretty straight, too. It's the only gun I've been able to get my wife to warm up to so far, and I've since acquired two of the PT25 versions, too. I did end up with a Beretta 21A recently, but I actually like the Taurus more in hand (though the Bobcat conceals a little more easily.)
 
I am not Todd, but I have a number of AMT pistols, all bought new back in the 80's and 90's: AMT Lightning with 10" bull barrel, AMT DAO Backups in .380 and 9 mm. Back in the day the DAO Backups were one of the very few options if you wanted something small, dehorned, in stainless steel and in a major caliber. Heat treating the different grades of stainless was not as well understood then, and many people had galling issues. With contemporary lubricants (I use M-Pro 7 LPX exclusively these days), function is not an issue. The DAO Backups are built like tanks, were heavy, with a very heavy trigger pull and no sights or safety, but they were excellent for their intended purpose of short range encounters. My 9 mm DAO Backups hold 6+1, and the recoil is negligible due to the weight of the pistol. I still carry them from time to time, and the 9 mm Backup fits very well in the handlebar bag of my bicycles.
 
Back in the day the DAO Backups were one of the very few options if you wanted something small, dehorned, in stainless steel and in a major caliber.
I remember reading articles back in the day about the class of pistols and finding it exciting at the time.
Hard-hitting back-ups that were not revolvers were thin on the ground.

C.O.P. .357 derringer, AMT Back-Ups, Detonics .45s, S&W ASPs, custom Officer's Models....

Wish I still had a couple of those magazines with the articles.

Todd.
 
Hey Todd,
Apparently 11/15 is national pick on Todd day... I saw that AMT long slider and my first thought was "shoot. Jerry Ahren carries TWO of those concealed!" and "I wonder if Todd reads Ahren fiction?"
-kBob

I always wanted a long-slide since seeing the Jim Hoag version in the movie Thief in 1981. Being a lowly Enlisted man, there was NO way I was going to afford a custom so it was AMT-4-me!

Then of course, we saw Ah-nold get on "... with laser sighting" in 1984. If a Terminator from 2029 thought it was a good gun - who was I to argue?:)

My Back-Up was carried by two different Feds. The first retired and the second was finally able to capitalize on the wide range of alternatives in the 90's. Heavy for sure but slim as can be and VERY smooth, inside and out. I'm very comfortable calling my shots out to 25 feet or so as I have shot it a lot and never change rounds.


Todd.
 
Todd

A buddy of mine had an AMT Hardballer and after replacing most of the internal parts of the gun, I was finally able to get it to run semi-reliably! He also longed for a long slide version but thankfully he never found one (as in one less gun to work on)!

As to AMT pocket autos I had several single action Back-Ups early on as they were just about the smallest .380 (and in stainless steel), you could find that was also rather affordable. Unfortunately once again AMT quality control fell short of the mark, just as they did with their 1911s. I remember trading in my last Back-Up along with something else for a new Colt Government .380. Now that was a nice pocket gun, even more so when it's smaller brother, the Colt Mustang, was introduced.

ayF2G2I.jpg
 
I remember trading in my last Back-Up along with something else for a new Colt Government .380. Now that was a nice pocket gun, even more so when it's smaller brother, the Colt Mustang, was introduced.

View attachment 872224

A pal's wife has the world's sweetest Terry Tussey Mustang. Of course, having it built in the 90's - there are myriad alternatives now but it's still a hell of a pistol.


Tod.
 
Boy, the Detonics .45 takes me back. From the mid 70's to the mid 80's, they were based on the Eastside of Seattle. I handled and fired a number of the Combat Master pistols, which were notorious for feeding problems. But it was amongst the very first production compact 1911 pattern pistols. A friend of mine had the Pocket 9, which was also popular as a DA stainless compact pistol. It had an unusual blowback action in which there was an annular ring in the chamber, and the case expanded into the ring to delay the action. I think it was only made for a year, and the poor sales led to the demise of Detonics. The name was sold and I think the company subsequently operated for a while in Arizona.
 
I shot an AMT 380 many years ago. Didn't like it. I agree that Js are great pocket guns. I have several and took clases and shot matches with them. The hammered versions with longer barrels are neat belt guns for me, as well as the snubbies being pocket guns.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top