Dangerous times even in small town

[Sigarms]

Ground hog with a .22 Colt Woodsman pistol at 75 yards. We shot all of our groundhogs with pistols. After graduating from my original .22 single shot rifle, at about 14, I never took it out any more, I and all of my family were all pistolero's. Why take a rifle if you can get the job done with a handgun? Rifles are for shooting after 125 yards or so. My wife and I used to go to the range all the time with our Ruger Redhawk .44magnum stainless 5 inch and shoot the rams at 125 yards. It can be done and we did it.

I was being somewhat sarcastic in my comment James

That said, for myself, I would never try to kill an animal myself with a .22LR pistol unless it was pretty much point blank, particularly now that I need reading glasses. The two ground hogs I did take I knew the distance and when I should come across them, so I waited.

Do have to laugh on the pistols though with a .44 mag. When I was younger and dumber, shot a buddies Anaconda with iron sights at steel at 100 yards and had a hoot hitting what I was aiming at.

Couple years later, moved couple states away and found a Smith 4" mountain gun in 4" barrel. What difference could 4" make shooting a .44 magnum:laughing: I learned... that thing would blind you if you were shooting in low light conditions with it's fireball LOL For some reason, the recoil seemed a lot more as as well.

 

[shooterdon]

My experience mirrors that of prof-fate. It might be because I also shoot a lot and shoot competitively.

Many people I see at a public range worry the heck out of me....I am not afraid of guns...people....that is a different story. Most are pathetic shots and clueless. But at least they try to practice a bit. Think of all those who rarely shoot at all and own guns for protection. I feel sorry for the family members they want to protect.

Anyway, if you have never shot under stress, you are ill prepared for a gunfight. That is reality. I do not care how small your groups are from a bench or rest or hand held or whatever. Rule of thumb....what ever size group you shoot standing on your two legs will be more than twice as large when you compete in a timed event. I do not know how large it gets shooting at a person that could be moving or a person shooting back...but it will be even larger than twice what you can do on paper. So think about that.

And as to caliber....it ain't rocket surgery. The only reason I carry a 9mm is because I am more accurate with it under pressure (less recoil so quicker back on target), it holds a lot of rounds, and it is marginally effective if I miss the kill area. I would carry a 12 ga if I could...but I can't. The bigger and more powerful the caliber, the better it will kill...IF YOU CAN SHOOT IT! Any bullet design that makes the 9mm effective will make a larger caliber more effective. Simple.

BTW, our pistols for home defense are matched S&W 686 .357 Mag revolvers as that is as much as my fiancé can handle and I do not need to worry about the gun jamming on her. Not MY first choice in a pistol but the best compromise for US. We can pick up each others guns and not worry about how they work. KISS. But I tell her that if the SHTF, and she has time, to get to the 12 ga pump and/or AR15 (again matched weapons in both locations so we know how they work...muscle memory is your friend). More energy is a good thing when something needs to die...do not use a pistol if you have something better.

Choosing a .22, .25ACP, .32 etc etc shows ignorance. Staying with those calibers, after reading about their effectiveness, and what LEO's use , shows stupidity. But if that is what you have it beats nothing. It is your life and that of your loved ones...so chose something better and learn to use it.

 

[k0ua]

I was being somewhat sarcastic in my comment James

See?, I told you we really need a "sarcasm font".

 

[Sigarms]

Choosing a .22, .25ACP, .32 etc etc shows ignorance. Staying with those calibers, after reading about their effectiveness, and what LEO's use , shows stupidity. But if that is what you have it beats nothing. It is your life and that of your loved ones...so chose something better and learn to use it.

I can only hope to shoot as much as you an pro-fate so I can look down on other calibers. As I've mentioned, the best tool for self defense is your brain.

Hey, at least I killed a ground hog with a 22LR, but is was with a rifle NOT a pistol

 

[k0ua]

My experience mirrors that of prof-fate. It might be because I also shoot a lot and shoot competitively.

Many people I see at a public range worry the heck out of me....I am not afraid of guns...people....that is a different story. Most are pathetic shots and clueless. But at least they try to practice a bit. Think of all those who rarely shoot at all and own guns for protection. I feel sorry for the family members they want to protect.

Anyway, if you have never shot under stress, you are ill prepared for a gunfight. That is reality. I do not care how small your groups are from a bench or rest or hand held or whatever. Rule of thumb....what ever size group you shoot standing on your two legs will be more than twice as large when you compete in a timed event. I do not know how large it gets shooting at a person that could be moving or a person shooting back...but it will be even larger than twice what you can do on paper. So think about that.

And as to caliber....it ain't rocket surgery. The only reason I carry a 9mm is because I am more accurate with it under pressure (less recoil so quicker back on target), it holds a lot of rounds, and it is marginally effective if I miss the kill area. I would carry a 12 ga if I could...but I can't. The bigger and more powerful the caliber, the better it will kill...IF YOU CAN SHOOT IT! Any bullet design that makes the 9mm effective will make a larger caliber more effective. Simple.

BTW, our pistols for home defense are matched S&W 686 .357 Mag revolvers as that is as much as my fiancé can handle and I do not need to worry about the gun jamming on her. Not MY first choice in a pistol but the best compromise for US. We can pick up each others guns and not worry about how they work. KISS. But I tell her that if the SHTF, and she has time, to get to the 12 ga pump and/or AR15 (again matched weapons in both locations so we know how they work...muscle memory is your friend). More energy is a good thing when something needs to die...do not use a pistol if you have something better.

Choosing a .22, .25ACP, .32 etc etc shows ignorance. Staying with those calibers, after reading about their effectiveness, and what LEO's use , shows stupidity. But if that is what you have it beats nothing. It is your life and that of your loved ones...so chose something better and learn to use it.

Thru the years in shooting USPSA at our matches we often had a lot of LEO's come shoot with us. I can remember several that thought they were great shot's but when the timer went off and the running and gunning started and their results were posted on the "wailing wall", many of them slunk off, never to appear again as they were so disappointed with their results and many were so embarrassed. Others stayed and practiced with us and became very good shooters indeed. It is about mindset, and admitting to your self you aren't worth a chit, and then doing something about getting better. That usually entails spending money on ammo and time to shoot it. To be a great shot, first you have to get over your ego and thinking you are great when you a likely not that great.

 

[k0ua]

Hey, at least I killed a ground hog with a 22LR, but is was with a rifle NOT a pistol

Probably had a scope on it!.

 

[plowhog]

Or it was in a cage!

 

[Sigarms]

Probably had a scope on it!.

Both of em did, but no apologies, as both went down with single shots...

Now a days with a pistol, using irons and a 4" barrel, I'd be lucky to hit a pie plate at 50 yards without glasses.

 

[LD48750]

Both of em did, but no apologies, as both went down with single shots...

Now a days with a pistol, using irons and a 4" barrel, I'd be lucky to hit a pie plate at 50 yards without glasses.

Now a days the only time I would shoot without glasses is straight out of bed at night.
10' away from the bed, I have my glasses on......

Yes, I can see without them BUT I see BETTER with them.

 

[MossRoad]

My single six got swapped in for a Ruger Mark II stainless with 5 inch bull barrel. Best move I ever made. 10's of thousands of rounds thru the MKII so far. One very sweet shooting reliable accurate pistol. Hundreds of women got introduced to handgunning thru that little pistol. I figure about 600

I've shot one of those several times over the years. Once I get a decent shotgun, that's probably going to be my next purchase. :thumbsup: