FatCatsDad
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Unloaded guns are just like wearing wearing jewellery, no actual point to it
Buying a Mexican Handgun.... The Saga of Wally and Calmex
- Thread starter Wally
- Start date
Unloaded guns are just like wearing wearing jewellery, no actual point to it
FatCatsDad
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
We bailed on a house in Costa Rica in 2019 , we both wouldn't have adapted well long term
The weather while terrific brings a host of medical issues for old people, learning a new language is hard at this age, culture shock was too much. You sort of have to do it to understand.
Learning a second or third or whatever number language WELL is never easy. The easier way for 998/1000 of people is simply not to learn it. And after not learning it, telling loudly that the language to be learned is not really needed. Nah ... not needed. Generally, English speaking people do not learn any other language. You see, they don't have to because they don't need to. They bring their own language with them and that, they say, will do nicely - for everybody around. I think that speaking the language of the people that you visit in their own country is Politeness.
The same goes for pistol shooters and I would say that the extreme majority of pistol shooters are poor - very poor - shooters. Including, first and foremost, our beloved unionized warriors. They don't have to learn how to shoot straight. So, they never learn. All is good.
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I really enjoyed your write up on the adventures and "miracles" you experienced by taking on the challenge of becoming a firearm owner in Mexico. The saying "Jump, and build your wings on the way down!" Comes to mind.
For us armchair adventurers too steeped in the security of circulating in the warm waters of the "Canadian Hot Tub" moments in your story raise ones pulse like a splash of ice water. Thanks for the fine Sunday morning read. Enjoy your new found shooting privileges.
For us armchair adventurers too steeped in the security of circulating in the warm waters of the "Canadian Hot Tub" moments in your story raise ones pulse like a splash of ice water. Thanks for the fine Sunday morning read. Enjoy your new found shooting privileges.
Thanks for the cudos and I'm glad that everyone is enjoying the story. I'm sure there's more to add but I was actually thinking people would get annoyed if it were too long. Wait for Calmex to post his version.... I'm sure there's more haha.
I don't think Cal stopped talking the entire time we were together. He has some incredible stories and I'm surprised I was able to both listen and drive at the same time. I think for that reason alone it feels like there's so much more to tell.
No problem and I'd say it's well worth it if you can pull it off. My brother has been to Brazil and loved it. I bought some motorcycle gear from some Brazilians and apparently I have an open invitation to go ride there. They sent me photos of some of their moto trips and it looks epic.
Character limit is 7700 characters and if you go over it takes you to an error page, just like if you put an illegal character in the title.
Haha oh, I'm well aware. It's my FIL's favourite drink. It's actually a Cuba without lime and a Cuba Libre with lime. The family just calls them "cubitos" (little cuba). We pick limes off the trees around the pool for the Libre part. Doesn't get any fresher.
I'm licking my chops already. I want a peacemaker!!! Maybe I can buy a horse and register in the association.
Agreed but what you're missing is that Mexico is all about laws, paperwork and findling loopholes. This is an excellent loophole to own a large bore pistol down here.
It's not for everyone and I can totally understand the culture shock.
Thank you very much. So far so good!
That basically sums up what I did. The gun thing has basically been a metaphor for my entire experience down here so far.
I don't think Cal stopped talking the entire time we were together. He has some incredible stories and I'm surprised I was able to both listen and drive at the same time. I think for that reason alone it feels like there's so much more to tell.
No problem and I'd say it's well worth it if you can pull it off. My brother has been to Brazil and loved it. I bought some motorcycle gear from some Brazilians and apparently I have an open invitation to go ride there. They sent me photos of some of their moto trips and it looks epic.
Character limit is 7700 characters and if you go over it takes you to an error page, just like if you put an illegal character in the title.
Haha oh, I'm well aware. It's my FIL's favourite drink. It's actually a Cuba without lime and a Cuba Libre with lime. The family just calls them "cubitos" (little cuba). We pick limes off the trees around the pool for the Libre part. Doesn't get any fresher.
Here is one comment to wet your whistle: in the Mexican Gun Law, there is a "special exemption" for Charros who are members of the Charro Association. You are permitted to wear and own a "prohibited handgun" for display and use with your Charro costume. Many Charros own old Peacemakers, or S&W Triple-locks or 1917's or early Model 24's or other .44 or .45 Caliber handguns and wear them in ornate holsters while riding in their Charro events. The law specifies that the guns must always be unloaded, and that possessing ammunition for these "prohibited" weapons is not allowed (although this rule is commonly ignored). I see nobody in these photos wearing a pistol, but it's actually not all that common to see them wearing their sixguns at actual Charro events: they wear them at local parades and social events. It's the Mexican Charro version of a "BBQ gun", and the Mexican Gun Law specifically permits it. Go ahead, look it up, you'll see I'm right.
I'm licking my chops already. I want a peacemaker!!! Maybe I can buy a horse and register in the association.
Agreed but what you're missing is that Mexico is all about laws, paperwork and findling loopholes. This is an excellent loophole to own a large bore pistol down here.
It's not for everyone and I can totally understand the culture shock.
Thank you very much. So far so good!
That basically sums up what I did. The gun thing has basically been a metaphor for my entire experience down here so far.
Midnight Rider
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- ......the Vanishing Point .
A lot of typing , and an interesting read . Enjoy the adventure .
My now 83 year-old business partner from the pickle program -- that program I told you about, Wally, where I corrupted a whole little village down along the Michoacan border into believing that if a person in Canada really respected their boss they called them "Herr Obergruppenfuhrer" and gave them that respectful salute as a constant daily greeting -- worked a very long time in Mexico, and Honduras, and Guatemala and Nicauragua back before Daniel Ortega....immense experience that pales anyone else I knew, actually -- likes to call them "Mentiras", the Spanish word for "Lies". Because Cuba isn't free.
I love this picture. Now knowing your wife, it gave me a chuckle. Big gun, saucy little girl. I hope she liked shooting it. Loaded up to full power, you'd be amazed at the difference in it's roar and blast over those Aguila 130 grain .38 Specials. That whole area out there looks beautiful. I believe I told you that you can carry the gun on the ranch as it's registered there. You can shoot it on the ranch. If you want to get your own badge made up, you can be a Patrolman on the ranch. All legal. But as it's Mexico, you probably know that we don't need no stinkin' badges.
This is a great photo too. I have spent a lot of time in Salamanca over the years, my "Miami Vice" wedding was in Salamanca -- well, on a ranch just outside of it -- in 2008. This photo captures the aura of actually being there, in the heart of the Evil Empire.
I have lots of photos around here, just regular family photos and stuff, with those fires burning in the background. They are always there. As well as the pollution. I like Salamanca, but really don't want to live there. I'd take it in a heartbeat over Canada, of course, but it's not where I want to live for sure. We'll talk about all this the next time I'm down there, hopefully November or December this year. I'm planning on passing most of the winter there in Mexico if I can and we'll see if we can get set up somewhere more permanently that isn't Salamanca. And no, I don't want to live in San Miguel de Allende again either. It was nice until all those Gringos and Canadians moved in. When you can hear English spoken on the streets it's time to move on.
So, this is the barrel marking on your new Model 28. Obviously, we remarked it. This was a Custom Shop purchase if I remember correctly. Armando -- I believe you met him -- did the remark work. They barely got this gun finished and remarked and it got scooped up by the guy you bought it from. If I had stayed in Mexico, I would have sort of liked it myself. Sort of a nice companion piece to my 6-inch Model 28, but I'm glad you got it all the same. I think, and in fact believe, that the long red-ramp front sight was a specification for the Louisiana State Patrol Model 28's and I think I read that a whole Model number run was made with them. Not all the revolvers in the run were sent to the LSP, but all the revolvers in that run had those sights. On that basis alone, I'd be tempted to just keep that gun "as is". I do not believe the grips number to the gun, but you can check that. Remove the grips and see if the serial number on the grips is the same as the number on the bottom of the butt. I do not believe it is. I think that that gun came into the Custom Shop with Pachmayr Rubbers on it, and we put a set of N-frame Service Stocks on it (which is what it probably would have been shipped with) that we had laying around in the parts bins.
Just so you know, for your own trivia, Armando took the markings off some 4-inch Model 19's we did up for a collector friend who has a couple dozen Model 19's registered as just 3 different Serial numbers, and just sort of copied them onto yours. Apparently, this friend now wants to sell some off, and the prices are like half of what you'd expect (because any he sells have to be remarked at the buyer's expense and risk). I have told him I'd be interested in three of them, one for me, one for my wife and one either for you if you are interested or my son in law. Anyway, your barrel markings were copied off the 19's and done at around the same time. That Armando, he's an artist man. Except that time he spelt "Special" as "Specail" and nobody caught it until we were actually registering. But the Sergeant doing the paperwork didn't notice and we sure didn't say anything. I know who has that gun and we never fixed it afterwards. Registered is registered. Just like your gun is now registered.
Exactly! A friend of mine in San Miguel is in the Charreria Association, and he has several "Revolution Era" Peacemakers. Of course we loaded up some .45 Colt ammo for the ones made after the blackpowder era and shot them.
Canadians go crazy over laws. A law is a law. I mean, they take it seriously. To a Mexican, the law is a suggestion. A reference point, maybe. It's not a solid, unmoveable thing. It's negociable. Nobody lays awake nights worrying about silly little laws in Mexico. That's a Canadian thing. Maybe even an American thing. But the Mexicans don't lose much sleep over it, and after over a quarter-century of living there I can't say I lay awake much worrying about "the law" either. Especially down in Mexico. Here in Canada, where everyone -- especially the Police and the Judiciary can be so anal about "the law" -- I try to just be a boy-scout and count down my time until I'm back in the Mex again. (Cue in Mel Gibson screaming "Freedom!"). And of course, with freedom, comes increased danger. And right there in the center of danger, between Celaya and Irapuato, sits Salamanca. Funny how that works.
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I love this kind of reporting. I recall flying my family down to Mexico in the 80s in our little airplane (Mooney). Each time we landed there was a guy there who would (for a small fee) walk us around to the various places I had to visit to file a flight plan, clear customs, buy gas, etc.
Initially, I thought that retaining him was a legal procedure. Then i realized it was a type of scam - but it turned out to be a very useful service because he spoke the language and knew where each office was.
IXtapa, before the big hotels, was nice.
Initially, I thought that retaining him was a legal procedure. Then i realized it was a type of scam - but it turned out to be a very useful service because he spoke the language and knew where each office was.
IXtapa, before the big hotels, was nice.
To place Salamanca in somewhat better context for people not familiar with Central Mexico, it's a dangerous town. As Wally said, the fighting between the Cartel Nuevo Generacion de Jalisco and the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel (Los Huachicoleros - fuel thieves) is centered right on and around the fuel processing plants in Salamanca. Fighting is brutal and Government Security Forces are there to clean up afterwards, not get involved. If they were to try, their families would be at risk. Civilians are on their own. Yes, sonny, you're in the wild west now. For information fanatics, Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel's chief "El Marro" is in prison and running things from there. Head of the Jalisco Cartel is "El Mencho", and for fans of Narco's: Mexico our old friend "El Mayo" has his hand in much of what's going on in the area as well.
If you Google "The Most Dangerous Cities in the World" for 2023 and click on the World Atlas link, you'll see that #1 on the list is Celaya, Gto. which is 30 minutes east of Salamanca just driving, while Irapuato, Guanajuato is 20 minutes west of Salamanca by driving (#5 on the list) and Uruapan (#8 on the list) is a leisurely 2 hour and 20 minute drive to the south of Salamanca. But the fighting is centered on Salamanca. Salamanca is Ground Zero. Thus, a lot of the references about Salamanca being the "Baghdad of Mexico" aren't really jokes: it's just what it is. Remember: this list is the most dangerous cities in "the World". Not just the most dangerous in Mexico.
I spend a lot of time there, and I lived for 26 years in that area so you can just call me desensitized. Which I am, I suppose. But Wally had to drive through Celaya six times I believe as we ran back-and-forth and up-and-down so it's worthy of mention. By the way, for true adventurers interested in such things, I think (and my wife agrees) that perhaps the best Prime Rib on the Planet is at the California Restuarants location on Boulevard Lopez Mateos in Celaya. You'll know you're in the right place because of the "Sons of Anarchy" decor with Harley Davidson Motorcycles scattered all around the restaurant floor and the general "thug" environment of the place. Washrooms are extremely clean, the hand-air blow-dryers are so powerful they'll curl your hair while you try to dry your hands and the music is '70's and '80's.
For the "been there, done that" crowd, I recommend it. It's like something out of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. "After crossing off your bucket list by visiting the most dangerous City in the World, why not top it off with a Prime Rib at the California Restaurant on Boulevard Lopez Mateos in downtown Celaya?"
Internet photo for the California Restaurant on Lopez Mateos, Celaya. Order the Prime Rib and don't dress and act like a friggin' tourist, for your own good. The last time I ate in there, our host had a Midway USA gun-bag on the floor with some Model 19's (unremarked) he had just bought and was taking for remarking. My friend and I each had: my Model 49 snubby in my pocket and he had his 2.5-inch Model 19 snubby in an inside-the-pants holster. Great meal, as always, although one's always a little nervous being there.
If you Google "The Most Dangerous Cities in the World" for 2023 and click on the World Atlas link, you'll see that #1 on the list is Celaya, Gto. which is 30 minutes east of Salamanca just driving, while Irapuato, Guanajuato is 20 minutes west of Salamanca by driving (#5 on the list) and Uruapan (#8 on the list) is a leisurely 2 hour and 20 minute drive to the south of Salamanca. But the fighting is centered on Salamanca. Salamanca is Ground Zero. Thus, a lot of the references about Salamanca being the "Baghdad of Mexico" aren't really jokes: it's just what it is. Remember: this list is the most dangerous cities in "the World". Not just the most dangerous in Mexico.
I spend a lot of time there, and I lived for 26 years in that area so you can just call me desensitized. Which I am, I suppose. But Wally had to drive through Celaya six times I believe as we ran back-and-forth and up-and-down so it's worthy of mention. By the way, for true adventurers interested in such things, I think (and my wife agrees) that perhaps the best Prime Rib on the Planet is at the California Restuarants location on Boulevard Lopez Mateos in Celaya. You'll know you're in the right place because of the "Sons of Anarchy" decor with Harley Davidson Motorcycles scattered all around the restaurant floor and the general "thug" environment of the place. Washrooms are extremely clean, the hand-air blow-dryers are so powerful they'll curl your hair while you try to dry your hands and the music is '70's and '80's.
For the "been there, done that" crowd, I recommend it. It's like something out of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. "After crossing off your bucket list by visiting the most dangerous City in the World, why not top it off with a Prime Rib at the California Restaurant on Boulevard Lopez Mateos in downtown Celaya?"
Internet photo for the California Restaurant on Lopez Mateos, Celaya. Order the Prime Rib and don't dress and act like a friggin' tourist, for your own good. The last time I ate in there, our host had a Midway USA gun-bag on the floor with some Model 19's (unremarked) he had just bought and was taking for remarking. My friend and I each had: my Model 49 snubby in my pocket and he had his 2.5-inch Model 19 snubby in an inside-the-pants holster. Great meal, as always, although one's always a little nervous being there.
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cuba libre yes sorry was made with lime thank you for the correction ... the funny part about cuba is not free is truer that we all can think but the use of bacardi (now in puerto rico) and coca cola was an answer from the opponents of castro that fled the country and still wanted to keep some memories from the land.
at least this is what i was told but cubans i met in paris and in usa.
but thank you for both bringing some histories from the inside.
Is this baby heated? Because if it is, I think you should start working on your Father-in-Law to just rent (at a really acceptable price) one of those guest cabins that Mexican ranches always have to me and the wife for like 4 months or 5 months next winter. Just think of your Father-in-Law's joy at having a neighbour from Canada more his own age instead of some whipper-snapper who dresses like L'il Abner. We could talk intelligently about bullfighting, and Charros, and Tequila, and all the things that really seem to matter to guys in their late 60's hanging out on a ranch in Mexico. (And I could clean his 1914 manufacture Model 94. Did I mention we have a lot of Model 94 parts in the loading room at San Miguel? Just sitting there, waiting to be installed in some rifle showing actual wear and tear to bring the headspace back to spec?) I'm only half-joking here....
My own brother-in-law in Salamanca (a former Mayor of Salamanca) has a car collection. It's all housed in a warehouse he owns and he's got like 15 cars of various makes and models including a really nice 80's model VW Beetle I helped him restore and actually drove for about 6 months after I sold my batmobile. Anyway, he just came into a 1998 Jetta that's apparently running really decently as part of a trade he made and he says the wife and I can use the Jetta the next time we're down there "as if it were our own". So this time around, I'll have wheels. No-cost wheels. (Well, we hope.)
Finally, just to add something to your story that was missed: when a person goes and tries to register any .357 Magnum revolver that's been remarked to .38 Special, there is always the real danger that the Mexican Army will take just a second and try to insert a .357 Magnum cartridge into the cylinder and check to see if it will close. If they do this little test and it does close, they've got you. And the gun. So you could lose it. When you went to register, I had installed my .38 Special cylinder out of my Heavy Duty, which after-all was one the guns that the Model 28 4-inch is basically based upon, the other being the deluxe Model 27. Before doing the cylinder switch, I took this photo of the two guns on the counter-top. As you might remember, after we finished registering we drove back to the Custom Shop and I switched the cylinders back out in the parking lot so that my Heavy Duty -- which I still have to buy back from George -- would be whole again. At the Custom Shop we try to have on hand an N-frame cylinder in .38 Special as well as an L-frame cylinder in .38 Special (which was very hard to get), a Python .38 Cylinder and we've got a K-frame .38 Special cylinder and a Combat Masterpiece 4-inch barrel that will fit it and match up with the Model 19 frames. Available for "rent" when a person goes to register but in your case, we just used mine. I really look forward to getting my Heavy Duty back from George and getting it registered with a transport permit so we can get together and do some shooting and these two classics will be back together on a range (or a ranch) again.
My own brother-in-law in Salamanca (a former Mayor of Salamanca) has a car collection. It's all housed in a warehouse he owns and he's got like 15 cars of various makes and models including a really nice 80's model VW Beetle I helped him restore and actually drove for about 6 months after I sold my batmobile. Anyway, he just came into a 1998 Jetta that's apparently running really decently as part of a trade he made and he says the wife and I can use the Jetta the next time we're down there "as if it were our own". So this time around, I'll have wheels. No-cost wheels. (Well, we hope.)
Finally, just to add something to your story that was missed: when a person goes and tries to register any .357 Magnum revolver that's been remarked to .38 Special, there is always the real danger that the Mexican Army will take just a second and try to insert a .357 Magnum cartridge into the cylinder and check to see if it will close. If they do this little test and it does close, they've got you. And the gun. So you could lose it. When you went to register, I had installed my .38 Special cylinder out of my Heavy Duty, which after-all was one the guns that the Model 28 4-inch is basically based upon, the other being the deluxe Model 27. Before doing the cylinder switch, I took this photo of the two guns on the counter-top. As you might remember, after we finished registering we drove back to the Custom Shop and I switched the cylinders back out in the parking lot so that my Heavy Duty -- which I still have to buy back from George -- would be whole again. At the Custom Shop we try to have on hand an N-frame cylinder in .38 Special as well as an L-frame cylinder in .38 Special (which was very hard to get), a Python .38 Cylinder and we've got a K-frame .38 Special cylinder and a Combat Masterpiece 4-inch barrel that will fit it and match up with the Model 19 frames. Available for "rent" when a person goes to register but in your case, we just used mine. I really look forward to getting my Heavy Duty back from George and getting it registered with a transport permit so we can get together and do some shooting and these two classics will be back together on a range (or a ranch) again.
Good read, and good information for those of us who will end up south of the borders. Thx. - dan
