Double Action Snubby

[calmex]

I don't know if I would be willing to work that hard to get the results you're after unless it was from dire necessity - which I guess it is for you. Willing co-operation from like minded qualified people being essential.

'Hatcher's Notebook' talks about shooting .380 ACP from 9mm guns like the Luger and P-38. They shot just fine but had to operated manually. I bring this up every time some expert states that cartridges such as the .45 ACP, 9mm and others MUST headspace on the case mouth. Hatcher proved that the extractor held the rds sufficiently for the firing pin to hit the primer.

My .45 brass has never been trimmed, some of it so old the head stamps are getting difficult to read. Miking them for length is a joke, but they keep on chugging along, discarded when they split. Wiley Clapp (US gun writwer) occasionally talks about a friend who delights in showing him pics of one hole groups fired with a 1911 from a Ransom rest using range pick up brass.

The late Rod Philipsen, our IPSC 'smith back in the day, once too deeply reamed the chamber on a Bar-Sto 9mm barrel for a customer's gun. A friend bought the barrel for cheap and had it fitted to his Hi-Power which he used in BCRA Pistol matches. Accuracy was unimpaired.

Our first "tests" involved loading the .380 acp cartridge hot in Glock 19 barrels that were in 9mm. It worked. The brass was somewhat over-expanded but certainly could be reloaded. That didn't matter. It proved we could (and should) make the financial investment -- as well as the considerable investment in 'favors' needed to move the items -- to buy real barrels with sufficiently short chambers that we could chamber them ourselves. The extractor holds the cartridge enough to achieve detonation although in a striker fired Glock (or any striker fired auto) I would not want to count on it over a lot of rounds. As I recall, we fired less than 10 shots and saw that the ammo was ejecting and feeding. We tried a few in a 9 mm Hi-Power and they jammed on the feed cycle but did eject. Our earliest .380 Cal rounds were quite short, a 120 grain Lee Conical and 3.5 grains of Bullseye.

But it was enough for us to move ahead.

We never "Mike" brass but often we try to keep the same headstamp -- which is not too difficult because 90%+ is going to be Aguila anyway. Some of our guns -- especially the .380 Cal 1911 longslides -- are just amazingly accurate and can tie or beat the best revolver loads using wadcutters. And nobody here uses wadcutters except in falling plate matches occasionally, otherwise it's all usually SWC mostly loaded to make a 120 PF or better unless match conditions or real-life necessities intervene.

The contrast between your lifestyle there and our namby-pamby/feel-good society here comes as a revelation. Yours is better.

Yes, it is better here (in my opinion), as a life and a lifestyle. Everyone else has to make their own choices about what they are willing to tolerate and what they won't tolerate in the place they choose to live. But wages and benefits are better in Canada and so for another 2.5 to 3 years I will continue to work up there. The lifestyle here is colored only by the fact that it is more dangerous and there is no "insurance society" backing you up. If you get hurt you are on your own. Even with high levels of violence, the shooters here have a positive outlook and a cheery disposition. They are "living the life" and they know it. I've been back in Canada almost four years and I've seen nobody "living the life" up there, although the P.M. is sure trying to convince the rest of the World that at least he is.

 

[Sharps '74]

JT is determined to render Canada into a third world country by first disarming us. That makes it easier.

Right now he's between a rock and a hard place over the current Indian revolt across the country that has tied up rail, road and sea commerce for three weeks. Thousands have been laid off and prices for commodities have risen and will continue to do so for a while even if the blockades came down today.

JT passed the buck to the provinces as he doesn't want to weaken his standing with the UN Human Rights Commission. Ontario finally sent in the OPP to dismantle one blockade today and civilians did a similar action near Edmonton. Hard to show balls as a PM when you don't have any.

But - enough political BS on a beautiful day.

 

[marshall]

Celmex, I may have missed it in one of your posts, but what about 38 super in semi's, is that legal down there?
I am old and just shoot light 38's, in my 19 or 14 smiths, or what ever I have handy, I guess if you are trying for major, smith 52's don't cut it, He?

 

[Ganderite]

When trying to make a PowerFactor, you want to maximize velocity for a given pressure.

The lead bullet has an advantage over the jacketed bullet. And cheaper, too.

I think a lead bullet is good for an extra 100 fps.

 

[calmex]

Celmex, I may have missed it in one of your posts, but what about 38 super in semi's, is that legal down there?
I am old and just shoot light 38's, in my 19 or 14 smiths, or what ever I have handy, I guess if you are trying for major, smith 52's don't cut it, He?

I often read in the past in Gun Magazines about how the .38 Super was legal in Mexico. And until 1973-74, it was. However, under the new Federal Firearms Law that came out at the time (supposedly, I've been told, with input from the RCMP) the .38 Super was moved into the class of "Military/Police only" firearms. If I were to set up a Private Security Company (Praetorian Guard Security) then I would be able to issue the .38 Super or the 9 to approved employees. However, given the new developments in ammo for the 9mm and the fact that the Hornady Critical Duty Flexlock ammo -- which probably would pass muster as being 'non-hollowpoint' -- I'd rather go with a 9.

In any event, the 135 grain flexlock bullets could be "pulled" from live 9 ammo and reloaded into .380 cases and driven to the correct velocities and should work fine. This I will work on testing next year when I'm back down here. At this point, any civilian with a duly registered .380 auto that has been converted to 380 Cal is set-to-go-to-town. With the exception, of course, that a Private Security Contractor licensed to carry can legally carry, whereas the civilian would only have a permit to-and-from-a-range and would be carrying illegally. But, and this is a big but, he's carrying a non-prohib weapon outside of his permit allowances which is a misdemeanor here, not a felony. Oh, he's still in trouble of course, but it's a fine and a rap on the knuckles and a ton of singing-and-dancing-on-pin-heads, but not long-term jail. So either way, I think that (thanks to Hornady) the Mexican civilian in Mexico willing to reload and jump through the hoops will have available good, reliable semi-autos of high-capacity that actually have quite decent stopping power. Maybe the days of the .38 Heavy Duty load in 6 shot revolvers will pass the torch over to the semi-auto here like they have up North -- at least in the hands of those willing to go through the trouble to obtain and build them.

In my youth, I was a dedicated Cooper fan (and I suppose I still am) and considered the .45 1911 the best way to go. After living a quarter-century down here and being in the situation where a .45 1911 found upon one was a quick trip to a Mexican Jail*, other alternatives had to be found. The development of the .380 Cal allowed us to build 1911's in that caliber as well as Glocks, Beretta's, Brownings, Sigs, S&W's, one Ruger, and a few others. I found that in the few times things were particularly hairy -- fellow businessmen having been kidnapped or extorted close-around to my own store -- that actually carrying fulltime in deep concealment that I personally was more comfortable with some sort of double-action auto stuck down in an inside-the-waistband covered by enough clothing to eliminate print but at the same time not cook me alive than I was with a cocked-and-locked single-action auto. Sorry, but that's just me. Remember: I am not talking about legally permitted concealed carry. I am talking about illegally carrying because it's really dangerous all around you and it's just the decision you have to make. It needs to stay hidden! It's tucked tight down in your waistband, inside the pants, covered by a pink T-shirt and a Guatemalan vest or something like that -- or something even lighter that doesn't make you sweat. If you are going to do this with a 1911, the Commander size is better, as would be the aluminum frame. A double-sided safety can "work off" from rubbing on your clothes as you get in and out of cars, climb on motorcycles, kneel to tie your shoes...., especially scarey if (like me) you block out the grip safety with a pin.

I suppose the Glock, properly converted to 380 Cal, is a decent compromise. On my own Glock, I quickly ditched the 3.5 Connector and any attempts at making a light trigger when I started actually carrying it. The factory 5 - 6 pound pull was fine enough. We found that guns converted to .380 Cal sometimes produced light-strikes on all models. It was a concern for a long time and at first we thought perhaps our chambers were being drilled too deep but that was not the case. The "cure" was the blue 7.0 pound striker spring. After that, they always went *bang* and stopped that annoying 1 in 100 "tick" instead of going off like it was supposed to. That would get you -- and your family -- shot up quick in any sort of stick-up. Can't be having that.

The Glocks gave us gastritus getting them to work 100%, not because of feeding problems -- they were 100% there. But because of the annoying "tick" 1-in-100 shots due to a light strike. This happened on all the converted Glocks. We quickly found that ditching all the light striker connectors, springs, strikers, et al and going with the Blue 7.0 pound spring solved the problems. My own Glock, seen here in it's finished form, was perfectly reliable all the time and I carried it when I thought I had to (without the Red Dot). I sold this Glock when I left Mexico in 2016 but a friend picked one up just the other day and I told him "that's mine". Hopefully, he'll let me take it off him and I'll just build me up another one.

The Blue 31 Newton Extra Power Striker Spring from "Rock your Glock". A must on .380 Cal Glock conversions for some reason.

*Mexican Jails:
Carrying or being found in possession of "prohib armament" -- anything above .38 Special in revolvers or .380 in autos -- is a trip to jail unless you're a rich Narco who can literally buy his way out of it. Being caught with something non-prohib is a lessor offense.

I had to go into a Mexican Jail once in the case of a friend stupid enough to get into a serious car accident without Mexican Auto Insurance -- which did not cover you for anything much or fix your car well but it will keep you out of jail and pay 3rd party damages -- to arrange that he be moved to a private cell and bring him food daily because (guess what?) getting fed properly in a Mexican prison is sort of up to you.

No matter what you might think of the actor, I myself like him, Mel Gibson made a movie that was actually filmed inside a Mexican Prison called "Get the Gringo" and I really liked it and it seemed accurate to what I had already seen in real life. No punches pulled there.

 

[Sharps '74]

When trying to make a PowerFactor, you want to maximize velocity for a given pressure.

The lead bullet has an advantage over the jacketed bullet. And cheaper, too.

I think a lead bullet is good for an extra 100 fps.

Yes. For years I've taken the data for jacketed bullets and used it for lead. Works for me .....

 

[calmex]

JT is determined to render Canada into a third world country by first disarming us. That makes it easier.

Right now he's between a rock and a hard place over the current Indian revolt across the country that has tied up rail, road and sea commerce for three weeks. Thousands have been laid off and prices for commodities have risen and will continue to do so for a while even if the blockades came down today.

JT passed the buck to the provinces as he doesn't want to weaken his standing with the UN Human Rights Commission. Ontario finally sent in the OPP to dismantle one blockade today and civilians did a similar action near Edmonton. Hard to show balls as a PM when you don't have any.

But - enough political BS on a beautiful day.

Most of the definitions of "World" conditions that I've seen encountered ran along the lines of, and I quote: "The First World consists of the U.S., Western Europe and their allies. The Second World was the so-called Communist Bloc: the Soviet Union, China, Cuba and friends. The remaining nations, which aligned with neither group, were assigned to the Third World".

If this is the accepted definition, then Canada is turning into a 2nd World Country not a 3rd World Country. Mexico is always classed as being in the 3rd World and the Mexicans themselves agree with that classification. I am in Mexico right now (although I have to return to the depressing North in a week) and can happily report it is nothing like Canada. So I don't think you can say you're sliding into the 3rd World. You're sliding into the 2nd World.

Incidently, having spent most of my adult life in Mexico, I'd like to add that most Canadians or Americans that I've met down here do not do well living in the 3rd World for any length of time. Maybe 2% or so actually last out 10 years of living fulltime in Mexico and let's remember that Mexico is probably one of the more "developed" of the countries normally classed as 3rd World. Anybody offering you a soother here is just after your money or something else you have, it's not because they actually care about you. Those who get through 10 years normally stay on, because they've adapted and learned the language and "fit in". Most don't or can't. It's a mindset, and it has to be learned: but it's not 1st World or 2nd World. So what Canada is morphing into certainly isn't going to help condition you to live in "the 3rd World".

Okay, as you said, enough Politics on a beautiful day. Over the last couple of days I was back in San Miguel because we had to move our loading room. It was a total mess as the moving process had begun but we had come across an opportunity much more secure than where we were and decided to hop onto the horse while it was standing in front of us. A great couple of days for me!

I'm not much into the Cel phone thing so I only carry an old Cel phone a friend was finished using that I put a Mexican Chip into. So, the camera is not great. But wandering around the 3rd World, you might get robbed. If you do, generally they want your wallet and your Cel phone jiffy-quick. I carry a "false wallet" with old credit cards, old driver's licenses et al and some "wandering around" cash to hand over if I have to. An old Cel phone means I lose nothing of real value but it also means less than great photos. It's a trade-off. (So far I've only been robbed at gun-point once, in Guatemala City 30 years ago. My fault: I followed an amazingly beautiful girl into the wrong alley. There were no Cel phones at that time and thankfully I did have a false wallet to hand over. With that, they walked away.)

I lived 25 years in San Miguel and although I now consider it "over-gringoized" I still love the old town. I elected to walk to the reloading room and took photos of the streets that remain unchanged from 30 years ago except that now there are more cars.

San Miguel's hilly and often very narrow streets are cobblestoned. It makes for a teeth-chattering ride on worn suspensions if driving.

Some of the streets aren't just narrow, they can be really steep. You often can't "back up" out of a mistake. Over the time I lived here I saw many hilarious moments where Gringos or Canadians in oversized vehicles started down a street that got too narrow for them to pass through. No warning signgs are generally posted. Ooops. This one is actually okay.

A bigger, wider vehicle often can't get through just a bit further up on this one as it narrows going up, and the driver won't be able to back up easily. Worse, it's a two-way street! This leads to hilarious situations (unless it's happening to you). I learned over the years that if the street looked narrow, get out of the car while there was still a chance to do something and measure the width with my outstretched arms. If I could walk through with my arms outstretched, my VW Thing would just squeeze through nicely.

The town sure has grown. There were 45,000 people living there when I arrived in 1990. Now, it's like 135,000. Or more. Oh, well. They took paradise and put up a parking lot. We're going to live in Guanajuato when we come back here permanently. Close enough to visit, but not surrounded by the throng.

Ah, the old loading room. Half torn apart already as packing for the big move begins! The single-stage press I bought used back in 1993 or so. Which is still used for some types of case-prep and such.

Dillon 650 #1, set up for .38 Special and .38 Heavy Duty loads.

Dillon 650 #2, set up for .380 Cal and .380 ACP loads.

We had moved some of the guns we had stored up there the day before to a new location. However, one gun -- the Penultimate .357 Magnum -- was still there in the safe which was to be moved that very day. I took possession of that one and carried it with me for the rest of the day as I am going to store that one in a separate location from the others.

I walked back through the old town towards the new place where Phil Roettinger's gun will now reside. I could not resist walking through the old town market, as it was on the way. You can get everything and anything you'd normally find in a store in the market, and you can barter!

Fruit, vegetables, ceramic, pottery, clothing...

Boots, leather goods (most of Mexico's great leather shops are only an hour and a half away in Leon, Gto. Good leather jacket prices to be had in the market if you barter!

Belts, sandals, hats....

Original Panama Hats are made in Ecuador. I have known the hat-guy for almost 30 years and stopped an inquired about some low-end Panamas to take back with me as gifts. His price was so good I bought 4. Now I just have to get them home...

I have never owned a Panama myself, but maybe when I move back here I might get one. In the meantime, four of my co-workers in Oliver will have a nice Panama to wear during the summer up in Canada.

End of the day! Home safe, and I took this nice photo of Phil's old revolver alongside my Heavy Duty, as they will now reside together awaiting my return....

....as well as my Model 28/23. The current owner/keeper of this revovler prefers the smaller Magna grips with a grip adapter over the Diamond Targets I had on it. When I get it back, this blasphemy can be corrected with a screwdriver in 5 minutes.

The end of another great day down here. In the 3rd World.

 

[Sharps '74]

Then Canada is well on it's way to "2nd World" status. All it will take is a global down turn of the economy and it will be fait acommpli. Civil disarmament is all part of the agenda, and a necessary step.

A revolt by a handful of Indians and our import/export economy goes for a dump while Glorious Leader (He with great hair) dithers in Ottawa looking like the incompetent, ball-less wimp he is.

Like your reloading set up! I'm always suspicious of a reloading room that looks too neat. Organized minds function well in organized clutter.

 

[calmex]

Like your reloading set up! I'm always suspicious of a reloading room that looks too neat. Organized minds function well in organized clutter.

I found that the Dillon 650, especially when set up to reload .380 Cal, always needed a little bit of "tweaking" every now and then. My best friend kept cleaning up the loading bench area for the 1st year or so that we were sharing the loading room. Eventually, I had to tell him in a somewhat restrained tone of voice that he needed to STOP (throw in the immitation of Diana Ross and the Supremes thrusting their hand outwards on an extended arm in the "stop" manner) cleaning up the little Allen Wrenches and small screwdrivers I had strategically laid out on the table around the loading press. Those were there -- in the place that I left them -- so I could find them quick in case I had to slightly adjust a screw or loosen off a shellplate or what-have-you. Spending 5 minutes looking for the correct Allen Wrench because someone had "housecleaned" really browned me off. Add to it the fact that both of us are anti-Cel-phone and often keep them turned off means I always had to find that wrench on my own. Once the "housecleaning" of the bench area stopped, sharing a communal reloading area was a much more relaxing experience.

 

[hannibal.black98]

Man do I wish I could have a nice snub

 

[Ganderite]

I was reading a book by Jeff Cooper last night and he mentioned 38 Spl loads like 158gr SWC at 900 fps. That is quite stiff, and beyond today's loading manuals.

The old books listed what they called "heavy frame" 38 Spl loads that were 900 to 1000 fps.

They also showed loads for 200 gr SWC bullets.

I came across a bucket of 100 gr SWC bullets that I used to use for target shooting. I made up some 200 gr loads by loading 2 of the 100 gr bullets (back to back). The bottom bullet is up-side down.


This is remarkably accurate and at 25 yards the two bullets print about 2" apart. They hit like a double tap of a 380.

 

[Sharps '74]

Man do I wish I could have a nice snub

I hear that every time I take one of my S&W .357 snubs to the range!

I find that I shoot them better than I do my longer barrel revolvers. The sight picture is clearer and sharper to my old eyes.

The down size is the recoil and muzzle blast with any kind of a load that would make IPSC/IDPA Major. However, if you were carrying for personal defence - mox nix.

 

[calmex]

I was reading a book by Jeff Cooper last night and he mentioned 38 Spl loads like 158gr SWC at 900 fps. That is quite stiff, and beyond today's loading manuals.

The old books listed what they called "heavy frame" 38 Spl loads that were 900 to 1000 fps.

They also showed loads for 200 gr SWC bullets.

I came across a bucket of 100 gr SWC bullets that I used to use for target shooting. I made up some 200 gr loads by loading 2 of the 100 gr bullets (back to back). The bottom bullet is up-side down.


This is remarkably accurate and at 25 yards the two bullets print about 2" apart. They hit like a double tap of a 380.

The "Heavy Duty" revolvers, or .38 Hi-Speed or Hi-Velocity revolvers came out around 1930 as an attempt to both answer the call of Police Officers looking for more penetration against the heavily armed motorized bandits of the time (Bonnie and Clyde, John Dillinger, et al), and also to offer some competition to the Colt .38 Super Automatic which was being touted at the time as a solution to the problem in itself. Original .38 Super loads of the era were about 100 fps above modern-day loads, supposedly sending a 130 grain out the barrel at 1,300 fps as opposed to the 1,215 fps contemporary factory loads advertise to provide so that was the competition. .38 Heavy Duty loads were a 158 grain Lead bullet -- often round nosed -- at about 1,150 to 1,175 fps and before World War II used a Large Rifle primer in otherwise normal .38 Special brass.

My own S&W "Heavy Duty" is the bottom gun in this photo, posing alongside Phil Roettinger's 1942 made Non-registered Magnum. Using this Heavy Duty, we worked backwards to redevelop the loadings using modern .38 Special brass to launch a 158 grain bullet at 1,250 fps or greater. Elmer Keith's original and classic .38 Heavy Duty load of a 170 grain SWC and 13.5 grains of 2400 actually produces more power than most .357 factory loads made today. These Heavy Duty loads should only be fired out of real Heavy Duty revolvers, or .357 capable guns.

.38 Special loads launching a 158 grain bullet at 900 fps+ out of a 2 inch snubby are no joke, they produce painful recoil -- especially out of the lighter, modern guns rated for +P ammo. But if you are at a family party and gunmen from some rival faction arrive with AK's and start shooting at everyone they see, you want nothing less if all you have is a snubby and it is your friends and family they are planning on shooting up. Wimp loads simply won't do. In fact, I must say, one never seems to see too many wimps hanging around at those types of parties. It must have something to do with the ambiance I guess.

 

[Sharps '74]

When you live in a de facto war zone, the rules are different.

Here, CCW is a pipe dream for all but a select few other than our political elite. We can play with effective defence loads and blow up water jugs with reversed HBWCs, but it's all armchair ballistics.

Although I dare say that many would carry illegally if they felt the need. It would be a terrible burden to live with if you were unarmed when something very bad went down when you could have intervened had you been armed.

The Corona19 virus pandemic may lead society to the point of anarchy due to shortages of essentials - food, drugs, alcohol,tobacco, etc. Hi-jackings, robberies, home invasions, shop lifting will become common.

Then we'll see how the antis fare compared to the gun owners. We live in interesting times .....

 

[Moe]

The Corona19 virus pandemic may lead society to the point of anarchy due to shortages of essentials - food, drugs, alcohol,tobacco, etc. Hi-jackings, robberies, home invasions, shop lifting will become common.

OK I get what you are saying but were far from that. We have to remain calm and follow common sense to get through this. Spreading this anarchy is coming $h!t is going to do nothing but drive up paranoia and anxiety.

Now lets just stay home, watch Netflix again, and smash the pots and pans each evening.

Cheers
Moe

 

[ryan]

OK I get what you are saying but were far from that. We have to remain calm and follow common sense to get through this. Spreading this anarchy is coming $h!t is going to do nothing but drive up paranoia and anxiety.

Now lets just stay home, watch Netflix again, and smash the pots and pans each evening.

Cheers
Moe

You got that right. Way too much doom and gloom. Being prepared is one thing, but it's best if most people would limit their exposure to the bad news too. Can't do any good.

 

[Sharps '74]

I sincerely hope that you are right. However, the evidence is that the thin veneer of polite society lasts about 72 hours when shortages occur and then the law of the jungle prevails.

The only shops that were not looted/ransacked during the LA Riot were defended by their armed owners.

As for the inappropriateness of discussing this topic, how is it any more so than discussing dinosaur dropping defence loads when we are prohibited from carrying handguns for personal defence? Shoot someone with such ammo and the courts will have a field day dissecting you.

Calmex lives in an environment where it is prudent to be so prepared, but even there, he has to play by the local rules.

 

[calmex]

Right now, after the recent Ban here in Canada, I think I prefer the Mexican law as it stands right now. Remember, Mexico has a leftist Government at the moment too. Although gun rights are enshrined in their Constitution, it is not unthinkable that Lopez Obrador could try to change that. Can he? The jury is still out.

Disadvantages of the Mexican gun laws compared to Canada:
- Caliber restricitons. Revolvers cannot be above .38 Special, Autos cannot be above .380 acp in cartridge size.
- Semi-auto rifles in Military Calibers are Verbotten. Mini-14's marked ".223" instead of .556 are okay to register, as are AR's in .300 blackout.
- The Commie caliber 7.62 x 39 is specifically prohibitted as are all rifles and types potentially using it. Drug gangs pay no attention though.
- The M1 Garand is Verbotten -- although I know some people who have registered them.
- No centralised PAL system, you MUST convince the local Military to give you a permit. Can't do it? Sucks to be you. Once you are "in", you're generally "in".
- All reloading components need to be smuggled in. Tricky, this one. There is constant talk that the SEDENA Army Store wants to restore the public sale of powder and primers as is specified in the actual gun laws -- but the Army is resistant to allow it. I was part of a group that went several times to meet with Army Officials in the SEDENA DCAM (formerly UCAM) Military Gun Store in Mexico City about precisely this topic. It's still up in the air. I suspect, when I move back in 2 years and a bit, this will be an irritant for me to deal with that will still be on my agenda.
- All firearms regardless of type must be registered. Transport permits are required for range shooting, hunting or any other movement. Also, the number of bullets of any caliber you can transport at one time (usually 200 per centerfire caliber, 500 for .22LR and 1000 shotgun) are also regulated, as well as the States inside Mexico you can pass through.

Advantages of the Mexican gun laws compared to Canada:
- .38 snubbies are fine. Everyone should have one. Or two or three. I love them myself. A 9mm Snubby would be verbotten for the Caliber.
- There are no magazine restrictions. Everyone I know with a Mini-14 or a .300 Blackout is using the 30 rounders or nearest equivilent. Glocks in .380 Cal (equivilent in power to a 9mm +P) using 15, 17 or 17+2 mags are common, not rare). The Hi-Power -- which takes a lot of tweaking to work 100% in .380 Cal but can be so tuned -- with the 15 shot mags is almost ubiquitous. I think I was the only one in my local group of friends who did not have one nor covet one.
- Any 9mm handgun can be made up to work in .380 Cal with no loss of power or accuracy. Any 1911 9mm can be made to work in .380 Super Cal with the power of a .38 Super using a fully-supported barrel. Any .357 can be remarked to .38 Special, registered, and the full-power loads duplicated using .38 Special casings. Not an ideal solution to the Caliber Restrictions but one I, personally, am willing to live with to enjoy the obvious delights of living in Latin America as compared to the strikingly obvious shortcomings of living, well, outside of it.
- Really good "Castle Law", at least in the State of Guanajuato where I lived and will return to. If you shoot at an intruder in your house or on your property, you "cannot be charged". Several recent incidents in Guanajuato indicate the Authorities actually tend to respect this rule.
- There are no "reg flag" laws. Unless you do something really stupid, like threaten someone with a firearm off your property for no good reason and get caught doing it or have more proof against you than just someone else's word, your guns are pretty safe. Mexico and Latin America in general do not bend over to the feminism thing. When all the men in the room insist that women should be seen and not heard and are willing to back that up and the legal system backs them up -- it's amazing how quickly the femminazis shrivel up and stay silent. I'm not saying it's good or bad, it's just the way it is. There are always women who, because of their individual spirit, charm and just plain spunk can defeat this: everyone knows a few. But generally, outside the home, the man is in charge in Latin society.

The U.S. Laws -- at least in many of the States -- are about as good as you are going to get if you're into guns. Anywhere else, it's a toss-up. There is no doubt that firearms rights are under assault almost Worldwide. Moving from one society to another -- unless you're already blessed with dual-citizenship -- is often a tough thing. It was for me, but since I wanted to be there (and can't wait to go back) it was something I could always put the tougher times down to the "spirit of adventure". I wouldn't want to go through it again, but right now, I'm sure glad I did it when I did it.

And if the Democrats ever get back into office in the U.S., the whole show will start all over again. At least, like Mexico, their gun-rights are right there in their Constitution. Unlike other places that come to mind.

 

[Redhouse]

Calmex, you're a good storyteller with plenty of interesting experiences. Have enjoyed this thread, hats off to all contributors, from someone who's never had the chance to fire a shortie.

 

[calmex]

Thanks, Redhouse.

Another point on the advantage side of Mexican Law is that you can shoot on your own property. Obviously, you can't noise-pollute your neighbours or drop rounds on top of them, but if you set yourself up a little shoot-house to deaden the sound and blast away into a proper backstop on your own property -- you're cool. Most especially if you are in a rural setting, as our property is. For those times when the next virus named after a Mexican Beer (we'll call it the Dos Equis Virus) closes down all the gun ranges in the area.