Since Kat is positing that Governor Palin may be the catalyst that saves the 2nd Amendment, I thought I'd put up a bit about the Gurlz who shoot Gunz at Castle Argghhh! I note Governor Palin's still got to survive the MSM chipper machine for t wo more months *and* win the election, may it be so. I left a comment to the effect that more womyn than men have gone shooting out here at Castle Argghhh!, albeit through my personal efforts, boys have sent more rounds downrange...
One of the things we've been doing around here is trying to find a good mix of caliber and tool for SWWBO. This isn't as easy as you might think. When we first moved out here, SWWBO essentially wasn't strong enough (despite a job where she typed a lot) to cycle the action on a 9mm automatic. She should shoot 'em well enough - but she couldn't load it, which makes it kind of meaningless for her to get one as a carry gun, either for out in the world (she talks about getting a permit) or around the farm, for critter control if needed. Mind you - if someone else loads it for her, SWWBO can shoot.
I know, I know - get her a revolver. We've been running through the pieces in the collection, trying to get a sense for grip, feel, and ability to handle recoil. Plus, SWWBO's been getting stronger via her work on the farm, and can finally cycle the action on .32 ACP level pistols. Mind you, she's only been doing it with Armory pistols, like the Langenhan, the Dreyse, and of late, the one she seems to like the most - the Harrington & Richardson .32 Automatic, a license-built copy of the Webley semi-auto pistols.
The candidate revolvers in the collection are sparse, with single- and double-action Nagant revolvers, a Webley Mark VI in .455, a Smith & Wesson "Victory" revolver and an Enfield No2 MK1*, both in .38 Smith & Wesson (and that ammo ain't cheap, even for plain lead bullets). While SWWBO and Wendy, our houseguest, like the .38 S&W cartridge from a recoil perspective, they are unanimous in not likeing the Enfield "Tanker" pistol, since it can't be cocked, but will only index and fire by pulling the trigger - making accuracy problematic for both them.
But, rather than a detailed discussion of SWWBO's journey to a sidearm, this is mostly an excuse to post about Gurlz 'n Gunz at Castle Argghhh!!!
Harrumph
When I was a cop he had to train loading and cycling the action of a semi-auto pistol one handed... simulating being shot or otherwise wounded in the opposing hand rendering it useless.
After the magazine is inserted you rotate the weapon so that the magazine well is pointing away from your body and the barrel is pointed down. The top of the upper receiver will now be parallel to your leg. Then, in a swift motion, you rack the weapon against your hip. This utilizes the strength of the arm rather than the strength of the hand.
Bear in mind that;
1. your "trigger finger" should be indexed (or alongside the slide) and not inside the trigger guard. And;
2. This is a field expedient way to do it one handed in an emergency in case of injury to the opposing hand.
I don't recommend it as an everyday method. I just hope that maybe it helps spark an idea.
Best to all,
V5
It is a Gew 98, though one that has had someone fiddle it - the action had been buffed to the white, the buffed bolt doesn't match, and someone put a different barrel into it - probably to create a FrankenGewehr 98 with a Lange sight backdating a Weimar rifle that had replaced the roller-coaster sight with the standard tangent sight.
Cheap though - good shooter and looks good from a distance for under $100.
RG
But those cut-down Turk bayos bother me- they ruined some nice blades, dammit.
In'shallah
:-)
Pat
I'll toss in advice from the ever-indulgent wife: look for a pistol with a two-stage recoil spring. These are generally the compact / sub-compact models which makes them handy for CCW. Avoid HK though - they put the hard stage first, apparently as part of their "we hate you" philosophy.
She has no trouble with my Taurus PT-111, is ok with my XD9SC, but loves her G26 (9mm baby Glock).
She still has some problems loading magazines but heck, I have trouble with the last couple rounds if I don't use the magazine loader.
And she definitely should get her permit - as with many things, it's much better to have it and not need it then to need it and not have it. And Kansas, like Missouri, doesn't have an 'Emergency' clause so it takes some time to get your permit regardless of how dire your need has suddenly become.
This was also effective in getting me to change the recoil spring back to stock strength so she wouldn't feel the need do that anymore.
Despite the cost of ammo, we went with a .38 S&W snubby. I'm used to the frame (my old house gun was a .38 - darn critters, but at least they didn't get into JC's long guns), and I just like wheelguns.
I'm so jealous of your 'off the deck' range. When JC gets out we've talked about getting a place out in the country for him. We'll see.