Real pistols

[Jim McArthur]

In the good old days, my dad had a great collection: Webleys, Smiths, Berettas, Walthers, Brownings, more Smiths, more Brownings...plus we fired all different types down at our club. More expensive than airguns but I enjoyed them much more, lots of flash, bang and smoke plus those beautiful mechanisms to tune. Our wonderful .38 special handloads won us the club championship two years running. I always liked revolvers best. They are so elegant. A wonderful product. Sadly most of the above have now probably been melted down (or sold abroad if the rumours are true) and are we any safer....no.

No: in fact, handgun crime has quadrupled since the ban.

Jim

[Gun Collector]

Currently shoot a Pedersolli Remmington 44 blackpowder which surprisingly, I find quite a relaxing way to pass some range time. Bought a Pietta version immediately following "The Ban" but it was a complete crock and didn't last very long!

Back in the good ol' days, I cut my teeth on a Bull Barrel Ruger .22. Hated every bit of it and couldn't wait to buy my own. First and only .22 was a S&W Mod 41. Never felt the need to change. Fitting a Bowler grip took it to a new level and it would regularly outshoot the best of the "Euroguns". Also dabbled with the wifes old High Standard Olympic but it was a pain to get to feed consistantly. That got part-ex'ed for a Wather GSP, but I still preferred my S&W.

My first centrefire was a Taurus 66 .357Mag. bought mainly cause it was cheap and I'm a tight Scots git It was part-ex'ed for the ubiquetous S&W 586 and that now happily resides with a new found friend in the States, so the handgun ban did have an unexpected silver lining for me (up yours Blair!). The wifes S&W 19 also ended up over there with a new owner who has also become a friend (so up yours again Blair!). I still have my S&W 29 .44Mag albeit deactivated, and the wife still has her Nazi issue Walther PPK in similar condition. That one particularly gets my blood boiling. Here is gun with a bit of history and no doubt a few tales to tell and THEY wanted it demonised and scrapped! I wonder how many other historical artifacts have been destroyed at the whim of the anti gun crowd?

I had a bit of a chequered experience with semi's. My first was a Bernardelli P18? in 9mm. A huge hulk of a gun with an 18+1 capacity. Not a very practical design but it was quite reliable... until it went full auto on me one day and near took out the ranges CCTV system! That swiftly made way for a Tanfoglio Ultra IPSC commemorative in 9mm and .41AE. It also went Stateside along with the revolvers to Rich Davis of Second Chance fame but I dont know what became of it. Also had an ancient Star Mod B which was so clapped out it was an absolute bargain to get money for it from the government (so up yours again Tony )

[Jim McArthur]

Currently shoot a Pedersolli Remmington 44 blackpowder which surprisingly, I find quite a relaxing way to pass some range time. Bought a Pietta version immediately following "The Ban" but it was a complete crock and didn't last very long!

Back in the good ol' days, I cut my teeth on a Bull Barrel Ruger .22. Hated every bit of it and couldn't wait to buy my own. First and only .22 was a S&W Mod 41. Never felt the need to change. Fitting a a Bowler grip took it to a new level and it would regularly outshoot the best of the "Euroguns". Also dabbled with the wifes old High Standard Olympic but it was a pain to get to feed consistantly. That got part-ex'ed for a Wather GSP, but I still preferred my S&W.

My first centrefire was a Taurus 66 .357Mag. bought mainly cause it was cheap and I'm a tight Scots git. It was part-ex'ed for the ubiquetous S&W 586 and that now happily resides with a new found friend in the States, so the handgun ban did have an unexpected silver lining for me (up yours Blair!). The wifes S&W 19 also ended up over there with a new owner who has also become a friend (so up yours again Blair!). I still have my S&W 29 .44Mag albeit deactivated, and the wife still has her Nazi issue Walther PPK in similar condition. That one particularly gets my blood boiling. Here is gun with a bit of history and no doubt a few tales to tell and THEY wanted it demonised and scrapped! I wonder how many other historical artifacts have been destroyed at the whim of the anti gun crowd?

I had a bit of a chequered experience with semi's. My first was a Bernardelli P18? in 9mm. A huge hulk of a gun with an 18+1 capacity. Not a very practical design but it was quite reliable... until it went full auto on me one day and near took out the ranges CCTV system! That swiftly made way for a Tanfoglio Ultra IPSC commemorative in 9mm and .41AE. It also went Stateside along with the revolvers to Rich Davis of Second Chance fame but I dont know what became of it. Also had an ancient Star Mod B which was so clapped out it was an absolute bargain to get money for it from the government (so up yours again Tony )

Interesting if bittersweet memories, GC. I suspect there's a piece or two of mine that I'd keep, as deactivated, rather than turn in, if we ever had a pistol confiscation here.

Few guns are registered in the US, so that would make life much tougher on the confiscators!

That must have been quite an experience when the Bernardelli turned into a machine pistol on you! And you can add THAT to my list of objections to autoloading pistols.

Jim

[Gun Collector]

Interesting if bittersweet memories, GC. I suspect there's a piece or two of mine that I'd keep, as deactivated, rather than turn in, if we ever had a pistol confiscation here.

Few guns are registered in the US, so that would make life much tougher on the confiscators!

That must have been quite an experience when the Bernardelli turned into a machine pistol on you! And you can add THAT to my list of objections to autoloading pistols.

Jim

You bet it was an experience!!! The event didn't shock me as much as the realisation of how close one of the rounds had come to taking out the camera though!

Ownership wise, I hope the day never comes for you guys but I know things ain't necessarily as free as we may think depending on which state you reside. The guy who now owns my 586 worked in a profession which allowed you to legally own pistols in Chicago . When he retired, he would have had to surrender them all (he has a somewhat large accumulation ), so he upped sticks and retired to Nevada where it appears they have a slightly more positive outlook on gun ownership.

[Jim McArthur]

Chicago! I used to live there: hell on earth for gun owners. When I lived there in the late 80's - early 90's the last place in the city where a civilain could legally shoot a gun (a skeet club) closed. Rifles and shotguns had to be registered. Pistols had to be registered: except that they COULDN'T be registered if they weren't already registered as of a certain past date.

Illinois is one of only about 3 states that ban concealed carry, with no provision for a permit.

When I lived in Chicago, my guns simply stayed packed up till I moved away from Chicago!

Jim

[Jim McArthur]

Nevada? I lived there also! Las Vegas, in the mid to late '70's. Clark County (Las Vegas) required pistol registration. Otherwise, I don't recall any gun laws, other than federal. You were allowed to carry a pistol openly: though I don't recommend it! Concealed carry permits were available but you needed to show cause (I believe they're a "shall issue" state today).

That's when I really got interested in guns, living there. I still own a revolver that I acquired then in a swap from a friend: fond memories!

Jim

[Arnold Layne]

pre ban, i use to have a Mod 17 6inch barrel in .22 and a Mod 686 in .38/.357 which were smithed to be the same weight, trigger pull, sight picture etc, for practical pistol comps, and in door practice with the .22. I also had a Mod 66 2 1/2 inch snubby in .357

All great fun to use, but the snubby was probably the most enjoyable, particularly with my hand loaded 357 rounds. I use to load differently to suit the barrel lengths, so the rounds for the 686 gave a very satisfying muzzle flash in the snubby

only just picked up a pistol again, a hw75 which is enjoyable but well just not the same .... but a step back to my shooting roots as i started out shooting air pistol comps,

[Jim McArthur]

Sounds as though you've come full circle, Arnold! That HW 75 is a great SSP, and I welcome you to our UBC matches, if you want to get involved in some no-hassle, no-expense, friendly competition.

I used to own a 2 1/2 Model 66: swapped it for a Uberti Cattleman .45 Colt, back when I was doing cowboy action shooting.

I was always content to shoot .38's from it, though!

Cheers!

Jim

[Nikkormat]

I managed to fit in three months of pistol shooting before the ban. I used to bunk off college on a Wednesday afternoon and head straight to the club. I started off with a .22 Colt Diamondback revolver, then a Ruger MkII semi auto, tried a Browning High Power (50 rounds and probably hit the target with 20, no reflection on the pistol, it was fine, the shooter was incapable) then a .38 Ruger GP 100 which I loved and could shoot fairly well.

I'm hoping to visit a friend in the Czech Republic in summer, and if I do I'm going to try to get a day at a range.

[malakiblunt]

I fired a 6.35mm berreta* once i rember it gently listing up my hand with the recoil, and i kept trying to reload it after each shot as i was so used to single shot airguns!

cheers

*007 orignal pistol from the books untill M made him swap it for the ppk saying it was a ladys gun

[Jim McArthur]

I fired a 6.35mm berreta* once i rember it gently listing up my hand with the recoil, and i kept trying to reload it after each shot as i was so used to single shot airguns!

cheers

*007 orignal pistol from the books untill M made him swap it for the ppk saying it was a ladys gun

If you got hold of a malfunctioning Beretta, it WOULD be a single shot! As I recall, the pistol didn't have a slide, so you would have had to pop it open, remove the round in the chamber, and manually reload the chamber.

Jim

[malakiblunt]

Hi Jim you may be right i just googled berettas and the 418 doesn't look like what i remember firing!, it was definitely a beretta though! and semi auto with a conventional slide.
it was a Xmas treat for the airrifle club i was in. you could chose between a S&W revolver .38 i think a colt 45 acp (i was going to choose that one till i saw the face of the lad before me who shot it! i was only 14 at the time) or the beratta

philip

[Jim McArthur]

I won't swear to it, but I think the version that (I think ) I have in mind was called the Jetfire, and was a .25 ACP.

I believe there was also a .22 Short variation (if you can believe it!) called the Minx.

Jim

[pablowatercolor]

Ah those were the days....

I used to own a 1911 A1 .45ACP and a 9mm Browning Hi Power in the 80s. I shot practical pistol at Bisley, Delta Firearms near Ipswich and Shoreham in Kent. Sold all my guns after after Hungerford - my kids had recently been born and I didn't want guns in the house.

There is absolutely NO comparison with the CO2 clones. I have bought several (including the 1911 A1) trying to recapture that experience doing Iron Plate and have been bitterly disappointed on every occasion. They bear no relation to the firearms other than by appearance.

Worse still are the Airsoft 'blowback' pistols which are made from plastic or pot metal and are no more than a toy.

[Jim McArthur]

There is absolutely NO comparison with the CO2 clones.

Have you bought any 9mm or .45 ACP ammo lately?

Jim