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"Defense Guns I Can't Live Without"

Thread ID: 17286 | Posts: 2 | Started: 2005-03-13

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Faust [OP]

2005-03-13 06:25 | User Profile

"Defense Guns I Can't Live Without"

I found this article, It thought it might be worth posting.

Defense Guns I Can't Live Without

Jim has spent several years putting together this battery of defense guns. It includes all the handguns he might ever need. Maybe.

Lately, I’ve been doing some reflecting on my favorite handguns. Since retiring from law enforcement, I’ve pretty well retired my matched pair of Colt .45 Commanders and my factory engraved Colt Government Model. Sales, trades, and gifts have depleted some of the other guns I used to carry. But don’t think I’ve been walking around plumb naked and unarmed since taking off the badge. That would be a serious mistake.

Through the gun writing business I manage to stay pretty well abreast of the latest, desirable handguns. It may even be some sort of an evolutionary thing, but I’ve managed to restock my supply of defense guns. And not being entirely trusting of modern society and some of the characters it breeds, I manage to keep a good defensive handgun within close reach pretty near all of the time. What follows is a description of my current list of “keepers”—the guns I reach for when things go bump in the night.

Les Baer Thunder Ranch Special A few years ago Les Baer Custom joined forces with Clint Smith, Thunder Ranch’s honcho, to market a 1911 that was tricked out the way Smith figured a pistol ought to be fitted. The result was the Baer Thunder Ranch Special in .45 ACP. In the course of time, I contacted Baer to get a gun shipped to me so that I could review it for a Shooting Times article.

According to Jim, the Les Baer Thunder Ranch Special is the best .45 auto he has ever owned.

What Les sent me was a blued Government Model that happened to be rigged just the way I like to see a defensive 1911. The pistol has a Baer .45 Match barrel and bushing fitted to the slide without using a full-length guide rod (a feature I am not convinced is necessary on a defensive handgun). The sights are the Novak LoMount fixed combat rear and front with tritium dots added. (I understand that in later production guns Les Baer Custom has begun using a low-mount sight of its own manufacture.)

The frame of the Thunder Ranch Special is steel with a rounded trigger guard, Commander-style hammer, and beavertail grip safety. The grips are the extra-thin concealment panels that sure feel good in my hands. They carry the Thunder Ranch logo. In addition, the Thunder Ranch Special also has very fine, excellent checkering on the frontstrap and cocking serrations on the front end of the slide. At my request, Baer fitted my test gun with an arched mainspring housing and short trigger. He told me that this was a feature he would provide to any customer who ordered the Thunder Ranch Special should they want it.

This Thunder Ranch Special also shot exceptionally well. The folks at Les Baer Custom take great pride in manufacturing their own components for their 1911s and meticulously hand-fitting them. The result is a very smooth, accurate .45 auto pistol that is also extremely dependable. Following my tests, I contacted Les and arranged to buy the test gun. I have never regretted the purchase.

This Les Baer Thunder Ranch Special has become my No. 1 carry gun because it is, simply, the best .45 auto I have ever owned. I generally carry it in a Sparks Yaqui Slide holster or a Street Combat from El Paso Saddlery. I rely on two loads for my defensive handgunning needs. The first is the Federal 230-grain Hydra-Shok loading, and the second is the Hornady 230-grain truncated FMJ load. It’s rough when you have to brag on your friends, but I really think that Les Baer and Clint Smith put a winner together when they designed this pistol. Tough, accurate, and dependable, the Thunder Ranch Special is everything I could want in a 1911 defensive handgun.

RoBar Custom Browning Hi-Power I’ve liked the Browning Hi-Power ever since I bought my first one when I was getting started as a young policeman in North Texas. Back in those days, we didn’t have the good selection of 9mm defensive loads of today, and for that reason, while I owned a lot of Hi-Powers, I was always swapping them off for a 1911 or a big-bore revolver.

Jim thinks the Browning Hi-Power is the king of the 9mm pistols. He had Robar Co. customize it without adding a lot of frills.

Not long ago I decided to order a Hi-Power from Browning, have it customized to my tastes, and make a keeper out of it. The gun I purchased was a MK III model with fixed sights and ambidextrous safeties. Upon receiving this 9mm, I arranged to ship it off to RoBar Co. for some custom work.

It just so happens that I met Robbie Barrkman, owner of RoBar, at Thunder Ranch during one of my visits. I liked the fact that Barrkman had a real appreciation of what a defensive handgun ought to be. We both agreed that a good defensive handgun did not need a lot of gadgets stuck on it. It really only needed good sights, a good trigger, and precious little else.

In the course of his work, Barrkman replaced the factory sights on my Browning with a set of the Novak LoMount sights in plain black. He also removed the ambidextrous safeties and installed a single combat safety with a thin thumbpiece that was just large enough for the thumb to reliably contact. At my request, he also did a carry/bevel job and lightly radiused all of the pistol’s sharp edges and tuned the trigger. Finally, he applied the RoBar NP3 finish that is much like the old Armaloy finish that I used to have applied on my police duty guns.

The result is a Hi-Power worth keeping. Again, it is an accurate, reliable defensive handgun without a lot of unnecessary frills on it. I used the project for a Shooting Times article to show how to work up a defensive auto pistol without the job costing an arm and a leg.

My Browning Hi-Power generally rides in a horsehide pancake holster built by Derry Gallagher. And I’ve pretty well settled on two loads that seem to meet all of my 9mm needs: the Winchester 115-grain Silvertip JHP and the Federal 124-grain Hydra-Shok. With proper ammunition, the 9mm cartridge is capable of handling most defensive handgunning needs. And in my view, the Browning Hi-Power is the king of 9mm pistols.

Jim thinks the Browning Hi-Power is the king of the 9mm pistols. He had Robar Co. customize it without adding a lot of frills.

Smith & Wesson Three-Inch Model 66 Back about 1995 I renewed my interest in three-inch S&W K-Frame revolvers. I have been a fan of the 2 1/2-inch Model 19/66 for some time, and I knew that the three-inch guns seemed to have a bit better balance and the extra length on the ejector rod made for more positive reloading. I also learned that Smith & Wesson had built a number of three-inch Model 19s and Model 66s for the California Bureau of Narcotics. I was able to contact a retired agent who had a three-inch Model 66 for sale. I can tell you that it sure didn’t take me long to send him the money!

Once I got my hands on the revolver, I had my friend Ed Collett (he has since passed away) do one of his good action jobs on it and bob off the hammerspur. While Ed worked his magic on this S&W sixgun, I ordered out a set of compact defensive grips from Pachmayr, in the style that left the backstrap exposed. This turned out to be one of the slickest double-action sixguns I have ever owned.

While I shoot just about any .38/.357 loads in my Model 66, my standard defensive load is the .38 Special +P 158-grain lead hollowpoint round. This is the one that used to be called the “FBI Load.” Producing about 950 fps from my three-inch revolver, this is a comfortable load to shoot and still gets the job done. Another excellent loading in my Model 66 is Winchester’s .38 Special 130-grain SXT. And like my Browning, my three-inch Model 66 generally rides in one of Gallagher’s horsehide pancake holsters. Of all the Christmas wish lists that we’ve compiled here at Shooting Times, my one greatest wish would be for Smith & Wesson to bring out a roundbutt, three-inch Model 19 or Model 66 as a regular catalog item.

For most defensive shooters, a DA revolver is still the best choice, and I can’t imagine a better DA revolver than the three-inch Model 66.

With an internal hammer and a weight of 23 ounces, the S&W Model 642 in .38 Special makes for an excellent deep-cover handgun.

Smith & Wesson Model 642 About a year ago, some of us gun writers worked with Smith & Wesson to help celebrate the company’s 150th anniversary. The magalog—a sort of hybrid between a magazine and a catalog—we put out last year had lots of articles and history pieces that helped tell the history of this great handgun company. As usual, we were reasonably recompensed for our work and went on to other adventures.

A few months down the road, however, my local gun shop called to tell me that there was a Smith & Wesson handgun waiting for me. To my great surprise, the good folks at Smith & Wesson had shipped out a two-inch Model 642 .38 Special revolver as a bonus. In a beautiful banner engraving on the right sideplate was the logo “1852—An American Tradition—2002.”

I am particularly pleased with this little gun because it is a direct descendant of the S&W Centennial that was designed by Col. Rex Applegate, one of my all-time heroes. Featuring an internal hammer and weighing only 23 ounces, the Model 642 makes for an excellent deep-cover handgun. It’s what I call an “always gun” because it’s the kind that you can always have on you.

Now, I’ve never liked guns that you had to just hang on the wall, so I hope the guys at Smith & Wesson won’t get mad when they find out I’ve been carrying this great little revolver. I replaced the wooden boot grips with a set of smooth ivory panels and keep the gun stoked with Glaser Safety ammo from Cor-Bon. This Model 642 slips into my waistband or a coat pocket so easily that I haven’t bothered to holster it. It is a great hideout gun and a wonderful gift. Thanks, Smith & Wesson.

Walther PPK Some years ago my son got his Texas concealed carry license, and to help commemorate the event, I got him a .45 Colt Commander to pack. However, a few years later, Ryan informed me that he was interested in finding a second defensive-carry gun that was not quite as big as his .45. I asked what he was thinking about, and he told me he thought a Walther .380 might fit the bill. I couldn’t argue with that sort of reasoning.

Jim’s pocket gun is a Walther PPK in .380 with a 3.35-inch barrel, a weight of 21 ounces, and a magazine capacity of six rounds.

I had always liked the Walther PPK/S pistols, and when I called Walther, that’s what I asked for. I was informed that the PPK/S was temporarily out of stock, but the distributor could supply me with the standard blue PPK in .380. By that time I liked my son’s idea so much that I decided I’d better order one for each of us. When the guns arrived, I discovered they carried consecutive serial numbers; I thought that was a very thoughtful gesture.

The blue Walther PPK has a 3.35-inch barrel, weighs 21 ounces, and has a magazine capacity of six rounds. Interestingly, the Walther PPK is the original double-action semiautomatic and was first introduced in 1929.

The action on my PPK was pretty good right out of the box so I’ve never had it slicked up. Out of deference to aging eyes, I did have a set of the Ashley Express sights from XS Sight Systems installed.

My .380 PPK stays loaded with the Black Hills 90-grain JHP load or the Federal 90-grain Hydra-Shok. And like my Smith & Wesson 642, it does duty as a pocket gun so I haven’t bothered to order any holsters for it.

Over the years I’ve spent a good deal of time and effort putting together this battery of good defense guns. I really can’t imagine what else I would need. Well, actually, there is one little thing. As I write this, Ed Brown Products is building me a 1911 government model in .38 Super. When that Border Special arrives, I might just have all the good defensive handguns that I would need or want. I might. But I wouldn’t want to wager on it. Manufacturers’ Listings Les Baer Custom Inc. Dept. ST 29601 34th Ave. Hillsdale, IL 61257 309-658-2716 [url]www.lesbaer.com[/url]

Ed Brown Products Inc. Dept. ST P.O. Box 492 Perry, MO 63462 573-565-3261 [url]www.edbrown.com[/url]

Browning Dept. ST One Browning Place Morgan, UT 84050 801-876-2711 [url]www.browning.com[/url]

Colt’s Mfg. Co. Inc. Dept. ST P.O. Box 1868 Hartford, CT 06144 860-236-6311 [url]www.colt.com[/url]

El Paso Saddlery Dept. ST 2025 E. Yandell El Paso, Texas 79903 915-544-2233 [url]www.epsaddlery.com[/url]

Derry Gallagher Dept. ST P.O. Box 720536 McAllen, TX 78504 956-686-5109 [url]www.dgallagherholsters.com[/url]

Milt Sparks Holsters Inc. Dept. ST 605 E. 4th St., No. 2 Boise, ID 83714 208-377-5577 [url]www.miltsparks.com[/url]

Pachmayr Dept. ST 475 Smith St. Middletown, CT 06457 800-225-9626 [url]www.lymanproducts.com[/url]

RoBar Co. Dept. ST 21438 N. 7th Ave. Phoenix, AZ 85027 623-581-2648 [url]www.robarguns.com[/url]

Smith & Wesson Dept. ST 2100 Roosevelt Ave. Springfield, MA 01104 413-781-8300 [url]www.smith-wesson.com[/url]

Walther USA Dept. ST 2100 Roosevelt Ave. Springfield, MA 01104 800-372-6454 [url]www.waltheramerica.com[/url]

XS Sight Systems (Ashley Sights) Dept. ST 2401 Ludelle St. Ft. Worth, TX 76105 888-744-4880 [url]www.expresssights.com[/url]

vytis

2005-03-13 12:54 | User Profile

Real good insight from this gun pro....Another excellent post from the:king: of posters.

Thanks Faust.