The airwt 357's are completely uncontrolable, just as is the .44 mag. in the Mountain Gun format (much less the scandium versions, ferchrissakes) The locked breech 380 has the POTENTIAL to be a better manstopper than .45 ball is, (not that THAT means a lot, since .45 ball aint MUCH better'n a .22lr, really). However, you have to handload your ammo to get that 300+ ft lbs out of a locker 380 and such loads beat the crap out of the Mustang and Colt Govt 380s FRAGILE little ejector. That thing is a joke, man. Also, the alloy framed mustang is pretty close to uncontrolable with such loads, because it only weights 13 ozs. The Rorbaugh 9mm, if it really does only weigh 14 ozs, is going to have the samecontrol problems, and the Kahr PM9 aint a lot better.
When I decided to go with a pocket pistol, for its speed into action advantage (in typical weather and clothing, if you have your head out of your ass, I first chose the 20 oz Star Pony 380,a locked breech model. I mourned the loss of real power and range. However, after I learned more about the realities of at what ranges you have to fire, and how seldom you have to HIT anyone(as long as you get your gun out and NOTICED by the attacker in time) I was less upset at having "only" 300-400 ft lbs available with each shot.
It's alot of trouble and expense (about $3000) to have a properly set up, SA pocket 9, (the "chopped" Star BM, chambered in 356 TSW) to get the 600 ft lbs of controlable power, the 2200 fps temporary cavity advantage, and the 3 separate wound tracks and AP capability of the 356 Star. Frankly, my friend would never pay that much, but my friend can do the smithing work himself, so he ends up having only about $400(and 30 hours' work) in the gun and 3 chopped mags, luminous sights, ambi-safety, mag catch on the butt, Firestar "sinus" at the rear of the triggerguard, ducktail frame tang, stippling, trigger job, etc.
He'd greatly prefer to pay $1000 for such a gun, tho, IF he could trust a smith to do it right for that sort of money. Aint happening, tho, cause it would mean the smith would be working for $20 an hour. That's peanuts these days. Today, a decent smith makes $100+ an hour. He may claim it's "only" $50 an hour, but he's lying about how long the work takes him to finish.
There's plenty of guys who can do no more than drive a truck down the highway who make $20 an hour. Those who wouldn't spend $1000 on a prime ccw pistol aint going to be great shottists, cause they are just too cheap to pay for training, or even enough practice ammo.
When I decided to go with a pocket pistol, for its speed into action advantage (in typical weather and clothing, if you have your head out of your ass, I first chose the 20 oz Star Pony 380,a locked breech model. I mourned the loss of real power and range. However, after I learned more about the realities of at what ranges you have to fire, and how seldom you have to HIT anyone(as long as you get your gun out and NOTICED by the attacker in time) I was less upset at having "only" 300-400 ft lbs available with each shot.
It's alot of trouble and expense (about $3000) to have a properly set up, SA pocket 9, (the "chopped" Star BM, chambered in 356 TSW) to get the 600 ft lbs of controlable power, the 2200 fps temporary cavity advantage, and the 3 separate wound tracks and AP capability of the 356 Star. Frankly, my friend would never pay that much, but my friend can do the smithing work himself, so he ends up having only about $400(and 30 hours' work) in the gun and 3 chopped mags, luminous sights, ambi-safety, mag catch on the butt, Firestar "sinus" at the rear of the triggerguard, ducktail frame tang, stippling, trigger job, etc.
He'd greatly prefer to pay $1000 for such a gun, tho, IF he could trust a smith to do it right for that sort of money. Aint happening, tho, cause it would mean the smith would be working for $20 an hour. That's peanuts these days. Today, a decent smith makes $100+ an hour. He may claim it's "only" $50 an hour, but he's lying about how long the work takes him to finish.
There's plenty of guys who can do no more than drive a truck down the highway who make $20 an hour. Those who wouldn't spend $1000 on a prime ccw pistol aint going to be great shottists, cause they are just too cheap to pay for training, or even enough practice ammo.
