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I have nothing against someone using a SA revolver for SD; any gun that you are proficient with will give you an advantage over someone who is shooting a gun that they don't know. That being said, it seems like the question is a bit vague in that it does not specify what SD senario in which it would be used. Personally for CCW, I would prefer a more concealable pistol like my H&K P7, but a nice S&W 442 would make a great bug tied to my ankle. At home I do believe that my tactical Remington 870 loaded with 00 buck would be my first choice, but a 44 Mag on my night stand would be quicker to put into action. As for open carry, a person that can weild a SA from a holster accurately stands as good a chance as anyone to successfully protect themselves in a moment of need.
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Carrying a SA for self defense is romantic and fun. Fighting for your life is not. It's scary. There are way more sensible choices that will give you more of an ADVANTAGE in a nasty shootout. That's exactly the reason DAs and autos were invented, to give the owner more of an advantage. It's a strategy thing, never give up a position of advantage if you don't have to. That includes choice of weapons.
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As I said before, it worked well for George Patton, and I can tell you that a .45 Colt will do wonders for any bad guy.
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Don't get me wrong, I like my SAs quite a bit and wouldn't feel that bad if that's what I had to use in a fight. I'd just feel better if I had a 1911 and a couple three loaded mags. You never know, could be a horde of zombies or tweakers (same thing) around the next corner. More is more, simple math. Might be important, probably not, but might be. It is definitely more classy to use a SA. On that note, did Patton ever actually fight?
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Yes, Gen Patton fought during the Mexican Expedition in 1916 against Poncho Villa and got into a pistol fight and later in France during WWI. He was too senior during WWII to partake in ground ops but was known to be in the front lines.
"Lieutenant George S. Patton raided a small community and killed Julio Cárdenas, an important leader in the Villista military organization, and two other men. Patton personally killed Cardenas, and is reported to have carved notches into his revolvers".....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pancho_Villa_Expedition
CD
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I personally would not feel deprived if all I had was either of my .44 Bisley's and a few rounds, to defend myself or family. I would rather have either of them than my Makarov. Something really final about those 250gr SWC's at any speed. All I've got to do is make the shot.
Remember "Any gun will do, if you will do."
Practice more, shoot more. You may need the edge someday.
Pattons SAA Colt in fact has two notches in the left grip just behind the trigger guard. Hehe was authorized to carry it by Black Jack Pershing even though it was not Govt. issue.
I just saw it on American Rifleman TV last week. Good story.
Randy
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When I drop the hammer on my 45 SA , it goes off everytime. That is more then I can say for some of the simi autos I've had. So, I don't feel bad at all carrying it. It's the first shot that counts.
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The caliber is better than the venerable 45 acp, and by thumbing back the hammer with your off hand, the guns shoot remarkably fast and even a new shooter can learn the off hand technique quickly. Reliability is excellent - in the top 10 percent of handguns without a malfunction.
But reloading under stress is out of the question. Here is where the SA meets its Waterloo. Any shootout you are involved in with one had better not last more than 5 or 6 rounds or you are in serious trouble. For that reason alone, it can't be considered a serious contender for a serious engagement of unknown duration.
I would love to carry a lightweight Colt SAA in 45 long colt with 4 1/2 inch bbl for self defense if it was as a 2nd gun that I wouldn't have to worry about reloading. Just drop it when empty and take out a semi-auto to finish up.
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Unless you need to shoot more than six people in a hurry, it's a matter of preference.
You will carry a revolver for self-defense because an AR-15 or A-5 Browning 12 gauge with a FL mag tube is much harder to conceal. They are, both, in the Dodge Cummins, within easy reach, however.
Rich
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The choice of a defense handgun gets more critical as you exposure to danger increases. We are living through some dangerous times down here on the Texas/Mexico border and we have begun to take the choice more seriously.
Gone are the days where you will be facing a punk kid with a knife looking to steal a few bucks for a fix. We are looking at groups of people doing home invasion robberies in the dark of night. You will hear a crash and have a gang of individual in your home.
In these circumstances the number of rounds you have available might well mean the difference between living and dying. Such events will be fast furious and over in a short time.
Last week we had a homeowner with a hangun kill three gang banger home invaders, just a few miles from where I live. Each dead thug was armed with a handgun and had multiple bullet wounds in his body. There is no handgun on earth that can be counted on to stop an adversary in their tracks with one shot unless the central nervous system is shut down.
I have retired my beloved 1911s (45 ACP) in favor of the Glock 17. The Glock have the soul and character of a chalking gun, but it is the best tool for the task. It is the ugly junk yard dog of defense pistols. That is why it is the most popular police/military handgun in the world. It just gets the job done.
I have a 17 round magazine in the pistol loaded with +P Golden Sabers and a loaded 32 rnd. mag. close at hand. The pistol also have night sights.
I detest Glock handguns, but it is what I want close by these days and times. I like rifles and shotguns, but the pistol is more likely to be in hand when the brown noxious stuff hits the fan. That is just the cruel truth and these things happen when least expected and without time to get something more effective. These days I am never more than a step away from the Glock.
I have some really nice classy SA and DA sixguns and some nice autopistols but when things turn serious I want the Glock. We would all like to think we are steely eyed gun fighters who can cock back the hammer, take careful aim and put the one round exactly where it needs to go to carry the day. But that is more romance, chest pounding and wishful thinking than reality.
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It worked well for George S. Patton when he was part of the hunt for Panch Villa, here are the details...
http://www.sixguns.com/crew/Bandit.htm
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Patton also had a detachment of U.S. Army soldiers backing him up.
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Yes, Patton was with a corporal and six privates.
I agree you need to evaluate your potential risk, as Chargar describes with urban home invasions. It's hard to argue with lots of bullets. I would say, though, I'm not convinced that there is no handgun that can provide reliable one-shot stops. I know this argument has been beat to death, but a 44 mag with a 240 xtp is incredible. What it does to gallon jugs or gallon cans of fruit is insane. It is so far above a 357 in destructive ability it isn't even funny. There is absolutely no comparison between a 44m and 45/40/357 or 9mm. I know bad guys aren't the same as gallon jugs, but you can sure see the difference in the way different loads affect them. That being said, if I lived in Houston I don't think I'd carry a single action revolver. But in my mountain town of 5,000 it's just right.
To each his own.
Chargar, I won't argue with your choice of a Glock, it's an incredible weapon. But in an urban home invasion scenario would you prefer the Glock over a high capacity 870?
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One point Chargar didn't make outright but said in an indirect way is you being able to make the shot.
They tell us at Frontsight when the adrenline flows your ability goes to 50% of your normal shooting skills. So if you are a 90% shooter then you go to 45%,,, not too bad? If you are normally a 50% shooter then you suck!, and need to be finding a way to get the hell out of there. If you can't retreat, then it comes down to your current favor with the almighty or more properly your ability to "Make it Go Right"
You can get alot of mileage out of "make it go right". but don't ever consider it to be you're goto strategy. It is your last resort when you are cornered and you put your head down and charge! This tactic definetly requires divine intervention to be successful. But the one thing you have to drive into your head is you NEVER QUIT! IF you start to get tired,,, you fight harder!!! it is as simple as that,,,, he who quits first,,, dies!
The alternative is to shoot frequently, keep your skills sharp, and if possible get drilled in your handgun skills and gun handling monthly. This way you have reinforced motor skills which are more about muscle memory than trying to think your way thru the fight. You can think during the fight, but your gun handling needs to be rote.
Having been in tactical scenerios in a course, which is nothing like the real thing, and having failed so miserably it defys description, I can assure you, thinking you can think your way thru a gun fight is a loser !!! You only have to make sure you don't hit the good guys and that's where the thinking part ends. Everything else is sight alignment and trigger control, and those are the first things that go away if you don't practice frequently.
The whole idea of Cast Boolits is to make it so you can afford to shoot more and stay sharp.
Randy
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Mathew 25... Yes, I would take a good shotgun anytime and I have two stashed around the house. But, I would have to take a few or more steps to get one. The Glock is always within arms reach. The sole advantage of a handgun vis-a-vi a shotgun is it's portability and availability in an instant.
The gun in your hand is superior to the one in the next room every time.
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Yes Patton had a detachment of soldiers with him, but it is really saying something when two of the three armed riders on horseback were killed with bullets from his gun, not those of the other men he was with.
There were a few stories of old time lawmen carrying SA revolvers well into the 20th century despite the double action revolvers and even semi's like the 1911 showing up. Caliber had alot to do with that. Look at how many times the Colt SAA was called back into service. When the US was in the Phillipines fighting the Moros the Colt .38 revolvers proved to be a total failure they called the SAA Colt's back into service once again.
Back when I first got my permit and I was working overnight jobs in a really rural neighborhood, my fist handgun that I owned and could afford was a Ruger OM Blackhawk in .357 Magnum. I learned how to shoot that gun and I knew if need be I wasn't worried about it failing. I have carried a AWA Longhorn in .45 Colt and never had any worries about that gun doing the job. While most of my guns that I carry are all DA revolvers these days, I do have a .45 Vaquero and have no doubt if push came to shove, it would do the job. I know my 1860 Army while a percussion revolver when loaded would do its job. I can shoot all of those guns very well and I know that I can hit my target.
Remember that what kind of gun you choose is secondary to being able to hit anything with it. I know guys who have Glocks but can't hit a cow in the teat with a tin cup. These guys go to the range, bang away for all its worth with the high cap mags and barely hit anything. This is typical these days. As the saying goes, a hit with a .22 is better than a miss with a .44.
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The last time I saw a single action in the holster of a Texas lawman was 1963. It was in White's Cafe in Alpine, Texas. The LEO was a Texas Game Warden. I remember because it was remarkable even for 1963.
Today, at least 95% of Texas lawmen carry Glocks or Sigs. Serious folks carry serious weapons. Folks who are not serious can carry whatever fits their fantasy life and romantic mood.
Tis true you have to hit what you shoot at whatever the weapon. It is not true that folks who have Glocks are ipso facto folks who bang away without hitting anything. What is also true, is there are folks at ranges who can't hit a bull in the a$$ with a base fiddle, no matter which weapon in in their hands.
It is popular these days, on these gun boards to dis the plastic pistols. But that bit of elitism can cost a fellow his life. Survival is serious business and one would be well to choose his weapon accordingly.
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If the single action is all you have it will work. No matter what you have you need to do your part. If we are dealing in what "ifs", then probably a FNP90 with a 50 round magazine would work well.
I personally know of an instance where the guy with the UZI came in second place to the fellow with the 2.5" model 19...
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However, Patton referred to his S&W .357 (Registered) magnum as his "killing gun". The incident with the 45 Colt was almost 30 years prior to WWII By then, his single action was pretty much a nostalgic toy, a badge of office. He also often carried a Colt .380, which got almost no attention. I know of no professional, who routinely goes in harms way (like the southern border) armed with a thumb buster. Glocks, SIGs, and Berettas seem to be the uniform of the day, along with plenty of magazines. To be honest, if I expected trouble, I'd probably carry a rifle anyway. Better yet, I wouldn't go there to begin with under most circumstances. Even a blazing 1 minute reload could get a guy killed. I do understand that I'm the only guy here who can't guarantee a hit with every shot fired. :)
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I love the grand ol' 45Colt SA as much as anyone but when it comes to someone(or more)breaking down my back door, I have a S&W 4506 under my pillow, A Glock 30SF in a hidden book in the living room stoked with 230 gr Ranger T ammo and a Ruger SP101 under the desk of my computer downstairs out of sight with 135 gr GDHP ammo. Trouble seldom comes alone these days.