Swedish Mauser and 357 vs .38

Don't make the mistake of believing a gun alone will make you safe.

several friends have been mugged while walking to their cars by guys with cheap pistols or large knives.
There was a waitress cajacked down the street and was shot in the stomach as she was jumping out of the car.
Then I knew some folks who had their door kicked in, That is the kind of stuff I'm talking about mostly situations where usually the other guys have guns also, which is why I want something that I can shoot through my coat pocket.
Pulling a gun out when one's already aimed at you seems a good way to get shot.

The only gray area time I'd ever use a gun is if two guys jumped me, in which case the sight of a gun would probably make them run I'd hope.
If I shoot a guy that pulls a gun on me, I have no problem with killing him/her. All last summer I was having to walk girls to their car in my apartment because this same guy kept mugging people over and over and breaking into the apartments, yet the police never did squat. I think they caught him after his 100th mugging or something like that. I figure if one of these muggers runs into a gun or just sees me pull it on them will at least keep them off my street for a while. I was just so worried last summer that those girls were going to get raped, luckily they got some sense and moved out.

Thanks for the book reccomendation, all the book stores just have buyer guides and picture books.

I myself am fond of my Taurus Millennium Pro .45 :) It definitely leaves a mark. :P and is a decent size.

My brothers small carry sidearm is a KelTec 9mm ....its ALWAYS on him ....he can put it in a pocket... or sometimes even his shoe... lol... its small and usable and does the job.

so it becomes a preference issue....

My position on kill or wound.... well .... if I feel so in danger I must draw my sidearm, it would have to be life-threatening, or else it would not come out. BUT "IF" it did need to come out and play, I'm putting 4 center mass and waiting for movement. I dont think I'd be able to justify maiming someone to myself. Example ...not truly feeling my life is threatened and just trying to "stop or slow someone down".

___ _____ _____ _____ ______ ______ _____ ___
"The time is near at hand which we must determine whether Americans are to be free men or slaves."

George Washington
First President of the USA.
http://digitaldiesel.net/...

In The Gravest Extreme, The Role of the Firearm in Personal Protection by: Massad F. Ayoob This book is excellent for all levels of firearm experience. Even experienced will find much food for thought and being 130 pages is good to read often as refresher.

All of your questions are addressed in this book.

As has already been pointed out, most of this discussion is more opinion/personal preference rather than logic, but I thought I'd weigh in.

For home defense, my strong preference would be a shotgun. Something small and easy to handle, if available, chambered in 12 gauge. Pump action is probably preferable for reliability as well as the fact that just the sound of a 12 gauge shell being jacked into the chamber will scare the bejeesus outta most bad guys. Make sure the shell is full of double aught buck shot and if you ever do have to pull the trigger, you're going to put the bad guy down in a hurry.

For concealed carry, the choices get a lot more personal. In the realm of the common handgun calibers (.357 mag, .38, .44, .45 etc), stopping power depends more on bullet placement than the round itself (assuming they're all hollowpoints). What I mean is, if you hit a guy in the head or if you hit an aorta with any of those rounds, he is down for good. However, if you just clip an arm or leg or the exterior of his torso, you could shoot him with a howitzer and he still might retain enough mobility to still shoot you. So, here's the real lesson... pick a handgun that you like and GO PRACTICE. Get where you know how to handle it in a hurry and you can place several rounds downrange right where you want them. That'll be the most important thing if you ever have to use it.

In my opinion, based on ownership, is that the Swedish Mauser is a fine rifle. It is a '96 mauser, and a little smaller than the famous 98K version. They are beautifully made. The round is the 6.5 by 55 "swedish" The bullets have excellant sectional density, i.e. they are long in relation to the diameter. They deliver a good punch. The rifles I have owned over the years have been really accurate.I personally do not like the standard military sights, so you might think about having target sights or a scope added. The ammo tends to be expensive, and may or may not readily available. There was a bunch of Swedish surplus around a few years ago, but it has probably dried up by now. Last, there should be a metal disc on the stock. It indicates the condition of the rifle bore, and the number of times overhauled. The info for decoding the disc can be found on line. They are nice rifles, and 200 bucks is cheap for a good condition specimen.

But if you're talking about hand guns only, I keep a .45 Sig auto downstairs for that "just in case" moment and unfortunately have actually had to take it out once. But fortunately, just the appearance of it was enough to turn the situation into to something less than it could have been.
Upstairs where I sleep, I keep a .38 special revolver. The .38 is a fine round and was used by most police departments for many years of great service.
The reason I would prefer a revolver there is because if you woke from a sound sleep and feel you need to grab something, "just in case", a revolver almost never has a problem like jambing or misfiring and if you are "groggy" from just being awakened, you don't want to have any problems. A revolver is dependable in that aspect and a .38, or .357 round is nothing to sneeze at.
Just my humble opinion on that. As far as long guns for personal home protection, nothing better than a good shotgun. If you point it in the right direction, you are going to do some damage. As far as your last question, I have read plenty of things where criminals have profited from their crimes that way. My thoughts are that dead men tell no lies.

All your questions are only answerable by opinions, not facts.

Here are mine on the guns:

- Instead of a Swedish Mauser, I would consider getting a Soviet era Moisin Nagant. Very rugged rifle, and they can be found for less than $200 almost anywhere.

- A .38 with a recessed hammer is a good idea, especially if the alternative is a mainstream Smith and Wesson, which has a toothy hammer that is prone to catching on clothing.

- .38 special (which ought to be called .35 special, being .357 caliber) has been an underrated caliber for a long time. Most of its detractors are autopistol fanciers, who favor 9mms (which actually have less stopping power, not more) and .45 ACP (which beats the .38 by a fair margin in stopping power, but has nothing on the .38 in penetration).

The old standard velocity roundnose .38 bullet is kinda weak, but you can easily chamber blunt-nosed hollowpoints in a revolver--so why choose the old-fashioned style bullets?

-.357 magnum is much better, but .38 Special +P is an excellent compromise. It splits the difference between the two calibers, usually comes in hollowpoints, and will function in any quality .38/357 magnum revolver.

-If you want a lightweight .357 revolver that doesn't kick like a mule, I recommend an old Ruger Security Six. These revolvers were lightweight and ergonomically very well-shaped.

Regarding the last paragraph, you already answered your own question.

During WW 2 the military switched from the standard .45 to the .38 and in the conflict with the Japs in the Philippines the little .38 couldn't bring down the raging drug induced charging invaders, this group was actually some sort of Ally with the Japanese. But, they found out real quick that the .38 was junk by comparison to the .45! There are different kinds of rounds nowadays so I wouldn't know, but if I was buying a personal firearm I'd consider the .45 first.

Just my thought.

I guess that the standard sidearm today of the military is still the .....? escapes me, the one from Italy, which is probably some sort of corrupt political move. Its a 9mm which also many police departments switched to.

I wouldn't follow their example!

update: the unknown pistol from above is the Beretta, right? Almost certain!

Whats wrong with buying "American".

A Derringer for the fun of it and maybe for the seriousness of it.

http://www.amderringer.co...

catalog page: http://www.amderringer.co...

a .38 should be fine.

Strongly consider against the permit unless the govt already has your finger prints on file.

I unfortunately already gave them mine, wish I hadn't.

In my state, carrying without a permit is a class A misdemeanor.

Better charged with a misdemeanor than handing over that valuable piece of freedom to the govt.

just my two cents.