Thoughts on concealed carry - Handguns

Guns Magazine, Sept, 2002 by Massad Ayoob

I'm writing this on a laptop in the front seat of a Saturn, in transit between Michigan and Wisconsin. Part of what I'm here for is to address the Michigan Coalition of Responsible Gun Owners (MCRGO) and the Wisconsin Concealed Carry Movement (WCCM). In the first state, Michiganders recently won "shall issue" concealed carry, liberating the CCW license from the province of the affluent and politically connected and putting it within reach of ordinary law-abiding citizens.

The reform law went into effect on July 1,2001, and by April of 2002 more than 50,000 residents had received their licenses to carry loaded handguns concealed in public.

Wisconsin has not been so fortunate. Wisconsin Senate committee chairman Charles Chvala (pronounced "koala"), a Democrat from ultra-liberal Madison, obviously knew that it was going to pass the Senate by a significant majority and didn't want it to happen.

He ended the session without allowing the vote that would have made concealed carry a reality in Wisconsin, over the outraged shouts of honest elected officials, thus killing the concept in that state -- at least until the next legislative session.

It would appear that Chvala, not satisfied with being a lawmaker, has crowned himself a lawgiver. A lawmaker is a team player. He represents two teams: the legislative body, and the citizens who elected him to office. A lawgiver is one who takes it upon himself to arbitrarily determine for lesser beings what the law will be.

Centuries ago in Europe, there existed a tyrant called Draco the Lawgiver. He decreed that the theft of a loaf of bread by a hungry man could be punishable by death.

From his name comes the term Draconian, to describe the sort of action that Senator Chvala took against the good citizens and voters of Wisconsin.

For further information, dial your computer up to www.MCRGO.org and www.wisconsinconcealedcarr.com.

The "Concealment Gun"

When I was young, the "snub-nosed .38" revolver was the favorite choice for conealed carry. Today, the semiautomatic pistol has made much larger inroads. Still a great many people are comfortable carrying only a snubby 38 as a primary weapon. It also makes great sense for backup.

In my younger years, I was often armed only with a .38 snub, usually either the S&W Model 36 Chief's Special or the Colt Detective Special, both classics of their kind. Over time, I learned to prefer the snag-free design of the S&W Bodyguard with its built-in hammer shroud.

The shroud came to the web of the hand in such a way that it helped to keep the small, light gun from rolling back in the shooter's fist when it fired hot loads. In time, I learned that the "hammerless" S&W Centennial was even better in this regard, as it gives the hand a higher grasp. This style has become my favorite for a backup revolver.

Not everyone has the body shape, the dress code and the habituation to comfortably carry a full-size service pistol concealed all day. For many of the men and women who hold concealed carry permits, a small frame revolver is about as big as they can go.

For carrying comfort, obviously lighter is better. An all-steel "J-frame" hammerless may weigh 20 ounces. The aluminum framed Airweight version is perhaps 14 ounces. The AirLite Ti version cuts overall weight to under 12 ounces. Scandium construction allows for a .357 Magnum AirLite Centennial that weighs barely over 10 ounces. As weight goes down, recoil goes up.

My all-steel Model 640 is not fun to shoot with P .38 Special ammo, but it is by no means a chore. The Airweight is no fun at all, but I can shoot the multiple 50-shot qualifications per year that are needed for a police backup gun with mine. The Titanium gun is downright painful through the course of a 50-shot qualifier, and the little Scandium gun is nothing less than a torture device, especially when firing magnum rounds. I settled on the Airweight as a balance between carrying comfort and "shootability on demand."

Sometimes size matters, but weight doesn't. A lot of people who determined that they could only carry a small frame, short barrel revolver, wanted the most power and rapid-fire control they could get from it.

If you fit that profile, you won't go wrong with the Ruger SP-l0l in .357 Magnum. So small it fits most Colt Detective Special holsters, this all-steel shorty is remarkably accurate. Thanks to its solid weight and recoil-absorbing "live feel" grips with which it is fitted at the factory, the SP-10l is no more difficult to shoot full power Magnum loads than many full size .357 service revolvers.

The First Rule

"The first rule of gunfighting," said Mark Moritz, "is Have A Gun." Col. Jeff Cooper, Mark's mentor, agrees. When last I saw the good Colonel, he was carrying his trademark gun, the full size 1911 .45 auto which he helped to re-popularize almost half a century ago. Cooper is a big man, and he literally lives on a pistol range, and he has no problem either socially or sartorially in packing a full size combat pistol that weighs 39.5 ounces even before you load it.