I_Like_Pie

How about the Complete book of Shooting...O'Conner

After spending many thousands of dollars...You will be surprised how good that SW1911 really is.

That is good information, but anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of firearms will know this. This is common knowledge. There is nothing secret about these guns and there is no mystery about them. The fact is that if you had to start with a blank slate...sure you would make a big bore gun as more power + bigger hole = higher success. You get to a point, however, where a high powered hunting round is not the ideal round for self defense. Most people simply can not shoot high powered rounds like a .41 magnum or .44 magnum very well out of a lightweight gun. One can reload to get the balance right, but that would eliminate the need to ask the question in the first place. Will they work...Yes. Are they the best choice for a pocket gun. Not unless one is dead set on them or they have really big pockets. That being said....a .44 special is the only one that would be even close to practical and without a compromise.

You guys are talking way too much about the guns....not the calibers. Most bullets that are for these calibers are now, have been, and will always be primarly hunting cartridges. They expand poorly at snubnose velocities, overpenetrate, and throw too much fire, smoke, and recoil for relistic self defense. The .44 special is really the only one that qualifies as a self defense caliber, and in most snubnose lengths the expansion is nil at the 700-800 fps that they produce. Will they work...I am sure that they probably would. Are they the best choice for the question placed by the OP? .... Absolutely not. Any of the big three modern self defense calibers have developed loads that completely overshadow any factory .44 special loading. It isn't even a close argument anymore. If we are talking woods guns....the OP did not specify. That would change things entirely

Most pre 68 .22 rifles don't have serial numbers. Not unusual at all.

I can easily fit a 27 in a pocket holster in the winter jacket or some of my pairs of pants. Can not do this with a 23. Since you can go one way with respect to size and not the other my vote is a 27

It looks like an old hamilton company rifle. But as others have mentioned - From 1920-40 there were hundreds of various manufacturers of these type guns. The national mfgs are kinda easy to spot, but the local metal shops that cranked them out in small batches are almost impossible to find info about. Once you do find out....let us know. Love stuff like this.

If it is the K-Frame that she likes...then that opens up a whole slew of guns. Keep your eye out for a Model 15 as well. Very similar to the 19, but .38 special. They will be more common, less expensive, and functionally indifferent.

I am a hard core revolver fan and have been reloading all of the OP cartridges for decades. But I have to agree with 10mm4me on this one. If you are looking for a pocket gun the magnum revolvers are terrible choices and the .44 special is not a cartridge to shoot unless you reload. A property loaded .44 magnum is ridiculous out of a sub 4" gun. It and the .41 are hunting cartridges...poor for everyday self defense

You will save money in the long run if you heed everyone's advice and hold out till you can afford a good CZ452. You will not find a better shooting sub $1000 rimfire. They really are that good.

See if 19 grains shoots good. If so - that is an easy number to remember. If not try .5 increments up to 20.5 grains and use the most accurate of the four loads. Willing to bet that one of these will suit you fine. Out of a long barrel that load will really be zipping along pretty fast. The absolute performance difference between 19 and 21.5 grains will be minimal so err with the more conservative loads first. I am also with glockster....I do not really like H110 powder because it gets a bit wiggy at the load limits....outside temperature is often enough to measurably affect pressure. Am much happier with 2400....more discretion with loading because of a wider range of possible charge weights and much more forgiving.

Ruger acually makes some nice ones. One thing you have to pay attention to is that many have a target thumb rest and is dependent on which hand you shoot with....Check to see if they are left or right handed. There are also many ambi wood grips on the market too. Hint...If you fill out the questionnaire that comes with a new ruger they will send you a 20% off discount on one coupon item in their catalog. If you can't find what you want on the ruger.com site...There is a guy on rugerforum.com named 41 magnum CLICK HERE that custom makes them for a reasonable price, but they can also be found on midwayusa and many other online sellers.

The big african guns sure do kick, but for some reason the 12 ga HR with a hot 3 1/2" turkey load will pound out every bit as much pain. 450 or so grains of shot at 1400+ fps don't sound too bad, but they are coming out of a sub 6# gun.

This is likely the real reason. Nobody likes the guy and it is a way to cheaply flush the toilet on him. The funny/Ironic thing is that I am willing to bet that the parent company of msnbc dumped a ton of money during this election

Amen to that.

I have seen a 18 wheeler scrape against a jersey barrier. You would think that it would push it back in the lane. Instead the whole trailer climbed the barrier came about 5 feet off the ground. pretty scary when you are behind one of them. So when you see those weird black marks on a jersey barrier...that is likely what happened.

Last I checked Ooletwah is off I-75 in Hamilton County so it is the best answer you will likely get outside of big box stores

I don't like the guy either, but this decision was pretty stupid. Heck just two weeks ago the people who are happy about this where up and arms when the NPR guy violated some stupid employment law and got canned. Seems somewhat hippocritical to turn a blind eye to what is really happening to the msnbc jackass

Are you limiting yourself only to .357? The GP100 is as good as they come, but .41 or .44 magnum guns make a much better hunting platform. If you only are considering a .357 - the GP100 really isn't meant for a scope. Even in the range of .357 (20 - 75 yards) a scope or red dot helps quite a bit. Make sure you only consider a 6" model. Legally and ballistically it is the only way to go. Since you will be shooting SA - the difference between it and a Taurus or S&W will be whatever fits your hand the best.

Holy bejoli!!!! If you have the brass and shop the bullets you could load 20 rounds for like $5 and about 15 minutes time. For the price of 5 boxes you could buy everything you need. Don't shy away from reloading - you will gain tons of experience and understanding in the process.

Since the safety was modeled after the standard gi 1911 feel/design I am hoping that someone will make an aftermarket safety like the oversized ones in the current 1911 market. Would make the gun just about perfect IMHO

I got it right off the bat. Kudos--Nagat or an sks are about as far as H&H as one could get. Actually saw the shop they have in London. Was Sunday morning and they were closed. Drat!

Most of the advice there isn't practical either...In non-LE defense situation? is it really practical to bring knifes handcuffs and recessitation kits? Not sure what these guys are offering with respect to useful advice. My idea for self defense, home defense in particular, is anything readily accessible that prevents harm to my family and can destroy anything that threatens my safety. Trimmed landscaping, deadbolts, alarms, dogs, common sense prevention and being observant is 90% of the game....these guys seem to offer typical S-O-F opinions only on tactical stuff. Just didn't seem to be an honest, well rounded discussion IMHO. More along the lines of a conversation at a coffee pot with people that only talk about guns...I mean that is the only thing that they talk about....incapable of anything else

TNWNGR hit it right on the head. Having owned both I agree. .357 is a MUCH higher pressure round than 44 special and it simply kicks harder. However if you are recoil sensitive...neither one are *****cats. I had a bulldog pug and I think it was 19 ounces. With 240 grainers it still kicked hard, but not the slap in the hand like the .357 - it is simply unpleasent to shoot. edit...it ***** out the other word for "kitty cats" wasn't even obscene :-)

Mike - This is why people still buy locally. Total inability to do smart shopping. If it is over $30 you don't have to pay the special handling. If the total order is less than 25 pounds or so....the shipping will be exactly the same. So yes...anyone silly enough to place one order for a can of Kroil to midway deserves to get the money screwed out of them. If you do your shopping in one order, shop the deals, and take advantage of no tax you can beat local retail 30 - 50% easy.