Jonnin

  The sig is going to be one of a very limited number of choices for you in this case.   The 380 as well if the 9mm recoil is too much, the 380 is very gentle.   My hands are also very bad; I cannot fire the vast majority of the DAO*** pistols at all, a few of them I can fire but cannot practice with as it makes me hurt for days after, and a gun you cannot practice with is not a gun to carry, you MUST be able to practice.   MOST guns without a safety have a very long and heavy trigger pull, the exception here is glock which has a very long pull but rather low amount of force is needed.      The bulk of exposed hammer automatics DO have a safety, but not all.  The bulk of internal hammer guns do not, but some do.  That can be your "at a glance" test.    But depending on how bad your hands really are and how bad they may become in the future, you *could* be looking at mostly single action pistols for your shooting needs.  These have shorter, lighter triggers that can be managed with less pain (less motion needed, less strength needed per shot).     There are not a lot of single action autos, though.  Most are 1911 based and most are fairly large.  A few older 32s and 380s as well but most manufacturers are selling DAO guns with triggers so stout you can lift the gun by the trigger without firing it.     *** There are really only a couple of trigger ("action") types/designs. Double action only (DAO) guns, the trigger pulls something (hammer or internal gizmo) back against a strong spring (gotta, it has to smack the primer pretty hard) and released it.  Every shot you have to lift that something against that spring.   Its like lifting a 10 pound weight on your finger every shot.   Kel-tec pistols or ruger's copy of them ( lc9) are examples.   Single action "only??"  guns (SAO) the hammer is stored cocked (external forces do this work) and the trigger just releases it.  This takes next to 0 force and travel to accomplish.  The sig is this design.   Here the external force to cock the hammer is done by racking the slide or firing the gun (recoil/rack does it).  All 1911s and stepkids are examples.   Double action (true double action, "DA/SA")  is a combination of the above two.  The first shot is DAO but the recoil cocks the hammer after that and it becomes SAO.  However the SAO shots are usually on a sloppy, wiggly trigger that, while easy to pull, feels kinda weird.  The dual linkages to perform both functions make the trigger poorish.  Classic CZ (75 family) and beretta (92, etc) guns are examples.    Other action labels do the same things as the above, relabeled for marketing.  Glock is a classic example of this,  their so-called "safe action" striker fired design is just a fancy (and extremely light weight) DAO.   With sore hands,  the lightest pulls like glocks, 1911s, 22 target guns, etc are your friends, and it might be best to avoid the hard to pull stuff.

I also have the nano he discussed.  I kept it because its super left hand friendly; the one and only control is the mag release and it is reversible.   The sig engineers could take a lesson from that.   But the nano trigger is extremely long and moderately heavy; it cannot be compared to the sig in any meaningful way.   His video is also a lesson in picking something that fits.  his hands look to be half again bigger than mine, and you see him looking a little cramped there.

Sometimes when out and bored I look closely and might see that one.   But most people would not.   It would depend on how you moved and all too --- your position there is not very natural or normal.   Its good enough for practical purposes.  

after the tornados a couple of years back we went with "top this".  Guy was very willing to deal and they did a good job.  We had to stretch the insurance money as far as it would go so we bounced around the how much can you do for how much for a while.  They fixed my busted chimney, did the roof, and repaired the gutters (but reused what we had mostly), also installed a better vent for the attic.  

Revovler, 2  barrels, both top and bottom cylinder fire at the same time.   But it would probably take a new cartridge, or be limited to 22/22M to get even 5 shots (10 rounds).  A 4 shot might be possible in some of the 30 caliber sizes and a medium frame.   Don't need to support 357 or 44, too much recoil,  but a really large framed 38 might also manage 4. 

the moron recorded it?  Bwahahaha.

  These are not normal operation.  You should not have it at half cocked because it is a full cocked safety on gun.  I have never had mine at half cocked and loaded; maybe when cleaning it but it was unloaded then.   Yes, it WILL drop the hammer from 1/2 cock & trigger pull.  I just checked mine. Dunno if it has enough oomph to fire, or if it is blocked.  I can try to fire it next week from that state if people really care that much.   But why would it ever be at 1/2 ???   Yes, it DOES strip a round off the mag if you mess with the slide.  Its really simple.  Rack it one time (or close the slide on a fresh mag), put the safety on, and it will work. Mess with it, and it may not.  Sometimes dropping the mag when not empty strips a round and both mag and loose round fall out of it.  This is normally a non-issue; if you did a tactical reload it might lose you a round on the removed mag.   This has never interfered with operation for me.  Not once.  But I shoot it empty and reload from there....   The actually aggravating issue is that the grips like to come unscrewed when shooting.  Locktite solves that one, but it should not need it.   Patton -- it may be visually difficult to see if the safety is on but it has a positive click into place and can easily be mechanically verified (take it off, put it back on, feel the click, its safe).  I have not ever had it slip into "fire" while carrying over a long time -- had one since the first shipment hit the stores and carried it not long after that (verification process).   I usually ignore safeties but on a cocked pistol, I take it seriously.   I have tested it enough and cannot find a safety failure condition, nor have I had one.  It does its job.   BTW I see you are near chatt... if you are down this way you can shoot mine to test it out if you like.   Same for ladyhay if practical tn is a big place...

I really, really like mine.    Pros: trigger!  cant be beat by anything else off the shelf in its size/class reliable -- hundreds of no problem free round in mine small/light/etc recoil is not harsh -- can practice with it enough to have confidence ambi safety easy to clean/ inspect/ etc   cons: low cap size/space/tradeoff RHO mag release price tag might be a little small for people with giant hands   comments on others: many of the models you list *have* a safety but it could be left in the "go" position as the trigger pulls are so harsh.  The sig is very different from the extremely long and heavy trigger guns like the kel tec.  And, honestly, if you can afford the sig, kel tec may not be for you, its primary draw is the price tag; they are rough utility guns.  Apparently the latest generation of ruger's stolen kel tec designs have improved the trigger pulls.  I just tried them and the pull is lighter and shorter than it was (which still is not saying much: it went from horrible to tolerable on the jonnin scale).    The 238 is basically the same gun in 380.  Small size differences, but you would be using a weaker pistol that costs more per round to shoot.  380 is for people that can't take the recoil of the micro 9s, but again, the sig's recoil is only "modest". 

honestly I think its little to do with wants.  I would say about 75% of them are posted due to corporate policy and the decision was made in ignorance and enforced in the south blindly.    A few places might change once the guns come out in the open.   Then again, they may see how many ppl do it and think "lost sales" ....

  It is actually a mark 2 22/45. The differences in the frame are small, mostly mark 3 just messed up the trigger system and made the grips a little more friendly.  So I had to get the barrel tapped and a rail put on it.  Once that was done it looks a lot like the picture greycrit posted above, except my grip is different.    I knocked my front sight off and the RD is as balanced as I could get it (so, its as far back as I could get it) -- its not bad for balance.   I can take a pic of it if you still need one, but pics are a pain for me, I will have to find my camera and find a hosting site and all that.  It is not something I do much.

I like the minis.   They are very difficult to load (remove a pin, remove cylinder, push out the cases....)  and that is the only negative thing I can say about them.  They work and are well made at a reasonable price, and certainly are small.    Before buying, consider the performance of 22 mag out of extremely short barrels.   Also consider this -- I have not seen a box of 22 mag in almost a year (well, outside my own supply).    Its probably too big but taurus makes a 9 shot pocket sized 22 mag, the 941 (from memory, its 94? anyway).  

I am using the ultradot matchdot, very very nice but pricy.     I have one simple rule for any optics:  replacement warranty.   If the company will fix it when/if it breaks,  its worth buying.  If not, it isnt.   This has served me well --- before the expensive sight I had a simple tru-glo inexpensive model.  They replaced it 4 times --- it was apparently not meant for daily use :whistle:  (that was back when you could find ammo).  So even though it broke a few times, I have nothing bad to say about it!  

better looking than most of the "just busted" chicks.   Which is not saying much, but still, if you gotta go crawling up her stuff in a search, it coulda been worse.

I picked all the time but I do remove it if I have to enter properly posted areas and some of the other options also apply partially (I carry something BIGGER if I think there may be trouble, and sometimes something *even BIGGER* in the car if its really looking grim).   Mostly I try to avoid dangerous areas but there are times one has to drive to or thru the gang turf.

  I have used both processor types and both are fine.  The differences only matter to a power-user who has a very specific need.   I would let other features take the lead and accept the processor that is in the one you like for other reasons.   I have had good luck with toshiba.  However most of the parts are made by just a few places, and different labels stamped on them...   It may not matter too much.  Some of the obviously cheap brands fail, and some do well; I type this on a 8+ year old lenovo running xp.   I know little about current mac laptops, I can't help you on the current selection.   For sure you can make win8 act like normal windows 7 etc.  I can help if you end up there and can't figure it out.    If you want it to last, consider buying a second battery with it.  That is the most common point of failure.  Also learn how to care for the battery to maximize its lifespan.  Other than battery, the disk might fail, but you can replace it.  Keep it cool, heat kills em faster.  You should get at least 5-7 years out of one with any luck, but the last decade has had a serious decline in quality of the actual electronics, so 10 might be a very optimistic outlook.  5 is probably average, and 7+ very good.

Kel tec offers solid service -- original buyer gets a full fix & replace package.   Experience with their service varies; they seem to have been overwhelmed in general as a company since introduction of the shotgun line.    I would argue that kel tec does excel at what it offers: lightweight, small, inexpensive carry pistols.  The triggers are very stout, the recoil (due to the light weight) is harsh,  they often need the buyer to give them a once-over for manufacturing roughness (burrs and whatnot). The recoil profile also makes them subject to limp wrist jams (probably 75% of jam complaints come from improper grip).   Their handguns have been popular enough that multiple companies have "borrowed" their designs, including ruger's little copy pistol, taurus, and more.   I like the company.  The service is as good or better than most, and they do more innovation than most of the big guys.  But I have no use for their defense handguns...  I love my plr-16 and if 22 mag ammo existed would consider the pmr 30, but the DAO plastics are just not for ME.  I had the p-40 (p-11 in .40 cal) for a while, and I do not miss it one bit.   If I had $250 I would look for a half decent used gun over either of the 2 you listed.  There are tons of guns that have been "carried to death" -- very rough exteriors, and flawless, almost LNIB, inside.  Learning to recognize these can get you a gem for a song.

actually I hate touch screens.  The fingerprints are a constant aggravation.  We have a couple at work and I am the guy that has to windex it every 5 min.   You can fix the win-8 interface to not have the dumb touch screen setup (default).     Or if you like fingerprints and touchscreens, go for it, just saying you don't *have* to go that route.    If you know you like a mac, they can be nice.  The trouble is the same old same old -- to run windows software you have to jump thru a lot of hoops, some things are easier than others, but virtual machines eat up 30% or so of your hardware capability.  If you want to run mostly windows software, use a windows computer.  If you want to run mac software, get a mac.  I also can't recommend a mac to folks that are not used to either macs or unix.  Without a background in one or the other it can be difficult to adjust.   It also depends on what you want it to do.  *Anything* can get on the web and edit a document; the key is asking yourself what *other* things you need to do.    Another question is, do you NEED this?  XP won;t get any updates, but it works.  A good virus scanner will keep most of the exploits at bay -- even without weekly fixes from M$.   I have one xp machine and I will be using it until it dies -- its fine.

  Its not that its a handgun or rifle, you have to consider the way the gun works. This pistol requires you to manually pull the hammer back before it will fire.   And you should not pull the hammer back until the gun is pointed in the direction that you wish to shoot.  It is not a cocked & locked gun -- you do not cock it until ready to fire.    It is comparable to a lever action rifle.  When you crank the lever the gun is cocked and a light trigger pull fires the gun.  You don't keep a lever gun cocked all the time, you either chamber it and manually cock when in position or you keep it empty and cycle the lever when ready to shoot.    I guess I am saying it is not dangerous because the only time these sorts of actions would be cocked is when facing downrange.   And until they are cocked, the trigger pull is not a factor in any accidental or negligent discharge.   The trigger pull for example has nothing to do with its ability to handle a drop etc.    You can increase it if you prefer, sure.  But if there is some safety concern, look at it critically before spending $$ on springs and gunsmith time or your own time.  I have to feel that any safety fears on this gun are caused by not understanding something, because for the life of me I can't see how it would fire by accident since you have to pull that heavy hammer spring back to enable it and I have to assume no one would have it cocked and ready to fire outside of a safe downrange setup.

  Oh boy, kids music by DEVO eh?    Ever flip their name over in that gothic font?    Not really someone I would want near any kids, honestly.  

has it been so long....?  Sigh.  Maybe I will re-read them all next year to refresh.  

That was my first answer, maybe I was right before I "fixed" it.    lets see, I did:   say man is 2 yards tall. (6 foot). so  x = 2/1000 easy enough.  Back to inches, X3 feet X12 inches, 36.  2*36 is 72 with yer leading zeros, I called it 7/100.    But I have no idea if that is even the right formula.

wow.  It was always a little pricy as it is supposedly top shelf competition ammo but that is a bit much even for the best.

  The same could be said for anything by anyone about whatever is disliked.     Some of the rap guys might surprise you at their depth and intellect.  The majority, not so much, but a few of them are pretty profound (as well as profane).  www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r442C0zyEM is praiseworthy whether you like the music or not.  Kid rock is a punk but he did go put on a show for our troops.    I honestly don't care for much of it either but its not all about doing evil things and so on; just as not all metal is like the satanic zombie guy and not all country is about being a drunk.

  If I did it right, about 7/100ths of an inch?     edit: didnt do it right lol.  And still may not have. 

  Its really frustrating talking to the TV people who are so far behind.   If you want to know what happens, you can read it and get way, way ahead of the show, but I think he stopped writing to play with the TV series ... been stuck with nothing new for a while now.  Ive been waiting for a new book for at least a year?