Toting Magnums

I am a fanboy, a fanboy of magnum cartridges, most specifically 357 magnum. I love the 357 round, its one of the most versatile rounds available today. In a small snub nose revolver this round can produce anywhere from 200 on up to 450 ft/ lbs of energy. Move up to a slightly longer barrel and it has the capacity to produce energy in the 700 ft/ lbs range. Out of revolvers with 6-8 inches of barrel the round is approaching 900 ft/ lbs. If you place it in a rifle you can count on energy levels of 1300 + ft/ lbs. Any firearm chambered in 357 (with the exception of perhaps a Coonan Arms or Desert Eagle) can also fire 38 special making the round even more versatile still.

I recently purchased a Smith and Wesson 686+ with a 2.5 inch barrel. With this revolver I can make 180-650 ft lbs of energy depending on the situation and what I feel like I need, and I can do it 7 times. Im a huge fan of options. Ive had the opportunity to fire it a bit and it is a blast to shoot. It replaced a 3 inch barrel S&W model 60 and the difference in felt recoil is substantial. I got to thinking though, is there something better? Is there anything out there that can outdo the 686 in a similar size package? The answer is yes. It comes in the form of a Glock 29.

The Glock 29 is perhaps the perfect cary pistol; it allows the user to carry ammunition from 300-650 ft/ lbs, it is relatively small, relatively light (if your used to carrying steel guns that is)`, carries 10+1, has a bullet weight range of 125 - 220, can under or over penetrate (based on the FBI 12-18 standards) depending on how you stoke it, and with two extra mags I can't think of any situation a civilian will face it can't handle. Now, Im not a Glock fanboy, I own two, Ive owned a total of 3, and I will own more, but what I am is a magnum fanboy and an options fanboy. With conversion barrels the 29 can be made to shoot 9mm, 40, 357 sig, and 9x25 Dillon. Thats 5 rounds from the same gun with a simple barrel change and magazine if your shooting 9mm. I will admit that 10mm is somewhat scarce, 357 sig is slightly more available, and 9x25 Dillon is basically a unicorn, BUT the 29 provides the same flexibility of the 40 and 357 caliber Glocks with two more options. I will grant 9x25 is basically useless unless your a reloader or a philanthropist, but 10mm is an option worth having. 10mm can provide 357 magnum ballistics in a larger diameter round, that means less penetration, obviously depending on bullet construction, in similar weight bullets.

Now, why would you want to shoot 5 rounds from the same gun. Well, Im glad you asked, Reason 1 would be your a prepper. You want the maximum number of options from the same gun. Other than 327 federal magnum, I can't think of another gun that offers as many options to its user. Obviously you have to pay for replacement barrels at 125-165 apiece, however, for the price of an additional Glock, you can have 5 instead of 2.

Reason 2 would be that you want to carry a 10mm but your new to shooting and you want to work you way up to it. I trained my step mother to shoot on a 327 magnum. My dad was convinced she needed a 45 and he scared the hell out of her. First off, my step mother had never fired a gun in her life, EVER, so at the age of 50 my father places a 45 ACP Glock 30 in her hands. Wow.... bad move.... luckily before he caused any permanent disdain for firearms (the way he did for me and Glocks about 12 years ago with that very same pistol) I managed to get a 22 caliber S&W model 63 in her hands. As we went through the fundamentals I worked with my dad on what to get her. After hours of arguing he finally listened to me and decided he would buy a revolver instead of a Glock. After a few more hours he decided he would get a 327 instead of a 357 or 38, mostly I forced him into it... Any who, I bought some 32 longs, 32 shorts, 32 h&r magnum, 32 acp, and 327 magnum. We started my step mom off on shorts, then moved to longs, then got comfortable with 32 acp, all the while building up and up, soon I had her shooting 327 magnum fairly comfortably. The key was building her up to it.

With a Glock 29 you could start off, or a new shooter off, on 9mm, then move to 40, then to 357 sig, then up to 10mm when they were ready. Thats the beauty of such a system, you can move up, or stay put. I don't think anyone will argue the effectiveness of a 40 or 357 sig. If they do, they're showing off ignorance more than anything. The rounds are hard on guns, BUT on a pistol built to withstand 10mm? I think they'll be ok. So if someone decides all they can take is a 40 or a 357 sig, no big deal!

Reason 3, it would also be a great tool for "that gun friend" to have to help his friends figure out how much gun they can handle, and therefor what to shop for. I am that gun friend within my circle, and I intend to get all the conversion barrels for my 29 for all three reasons mentioned above.

So, which magnum do I tote? More often than not its the 29. However, when my Milt Sparks PMK comes in for my 686+ that might change? Its nice to have options.

At Long Last

As Im sure none of you are aware, I have a salt water aquarium. Its a decent set up, 90 gallon DSA tank, 30 gallon sump, a little old school with a 4 bulb t5 but it gets the job done. I have flip flopped back and forth between predators and reef fish since I first got into the hobby. My first fish was a geometric moray eel... that gives you some kind of idea how these tanks have been.

When I set up my 40 gallon a year ago, I tried reef fish for the first time and put in a two small tangs and a flameback angel. The lack of maintenance was nice, but I missed the friendly carnivores so eager to be fed. So I bought the smallest dogface puffer on the planet, he measured less than 2 inches long when I got him. He was a pain to get to eat, much like a scorpion fish I had owned previously, but once I got him eating he quickly became my favorite fish of all.

"Dingle" was his name as he resembled a small turd nugget floating aimlessly through the water. One day I brought home a bluejaw trigger and put him in with Dingle in my meat tank. Within a few days marine velvet had broken out all over the bluejaw and Dingle. They both died despite my best efforts to rid them of the disease.

Fast forward 6 months. I miss my predators, they just have so much personality! So after much research, contemplation, and then ignoring all logic, I ordered myself a Polleni Grouper to go in my 90 gallon reef tank. Luckily, he is quite small, has a slow growth rate, and due to my tangs being well... assholes... there are no shrimp in my tank for me to worry about him eating. Im a bit worried, the grouper was quite pricey even with my discount and store credit, but we shall see, hopefully it will be worth it.

Photos to come upon his arrival, but he should look something like this.

Stardate... entry one

Well this is entry one, I had a blog dedicated to airguns a year or so ago, but it seems to be locked out. This time I'm going to try and broaden my horizons a bit.

The hight of the ammo shortage is over and now I can actually afford to shoot the powder burners I love so very dearly. I have also started getting into reloading lately. I hope that I can keep up with this blog a little better. Anyway, the construction begins...

I suppose I will leave with a little porn... gun porn that is...