BrianK

I've always thought they would be excellent for 3 gun. But I don't do 3 gun and don't own one. None of the competition supply houses have anything? Sounds like an opportunity for someone.

I volunteer to do that snow plowing! They don't even need to pay me! I wonder if they even feel the snowdrift when they hit them. But the reason I came here... So many things in one post I didn't know where to put it. My 9" TacSol Ruger Charger Takedown barrel came in and the Power Custom parts. OK, I ordered some of the wrong parts for my BX trigger. I called them and Randall told me to send it back for a credit on what will work since I indicated that's what I wanted. But I installed the barrel and long Ti charging handle, rod, and spring. I fired it for function and in 10 rounds got 3 malfunctions, stovepipes and double feeds. Short story, it was my fault. I wanted to lube things but for some reason forgot. Long story, I never change more than one part at a time for just that reason (except this time), so I backed up and removed the new charge handle assembly. Then lubed things and kept the shorter barrel (10" vs 9"). It worked fine. So I put the new assembly in and it still worked fine. So the malfunctions were solved. Amazing what a little lube will do. I kept the Ti firing pin in the bolt, but I want other Ti parts to decrease the lock time. The literature states that it can cut it by 43%. So I'll buy it 2x and reduce it by 86%. Maybe 3x and ignition will happen before I even press the trigger. 🙂 OK, enough with the jokes. I had a Volquartsen carbon fiber barrel on order but got a case of the butt and decided to look around some. Previously I had seen the 9" TacSol barrels and wondered if they were still available. They were, so I cancelled my Vol' barrel and ordered the TacSol. It was shipped in under 2 hours. It's a nice looking barrel that I just had to screw up by putting a HK 3 lug adapter on, but it needs to wear the can periodically so it had to be done. The bore looked really good. I didn't shed lots of tears over not getting the carbon fiber barrel and here's why. The stock barrel was actually about an ounce lighter and maybe 4-5" shorter than the carbon fiber barrel would have been. The goal of the build for the Charger SBR was to see just how small I could make a rifle and the Takedown breaks down into no part being longer than 10". The CF barrel would have been conservatively 14" long but I would have forgotten about the design goal and sucked it up. The TacSol barrel is 7+ ounces lighter than the stock barrel so I save weight and length. Now I need to sight it in (warmish days are coming) and eventually I want to make a "tool roll" for the various parts to complete the build. Or otherwise figure out a way to house the parts in a clandestine manner. Just for fun. Why did I build the SBR? Because it's America and because I could. I didn't really have any use for it but after I built it I realized just how good it would be for Steel Challenge. It'll be even better now with the muzzle having even less mass "out there". I see custom Steel Challenge rifles with short barrels but pipes welded to them to make them 16" and lessened mass. Mine doesn't have the false barrel welded on so has even less mass. I can't take it everywhere and where I can take it I need to let ATF know, but I stay in state so that's just not a big deal.

Welcome to the forum!

I like stories that have a happy ending. Yes, I hope the elderly man gets well soon.

Dustbuster, there's a difference between noise and blast, but frankly when ones ears are in excruciating pain the difference is moot. Ear pro' can be worn, but at zero dark 30 when you're in your skivvies or less I doubt there will be time to put it on, and I've never seen ear pro for pets. Will children think to put it on? That's why I suggest to folks when looking for a firearm for HD that they look at a PCC. It all comes down to Boyles Law which states that if volume is doubled the pressure is halved. Let's look at that with a 9mm. Peak pressure will be 36k psi and that will be achieved, for the sake of argument, in 3". The barrel is 16" long, so at 6" it'll be 18k, and 12" 9k. There's 4 more " of barrel so it'll be under 8k psi when the barrel comes uncorked. That's pretty mild. The same thinking works for a 9mm in a handgun, except the barrel is much shorter so the pressure and noise will be more when the bullet exits. Let's use the 5.56... Peak pressure will be near 60k psi and that will be achieved maybe 12" down the barrel. In 4more inches of travel the pressure won't drop significantly so the pressure wave from 60k psi will hit the ears and produce significant noise. But the pain will be first and foremost on your mind and not the noise. 7.62 will be pretty much the same except far more gas so it'll be worse. I have a braked .308 and under tree canopy it's painful w/o hearing pro'. In a handgun I think the .45ACP operates at 12k psi so should be fairly ear friendly as far as blast wave effects. In a PCC it should be a pussycat. If a PCC in .45 is made. That's for you to find out. OR, do as I do with my present HD gun and keep a blast can on it. A blast can isn't hearing safe but it does remove the blast effects and that's the worst of it. When I used a 5.56 as the HD gun it wore an suppressor that handled blast and sound, but of course supersonic crack was still there. For my EDC for SD, my plan is to just suck it up. What does the military do? At the very least they should supply cans and QD mounts to everyone involved in CQB. But that costs $. Heck, they farm out the rifles to the lowest bidder so they won't come up with $ to save hearing. They'd rather pay out benefits SHOULD the soldiers survive their combat. Benefits don't get paid to the dead there's insurance for that. It's cold but I bet that's just the way they think. I'd be willing to bet they know precisely how much less they pay out in benefits vs buying cans. It's not the VAs fault either. They can only do what Congress allows them to do. When I served I was told I had medical care for life. Now the scumbags in Congress allow me one app't per year and I have use of the gym and pool if I choose to drive 30 miles one way to do that. Of course Congress voted themselves the best health care possible. Why? Because they had to walk the life threatening halls of Congress where the worst they could have gotten was a paper cut. The grunts who actually put their lives on the line? Eff them! (according to Congress) Don't listen to their lying words, watch what they do. Their actions prove their lies. OK, off my soapbox now. Rant mode off.

My LGS is really good, very knowledgeable and will take time to talk basics to folks needing that. A&G Firearms in Fairfield, Maine off of I95. It sorta ticks me off. Bear with me and let me explain. When I show up to chew the fat they can be busy with noobs and they take priority. Don't they know that I'm there to take up their time to discuss politics and such? Anyway, their priorities are correct. As far as having things on hand when others had nothing during the recent shortages they had ammo and no shortage of firearms. New designs? They get them in before the ink is dry on the magazine pages that review them. 2 mail order outfits that get kudus from me for faster than fast service, R&S Precision Sports, LLC (1022racerifle.com) took my order and had it shipped in under 2 hours. The other is Power Custom. They took my order and shipped it in under an hour. When I was in business that was the way I shipped and I know what it takes to do that; one needs to care about the customer. Yeah, they both get high marks!

Agreed. Before counting on a AR handgun to be ear friendly try it in an enclosed space. It might not be as destructive for eardrums as a .308, but it'll make you think twice before touching it off again. I tried a 16" barrel .223 decades ago with an open window and the muzzle just this side of it and pointed at the butts 100yds away. I never told the wife what I was up to. I closed the door to the bedroom and touched it off. My ears paid a huge price and she came back and told me in no uncertain terms to "Never do that again!". Yeah, it hurt her ears all the way at the other end of our home. That's why the PCC if one can't have a suppressor on the barrel. As you write, there are states that are no longer free. A 16" PCC reduces the blast tremendously even in those. If she plans to carry it there are purses that are specifically made to carry full size guns if she doesn't mind a honkin' huge shoulder bag. The key is that there should be an area for only the handgun and nothing else. Not a purse, but I carry off body in a cross slung pack of moderate size (Maxpedition Fatboy) and I need to keep the EDC down to compact size with it. Below is a reciprocity map. As you suggested some states aren't free and at this time it's best just not to enter them with a handgun. They're fighting tooth and nail to keep their restrictions on freedom and safety for their citizens who are being held captive by the police state. https://www.usconcealedcarry.com/resources/ccw_reciprocity_map

OK, I just got back after checking my Dillon made ammo and giving the dog attention. We can't come back to fix things in a post after a short time and I wanted to make sure I was accurate. Hence the removal of the previous post. Re: the expander, first see what your dies come with by trying them. As I wrote the RCBS was correct right out of the green box. I didn't need to do anything. Good tip on the Lee crimper. I'll give that a try too, the ammo we make can't be too good. 🙂 I've been using my RCBS dies for over 50 years and they worked so I never changed anything about the process. It's time. The Lee crimper might actually also make the "shelf" obsolete, but I'll also keep using the old RCBS dies that I have for the single stage press. I couldn't remember a "shelf" being produced by my Dillon dies so I went to check. It's there and can be seen by the eye it's just not as pronounced. I also never turned down the expander ball on those dies. Maybe they are all designed to make the shelf? IDK. Just something to be aware of. FWIW, 231 is a good powder so is Power Pistol. You're in the correct burn rate, but I suspect we can go as fast as red dot (using far less) and it would still work. Yup, I just did a 'net search and turned up loads for Red Dot and bullets < or= 124gr. . I suspect with light bullets it would make some great light recoil, introductory plinking loads, esp' with a full size handgun or what I'm about to discuss, a PCC. OK, I'm going to muddy the waters a little bit and back up a whole lot. Sorry, but when someone "wants" a handgun I just have to ask what uses will it be put to. The reason for that are folks like my SIL who watches far too much TV and movies where every round fired hits the intended target showing that handguns are very easy to use. Except they aren't. They require regular practice and pro' training to learn the basics correctly doesn't hurt either. Every round fired has a lawyer attached and "gun control" should be a high priority. DustBuster, I don't think you are someone who would forgo the training and practice but I'm forced to ask anyway. FWIW, the reason I ask... my SIL and her idiot son... She doesn't know which end of the gun the bullets come out of, and her idiot son loaded it for her and put one in the chamber on a Glock. Glock triggers are part of the safety system and one keeps ones finger off the trigger until it's on target and you're wanting it to fire (Here mom, go shoot someone by accident!). She has no clue how to unload it so I'd wager she also doesn't know about the Glock trigger. Yeah, idiot son. To my knowledge she still hasn't taken any training and it's been 2 years. I hope she had her idiot son unload it for her as I suggested. So what uses does your girlfriend want a handgun for? Relax, we've all been there and nothing written will shock us. It's quite clear that you folks aren't ravening 2 legged animals out for blood. The more open you are the more help we can be. It could be that a handgun is precisely the best tool, or it might not be. If it's home defense, a perfectly valid use, today using the proper HD techniques and an anticipated LEO response once a 911 call is made I always suggest a PCC aka pistol caliber carbine. For HD anything a handgun can do a PCC can do better (except concealment), is easier to make hits with, has far less recoil, faster to learn, can take more bolt on accessories for safety and effectiveness, larger magazines, and on and on. Proper HD technique? Designate a room as the safe room (not panic room which is very different). Under the right key words spoken everyone enters the safe room where they hunker down and wait for the LEOs to clear the home after they are thrown the door keys so that they don't need to break in. There's more to it but that's it in a nutshell. No doubt more details and greater depth about safe rooms can be found online with a search if you're inclined. So let's back up. What uses will the firearm be put to? We know about the plinking use but is there more?

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I bet the 365 and the 938 feel entirely different in the hand even with the extended mag in the 938. Never tried it though. I'd love to have a Hellcat with a red dot mounted. But I have what I have. Maybe I'll get the M&P 9c milled for one and call it good. Dustbuster, we're all just playing with ourselves, or at least that's what it amounts to. You need to get the little miss out to fondle some and try some.

Correct on 9mm headspace. All straight wall cartridges that are rimless headspace there. It's not an issue though. Just turn down the expander ball (use extremely fine wet or dry paper and an electric drill but go very easy it's more polishing then metal removal) if needed, and just taper crimp enough to get rid of the bell used to get the bullet into the case. You don't want to do more than straighten the bell at the mouth. The bullet should, when properly loaded, have a "shelf" at the bottom to prevent it from going further into the case, that's why you need to fit the expander, and the bullet should have enough neck tension to prevent the bullet from moving out under recoil. It might sound difficult but it isn't. Once one buys dies they are "had" for life and I never needed to fit the expander to get it right. But that might be required. I'm trying to remember my 9mm die brand. I'd be very surprised if it isn't RCBS. That shelf that the bullet rests on... It's easily seen by eye. The case has been sized smaller so the shelf is easily seen. At least my 9mm reloads are. It's not huge, but it's there. I'd wager everyone here loads straight wall cartridges and a question about it will get a fast response. Trust me on this, it's easy.

DustB', FWIW, the 938 with the slightly extended mag allows 3 fingers on the grip. Despite me mentioning them earlier it's maybe too small for what you want. Smaller guns are quite a bit more difficult to use.

The SIG 938 has the silver slide. As I already mentioned they make or at least made .22 rimfire slides for it. Normally it's a 9mm, but another version is made in .380. They're both SIGs. IWB= inside the waist band, a type of holster

It would be helpful if there was a ceiling to what the cost would be. MtnMike, you mentioned Canik. They make a full size competition gun that is absolutely fantastic. I don't remember the name. One of the best triggers out of the box that I've ever felt. And it fits my small hands, but I remember it being adjustable. Yeah, it looks cool too. There are just so many possibilities.

The mag release mentioned earlier arrived as predicted by USPS tracking. 2 minutes later the extended release was out and the OEM release installed. Take that unintended mag releases! Not as fast for a mag change but if I need a fast mag change after 13 rounds with my EDC gun I was definitely in the wrong place.

Well, the nice thing about a revolver is that they can use downloaded ammo. That .357 can also shoot .38 wadcutters. But have you considered a .327 Fed Mag? I think that's the cartridge I don't know if you reload, but if you do a wadcutter in .32 should be a pussycat. Since it's a revolver it can also shoot full power ammo, as well as many much older cartridges with shorter brass. A few years ago the Ruger LCR was chambered in it. Others also? IDK. There are semi autos that are EZ to chamber a round. One is the S&W EZ I think it's called. I think there are other semis that are also easy to operate. But one that's difficult, if it has an external hammer, the hammer can be manually cocked and that makes the slide much easier to operate. But all that is just background info. Shooterrex gave the best suggestion, find a range and rent some handguns and find out what works for her. I would also consider a semi-auto with 2 slides, one in 9mm and the other in .22. The Browning P35 is being made again and there was a .22 slide made for them. I have smallish hands and the P35 fits me fine. It's also the handgun whose hammer I need to cock because I'm older and what I could do easily 50 years ago is becoming a bit more difficult today and I'm looking ahead. Maybe they the .22 slides are still being made? I have a SIG 938 with 2 slides and while it's a compact handgun could that also work? I don't need answers, I'm just posing questions to think about.

I almost ordered the GM kit, but some of it I already have in my gun. Instead I ordered the action kit. In that I think the only part that is duplicated is the auto bolt return. I think that's what it's called. Frankly Ruger should make a design change and just make and add that part to every 10/22. What are they thinking? Or was it the extended mag release? Anyway, it was one of those. Anyway, what I ordered will decrease the lock time and do a few other good things. I like the overtravel trigger stop too. I'm sure I'll like the changes and your $ is quite safe. FWIW, excellent service! I placed the order and it wasn't an hour later that I got a notification that they printed the postage and it had shipped. Same with R&S Precision. I placed the order after noon, went shopping returning 2ish and the new barrel had shipped. That's the way I shipped stuff when I was in business and I was good. Glad to see that sort of service by others.

Nearly forgot. OK, I did forget. My EDC has an extended mag release so that my tiny fingers can reach it better. It has released the mag at least 2x that I can recall but that's 2x too many. I looked for the OEM release but can't find one, so I ordered another. It was supposed to be delivered last Tuesday. I'm assuming weather played a role but it's in Southern Maine now and I expect delivery tomorrow.

I can see that kit working its way into my 10/22.

Thanks. I'm moving slow on this SBR and trying, despite my tendency to buy stuff, to keep the cost down. One thing at a time and only if the parts "pay their way". I've been known, to the detriment of my wallet, to buy stuff, install and try them, and throw them into the parts box if they don't pay their way. If they don't add something they just don't stay in place. I'm sure I'm not the only person on a forum such as this who does that. Heck, it took me a year to decide to buy the new barrel and another 7 months to flip the middle finger to Vol'. Yeah, moving slow. Maybe I was a turtle in a former life. I'll look over that Power Custom site. Other than Steel Challenge, which to me is a game I use to stay sharp (same as USPSAs use by me), I really have no use for this gun today. Correction! It has also gone on walks with the wife and I since I can't move fast or very far and we do have the potential for aggressive rabid animals in our AO. But in that role I far prefer the CP33 with an arm brace since it's so light that I even forget it's slung.

Thanks for the story and everything that went with it. I suspect they gave those MGs to big Marines, what was it? 23# plus 100 rounds of ammo? Not for me to lug.

I had a Volquartsen carbon fiber barrel on order for my Ruger Charger Takedown 10/22 SBR . The short story is I cancelled the order. Now the longer story. I put it on order May 16 so it's been on order for over 7 months. I'm not privy to the inner workings of Vol' but they appeared to get a shipment in months ago, but none of them ever shipped or were found on the Vol' site. I'm guessing they weren't up to snuff. Then I was a given a 1/17/23 ship by date. I have the patience of Job, but my patience wore thin and here's why. I got to checking sites for barrels for my Ruger .22 Charger Takedown SBR and came across barrel reviews. It turned out that the Vol' barrel is a good one, but not as accurate as the Tac'Sol'. Or that's what I found. I was going to get a barrel, but whose? The design goal of my SBR was to make as small a .22 as I possibly could, hence the Takedown. I intend to sew a "tool roll" case and have the parts in it. Why? Just because it's America and I can. I was going to live with the Vol' barrel and it's attached sight mount even though it would no longer meet the design goal. Then I got to thinkin' about that and the Tac'Sol' barrel. It's 9" and pretty much the same weight, and no attached mount. It would actually be better (shorter) than the 10" OEM barrel while still being more accurate. There was no shortage of them in stock wherever I went. So the Vol' barrel was cancelled and the TacSol ordered after noon today. It was shipped before 3 so I could have it in my hot little hands maybe this week. Now I look for a bit of warmish weather so that I can sight it in. After I initially built the SBR I got to thinkin' what was I going to use it for? Maybe that was bass ackwards but that's exactly what happened. I shoot Steel Challenge and it has the right amount of muzzle mass (none) for that game. Since the TacSol is a bit shorter it should have microscopically less mass out at the muzzle. I saw everything as a win, win. Oh, and it was less money, yet another win. So I have a 9" TacSol barrel on order and it's on it's way to me.

Merry Christmas to you also, and everyone who reads this!

Back on subject... I'm not difficult to buy for if the person buying is loaded with cash. Heck, I'm easy to buy for! But the wife and I exchange gift lists (since we're not loaded) and this year I wanted a Makita 36v chainsaw. Sure I have 3 other gas saws but none are as light and carefree as the 36v Li-Ion battery saw. We exchanged lists months ago and I think she figured I'd give up the notion. No such luck. So she told me to order it since she doesn't know squat about it. What she doesn't know is that I'm not done ordering for it. Since it's not a surprise and I had a dead tree come down in the driveway a few days ago I used it for that already. Short story... It won't be my primary saw for felling and large tree trunks but for limbing it worked fine. Yesterday saw it cutting dry rock maple limbs up to 6" diameter and it did a fine job. The batteries (it takes 2 18v) don't show even one light down in charge state. I thought it might be an expensive toy despite reviews to the contrary. I'm wearing my happy face because it works fine for what I want it for.