Monday, September 29, 2008 Rama: Defense drawn from pockets By Karlon N. Rama Stage Five
A LOT of things can be said about pocket pistols. They are small guns, hence the name, usually semi-automatic with a double-action-only operation, and chambered for small caliber rounds, usually .22, .25 or .32 cal.
The size limits how long you can make the barrel, sacrificing what ballistic performance a small caliber round offers. And the short barrel length limits the length of the sighting plane, sacrificing what level of accuracy one could still otherwise get even if one aimed.
But, as pejorative as the term pocket pistols have become, shooting units that fall in this category serve a particular need.
And this is why they are still with us, centuries after the first derringer came to be.
After all, a small sized gun carried in the pocket defends a person from the dark elements that lurk the streets better than the big and heavy full-sized “combat weapon” left at home, unloaded, and padlocked inside the cabinet.
Moreover, some people are of the belief that having quicker access to a firearm is more important than the caliber that gun is actually chambered for.
American writer John Lott, in his book More Guns, Less Crime, said many street crimes are stopped after the would-be-
victim simply unconcealed the guns they were secretly carrying.
These incidents, according to Lott’s research, far out-number those where firearms had to be discharged. However, he said, they don’t usually get recorded by police because no shots were actually fired.
So the question now is what gun should one get if one felt the need for a defensive handgun: one that is physically big and chambered for a round that assures sound ballistic performance, or a pocket pistol that one can have ready access to when a fluid and constantly evolving critical situation arises?
It’s a tough choice, I know. And it gets tougher when one sees the goodies available today.
Unveiled during the SHOT Show last February but made available in the United States mid March, the Ruger LCP (which stands for lightweight compact pistol) is Sturm and Ruger’s entry to a market that, cited author Terence McLeod, sees sales volume in excess of 3 million in some 30 years.
The Ruger LCP is chambered for the .380 cal. pistol cartridge, which is only marginally better in ballistics than the .32 cal., but is a round that continues to get considerable research and development from ammunition manufacturers, much like the puny 9mm of yesteryears got better and better.
It weighs 9.4 ounces empty, less than the weight of a soft drink bottle, and can literally fit on the palm of one’s hands with an overall length of 5.16" and a height of 3.6". Moreover, it is less than an inch thick.
Despite the reduced weight, the gun comes with a blued and through-hardened steel slide and barrel. The weight reduction is made possible through the use of high-performance glass filed nylon in making the frame.
Its development came in the heels of Ruger’s SR9 polymer-framed, striker-fired pistol that features a nine-eleven positioned external safety. The gun held the distinction of being the slimmest polymer-framed 9mm pistol in the market today, beaten only by the LCP.
I don’t know if the Ruger LCP is now available in the Philippines but one is best advised to look for it the next time one visits the gun store for a pocket pistol.
Rugers are tough and reliable guns that are priced very competitively. I have two firearms from the company, myself, a double action only variant of the SP101 revolver in .357 and, one of my pride and joys, a 40th anniversary commemorative edition of their 10/22 rifle.
PRESS FREEDOM. The 14th annual Cebu City Press Freedom Week closed with a party hosted by San Miguel Corp., Saturday night. Journalists and news industry workers packed one of the halls of the Holiday Plaza Hotel along F. Ramos St.
A highlight of the San Miguel party was a comical skit contest between journalists of the different news beats of Cebu, including the sports section, to which scribes and columnists gamely participated.
We clinched a consolation prize but seeing Sun.Star Cebu’s Edri K. Aznar in skirts, make-up and a made-up D-cup was prize enough.
