Mousegun cal. ideas

C

CDH

New member
The problem with any mouse gun is that the Laws of Physics cannot be broken no matter how much you play around with those smaller calibers.

There has been much argument over time about what is the smallest "effective" caliber to use for self defense, but I'm pretty sure that no one will argue that the lower practical end is the .380. That applies even more today because we now have some impressive ammunition that expands well in that caliber (e.g., Speer 90gr. Gold Dot).

Then look at most of the mouse guns out there, and I'm willing to bet that for most of them, you could find a pistol chambered in .380 that maybe wouldn't be quite as small, but would be JUST as concealable.
The only exception would be the NAA derringers, pen guns (illegal anyway), or other such toys.

For itty bitty, you've got some decent choices including the Walther PPK/S and the KelTec P-3AT. Anything smaller than those are not only much less effective for defense, but are more difficult to handle, aim and shoot as well.

For my part, the pistol I take when "nothing else will do (conceal)" is my Walther PP (yes, PP) in .380. The slightly extra length of the PP barrel is JUST as easy to conceal as the PPK or PPK/S, and as a big bonus, the longer barrel takes best advantage of the ballistics of the .380 making the 90gr Gold Dot load even MORE effective than any .38 Special +P out of a 2" barrel.

As usual, my .02, so pay up.

Carter
 
S

Socrates

Moderator
"The slightly extra length of the PP barrel is JUST as easy to conceal as the PPK or PPK/S, and as a big bonus, the longer barrel takes best advantage of the ballistics of the .380 making the 90gr Gold Dot load even MORE effective than any .38 Special +P out of a 2" barrel."

I like the longer barrel, but, have you chronoed the load your talking about? Also, the .38 Special case allows MUCH bigger bullets. I wonder if your going to get enough penetration with the above load? If your lucky it plugs, and becomes a solid. Then it would have adequate penetration.

I'll keep my .02 cents.;)

S
 
D

Double Naught Spy

New member
Very small pistol, suitable only for shooting mice.

Just kidding. Its a small, concealable pistol. The definition is a little fluid, but generally means .32acp, .25acp and .22LR pistols that fit in a pocket. There are a few .380acp's that fit the category, too.

Good examples are the Jetfire .22, and Kel-Tec P-32.
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Strangely, unlike deer guns and duck guns, mouse guns are NOT well suited for shooting mice, mostly because so many have very short sight radii and often not be able to be shot effectively against small targets such as mice.
 
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Dave R

New member
Strangely, unlike deer guns and duck guns, mouse guns are NOT well suited for shooting mice, mostly because so many have very short sight radii and often not be able to be shot effectively against small targets such as mice.
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Dang! Another clever quip ruined by reality. So, do we need a "which gun for mice" thread?

Just kidding....
 
C

CDH

New member
I like the longer barrel, but, have you chronoed the load your talking about?
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I'm not into the techy stuff, but really short barrels allow the bullet to exit much sooner than the point at which all the powder is expended, even on the fastest powders.
That means that an extra half inch allows the pressure of the load to continue expanding along that half inch before the pressure is released at the split millisecond that the bullet opens up the barrel hole on exit.
One of the fun things that reloaders do is to try to calculate the EXACT load needed that will burn right up to the point the bullet exits the barrel but not beyond (because that's wasted energy).
That's the whole point of choosing faster or slower powders.


Also, the .38 Special case allows MUCH bigger bullets.
Click to expand...

Doesn't matter because the size itself of the bullet doesn't have a lot to do with expansion, and expansion is what stops people even moreso than bullet weight.
Plus, the bullet fired out of a 2" 38.Spl barrel is using no where near the explosive potential of the powder so the energy behind it may in fact be a lot less than a .380 load through a longer barrel.
Ever wonder what most of the muzzle flash you see from short barreled pistols is?... it's powder making a flash but no longer pushing the bullet along.

For pure "stopping" power, I'll take my Walther PP .380 with Gold Dots any day over my S&W 642 .38.

Carter
 
L

Love&Hate12

New member
I would also take the PP like Carter has over a snubby because of less felt recoil for fast followups and also faster reload with larger capacity than a small 5 shot.

Only I would use Dpx or Xtp .380's because those seem to at least get 11 inches of penetration for a PPK or Bersa, so I would assume that from the PP that it would get a bit more.
 
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