To J-frame or not to J-frame

[Dave T]

Duelist, I think you are probably right. I can vouch for the fact that the Ergo doesn't lend itself to 5-pocket jeans.

Dave

[11B10]

I cannot believe it took me nearly 6 weeks to get to the range with my new M&P340. Yesterday, although it was 30-ish and rainy, I was determined to get some live fire in, and, I did. Probably because I'm hardheaded, I decided to start with Speer Gold-Dot/Short Barrel .357 MAG, 135 grain, #23917GD . What can I possibly tell you folks that you don't already know? One thing became instantly obvious (as in: 1st trigger pull): Ya gotta hold on to the little bugger! Yes, it stings (cold & damp didn't help), but..I persevered and was rewarded with some decent hits. Not the fastest hits, but in good spots. I must say, I can't imagine shooting a J-frame without that beautiful front sight. That, plus the previously mentioned great trigger pull, allowed me to work on my grip. RE: my grip (s), I also can't imagine shooting a J-frame without a grip change. My hands are not huge, but I do have long fingers. Mine are the VZ Operator II's. After 2 cylinders of .357 (guess I was numb by then), I went to American Eagle 130 grain fmj's for 5 cylinders. BTW, is "cylinders" the correct way to describe revolver capacity? I finished up with what I'm thinking will be my EDC ammo: Speer .38 SPL+P Gold-Dot/Short Barrel, 135 grain, #23921. I must say I haven't completely settled on that - I'm still considering .357 - more work at the range will probably convince me the only thing you're gaining with the .357's is a bigger head! I gotta admit that I love the sound of them. After the J-frame, I spent another hour with my EDC pistol, the P30SK/V1-LEM trigger, shooting exactly 200 rounds. I was - and still am - buzzing about the M&P340! So much so that I carried it in my right front pocket (Nemesis) all day today as a bug (with the #23921's).

[11B10]

The Ergo grip doesn’t work with all pants. I’m experimenting with one at the moment, and while it is interesting, one thing is, just like with all grips on Js, there are pockets it works in and pockets it doesn’t.

I wear mostly Levis (others are Wal-Mart-ish generics) about half the time, the rest of the time - Costco cargo pants. I use a Nemesis pocket holster which works fine. Very little outline, right height for drawing - keeps the M&P340 at the right angle with the butt just below the pocket edge. I almost never wear dress pants (don't miss them one bit!), I can't answer how the Nemesis would work in them.

[paherne]

So, instead of having my well-worn 642 re-timed and adding new sights, yesterday I dropped $986.58 for an S&W MP 340 No-lock SKU: 103072 at the LGS. Should take about a week to get here.

[blues]

Ouch! That makes the prices here look like bargains...

[paherne]

Ouch! That makes the prices here look like bargains...

Everything in CA is more expensive. Part of it is supporting a Local Gun Store because opening a gun store in CA, especially the SF Bay Area, is an act of defiance to The Man. The rent is astronomical and the regulatory hurdles would make a sane person decide to open a bubble tea shop or something else. Plus, we have higher taxes AND CA DOJ just got done raising our DROS fee to $37. I could buy the gun from Bud's or another retailer, but then the LGS would charge me tax, DROS and $100 shop fee, so on this gun that would add up to $217 on top of the internet price. I've paid it for used guns I REALLY wanted, like the MR 88.

Even with these prices, the gunshop was crowded at 1030 hrs on a Friday with 4 other customers, not gun people at all, looking to buy handguns for self-defense purposes. This new radical communist DA in SF has scared people with his advocacy for criminals over good folk. I predict the reformation of the SF Vigilance Committee before he leaves office. These fine folks were willing to drop $1200-$1500 to buy pistols, safes, mags, etc. I've never seen anything like it in the 50 years I've lived here.

[11B10]

So, instead of having my well-worn 642 re-timed and adding new sights, yesterday I dropped $986.58 for an S&W MP 340 No-lock SKU: 103072 at the LGS. Should take about a week to get here.

I've read your posts about why, but even with those, that price is outrageous! The dad part is California won't be the last state to do that.

[camsdaddy]

Everything in CA is more expensive. Part of it is supporting a Local Gun Store because opening a gun store in CA, especially the SF Bay Area, is an act of defiance to The Man. The rent is astronomical and the regulatory hurdles would make a sane person decide to open a bubble tea shop or something else. Plus, we have higher taxes AND CA DOJ just got done raising our DROS fee to $37. I could buy the gun from Bud's or another retailer, but then the LGS would charge me tax, DROS and $100 shop fee, so on this gun that would add up to $217 on top of the internet price. I've paid it for used guns I REALLY wanted, like the MR 88.

Even with these prices, the gunshop was crowded at 1030 hrs on a Friday with 4 other customers, not gun people at all, looking to buy handguns for self-defense purposes. This new radical communist DA in SF has scared people with his advocacy for criminals over good folk. I predict the reformation of the SF Vigilance Committee before he leaves office. These fine folks were willing to drop $1200-$1500 to buy pistols, safes, mags, etc. I've never seen anything like it in the 50 years I've lived here.

I guess it keeps the poor people from being able to protect themselves. I’m sure our founding fathers only meant for the wealthy to be protected

[paherne]

I guess it keeps the poor people from being able to protect themselves. I’m sure our founding fathers only meant for the wealthy to be protected

The roots of gun control are in Jim Crow laws in the South. CA up until about 8-10 years ago, made it a misdemeanor to carry a loaded pistol if you were not a felon, while carrying knives, dirks, daggers, slungshots, clubs, brass knuckles, was a felony. The thinking in 1872 when the Penal Code was written was that decent folks, i.e. middle-upper class WASPs, could afford pistols and revolvers, while the lower-class immigrants from Asia, Mexico, Southern Europe and the dreaded Irish, would not be able to afford a decent firearm. Ergo, felony for a poor guy carrying what he could afford to protect himself, while the right sort of folks, like Winston J. Wadsworth III, would only hazard a misdemeanor, if the police even bothered enforcing the law on the "right sort" of folks. Read about Chinatown in SF and the property restrictions on Asians in CA. Gun control has a long history of being used to control the "undesirables." Now, the definition of who is undesirable has changed. Same game, same tyranny of the majority.

[paherne]

I've read your posts about why, but even with those, that price is outrageous! The dad part is California won't be the last state to do that.

Gunbroker lists 4 auctions for $724-$768. $220 more, with $88 taxes and $37 DROS fee is only $95 more than I can buy one online. I KNOW it sounds crazy, but everything in the state of my birth is Bizarro World now.