Another Gun!

Yessir, I will fully agree with Mr.Bill on that and it was a fully educational one

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Somebody just PM'd me and ask a question about "hollow point" ammunition... I think the question went something like this...

"my understanding is that hollow points are safer because upon impact they are supposed to flower out and therefore stop at initial impact and not go through multiple impacts like a full metal would."

Technically that is correct... they are supposed to "mushroom" but not necessarily stop at that point... case in point the travel of the one that came out of my little .40 that went through a wooden door, a stuffed lounge chair, an electric heater, the bottom of a sturdy wooden crate type table, into and through carpet, the wooden floor... through a 3" brick and into the ground outside the house... pictures document what that bullet did and it was a +P.40 caliber "hollow point".... and all the holes...as seen in the pictures were round and not much bigger than the initial hole... so what's supposed to happen .... doesn't always happen...

I do hold to the belief that hollow points do expand and provide greater "knock down" ... if you will... full metal jacket ammunition as a rule, will penetrate further simply because the lead core is surrounded by a jacket of brass, but it will also mushroom depending on the substance it contacts when fired. I am not a ballistic expert but I have fired enough rounds of different type ammunition to tell you that ammunition is designed to accomplish certain tasks and hollow point ammunition is designed to expand and mushroom and cause more damage by design. There are all kinds of ammunition with different styles of points... some are solid, some are hollow with grooves cut around the sides... some have little round ball bearings in the nose... some have no jacket at all, just solid lead... they all have a design to accomplish a certain objective.

Here is a link to a very informative site that will very likely answer most of your questions

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullet

and here is something I copied that might also help answer your question: I did not write this, I copied it out of a simple website but it is factual as far as I am concerned, so I post it for your info....

"A hollow point is an expanding bullet that has a pit or hollowed out shape in its tip, generally intended to cause the bullet to expand upon entering a target in order to decrease penetration and disrupt more tissue as it travels through the target. It is also used for controlled penetration, where over-penetration could cause collateral damage (such as on an aircraft). In essence, the hollow point bullet has two interrelated purposes: to increase its size once within the target, thus maximizing tissue damage and blood loss or shock, and by remaining in the target to expend all of its kinetic energy in the target, some of which will be lost if the bullet continues through the target. Jacketed hollow points (JHPs) or plated hollow points are covered in a coating of harder metal to increase bullet strength and to prevent fouling the barrel with lead stripped from the bullet. The term hollow-cavity bullet is used to describe a hollow point where the hollow is unusually large, sometimes dominating the volume of the bullet, and causes extreme expansion or fragmentation on impact."

_________________
Bill Marx, Sr.
"FREE STATE BAIL BONDS"
"FREE STATE INVESTIGATIONS"
DCJS: 99-176979
Cell: 434-294-0222

"Endeavor to Persevere" "Lone Watie"

"Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that , comes from bad judgment" "Will Rogers"

Very informative, thank you!

More stuff....

It seems that I am attempting to reorganize my weapons stash... I am mostly trading stuff that has been sitting in the safe, for weapons that are newer, more effective and in some cases, easier to handle, shoot and maintain and have a ............. more practical application to my present life style.

In some cases I am probably taking a lickin' in the value for value department but what the heck... if I am satisfied with the end results, it is ok... I just got blasted by my buddy for trading my 10mm. Colt, Delta Elite (blued model), unfired, in the case.... EVEN for a new PX-4 Beretta Storm 9mm. I really like the feel and quality of Beretta's... I have a .40 Cougar that shoots wonderful... and this Storm is what I am gonna shoot when I get into the IDPA stuff. The Delta Elite was out of production for several years, however,it is now back in production and will sell for around $800 or more... the Storm retails for between $450 all the way to $600 depending on who and where you look... and of course I traded with a dealer so I did not really expect to get a good deal although I did get an even trade and I have a weapon that I can use. Anyone that is familiar with the Delta Elite will know that it is, frankly, a "cannon" and although it possesses a lot of energy... it is IMHO not particularly easy to shoot or practical to carry. You all do know that the .40 caliber is basically a short 10mm, sort of like the .38, the .357, the .380 and the 9mm. are basically all the same projectile (slightly different design and size differs only slightly), just different cases for the particular application... I don't think there are many LE's that carry this weapon today (10mm)... maybe a few, but not many... they tried it but reverted back to 9 or .40 or even .45's... anyway, I have a couple of more firearms that I am gonna see if I can horse trade for some newer stuff... and I will probably get on here and tell you about it.


I have an additional comment concerning... collecting and/or shooting firearms... there are collectors and there are shooters and there are collector/shooters... some do not shoot at all but only collect... their firearms sit in cases or cabinets or safes and are valuable to the holder as just that... I did that for many years but recently... as I age... I really like shooting as well as collecting so some of the stuff that has just been collecting dust... although maybe valuable to a degree... are gonna get traded as the above scenario... so save your breath if you are gonna make a comment about trading valuable collector items for not so collectible stuff... as is the case with most things in life.................. Value is in the eye of the beholder... one mans diamonds are anothers trash and vis versa...

I posted a thread several years ago concerning guns I had for sale and I only got 2 emails, so just because an item is valuable and has a fair price on it... does not mean anyone wants it... and those firearms were very good quality but again... no one had any money or just didn't want them... so they are going away from here through horse trading....


Another update... Sunday

Came across yet another nice firearm and added this to the mix... you might consider this for CCW also. Be aware of these facts however, this weapon has several versions so be sure of which you are purchasing...

This is a Taurus Millennium PT145 (.45ACP)... there is a standard model and a Pro model, pretty much the same although I think the Pro series has a couple of minor upgrades... also, there is a version which was supposed to be approved for Calilfornia... it has a CA on the right side of the slide... be aware also that I think it has been removed from the approved list... not sure about this cause i don't live there... Maybe Tony can advise...

I bought the standard which is fine for me... very nice, about the same size and weight as the XD subcompact. Priced between 3 and $400, depending on supplier... I paid a little over $350 plus tax... about average I think... haven't shot it but it got some good reviews around the gun websites... we shall see...


Free advice... clean your guns before you shoot them... both my Tauruses were filled with "manufacturing dust".
Also, be aware... In Virginia you are limited to one gun a month... however, if you have a CCW you are exempt from that rule... unless of course you are a convinced felon... and then it won't make any difference... you would then have to purchase your firearms from one of the.................... uh, shall we say..................... discount suppliers... of whom I would not recommend.

_________________
Bill Marx, Sr.
"FREE STATE BAIL BONDS"
"FREE STATE INVESTIGATIONS"
DCJS: 99-176979
Cell: 434-294-0222

"Endeavor to Persevere" "Lone Watie"

"Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that , comes from bad judgment" "Will Rogers"

Do not... I repeat... do not even consider purchasing a small semi-auto in .45 cal.... like the Taurus PT145... if you are the least bit sensitive to recoil... I just fired off two mags (20 rounds) of .45 in my new little Taurus Millennium pistol (shown above) and I will tell you... it will rock your world... get a 9mm... I only bought it cause if I pull the trigger on someone... I want to put a really big hole in their body... cause I can't run away... and besides... if you ever get in a real firefight... you won't notice the recoil... trust me.

But this is not a gun to take to the range for fun... unless you like bruises on your hand... No, I am not a wimp... although I did like the movie... "Alice in Wonderland"...

_________________
Bill Marx, Sr.
"FREE STATE BAIL BONDS"
"FREE STATE INVESTIGATIONS"
DCJS: 99-176979
Cell: 434-294-0222

"Endeavor to Persevere" "Lone Watie"

"Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that , comes from bad judgment" "Will Rogers"

The Taurus 145 is NOT legal for sale in CA, although the 745 is. Don't know what the differences between the 2 are that would ban one and not the other.

They are both .45 ACP, the only difference is the 145 has 10 round mags and the745 is 6 rounds.

Ten round mags ARE legal in CA.

Well the Boss was out of town for a few days earlier this week. So I got a chance to hit the range and try out my new Glock 30.

I ran 50 rounds through it. Shot 3 and 7 yard targets as I got it for conceal carry purpose and hopefully will not have to use it, especially for anything pass that distance.

Anyway, it is a very good fit for my hands. There is a lot of recoil like Bill experiences with his Taurus. However, not bad enough for me to not want to shoot twice a month with it.

I have to get use to the trigger but I hope to get much better with a bit more practice.

It is a bit heavy with a loaded mag but is easiliy concealed. I've "worned" it around the office for the last 2 weeks and no one has notice it at all. Under shirts, sweaters and a suit coat. It has a very small profile.

Not bad for a 10 round .45!

Hey Bill, a few months ago I picked up a Taurus PT140 Millennium Pro (http://www.azpcc.net/portal/images/pt140.jpg) and put about 100 rounds through it and found the recoil wasn't too bad, even though my problem is I anticipate the recoil (probably the same thing as you) Anyway, the trigger pull on that one is ridiculous, you have to pull back almost all the way to the back of the guard before it hits the firing pin. At first I thought there was something wrong with it! But once I got used to it, it made grouping and rapid fire easy. I took video of when I first started shooting, my partner from our recovery team was acting as rangemaster for our group. (That same trip we brought their kids to teach them safety and shooting. They've been to the range before, since both him and his girlfriend are ADC corrections, they have to qualify yearly) The point was so I could watch my stance, arms, head, etc to improve my shooting. You can see me clear the line with him, then start firing and check my slide thinking there's something wrong, then take almost 30 seconds between shots because of the tons of slack in the trigger:

http://www.vimeo.com/17741836

My groups were perfect there, because of the length of time between shots! Towards the end, it became more comfortable. Next trip will be better. But it's my main concealed carry now, it's nearly always with me. I do need a better primary though, since this is supposed to be a backup, but all I have right now is a Hi-Point .45 ACP, it's like carrying a power drill around. Need to hit another gun show, but not until I get a new vest or my girlfriend will be a little upset with me

Do not upset your girlfriend............... rule number one.

You are right on the money with the trigger... I took my Beretta PX4 Storm 9mm to my gunsmith and had the trigger reduced to about 3lbs. and smoothed up a bit so maybe it will help me in my little combat shooting deal... but the slack is there in this and the XD's and the Taurus... all of them are gonna get a trigger job... I don't think you can get the slack out of these triggers but you can smooth up the action and 'crisp' up the hammer drop... I am in a IDPA meet this Sunday and will probably take a video of me... since I want to check out my old man shooting and see maybe how to improve.. if I don't look tooooo bad, I might post it on here.

I have a bunch of pistols but the little Taurus (although certainly and arguably maybe not the highest quality in the bunch) is still my main carry piece. It has performed perfectly so far... I do also like my XD.40 subcompact of course.

I had a friend tell me that Taurus is owned by Beretta... I know that the 92 serious 9mm's are almost identical... I know Taurus is put together in Miami I think ... manufactured in Brazil but parts are built in FL... and Beretta is Italian but not sure of the rest....

FOLLOWUP.... did some research and came up with the following history... copied and pasted from Taurus' website.

"Beretta had won a huge contract in 1974 to produce small arms for the army of Brazil. Part of the deal was that Beretta construct a Brazilian factory and use Brazilian labor. This they did, in the southwestern coastal city of Sao Paulo. When the contract ran out in 1980, Beretta sold the plant, literally "lock, stock and barrel," to Taurus. Taurus now owned everything that once belonged to Beretta, including drawings, tooling, machinery, and a very experienced work force. Taurus was in the pistol business, and immediately sought to improve on the Beretta design, resulting in the popular and acclaimed Taurus PT-92 and PT-99 9mm pistols. "

I think that answers the question of the similarity.... hope my answer straightened out anyone's questions.. it answered mine. I had always wondered about this...

_________________
Bill Marx, Sr.
"FREE STATE BAIL BONDS"
"FREE STATE INVESTIGATIONS"
DCJS: 99-176979
Cell: 434-294-0222

"Endeavor to Persevere" "Lone Watie"

"Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that , comes from bad judgment" "Will Rogers"