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March 20, 2007

Here's my current lineup of pistol ammo, from left, .22 LR, .357 Sig, .40 S&W and 10mm.

I attended the required class for obtaining a North Carolina permit for carrying a concealed weaon in mid-August 2006 and I applied to my local sheriff's office, class certificate in hand, on Aug. 21.

The approval period was said to be "30 to 90 days," by the nice lady clerk at the sheriff's office. However, I was called back after about six weeks to get my fingerprints taken a second time. Finally got my CCW permit on Dec. 15, 2006. The lengthy approval period may well qualify for the Guiness Book of Records bureaucracy turtle trophy. Osama and Myers both have an "m" and "s" in the name. Reckon that was the problem?

In the interim, I had plenty of time to research suitable pistols for carrying concealed. My S&W 1076 10mm pistol, which I bought in 2001, is at the upper range of concealability. It has a 4.25" barrel and was the duty weapon for the FBI from 1990-95.

But as I never wear FBI-style suits, concealing a slab of iron that big and heavy in casual clothing is not very practical. I did buy a shoulder holster for it that makes it comfortable to carry, so on "big gun night" I could strap on the 1076. But I don't go elephant hunting often.

And even then, it has limited capacity, though anything that nine rounds of 10mm won't stop is going to kill me graveyard-dead anyway.

My current personal home-defense arsenal includes two Steyr semi-auto pistols, Steyr M357-A1 in 357 Sig cal., bottom left, and Steyr M40-A1 in .40 cal., bottom right, plus a Walther P22 practice pistol, top left, and my S&W 1076 10mm, top right.

So I was looking for a light-weight, high-capacity, semi-auto pistol of suitable caliber for self-defense.

I must confess, being a Navy veteran who got to shoot 1911 .45 ACP pistols a bit, I decided that was the least I would settle for in ballistic firepower. So that rules out 9mm. Sorry, I'm a 9mm snob.

First I researched calibers and decided .40 S&W cal. and 357 Sig would join .45 ACP and 10mm.

Both .40 S&W and 357 Sig are semi-auto pistol cartridges based on a shortened 10mm casing. Some 10mm snobs derisively refer to 40 S&W as “short and weak,” but its ballistics show otherwise. And it has fast become the most popular law-enforcement round in the U.S. All those cops can't be wrong.

But 357 Sig takes that 40 S&W casing and necks it down to 357, which produces even hotter ballistics rivaling 10mm, though with a smaller slug. So I ranked 357 Sig as my first choice in calibers.

Here's a man-sized target with a 15-round magazine of rapid-fire 357 Sig holes in it from my last range trip.

After reviewing literally hundreds of pistol models, I narrowed the field to Austrian-made Glock and Croatian-made Springfield XD, both of which offer models in all or most of my chosen calibers, 10mm, .45 ACP, .40 S&W and 357 Sig.

But as the wait for my CCW permit dragged on, in October 2006 I made a trip to the coast for a men's church-group retreat. (Sinners go to the beach to get nekkid and sin. Christians go to the coast to commune with the glories of God's nature.)

While at the coast, I picked up a gun magazine and there was a review of an Austrian pistol I'd never heard of, the new Steyr MA1 model, polymer frame in 9mm, .40 cal. and 357 Sig.

I asked one of my church buddies, who is retired Air Force and a firearms collector and gunsmith, and he enthusiastically endorsed Steyr, which has been making military arms since the mid-1800s. So back to the Net I went for some more research on the Steyr-Mannlicher site and also discovered Steyrclub.com, a site for Steyr pistol and rifle owners. I lurked for a while, then joined the site so I could post inquiries.

By the time my permit was finally issued in December, I had settled on a Steyr MA1 in 357 Sig and purchased it shortly before Christmas. I liked it so much, I bought a second MA1 in .40 cal. in mid-March. And I added a Walther P22 semi-auto .22 LR cal. pistol to mix in with my firing range practices.

The Steyr pistol design produces very low recoil, but mixing in .22 LR with 357 Sig, .40 S&W and 10mm is good preventive medicine to keep from developing the dreaded "shooter's flinch."

That's where my personal pistol arsenal stands now, but I'm still thinking about adding a high-capacity .45 ACP and 10mm in the future, as I'm starting now to build up my pistol fund again.

And interesting enough, Steyr got a new owner who purchased the company in January and guess what new calibers are being considered for a new model pistol to be introduced soon? None other than .45 ACP and 10mm. I strongly suspect there are perhaps at least two more Steyr pistols in my future.