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Five pistols, five different calibers?

March 30, 2007

By John W. Myers, Internet Photojournalist

From left, in ascending order of ballistics: .22 LR, 9mm Para., .40 S&W, 357 Sig, 10mm

Life is what happens while you muddle along, hardly ever according to any plans you've imagined.

That's how I got to my current set of pistols, five different pistols and five different calibers.

“This changes everything” is the watchword of 9-11 and it applies to me, too. Shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, I had the barrel sawed down to 18.5” on my Ithaca Model 37 12 gauge shotgun, barely legal; and I stocked up on double-ought buckshot.

Ithaca Model 37 12 gauge pump shotgun, barrel shortened to 18.5-inches I also decided it was long past time I bought myself a pistol, so I went shopping for some portable hardware.

My only pistol experience to that point, with very few exceptions, was with 1911 .45 ACP semi-autos, both from one my father had that I shot as a boy and during my years in the U.S. Navy, 1967-71.

But I have to give credit to my first pistol purchase to the late Col. Jeff Cooper, who wrote that .45 ACP has “almost enough power.” He helped pioneer the development of the 10mm pistol cartridge and consulted as technical advisor in the 1984 debut of the first 10mm semi-auto pistol, the Bren-Ten.

Pistol No. 1: S&W 1076, 10mm semi-auto

I started my pistol search seeking a 10mm and found a Model 1076 in prime condition in a local gun shop for a mere $300. It fit my hand like it was meant for me so I took that bad boy home.

It shot about six inches low, so that led to a new set of Millet sights with a rear sight adjustable for elevation. Later I added a set of the famed “FBI Hump” grips developed for the FBI by S&W when it became that agency's official side-arm from 1990 to 1995.

It's a very comfortable-shooting pistol for my big hands and with its 4.25” barrel can certainly be carried concealed if you wear a suit and tie, like FBI agents. And with nine in the mag and one in the pipe, 10 rounds of 10mm in full-house loads, like the Black Talons I purchased, it'll get the job done.

But a family brush with the criminal element in 2006 prompted me to get serious about carrying a pistol so I signed up for the local concealed-carry class, required to get a permit here in North Carolina.

I love my 1076, and on “big gun night” it's suitable for carry in a shoulder holster. But hanging it on my belt and trying to cover it up is not the best idea I ever had, so I started seeking pistol number two.

Pistol No. 2: Steyr M357-A1, 357 Sig semi-auto

I wanted a lighter pistol, so that meant polymer, and I settled on 357 Sig as the best of the medium and compact-size pistol calibers that also offer high-capacity magazines.

During the months of research in between the August 2006 CCW class and the long-awaited issuance of my permit in December 2006, I was considering 357 Sig models by Glock or Springfield XD when I learned about a pistol company I'd never heard of, that other Austrian arms maker, Steyr-Mannlicher.

The Steyr users' website, was really the deciding factor that steered me to Steyr. Really great group of guys and gals, all passionate about Steyr guns.

So shortly after my CCW permit arrived, I ordered a Steyr MA1 semi-auto in 357 Sig with a pair of 12-round factory mags. I acquired an extra pair of even higher-capacity mags of 15- and 16-rounds from a source I'm not allowed to divulge, so with a double-mag pouch, I can carry 49 rounds of 357 Sig.

Pistol No. 3, Steyr M40-A1, .40 S&W semi-auto

Then in early March this year, a deal too good to pass up resulted in my second Steyr MA1, this one in .40 S&W. The same magazines for my M357-A1 work in my M40-A1, plus the added benefit of cheaper ammo, so how sweet it is!

Interestingly enough, the .40 S&W was developed after the 10mm round was judged too powerful for many, so the 10mm cartridge was cut down to a shorter version by Smith & Wesson. It has become the most popular law-enforcement round today, so all those thousands of cops can't be wrong.

And the 357 Sig caliber was developed by necking down a .40 S&W to 357, which produces higher pressure and ballistics almost identical to the 357 Magnum, from which the 357 Sig took its name.

So all three of my first pistols trace their roots to the 10mm concept of the late, great Jeff Cooper.

Pistol number four came about from the desire to get my dear wife interested in shooting. I figured a target .22 pistol would be the trick, both for her and to mix in with my 357 Sig, .40 and 10mm practice.

Pistol No. 4, Walther P22, .22 LR semi-auto

After an abortive ownership of an AMT Automag .22 magnum semi-auto (which turned out to be an incurable jam-o-matic) I settled on a Walther P22 .22 LR semi-auto I found like-new in a local shop.

I have yet to get my wife to shoot it some two months after its purchase, but it's the thought that counts.

Which seemed to be my last pistol purchase, at least for a while.

But since I think so much of my two Steyrs and my S&W 1076, I just couldn't bring myself to use either of them for the most common use of a carry pistol, to be stowed in my car. If someone broke into my car and stole one of those three, it would ruin my whole year, if not the decade.

So that led me to the search for pistol number five, a “beater” that I could leave in my car all the time.

Pistol No. 5, FEG MBK-9HP, 9mm semi-auto

I wanted something cheaper than my Steyrs or 1076 and when I ran across what appeared to be a used Browning Hi-Power in the mid-$200s, I figured this was just the ticket.

It turned not to be a “real” Browning, but one made under Browning license in Hungary by the FEG company. It's a Model MBK-9HP in 9mm Para., which has a double-action/single-action trigger, unlike the original Browning Hi-Power, which is single-action only.

The shop where I found it has a nearby range, so I got to shoot it first and it passed the test easily. So now I've done something I said I'd never do.

I shared Jeff Cooper's disdain of the 9mm cartridge. And what did I buy, but a version of the Browning Hi-Power, the daddy-rabbit of all the “Wonder Nines” which Cooper so roundly despised.

But it shoots good, it holds 15 rounds in the clip and if somebody steals it, I won't cry too awful hard. And if I'm not carrying my 357 Sig, or my .40 S&W or my 10mm and if Osama pops up, I'll at the least be able to grab my “Wonder Nine” and let him have a few well-aimed 9mm hollow-pointed rounds.

So that's my story and I'm sticking to it. I didn't plan to end up with five pistols in five different calibers, but there it is. And I'm through buying pistols for a while. At least until I get some more cash.

Steyr is promising a new SA1 version in 357 Sig. (M is Steyr lingo is for medium, 4-inch barrel; and S is for small, 3.5” barrel.) And the new Steyr owner has also said his engineers are working on a large-frame pistol in .45 ACP and 10mm (to be named the L version, for large?).

And there's that Ruger .44 magnum semi-auto carbine I saw in a shop the other day. And the new Kel-Tec .308 bullpup assault rifle that's been introduced recently.

I guess I'll just have to agree with retired U.S. Sen. Zell Miller of Georgia. He told a recent NRA convention, “I've already got more guns than I need. But I don't have as many guns as I want.”

Now there's an extremely rare breed, practically extinct: a Democrat I could vote for!

(John W. Myers is a former newspaper editor, reporter and photojournalist)