Mouseguns

I love mouse guns! Its a dismal and cold day today so I’m carrying a 1911 under my flannel shirt, but often this time of year I prefer to pocket carry. Its also convenient for days when you might need to take off your shirt for whatever reason.

Also given that small guns are light, and easily concealable, there’s an option for everybody! I like this because you should be carrying every day and all the time because you never know.

Uncle links this neat PDF of various popular Mouse guns on the market today.

There is almost too much information there! Its AWESOME! Still what’s neat was as I trundled my way down the list from the Seecamp .32 to the “Fullsize” pistol calibers in 9mm .40 and .45 I suddenly started noting how “HUGE” those guns were getting as they stuffed a stouter and stouter load in them.

Then I noticed the size reference. Of course they have a 5″ 1911 which is bigger than most “Fullsize” guns like the Glock 17 or the Sig P226 or P220 which just dwarfs these little guns. (I wonder if I can stuff a Seecamp into the magazine of my 1911 and have a 1911 that shoots Seecamps! TAKE THAT!) But then look at the other ref-gun. A S&W 360 AKA “The Snubbie From Hell”.

This got me thinking. Of the various small guns I own the S&W J-Frame is my go-to-gun.
Also how easily it can be safety loaded and unloaded its a must-have IMHO for anybody who’s serious about conceal carry. If you need to clear it for safety reasons just pop the cylinder open and dump the shells out. To reload just repeat. Also this doesn’t put any stress on the cartridges so round-setback isn’t even relevant to revolver cartridges. Its also light-enough to just drop into a pocket (preferably in a pocket holster but in a pinch the heavy trigger should keep the gun safe if you aren’t traveling far) which is ideal for late-night, unexpected errands. You wonder how many people have gone to the drugstore late at night for some medication, or gone to the convenience store for a pack of smokes only to walk into a robbery….or encounter something violent to or from. With a small revolver there is no excuse to not carry.

But that little package comes with a price they do indeed totally suck to shoot! That long, heavy, trigger pull can be tiresome and hinder accuracy, small sights are hard to see, and the recoil feels like you did something wrong. Something VERY wrong if your snubbie is in .357 and has an alloy frame!

One must not oversimplify things. A big powerful gun that is easy to shoot may be a great choice in a gunfight…but it might not be something you’re willing to carry all the time. A micro-gun might be easy to carry, but difficult to shoot well, and offer minimal power. Some of the small guns built for more power might have all the advantages and disadvantages of the small .32, .25s, and .22s on the market, but add in a punishing recoil into the mix.

Go back to the chart and only look at the red fingers drawn on all the guns. Those neato Seecamps really only give enough room to wrap your middle finger around the grip in a shooting grasp. In .380, even with the heavy stainless frame for a gun that size its going to want to twist out of your hand like an angry snake. Certainly if you have a good grip and some decent hand strenth that can be overcome, that will be an obstacle. Guns like the Kahr .380 or the Ruger LCP give you a little more grip (tho not much) but also have a lightweight polymer frame. That makes for difficult shooting as well. The list goes on.

Personally I don’t like pocket guns too much bigger or smaller than my J-frame just because I bought a small gun for a reason, but also I don’t want a gun that’s smaller than my needs because that will only add to the difficulty shooting it if I need to.

Really all that is just to say something we already knew. Carry the biggest gun you can because you just might need it…but understand that some days the biggest gun you can carry might not be much gun at all!

Be safe people, and Carry your guns!

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0 Responses to Mouseguns

  1. Lissa says:

    Everything has a price or tradeoff. My Bodyguard is quite concealable and not unpleasant to shoot; I can shoot using a normal two-handed grip. But the trade off is that I can’t shoot double stacks without modifying my grip; my hands are too small to wrap it effectively.

    • Weerd Beard says:

      Out of curiosity, how do your small hands fit the M&P45 with the small backstrap installed?

      Glad to hear its isn’t unpleasant to shoot for you (of course that’s subjective, I think Jay’s snubbie is a HOOT!) most of the mouseguns I’ve shot are small steel-framed guns. haven’t shot many of the micro polys.

  2. bluesun says:

    I think the finger outlines are a bit overlarge, but it may just be my fingers are really skinny.

    I wonder what velocity you could get a seecamp up to out of a 5″ barrel, and how much it expands?

    • Weerd Beard says:

      Don’t think they expand much at all, but they tumble like crazy! 😀

      Yeah the fingers are a bit fatter than mine as far as I can tell, still I’d prefer for a chart like this them to size the fingers a hair bigger than smaller.

  3. teke says:

    Weerd,

    Very thoughtful and nice post. Thanks for sharing.

  4. Harry Sucio says:

    Who doesn’t love mouseguns?

    I wear shorts and t-shirts over 300 days out of the year (very casual office, warm state). And I hate big baggy shorts, I generally wear slimmer over the knee boardshort types.

    It’s all about the Seecamp. That thing has a sweet trigger. I can empty it so fast it sounds like a machine gun. It’s really small, but it’s heavy enough it sits well in your pocket. An LCP or a J-frame just doesn’t work with the way I dress. And I’m not an “operator,” I’m a normal guy who wants to have a gun on him.

    My wife likes her 100 year old Colt vest pocket .25. Criticize the caliber, but the first rule is “have a gun.” My wife hates revolvers, hates the LCP, even hates the Seecamp. She likes her single action Colts. Who can blame her?

    Just make sure you should the bad guy in the face a bunch of times.

    • Weerd Beard says:

      I’d rather have my 1917 1908 .25 (shitty caliber and shitty sights and all) than nothing at all.

      Has she tried the Colt Mustang? A little more caliber, Single-action JMB charm (tho the Sig P238 has a REALLY heavy trigger. I seems to break clean, but closer to 8lbs than the 4-5 I’m used to on single-actions)

      Which Seecamp you go with? They’re certainly marvels of modern engineering. I know a guy who packs a Seecamp .32. I shot it a few times at it is a solid gun, tho I don’t like the lack of sights, and prefer a bit of a bigger gun. Still I don’t dress like you. I carry a 1911 almost year round with exceptions of summer at work and doctor’s visits. But otherwise its a J-frame for me!

  5. seeker_two says:

    I think J.M. Browning and L. W. Seecamp had it right when they chambered their initial pocket pistols in .25ACP and .32ACP….these calibers are controllable to shoot in small pocket pistols and offer reasonable power for close-up encounters. The .380ACP doesn’t really belong in anything smaller than a Walther PPK or Colt 1908. And I won’t shoot a 9mm in anything smaller than my XDsc…….I like my wrist too much….

    • Weerd Beard says:

      Everybody has different tolerances. I’m carrying a S&W642 loaded with +P ammo. I’ve shot Jay’s 360PD with my own 158gr Handloads and while its a handfull its not an unreasonable carry gun IMHO.

      Got a few irons in the fire too.

      Mouse guns are a MAJOR tradeoff any way you slice it. There’s a reason why the 1911 race-guns are HUMUNGOUS and HEAVY, and often loaded with the barest minimum load that will cycle the slide or meet power factor.

      The easiest guns to shoot are often the worst carry guns, and the easiest and greatest carry guns (like the Seecamp .32) are difficult to shoot and underpowered.

      Its all about finding where your optimum carry piece is, and its not one-size-fits all.

      • seeker_two says:

        Very true…..I should add “IMHO” at the end of my post….thanks….

        • Weerd Beard says:

          No worries, I won’t bite anybody’s head off for having an opinion, especially one that’s in the right direction!

          I’d prefer to carry something 9mm or larger just for my own sense of security, but who am I to argue with somebody who’s packing a .32 or a .25 because at least they’re making a point to take steps to their personal defense!

      • Jack says:

        Indeed.

        Size versus capacity
        Size versus concealability
        Size versus gripability
        Caliber versus recoil
        Weight versus recoil.

        And so on.

  6. Despite my love for the Beretta 92/96 series and my fondness for medium-frame pistols and revolvers, I’ve always been a sucker for mouseguns. Even the laziest, most excuse-making person in the world has no reason to go unarmed thanks to the little pocket-rockets. My wife is a little slip of a woman and her Beretta 21A is always in her pocket. Even on the rare day my G23 is left is the safe, my LCP stays in my pocket. I’ve never felt un-armed in the least with only the LCP to keep me company, either.

    I’ll also admit to finding the concept of a well-dressed gentleman tucking a Vest Pocket into his suit for a night on the town to be a romanticized vision of they way the world should be.

    By the way, all this mousegun talk of late is rekindling my lust for a Beretta Tomcat and an LWS32.

    • Weerd Beard says:

      A Friend of mine has a 21A and I got to admit, while diminutive and underpowered for my tastes its a REALLY neat gun. I really dig the tilt-barrel (tho the lack of extractor seems like a PITA for clearing jams), and just find them to be EXTREMELY elegant pistols.

      I must say I’d love to have one someday.

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  8. Jack says:

    This is why I like the Kahr PM45.

    Then again I’m over 6ft tall. And while a big weapon, just look at how much of it goes past the 4×4 on the pdf, it has a good sight radius and rather good shotability for it’s size.

    I also have an LCP which with my hands is a bit hard to keep a comfortable grip on but with practice it works good. And with it’s size is extremely concealable.

    That’s the point I suppose, if you are going to carry it you should be able to shoot it. And a weapon you can’t shoot proficiently is about as bad as one you won’t carry (worse if you have so little control you’ll hit someone other than the bad guy).

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