Cimarron Pistolero

One of the slicker hoglegs I have in my stable is this 4.75" Cimarron Pistolero, built by Pietta. It's a .357 but in my hands it's seen almost entirely .38 Specials. It's one of the guns I kept when my brother and I divided up my father's collection after he passed last year.

As a .357 on a .45 frame it's got a lot of extra metal, which means it soaks up recoil from .38/44-equivalent loads with a 178 Keith and a stiff charge of Herco. Standard pressure .38 Specials are mild to shoot in it.

It's a copy of the Colt Model P and has the original type lockwork, meaning it should be charged with "load 1, skip 1, load 4 and pull the hammer all the way back then lower it onto the empty chamber." For a safety it has a 2-position cylinder pin that when inserted all the way blocks the hammer from dropping fully. This is more to meet import points under the Gun Control Act of 1968 than to actually be used.

I'm waiting on some 158 grain LRNFP bullets from Missouri Bullet Co. with a black powder-compatible lube. I've wanted to try black powder .38 Specials and figure cleanup of a single action will be easier than one of my double action revolvers. (.38 Special was originally a BP round for those who don't know, with 21 grains of BP under a 158 grain LRN bullet.) I load other rounds with BP, btw, so I'm not a newbie at that.

It'll be interesting to see what it'll do with black powder loads.

Hanukkah 2025

In case anyone wasn't paying attention we got another example of what "Globalize the Intifada" means today.

Once again we see a terrorist attack on Jews on a religious holiday. This time in Australia. An Australian spox on TV said that at least one of the perps was on their radar, "although not for terrorist acts".

I also saw over on X that per Israeli TV, supposedly the Mossad warned the Australian government of an upcoming terrorist attack. See: https://x.com/yudapearl/status/2000197269858271283

On the eve of Hanukkah, the holiday in which we celebrate our triumph over the Greek invaders who desecrated the Temple, we are once again reminded that secular governments will not protect us.

Nobody, Jew or gentile, who is defenseless is protected from harm. The right to self defense is the most basic of human rights. A disarmed populace is deprived of its most essential right to life.

Make no mistake, gun control is EVIL. It disarms victims but never keeps their oppressors from hurting them.

As an American, and as a Jew, I am a Second Amendment absolutist*. I'm a an Endowment Life Member of the NRA, and a Life Member of Gun Owners of America and the Second Amendment Foundation. I've donated to the Firearms Policy Coalition as well.

I'm armed to the teeth -- as ALL good Americans should be. It's been a long standing source of frustration for me that too many of my co-religionists can't get their heads out of their asses on this issue.

There are many Jewish Americans who have woken up to the need to be armed. Not enough, but it's happening. 

As for Israel's gun laws, they are a major reason why I'd never consider living there, permanently or even temporarily for work. Israelis basically live in one of the shittiest neighborhoods on the planet, surrounded by people who want to exterminate them, and their government denies them the means for effective self defence. Fuck. That. Shit.

In the aftermath of October 7th I put together a PDF book, "Guns for Jews," which is available for free from my Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/file/d/18GXFERy8nH1iM6ERtLs-PXX3qXDo5C0K/view?usp=drive_link

*Absolutist, as in it is my belief that all Americans should be able to purchase military grade arms anonymously online and have them shipped to their door. Further, Constitutional Carry should be the law of the land.

Why I Prefer Revolvers for Pocket Carry

A friend and I were recently discussing home defense and carry guns. We live in an urban/suburban environment. Wild animals aren't really a concern but two-legged cockroaches are. Primary concerns for carry guns are concealability and reliability. Another consideration is that we're both in our late 50s with hand issues.

Both of us used to favor semi autos for concealed carry. He changed over to a Kimber K6S .357 snub, mostly due to problems with grasping the slide on an auto.

In the past I've pocket carried guns like a Ruger LCP .380, a Ruger LCP II Lite Rack .22 LR, and a Keltec P32 in .32 ACP. The problems I've encounterd have been in the case of the LCP .380 is that recoil is extremely unpleasant, while the P32 has had some reliability problems and seems picky with regards to which ammo it functions with. Likewise, the LCP II is very ammo sensitive.

Ruger LCP II Lite Rack .22LR

Keltec P32 .32ACP, with regular and extended mags.

So, earlier this year I changed over first to a S&W Model 632 Airweight and now a S&W 432UC, both in .32 H&R Magnum for pocket carry.

The 632 was retired because it was a gift from my late father, and it's one of only 1471 made in the 1990s. The 432 is new production and has better sights.

The .32 Magnum in a J-Frame is a good choice for concealed carry in my opinion. J-Frames, especially the Centennial-style with an enclosed hammer, is snag-free and can be fired from within a pocket without jamming. In my experience they've been more reliable than subcompact semiauto pistols. The .32s give you 6 shots vs. 5 shots in a .38, .357, or 9mm J-Frame.

The ammo I carry is .32 H&R Magnum 100 grain wadcutter from High Desert Cartridge Company. I've run this over my Garmin chronograph from the 432UC, where it ran a bit over 800 FPS. Per Steve at HDCC it will meet the FBI's minimum penetration requirements in ballistic gel. In effect, this gives me a 5/16" hole punch that will reach an assailant's vitals. Compared with 85 grain JHPs in the same gun it's easier to control.

I should note that my 432UC was not perfect out of the box, however. It has a flaw in the finish which really shouldn't have left the factory but considering it's a carry piece I'm willing to overlook that. Also, the factory grips didn't suit my hand at all so I went on eBay and found a set of the old Uncle Mike's Boot Grips that I like. Finally, the trigger was very heavy, so I got a reduced power rebound slide spring from Wolff. This brought the trigger pull down to an acceptable weight without compromising trigger return, or ignition as a lighter hammer spring might.

S&W 432UC .32 H&R Magnum

I use a Simply Rugged Pocket Protector holster and carry a reload in a Quickstrip.

This is comfortable to pocket carry all day.

Revolver Guy has an unflattering review of a 432UC Ti up. Something he noted is that it's fitted with a short, "California" firing pin to improve its drop safety. It turns out this hurts ignition reliability. I already had on hand an Apex "extended" firing pin, which is actually the same length as the original J-Frame firing pins, so I installed it. I've not had any failures to ignite.

Note, a Colt D-Frame like the Detective Special will get you a 6th shot but be slightly larger, and unless you install a hammer shroud isn't as snag free. It's still nicely pocketable.

Information Technology with Dave Substack

Over the past week I've made the effort to revive my IT and cybersecurity focused Substack, Information Technology with Dave.

If you like what I write it would really help the Substack if you like my articles and subscribe to it.

Thanks.

Criminal Activity in my Neighborhood Yesterday

We had an incident in our neighborhood yesterday which seems like it was a couple who were either casing my neighbor, or trying the old "distract the victim with a pretty girl" method of robbery.

Note that my neighborhood is not a high-crime area. There is a fair amount of property crime in our township but it's concentrated at a shopping mall about 1.5 - 2 miles away. Violent crime is rare.

My neighbor called me this morning to give me a heads up on the following.

At about 3:30 PM my neighbor came home from work to find his driveway blocked by an SUV, probably a black Honda Ridgeline. As he pulled up he beeped his horn and they moved forward so he could pull into his driveway.

As my neighbor got out of his truck a woman got out of the Honda. He immediately felt something off but was carrying concealed. He asked if he could help her.

She replied by asking if he wanted to sell his truck, which is a 20-year old Toyota Tacoma 4x2, not exactly something in high demand. This raised further red flags in his mind. After a little more questioning and stuttered replies, she got back in her vehicle and then drove off.

Before she drove off my neighbor was able to see through the Honda's darkly tinted windows that there was someone else inside, who tried to lower himself to avoid being seen.

Neighbor called the police. An officer was nearby and was over in about a minute to take a statement. He agreed that they were casing the house or looking to distract my neighbor while the second person in the Honda tried to get into the house.

I have a Ring Doorbell at my front door and a Ring Stick Up camera that covers my driveway and the street in front of my neighbor. They did capture the Honda on video. However, the video from my driveway camera was not able to resolve its license plate due to distance.

My neighbor has been looking into getting security cameras and more external lighting. This incident got him to stop procrastinating and he is now going to move forward. I'm probably going to augment my exterior security stuff as well.

I put together a list of the cameras and exterior solar lighting I have so my neighbor has a starting point for his own system. It's in a Google Sheet which I've shared from my G Drive, here:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CS6mvUdXwghgEi8iP9QDSePdnUr_TxGVmWE9EUWO6RQ/edit?usp=sharing

Edit: Another neighbor captured some better quality video. Looks like it may be a late model Toyota Tundra. 

Edit 2: We got a better quality pic and ran that through ChatGPT and Google Gemini. Both IDed the truck as a third-gen Toyota Tundra.

More .38 Special Chronograph Results

Yesterday I loaded up 250 rounds of .38 Special. I used up the final 150 Speer 158 grain LSWCs I got when my brother and I split my dad's reloading components last year. These were loaded over 3.5 grains of Titegroup with Aguila No.1-1/2 small pistol primers. I've chronographed that load in the past and from a 4" .38 Special revolver it goes about 775 - 780 FPS, which is comparable to what factory 158 grain lead loads do.

I also had my first dud primer in quite some time today. It was one of the Aguilas. I hit it two or three times in a S&W Model 10-8 and then once more for good measure in a Pietta Pistolero (Colt SAA replica). No dice, so I'll put down that round and punch out the dud primer.

Aside from the Titegroup loads, I also put together 100 rounds with a Lee TL358-158SWC cast bullet over 4.7 grains of Unique, with Servicios Aventuras primers.

Results:

That's a large standard deviation and extreme spread, but not unusual with Unique. It's positionally dependent in the case which can lead to large spreads. That said, it shot well, albeit with a lot of smoke. The combination of the Lee Liquid Alox bullet lubricant and Unique powder makes for a very smokey smokeless load.

I don't have the ability to measure chamber pressure but the performance is definitely in the +P category. IMO, this would make a good woods load for Pennsylvania, and with proper shot placement would likely do well if defending yourself against a criminal. Even though the Lee SWC is not a hollowpoint it's got a very wide meplat and will penetrate well.

Edit: I'm a dope. This batch was loaded with 5.0 grains of Unique, not 4.7. That explains the average MV of over 900 FPS.

Cylinder Throats on my .32-20

My brother has a set of pin gauges to today I measured the cylinder throats on my .32-20 S&W M-1905, 4th Change Military & Police. I hypothesized that if they were too large it would be the cause of the low velocities I'm seeing with it.

Nope, every one of them measured 0.313". Combined with the barrel/cylinder gap of 0.003" to 0.008" it's in spec. The only thing I can think of is the barrel. Some barrels are just slower than others.

To be fair, this gun is for informal plinking and target shooting for me, since centerfire rifles and handguns aren't legal for small game in PA, and I have much better choices for self defense, so the low velocities don't really matter.

Full charge wadcutters in .38 Special

I've previously mentioned the use of "full charge" wadcutters in .38 Special. As with much of the stuff I do, I got the idea from C.E. Harris. Read his article here.

Today I ran 10 such loads over my Garmin Xero C1 Pro chronograph with the following results:

Full specs for my handloads:

• .358 powder coated 148 grain double end wadcutters from Missouri Bullet Company
• 3.5 grains of Alliant Bullseye powder
• Winchester WSP small pistol primer
• Mixed .38 brass

I fired them from a Ruger Police Service Six chambered for .357 Magnum, with a 4" barrel.

Substituting 3.5 grains of Hodgdon Titegroup for the Bullseye should give similar results but be cleaner burning.

Chronographed the .32-20

Today I took the M-1905 Military & Police .32-20 to the range and ran a couple different loads over my Garmin Xero C1 chronograph.

First up were 10 of the rounds I loaded last week with an antique Ideal tong tool. These had a 107 grain RNFP bullet over 3.85 grains of Unique.

Next were 10 rounds from a box of HSM .32-20 cowboy action shooting ammo, which have a 115 grain RNFP bullet that's rated at 850 FPS, though HSM doesn't specify on the box or their website from what barrel length. I suspect it's from a rifle or at least a 7.5" revolver.

When I've chronographed this gun before it's been on the slow side. After I got home and cleaned it I measured the barrel/cylinder gap for each chamber using feeler gauges. They ranged from .003" to .008", so the gaps are in spec.

I need to measure the cylinder throats. I have a feeling they're a bit large and that's why the muzzle velocities I'm seeing are slower than load data suggests.