Mega Rad Gun Thread

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My 43x weighs 25.5oz with a full mag of 15 rounds. It weighs 16.9oz unloaded. No I wont win any competitions with it but its really nice to carry all day.
Look, I'm not gonna lie, my P30/P2000 that I'm currently carrying is a bit heavy, and has me looking at either a CC9 or P30SK instead.

Having a good holster and belt helps.

Postal scale says 34 oz, oof. That is of course, loaded 15+1 with 115grn ammo. So maybe not that bad.
 
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So I’ve been trying to find the length of the shotgun used by James Caan in el dorado and so far all I’ve got is trying to estimate hand size and extrapolate from that. Is there any definitive information on said sawnoff?

It's hard to believe that information isn't already present in IMFDB.
 
It's hard to believe that information isn't already present in IMFDB.
Due to the nature of the site, all information on there depends on the autist filling out the page.

So I’ve been trying to find the length of the shotgun used by James Caan in el dorado and so far all I’ve got is trying to estimate hand size and extrapolate from that. Is there any definitive information on said sawnoff?
Based on guesstimation and hand size, plus having owned a handful of doubles, the barrels look to be anywhere from 8 to 10 inches in length. Big gap but I also don't know John Wayne's glove size. Total length grip to tip I'd wager 18", 20" max, from the same guess of hand size.
 
I've always tended to carry full-size, rather heavy pistols in OWB holsters. For example, I've carried a Smith and Wesson Performance Center 627 V-Comp. .357 Mag, 8 shot cylinder, 5" barrel, and the muzzle could be swapped from a basic muzzle to an angled muzzle brake. My current carry pistols are a Dan Wesson Specialist in .45 ACP, which is a Government size 1911, and a Staccato P with Trijicon RCR. I carry every single day and I've never really had any issues with discomfort. I'm so used to it now that it feels weird not to have a gun on my hip or under my arm in a shoulder rig.
 
I've always tended to carry full-size, rather heavy pistols in OWB holsters. For example, I've carried a Smith and Wesson Performance Center 627 V-Comp. .357 Mag, 8 shot cylinder, 5" barrel, and the muzzle could be swapped from a basic muzzle to an angled muzzle brake. My current carry pistols are a Dan Wesson Specialist in .45 ACP, which is a Government size 1911, and a Staccato P with Trijicon RCR. I carry every single day and I've never really had any issues with discomfort. I'm so used to it now that it feels weird not to have a gun on my hip or under my arm in a shoulder rig.

OC or CC? If CC you must be either very tall, or live somewhere that a carry garment is easy to wear year round. I'm lucky enough to be over 6', but even at my height I have found even a "compact" (G19 and PPQ mostly) hard to conceal during the summer. I do have a tiny bit of fashion autism though and refuse to wear baggy shirts, I work very hard to look good in a fitted shirt so I wear one.
 
It's hard to believe that information isn't already present in IMFDB.
In this case all it says is that it's a double barrel sawn off. However if the same prop house supplied El Dorado, Rio Lobo, and Rio Bravo it's almost for sure a colt model 1878 due to there being one of those in each of the other movies and looking roughly the same as the sawn off version.

Based on guesstimation and hand size, plus having owned a handful of doubles, the barrels look to be anywhere from 8 to 10 inches in length. Big gap but I also don't know John Wayne's glove size. Total length grip to tip I'd wager 18", 20" max, from the same guess of hand size.
Thanks

I found some pairs of his gloves at old auction sites but nothing noting the size.
 
it's almost for sure a colt model 1878
While they all had the same shotgun, identifying that specific one is probably going to be impossible unless someone knows that specific gun. While an actual Colt 1878 would have been worth the paperwork, there were countless trade brands and no-name imports even at the time.
I found some pairs of his gloves at old auction sites but nothing noting the size.
I mean to say that an average man's hand when making a thumbs up is roughly 6-6 1/2" from bottom to tip of the thumb. That's how I got my measurement.
 
They've got differences, Numrich(gunpartscorp) has diagrams of each. Similar, but different.
View attachment 7535864
Iver Johnson - note that there are parts from different models, there were three in total.

View attachment 7535865
H&R

View attachment 7535867
Hopkins & Allen

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Smith & Wesson

Even if you get a part for the specific gun you're going to be handfitting, I wouldn't be surprised if you could do some cross-branding at that point but the Smith & Wesson is quite a bit different from the rest.
Well yeah any revolver of that age needs hand fitting for parts. I’ve just noticed that I’ve been able to do a fair amount of cross brand part replacements before so I was hoping someone had a master list of which ones were close enough to swap and which ones weren’t. I wish numarich had uniform scale in the book they put out.
 
That depends wildly, but from what I've used over the years I've experienced more felt recoil with birdshot and buckshot than slugs. Hornady Critical Defense Buckshot(2 3/4") is very mild though.
that's because Slugs and shot weights are mostly the same. 1oz to 1 1/4 oz. so any differences in recoil will come from stock shape or differences in powder charges. sometimes you'll feel more recoil with birdshot if youre shooting at an odd angle like up into a tree or at a flying bird. The stock of the gun won't be perfectly tucked into the meat of your shoulder. I know sometiems when shooting squirrels at a near vertical angle the recoil of even a mild 1oz field/target load can hurt.
So I’ve been trying to find the length of the shotgun used by James Caan in el dorado and so far all I’ve got is trying to estimate hand size and extrapolate from that. Is there any definitive information on said sawnoff?
It's hard to believe that information isn't already present in IMFDB.
the info won't be found unless the film armorer recorded it. the gun can be any one of a thousand different makers. the back-action hammer gun was made in the tens of millions from the late 1860s until today.

It was likely a cheap Belgian or Spanish SxS. even today you can have one for less than 300 dollars. they are usually unmarked besides proof marks and sometimes the name of the retailer stamped on the barrels. these are usually categorized under the blanket term of "guild guns" because they were made by groups of different gunmakers. One gunmaker would make the action, another the barrels, another the locks and then a finisher would stock the gun and put a finish on it. It's a very old-world style of manufacturing that has went the way of the do-do for the most part, besides at the bespoke level.

The notable towns were Eibar in Spain, Liege in Belgium and for a higher grade "guild gun", Birmingham in the U.K, though by the time Eibar and Liege were shitting out guns in their millions, B-ham's firearms industry had risen into a more middle to high grade affair.

Gardone Val Trompia, Italy is another gunmaker's town. almost all the big name Italian gun makers are there. Berretta, Rizzini, Uberti, Pietta (a few towns over but close enough)
 
Now a G43X is lighter but that's because it's narrower and holds fewer rounds than a G19. What I'd like to see is the G43 given 10+1 capacity like the dozen other subcompacts that size which hold 10 rounds. G26s are great guns, but they are noticeably thicker than today's micro 9s and that does impact carry potential more than the extra .3-.4" of barrel length a G26 has.
Shield Arms does the S15 mags that makes it 15+1, I like the 4 I bought quite a lot and have a few K rounds through them. They also do a Z9 mag that makes the 43 a 9+1 which is pretty sick. I really really like my 48, more than my 19, and I wish there was a 34/48L slide version available
 
James Caan in el dorado
it was provided by Elite Mercantile, and had 11-7/8" barrels, 21-1/4" over all length. it was also used in "Johnny Yuma". it wasn't a Rossi Overland iirc, i'm not sure of the exact make/model but it might have been something from France since a lot of westerns used WW1 guns for cap and ball conversions and blank fire with .44 and .36 blank cartridges - that included Colt 1871 and -72's exported, various LeMat models, et c. most of the guns EM was moving at the time were leftovers being let go for cheap from WW1 as automatics were replacing manual actions for pistols and rifles all over the place. the barrel length was chosen by a 1ft dowel used with dummy shells to guide the cut while being long enough to still properly lock the forearm in place and keep the barrel together (the brazing wasn't the full length of the barrels, that was a higher end feature cheap double barrels tended to lack.
 
I finally have money again, trying to get around to getting an optic for my home defense gun. Can anyone suggest a decent value-tier optic that can stand up to a Mossberg 590?
By all accounts, Holosun pistol dots are pretty solid. I've only got around 300 rounds (mostly 12-pellet 00 buck (lol), but also some slugs) through my A300 with a HE407C on it, but it's been fine so far.
 
Ahh shit HPA/SHORT act got taken out of the BBB. Midnight madness
Screenshot_20250626_232920_X.webp

My cat sums up how I'm feeling.
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Pocket rocket carry for the win.
My gun is too big to pocket-carry. I'd rather have a shootable gun in my waistband than an unshootable one in my pocket.

Ahh shit HPA/SHORT act got taken out of the BBB. Midnight madness
View attachment 7564056

My cat sums up how I'm feeling.
View attachment 7564061
Fuck the Parliamentarian. Tyrant.

I've always tended to carry full-size, rather heavy pistols in OWB holsters. For example, I've carried a Smith and Wesson Performance Center 627 V-Comp. .357 Mag, 8 shot cylinder, 5" barrel, and the muzzle could be swapped from a basic muzzle to an angled muzzle brake. My current carry pistols are a Dan Wesson Specialist in .45 ACP, which is a Government size 1911, and a Staccato P with Trijicon RCR. I carry every single day and I've never really had any issues with discomfort. I'm so used to it now that it feels weird not to have a gun on my hip or under my arm in a shoulder rig.
I knew a dude from AZ who had an obsession with carrying full-size pistols in OWB holsters. Specifically, he wouldn't rock any holsters other than Azula Gun Leather. Here comes the retarded part: he decided that the P320 was the hill he would die on. Cue the surprise when he turned out to be an asshole.
 
Ahh shit HPA/SHORT act got taken out of the BBB. Midnight madness
It'd be hilarious if this is the straw that forces the Senate to overrule the Parliamentarian. Unlike a lot of the other things she took out, the NFA stuff is undeniably tax-related and her removing it is proof that she's not actually applying the "Byrd Rule" (which is also totally meaningless unless the Senators choose to follow it; it's not a law).
 

I've always tended to carry full-size, rather heavy pistols in OWB holsters. For example, I've carried a Smith and Wesson Performance Center 627 V-Comp. .357 Mag, 8 shot cylinder, 5" barrel, and the muzzle could be swapped from a basic muzzle to an angled muzzle brake. My current carry pistols are a Dan Wesson Specialist in .45 ACP, which is a Government size 1911, and a Staccato P with Trijicon RCR. I carry every single day and I've never really had any issues with discomfort. I'm so used to it now that it feels weird not to have a gun on my hip or under my arm in a shoulder rig.
Lop me in with God's Drunkest Driver on asking if you conceal carry OWB. I'd be curious about the technique. Unless you're wearing the Thugnificent tier dress length T shirt it does seem like it'd be hard to pull off. Although given your namesake perhaps you wear a trenchcoat year round? I do like the full size carry pistol as a concept though. "That's my insulin pump."
 
OC or CC? If CC you must be either very tall, or live somewhere that a carry garment is easy to wear year round. I'm lucky enough to be over 6', but even at my height I have found even a "compact" (G19 and PPQ mostly) hard to conceal during the summer. I do have a tiny bit of fashion autism though and refuse to wear baggy shirts, I work very hard to look good in a fitted shirt so I wear one.

CC always. I personally believe OC, at least when you're not out in the woods, just paints a target on your back. I'm six foot and about 240lbs and can usually get away with just a t-shirt or short sleeve button-up garage shirt. During jacket weather I'll often wear my shoulder rig. The optic on my Staccato prints a bit, but not terrible.
 
that's because Slugs and shot weights are mostly the same. 1oz to 1 1/4 oz. so any differences in recoil will come from stock shape or differences in powder charges. sometimes you'll feel more recoil with birdshot if youre shooting at an odd angle like up into a tree or at a flying bird. The stock of the gun won't be perfectly tucked into the meat of your shoulder. I know sometiems when shooting squirrels at a near vertical angle the recoil of even a mild 1oz field/target load can hurt.

Slug velocity is typically higher I figure so it makes up for the difference in weight. All I have on hand is remington slugger 1oz that is rated at 1760fps. That's more muzzle energy (recoil) than 15 pellet (1.875oz) 00 buckshot at 1300fps which seems pretty typical.

Shield Arms does the S15 mags that makes it 15+1, I like the 4 I bought quite a lot and have a few K rounds through them. They also do a Z9 mag that makes the 43 a 9+1 which is pretty sick. I really really like my 48, more than my 19, and I wish there was a 34/48L slide version available

I have seen that, it's pretty common for the single stack Glock guys to be relying on aftermarket magazines. I just prefer not to do that but it's perfectly reasonable if you test them enough. I guess the question is how much you want to optimize for capacity since subcompacts are really about maximizing capacity for size in the end. Even with aftermarket you don't get 10+1 in a G43 without an extended magazine, the other micros are 10 or 11+1 in that size class. You do get a bit more barrel length with the G43 and G26 though vs most other subcompacts though so maybe it all evens out.

I'm carrying the CSX-E which is bigger and 12+1 though, so I guess I can't really sperg about minmaxing. I should just accept the Hellcat as what I wish Glock would make and move on, it is basically a Glock design with the specs I seek, though Glocks have better quality.
 
Lop me in with God's Drunkest Driver on asking if you conceal carry OWB. I'd be curious about the technique. Unless you're wearing the Thugnificent tier dress length T shirt it does seem like it'd be hard to pull off. Although given your namesake perhaps you wear a trenchcoat year round? I do like the full size carry pistol as a concept though. "That's my insulin pump."
To be successful with OWB you want something with a shorter barrel and grip like a G19 sized gun. Also a holster that properly rotates the grip towards your body for maximum concealment. Obviously you need your belt high enough and a long enough shirt. Having a narrow waist with a broad chest is ideal for this position. Same applies to strongside IWB.

I have successfully carried in this manner but it’s not my preferred method. I’m 6’ 3” 36” waist and XL shirt
 
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