wings wrote: Sat Dec 10, 2022 1:38 pm
No personal experience with SCCY, but in principle, they should be fine to carry and miserable to shoot.
Short barrels are earsplitters - think the difference between a .22 rifle and handgun. I wouldn't shoot the latter without ear pro unless I had to. I don't shoot the former without ear pro because it's still not a good idea, even if it's tolerable. Being light, recoil is also going to be rough - for me, .357 out of a 23 oz. K6s, stung fierce, and imagine a 15 oz. 9mm is going to be similar. If you use lighter, faster rounds in carry pieces to mitigate recoil, that's going to add to the noise once you get supersonic.
Came across a table somewhere that compared felt recoil for various rounds as a function of gun weight. Ultralight .357s and 9mms were comparable with .44 Magnum. Good grip and other fundamentals are key to shooting them well - and a lot of practice. It's a lot easier to practice with a gun that's fun to shoot, especially as some of us get older and have increasing difficulty with grip, arthritis, and vision. If you can carry something heavier that you'll shoot more often and stay effective with, well then. Do.
That said, safety is a lot more than being armed.
Hadn't thought about shorter barrels being louder, though of course that's always been the case in my (limited) experience.)
Just looked up the SCCY. Looks like an ear-splitter and wrist-cracker for sure.
I'm trying to get myself psyched up to clean the old .380 Makarov (which should be easy) and take it to the range and shoot it (which is not.) The barrel is a little longer than the SCCY, (and it's way heavier, too, at 1.6 pounds) but my ears hurt just
looking at the ammo box. It's such a little thug. I should make sure it comes along when I take a course, too.
I get it that guns this size and caliber are good for home defense, but I also keep thinking that in the heat of the moment, anticipating the pain and the big bang could make me hesitate or otherwise impair clear thinking. It's also a really different experience at the range-- for me, it's like, "Hmm, nine inside the circles-- any circle, big or little-- and the tenth didn't miss the target! Not bad!"