Posted on 09/23/2009 6:19:16 AM PDT by HairOfTheDog
Welcome to The Hobbit Hole!
It probably is, although I'm one of the fortunate few to get hints (but no tours) of what's behind closed doors. The owner stores most of his private collection in separate cages, too. The place has deceptive hardening, redundant sensor systems, and personalized overwatch from the local PD.
I also got to see a little gem of a Walther TPH. The owner is still not sure if he wants to buy it for himself, or put it out for sale. It's been on the "think about it" shelf for three years. Its inventory number is 12xxx, with their system, starting from 000001, hit 30xxx a year ago with the government-inspired sales surge, and is just about to hit the 60xxx number this week.
You didn’t mention the value of a good knife. Quicker and quieter, like no firearm on the planet.
They still are. Shooting a .44 does something for your ego that no woman can do.
My apologies. I'm a big fan of everybody carrying a knife, just as a tool. If I have clothes on, I have at least one knife on me.
I have no training in using a knife as a defensive tool (baton, hanbo, night stick, etc. are another story), but I hope others remember the words of wisdom, "run towards a gun, run away from a knife".
Heh... good advice, yes. Unarmed defense against a knife is -very- hard and takes lots of practice. What little training I’ve done just makes it scarier.
What makes a knife so scary is that it can be drawn and instituted before you can clear your holster. If the attacker chooses to disable your gun arm with a slash to the upper bicep there’s nothing you can do except run away as fast as you can, if you wish to keep living that is.
Why men don’t choose to carry knives more often is a puzzle to me. Quicker than gun when you’re up close and much more effective than a punch.
Agreed. Like mister Mag said, I’ve got one on me or at arms reach pretty much all the time just out of habit.
At up-close quarters, it’s possible to disarm someone with a pistol. With some practice most people can become surprisingly proficient at one or two ways to redirect and take away the pistol. A knife though is harder to take as it may require among other things... grasping and levering the blade itself. In any case the blade is right where it needs to be. Close in. Right where it is made to work.
My "backup" knife is a Spyderco "Masaad Ayoob special". It does not come out unless I need a backup or supplement to my handgun.
The odd angle and blade shape aligns the blade as a natural extension of the forearm.
Last-ditch for me, but it beats fingernails.
Check your mail.
With all the perfectly fine weapons available to Europe's elite police, military, and spook agencies (and the rare citizen allowed to own handguns), Sphinx of Switzerland makes handguns demanded by just about all the elite units. "If it ain't Sphinx, your weapon stinks".
It looks suspiciously like a CZ 75B compact (I'd call it "midsize", myself) because Sphinx has patent arrangements from CZ. Find the perfect lily, gild it, and double the price. When the taxpayer foots the bill, the sky's the limit. Note the family resemblance.
Both brand-marked types of magazines, as well as OEM, are made by Mec-Gar, are perfectly interchangeable, and are all priced at the exact-same price of the now-common $30-some dollars (ouch). The handgun on top is the still-uncatalogued CZ 75B Compact-L from the CZ Custom Shop, but still less expensive than the Sphinx.
So expensive, nobody had bought any Sphinx yet, although a lot of sighs were generated.
I was sighing at it, along with Mike, the owner's son. Al, the owner, walked up to us, and said he just got off the phone with Kriss, USA, the importer. The company admitted it wasn't selling much, and decided to sacrifice some of their profit margin for more sales volume. Al said they offered a $600 rebate on every item still on back order, and he jumped at it.
He said he's getting a credit on the one he already had in the store, and asked me if I'd be interested if he knocked off $600. I readily agreed after I picked myself off the floor, which explains why I have a test target of my first rounds with the Sphinx.
And while I'm no elite shooter, I have enough experience with this platform now to spot the difference. A lot of handwork goes into these guns, just like customized CZ models. And there are several gee-whiz features inside the Sphinx that exceeds even the custom CZ. It makes the weapon slightly more accurate, slightly easier-shooting, and much snootier. No wonder the leet operators insist on it, especially if somebody else pays for it. It's also standard equipment among the personal guard of lots of Arab oil royalty.
Just wanted to say thank you for your “Gun Porn” Posts.
I have been a Gun Owner most of my life, but I continually learn new things from your Postings. Whether it’s the advantages of owning a particular Firearm, maintenance or using a particular type of Ammunition, sharing your knowledge is greatly appreciated.
I also find you writing style very entertaining.
Thanks again my FRiend, keep up the good work.
Agreed!
And a very cool pistol I hadn’t even heard of before.
Nice one WinMag, I’ve heard of them in passing but haven’t seen one. Kudos on a nice catch and you’ve posted the first review I’ve seen on it. NIce shootin’.
Unless you attend industry-only trade events like the SHOT Show (which leave me out), most people never get to see the stuff that is one, two, or a million years out. Some items may never get to market for technical or financial reason, or because they're vaporware being peddled by BS artists.
I never heard of Sphinx until I saw the gun in the case, and learned more about the company. At that price, all I expected was some enlightened conversation, which I got. As best I can explain it, CZ is much like BMW, making a full line of products ranging from "prestige entry level" to "unbelievable custom". Sphinx is more like Ferrari, with very expensive "stock" items that attract elite buyers. I can't wring out every last ounce of performance out of either a "cheap" BMW, or an elite Ferrari, but at least I can see and feel where the superiority comes from.
These gigantic trade shows have all sorts of media types, consultants, and "big names" there to grab as much swag from the exhibitors as they can. The store I frequent is financially very solid, with lots of cash on hand, and no line of bank credit that could be yanked by a phone call from the White House. They go to the shows to do cash deals, and remind the vendors that they expect early access to special deals, and limited editions, and the latest gossip.
Just like with cars, sometimes there are secret rebates or incentives for dealers. If the store got (or will get) the cash for a certain number of guns, the sticker price will drop until those guns are bought up. The customer just isn't told he's getting the secret rebate, but just sees a lower price. That sure beats all those GM dealers that were keeping the goobermint "incentive" checks that were supposed to go to the early Chevy Volt buyers.
Except in my case (and probably others, too), where they know my hot buttons, and will set aside something new or interesting so I can have a first look before it goes out on the sales floor. Even if I don't buy it, I appreciate their consideration, because I may never see another one. There are other customers who will also buy something before someone comes out of the back room with it.
I've also found that "store loyalty" means I offer a few shots of some scarce item I bought from them as a means of keeping the wheels greased. That used Python was the first one most of the sales guys (most in their mid-20s to 30s) had ever seen, much less been offered a chance to fire some rounds through. That's my way of "spreading the wealth", and means that Walther TPH that's been sitting on the owner's "maybe" shelf in the vault won't leave the store without me being allowed a chance to plead my case.
That also explains a bit of how I write my articles. No punches pulled, or false complaints, because I've already spent my own money, so it's me talking, and not my boss's expense account, or hope for advertising revenue. Fortunately, all of my disappointments have been little ones, and often my own fault.
Colt Python snubbie in electroless nickel, with just about the entire packaging at 100%. The previous owner must have taken the original, pitiful, concealment grips off, and put on the Packies the moment he got the gun home, closed up the cardboard box, and never opened it again.
The gun itself is very tight, but the electroless nickel finish can get semi-polished with just a bit of handling. But it has been fired, so I'll fire it again soon. See how the semi-custom Python compares to the S&W Model 66 snubbie. Both date from about 1967.
The 6-inch Pythons are heavy, and have a lot of barrel overhang. The snubbie seems more maneuverable, but with the skimpy original grips, you're aware of a lot of heavy machinery hanging over the top of your hand. Autoloaders have a barrel that sits a lot lower in the hand.
Wow, you’ve unearthed another classic from the treasure trove of your LGS. Considering what you’ve found over the years, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear you saw an iron-bound oak chest full of doubloons and pieces-of-eight in a long-forgotten corner.
Kudos - that is one that is rarely seen by us mere mortals.
I've only seen what they've decided to show me, I've never been past the public sales area. However, Mike has a very good idea of what I like (a lot like his "likes", which is why we both long for a Webley-Fossberry Zig-Zag), so he brings out even "not for sale" items for me to gaze up.
Before I walked out the door with the latest Python (never thought I'd say those words), he brought out a 6" Colt King Cobra in bright stainless. It was one of their rental guns that was so beat up the owner withdrew it from service, but said it was not economical to repair. For the right price (next-to-nothing if it's as bad inside as outside), both Mike or I would take a chance on rescuing it and restoring it. It's not making any money any more, just taking up space. I'd risk $200 on it for the chance to restore it.
And some of their rental Glocks have untold hundreds of thousands of rounds through them, being placed in rental service when they were first delivered. Any broken parts have been nickel-dime (literally) small parts that they replaced from the inventory of common spares. None have been out of service longer than what it took to replace a part. Springs have been replaced, and some of the barrels are almost smoothbore, but they just keep Glockin' on.
Pedersoli percussion pocket pistol "kit", from Dixie Gun Works. The only part requiring "assembly" is the handgrip. It is unfinished wood.
A few years ago I would have just sanded it smooth and polyurethaned it. I thought you might have some ideas about how to make it better than that.
Comments?
What type of wood is it? If it's a common softwood, like pine, I'd recommend you look for something fancier in walnut or other hardwood. If it comes in a left and right side, Brownells and other places offer slabs of exotic stuff, including laminates, at reasonable prices.
Or you could go ultramodern, and try carbon fiber composite. Depending on the shape, you might be able to adapt a more finished piece from some other gun. Synthetic ivory is also a possibility, being hardened resin with "sawdust" from non-endangered ivory in it.
A picture would go a long way in restarting my brain cells. ;)
Ah Exgeeeye - you’ve joined us on the ‘dark side’...welcome. Black powder shooting rocks. Some folks have a tough time finding real black powder like Goex so Pyrodex will work. Lots of good info on Black Powder Shooting forum of The High Road. Other good sites include muzzleloading forum. Black Powder guns are positively addictive.
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