Pistol Caliber Carbine/handgun combos for Survival and Preparedness

Hi Fernando. I read your blog weekly, have read probably most of your articles, but I cannot seem to find any blog entry that spoke of cowboy rifles.
There are three fine manufacturers that I know of that make these pistol caliber carbines: Uberti, Henry, and Marlin. They also come in various calibers such as .38 Sp/357 Mag,
45 colt, and 44 magnum. I own this one, the Marlin 1894C chambered in 357 mag but also compatible with 38 special. It It’s also quite lightweight ( 6 lbs, or 2.7 kg) where it’s competitors weigh in at 8 and 8.5 lbs (3.6, 3.9 kg). I paid $554.00 new for one at http://www.budsgunshop.com with free shipping.

For your information, here are the equivalent guns from Uberti and Henry:
The Uberti Model 1873

which, chambered in 38/357 mag holds 10 rounds with a 20′ barrel, but is generally about a 1000 dollars or so. You pay for the fancy cosmetics, that’s for sure.
Then you have the Henry Big Boy, 357 mag holding 10 rounds, 20″ barrel, at about $900.

The Marlin is the cheapest, and lightest of the three, and for those looking for a no-frills, solid shooting piece of hardware, then it’s the one that I’d recommend. But that’s me. The other two rifles are also fine rifles (as I have read – I have no personal experience with them).
These pistol caliber rifles are great guns, particularly the Marlin for both it’s price and weight. But here are the advantages:
Advantages:
– The are carbines, making them smaller and generally easier to transport (carry).
– They are large capacity for rifles.
– With a little practice, these lever actions can be very fast shooters.
– The have very little recoil yet still hit fairly hard.
– They are generally LEGAL in places where tactical (so-called assault rifles) rifles are not.
– The ammo is CHEAP so practice is easier to on the wallet to do.
– They come in common calibers.
– Pistol ammo is small relative to rifle cartridges so you can carry a lot of it.
– Reduced risk of over penetration vs an AR, an FN-FAL, or an AK.
– Can be used on moderately sized, thin skin game up to 100 yards.
Disadvantages:
– They are generally effective inside of 125 yards. (IMO not an issue as most “sniper shots “would not be terribly convincing to a grand jury of evidence of self defense.)
– The are often very difficult to come by due to demand.
– Because of demand the markup on them can be as much as 100-250 dollars above baseline (approx $550, which is the cheapest I have seen).
– Slower to reload than a magazine-based system.
I have a tactical 870 12 Ga, a AR-15, and an AK-47, but I still bought the Marlin 1894C precisely because of the list of advantages that I just mentioned. My wife shoots it in 357 mag with ease and she is extremely recoil averse. Should the authorities ever decide to ban the “mean looking black guns with big magazines” then these may very well make it past the radar of the gun grabbers.
I could not more highly recommend that you blog an article on these after doing a little research yourself. The only downfall to them is that you have to be actively looking for them because they are in extremely high demand and most online gun brokers sell out of them within days (sometimes within hours) of posting an inventory of them.
Anyways, check em out. I just LOVE my little 1894C. It’ll still knock a bad guy on his ass at 150 meters. A 4″ barrel 357 magnum pistol will cough out full load Federal 125 gr JHP with a muzzle velocity of  1467 fps per my chronograph. The Marlin will spit the same round out of the barrel at 2077 fps, more then enough to address any issues of short to intermediate range personal defense.
I think you’ll find these pistol caliber carbines quite interesting once you investigate them.
Take Care,
Pete
South Florida.

Hi Pete! You know I did write about that in page 169 of my book “The Modern Survival Manual”.
I explained the advantage of the carbine/revolver combo, and its modern day equivalent the semi auto pistol caliber carbine or subgun and pistol combination.
If you have a 9mm carbine, in some cases you can get ones that use the same magazines as your sidearm. The use of the same ammo and magazines simplifies things greatly.
A couple points you didn’t mention about the pistol caliber carbine:
1) It has greater accuracy thanks to the greater sight distance.
2)The longer barrel takes advantage of burned powder better because it burns inside rather than out, gaining at least 100 extra feet per second or more.
You’ve mentioned some of the better known ones. There’s also the Rossi carbines which are said to be pretty good.

Keltec /Glock Combo

Storm/Beretta 92 Combo

As of modern day equivalents, look into what options you have in terms of carbines that use the same ammo and mag. You use in your handgun. Keltec does one that accepts Glock magazines, Beretta has an offering that takes Beretta 92 pistol magazines.
Take care!
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FerFAL

Should I Travel to Argentina or not? The new Anti Terrorist Law

Sir: I've been to buenos aires four times, to take dance lessons. My
website is noseintheair.wordpress.com ... some of my later visits are
chronicled there. I've lurked at this blog awhile, and came back to
check it out again, since I may be coming "down there" again. But the
news about restrictions on dollars is unsettling. Thus I approach you
for information, like any preparedness-minded individual would, and
ask you if this good a dollar-bearer, or bad for a dollar - bearer. I
am not looking to profit from misery, or engage in shady dealing. ...
But I would like to avoid entanglements with the authorities on
account of simply being uninformed. If those I interact with
(teachers, hostel operators) will take dollars, what is the risk to
me?
-Carlos

Your question is legitimate and until recently my answer would have been different, and this my regular readers know well.
When someone asks about safety when traveling to Argentina (and most other South American countries for that matter)my advice is usually the same: Have a good time but be more careful than usual. Stay within the areas that you see are clearly intended for tourists, like down town Buenos Aires, mind any bag or purse you may have, know it may be snatched just like with cameras and cell phones, don’t leave values unsecured in the hotel room, use a cab company recommended by the hotel.  Argentina is a country with a serious crime problem but for tourists that didn’t have an Indiana Jones complex it was ok. Good hotels, food and entertainment.
Today things have changed.
Tougher Argentine Terror Laws Concern Opponents

Argentina’s New Anti-Terrorism Law Ignites Terror
Strictly speaking according to the new and much criticized Antiterrorist law you could get in trouble. If you combine this with the recently created “Financial Investigation Division” under the control of AFIP (local version of IRS) they can pretty much throw you in jail for anything, from buying or selling dollars or paying to anyone with them, exchanging them, or for protesting in any way or form. Again if they throw the book at you, the new law recently approved says you can spend 15 years in jail. Even paying in pesos can get you in trouble, because the new law is so broad. Using dollars in any way other than exchanging them for a rip off in official institutions can be considered a form of financial terrorism. Yes, just for having USD dollars.
According to what has been said by the Minister of economy and Secretary of State numerous times on print and media, the idea isn’t to send people to jail for 15 years for touching a dollar, the idea is to simply and I quote “install a sense of fear in the population” of owning foreign currency. They have the right to do it, but they kind of say they wont, they just grant themselves the power to do so if they see fit. See, their heads are so high up their butts that they don’t even see anything wrong with making such claims.

There’s been outrage among the socialists that used to blindly support the current government, understanding that from now on they stand on fragile ground whenever they protest in any way or form. If its not 100% officially consented, you can go to jail for a long time just for protesting in Argentina.
Since you asked me I have to give you an answer. No, don go unless you think its worth the risk. The new law has been approved, the warnings are as clear as they can be, its up to you to decide. I simply think that in this climate its just not worth the risk. I’ve seen people be afraid of doing transactions in dollars, I had a friend of ours try to buy my sons savings (USD) which she desperately needed for a trip. My son is nine.

I just wouldn’t travel to any country where according to a new law they recently passed, they have a right to throw you in jail for almost anything. The law gives a ridiculously broad definition of what they could take as terrorist, from civil disorder to trying to ruin the country’s finance by selling or buying foreign currency, or knowingly or not financing “terrorists”, no minimum amounts mentioned. Its all up to their “good” judgment.
Ridiculously enough, Argentina’s IRS (AFIP) already had their own CIA, called Financial Intelligence Unit. “Unidad de Infomracion Financiera”. According to themselves, IN THEIR OWN WEBSITE, well, what a terrorist or financial terrorist for that matter is isn’t exactly defined! So if you cant tell me what it is, why the hell do you have a law that can put that undefined person in jail for 15 years!!?
http://www.uif.gov.ar/eng/financiamiento.html   (I purposefully don’t hotlink it, its in English but its up to you to visit their website or not)
That’s the situation as of today. You have to decide. As for my advice:  It’s just not worth it.

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FerFAL

Serrated blades and Saws in Multitools

Ferfal,

I forgot to ask you, what is the purpose of the serrated blade on the Side Kick. The Wingman has scissors instead and I kind of they are more useful to cut a loose thread or tag, etc. However, I can think of a real use for the serrated blade. If I want to cut a small branch an inch or two in diameter, I can simply snap it instead of using the little blade. Other than that, what else is it good for?

Thank you.

Gallo

Serrated edges do have their uses and all other things being equal they do cut for longer time than straight edges. In the Wingman  I suppose its more likely to end up catching and cutting rope and cardboard.

There’s two reasons for this. Frist, most of the edge is within the serrations themselves. That means that only the pointy part of the serration is even in contact with the surface you’re cutting against. Second, when the material gets caught in the serration, the direction of the cutting motion back and forth is better taken advantage of.

While harder to resharpen, for rope and cord, cardboard and other more heavy duty type of material,  a serrated edge will sure last longer before needing resharpening.

For one inch diameter branches you don’t need much, but the saw in the Leatherman  Charge/Wave will cut through much more. Its not as hard as some would think.

With some patience not only do these saws cut branches, they can cut through 2”x2” and “2x4” with a small amount of effort as well.

FerFAL

2012: Thoughts, predictions and other reflections.

So 2012 started and seems that the Mayans weren’t right. Montezuma didn’t fly by throwing fireballs at people, the world didn’t end, yet again. How many years have gone by since the doom and gloomers have predicted crunches, cracks, ends of worlds and end of rule of law? Give me a second folks, nope, amazing but the golden  horde isn’t here yet and the mutant zombie bikers haven’t showed up. As we like saying here the world wont end, it just gets a bit more complicated, a bit more “interesting” if we prefer a bit of tint of pink in our glasses.
While the world wont end yet again and we’re not going to be quitting our jobs to live off the land in Yellowstone national park, 2012 wont be an easy year.

We’ve already seen many changes world wide in 2011. Europe, Spain and Greece mostly but also the rest of the EU are going through some extremely hard times, with a financial crisis that will bring along significant social changes. While the conservative party has won the elections in Spain and the socialist lie is mostly over many years of sacrifice await the Spaniard people.
In USA the crisis is still going strong, the social consequences I’ve mentioned so many times already becoming evident. People occupying the streets and public places across US, even restricting traffic, creating roadblocks like piqueteros do in Argentina, a scene I’ve hoped I’ve never see in USA.
Violent crime keeps getting worse, and many of the predictions made in this blog, which were more of logical deductions rather than guesses are taking place: Crime is getting worse all over US, even in the “nice” parts, even in the country and more rural areas. In the city things aren’t much better either. I received an email  today of a lady telling me that the police have warned neighbors that they wont be answering to home alarms any more: not enough money to do so.
That reminds me of how in Argentina in certain districts of Buenos Aires one day a week patrol vehicles have to stay parked, there’s not enough money for fuel for all seven days of the week.


Bringing out the Crystal Ball  here…

Everything we’ve seen in 2011 will keep  going on and intensifying. 2012 wont be a good year in general terms, nor will it be 2013 for that matter. The damage done by the crisis across the globe will take years to recover, even then things just wont be the same.
We’re looking at more taxes and more inflation. While unemployment has been kept in check the last months of 2011, during 2012 there will be an even more clear loss of standards of living. The jobs artificially created will impact the quality of life, the populations purchasing power decreasing.
Crime will keep getting worse, we’ll hear of more violent robberies, more home invasions. We’ll be hearing of more people being put to the test and seeing if their security preparedness was up to the challenge or not. The business of private security will keep growing and many communities will start to close themselves from the harsher outside world.
At the same time, its not all bad. There will be new economical markets to explore, people will be challenged by necessity and that can be good as well.

In terms of government and freedom, we’re looking at a historic opportunity with Ron Paul as a candidate. If you’re asking yourself what it is you can do to save USA from the grim future its heading to, that’s your answer. Ron Paul with his strong convictions about freedom and sincere belief in the US Constitution can make the hard decisions that are so unpopular among the lobbyists and mega corporations. I was watching yesterday on CNN how this creature that appeared to be a woman in a brown leather jacket but looked more like Jabba the Hutt kept attacking Ron Paul in an interview time and again. Still people, he’s running #2, something that the CNN media group cant stand, with all his proposals of non intervention in foreign countries and budget cuts. Ron Paul actually has a chance this time and that means there’s a chance of a better future for USA and the rest of the world. It doenst even matter if you like Ron Paul or not. He’s the only man that, placed in the oval office, can make the changes needed to eventually solve the problems that have brought so much misery world wide.
As for the blog, we’ll keep growing like we did in 2011. The forum at themodern survivalist.com keeps getting more and more people joining each day. During 2012 I’ll keep writing and posting about what actually can be of help for people in terms of preparedness.
Security,Survival & Preparedness as well as financial preparedness and street smarts for the more challenging world we live in.
Takce care everyone and I hope you all had a Happy New Year!
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FerFAL

New Leatherman Sidekick: Affordable Jack of all Trades

Leatherman 831429 Sidekick Multi-Tool

The new Leatherman Sidekick isn’t going to earn you any cool points in the shooting range. It has average looks, its not big and mean looking like the Leatherman MUT and I doubt you’ll see many tacticool guys bragging about their Leatherman SideKick. Honestly I got it for reviewing because I felt I had to, not because I just needed to add it to my already large collection.
Its only after handling it some that you see the stoic beauty of the thing.
Crisis Creature
The new Leatherman Sidekick has been conceived with a clear objective, one born out of necessity: To satisfy the need of a Leatherman Charge/Wave yet doing so at a price people affected by the current hard economic times can afford. The Wave and Charge models do the same things the Sidekick does and do them better. The Wave and Charge simply are better, ly larger  more complete tools. Yet even if you own one, you might still be interested in the Sidekick. What the sidekick does is offer surprisingly close performance to the one offered by the more expensive tools mentioned but at half or one third of the price of the Charge and Wave.
Concentrating on what Matters

Just a bit smaller than the Charge/Wave pliers

The shape of the 420HC blade in the Sidekick (below) is excellent. Charge Tti above for comparison.

Gone are the fancy titanium handles and Leatherman laser engraving on the pliers that cost time and money to make. Like in wartime weaponry, the handles are instead stamped steel, for fast and cheaper production yet though and effective.
The main virtues of the Charge and Wave were of course the pliers, but also the nicely made blades included that could be opened single handed and locked with a liner lock. Thanks to the pocket clip, it could even double as an acceptable EDC folding knife. That and a few more tools like Phillips and flat screwdriver provided a nice amount of uses. The functional blade and pliers along with an assortment of tools where the key of success for the Charge and Wave. That’s replicated in the SideKick, though doing it in a budget minded way.
The pliers and knife are excellent. I’d say that the pliers are even better than in the Charge and Wave. The blade isn’t made of any fancy steel like s30V, it’s the more humble 420HC which is not great but still good, and is in fact the same steel used for the blade in the Wave. Slightly smaller than in is bigger brothers, the blade design is still fantastic for its size.

Flat and Phillips scredriver, serrated sheepfoot saw, file/ruler/small screwdriver,bottle and can opener.

The SideKick's fixed Philips screwdriver is similar to the removable one on the Charge

The saw on the Sidekick is similar to the one in the Charge

On the down side there are a few sharp edges on the inside of the handle which could have been removed, but this is an easy fix with some sandpaper or a small file. There’s no exchangeable bit driver, but you get a long enough Phillips screwdriver that can go where the bit in the Wave and Charge wount reach. The file is probably the worst thing this tool has going for it and the 1.5 inch rule isn’t much better. I wish they had done a smaller version of the diamond dust file found in the Charge and Wave, and place the ruler in the handles instead.

All in all, it’s an excellent tool when you consider the price which hovers around $30. Not bad at all.
The Leatherman SideKick would be perfect for you if you want a Charge or Wave yet cant spend that kind of money in a multitool right now. Also as a very nice gift that doesn’t break the piggy bank or as secondary multitools in kits or emergency bags.
It wont be replacing the Charge, but I still recommend this tool, especially more so when you look at the price tag.
Happy New Year every one!
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FerFAL