Category: Fieldcraft
The Great Depression was one of the most traumatic events in American history. Following the stock market crash of October 1929, industrial production crashed, construction shrank to a fraction of what it had been and millions of people found themselves on short hours or without work. Until the economy picked up again in 1935 life was a real struggle for the average American.
To get through the economic collapse and the grinding poverty that followed it, people had to adapt and learn new skills – or re-learn old ones. For that reason, many people who lived through it looked back with a sense of, maybe not exactly nostalgia, but pride in how they managed to cope.
A lot of the things people did during the Great Depression still make a lot of sense today. With our own economy looking vulnerable, and the risk of a new collapse always lurking just around the corner, would we cope as well as our grandparents and great-grandparents did? Here are some of the ways they took care of themselves and those around them through some of the hardest times the USA has ever seen.
Important Below:
Here’s just a small glimpse of what you’ll find in The Lost SuperFoods:
The US Army’s Forgotten Food Miracle And 126 Superfoods That You Can Store Without Refrigeration for Years
Work
- Entire families moved in search of work. By staying together, they could support each other while not missing employment opportunities.
- Migrant farm work was a life-saver for many. Different crops needed harvesting at different times, so it was – and still is – possible to find several months’ work.
- People were willing to try any job. They didn’t ask “Do you have any work for a…?” But, “Do you have any work?” They were flexible because they had to be.
- Everyone in a family was prepared to earn money. Kids could make a valuable contribution too. Families worked for a common goal – earning enough to survive.
- Almost anything had some value. Driftwood collected from the beach could be split and sold as firewood. Most any kind of metal can be collected and sold as scrap.
- Government “New Deal” employment programs provided jobs and taught skills. They also created a lot of new infrastructure, including many roads – and the Hoover Dam.
- There was no such thing as retirement age. Anyone who could work did When money is tight, everyone needs to contribute whatever they can earn.
- A lot of jobs became part-time as employers tried to save money. Many people worked several part-time jobs, often putting in very long days.
- Many of the jobless spent all day going round employers, looking for any work they could find. Even an hour or two’s labor would make a difference.
- People created jobs for themselves. Some women would wake early to cook dozens of meals, then sell them outside factories and construction sites.
- Flexibility helped. Someone who knew a little about several trades had a better chance of finding work than someone who was an expert at one.
- Farmers would take on workers they didn’t have the money to hire, and pay them in produce instead.
Housing
- Many people lost their homes. Often, extended families – grandparents, aunts, uncles – ended up living in one house.
- Others were forced to live in their car or truck, buying cheap meals and washing at public gyms or swimming pools.
The homeless often lived in tents – or shack or lean-tos they’d built themselves. Having a place to live, even a basic one, was better than sleeping rough.- To save energy, walls were insulated with anything that would help keep heat in through the winter – mud, newspapers or tar paper. It all helped cut fuel costs.
- Homes were kept cooler than normal. Wearing more clothes indoors reduced the need to burn fuel, and that left more money for food.
- In summer people hung wet sheets over doorways and windows. As the water evaporated it drew in heat from the air, cooling the home slightly.
- Refinancing a home was one way to keep up the payments – and it could also free up cash for living expenses.
Money
Life insurance policies were a safety net for those who had them. If money ran out the policy could be cashed in, helping keep the family afloat for a few more months.- Many people rarely saw cash; barter economies quickly grew up. Small jobs might be paid with milk, fresh vegetables or fruit, especially in rural areas.
- With millions out of work, begging was common – and seen as desperation, not antisocial behavior. Outside restaurant was a favorite spot; only the rich could afford to eat there.
- People respected banks back then, but when banks started closing the trust soon faded. Nobody knew when their own might shut, so the wise kept cash at home.
- Many stores gave credit and let regular payments slide. They just kept track of what was owed and hoped it would be paid someday. Many stores went bankrupt because of this.
Food
- Having a vegetable plot made a huge difference. In 1929, 20% of Americans still lived on farms; most of the rest had big gardens, and the skills to grow their own food.
- Hunting and fishing were major sources of protein. Meat was expensive, but if you could harvest your own you had a better diet. Surplus was great for barter, too.
- Foraging was also popular. Nuts, berries, and wild greens helped put meals on the table, and kids and older people could forage as well as anyone.
- In the country, canning was an essential skill. A well-stocked pantry was both a source of pride and a life-saving reserve for the winter.
People learned that you can eat almost anything if you’re hungry enough. Tumbleweed was used as fodder for cattle; then people found it could be eaten. Young plants are best.- No part of an animal was wasted. Offal was fried, boiled or turned into ground meat. Even chicken feet could be boiled to add some taste to a broth.
- A little bit of bacon would add flavor to almost anything. The hard rinds or dry ends of a piece of bacon could be boiled – and butchers sold them for pennies.
- Communities divided vacant lots and parks into family vegetable plots. Housewives and kids spent much of their time growing extra food.
- To keep some variety in their diets, people traded the produce they grew with friends and neighbors.
- Meals were cooked from scratch – there were hardly any prepared foods in the shops. Recipes were usually simpler than today’s. That mean they were cheaper to make.
- Stores closed on Sundays, so fresh produce that would go bad by Monday would be sold off cheap late on Saturday. Shopping at that time was great for bargains.
- Livestock was a great asset. If you had a cow or even a few chickens, you were sitting on a wealth creator. Milk and eggs helped your own diet, and could be bartered.
- Meat and dairy products were expensive; bread, potatoes, and noodles were cheap and filling. People bulked out meals with carbohydrates. Lard or bacon fat added flavor.
- Soup was a popular meal. It filled you up, and the main ingredient was water. Almost anything could be made into soup – beans, potatoes, even stale bread.
Clothes
- Shoes were mended over and over. Holes in the sole were patched with leather from scrap belts or purses. Complete soles were cut from old tires.
People learned to make and repair clothes. Any fabric could be used. Rural families made clothes from feed sacks. One woman turned a casket’s fabric lining into kids’ dresses.- Fashion was canceled. People preferred to get more use out their old clothes and spend their money on food.
- When kids outgrew their clothes they were handed down to younger siblings or given to people who could use them.
- Really old clothes were cut up for rags to get some more use out of them. Why spend money on dusters and cleaning cloths when rags worked just as well?
Society and Attitudes
- Nobody felt entitled to be supported. People knew that they had to work as hard as they could to survive; if they didn’t, they could expect nothing.
- On the other hand, people were willing to help those who were trying but struggling. They knew they could be the ones needing help next, so most gave all they could spare.
Communities became closer, giving mutual support and organizing donations of food or cash to those who needed them the most.- Many towns set up welfare loan schemes. Money could be loaned to people who needed it, but it was expected to be paid back. Detailed records were kept of what was owed.
- Willingness to work hard, and to do what you could to support the community, was more highly valued than individualism and independence.
- People learned to keep a positive outlook on life. They learned that they could lose a surprising amount – almost everything – and keep going.
- Positivity was essential. There was no point complaining how bad things were – they were just as bad for almost everyone. What mattered was trying to make them better.
During a SHTF situation, pain could become an annoyance for some, but unbearable for others.
If doctors are scarce and medicine becomes even scarcer, this one little weed, found all over North America and similar to morphine, could be a saving grace.
In this parking garage, you may pass a drunk or beggar and get to your car without
incident, or you may be attacked by muggers with shock knives or UTM guns.
Over the past three days I’ve been shot, stabbed, beaten, wrestled, molested by drunks, thugs and muggers, stabbed some more and killed about a dozen times. Ahhh … it’s been a truly glorious few days.
On the plus side, I did manage to ward off a few dozen seriously violent bad guys using escalating combinations of voice commands, lights and UTM sim firearms. Creative problem solving was the name of the game. One determined student pummeled his attacker with an outdoor trash can when his gun went out of action.
After perforating role-playing thugs with hundreds of “bullets,” something occurred to me. I used precisely one traditional range skill.
Thanks to the professionalism of the self-defense trainers at W.O.F.T. Self Defense outside of Orlando, Fla., I’m still alive and well, albeit with welts, bruises and various aches and pains. Sometimes that’s the price of valuable life lessons and I was more than happy to pay it.
Over the past decade or so, I’ve been to a couple of dozen firearms and defensive shooting courses. I can say without reservation I learned more practical self-defense skills over the past three days than all the others combined.
Did all those others teach me how to shoot? Absolutely. However, I’ve not yet seen anyone doing deep and immersive training with real defensive scenarios most likely to be encountered in everyday life. How many shooting schools have you sitting in a coffee shop, minding your own business, when two of six role-playing instructors break out into a full-on domestic fight? Maybe a weapon comes into play. Maybe it doesn’t. Or the “drunk” appearing to be sick next to your car suddenly pops up with a knife or gun? Ever thought about what you might do?
In this coffee shop you might witness a disgruntled employee squabble or need to react to an armed attack.
Learnings
The make-believe notion of being the cowboy in a white hat, casually standing back and shooting to save the day, was quickly destroyed. If only criminals would cooperate and accept the easy fate.
Situational awareness, or paying attention, is great. I’m all for a switched-on lifestyle. But if you think you’re so good at master-level awareness, you’ll be able to spot and solve any problem with a gun, you’re deluding yourself. We each face dozens of moments every single day when other people, or objects and structures capable of hiding an attacker, are close enough to allow one to be in our face long before we can react and bring a gun into the fight. Other defensive tools, both physical and mental, are a must.
A light is a powerful tool, and I need a simpler one. We ran dozens of scenarios in a dark parking garage ranging from a drunk harassing us to a planned two- or three-on-one mugging. Whether there was criminal intent, the light was a useful tool to help separate the annoying from the truly dangerous. When things got ugly, the light was a valuable tool not only to identify targets, but to distract, buy precious fractions of seconds, and sometimes escape. My current model has different intensities and modes. Forget that. I want one power level — high — and one button.
Leaving doesn’t feel very macho, but is often the right solution. Remember, as much as you may want to see yourself as society’s designated protector, you have a bigger obligation to come home to your family. That’s hard to do if you’re dead or spending the next few decades in jail as a result of getting mixed up in someone else’s altercation. Think long and hard before getting involved. The real story is far too often different from what first appearances indicate.
Explosive and committed action is a powerful strategy. By acting with vigor, you have a 0.25 to 0.50-second action/reaction advantage over your adversary. This can save your life.
Don’t settle for grabbing the “little gun” and stuffing it in a pocket before you run to Walmart or out to grab some milk. Those are likely your most statistically dangerous errands. If you’re going to carry, do it right.
Angela from event host H&K commits to explosive action in hopes
of turning the tables on an attacker.
That Range Skill?
Oh, and the one range skill I did use throughout the force-on-force shooting incidents? Malfunction clearing. While UTM-equipped firearms are more likely to jam, most malfunctions were a result of close quarters combat. Shooting while yanking your gun back to a retention position because Joe McThuggNoggins is lunging for it tends to cause a misfeed. Pulling the trigger with your muzzle jammed into an attacker pounding you into the pavement is another winning cause of a stuck gun. The list goes on — with a common denominator. Fighting with a gun at contact distance doesn’t allow for a proper Weaver or Isosceles stance and grip, and the risk of jams skyrockets, so be darn sure you learn how to instinctively clear your gun.
I’ve always figured malfunctions were unlikely in a self-defense encounter because quality modern ammo and guns almost always go bang. But the best gear may not work right in the middle of a close-quarters fight. At one point I ended up pistol whipping an instructor (wearing protective gear) in the head with a jammed pistol. Clearing a malfunction would have been a great option, but my support hand was holding his knife at bay. Yet another scenario I didn’t fully appreciate until it happened to me.
If you carry a gun for self-defense, by all means, learn how to shoot. “Range” skills will help when you’re shooting at high speed from awkward positions, even if you’re not planted in your official gunfighter stance at standoff distance. But be sure to consider some real scenario training to learn tools and strategies for problem solving, with or without that gun. The past three days changed my life, and it was only a taste of what I still need to learn.
We don’t try our cases in the press” has to change. Here’s why.
There’s a Latin saying: Silentium est consensus. It translates to “silence equals consent.” When a wrongfully accused person does not answer the charge, most people read it as an admission of guilt. It’s a legal principle of our law that this is not so, but unfortunately, only attorneys and cops seem to realize that.
Those same lawyers and cops have all been told in law school and the police academy, “We don’t discuss our cases in the press; it will all come out in court.” Unfortunately, in recent years, things have changed. Greed-motivated plaintiffs’ lawyers and politically motivated prosecutors have taken to trying their cases in the press, and when the accused do not respond in the same venue, well … silentium est consensus becomes the uncontested verdict in the Court of Public Opinion.
Kenosha: Kyle Rittenhouse fires the shot that “vaporizes” Gaige Grosskreutz’s
gun arm, which is holding a GLOCK 27 aimed at his head.
Riots
Los Angeles, 1992. A hulking suspect became violent during a traffic stop. An early version of the TASER had no effect, and when four LAPD cops “swarmed” him each grabbing an arm or a leg, he threw them aside like a terrier flinging rats. A citizen named George Holliday turned on his new camcorder in time to catch the man, Rodney King, trying to jerk Officer Lawrence Powell’s Beretta from its holster. The batons came out, and a bit over a minute and 50-some PR-24 swings later, the man was in handcuffs. The video found its way quickly to the media.
The suspect was black, the officers white, and the “Rodney King beating” became a national outrage. The public saw, again and again, the ugliest 10 seconds of the video, though King’s gun snatch attempt was never shown until the trial and then seen by only a small percentage of the public. When the cops were acquitted, riots followed, taking more than 60 lives, injuring thousands, and wreaking economic devastation in what was already one of the most poverty-stricken parts of the city.
Kenosha, 2020. Almost three decades later, another video surfaced in a city of 100,000 in Wisconsin. It showed police officers with drawn guns following a black man, Jacob Blake, from the right rear of an automobile containing two little kids, around the front to the driver’s door, where one officer finally shot him seven times behind lateral midline. It became an instant cause célèbre: “Unarmed Black Man Shot Seven Times in Back.” The police department said not a word in defense of the officer’s action. The city burned and incurred tens of millions of dollars in damages, and three men were shot on video in demonstrable self-defense, two fatally, by a young man subsequently tried for murder.
From the beginning, a knife had been visible in Blake’s hand, and the officer fired only after he perceived the man turning on him with it within arm’s reach. In truth, the story should have been “Cops Save Black Children from Knife-Wielding Kidnapper.” Yet the “unarmed” narrative continued even after Blake himself confessed he was armed and the state Attorney General’s Office at last released the truth — weeks after the riot and the killings.
Circle shows Jacob Blake’s knife in his left hand, as cops follow him with drawn
guns shouting commands to drop it, moments before he is shot.
By Con
Years after the King conflagration, when Charlie Beck became chief of LAPD, he created a policy whereby after any potentially controversial OIS (Officer Involved Shooting) a press conference would be held. It would include the original 911 call, dashcam and bodycam video, scene photos and a narrative of what actually happened. It would be widely disseminated to the public, with the promise the investigation would continue, and the public kept apprised.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department followed, setting a high standard for thoroughness. So did a number of other police departments.
LAPD to LVMPD and beyond, except for disturbances caused nationwide by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, every department following this policy has escaped major rioting. The reason is, they have “gotten ahead of the story” and kept false narratives from gaining traction.
We have seen the same principle in armed citizen self-defense shootings. A few years ago in Austin, Texas, John Daub had to shoot and kill a home invader who broke through the front door of his home while his wife and children were present.
He was a member of the Armed Citizens Legal Defense Network (armedcitizensnetwork.org), which had attorney Gene Anthes on the scene before the blood on the floor dried — telling reporters what had really happened. The result: a justifiable homicide ruling and public support and sympathy for John and his family.
A rule of human conflict is when one’s opponents change their attack strategy, one has to alter defense strategy accordingly. With today’s twisting of the truth by journalists and lawyers with less than honorable motives, we need police departments and attorneys who will not leave those who righteously pull the trigger undefended in the unforgiving Court of Public Opinion.
Yesterday and today: S&W Model 15 with six .38 Special rounds;
Springfield XD(m) with 20 rounds of 9mm.
I don’t always carry a semiautomatic pistol with a double-stack magazine — but, about two-thirds of the time, I do. Meanwhile, American law enforcement has gone sweepingly to 18-shot 9mm pistols, often with triple spare magazine pouches. In this country, armed citizens have historically modeled their self-defense handguns on what the police carry and, in both cases, the decision is largely driven by what the criminals of the day are doing.
Let’s look at some stats. In 2019, a study published by the Policing Institute determined of 1,180 police officers who had been in shootouts, 126 fired 12 or more rounds to finish their fights — a tad over 10%. Let’s keep this in mind when legislators demand laws that limit a law-abiding citizen’s magazine capacity to 10 rounds plus one in the chamber.
Tom Aveni at the Police Policy Study Council in 1998 referenced a study of Washington, DC Metro officer-involved-shootings from 1994 through 1998 that encompassed nearly 500 shootings. In 126 of those, the officers fired more than the six rounds they would have had in their service revolvers before they adopted GLOCKs, and in 67 the officers fired more than 10 rounds.
Micro-Compact Springfield Pro with Hex optic, its payload
of 16 9mm rounds, and a ruler for perspective.
Relevance
When people say “Police stuff doesn’t matter, I’m an armed private citizen,” I cringe. We must never forget the police are fighting the exact same criminals the citizens have armed themselves against. A huge number of police shootings evolve from situations where the perpetrator(s) attacked a private citizen to begin with, and this is why the police made contact with them in the first place. In the infamous 1986 Miami shootout, the two heavily armed robber-killers the FBI agents engaged had been shooting innocent citizens to steal their cars and their guns. In the course of the cataclysmic final shootout, FBI men Gordon McNeill and John Hanlon were helpless with empty revolvers when cop-killer Michael Platt crippled them with rifle fire. This incident led the Bureau to adopt auto pistols as standard.
In the famous NYPD shooting on the Grand Concourse, the perpetrator was fleeing from a rip-off when the running gun battle started in which he was still on his feet after being hit with 18 non-expanding .38 Special bullets before a 12-gauge slug dropped him for good. In the famous Skokie, Ill. case where hero cop Tim Gramins stood alone against the ambusher who had just terrorized bank employees during a robbery, it took him 33 rounds of .45 ACP to finally win the fight after 17 solid hits; he was getting toward the end of the last magazine in his GLOCK 21 when he delivered the brain shot that finished the fight against a perp armed with a 16-shot 9mm, a .380 and an SKS rifle. (Tim later switched to a 9mm GLOCK 17 and more spare magazines.)
As we look at the police round-count figures earlier in this column, remember they include many cases of multiple officers firing together. Two cops needing eight rounds apiece to win a gunfight translates to 16 shots needed to achieve the same righteous objective, even for a lone officer or a single armed citizen. And let’s not forget the citizen won’t have body armor, patrol rifle or shotgun and instant radio contact for backup readily at hand.
In Addition to Which …
Today we’re seeing more armed home invasions involving whole gangs of criminals, not just the lone nutcase. We are seeing more bad guys than ever — gang bangers, stalkers, armed robbers — wearing body armor. We are seeing cases of ambushers who know how to use cover and movement tactics. We already had violent criminals “feeling no pain” from alcohol and assorted drugs, and now we have the Fentanyl epidemic to boot. All these things can add up to more shots required to stop bad guys.
When the magazine limit advocates tell you “Well then, just carry spare ammunition to reload with,” your answer might be: “Even if you’re a master shooter who can reload a pistol in two seconds, would you consider it a fair fight if one boxer but not the other was required to lower his hands for at least two seconds in the ring after every 10 punches thrown?”
The five-shot snub-nose .38 has ceased to be the most popular primary line of defense for the armed private citizen. The reasons listed above should give you a good start on explaining why to those who just don’t get it.
This interview excerpt about the lessons on gunfighting, supposedly said by the legendary lawman, gunfighter, and frequent movie subject, Wyatt Earp, comes from a 1994 book written by Stuart Lake, Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal. You can find the book online at a hefty price since it’s long out of print.
“I was a fair hand with pistol, rifle, or shotgun, but I learned more about gunfighting from Tom Speer’s cronies during the summer of 1871 than I had dreamed was in the book.
Those old-timers took their gunplay seriously, which was natural under the conditions in which they lived. Shooting, to them, was considerably more than aiming at a mark and pulling a trigger.
Models of weapons, methods of wearing them, means of getting them into action and operating them, all to the one end of combining high speed with absolute accuracy, contributed to the frontiersman’s shooting skill.
The sought-after degree of proficiency was that which could turn to most effective account the split-second between life and death. Hours upon hours of practice and wide experience in actualities supported their arguments over style.”
Also this
1. “No wise man ever took a handgun to a gunfight.”
Earp obviously knew the advantage of weapon superiority. If you know your opponent is armed with a handgun, bring a shotgun, or rifle. Give yourself every advantage possible. You don’t want to fight fair. You fight to win. Something to think about for home defense.
2. “The most important lesson I ever learned was the winner of a gunplay usually was the one who took his time. The second was if I hoped to live on the frontier, I would shun flashy trick-shooting, grandstand play, as I would poison. In all my life as a frontier peace officer, I did not know a really proficient gunfighter who had anything but contempt for the gun fanner, or man who literally shot from the hip.”
The saying “slow is smooth, smooth is fast” applies here. Also, a fast miss never neutralized anyone. Guns have sights on them for a reason. Use them! Pick up your front sight during combat shooting. As Gunsite, famous fighting school preaches, “front sight, press” is the key to winning armed confrontations.
3. “Fast is Fine, But Accuracy is Everything…”
Again, a fast miss never helped anyone.
Take the time to use your front sight for making solid hits. The spray and pray mentality is useless with today’s high-capacity semi-autos.
4. “The most important lesson I learned was the winner of a gunplay usually was the one who took his time.”
This is related to #3. Take your time, but do it quickly, ensuring a smooth draw. Pick your front sight up and press your trigger smoothly, not jerking your shot, missing your adversary.
5. “Shooting at a man who is returning the compliment means going into action with the greatest speed of which a man’s muscles are capable, but mentally unflustered by an urge to hurry, or the need for complicated nervous and muscular actions which trick shooting involves.”
All this means is don’t lose your head. Easier said than done, but a cool head will prevail. Focus on the mechanics of a smooth draw and calculated shot. Fast shooting is useless in the “spray and pray” fashion. Remember your training. We all revert to training under stress … which emphasizes how vital proper training is.
If you’re not formally trained, do it. Training is the most important accessory you can buy, more than any gun, or ammo.
Categories
Gun!?! What gun!?! NSFW
Used guns are a great way to shop for a bargain-priced self-defense pistol. As we accept more modern guns with modern features, like rails, optics, and ambidextrous controls, we can find guns that lack those features for a relatively fair price. That’s why we’ve come to the classic carry gun corner to find you an option for a great handgun at a great price.
Table of contents
The Problem With Classic Carry Guns
Before I gush over some quasi-retro firearms, let’s be real here. There are some downsides to these classic carry guns. Most of them are heavier and bigger than modern guns. There is a reason that the P365 was so revolutionary. These older guns are not as efficient.
The biggest downside will come from trying to find a holster. Old guns aren’t typically addressed by modern holster manufacturers. This can limit you significantly in your holster selection. That can make carrying some of these classics a chore or require a custom holster to be made.
All that being said…
The Best Classic Carry Guns
Beretta 80 Series
Beretta recently revived the 80 series with the 80X, but the classic 80 series are still some classic carry guns. The 80 series is made up of a mix of .22LR, .380 ACP, and .32 ACP handguns. The most popular is the .380 Model, which consists of the 83, 84, 85, and 86 models. These are small, compact firearms but are not pocket pistols. They are incredibly well-made and very easy to shoot.
Their ergonomics are on point and are some of the best examples of what a metal-framed gun can be. They have that Beretta M9 style shape, with much thinner grips that make the gun easier to conceal and more accessible to those with small hands. They are hand-filling guns, and that makes them quite easy to control. Capacity varies between thirteen and seven rounds depending on caliber and design. Beretta made various models in both single and double-stack capacities.
The Beretta 80 Series seem out of date until you start shooting. They are all fairly light recoiling and very easy to control. They don’t beat your hand up like a .380 Pocket pistol and are much easier to control than even a P365 in 9mm. Guns like the Beretta 81 offer a .32 ACP option with very little recoil for those who might be recoil-sensitive. The .22LR options are silly soft to shoot. These are all top-of-the-line classic carry guns.
Beretta makes legendary firearms, and you’d have a hard time finding one that didn’t work well. These guns might be past their prime and seem old school, but they are very easy to handle and fun to shoot. They are more akin to the Shield EZ series, especially the 86 with its tip-up barrel.
The Ruger P Series
The P series might have been the series of firearms that established Ruger as a company that makes tanks for guns. They might be ugly, but they are 100% functional, incredibly reliable, and last forever. The Ruger P series guns are still kicking around and are still quite affordable. I run across these guns for less than 300 dollars all day long, and they still represent self-defense-worthy handguns.
The P series is fairly broad. You can pick from numerous models in various calibers, including 9mm, 40 S&W, and .45 ACP. The P Series lasted from 1985 all the way up to 2013. Over that time, there were tons of variants. The P85 through P944 used investment cast metal frames, and the P95 and beyond used a polymer frame. The modern polymer frame models also feature a rail system.
These are pure ’80s guns. They feature the hammer fire design that was popular for the era. The gun has a combined de-cocker and safety that was ambidextrous. They are fairly simple guns but were quite easy to shoot and handle. The guns feature modern capacities and, outside of the .45 ACP, used double-stack magazines.
They aren’t fancy, they aren’t pretty, but they do function well. If you can get past their blocky design and ugly frames, you can have a very capable firearm for very little money. I’d choose a Ruger P series over most modern budget options. If you are looking for a more carry-friendly option, the P94 and P95 offer compact options for a tank-like classic carry gun.
Smith and Wesson 3rd Gen Guns
Smith and Wesson produced a number of semi-auto handguns from 1913 onward, and in the late 1980s, they arrived at what is collectively known as the third-generation pistols. These represent the last line of S&W automatics to use all metal frames, DA/SA hammer-fired actions, and a mix of double and single-stack magazines. They were quite popular with police forces and remain a great option these days.
Some are more expensive than others. The S&W 1006 and 1026 in 10mm, for example, are not cheap options. However, the 5906, the various 900 series guns, and even the 4506 tend to be fairly affordable and easy to find. These third-gen guns come in all the big calibers, including 9mm, 45 ACP, 40 S&W, and, of course, the aforementioned 10mm. What’s a gun from the late 80s and early 90s without a 10mm chambering?
These heavy steel guns might weigh you down a fair bit, but they can still be fantastic classic carry guns and home defense options. S&W produced some small subcompact models, including the various 9mm subcompacts like the 908 and 3914, and basically every model that starts with 39. These are still quite compact, and while unusual in today’s era, they still last for basically ever.
If you find a lack of Picatinny rails disturbing, then the TSW models might be for you. These guns feature a nice metal rail for all the accessories you could ever need, but the TSW models tend to call for a higher price on the used market.
Smith and Wesson SW99 – Classic Carry Option
Let’s stick with S&W because they’ve been around a long time, and they have a wide variety of pistols in their lineup. In the late 1990s, it was apparent that polymer-frame, striker-fired guns were going to be the dominant force in firearms. S&W had already tried to produce one in the budget-friendly Sigma series but got sued by Glock. Plus, the Sigma series weren’t duty-ready guns. S&W teamed up with Walther to produce an S&W pistol.
Kind of an S&W pistol, anyway. It’s a Walther P99 with a standard rail. The SW99 and P99 are nearly identical, and the SW99 came in both 9mm and 40 S&W, like the P99, but the SW99 also got the 45 ACP. These polymer frame pistols were a joint effort. Walther made the frames, and S&W made the slides and barrels. Like the P99, these are one of the very few DA/SA guns that are striker-fired. A decocking button sits on the top to instantly toss it back to double action only.
The SW99 trigger is absolutely fantastic. The DAO is super smooth, and while heavy, it glides rearward. The single action is crazy light and absolutely fantastic. It’s a great setup that I wish was a bit more common. I really like the striker-fired DA/SA design. Sadly, the SW99 is one of the very few options out there.
What’s great is that the SW99 remains affordable. Walther fans want P99s, and guns like the P99 compact are fairly tough to find. However, the SW99 compact is easy to find and fairly cheap. These guns use Walther mags, and they tend to be fairly common. This is one of my favorite classic carry guns.
Glock Trade-Ins
Finally, another great option is the great many Glock police trade-ins out there. Glock pistols dominate the law enforcement market, and with a new generation of Glock getting out there and with competition from SIG, used Glocks are hitting the market hard. Glocks are great guns that last forever and are well-reputed for their durability, reliability, and general effectiveness.
A lot of these Glock pistols are the .40 S&W models that have been traded in for the great 9mm influx. Plenty of Glock 22s are floating around at a great price. Additionally, the Glock 23 and 27 are popular trade-ins. In 40 S&W, these guns can be found for less than 400 dollars. That’s a great price for a very reliable weapon, even if you have to deal with 40 S&W.
With that said, we do see some 9mms coming in and out, and these are great grabs. The desirability of 9mm does create an increased cost, but they are still fairly affordable firearms all around. Glock trade-ins are a great way to get a great handgun for a low price. If you see one, act quickly because they tend to sell fast.
Giving Used Guns a Chance
The used gun market is nothing like other used markets. Used cars can be a gamble. Used furniture is for the insane, but used guns are a great choice. When something is wrong, it’s easy to see. Cracks in frames, bad bores, and the like don’t hide easily. Typically, used guns are rarely shot, but they often have a chunk of their price squirreled away.
A used gun allows you to get a great gun at a budget gun’s price. Sure, they might not always have rails, night sights, or be optics ready, but they go bang and do so reliably.
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