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Month: February 2023
There was a great deal happening in the world of handgunning in the ’70s and ’80s. Many new models became available, as the proverbial envelope was pushed in all directions—bigger, smaller, longer, et cetera. It stands out in my recollections as a time when the concept of the semi-automatic pistol was more aggressively explored than ever before.
Since it was also a time when Americans were lusting for ever more powerful handguns, we saw several interesting and powerful semi-autos. In this short piece, we’ll look at one of my personal favorites, but we need to briefly look at what has to happen when you make a semi-auto pistol more powerful.
Since there were already a number of powerful revolvers from S&W, Ruger, Colt and others, we already had a standard for handgun cartridge power. Since the mid-1950s, the most commonly used big handgun cartridge was the .44 Magnum.
There is plenty of power in this aging slugger, so much so that if a big semi-auto was chambered for it, it might have got a lot more attention than it did. The grand old .44 is a cartridge that is configured with a rim that headspaces against the back of the cylinder of a big revolver. Making that cartridge feed through a typical magazine and up a feed ramp is very difficult. The answer is a new rimless cartridge.
There were four different magnum-power semi-automatic pistols. They were the AutoMag, Wildey, Desert Eagle and Grizzly. Another model, called the Coonan, was a fine gun, but never went over the .357 Magnum level of power. Both the AutoMag and Wildey used special rimless cartridges. For the Automag, it was the .44 Automag—usually wildcatted from .308 Winchester brass.
Wildey promoters were able to persuade Winchester to build special 9mm Winchester Magnum and .45 Winchester Magnum ammo. Wildey pistols never managed to get made in commercially profitable quantities. Clever engineering permitted the Desert Eagle to use regular Magnum ammo: .357, .41 and .44 Magnum. That may have had something to do with the fact that they are the only survivor in the quartet. Still made, the guns are both reliable and accurate.
This leaves the Grizzly, which caught my fancy for several different reasons. I had several review samples of this interesting gun and shot them extensively. They proved to be nearly trouble-free guns that did what they were supposed to do with rare malfunctions. Grizzlies were chambered for several long cartridges, but the main round associated with the gun was the .45 Winchester Magnum. About the same length as the .44 Magnum (or .45 Long Colt), this round was essentially a lengthened and strengthened .45 ACP. Extra case capacity meant more propellant and velocity. Winchester was delighted to see the gun enter the market, because they had produced quantities of .45 Win. Mag. ammo for use in the Wildey, which promptly tanked.
There were some 15,000 Grizzlies made and the majority were .45s. Several sources have identified the Grizzly as a “scaled-up” 1911. The plan was influenced a great deal by the grand old gun, but the Grizzly is best described as a lengthened 1911. With a cartridge as long as a .44 Magnum, you have to have a 1911-looking magazine that is longer by a good bit. The designers at LAR came up with a seven-rounder that filled the bill. Naturally, the magazine was longer than a 1911 in the fore-and-aft vector. It went into a suitably extended magazine well of the longer receiver.
The Grizzly got a longer slide and 5.4″ barrel. Many versions of the gun had barrels that extended beyond the front of the slide. The most common was probably the 6.5″ version. While every part on the Grizzly performed the same function as its counterpart in a 1911, almost all of them are longer and very few are interchangeable. The major point is that the shooter who has gone armed with the 1911 gun will have no problem managing the Grizzly. Same properly-located thumb safety, crisp four-pound trigger, drop-free magazine—all just like what he’s used to. The Grizzly came with a nice rear sight adjustable for windage and elevation.
The lengthening process did nothing for the pistol’s ergonomics. This was a big handgun, and a lot of shooters just could not master the sheer mass of the arm. Also, shooting heavy bullets at high velocity spells recoil. The Grizzly kicks—hard. But there is nothing you can do about it. You just plain have to get past the blow that comes with every shot. It is, by the way, slightly less than any of the other magnum semi-autos.
In the course of those long ago stories, I fired the Grizzly in .45 Win. Mag. more than any other caliber. It was very accurate, particularly with special ammo from Pro Load Ammunition. Later in the production life of the Grizzly, they were able to perfect a (rimmed) .44 Magnum, and I worked with one of them. The Grizzly in that caliber was just as accurate as all but a small percentage of revolvers. I also did some work with a wildcat called the .357/.45 Win. Mag. It was a .45 Winchester Magnum case, necked down to take .357-cal. bullets. It was an excellent performer, particularly in the accuracy sense.
For a couple of years, there was a great deal of interest in the big .45. I had nothing but pleasant recollections of range sessions that went smoothly. That’s more than I can say about the other magnum semi-autos, although the Desert Eagle seems to do just fine. I speculate that some of the Grizzly’s good performance stems from the gun’s operating system—just like the 1911.
There are a lot of ways to defend your family at home. Several of them work well. There are also a lot of ways to get into trouble in the middle of a confusing situation with a gun in your hand. We want to learn from other people’s experience rather than from our own failures. That explains why a self-defense plan is so valuable. We want to do the best we can so that luck is less of a factor in our family’s safety.
Let me give you a counter example. I’ve heard people say they will figure out what to do when the time c0mes. I have a problem with that since we come up with some terrible ideas in the middle of the night. I’m pretty sure that I can improvise with the worst of them.
My plans are simple. We plan to lock our doors because we don’t want to wake up in the middle of the night with a bad guy standing in our bedroom. Locking our doors does a number of good things for us. For one, the robber often moves on to try another home if our doors are locked. That is a win right there. The second advantage of locking our doors is that the bad guy makes a lot of noise as he is kicking down our door or smashing one of our windows. That wakes us up and gives us some warning. Now, we and the bad guy are locked in a race to see who does the best job in a limited amount of time. If we thought about it, we’d know what to do when glass breaks. Our hands and feet would know what to do even if our head is still trying to wake up.
In our case, we no longer have kids in the home so this is what our home defense plan looks like.
As I implied, our doors are locked at night. We are also armed most of the time when we’re out of bed. At night, we store our firearms in bedside safes on each side of the bed. A flashlight and phone is also on each bedside table. That is the hardware side of a plan, but the human side of a plan is far more important. What should we do if we hear glass breaking in the middle of the night?
The easiest way to tell if someone has actually walked through their safety plan with their family is to ask them what they plan to say to their partner when they hear glass break. Unless the words fall out of their mouth then they don’t have a plan. We kept it simple.
“We have an intruder. Get up.”
That seemed a good compromise between information and time. Sure, we’d like to fully describe what we think we heard and what we saw. All that takes time that we might not have.
We chose to lock the bedroom door and turn on the lights. We also want to get on the phone and call 911. You have to do one thing at a time, particularly when you are still waking up. Some couples have planned who does which job. That can be particularly important if you have children in your home.
Given that it takes time to wake up and move, we figured the first person to stand up with a gun in their hand should go lock the bedroom door and turn on the lights. The other partner grabs their phone and their gun, and then moves behind the bed. We are worried about immediately stopping a threat until the door is locked and both of us are behind the bed and armed. Until then, we each have a gun in our hand and our attention on the door. Unless we hear an unexpected noise from inside our house, our guns stay pointed at the floor until both of us are behind the bed.
Should we shout a warning? We plan to. Again, we chose to keep it simple.
“We’re armed. We called the cops. Get out.”
Both of us now either have our guns in our hands pointed at the door or the gun is laying on the bed right in front of us as one of us calls 911. If you’ve practiced this then you know that guns are heavy and police are slow. If we don’t hear any more noise from outside our door then we will probably set our guns down on the bed before the police arrive.
Getting the police at your home is a good step but it also raises the next concern. What do you do once the police arrive?
We want the officers to walk around our house and look for obvious signs of entry. If they find an open door or broken window, then the police clear our home before we leave our bedroom.
If the outside doors are locked and the windows are intact, then we have to open the bedroom door and go meet the police. There probably isn’t an intruder in our home, but we did hear something so we’ll move slowly. We’re not going to clear every room and we are definitely not going to approach our doors with a gun in our hand. We rehearsed getting to our door step at a time.
Our hands are full. One person has a flashlight and a gun. The other person has a gun and a phone. The person with the light leads the way.
We have to leave our bedroom and scan the area with our flashlight. Slowly move to turn on light switches, and look all around your home. It is easy to move faster than you can look. You see new areas with every step and you want to make sure you are not walking into trouble. Keep your distance from corners.
The person with a phone is still in contact with 911. They’ve told the police that you are both armed. They are following the person with the light and they want to be close enough to help their partner. You also want to be far enough away that you have time to see and react to an attacker before the attacker can reach you. It makes sense to tell the person in front of you to slow down if they get too far ahead.
Now we are one corner away from the door where we will meet the police. I do not want the police near the door until I scan the area and am sure it is safe. I’m going to look around the corner and make sure the entryway is clear. The gun is not pointed around the corner because I do not have a target that needs to be shot. I’m going to put my gun and light on the ground if I don’t see a stranger in my home. Then, and only then, will I open the door and meet the police with my hands open and high.
When the officers are at the doorway I’ll ask my partner who is looking at me from behind the last corner to put down their gun and their phone. With the police there, we quickly search our home to make sure it is safe.
That is the simplest scenario. What if you hear someone in your house as the police arrive? What if you see someone in your house as you move toward the front door?
What fits my situation might not fit yours. Why not walk through your plan with your partner tonight. I bet your plan will change as you do.
An unassuming, relatively kind man has been sitting alone at the bar…His name is Poland and he is a regular here.
China and Korea (also regulars) are sitting at a table. They usually just hangout and keep to themselves. One is enjoying a rum and coke. The other, a red-bull vodka (respectively).
Every once in a while Poland runs into his buddies Britain and France, but neither are here at the moment. Poland being Poland, contents himself with a drink or three, wondering if his friends might show.
Japan heard that China and Korea were at the bar though. Japan figured he would show up and give them a hard time. Japan has a Napoleon Complex. He is sort of a maverick.
Italy goes to the same exact bar with his friend Germany. It’s the usual rabble. When they get there, Italy runs straight to the radio to pick a song. Germany slugs the beer as quickly as Switzerland the bartender provides them.
The USSR meets Germany at the bar. They usually hate each other, but fuck that guy Poland, just sitting there acting all innocent… They secretly agree to jump Poland when he decides to go take a piss.
Lest we forget Japan who just ripped a few shots of Sake. He is feeling nice.
Silently, Japan strikes!
He karate chops Korea and China at the point where neck meets shoulder…
This renders both men unconscious before they, or anyone else, even realizes that it happened.
Japan gives them a couple more whacks for good measure, steals their money, and doesn’t even leave enough coin to cover China and Korea’s tab… acting like any/all of this is perfectly acceptable…
Nobody else seems to care, which is absurd.
Italy walks over to Germany and grabs a seat.
While Italy was fiddling with the radio station, Germany got him a beer, even though he knows Italy prefers wine.
Italy dutifully drinks the beer.
Germany hopes beer will make Italy tougher.
Poland finally gets up to go take a piss!
Germany and The USSR quickly follow him.
While Poland is facing the wall urinal, relieving himself. Germany charges in and punches Poland from the left, and The USSR punches Poland from the right.
They totally catch him with his pants down.
Poland is knocked out cold and he might have serious brain damage.
Germany and The USSR agree to divide up Poland’s valuables, his watch, the cash in his wallet, even the ring on his finger.
As Germany and The USSR exit the bathroom France and Britain walk into the bar.
France is jacked, but his muscles are mostly for show. He is even more muscular than The USSR.
Britain is smart and he knows it. He knows his friends are less likely to get in trouble if he goes with them. They were supposed to meet Poland but they were not known for their timeliness.
Oh well, sorry Poland.
They go to the bar to grab a drink.
Germany and The USSR walk by France and Britain. It is fairly awkward because two of these guys do not get along well.
Germany says something about France’s mom.
France fires back and says something about Germany’s sister.
They get up in each other’s face. Most of the shit talking is incoherent. Their accents are thick, and they insist on talking over one another while pointing in random directions.
Britain just asks everyone to calm down and make some concessions. He wants to appease everyone, and wants to talk this out.
The USSR does not really want any part in the argument and walks away. He just keeps walking back to his seat. He just saw Finland walk in and he fucking hates Finland (because Finland exists).
With a glass of wine now in hand, Italy shouts encouragement to Germany over Italy’s shoulder. That’s what it sounded like at least. Italy is standing over near the radio again turning knobs. He’s searching for a radio station to listen in on a football match.
The USSR decides now is his chance to pick on little Finland. He fucking hates Finland for simply existing, and everyone else seems distracted at the moment.
He walks right over to Finland (who is sitting down drinking a brewski).
Finland gives The USSR more than he bargained for though.
While sitting down drinking a beer mind you, Finland kicks The USSR in the knee really fucking hard. The USSR lunges for him but “Fin” slides under the table and pops out on the other side.
Finland then finishes his beer and gives The USSR the middle finger.
The USSR looks like a bitch in front of his tough German friend.
Boom! Just across the bar Germany punches France straight in the gut, where he least expected. No one saw it coming. France goes down faster than anyone would have thought. Then Germany swings at Britain, but Britain dodges it and ducks out of the bar.
Britain is thinking to himself, ’holy cannoli that escalated rather quickly I dare say.’
He needs to regroup and gather his wits about him.
France is somehow already down and out for the count.
Germany rallies a few more of the Central Europeans sitting at some tables around the bar. They include Austria, Romania, and Hungary to name a few.
They join in because they want Germany to like them, and they do not want him to knock them out like he did to France. A few saw what happened to Poland and they told everybody else.
They’re a bunch of kiss-asses.
That cocky American has been drinking at the bar with his good pal The Philippines.
These two always go for the cheaper beer so they can drink them in quantity. They are trying to ignore most of this seemingly petty nonsense but the booze are getting the best of them.
It seems like Switzerland the bartender is fine with letting them drink to their hearts content.
Germany gathers his new friends. They happen over to the bar to grab more beers from Switzerland the bartender as well.
But “guess who’s back… back again?”
No it’s not Slim Shady, it’s Great Britain!
Britain rolls through. He gathered his wits, and he’s back for a good scrap. Britain shouts for Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India and America to come over to his side of the bar and help a brother out.
To Britain’s credit, he was willing to stand alone either way.
“Bully!”
America decides to go drink a beer with his buddies because fuck bullies.
America and Germany are uncomfortably close to each other now.
It’s actually rather awkward… America wants to help France, China, and Korea get back up, but Germany is not about to let that happen.
Japan feels like America needs to mind his own business and go back to his spot on the other side of the bar.
Suddenly, and without warning, Germany grabs a bowl of bar nuts and starts throwing them at Britain.
Britain starts throwing bar nuts back at Germany…
Honestly, at this point they are throwing any small to medium sized objects that they can get their hands on. Few projectiles actually hit their intended targets!
Switzerland is beside himself.
America wants to go back to his seat at the moment and enjoy his beer/s away from the ruckus and hubbub. He makes a point to give Britain an extra bowl of his fresh popcorn on the way though.
Germany notices this! He wants fresh popcorn too! What’s America’s deal!?
Germany throws bar nuts at America and pretends it wasn’t him…
Luckily, America gets back to his seat. His seat is pretty far away from Germany, so he knows he is safe for now (safe from Germany’s beer nuts at least).
Canada to his credit, endures further onslaught afield.
However, Germany’s supply of beer nuts are dwindling, and without them, he will struggle to regain the initiative!
Consequently, Germany has been contemplating the fact that The USSR has something like half of Poland’s stuff…
Germany wants ALL of Poland’s stuff (Poland had some nice stuff). He also noticed that The USSR has a slight limp now. Finland might have shown The USSR to be weaker than Germany first thought…
Could this be the opportune moment to strike?
Germany feels confident he can take on The USSR now. The USSR even sees Germany coming from across the bar and does absolutely nothing about it. He does not think Germany “has the balls.”
Nonetheless, Germany full hand bitch slaps the Soviet straight across the face, followed by a strong knee to the testicles (with surprisingly little resistance).
The USSR takes a knee, holding his genitals.
Japan runs over to Germany and says “nice one man.” Japan fucking hates The USSR more than anyone else, except maybe Finland.
Japan high fives Germany and pretty soon they are standing back to back. This is a new friendship because they used to fight each other.
It will have to do.
America, Australia, and the boys (finally) decide it’s time to help China and Korea.
Their friend The Philippines could use some help too, now that you mention it.
Basically anyone with arm’s reach of Japan has taken a few whacks.
Consequently, America tries convincing Switzerland the bartender to stop serving Japan and Germany any alcohol.
The majority of the bar is in agreement, and their supplies of alcohol begin to dwindle down to precarious levels. Switzerland is no longer inclined to replenish their stocks.
Japan and Germany are definitely going to need more alcohol (and bar nuts).
America turns to point and yell at Japan, but SMASH!!
Japan cracks a bottle across the back of America’s head then lunges after The Philippines.
“Who is America to tell anyone else how much they can have to drink!? Who said Budweiser is the ‘King’ of Beers!?”
America stumbles. The Philippines gets thoroughly pummeled in retaliation.
Germany basically refuses to realize he might be screwed now. He picked a fight with half the bar, and that is probably not exaggeration. His friends include some Central Europeans, Japan…who just took a cheap shot at America and The Philippines.
And Italy… who abruptly tries to stand and put up a fight for a change, mumbles something incoherent, only to fall face first into a table.
It would seem the table dealt more damage to Italy than Italy dealt to the table.
Take note, Italy probably should not have mixed beer and wine. He is thoroughly passed out.
You could blame Germany for that, but Italy is responsible for his own decisions.
Everyone else goes back to their altercations. Italy is left alone… but Germany’s rear is now exposed as a consequence.
Japan has his hands full fighting America who is “wicked pissed off,” and sobering up.
He figures Japan has been a real pickle, and America is going to light Japan up if he can. Japan always puts up a good fight, but he is smaller than America.
Meanwhile, The USSR finds his footing again. He gets back up, albeit slowly. He wants to confront both Germany, and Finland. The USSR is still feeling those last hits though and has to take it slow. His balls still hurt, but the fact that he is still in the fight is a commendable feat unto itself.
Germany has to focus on The USSR now. He sees the look on the guys face, realizing that he really pissed The USSR off…
(Actual picture of The Soviet Union’s face after getting kicked in the balls by Germany)
Credit – Revenant
…Germany should have thought this through more thoroughly.
Shit.
Germany is trying to figure out how to best deal with The USSR. One would assume that after getting full-hand bitch slapped in the face, and kneed in the testicles, The USSR would have given up (most others would have).
Italy is still laying face down, knocked out cold, and unable to provide support in any meaningful capacity. He is unresponsive, but is clearly alive as evidenced by his rising and falling chest (indicative that Italy is in fact still breathing). Again this was largely self-inflicted.
Meanwhile, France tries to sit back up and Germany does not like this, not one bit. His attention is now divided.
America, Britain, Canada and company go over to France to help him to his feet, briefly tripping over Italy along the way.
As the Allies get close, Germany and his friends throw what few projectiles they have left. It’s a mess.
Luckily, no one has a nut allergy.
The popcorn leaves stains on everyone’s trousers though.
After running out of said projectiles, Germany attempts to kick France while he is still down. He’s a sore sport.
America, Britain, and Canada are determined to help France tho.
“Don’t make us come over there.”
Germany just stands there and taunts them with his schnitzel, calling their bluff.
So… America, Britain and Canada go over there.
Germany is now officially fucked. He should not have waved his schnitzel around like that.
France begins to get back up. And with the help of his friends, a tenuous grip on the counter, and some much needed wine, France rises to his feet.
France is wobbly but he should be alright if he has some time to get his bearings and resuscitate his pride.
Japan would go back up Germany, but he is on the other side of the bar dealing with his own problems, which are compounding.
America is a tough opponent by himself, but now he’s linked up with his home boys Australia, New Zealand, Britain, Canada, and The Philippines.
Japan steadily loses ground, but viciously, savagely defends every inch.
The USSR and Germany are duking it out now. Every once in a while, Germany manages a nice counter blow, yet this does nothing to stop The USSR.
It’s a truly epic fight of historical proportions. But, Germany has overextended himself… once again. He should’ve learned his lesson from Napoleon a century prior. You don’t attack Russia, especially in winter, unless you’re stupid and/or have a death wish.
(Note the Soviet Union is pictured in red/orange and Nazi Germany is pictured in white)
Germany’s energy is running dangerously low, he is overextended, and things are rapidly getting worse.
It is clear that Germany will lose, it’s only a matter of time. Determined to fight to the bitter end, he has two options; Keep getting his ass beat, or surrender. Most would quit by now, but not Germany.
Against all sensibility, Germany opts to get his ass kicked for a bit longer, but he finally falls to the combined force of the Allies after a few last-ditch haymakers for good measure.
From the looks of it Britain, France, America, and The USSR literally had to beat the Nazi out of him.
A new world definition to hanged-drawn-quartered.
However, they were too late to save the roughly 7-12 million innocent people (give or take) that Germany had exterminated… The numbers vary. Either way, it’s really fucked up.
Suffice to say, Germany is kaputt…
America and the boys still have their hands full with Japan though. Japan has put up a good fight, but he is steadily losing ground.
America is now determined to finish the fight at all cost, but Japan has no intention to surrender.
After repeated warnings (and pamphlets tossed about the establishment), America connects one… and then two haymakers with the chin of Japan. Both landed in quick succession. Japan gets rocked, and the aftermath is just as bad. The guy loses several teeth and bites clean through his tongue. He is concussed, bleeding, and clearly traumatized from the attacks.
An eerie, weird silence then ensues.
Japan knows that The USSR fought with America, Britain and their pals to beat up Germany and his friends. Japan also saw what happened to Poland.
Soon The USSR would come after Japan too.
Japan, tempted by Seppuku, wisely chooses to surrender to America instead.
It was a previously unthinkable act.
Everybody is stunned…
Everybody except Italy, who is somehow upright and drinking again… a warrior in his own right.
Much of the bar is once again destroyed, bodies lay strewn about, but the fight is finally over.
Hopefully nothing like this ever happens again, but humans are notoriously stupid and forgetful so who knows.