AAR Broadcast 6-13-2010 Hour 3

One Comment

1. James Nelson says:

   June 19, 2010 at 8:59 am

   I may be giving away a secret, but there is an answer to the question about good cheap concealable handguns under $250. That answer is the CZ82. It is the Czech military and police pistol adopted in 1982 and imported here in vast numbers. This pistol chambered in 9X18 Makarov, which is widely available in steel cased ammo at very reasonable prices. The CZ 83 is still made and sold new and it the same pistol chamber for .380, so parts are also readily available.
   The 9X18 cartridge is midway between the .380 and the 9mm in power, making it adequate for defense. Hornady makes an excellent defense round for it. The imported steel case ammo is what the gun was designed for and is widely available and relatively cheap.
   The Czechs didn’t like the Russian Makarov pistol, though it is a good one too, and designed their own when the Soviets demanded that all Warsaw Pact armies use the same Pistol ammo. The CZ 82 is 20% stronger than the Makarov pistol, and thus very durable.
   I have 3 of these things, along with 2 Makarovs more other pistols that I like to admit. The quality is top notch except for the military finish, which is sort of a black paint the flakes easily. It is a medium framed all steel gun with a straight blow back action. This means that it has a fixed polygonal rifled barrel which leads to excellent accuracy. The magazines hold 12z rounds and the gun generally comes with two. The magazine release in American style.
   If you want to know how accurate, check out the current issue of Gun Tests where they test a CZ83 and get a one hole group at 15 yards from the bench. Shooting my 3 examples makes me believe this is true. I am believer in big bores for self defense and generally carry a .40 M&P, I wouldn’t feel under gunned with the CZ82 because of its accuracy and low recoil. I can put every round in the center of the head of a B27 target rapid fire at 7 yards, and I don’t consider myself more than an adequate pistol shot. If bullet placement is the key, this one works.
   I have had a number of people these guns at the range. It is popular with women because it will fit the smaller hand, the effort to rack the slide is fairly low,and it is accurate. One thing that I have found when teacher newbies to shoot is that if they can’t hit the target, they get discouraged quickly.
   As to the price, I have bought 3 from local gun stores in the last couple of years, one last year and 2 this year. All were in good shape and perfectly functional. All came with 2 magazines and a holster of one type or another. The prices were $225, $160, and $195.
   Now at the beginning of this, I said something about a secret. The fans of this little gun tend to keep it quiet to keep the popularity and price down and here I am giving it away. I feel for that guy who needed a gun for himself and his wife and doesn’t have much money.
   I disagree with George about the shotgun in their circumstances as it is very hard to find a range to practice with a shotgun and self defense loads. Ideally they should get professional instruction, but if they can barely afford the gun and a few boxes of ammo, they can’t afford the classes.
   I also feel that those of us who have been handling long guns since the dawn of time tend to forget how steep that learning curve for manipulating a long gun can be for the uninitiated, especially handling one in the confines of a house.
   I like the addition of your producer to the show, he is a positive addition. I realize that you are not a professional radio guy, but you could get more content in you allotted time by trying to curb your tendency to meander. This is an observation, not a complaint, I listen anyway. JN
   P.S. If you have any questions or comments my email is archer132000@yahoo.com