Black powder pistols - in the car...

[TravisBickle]

So what is a guy to do? We're put in an impossible situation - you can't keep your pistol with you at work or they'll fire you. You can't leave it in your car because if it gets stolen you'll lose your carry permit. You still have to traverse Indian territory to get home at the end of the day. Sometimes you work late. What the Hell are you supposed to do?

I think I have a sort of half-assed solution: blackpowder pistols. You can leave them in your car and if somebody breaks into your car and steals it, oh well. It's not like it can be traced back to you. You get to have a pistol with you for the ride home. You get to leave it in your car in relative peace of mind, secure in knowing that you won't lose your carry permit if it's stolen. It's not *technically* a firearm.

The only drawback is that it's a blackpowder pistol. But hey, it's better than risking your life going unarmed or losing your carry permit going armed with a serialized pistol, right?

[axmdr40]

are you...serious.....

[TravisBickle]

Originally Posted by axmdr40

are you...serious.....

Yes. Got any better ideas?

A blackpowder revolver is better than nothing. The only other option is to build a 1911 from an 80% receiver so there are no markings on the frame. As far as I know you're not required to serialize a completed 80% frame, correct?

[axmdr40]

maybe consider something like this http://www.center-of-mass.com/

Idk what your talking about with the 1911. I don't want to be insulting, I just don't understand the thinking of a black powder revolver for self-defense.

[JustinM]

Originally Posted by MorganB

What the Hell are you supposed to do?

Carry at work anyways? If it's concealed properly you shouldn't have a problem. I know plenty of people that take their gun with them to places like work/school where firearms aren't permitted.

Don't live/work in an area where you have to constantly worry about your car getting broken into?

Move out of Philly? (who wants to live there anyway?)

Find an alternate route home?

[TravisBickle]

Originally Posted by axmdr40

maybe consider something like this http://www.center-of-mass.com/

Idk what your talking about with the 1911. I don't want to be insulting, I just don't understand the thinking of a black powder revolver for self-defense.

I don't know about other counties, but here in Philly if you "allow" your guns to get stolen from your car, you lose your carry permit - forever. That's not a risk I'm willing to take so my guns are either locked up at home or on my hip.

Frames for the 1911 are available in which 80% of the machine operations are complete and you have to finish them yourself. They are not considered firearms until more than 80% of the machine operations are done. As far as I know, you can legally complete an 80% frame into a working firearm in PA without any requirement to serialize the frame. If it gets stolen from a car, it never existed. See where I'm going?

I don't see why a black powder revolver wouldn't be effective in most situations you might encounter on the drive home from work. Sure it's not ideal, but it's one of the only options available if you can't take the risk of having a serialized firearm stolen from you. Remember, the goal here is to have a working firearm that "doesn't exist".

Another thing I didn't consider -

I wonder if blackpowder revolvers count as "other than firearms" as defined by the PA UFA. If so, carrying a loaded BP revo would be just as illegal as carrying a loaded rifle or shotgun.

[TravisBickle]

Originally Posted by JustinM

Carry at work anyways? If it's concealed properly you shouldn't have a problem. I know plenty of people that take their gun with them to places like work/school where firearms aren't permitted.

Out of the question. It's not worth risking my job.

Don't live/work in an area where you have to constantly worry about your car getting broken into?

If only it were that easy.

Move out of Philly? (who wants to live there anyway?)

OK find me a house in the suburbs that costs under $150K and I'll move there.

Find an alternate route home?

Destination ghetto. It matters not which way I drive. The zombies are everywhere!

[axmdr40]

If it comes to the point that you won't even use a car safe for fear of theft...than you could at least maybe get a little kel-tec and stick it in your pocket??

[TravisBickle]

Originally Posted by axmdr40

If it comes to the point that you won't even use a car safe for fear of theft...than you could at least maybe get a little kel-tec and stick it in your pocket??

Nope. Locked in the car (not parked on company property) is the only option for more than a few different reasons. And I can't have my name attached to a serialized frame in the event it gets stolen. Don't want to lose my carry permit. This is all hypothetical, by the way. I wouldn't actually do anything of the sort. I don't even own any firearms in real life, I swear. This is nothing more than a mental exercise.

[PA Rifleman]

Originally Posted by MorganB

....I think I have a sort of half-assed solution: blackpowder pistols. ...The only drawback is that it's a blackpowder pistol. But hey, it's better than risking your life going unarmed or losing your carry permit going armed with a serialized pistol, right?

You'll have a couple of points to work out. Most aren't cartridge guns, so unloading will require a different procedure. Another is exposure. I haven't done any studies but you might need to periodically fire it or at least unload and replace the powder. If the powder gets damp, you're screwed.

For what it's worth, black powder revolvers were state of the art defensive arms for decades. After firing flintlocks a lot this spring in the process of making a video, I can tell you they *will* kill.

If I were in your shoes, I think I'd be drawn in this direction:



Beal design (AKA 1858 Remington), maybe stainless...



Don't quote me on this, but you might be able to wipe the numbers off, too. Do a google on the term "defarb".