New Ahrends stocks for one of the S&W Combat Magnums. The wood is Cordia.

A few days ago, I spoke to a friend who's a lawyer friendly to the LGBT cause in Atlanta, and the scuttlebutt is that there's an amicus curiae brief in favor of the appellants in McDonald v Chicago. We're going to be keeping some strange…ahem…bedfellows on this one.

Which means two things. First off, I need to get a good shave and iron a shirt if I'm to hang with that crowd!

Second, people from all political sectors are going to be interested in the outcome. This case is about an entire doctrine of Constitutional interpretation; the 2nd Amendment is only a vehicle.

All of which means we've got to be accepting and open-minded when dealing with our new allies. This is a chance to truly "mainstream" the 2nd Amendment in the pantheon of civil rights, not just in the courts, but in public opinion. Every chance we get counts, but this is the big one, gang.

First off, the gun porn:

New Ahrends cocobolo stocks on one of my L-Frames.  In recent years, Smith & Wesson retired their square-butt frames and standardized on round butts across the board.  This is a disappointment, as the square butt feels and shoots better for me.  Fortunately, Mr. Ahrends makes a conversion stock that emulates the traditional grip contour.

Yes, it's my summer carry gun.  I have little trouble concealing it.  Take note: hiding a handgun isn't as hard as you'd think.

Sunday morning, I put some Ahrends on the Model 18 and took her shooting. Even with the bargain-basement stuff, she does me proud:

According to Wikipedia, a penny is 0.75" in diameter. 3/4 of an inch. Double action.

Man, did it feel good shooting that!

This is a model 19-3.  There are many like it, but this one's mine.

The Model 19 is the descendant of the Combat Magnum, introduced in 1955 at the behest of Bill Jordan.  Jordan recognized that the K-Frames were a marvelous balance of weight and accuracy, but he wanted a Magnum, and Smith & Wesson's N-Frames were a bit heavy to be carried all day.

So the engineers started brainstorming.  They gave it a heavy barrel and an underlug (like the N-Frames), and thanks to advances in heat-treating, the steel was strong enough to handle the increased chamber pressures of the .357 (1).

It was an immediate hit with law enforcement, and when Smith & Wesson starting numbering their revolvers, the Combat Magnum became the Model 19.  The 19 was produced until 1999.

More gorgeous custom wood from Kim Ahrends.  The wood is cocobolo, the gun is a S&W Model 67.

A friend compares carrying a gun to wearing ladies' underwear.  It's comforting, and as good as it looks, it's not something you'd want to have to explain to a random person on the street.  It's a secret you keep to yourself, but one that could save your life one day (*).

It's vital to have one that fits the hand just right.  Under stress, the weapon needs a sure grip, and one in which the sights line up naturally.  The quality of grips is a rarely-mentioned factor in this.

This is a Smith & Wesson Model 67, the stainless Combat Masterpiece in .38 Special. According to Supica & Nahas, it was manufactured in 1974. This one’s a no-dash model from the first production run and has the stainless sights. It also has the tapered and pinned barrel, which would later be replaced with a straight, heavy barrel to match the Magnum frames.

At least that's what I hear at least once a day from yokels who see me carrying one. Their arguments are puerile for the most part, and they all seem to echo the same misguided sentiments.

The first is accuracy. People will claim that the revolver is somehow inaccurate. What they really mean is that they can't shoot it well. In fact, the revolver, having a fixed barrel, is capable of greater accuracy than many automatics. Case in point:

S&W 696, .44 Special, 8 yards, 2" bullseye.

Another neglected stray finds a loving home:

It's a classic K-Frame, manufactured in 1988. The actual model number is 66-3. With this iteration, the recessed cylinder was abandoned, but the gun was given an endurance package to reduce cylinder endshake. The firing pin is still mounted to the hammer, which is the way it should be.