Mousegun Mania!

There's something in the air with mouseguns. Everybody's talkin' 'bout 'em. So I thought I'd post a handy little primer on the mousegun.

Mousegun. n. A small, concealable handgun typically chambered in a smallish caliber (i.e. less than .4X). Here are some examples of the genre.

Starting with the largest and working down to smallest, we have:

1.

Russian Makarov in .380 ACP (also available in the slightly more powerful 9X18 Makarov chambering). 8+1 rounds of ammunition capability. Weight is approximately 24 ounces, as this is an all-steel firearm. Solid, heavy, and (not) surprisingly accurate, the Makarov is almost too large and heavy to be a true mousegun.

2.

Smith & Wesson J-frame snubbie. This particular model is the 360PD, a scandium-framed monster chambered for the very powerful .357 Magnum caliber. This gun weighs 12 ounces empty, holds 5 rounds, and is not for the faint of wrist. It can fire the less-powerful but still quite adequate .38 special round with significant less "ouchie" factor.

3.

Kel-Tec P3AT in .380 ACP. Weighing in at a scant 8.3 ounces empty (!!!), this polymer-framed mini-mouse carries 6+1 rounds of .380 ACP ammunition as configured by the factory. Magazine extensions exist to bring the round count up to 7+1.

4. Jennings J22 in .22LR. This is the Hyundai of mouseguns, a cheap pistol best left as a curiosity rather than a legitimate defensive firearm. It carries 6+1 rounds of .22LR ammo in a 13-16 ounce package (don't have access to a scale, and that's the weight range I found listed).

5.

Colt Junior in .25 ACP. 7+1 rounds of the diminutive .25 ACP caliber. This was Colt's response to the Gun Control Act of 1968 that banned importation of inexpensive small handguns. It's an update of the 1908 Vest Pocket .25, with an external hammer rather than a striker and a mag release on the grip rather than under it.

6.
FIE Derringer in .38 special. 2 round capacity. No idea what the weight is, but I'd guess around 10-12 ounces empty. Single-action, with firing pin rotating between barrels. I don't recommend Derringers as pocket guns or even as backup guns. With guns like the P3AT (and now P11 and Walther's new PPS) available, it just doesn't make any sense to limit yourself to 2 round capacity.

American Derringers and Bond Arms make a series of über derringers chambered in .45 LC, .410 gauge, 10mm, and up to .44 Magnum (I hear there's even a .45-70...). The .38 special is punishing enough; why on earth one would choose to break one's own wrist is a mystery to me, the self-proclaimed recoil junkie...

7.
Here's the smallest of the group, a North American Arms mini-22 revolver. Weight is a feathery 4.5 ounces empty. Five rounds of .22LR. This is the very outer limit of "the gun you have with you is better than the gun you leave at home" - not only is the gun limited to five rounds of .22 LR, but it's fired single-action (manually cocking the hammer for each shot). Additionally, to reload, the entire cylinder needs to be removed from the gun.

There is a version chambered in .22 Magnum, but this gun is hard enough to handle in .22LR that firing the .22 Magnum just seems like an exercise in pain.

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So there's my Mousegun primer. If your favorite mousegun isn't on the list, don't take it personally - this is all I got. I would have liked to have gotten a Seecamp or North American Arms Guardian and a Colt 1903 in .32 ACP, and of course a Walther PPK to round out the offerings, but this was a "run what you brung" kinda deal...