P&S ModCast 168 brings Les Kismartoni, Nate Osborne, Dave Simerly, Claude Werner, and host Matt Landfair together for a detailed discussion of “mouse guns”—small, lightweight handguns commonly chosen for deep concealment, convenience, or as backup firearms. The panel challenges blanket claims that small handguns are either useless or universally adequate and instead examines capability, limitations, ammunition, reliability, shootability, and realistic expectations.
Released: October 12, 2018
Runtime: 2 hours, 38 minutes, 56 seconds
Host: Matt Landfair
Panel: Les Kismartoni, Nate Osborne, Dave Simerly, and Claude Werner
Listen
Listen to P&S ModCast 168 on Spreaker.
Episode overview
Very small pistols occupy an awkward but useful place in defensive firearms. Their size makes them easier to carry consistently and conceal discreetly, but that convenience can introduce reduced capacity, limited sights, greater felt recoil, lower practical accuracy, ammunition sensitivity, and diminished terminal performance. The panel examines those tradeoffs and considers the circumstances in which a small handgun can be a rational choice.
Topics discussed
- What qualifies as a “mouse gun”
- The difference between easy carrying and easy shooting
- Small semiautomatic pistols, pocket revolvers, and deep-concealment options
- Reliability, ammunition selection, and function testing
- Accuracy and recoil challenges presented by very small handguns
- Capacity, caliber, penetration, and realistic terminal-performance expectations
- Primary defensive guns versus backup or contingency guns
- Training and practice standards for pocket-size firearms
- Matching equipment to the user, environment, and likely problem
The central question
The useful question is not whether every small handgun is “enough.” It is whether a particular firearm is reliable, can be carried when needed, can be used competently by its owner, and offers adequate performance for the circumstances in which it is likely to be deployed. The episode treats small handguns as compromise tools whose value depends upon understanding both their advantages and their limitations.
Related resources
- Claude Werner — The Tactical Professor
- Dave Simerly — revolver specialist and gunsmith
- Explore podcast topics
Association map
Mouse Guns and Deep-Concealment Handguns → pocket pistols, pocket revolvers, backup guns, small-caliber handguns, concealed carry, deep concealment, reliability, shootability, recoil, capacity, ammunition selection, terminal performance, realistic expectations, Claude Werner, Dave Simerly, Nate Osborne, and Les Kismartoni.