Close Enough For Government Work

Gratuitous Gun Pics

We gun owners often  waste our time  talk earnestly about the concept known as the “BBQ gun” (or “Governor’s BBQ gun”).  In essence, this would be a nice-looking, quality handgun that would “show well” in a fancy holster — in other words, a description that no gun named “Glock” could ever satisfy.

Of course, people will suggest something like a shiny nickel Colt Single Action Army (Peacemaker) as the sine qua non:

…and I would be the last to disagree with that, to be sure, because it’s as pretty as a picture and would make a fine addition to one’s formal attire.

However, there are a few drawbacks to this, from a practical perspective.  Firstly, there’s the price… yikes, and that’s for a new manufacture.  Step back to a First Generation piece and well, you don’t wanna know.  Next, we all know that while the SAA shoots the manly .45 Long Colt, as a self-defense gun it’s not what we’d call an optimal choice in terms of both capacity (6) and reloading speed (measured in geological time by comparison to the usual self-defense choices).

But that doesn’t matter because this is a “dress” gun — one could even be unkind and say it’s “ornamental”.  There’s nothing wrong with that, of course;  thinking from a girlie perspective, a pair of sexy Christian Louboutin shoes might be a perfect choice for the Governor’s BBQ Party, much less so for hiking in the mountains.

So getting back to the gun thing:  all this was brought to mind when I got the latest sales promotion from the kids at Palmetto State Armory, which featured this:

Granted, this might be a little too show-offy for some (it certainly is for me), but you can’t deny that it’s not the worst-looking handgun you could carry on your hip at said event.  Certainly, it’s more affordable than the nickel SAA above — like 10% of the SAA’s price — and yes I know, cheap guns don’t always make the very best choice for self-defense.  But remember, the main thing about a BBQ gun is that it looks good on a formal occasion, not necessarily that it works that well as a self-defense piece.

See where I’m going, here?  Discuss.

16 comments

  1. Holy shit, I just over to Guns.com and searched 1911’s. I’ve never seen 1911’s so cheap before. I mean, if one is willing to take some off-brand you can get a functional 1911 for ~$300 and change. Damn. The gun industry must be hurting now that the D’s aren’t in the White House.

    I bought a RIA 1911 several years back and it does just fine with hardball, but it definitely looks like a $300 1911. No BBQ gun, just a solid 3rd or 4th backup to keep around.

  2. You are right Kim everything I read in the reviews about this gun is that it’s for show only not for go. But it is a pretty gun specially given the price.

    1. The engraved 686+ for $2199 would be my dress up gun. The only thing I’d change would be to put a tritium or hi viz front sight on it, in case I actually had to use it. I actually do have a stainless 686+ and find that front sight difficult for my old abused eyes. Huh? Does anyone reading this know how much it would cost to have a plain, used SS 686+ engraved and polished? If the tariff isnt too high I could have my own sunday-go to meeting dress gun. Get me some purty stocks and a fancy holster. No, need 2 holsters, a brown one to go with my tan pre labor day suit and a black one to match my navy and black suits.

  5. I would submit a Savage 1907 in an oiled leather shoulder rig would be the perfect tasteful accouterment to the Governors BBQ. Unless it was Pritzger or Newsom, then perhaps an explosive vest would be in order.

      1. First, you have to lead her away from the open bar.

        Then you convince her that it’s a hydration pack loaded with chardonnay, but she has to throw a Granny Mao (Hillary) suit jacket over to to keep it discrete.

        Third, you point her at the grouping of Newsom, Schiff, and Schumer, and tell her that they want to hear the story of how she lost the election despite massive fraud.

        Walk far enough away and whisper, “Fire in the whore” and bash the clacker a few times.

  8. Years ago, a long-time friend moved to the South. It wasn’t long before he learned about BBQ guns and decided he had to have one. After some serious thought, he had one of his S&W M10s fully engraved and fitted with ivory grips. Then, he commissioned a bespoke tooled leather belt and holster. The ensemble was unique and beautiful.

  9. My special occasion gun set is from Cimarron:
    Win-1873, with a 30″ octagon bbl, and checkering;
    SAA, bullseye ejector, and old-style frame;
    Thunderer, 3-1/2″ bbl, new-style ejector and frame, checkered grips.
    All color-case, Charcoal Blue, and .44WCF.

  10. My immediate reaction to the CD 1911 is that it is rusty (below the barrel, and in front of the ivory grip panel), and the grip panel is damaged (missing two corners). So it doesn’t look pretty. Or are the coloring and panel shape intentional?

  11. I saw the Texas Ranger Museum in Waco recently, WELL worth the stop if you’re around Waco. Seems like most of the leadership had really nice BBQ guns, maybe 40 or so on display. Recently, tons of 1911 style weapons. INSANE amounts of gold inlay. Many had similar ivory grips w/ a longhorn head, oriented vertically on the grips, w/ gold inlays for the horns. Took me 2 hours to get through the whole museum.

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