Greg Ellifritz is back from the Peruvian Amazon jungle, where, as a police trainer, he noted what guns were in play:
One of the biggest misconceptions I regularly hear is the erroneous notion that people who live outside of America can’t own guns at all. I’ve visited more than 40 countries in the last ten years. The vast majority allow their citizens to own guns of some type. The restrictions are usually far greater than those in the United States, but most people in other countries CAN own guns if they jump through the correct hoops.
I spoke to a couple of Peruvian citizens who are gun owners. There is a pretty straightforward process to get a gun permit in Peru. It consists of:
- Background checks through three different government agencies
- A psychological test evaluating logic and basic hand eye coordination
- A psychiatric test to ensure that the gun owner is not mentally ill
- Passing a basic gun safety class taught by the National Police
- Handgun permits also require a shooting test. The qualification is shot on a silhouette target at 50 feet. Five shots are fired. One hit anywhere on the silhouette (or paying the tester 20 Peruvian Soles…approximately $7 dollars) passes the test. No shooting test is required for a long gun.
According to the folks I spoke with, the entire permit process takes about two days to complete and costs around $150. That doesn’t seem bad based on our salaries, but the average Peruvian income is around $500 dollars a month. Considering that a separate permit is required for each gun owned, the $150 price is a steep cost for the average Peruvian.
The interesting thing about the Peruvian permit process is that the ownership permit also doubles as an unlimited concealed carry permit. Once you can legally own the gun, you can carry it anywhere!
The government limits the caliber of handgun that Peruvians can own. Peruvian citizens are not allowed to own any “military caliber” weapons. In handguns, .38 special/.380 acp are the largest calibers private citizens can own. The Peruvian folks I spoke to who actually know and understand guns carry high capacity .380 autos. They think that 10+ rounds of .380 acp is a better choice than a five-shot .38 revolver. The guns of choice for those in the know in Peru are the Glock 25 (.380 auto not available in the USA that is the same size of a Glock 26/27) or the Beretta Model 85 in .380 auto. Both of these guns cost more than $1000 in Peru because of high import tariffs. Even at that price, it’s rare to find those weapons in a Peruvian gun store. Most folks can’t afford the Glock, so the vast majority of gun store stock consists of Taurus revolvers.
The rural folks who hunt generally use single shot shotguns. Surprisingly, most are in 16 gauge rather than the more commonly seen 12 gauge in the USA. Hunting licenses are required, but the law often goes unenforced with regard to subsistence level hunting by locals.
A couple of years ago, someone at Buckeye Firearms reviewed some 3,000 to 4,000 gunshot incidents. All calibers from .22lr to .45 acp were equally effective at deterrence, because the pain from any gunshot wound is severe. The heavy calibers were much more likely to kill someone, but if the point is to make them stop and go away, small calibers are effective.
PS. The .380 Walther PPK was James Bond’s choice of pistol. It’s 6+1, but if you can shoot like Bond that’s all you need. Don’t know why Q didn’t foresee the need for more rounds.
Bond’s Walther PPK was already an upgrade from his beloved .25-calibre Beretta.
To qualify for concealed carry in Illinois, you must pass a marksmanship test with the handgun that is the most stringent, as far as I know, in the nation. Ten shots each at 5 yards, 7 yards and 10 yards. (A yard equals about a meter to you Europeans.) At least 21 of the thirty shots must be in the seven ring of the man-sized silhouette.
Generally speaking, in all locales all firearms of whatever type are the use of lethal force at whatever range.
This is why .38 Super is so popular in the Latin American nations. Lots of illegal aliens found in the Sonoran desert with a .38 Super round in their head.
It depends on what type of .38 round we are talking about. .38 Special, .38 Colt, or even a .357 magnum round can be used in those revolvers chambered for the round.