Handgun suggestion required

[StampMaster]

Hello All,

A friend of mine has just applied for handgun license. However I do not have much info in this regards to suggest him with IOF- .22 cal revolver, .32 cal mark III, Mark IV, Nirbeek or IOF Pistol. Foreign make are not considered due to hefty price tag.

1. We are looking for availability of ammo- at dealers and ranges for practice.
2. reliability of the weapon make and use.

And I heard, that a freshly made (purchase from factory or dealer) weapon has a lock in period to sell.

Thanks

[aadhaulya]

Hello All,

A friend of mine has just applied for handgun license. However I do not have much info in this regards to suggest him with IOF- .22 cal revolver, .32 cal mark III, Mark IV, Nirbeek or IOF Pistol. Foreign make are not considered due to hefty price tag.

1. We are looking for availability of ammo- at dealers and ranges for practice.

StampMaster,
My take on it is that .32 'wad cutter' ammo for IOF revolver are available at he ranges but they sometimes run out of stock. .22 is generally available all the time, an is very cheap. Some .22 revolvers have a problem in ejection of the used shells.The Indian ammo gets jammed in the cylinder. I had to do minor tweaking to the gun and am very happy with it.
I fire about 100 rounds a month and it is not giving any problem now.

And I heard, that a freshly made (purchase from factory or dealer) weapon has a lock in period to sell.

If you buy a weapon from the factory there is a lock in period of 5 years. But you can only buy a new .22 revolver from a dealer or the factory but the factory sale will have a lock in period, all other hand guns are sold directly from the factory. NRAI members can buy the pistol, off the shelf with a lock in period as long as NRAI has it in stock.

Hope the above clarifies your doubts.

Atul

[StampMaster]

Thanks Atul Ji.

I have searched the forum and internet and could not quite differentiate between Mark III and Mark IV.
2. How are they different,
3. how does the quality of the product different when made in different factory's of Indian Ordinance (Field Gun factory, Small Arms Facory and Ambernath).
4. I see .22 revolver has to be directly purchased from the Ishapore or may be from the dealer's in my AL valid area. Is there any update on buying it from IOF outlets?

Over Mark III, Mark IV and pistol and also .22 revolver what do experts suggest is the best weapon for personal protection.

Thanks..

[aadhaulya]

StampMaster,

I do not know the difference between the Mark III and Mark IV.
The Pistol had a long waiting period and a lock in period of 5 years, the revolver also had some waiting and in both the cases it was not sold to dealers directly. But now as I have read here the pistol is available with dealers and with no lock in period. Therefore, this seems like the best idea to me. Off course, between the pistol and revolver, both have their advantages and disadvantages and is a personal choice.
As far as availability goes, there has never been any shortage of .22 LR cartridges, Indian as well as imported as it is the most popular caliber for sport shooting as well. But then again a lot of IOF .22 revolver are not as trouble free as the other models of IOF.

Atul

[StampMaster]

Hi All,

I am waiting to get an update in regards to the difference between Mark III and IV. Ordinance factory website (http://ofbindia.gov.in/index.php?wh=Spo ... ms&lang=en) does not provide any details except price (without tax).

I've contacted a local dealers and they have no idea.

Thanks