N00bie Confusion/Clarification

Ooops...

I mentioned The Beard was shopping for a .45 now, and was thinking .38 Special for CCW.  Something small from Ruger.  I was thinking the SP101 with a short barrel and bobbed hammer was what he had in mind.

Glad I gave him a nickname because this is semi-embarassing.  But most people make this mistake.

The model of Ruger '.38 Special' he was thinking about was called the "LCP".  Yes, he meant the Kel-Tec clone.  Which makes more sense now because I was already aware he loathed revolvers.  (and mores the pity.)

I told him that Elsie Pea is .380, not .38 Special.  Which ellicited the question, "How many .38 types are there?!"

I listed a bunch in seconds, off the top of my head.  And didn't even go into the various 9mm varieties.  (You can play this game at home, too!  How many '.38s' can you think up?  No cheating!  There really are too many...)

The plethora of choices caged his eyeballs.  I told him not to worry.  There are only so many common calibers out there and they are easy to find guns to shoot those calibers.  When you are at a gunstore and there are more than 1 pistol in a single caliber?  Chances are it's one of the common ones.  Still.... I gave him a list.  In case he goes to a store that happens to have 3 pistols in .45 GAP or .454 Casull or .32 H&R Magnum, or what have you.  You know the list to stick to.  The stuff Wal Mart generally has on hand:

.380
.38/.357
9mm
.40
.45

But really, nothing dissuaded him from the .45 and the .380.  He just knows to call it .380 now.  And another coworker knows to call the ammo for his 1911 .45 ACP (Auto Colt Pistol), not .45 APC.  Which, on his version, he is buying little less than half of a Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle.

Oh, and full disclosure...  I was embarassed and misnamed the .380 as .38 Special at one point in the beginning of my firearm purchase journey, I am sure.  And The Beard regularly schools me on automobile topics.