ghostgotcha Loc: The Florida swamps

It seems like every firearm owner thinks his (or her) choice is the correct one and represents the paragon of all.

Here are some other considerations, and to the extent that I have been in combat, both in the field and on the street, I offer these thoughts.

First. It does not matter what weapon you use, if you can not hit the target when you must either do that or die, then you need both another weapon, more training and a change of attitude.

One thing to remember first. A shoot out is a mortal battle using the weapon in your hands. (never bring a knife to a gun fight - bring a k**ler attitude and willingness to k**l.) Only a fool will expect a bad guy to back down if you are shaking in your boots. Now I realize that sounds easy but until you have been in a firefight and had a round whiz past you (or even worse) hit you, it can be near impossible to keep your focus on the target, relax and squeeze the trigger.

I have seen a few police officers first fumble with their weapon, and then empty the weapon in less than two seconds, without hitting anything. Fortunately in every instance the bad guy flinched and ran away. Had the bad gun been a real bad ass shooter the end could well have been different. Another friend and a very brave cop went though four days of r**ts and only late discovered he had carried a unloaded firearm. In all but one of those shootouts, the cop found reasons to resign from law enforcement in short time. Life can be a hell of a teacher .

In the next post I will present some ideas you may not have thought out.

Which weapon is best? What is the best home defense weapon. Which is the best carry in your vehicle or concealed while on the street. Which is best if you must constantly be ready for intense combat - like a street cop or soldier. How many weapons should you own and keep in battery?

Sicilianthing

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Every and any Firearm is the best for anyone !

karpenter Loc: Headin' Fer Da Hills !!

Semi-Auto Shot Gun
...Un-Plugged
Shells Packed With .31cal Round Lead Ball

ghostgotcha Loc: The Florida swamps

Are you a cop? - Are you subject to being sent into the weeds (or the sand box) in the next 24 hours? If not then you have two choices.

First. Trade that ultra-high frequency, k**ler model semi-auto pistol and get something easier to bring into battery and k**l someone. You see if you are just walking down the street, riding in your car, or even being kicked awake by a bad guy then the best thing you can bring in battery is a wheel gun. Just point and pull the trigger. No safety, no jacking a round into the chamber, etc, etc.

Yes there are some exceptions. Most people do not even know what a HK P7 is.

Second. Take a serious combat defense course from professionals. Learn your handgun from back to front, inside to outside, spend hours field stripping in the dark of night and hitting a target in the dead of night from five yards or closer. Can you do that? Are you sure you are, or you just BS'ing yourself.?

Third. Think ahead about the most likely and unexpected challenge you will receive while pumping gas into your car, stopped at a traffic light or even driving through a drive-through, quick food joint. Are you ready? Are you always aware of your surroundings? Most people are not.

ghostgotcha Loc: The Florida swamps

This is what you have chosen? How are you going to take my gun away from me when I surprise you and you find me standing just outside your car window with my handgun pointed at the side of your head?

karpenter Loc: Headin' Fer Da Hills !!

Fortunately, That Type Never Become Bad-Assed Shooters Because They Never Practice.

ghostgotcha Loc: The Florida swamps

Does this mean you would arm your wife with a 50cal Garret to defend her family and herself when you are not at home?

ghostgotcha Loc: The Florida swamps

True in many instances, but you might want to reconsider that word "Never".

That said. It is not only practice; it is attitude and focus.

Have you ever been in a shoot out? Have you even had to pull a weapon on another human being. Were you in the process of pulling the trigger? Did you loose a round? Did it bother you later?

ghostgotcha Loc: The Florida swamps

OK. So what is the best weapon for household defense..

Well the best defense is many weapons placed strategically around the house. Hidden in locations where (regardless your location) can be in your hands and in battery as quick as possible.

Before I continue. If you (like me) have security cameras with perimeter alarms (even a dog will help) then you can of course take the battle to the bad guy on your terms and no doubt but a shotgun is your best choice.

Have you ever heard the old saying that it is very hard to ride two horses across the rive at the same time? To have different weapons available which you will probably fumble around with while someone is barging through the door with their own shotgun, could cost you and your family more than the cost of that k**ler model pistol with all the bells a whistles.

Better to stash a few revolvers around the house. (they all work the same- just point and squeeze)

I might also suggest you get 410 gauge wheel guns because in the confusion of the moment you will probably miss (and maybe k**l) someone in your own family if you let loose with a 357 mag, etc. right through the wall and into the bedroom where your kids are sleeping.

Think it through. What is your family worth.

PS. A pump shotgun can also have a strong impact on a bad guy in the dark of night. It does make a sound that will wake both you and them up.

But make no mistake. If you come down the hallway with the barrel out in front of you, then I could have it out of your hands in a half second and having butt stroked you unconscious.

MrEd Loc: Georgia

I use a 45ACP and love it. I also carry with a round in the chamber with safety on. My natural grip is to put my thumb on top of the safety and that takes it off. From there I only have to pull the trigger. My second choice is a 357 125 JHP and I don't think you can do better then either of these. I never carry a knife to a gun fight and I am not going to pull a gun on someone unless I am ready to shoot and I will aim for center mass, then head shot if there is only one. If more then one then all's fare in love and war. I also carry a Glock 40cal. in my car most of the time with one in the chamber, safety is on the trigger, so there is no hunting for it.

I don't believe a gun should ever be used to scare someone. That is not it's role and doing that can get you in trouble with the law. The only time you should pull a gun on someone is if you are ready to shoot that person. If you are not going to shoot someone, then don't carry one, it's that simple.

I agree that training is everything in a gun fight. If you don't know what you are doing with a gun, then you have no business carrying one. Always keep your gun clean and ready so it will do the job it is designed for. It's not a bad idea to clean it every day. You need to shoot it often so you are current on it's use. You don't train and then plan on it lasting 10 years with no training in between. You always plan for the worst and hope for the best. Never go looking for trouble and you may never have to use your gun.

ghostgotcha Loc: The Florida swamps

I am going to give you a very simple self-test to accomplish. It will teach you much more than you can imagine. Trust me on this one.

Find a location where you can safely shoot with a suitable safety stop. Then go back out some night when it is really dark (and very important) raining cats and dogs and lightning strikes all around. Now have your friend -- (did I mention you need a trustworthy friend with some good first aid training and a waterproof cell phone) -- at his convenience pick out one of your favorite (3) handguns and hand it to you. You have three seconds to hit the target. As soon as you have made that shot then he or she should hand you another handgun and you do the same. Do that at least ten times and change the sequence of weapon se******n...

I can assure you that you will better understand if you do this. Assuming you do not shoot yourself in the foot. I nearly did the first time I did this training on a special range with firetruck hoses and strobes firing all around.

Very humbling, but all so very important to learn about that "FOCUS" and "ATTITUDE" part of practice.

archie bunker Loc: Texas

We went for a Ruger SP 101 for my wife to carry because of exactly what you said. I worried about her fumbling with the safety on the Sig. We have a couple of friends (military) who have taught us well I think.
As for being aware of our surroundings, yes. Constantly!! Our jobs make us targets for low lifes. It is habit to know what, and who is around 360 degrees. For home, it gets worse for invaders. Dogs, 12 gauge 3" 00 buck.

lpnmajor Loc: Arkansas

For me, I don't use firearms. I am, however, aware of everything around me that can be used as a weapon, which is almost everything. Unless I am being stalked by an assassin with a ranged weapon, I can usually get something into a persons eye, throat, or elsewhere and terminate their desire to do me or mine harm.

Should some dummy start shooting at me from a distance, their chances of a miss are nearly 100%. My chances of getting something sharp/heavy into their face, is nearly as high. My neighbors and other members of my household are not in danger from friendly fire. You are exactly right though, target shooting and video training are NOTHING like a real fight. If it came to a fight, I'd as soon the cops be nowhere around, I'd be in as much danger from them as from the crooks.

dennisimoto Loc: Washington State (West)

Thank you very much for the info. I belong to a gun club which has training available but at 72 it may not help much. I have a .44 revolver (wheel gun) but it is locked up in a safe with the ammo, grandkids you know. I did take it to the range and was quite happy to see most of my rounds near the center of the black after I went from off hand to a 2-handed stance. My #1 option today is call 911 and stay quiet. We live in a very low, virtually no in fact, crime neighborhood but I know it only takes one nut to change it.

W8_4_It

I like affordable , well made firearms.

I like to get military surplus because the reliability has been proven in battle.


I have a pump shotgun (Remington 870) that is the workhorse for my little ranchette. It's k**led many a venomous snake and chicken eating predators. It's my main home protection weapon too. Got it on sale at Wally world on a clearance (last one they had) for less than a hundred bucks back in the day. It stays loaded with 00 buck, but I live in the stix. For those in populated areas I would stick with #4 shot so you don't go shooting through your wall and penetrating your neighbors house in case of a home invasion.

I have a Saiga 12 with a 20 round drum and AK's with 75 round drums, M1A's SKS's etc., etc., for SHTF, which are nice, but they stay locked in the safe mostly.

For CC I like the CZ-82's (Czech Army sidearm). I have 4. They were less than 200 bucks each when I bought them. All steel semi auto pistol in 9 x 18 mm (in between a .380 and a 9 x 19 mm ballistics wise so not over penetrating but enough to stop a bad guy) with a 12 round magazine. Simple blow back action, easy to disassemble and clean, whats not to like?

I like my M1911's and 44 mags, toks etc, but they stay locked in the safe mostly. The M1911's don't hold as many rounds and I just think the 44 mags and Toks are too over penetrating to be carrying in public. That's just my feeling.

My wife likes the P-64 (Polish Officers sidearm in 9 x 18 mm) because it's 'cute". I have a couple of P-64's, both were less than 200 bucks. I think it's small size makes it a little too snappy for her and it only holds 6 rounds in the magazine but she practices with it and I know better than to argue with a woman. :)

She really likes my P-1 and P-38 too but they are too big for her to conceal and carry.

We shoot all the time on our property. I have a pond in a depression with a natural 8 foot berm all around it.

It's important to practice.

A few things I do which I want to pass along is

1.) I don't fire every time I pull my sidearm practicing. It just as important to practice pulling it safely and quickly as it is to practice firing.

If you fire every time you pull it becomes automatic. But sometimes you might be in a position to be startled by what you think is an intruder , pull that pistol and then find out it's an officer or a fire dept guy or someone else.

So pulling but not shooting every time develops instinct to evaluate the situation one last time as you are pulling. It also develops good trigger discipline (hand off the bang switch until ready to fire) and is just a good and safe habit to get into.

2.) Like a previous poster (OP?) said....I practice in low light conditions at night and in bad weather. Its one thing to be able to hit something on a sunny day, but when the light isn't perfect, and the rain is whipping in your face and you can still fire and hit the target then you know your practicing has paid off.

The next level is hitting a moving target or hitting a stationary target while you are moving. Practice both advancing and retreating while firing.

3.) I shoot at different ranges with the firearms while practicing.

For pistols its 9 feet, 21 feet, 45 feet just like the CHL test.

For rifle its 50, 100, and 300 yards (mostly for hunting).

For shotgun its 50 and 100 yards, but I highly recommend to go to a range and shoot some skeet or better yet trap. When you get good at that with practice then you can be confident your shotgun sk**ls are getting pretty darn good.

Just some feelings and pointers from an old guy.