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Six Things Your Gun Store Clerk Wants You To Know
1. Beginners should buy beginner’s guns.
We’re happy you’ve decided to take responsibility for your own protection and are looking for a concealed-carry pistol. However, most small pocket pistols are not for first-time gun owners: They’re hard to control because they pack a powerful punch in a small package and are not easy guns to shoot on a regular basis. Sure, they’re easy to carry around and have enough firepower to stop the threat, but that power and small size makes them very unpleasant guns for practice and training. All the firepower in the world does you little good if you can’t hit the target.
2. You’re not as good a shot as you think you are, especially under stress.
Yes, you may go the range each week and punch a nice, ragged hole in the target with careful, aimed shots. This sort of thing definitely helps, but unless you mix some kind of real or artificial stress into your firearms practice, the adrenaline dump you’ll feel when the proverbial stuff hits the proverbial fan will come a complete surprise to you and have a profound effect on your accuracy.
3. Which gun is best for your wife/girlfriend/daughter? Let her decide for herself.
Most indoor ranges have a wide selection of guns available to rent and professional instructors who can help find a gun that suits them best. A snub-nosed .38 with pink grips might be the best gun for your wife, but let your wife come to that decision, not you.
4. Guns are not talismans of self-protection.
Access to a firearm does not make someone safe: What makes someone safe is access to a firearm and the will and skill to use it effectively. If you’re going to buy a gun, make the commitment to learn how to use it, and then make sure it’s stored in some way that’s safe and easily accessible when you need it. If you carry concealed, get a good quality holster that covers the trigger and a rigid gun belt to keep gun and holster in the same place all the time. If you keep a gun in your home, store it in a way that keeps it safe from unauthorized access. Underneath your bed, unloaded, in its original box is neither safe nor easily accessible.
5. Safety first, second, and last.
We thank you for bringing in your gun for cleaning or gunsmithing work, but if you haven’t visually and physically checked to see if your gun is unloaded before you entered our store, please allow us to take care of clearing it and unloading it for you. Also, while I’m sure that the pistol on your hip is God’s gift to self-protection, I don’t need to see it right now. Please keep it in your holster while you’re in my store. Thank you.
6. Stop believing the myths.
No, snakeshot in a .38 is not the last word in defensive firepower. Racking a pump-action shotgun will not make a determined attacker run away in fear. A .22 Long Rifle may or may not be the preferred caliber for assassins around the world, but you’re not a professional hit man, so carry something with a little more punch behind it. By the same token, carry something you can shoot rapidly and accurately. If you’re hoping for a one-stop shot, you’re certain to be disappointed. And if you carry, please carry with one in the chamber and the appropriate safeties engaged.
Published in General, Guns
I blame movie directors for the never-dying myth about shotguns and to a certain extent semi-auto handguns. Boy, they love to hear that slide get racked. I swear they even enhance the sound in the editing room. I wish I had a dollar for every time I’ve seen an actor rack the slide up to four times in the same scene. (Usually while threatening the bad guy.) My wife gets tired of me yelling at the screen, “Hey…idiot! You’ve worked that slide four times and no rounds are coming out. You do realize your gun is empty…don’t you?”
RE anonymous’s #55
I agree, for most of us, more bullets is better than bigger bullets.
I don’t have the numbers (but I bet someone on Ricochet does), but I think stats on police shootings show the miss rate is a whole lot higher than 50%. If its three out of four (and actually I think it is higher than that), then with 8 rounds there is a 10% probability that you will miss with ALL of them. With 18 rounds, this drops to about 6/10 of 1%, an order of magnitude increase in your favor. (and yeah, you’ll probably be able to empty the magazine, even if he hits you first)
Why do you say this?
Armies train people who are very often unfamiliar with firearms — beginners. The 1911 & the M9 both have hammers. OK, the M9’s hammer may be a holdover from the P-38, but the Germans insisted that the replacement for the Luger (striker-fired) have a hammer. And they were training people who were a good deal less likely to be familiar with pistols than were the Americans.
Sorry. The Sick Puppies had a song, with the lyrics “Don’t Bring a Knife to a Gun Fight…”. I can’t recommend it.
Late to this conversation, but I have rheumatoid arthritis that affects my hands. What type/model would you recommend I start my search with? I can’t afford the physical cost to my hands trying all the 9mm (for example) a range might have just to find the model(s) that work.
I’m guessing that the arthritis affects your ability to pull a heavy trigger, hold up a heavy gun for long periods of time and deal with felt recoil. This unfortunately does limit your choices quite a lot, but two guns I’d look at are the Kel-Tec PMR30 in .22 Magnum and the Ruger LC-380. Both are lightweight, easy to shoot and don’t have much felt recoil. .22 Magnum will deliver results, and 30 rounds of it in a mag does give a nice feeling of confidence. I’ve shot the Kel-Tec at length, and it’s a favorite of mine. The LC-380 is essentially the same as a 9mm LC9 but shoots the lower-powered .380ACP round and is easier to shoot. I’d start with those two, and then get more information from other sources as well.
I’m sorry I’ve been a bit sour. I haven’t had the opportunity to get into a training class and haven’t been to the range in a few months so I am sad. I do love to see the topic of guns brought up in a practical and positive way.
Any thoughts on frangible for home defense? I have Glazer Safety slugs in the Glock 9mm I keep in the bedside safe. Seemed like the safest option.
If you are carrying you should be aware of all the laws with regard to use of firearms in the jurisdiction in which you find yourself. They are not the same in all places. Deadly force may be permissible in some places, but not in others.
There are circumstances in which the legal situation may be in conflict with what you judge you need to do in the particular circumstances. In that case you still need to know the law so that you don’t say the wrong thing.
Remember, Zimmerman acted reasonably. The police thought he acted reasonably. But once the media got ahold of it, he found himself before a jury anyway.
If it’s a choice between my family being harmed and me going to jail, then I’ll go to jail. But I’d prefer both protecting them and staying out of jail.
If carrying, consider the load you want to use too. Back in the olden days I was body guarding for a while (I was VIP Protection in the Australian Federal Police). My main gun was a Browning 9mm — we had no choice, it was that or a S&W Model 10. I loaded two hollowpoints on top, then two 9mm ball, then hollowpoint for the rest. I wanted to have something with a bit of penetration available not too many trigger pulls away.
That said, I knew the MO of the particular people I might have to shoot.
Kevin, you have it exactly right! Thank you for you help.
Danok, I bought my wife a little Kel-Tec 9mm, which she could not operate. We traded it in for a full size M&P 9mm, which she has no issue operating. For what it is worth.
Glasers are very good at dispersing their energy into whatever they hit, be it a body or drywall.
Now, the question is, do they disperse their energy too quickly, and don’t penetrate enough to either shut down the energy source (center-mass) or to switch off command and control (ocular cavity)?
In my opinion, based on tests I’ve seen where Glasers are shot into ballistics gel, they don’t. Weighing the benefits and risk of reduced penetration is up to you. FWIW, the rounds in my home pistol are the same as what I carry outside of the house.
Not that surprised about that model. The trigger on the Kel-Tec 9mm’s are vastly different than the trigger on the PMR-30. The 9mm’s, like the P11 and PF9, are double-action only and rather heavy. The PMR-30 is single-action, and has about a 4-5 pound pull that is very short.
I myself am still puzzling over the proposition put forth by bill burr… as to the problem of a loud shot. I’ve always wondered about what would happen to me if i was returning fire without earplugs. I’ve never done it(not with my M16, or M9, or anything else I’ve ever shot) … But I have a hard time imagining a self defense scenario where I’m casually wearing Ear Protection of some sort.
This causes me to wonder why it’s so hard to have a weapon with a suppressor … I think I read a rumor somewhere that British Gun Owners may apply to equip them as a matter of course. based on their health & safety laws.
Does anyone have experience with shooting without ear protection ? I have read about the fabled auditory exclusion effect. But, I wont be counting on that if ever the time came to defend myself.
What obviation could be more proper than this?
I mean – I ponder over the value proposition of the 22 caliber in imagined scenarios of an intruder, or assailant. Lower recoil, lower relative volume, and lower relative danger of harming an unintended target… I just don’t have the know how to parse explanations like these as being well supported or fallacious.
I am starting to have an arthritis problem but am not new to shooting. I would pick a revolver over a semi unless you have no problem pulling the slide back. I prefer a revolver with a hammer so I can cock it rather than depend on my finger to execute a quick trigger pull. After a little practice with my left thumb cocking, I could empty my revolver as fast as the next guy with a semi. If you are new and need to fire a lot of rounds without punishing your joints, consider a Walther PPK/Q .22. I love mine. I could get it in 9mm, too, but already have other 9mm for concealed carry.
The trigger has a long pull which takes some getting used to but might be safer for a gun with no safety. With a long pull, you can tell if you jerk in anticipation of the shock. The Kel Tec can be brutal on the hand but it is easier to conceal and cheap.
Tip: Check availability of ammo before you select a caliber.
This assumes your assailant notices, and that will depend on which “recreational” drug he’s hopped up on. Even a simple adrenaline rush from the excitement can mask perception of what ought to be serious pain, as I’ve experienced and observed first hand in others.
For defense of self and family, you really need a weapon that will physically knock your assailant down, whether or not he feels the hit(s).
Eric Hines
Movies and TV shows aside there is no miracle round that I know of. There is a story of a police officer that was a member of my agency that fired a round and it entered the forehead of the subject. The round traveled from his forehead between his skin and skull and exited from the back of his head. The skull was never penetrated. He had a headache but was still standing upright.
Having written a book titled “Handgun Basics,” (http://www.amazon.com/Handgun-Basics-Handling-Dave-Matheny/dp/0974148024) I feel I have some credibility on the subject and could maybe straighten out some things here. Just two, in no particular order –
No, guns with hammers are not exclusively for experienced gun handlers. What an odd notion. Most revolvers and an awful lot of autos have exposed hammers. I don’t see any particular virtue attaching to the striker-fired pistol.
As to not racking the slide of a shotgun so as not to give away your position: I would guess that this scenario almost never happens. I strongly recommend reading the monthly “Armed Citizen” section in American Rifleman. A typical encounter goes like this: Householder hears loud noises, gets gun, encounters one or more bad guys entering the house; shoots at bad guy, who runs off, or collapses on the spot, or goes to hospital and is arrested there. The bad guy nearly always has a record. I have been reading these every month since 1994, that’s about 250 issues, and have yet to hear of a wily homeowner stealthily stalking an intruder and cunningly not giving away his position by racking the slide. Who are we talking about here, Elmer Fudd? Be vewy vewy quiet. I’m hunting intwuders.
When it comes to stopping power: Thanks to security-camera footage being posted on YouTube and the like, there are now lots of videos of real people being shot. Nobody gets thrown backwards, a fantasy that probably began with the movie “Shane.” If you watch carefully you will see the person who is shot react with something like a flinch. Some then fall down, but many do not. Occasionally they shoot back. So let’s all remember the mantra: Keep shooting until the threat is over.
From Street Survival (Calibre Press, 1980), p.215:
This was before .40S&W and a lot of cops probably still used Model 10 S&Ws. Even so … let no one tell you that ‘no one needs a magazine with more than ten rounds’.
I highly recommend buying a LaserLyte for whatever gun you buy for self defense. It allows you to practice without going to the range or buying ammo. Unload the gun, install the LaserLyte, and walk around the house. Shoot the light switch, the dish on the counter, whatever. It doesn’t take long to get real good a pointing and shooting accurately. The other thing I like about it is the laser fires for about a half second. So if you shoot at the light switch, and the laser looks like a line on the wall, you know you are flinching. Get a nice small round dot, and you know you have good trigger control. This kind of instant feedback really helps improve your shooting.
If you do this, you should also become an OCD freak about clearing your weapon and clearing and clearing some more, then clearing and some more clearing. In my hooch and office in Afghanistan, I drilled the mechanics of getting the thing out, up, racked, safety off and trigger pulled, smoothly and swiftly. I practiced a couple of times a day most days. I had a bizarre ritual that would have looked like a short circuiting robot or a forgetful handicapped person. I put all my ammo on the chair, and used a couple of empty magazines I kept for the purpose. I checked and re-checked the weapon as I warmed up before I ever touched the trigger — then after touching the trigger, desking the whole thing (not near the chair!), clearing the individual mags, then the whole get up, then dry firing in a safe direction, and strapping back up.
There are worse things than dying, and killing a friendly through carelessness must be one of them.
I had consistent sub-second first “shots” from a Beretta M9 holstered in Condition III.
Thanks. That was informative. I was reassured by the wound ballistics the round showed it looks like it will do fine in that regard, somewhat disconcerted by the over penetration.
Yeah, it’s practical economics. 99% of the bad guys are out to make a buck, and even a slight chance of getting wounded or killed makes it a bad transaction. Lots more sheep out there to sheer then risk one sheep dog….
In fact my first line of home defense is the big barking alert German Shepard sleeping near my feet. NOBODY is getting in my house unannounced….
My first line of defense is all the clutter I tend to leave lying in the front hall. I figure any intruder will break his neck before he can reach me.
LOL. I lost one when my kids grew up and stopped leaving little toy cars and other neck breakers scattered around.