First, for those that are not familiar with this gun, it is a 1911 style gun made by Dan Wesson, which is owned by CZ-USA. CBOB is short for Commander Bobtail. The Bobtail was invented (as far as I know) by Ed Brown. Basically, he took a Commander sized 1911 and bobbed the tail off of it by cutting the corner off the mainspring housing. This accomplished a couple of things. It made the gun easier to conceal since the part that was mostly likely to print under your concealment garment was that corner. It also removed some weight. Lastly, it made the gun it bit more comfortable in the hand.
It was an awesome idea and an Ed Brown Kobra Karry which is the gun he does this feature on is an amazing gun. Unfortunately, it is also WAY out of my price range. I'm not saying it isn't worth it. I'm just saying I can't afford it. Then, came Dan Wesson. They started producing their own bobbed 1911 and the great part was that they use a lot of Ed Brown parts so the quality is still very good. They fit tight, work well, are basically MIM free (it would take too long to explain the pros and cons of MIM parts so just google it. You'll find more info than you can shake a stick at) and they cost about 1/3 the price of the Ed Brown model. I got mine a little over a year ago for $850. Today, they sell for right around $1000 but I heard that Dan Wesson plans a 25% price increase next year.
The gun shoots great, looks great and is setup pretty close to exactly how I would have a gun built if I had it done custom. My favorite part is that they come with yellow rear and green front night sights which is my favorite configuration. I have the same setup on 2 of my 3 Glocks. BTW, if you want to know what one looks like, it is the gun I chose to use for the graphic at the top of the blog.
Stay safe out there... and watch your six.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Life is too short
Yesterday, I wrote an article here blasting a radio personality that had done something to seriously offend me. I then went on several gun forums and expanded on my gripe with this person. After thinking about it all day, I have deleted my previous post. What I have decided is that life is too short to get so wound up about what someone else says. If the old post offended anyone, I apologize. I was just pissed and needed to vent. If you missed it and want to know what it was about, don't ask. I'm not going to rehash it again. It was something unimportant that I made way too big of a deal about. I'll try to write something more useful to my readers (both of you) in the next day or two.
Until then, stay safe out there and watch your six.
Until then, stay safe out there and watch your six.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
A rant about gun shop sales people
I had originally planned to write this article on my new concealed carry pistol. Unfortunately, the used gun I bought turned out to be a jam-o-matic and thankfully the seller gave me a full refund. This meant that I headed out yesterday to hit the gun shops and try once again to find my new concealed carry gun.
First, let me qualify this by saying that I worked for over a year and a half at the largest gun shop in the Carolinas. Also, my family ran a pawn shop and gun shop for most of my life and I worked there off and on from the time I could see over the counter so I know what it is like to be on the sales person's side of the counter.
I walked into a local pawn shop that I have visited many times before and while they are small, there selection and prices on guns is generally very good. I took a look at a S&W M&P9c and really liked the feel of the gun in my hand. However, as I was examining it I noticed a small hole toward the back of the frame that looked suspiciously like an internal lock. I have a philosophical hatred for internal locks for several reasons that I'll go into later. I asked the salesman if that hole was an internal lock and without hesitating he just said "Nope, that gun doesn't have a lock."
A less knowledgeable customer would probably have just took him at his word, but the little circular arrow and letter 'L' next to it sure did look like a lock. I asked if I could see the owner's manual and after browsing it, I found a picture of that section of the gun that identified it as an internal lock. Apparently, that model is offered in a variation with the lock and another variation without it. Since the only one they had was with the lock, I thanked them for their time and left.
I then headed to another gun shop I've bought from before and asked them if they had an M&P9c. Yes, they had just gotten a shipment in and they pulled one out of the case to show me. I looked it over and there was that pock mark on the side of the gun again. I pointed this out to the salesman and asked if they had one without the lock. First, the guy looked at me like an idiot and told me that wasn't a lock. When I explained to him and I had just gone through this at another shop and if he'd like to get out the manual, I'd prove it to him too, he suddenly realized it was a lock. Then, instead of checking his inventory he decided to ask me in a rather condescending voice what I had against the lock.
I explained to him my objections...
1. They are ugly. They are a pock mark on a beautiful gun.
2. On lighter weight, heavy recoiling models they have been known to self-engage turning the gun you were just firing into a very expensive paper weight and possibly getting you killed if it happened at the worst time.
3. The KISS principle says to keep it simple and the lock is just one added complication.
4. It is the principle of the fact that S&W and others caved to the corporate lawyers and installed a useless device.
He looked down his nose at me and just said that you couldn't find these guns anywhere and if I wanted one I needed to just get one with the lock. He didn't seem to like it when I told him I wasn't going to spend nearly $600 on something that wasn't the model that I wanted.
I ended up going to the large shop I used to work at and bought a Glock 26 which is what I should have bought to begin with.
So, if you work at a gun shop here are a few pieces of advice...
1. Know the products you are selling.
2. If a customer asks a question you don't know the answer to, find out the answer instead of just making something up. You are selling devices that people may use to defend their lives. You better give them accurate info.
3. Don't stand there and argue with a customer about what they want. Especially, when the customer has already proven he knows more about the product than you do.
The first shop was kind enough to pull out the manual and gave me no grief about what I was looking for. I'm not happy that the salesman initially gave me bad info but at least he didn't argue with me about it and he even agreed he hated the locks too. The second shop will never get my business again. This is not the first time that someone there has given me bad info and then argued with me about it. A couple of years ago I was looking for a new gun that had just came out. When I checked with them, they told me that none had shipped and they were not available yet. When I told them I had just left another gun shop where I held one in my hand but could not buy it because it was pre-sold to someone else, they actually called me a liar and said none would ship for at least another month. Oddly enough, I managed to buy two of those guns within a week of that conversation. Their attitude sucks and they won't get any more of my money. I really don't know why I shopped with them again after the last incident. This is a shame because they are the shop closest to my house and actually have a very large selection and pretty good prices.
People refer to a lot of gun shop sales staff as gun shop commandos. Today, I got a great lesson in what those people mean. We are in an uphill fight to keep our gun rights. The only way we win is to bring more people into our hobby. We can't do this when people interested in getting into the hobby run into goons like I met today. That will turn them off and we will lose a new ally. Ok, my rant is over. Stay safe out there and watch your six.
First, let me qualify this by saying that I worked for over a year and a half at the largest gun shop in the Carolinas. Also, my family ran a pawn shop and gun shop for most of my life and I worked there off and on from the time I could see over the counter so I know what it is like to be on the sales person's side of the counter.
I walked into a local pawn shop that I have visited many times before and while they are small, there selection and prices on guns is generally very good. I took a look at a S&W M&P9c and really liked the feel of the gun in my hand. However, as I was examining it I noticed a small hole toward the back of the frame that looked suspiciously like an internal lock. I have a philosophical hatred for internal locks for several reasons that I'll go into later. I asked the salesman if that hole was an internal lock and without hesitating he just said "Nope, that gun doesn't have a lock."
A less knowledgeable customer would probably have just took him at his word, but the little circular arrow and letter 'L' next to it sure did look like a lock. I asked if I could see the owner's manual and after browsing it, I found a picture of that section of the gun that identified it as an internal lock. Apparently, that model is offered in a variation with the lock and another variation without it. Since the only one they had was with the lock, I thanked them for their time and left.
I then headed to another gun shop I've bought from before and asked them if they had an M&P9c. Yes, they had just gotten a shipment in and they pulled one out of the case to show me. I looked it over and there was that pock mark on the side of the gun again. I pointed this out to the salesman and asked if they had one without the lock. First, the guy looked at me like an idiot and told me that wasn't a lock. When I explained to him and I had just gone through this at another shop and if he'd like to get out the manual, I'd prove it to him too, he suddenly realized it was a lock. Then, instead of checking his inventory he decided to ask me in a rather condescending voice what I had against the lock.
I explained to him my objections...
1. They are ugly. They are a pock mark on a beautiful gun.
2. On lighter weight, heavy recoiling models they have been known to self-engage turning the gun you were just firing into a very expensive paper weight and possibly getting you killed if it happened at the worst time.
3. The KISS principle says to keep it simple and the lock is just one added complication.
4. It is the principle of the fact that S&W and others caved to the corporate lawyers and installed a useless device.
He looked down his nose at me and just said that you couldn't find these guns anywhere and if I wanted one I needed to just get one with the lock. He didn't seem to like it when I told him I wasn't going to spend nearly $600 on something that wasn't the model that I wanted.
I ended up going to the large shop I used to work at and bought a Glock 26 which is what I should have bought to begin with.
So, if you work at a gun shop here are a few pieces of advice...
1. Know the products you are selling.
2. If a customer asks a question you don't know the answer to, find out the answer instead of just making something up. You are selling devices that people may use to defend their lives. You better give them accurate info.
3. Don't stand there and argue with a customer about what they want. Especially, when the customer has already proven he knows more about the product than you do.
The first shop was kind enough to pull out the manual and gave me no grief about what I was looking for. I'm not happy that the salesman initially gave me bad info but at least he didn't argue with me about it and he even agreed he hated the locks too. The second shop will never get my business again. This is not the first time that someone there has given me bad info and then argued with me about it. A couple of years ago I was looking for a new gun that had just came out. When I checked with them, they told me that none had shipped and they were not available yet. When I told them I had just left another gun shop where I held one in my hand but could not buy it because it was pre-sold to someone else, they actually called me a liar and said none would ship for at least another month. Oddly enough, I managed to buy two of those guns within a week of that conversation. Their attitude sucks and they won't get any more of my money. I really don't know why I shopped with them again after the last incident. This is a shame because they are the shop closest to my house and actually have a very large selection and pretty good prices.
People refer to a lot of gun shop sales staff as gun shop commandos. Today, I got a great lesson in what those people mean. We are in an uphill fight to keep our gun rights. The only way we win is to bring more people into our hobby. We can't do this when people interested in getting into the hobby run into goons like I met today. That will turn them off and we will lose a new ally. Ok, my rant is over. Stay safe out there and watch your six.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Bug Out Bag / Get Home Bag / 72 Hour Kit
This is a subject I've been thinking about a lot lately and I wanted to share my philosophy on it. First, for those that aren't familiar with it, I'll define it. A Bug Out Bag (known as a BOB) is a bag or box or container that holds the things you would need to grab if you had to leave your home in a moment's notice and not know when you would return. Think of it this way... if emergency crews banged on your door in the middle of the night and told you there was a mandatory evacuation due to a wild fire or a gas leak or a crazy man with a gun on the loose, this is the bag you'd grab as you ran out the door. They aren't going to stand around while you pack so if you don't have it ready to go you'll leave with the clothes on your back. A Get Home Bag is a bag you usually keep in your car so that if you are not at home when the emergency hits you can either get home (in the car or on foot if needed) or can get to where you plan to meet up with your family. A 72 Hour Kit is the supplies you'd need to survive for 72 hours if no utilities or other resources are available.
Due to financial restraints as well as lack of storage, I have tried to combine all three of these ideas into a single kit which I call a BOB, but could really be used to bug out, bug in or get home. The point of all this is that you never no when terrorism, crime or mother nature are going to disrupt your plans and if you aren't prepared your chances of surviving are greatly reduced. If you want to know how bad it good get, just take a look at what happened during and after Hurricane Katrina.
The first thing to remember when building a BOB is that it is worthless if you can't carry it. You need to take a good, honest look at your own physical fitness and determine how big and heavy of a kit you can handle. Some are minimalist and will put the bare essentials in something like a Maxpedition Versipack (excellent bags by the way) while others will fill a full framed backpack like they plan to hike the Appalachian Trail for 6 months on their own. Personally, I think the wise choice is in the middle, but only you can make that choice.
Once you've determined how much you can carry and chosen a suitable container for your BOB (I prefer backpacks just because they are easier to carry) then you can start thinking about what to put in the bag. First priority should be what you need to live. That would be food, water, shelter and fire. Food can be as simple as protein powder and Slim Jims, but you need something. Water is a tough one because of the weight it adds. What I do is carry a small amount of water (4 20oz. bottles) and then some water purification tablets to make drinkable water if I have no other choice. I also carry an empty canteen that I can put on my belt for when and if I find a clear stream or some other source. For shelter I'd recommend some survival blankets and paracord. You aren't going to be able to fit a full tent very well in the pack and you can at least make do with the blanket and cord. For fire, I like to carry several disposable lighters as well as some waterproof matches.
Once you've got that stuff packed away, look how much room you have left in your bag. This is all personal opinion but the next things I would definitely want in my bag would be...
1. A good first aid kit
2. A change of clothes (especially a wide brim hat, something to keep warm, dry underwear and socks and some comfortable shoes)
3. A good, fixed blade knife
4. Area maps
5. Something to write with and to write on
6. A towel
7. A light source (or two)
8. A crank powered radio
If you manage to fit all that in your pack and still have some room first check the weight. If you think you can handle more weight then you can add other things that you think you might personally need to keep you somewhat comfortable. Here are a few suggestions in no particular order.
1. Some hard candy
2. Playing cards
3. A spare wallet with some cash and photocopies of your driver's license, medical insurance, etc...
4. Spare eye glasses or contacts if you wear them
5. Knife sharpener
6. Toilet paper
7. Sunscreen
8. Gold Bond powder
9. Signaling mirror
10. Foot warmers (those disposable chemical packs)
11. Rain poncho
12. Spare batteries for your flashlight
13. Gerber Multi-Tool or Leatherman
14. Compass
15. Whistle
16. A pre-paid phone card
17. Some Oral-B Brush Ups and some Plackers (those toothpick/floss things)\
18. Caffeinated Mints
19. Lip Balm
If you do a google search for bug out bags you will find tons of other lists. I encourage you to take a look at what they suggest as well and take your favorites from all of them. Just remember not to go overboard and build a pack you can't actually carry. Good luck and hopefully this is one of those things you have but never need.
One last point. Things like food, water, pain pills, batteries, etc... go bad. Be sure to go through your pack a couple of times per year and replace anything getting close to the expiration date. Stay safe out there... and watch your six.
Due to financial restraints as well as lack of storage, I have tried to combine all three of these ideas into a single kit which I call a BOB, but could really be used to bug out, bug in or get home. The point of all this is that you never no when terrorism, crime or mother nature are going to disrupt your plans and if you aren't prepared your chances of surviving are greatly reduced. If you want to know how bad it good get, just take a look at what happened during and after Hurricane Katrina.
The first thing to remember when building a BOB is that it is worthless if you can't carry it. You need to take a good, honest look at your own physical fitness and determine how big and heavy of a kit you can handle. Some are minimalist and will put the bare essentials in something like a Maxpedition Versipack (excellent bags by the way) while others will fill a full framed backpack like they plan to hike the Appalachian Trail for 6 months on their own. Personally, I think the wise choice is in the middle, but only you can make that choice.
Once you've determined how much you can carry and chosen a suitable container for your BOB (I prefer backpacks just because they are easier to carry) then you can start thinking about what to put in the bag. First priority should be what you need to live. That would be food, water, shelter and fire. Food can be as simple as protein powder and Slim Jims, but you need something. Water is a tough one because of the weight it adds. What I do is carry a small amount of water (4 20oz. bottles) and then some water purification tablets to make drinkable water if I have no other choice. I also carry an empty canteen that I can put on my belt for when and if I find a clear stream or some other source. For shelter I'd recommend some survival blankets and paracord. You aren't going to be able to fit a full tent very well in the pack and you can at least make do with the blanket and cord. For fire, I like to carry several disposable lighters as well as some waterproof matches.
Once you've got that stuff packed away, look how much room you have left in your bag. This is all personal opinion but the next things I would definitely want in my bag would be...
1. A good first aid kit
2. A change of clothes (especially a wide brim hat, something to keep warm, dry underwear and socks and some comfortable shoes)
3. A good, fixed blade knife
4. Area maps
5. Something to write with and to write on
6. A towel
7. A light source (or two)
8. A crank powered radio
If you manage to fit all that in your pack and still have some room first check the weight. If you think you can handle more weight then you can add other things that you think you might personally need to keep you somewhat comfortable. Here are a few suggestions in no particular order.
1. Some hard candy
2. Playing cards
3. A spare wallet with some cash and photocopies of your driver's license, medical insurance, etc...
4. Spare eye glasses or contacts if you wear them
5. Knife sharpener
6. Toilet paper
7. Sunscreen
8. Gold Bond powder
9. Signaling mirror
10. Foot warmers (those disposable chemical packs)
11. Rain poncho
12. Spare batteries for your flashlight
13. Gerber Multi-Tool or Leatherman
14. Compass
15. Whistle
16. A pre-paid phone card
17. Some Oral-B Brush Ups and some Plackers (those toothpick/floss things)\
18. Caffeinated Mints
19. Lip Balm
If you do a google search for bug out bags you will find tons of other lists. I encourage you to take a look at what they suggest as well and take your favorites from all of them. Just remember not to go overboard and build a pack you can't actually carry. Good luck and hopefully this is one of those things you have but never need.
One last point. Things like food, water, pain pills, batteries, etc... go bad. Be sure to go through your pack a couple of times per year and replace anything getting close to the expiration date. Stay safe out there... and watch your six.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
The Last Gun - Revisited
Back in May of this year, I wrote a rather long article about what I would do if I was forced to narrow down my collection to a single firearm. In the end, I chose a Glock 19 and I gave a lot of really good reasons for this choice. Since then, I've been thinking about it more and more. I still really like the Glock 19. I have one in my safe right now, and it is definitely a gun I would hate to see go. However, I think if I had to make the choice today, I would choose differently... maybe.
I thought about an old saying I've heard. The gun you have with you is infinitely more valuable than the one you have at home in the safe. This is very true. If you find yourself in a life and death situation you don't get to call time out and run home to browse your gun safe and pick the best gun for the job. You have to make do with what you have.
I work nights, so a night stand gun is fine and I do have one, but it isn't that big of a deal. Most break ins happen during the night and at night, I'm wide awake and in my office working far away from my bedroom and the full size Glock 17 I keep in my night stand. Therefore, the gun most likely to get used to defend myself and my family is the gun I keep in my office. That gun is a S&W J-frame .38 Special. I carry concealed (legally). I do not leave the house without a gun. When I'm grabbing my wallet and keys and mobile phone I grab my S&W J-frame .38 Special and slip it in my pocket.
If it is good enough to carry concealed and good enough to keep in arm's reach in my office, why should it not be my last gun? I could carry the Glock 19, but it sits in the safe. Why? It's just so easy to slip the little J-frame in my pocket that I never want to deal with the hassle of strapping on a holster and concealing a larger gun.
If you ask most gun professionals (I'm talking cops, P.I.'s, top competitive shooters, firearms instructors, gun magazine writers, etc...) what they have on them if you run into them on the street (off duty in the case of cops) I'd be willing to bet more than 75% of them have a J-frame revolver in their pocket. Why? They work and they are easy and convenient.
Now, I will state that a J-frame is a terrible first gun. Many gun shop commandos will tell new shooters, epecially female new shooters to buy a J-frame revolver for their first gun. Don't listen to them. They are small so they are harder to hold on to. They are light so the felt recoil is a lot more. Most of them have barely adequate sights. They are an expert's gun. They are hard to shoot well without a lot of practice and they aren't much fun to shoot at all.
However, for someone who knows how to shoot and is comfortable with a J-frame, I think it might be the last gun I'd ever give up. I'm still not sure if I ever had to make that choice that I could give up my Glock 19, but if I did it would be to keep my trusty little J-frame.
I thought about an old saying I've heard. The gun you have with you is infinitely more valuable than the one you have at home in the safe. This is very true. If you find yourself in a life and death situation you don't get to call time out and run home to browse your gun safe and pick the best gun for the job. You have to make do with what you have.
I work nights, so a night stand gun is fine and I do have one, but it isn't that big of a deal. Most break ins happen during the night and at night, I'm wide awake and in my office working far away from my bedroom and the full size Glock 17 I keep in my night stand. Therefore, the gun most likely to get used to defend myself and my family is the gun I keep in my office. That gun is a S&W J-frame .38 Special. I carry concealed (legally). I do not leave the house without a gun. When I'm grabbing my wallet and keys and mobile phone I grab my S&W J-frame .38 Special and slip it in my pocket.
If it is good enough to carry concealed and good enough to keep in arm's reach in my office, why should it not be my last gun? I could carry the Glock 19, but it sits in the safe. Why? It's just so easy to slip the little J-frame in my pocket that I never want to deal with the hassle of strapping on a holster and concealing a larger gun.
If you ask most gun professionals (I'm talking cops, P.I.'s, top competitive shooters, firearms instructors, gun magazine writers, etc...) what they have on them if you run into them on the street (off duty in the case of cops) I'd be willing to bet more than 75% of them have a J-frame revolver in their pocket. Why? They work and they are easy and convenient.
Now, I will state that a J-frame is a terrible first gun. Many gun shop commandos will tell new shooters, epecially female new shooters to buy a J-frame revolver for their first gun. Don't listen to them. They are small so they are harder to hold on to. They are light so the felt recoil is a lot more. Most of them have barely adequate sights. They are an expert's gun. They are hard to shoot well without a lot of practice and they aren't much fun to shoot at all.
However, for someone who knows how to shoot and is comfortable with a J-frame, I think it might be the last gun I'd ever give up. I'm still not sure if I ever had to make that choice that I could give up my Glock 19, but if I did it would be to keep my trusty little J-frame.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Pistol versus Revolver
One of the accepted things that you are taught if you work in a gun store is that you push new shooters and women toward the revolver counter. I'm not saying it's right and I'm not saying it happens 100% of the time, but it does seem to be the norm. I was listening to one of my favorite gun podcasts the other day and the host was railing against this. He said that he thought that a double action revolver was the worst choice you could make for a new shooter. He was specifically talking about female new shooters. I want to state my personal opinion on this.
The first thing is that people seem to make a lot of assumptions about gun choice based on gender. They assume a female shooter will have weaker upper body strength, will be more recoil sensitive and less likely to take up shooting as a hobby. I'd have to say that as a general rule, my experience has been that these are all true, BUT I've seen enough exceptions to have learned not to assume anything.
The logic behind pushing female shooters and new shooters to revolvers is that they are easier to operate, less likely to have a mechanical problem and need less maintenance. You can load a revolver, stick it in your nightstand and forget about it for years and it still work fine. The problem with that is that no gun should be just left loaded for years. If you own a gun for self defense, you should be practicing with it. You should know how it works inside and out. You should be taking it out to clean it and inspect it at least monthly and preferably shoot it monthly. If you do that, there is no real advantage to a revolver over a pistol.
In fact, there are several disadvantages. First, revolvers in general have more recoil. With a pistol, the motion of the slide absorbs some of the felt recoil. With a revolver, the only thing absorbing recoil is you. Second, revolvers have lower capacity and are harder and slower to reload if you run out of ammo. Lastly, a revolver may fail less often, but when it does fail it is much harder to quickly get it back into the fight than a pistol.
Now, please don't take this as a slam on revolvers. I love revolvers. I own several of them. I like shooting them more, because the slower reload and lower capacity makes me take my time at the range and concentrate more on my shooting skills and less on seeing how many rounds I can spray down range. In fact, I have my daily concealed carry gun within arms reach of me as I write this and it is a 5-shot .38 Special J-frame revolver. I just disagree that gun shop employees (and when I was one, I was guilt of it too) should steer people toward them. Instead, I think they should explain that a gun you don't practice with and understand will not do you any good if the time comes to defend yourself. If you do practice with your gun and train with your gun, either will do the job well.
The first thing is that people seem to make a lot of assumptions about gun choice based on gender. They assume a female shooter will have weaker upper body strength, will be more recoil sensitive and less likely to take up shooting as a hobby. I'd have to say that as a general rule, my experience has been that these are all true, BUT I've seen enough exceptions to have learned not to assume anything.
The logic behind pushing female shooters and new shooters to revolvers is that they are easier to operate, less likely to have a mechanical problem and need less maintenance. You can load a revolver, stick it in your nightstand and forget about it for years and it still work fine. The problem with that is that no gun should be just left loaded for years. If you own a gun for self defense, you should be practicing with it. You should know how it works inside and out. You should be taking it out to clean it and inspect it at least monthly and preferably shoot it monthly. If you do that, there is no real advantage to a revolver over a pistol.
In fact, there are several disadvantages. First, revolvers in general have more recoil. With a pistol, the motion of the slide absorbs some of the felt recoil. With a revolver, the only thing absorbing recoil is you. Second, revolvers have lower capacity and are harder and slower to reload if you run out of ammo. Lastly, a revolver may fail less often, but when it does fail it is much harder to quickly get it back into the fight than a pistol.
Now, please don't take this as a slam on revolvers. I love revolvers. I own several of them. I like shooting them more, because the slower reload and lower capacity makes me take my time at the range and concentrate more on my shooting skills and less on seeing how many rounds I can spray down range. In fact, I have my daily concealed carry gun within arms reach of me as I write this and it is a 5-shot .38 Special J-frame revolver. I just disagree that gun shop employees (and when I was one, I was guilt of it too) should steer people toward them. Instead, I think they should explain that a gun you don't practice with and understand will not do you any good if the time comes to defend yourself. If you do practice with your gun and train with your gun, either will do the job well.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
The Last Gun
Apparently, these posts are going to become a lot more erratic than I had originally thought. I seem to have lost the steam I had in the beginning when I was posting at least one article per week. I will try to do better.
I was having one of those odd thoughts running through my head the other day and started wondering... If I could only own one gun, what would it be? To me, this is a VERY difficult question because I have worked my whole adult life to build my collection so the thought of it being reduced back down to one gun is unthinkable. However, you never know when financial or political forces could give you no choice. Hopefully, the day will never come that this is anything more than a fun hypothetical discussion, but it is a good way to prioritize what is important in a gun choice.
To do this right, I had to set some ground rules.
1. One firearm, period. Not one pistol and one revolver and one rifle and one shotgun. Just ONE firearm.
2. So that it is realistic, I set a price limit. For a rifle, the max would be $2,000. If I chose anything else, it would be $1,000.
So, I had to figure out what things I use a firearms for and then prioritize them into what is the most important for me. Here is my list in order of what I feel is the most important...
Since I really enjoy IDPA and would want something I could be somewhat competitive with, I can't go too small on the gun size or too big on the caliber size. That means probably sticking to a compact or full sized pistol or a medium framed revolver and limiting my calibers to 9mm, .40S&W, .45ACP or .357Magnum. Since single column .45's have too low of a capacity as compared to other similar pistols and double stack .45's are too big for smaller hands, I eliminated it from the list. If I went with a pistol, I'd rather go with 9mm than .40S&W just because ammo will be easier to find and less expensive, but with the hotter defensive loads, it will still do the job.
Now, I needed decide between a pistol and a revolver. My first instict was to go with a revolver. They are durable, simple and (in my opinion) beautiful. However, as I looked at the next two items on the list (teaching and plinking) I realized that both of these are best done with a .22LR. Since I can't get a second gun in .22 in this scenario, I need to limit my choices to guns I can buy a .22 conversion kit for. So... scratch off revolvers.
The last two items are a problem. If I'm going with a pistol in 9mm it isn't going to be great for outdoor use or hunting, but there is a reason they were at the bottom of my priority list. Besides, in a pinch, you could use a 9mm pistol for hunting smaller game (I'd say anything smaller than a boar) and while not ideal, it will fend off smaller 4-legged predators in a wilderness situation. It wouldn't be too great against bears, but choosing one gun means making compromises.
Now, I need to find a 9mm pistol that is reliable, durable, decently accurate, is small enough to conceal but big enough to compete with in IDPA and you can buy a .22 conversion kit for it. There are probably others, but the only one I know that fits all those criteria is a Glock 19. I guess that would be my choice. Hopefully, it is a choice I'd never have to make.
A few other reasons for this choice would be that Glocks very rarely break. If they do break, they are very easy to work on and the factory parts are available from plenty of retailers. In fact, you can put together a fairly complete spare parts kit and all the tools you need (one punch) for less than $75. Plus, you are getting a very handy sized gun that is not overly heavy that has a great capacity and there are tons of aftermarket accessories to make it fit your needs.
If there was any way I was able to keep a second gun, I have no questions about what my second gun would be. I'd take an M4-style AR-15 for my other gun without a second thought.
As an interesting side note, I posed this question on one of my favorite gun forums. I was surprised at the variety of answers I got. Some people went as large as a FAL or M1A and some went as small as I did with a Glock 19. The point is that there is no one answer. Everyone has different things they do with guns. That is the beauty of our hobby is that it is so diverse.
Stay safe out there... and watch your six.
I was having one of those odd thoughts running through my head the other day and started wondering... If I could only own one gun, what would it be? To me, this is a VERY difficult question because I have worked my whole adult life to build my collection so the thought of it being reduced back down to one gun is unthinkable. However, you never know when financial or political forces could give you no choice. Hopefully, the day will never come that this is anything more than a fun hypothetical discussion, but it is a good way to prioritize what is important in a gun choice.
To do this right, I had to set some ground rules.
1. One firearm, period. Not one pistol and one revolver and one rifle and one shotgun. Just ONE firearm.
2. So that it is realistic, I set a price limit. For a rifle, the max would be $2,000. If I chose anything else, it would be $1,000.
So, I had to figure out what things I use a firearms for and then prioritize them into what is the most important for me. Here is my list in order of what I feel is the most important...
- Concealed Carry/Self Defense
- Home Defense
- IDPA
- Teaching new shooters about firearms
- Recreational Target Shooting
- Wilderness Survival Tool
- Hunting
Since I really enjoy IDPA and would want something I could be somewhat competitive with, I can't go too small on the gun size or too big on the caliber size. That means probably sticking to a compact or full sized pistol or a medium framed revolver and limiting my calibers to 9mm, .40S&W, .45ACP or .357Magnum. Since single column .45's have too low of a capacity as compared to other similar pistols and double stack .45's are too big for smaller hands, I eliminated it from the list. If I went with a pistol, I'd rather go with 9mm than .40S&W just because ammo will be easier to find and less expensive, but with the hotter defensive loads, it will still do the job.
Now, I needed decide between a pistol and a revolver. My first instict was to go with a revolver. They are durable, simple and (in my opinion) beautiful. However, as I looked at the next two items on the list (teaching and plinking) I realized that both of these are best done with a .22LR. Since I can't get a second gun in .22 in this scenario, I need to limit my choices to guns I can buy a .22 conversion kit for. So... scratch off revolvers.
The last two items are a problem. If I'm going with a pistol in 9mm it isn't going to be great for outdoor use or hunting, but there is a reason they were at the bottom of my priority list. Besides, in a pinch, you could use a 9mm pistol for hunting smaller game (I'd say anything smaller than a boar) and while not ideal, it will fend off smaller 4-legged predators in a wilderness situation. It wouldn't be too great against bears, but choosing one gun means making compromises.
Now, I need to find a 9mm pistol that is reliable, durable, decently accurate, is small enough to conceal but big enough to compete with in IDPA and you can buy a .22 conversion kit for it. There are probably others, but the only one I know that fits all those criteria is a Glock 19. I guess that would be my choice. Hopefully, it is a choice I'd never have to make.
A few other reasons for this choice would be that Glocks very rarely break. If they do break, they are very easy to work on and the factory parts are available from plenty of retailers. In fact, you can put together a fairly complete spare parts kit and all the tools you need (one punch) for less than $75. Plus, you are getting a very handy sized gun that is not overly heavy that has a great capacity and there are tons of aftermarket accessories to make it fit your needs.
If there was any way I was able to keep a second gun, I have no questions about what my second gun would be. I'd take an M4-style AR-15 for my other gun without a second thought.
As an interesting side note, I posed this question on one of my favorite gun forums. I was surprised at the variety of answers I got. Some people went as large as a FAL or M1A and some went as small as I did with a Glock 19. The point is that there is no one answer. Everyone has different things they do with guns. That is the beauty of our hobby is that it is so diverse.
Stay safe out there... and watch your six.
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