Category: Self-Defense

Dear James: I have been searching for a good quality 20 Gauge shotgun for home/retreat defense. I very much value your opinion and would like to know what make and model you would recommend. Also do you recommend a semi-auto or double barrel? What “extras” and accessories do you feel are the best? – Dr. Sidney Zweibel, Columbia P&S JWR’s Reply: In general, I much recommend a 12 gauge over a 20, unless you are very small-statured. 12 gauge shells are much easier to find (both now and post-TEOTWAWKI), and they pack more of a wallop on the receiving end. …

Jim: Here’s some of my views on some of the questions you’ve had in your letters about the Beretta M92/96 series. My experience with the gun, after use in the Army and use and ownership in the civilian world is they work as well as any gun out there. People get entirely too territorial about handguns, similar to the way people used to put some mystical significance to their sword they would be carrying in feudal times. The fact is that you really aren’t any less or better armed with nearly any of the current crop of service pistols from …

Hi Jim, thought I’d make a suggestion concerning one of the problems that we are likely to face once society turns south: Feral dogs roving in packs. A friend of mine in Southern California who relocated to the rural section of Riverside County remarked to me after soon moving there that they really didn’t have any problems with coyotes or mountain lions (which are prevalent) but in fact domestic dogs turned feral were a big concern with the land owners (most folks in his area have between 2.5 and 20 acres). Seems that dogs that were abandoned for one reason …

Jim, The U.S. BATFE has ruled that ex-military barrels are not to be imported. No new requests are being approved for import, and all previously approved requests must enter the country before the end of 2005. But on the other hand , ex-U.S. Military arms are going to be allowed back in, so the FAL/L1A1 are going to become more expensive with U.S. made barrels and the M1 Garands are going to come down in price from what ODCMP [currently] sells them for. Current CMP prices are as follows: 1. Ex-Greek used “Service Grade” (ok to return to service from …

Dear Jim, For what it’s worth, I think your new blog is excellent and I’ve read your book Patriots numerous times. I find them both entertaining and educational at the same time. Please continue with dispensing your knowledge to us “new guys”. I have a question about your 08/20/05 post regarding the Beretta 92 upgrade to .40 S&W. You stated that one should have 2500 rounds or more of ammunition if this is your primary weapon. My question is this: What do you suggest as far as FMJ or Hollow Point? Should all of that be either one or the …

I have always considered 9mm Parabellum (also known as 9mm Luger) marginal at best at stopping two-legged predators. For those of you that own a 9mm Beretta Model 92 or Beretta Centurion, be advised that Beretta USA now produces a .40 S&W conversion kit for your pistol. These are complete “top halves” and come with one 11 round .40 S&W magazine. The folks at CDNN currently have these factory-made conversion kits on sale for $149.99. Since these kits don’t include a frame, no FFL is required. If you are one of those folks that has a Beretta 9mm that you …

I read yesterday that Trijicon was just awarded a big military contract for their tritium-lit tactical day/night scopes. Congrats to them! They make a great product. I’m glad to see that the U.S. military has finally come to the realization that every front-line soldier deserves an ACOG scope atop his RBC device. (The Brits figured this out 25+ years ago, during The Troubles in Northern Ireland.) The news of the big contract award may have a potential impact on you. The award means that the folks at Trijicon will probably be running two shifts for the next six years fill …

I often have folks e-mail to ask me which is the best all-around rifle for retreat defense. The following may sound a bit like a proverbial Chevy versus Ford rant, but here goes… To begin, let me state that I firmly believe that .223 Remington/5.56mm NATO is insufficient for self defense. That cartridge was designed specifically for killing woodchucks–not men. It does well at wounding men, which is fine for military organizations. (An incapacitating wound removes three enemy soldiers from the battlefield–the wounded soldier plus two stretcher bearers.) But the last thing that I would ever want to do post-TEOTWAWKI …

A tip of the hat to The Rascal for pointing me to this URL for 80% complete AR-15 receiver kits and completion tools/jigs/instructions. This could prove useful if you live in a State that has registration requirements for “private party” gun purchases, but not for home built guns. Consult your State and local laws before ordering! You should also order through a drop box to avoid a paper trail. To U.S. readers: Resist the urge to drill an extra hole above the selector switch hole. With practice, you can squeeze your trigger finger very rapidly with just semi-auto. There is …