Introduction:
My purpose in writing this piece is to further ones knowledge on the subject of the defensive pistol as a survival tool. To say there is one best gun or best caliber would be ignorant of the facts. To quote Ignatius Piazza of Front Sight: “Any gun will do, if you will do.” There is more to it than just the gun.
I will focus on what I have learned during the course of my life as to what the role of the defensive pistol is or would be in a SHTF situation, what types of weapons and calibers are best suited, and what you need to do to be prepared to defend yourself.
I do not consider a SHTF situation to necessarily be the end of the world as we know it. I consider a SHTF situation to be any situation that requires immediate and possibly decisive action on your part, to survive and/or protect your family and/or friends. In other words “your back is against the wall and if you don’t do something… you’re gonna die.”
Role of the Defensive Pistol:
The normal role of a defensive pistol is as a Secondary Weapon System used to back up a Primary Weapon System, or more precisely, a rifle.
It has been said many times that you use a pistol to fight your way to your rifle. I see this as a somewhat limited scenario, and something that applies in a war zone or other militaristic venue or even a cataclysmic event. Point being there is other shooting going on around you so you need to rifle up as soon as possible, and barring that your pistol will have to do.
In today’s everyday real world of McDonalds and Wal-Mart, you must consider that you may not be able to get to a rifle when you need it most. You can’t very well go through life with a rifle slung over your shoulder, and it will probably be at least as far away as your car in the parking lot which isn’t going to do you much good if the lead is already flying. Your pistol or more properly your wits will have to do.
Avoidance is always the best remedy to a potentially deadly situation. Being alert and aware of your surroundings at all times can and will keep you much safer than any gun will. Knowing escape routes and being ready to exit at the drop of a hat when the first signs of trouble manifest, are much better ideas than having to carry a gun full time. Even if you have a gun, exiting stage left and avoiding using said gun will get you out of trouble better than engaging in a gunfight. Especially if you have your family with you, as it is not a real sound survival strategy to include your wife and kids in a gunfight.
Keep in mind that if you use your gun your life will be changed forever and there is the distinct possibly that you may even end up in jail as a result. The only time you can use a gun to defend yourself is if your life or the life of your loved ones is being threatened by a credible threat. In your home that is an easy call, at Wal-Mart it is a very different story. If it is proven that there were other viable options for you to avoid this confrontation you may be held responsible for just plain killing someone. I live in Southern California and this is a very distinct possibility as we tend to have a little more liberal mindset in our government and justice system. Always consider that the liberal mindset will still convict you even if you were doing the right thing, just to make a point.
A word to the wise here, to repeat. Avoidance is always your best option!
If all else fails and you need to go for your sidearm because you are out of options, it would probably be a good idea if you had a reliable one, in a major caliber, that you actually know how to use, and are willing to use.
What type of gun should I have?
Well, you need to have a gun that you are very good with, that you have trained extensively with, and can actually hit what you’re aiming at, with. Under pressure!
This eliminates about 98% of the people who carry guns right out of the gate. Re-read the point above about “avoidance” as the most viable course of action.
No matter which gun you have, when the bell rings you will revert to 50% or less of your capability on your best training day if it was just yesterday. If it was several months ago, deduct some more.
If you are a 90% shooter at the range under time pressure then you will be a 45% shooter under dire stress. This is not the end of the world as 50/50 is not horrible odds. Do remember you are betting your life here. However if you are a 50% shooter at the range you need to seek other options as at 25% effectiveness you are giving away a 3:1 advantage to your opponent and divine intervention maybe needed to save you. Betting on this option to prevail is not a real sound survival strategy.
Here’s a hard fact. If you are untrained then you have no business whatsoever carrying a gun!
You are a danger to yourself and more properly, to others. I have nothing but contempt for the individual that thinks they have got what it takes when they haven’t got a clue! They haven’t even been to a school or have only been to a range and shot the gun a few times and then get a Concealed Carry Permit and start carrying a gun. They are uneducated and dangerous! I actually know people like this and I can tell you without reservation they are all fools!
I used to believe that I could think my way through any situation like this. I’m a smart guy, and I can solve problems quickly etc. I was so wrong! In fact, when faced with a simple tactical scenario the first time I failed miserably, so miserably in fact that I almost cried. And this was just a training drill! What it taught me is the only way to live through this type of event is to train often and with good supervision. Learn how to cope with the stress involved.
I go to Front Sight training academy two or three times a year, and I really need to go more.
But, I digress, so back to the topic of what kind of gun to use:
For a defensive pistol I recommend a semi-auto pistol in either .40 S&W or .45 ACP for men and 9mm or larger for women depending on the individual’s ability to control the recoil and most women can handle a .40 caliber gun easily. As far as the brand I’ll make it real simple. Buy a Glock! I’m sure there are those that will argue for many other brands of guns. However the one to get first is a Glock. More police use Glocks than all the other brands combined, and there are several very good reasons why.
First and most important, the Glock pistol is by far the easiest pistol to train someone with. You can only do three things to a Glock. You can insert a magazine, you can rack the slide, and you can pull the trigger. There are no safeties to disengage (other than the trigger which takes care of itself), and finally there is only one weight of trigger pull to master. You draw the gun from the holster and fire. It is the same way every time. The last thing you need is a complex gun that requires you to have a long double action trigger pull of 10-15 pounds for the first shot and then a light single action trigger for the rest of your shots. You can pretty much guarantee giving away your first shot. With the Glock you simply draw the gun, acquire the target, and press the trigger. You do the same thing every time. This breeds familiarity and familiarity breeds competence. This competence comes quicker with a Glock than any other pistol. It is as simple as that.
There are certainly other similar guns, S&W M&P, Springfield Armory XD, Ruger SR9, but they are all just different versions of the original. Believe me Gaston Glock got it right, and got it right first. The Glock is a tool, made by a tool maker. Most don’t know the Glock 16 was an Entrenching Tool made for the Austrian Army .That’s how he got in, in the first place. The Glock 17 was the first gun he ever designed. Once you learn how to run a Glock then you can branch out into other more complicated firearms, however by that time you will probably see no reason to do it. For the intended purpose there is nothing better.
Whatever gun you chose you need to shoot it a lot and you need to get professional training to learn how to run the gun and use it correctly. This takes practice and there is absolutely no other way. When bad happens you will not have time to think, your actions must be rote.
Training:
Yes, you need professional training. You need to get it from the best possible source. I recommend one of the large firearms training academies.
Virtually anyone can be taught to operate a pistol proficiently in as little as 3-5 days at a firearms training venue such as Gunsite, Front Sight, Sig-Sauer etc. Note: I did not mention your local firearms instructor. You need to go somewhere that teaches lots of people how to shoot, and the reason why is because they have more experience teaching all types of people than your local guy does. They can break through even the most stubborn of bad habits, and produce someone who is able to draw his gun and fire two well placed shots into a target in less than 2 seconds every time. Your local guy may be able to do this, but face it; you are not going to be training with him 8 hours a day for 3-5 days, and shooting 800-1,000 rounds of ammo. You may get 1-2 hours a week at best. You need the intensive training that only a large outfit can deliver
The key is intensive and consistent training, without attitude, done in a specific sequence of events that takes you from not knowing which end of the gun the bullets come out of, to very proficient quickly and safely, and produces consistent results. Any of the above mentioned outfits can train you up to a competent level in very short order. As an example Front Sight ran 60,000 people through firearms training classes last year alone. You can’t argue with that kind of success and those numbers.
I can’t stress this next point enough.
I personally feel that if you are not willing to spend the time, effort and money to get trained up to a competent level you have no business carrying a defensive gun or for that matter even owning one. Guns are serious tools and if you are going to own one you need to know how to use it safely and effectively. This does not mean having the guy who sells you the gun show you how to load it. This means getting professional training.
I have a neighbor who is the Armorer for our counties Sheriffs Department. He tells me that they can not even get the deputies to shoot more than once or twice a year because the county won’t pay for ammo. This to be the height of stupidity. You have people who have chosen to carry a gun for a living and yet they are next to incompetent when using it, and not willing to spend a few bucks to improve! The same holds true of the concealed carry person. He needs to shoot at least once a month (after receiving training) and get retrained at least once a year at a school to maintain proficiency. I feel you have a moral obligation to be proficient if you are going to carry a gun full time.
After all it’s your life you are protecting.
Believe me when I say those skills you get by going to a training facility, are very perishable skills indeed. I had not been to a pistol class for nearly a year when we finally went last November. (We took rifle classes last year, instead) It took me until noon the second day and 300 rounds of ammo to get back to where my draw was consistent and I was getting good hits. If I had gone to another pistol class earlier in the year then I would have been back up to speed by lunch the first day. Believe me it goes away fast and the older you are, the faster it goes.
A word about ammo:
In my region, Wal-Mart has the cheapest prices on ammo. You do not need high dollar hollow points in your gun. You do not need Personal Defense ammo that is $30 for 10 rounds. Regular FMJ bullets will do just fine. I think most people would agree that if you hit anyone with anything it is going to ruin their day. But there is a reason why you are taught to shoot twice into the chest. That reason is that only 65% of first round hits do the job, so twice that is 130% which is a nice safety margin. Solids work just fine for this.
If that doesn’t work then you are trained to put out the lights. It is called “failure to stop.” A round between the eyes stops anyone.
I want to talk about Mindset:
Your mindset is everything. Everyone no matter how sophisticated or crude has a moral code they live by. How you choose to live your life may not be understood by someone else. For some, killing you is no big deal. For you, killing a person could mean mental anguish the likes of which you are unprepared for. My point here is that you need to have all the moral stuff figured out well before you need to fight for your life.
You must have already established the lines in the sand that will result in you fighting with deadly force. You will not have time to mull this over when you are dodging bullets. It must be pre-ordained, and it must be rote. Once you start fighting you must never quit until you have won, if you start to lose you must fight harder. You must etch this statement into your mind, and live by it!
“I will never quit!”
Your life and the lives of your loved ones depend on it.
“Willing”
The last component of mindset is called “willing”
You have to be willing to kill someone.
Rule #1 of firearms safety is “treat all guns as if they were loaded”
Rule # 2 is “never point a gun at something you are not ‘willing to destroy’”
So if you are not willing to kill someone you shouldn’t point a gun at them.
If you are not willing to point a gun at them, then you might just as well leave it at home.
If this is true of you, then refer to “avoidance” above. It is your only viable option.
Always remember “Your best survival tool is your mind.” You’ll always have that with you when you need it! God willing.