Training Notes: ON Keeping it Simple
This also conforms to the idea of focusing your investment on what will run in your gun versus piling on for more and more gadgets. Master your handgun, Glock 19, and master your rifle. AR or AK.
Showing posts with label Glock 19. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Glock 19. Show all posts
Thursday, November 7, 2019
Monday, May 8, 2017
How Many Guns to Own For Survival
Consider The Ammunition First
I'd consider four types if you want to limit your purchasing. You can buy the weapons that fill out this list.
Four Rounds to Consider: .22, 9mm, 5.56, 12 or 20 Gauge.
.22 in rifle and pisol
9mm in pistol and carbine/rifle
5.56 in the obvious weapon, an AR-15 style weapon.
12 or 20 gauge in a pump shotgun
What ammunition type to get first. 9mm
What weapon to get first.
If I could only buy one weapon based on one caliber I'd go for a 9mm premium quality pistol.
Reasoning:
I would consider going with 9mm just to have a relatively low cost practice round that can fill all the categories you need if you find yourself limited by finances and need to stick to one caliber and two weapons, a handgun and a rifle. You could get a 9mm carbine as the follow up weapon and stay with those two and only be limited to range Sure, it's not for hunting or long range shooting but within the boundaries of self defense it is a great choice. You can load up on that round in FMJ for practice and JHP for actual use.
Handgun Choice
If you want a gun recommendation try the Glock 19, the most popular of the Glock line and probably one of the most popular 9mm pistols ever built. You can buy a used one and still rely on it. I've purchased numerous used Glock pistols over the years and never had a bad one. Of course, you can always just spend the extra dollars for a new one.
Work on your handgun skills. You can always practice your rifle skills with a pellet rifle. That might be the cheapest way to improve your long gun skills until you choose to pony up for the bucks to get the rifle, buy the ammo, and find a range to go to in order to practice it.
Carbine/Rifle Choice
The Kel-Tec Sub2000 is a great short range carbine with the added advantage that the price is around $400 and if you can buy one that uses the same Glock 9mm magazines that fit your pistol. One thing to note is that you need the Glock 17 magazines and not the shorter 9mm Glock 19 magazine that holds 15 rounds. Other than that you have successfully avoided a cost and logistics issue by having two weapon types that use the same Glock magazine.
Your other options are the Beretta CX4 carbine at more than $750 or Hi-Point 995 carbine. The Hi-Point is a very robust weapon and is reliable though heavy and less than $350 though the magazines aren't interchangeable with the Glock and are standard 10 rounds, though higher capacity versions may become available.
Ballistic Realities
The maximum effective range on a 9mm as an antipersonnel round is close to 150 yards though many would say 100 yards. You'll have close to 200 ft lbs of energy left at 150 yards with a bullet drop of close to 3 feet. It is workable for close range small game but your main concern is self defense and anti-personnel. Sure you won't outdistance a 5.56 or greater but your protection zone within 100 yards is solved. Anything beyond that is realistically something you won't face in most instances and especially until the SHTF.
Bottom Line: Get something and train with it.
I'd consider four types if you want to limit your purchasing. You can buy the weapons that fill out this list.
Four Rounds to Consider: .22, 9mm, 5.56, 12 or 20 Gauge.
.22 in rifle and pisol
9mm in pistol and carbine/rifle
5.56 in the obvious weapon, an AR-15 style weapon.
12 or 20 gauge in a pump shotgun
What ammunition type to get first. 9mm
What weapon to get first.
If I could only buy one weapon based on one caliber I'd go for a 9mm premium quality pistol.
Reasoning:
I would consider going with 9mm just to have a relatively low cost practice round that can fill all the categories you need if you find yourself limited by finances and need to stick to one caliber and two weapons, a handgun and a rifle. You could get a 9mm carbine as the follow up weapon and stay with those two and only be limited to range Sure, it's not for hunting or long range shooting but within the boundaries of self defense it is a great choice. You can load up on that round in FMJ for practice and JHP for actual use.
Handgun Choice
If you want a gun recommendation try the Glock 19, the most popular of the Glock line and probably one of the most popular 9mm pistols ever built. You can buy a used one and still rely on it. I've purchased numerous used Glock pistols over the years and never had a bad one. Of course, you can always just spend the extra dollars for a new one.
Work on your handgun skills. You can always practice your rifle skills with a pellet rifle. That might be the cheapest way to improve your long gun skills until you choose to pony up for the bucks to get the rifle, buy the ammo, and find a range to go to in order to practice it.
Carbine/Rifle Choice
The Kel-Tec Sub2000 is a great short range carbine with the added advantage that the price is around $400 and if you can buy one that uses the same Glock 9mm magazines that fit your pistol. One thing to note is that you need the Glock 17 magazines and not the shorter 9mm Glock 19 magazine that holds 15 rounds. Other than that you have successfully avoided a cost and logistics issue by having two weapon types that use the same Glock magazine.
Your other options are the Beretta CX4 carbine at more than $750 or Hi-Point 995 carbine. The Hi-Point is a very robust weapon and is reliable though heavy and less than $350 though the magazines aren't interchangeable with the Glock and are standard 10 rounds, though higher capacity versions may become available.
Ballistic Realities
The maximum effective range on a 9mm as an antipersonnel round is close to 150 yards though many would say 100 yards. You'll have close to 200 ft lbs of energy left at 150 yards with a bullet drop of close to 3 feet. It is workable for close range small game but your main concern is self defense and anti-personnel. Sure you won't outdistance a 5.56 or greater but your protection zone within 100 yards is solved. Anything beyond that is realistically something you won't face in most instances and especially until the SHTF.
Bottom Line: Get something and train with it.
Saturday, December 31, 2016
9mm is Good Again: FBI Now Says Go for 9mm, Gun Writers now Like 9mm, Lots of approval for the .380
FBI says 9mm
Admittedly this is a two year old article but the wheels of government move slowly. If you notice, now the gun press has moved back to the 9mm as a good round for self defense, though not all them. Many writers who wouldn't have considered the 9mm up to the task now feel that with the momentum moving again toward less is more theory notice what some of us knew all along. Simply, that 9mm allows more rounds in the magazine, punches a hole much like the vaunted .40 an .45 especially when expanding, and is much cheaper to use for practice. Also, the price and selection of weapons in 9mm outnumbers all the others. It is ubiquitous. The funny thing is that even the .380 is getting some good press now though it's not my first choice for carry it does fill the need for weight and size when clothing limitations exist for concealed carry due usually to summer months. It also has a superb reduction in recoil yet still punches a hole like the .38 or 9mm, but not as deep with the same expansion. For that matter, I'm not against a .22 revolver versus carrying nothing. Often just the presence of a gun will inhibit action from the aggressors and you can't defend against everything.
Just like the diet guidelines have changed every decade or so, the caliber guidelines for self defense and law enforcement handguns is changing again.
9mm vs .40 S&W
.38 Special - it was the standard for almost a century. The limitation is lack of firepower/capacity versus the civilian options after 9mm semi-auto pistols become common in various sizes.
9mm - This is the same diameter as the .38 special but it has less lead in the bullet but increased velocity making for more energy overall. It is configured to stack in magazines and feed in a semi-auto pistol. Limited defensive loads prior to the 1990's and other perceived deficiencies came to the front after the Miami shootout. They probably should have considered that rifles tend to beat handguns every time and armed FBI agents with carbines or shotguns in their vehicles in addition to sidearms. Bureaucrats never see the obvious. Good ammo might have made the difference as well. The final item might have been to train them to fight injured since that seemed to be the final issue that caused the loss of the fight.
10mm - So then they picked the big boy gun but had trouble with control. It had a strong recoil that some shooters couldn't manage well. Concealment was probably an issue as well.
.40 S&W - This should have been the ideal compromise except for female recruits it was still too much to handle. Some men found it a problem as well.
9mm - Back to the past. With improvements in defensive ammo it may end up being the ideal compromise to include trainees having an easy time with it. +P and hotter ammo makes it closer to the .40S&W.
What Next?
5.7mm - Were it not for the size of the gun it has even better numbers all the way around. Capacity 20-30 rounds. Recoil is nil. Accuracy is excellent. Energy is high and penetration is sufficient. Weight is low. Cost per round is no higher than .45.
Admittedly this is a two year old article but the wheels of government move slowly. If you notice, now the gun press has moved back to the 9mm as a good round for self defense, though not all them. Many writers who wouldn't have considered the 9mm up to the task now feel that with the momentum moving again toward less is more theory notice what some of us knew all along. Simply, that 9mm allows more rounds in the magazine, punches a hole much like the vaunted .40 an .45 especially when expanding, and is much cheaper to use for practice. Also, the price and selection of weapons in 9mm outnumbers all the others. It is ubiquitous. The funny thing is that even the .380 is getting some good press now though it's not my first choice for carry it does fill the need for weight and size when clothing limitations exist for concealed carry due usually to summer months. It also has a superb reduction in recoil yet still punches a hole like the .38 or 9mm, but not as deep with the same expansion. For that matter, I'm not against a .22 revolver versus carrying nothing. Often just the presence of a gun will inhibit action from the aggressors and you can't defend against everything.
Just like the diet guidelines have changed every decade or so, the caliber guidelines for self defense and law enforcement handguns is changing again.
9mm vs .40 S&W
.38 Special - it was the standard for almost a century. The limitation is lack of firepower/capacity versus the civilian options after 9mm semi-auto pistols become common in various sizes.
9mm - This is the same diameter as the .38 special but it has less lead in the bullet but increased velocity making for more energy overall. It is configured to stack in magazines and feed in a semi-auto pistol. Limited defensive loads prior to the 1990's and other perceived deficiencies came to the front after the Miami shootout. They probably should have considered that rifles tend to beat handguns every time and armed FBI agents with carbines or shotguns in their vehicles in addition to sidearms. Bureaucrats never see the obvious. Good ammo might have made the difference as well. The final item might have been to train them to fight injured since that seemed to be the final issue that caused the loss of the fight.
10mm - So then they picked the big boy gun but had trouble with control. It had a strong recoil that some shooters couldn't manage well. Concealment was probably an issue as well.
.40 S&W - This should have been the ideal compromise except for female recruits it was still too much to handle. Some men found it a problem as well.
9mm - Back to the past. With improvements in defensive ammo it may end up being the ideal compromise to include trainees having an easy time with it. +P and hotter ammo makes it closer to the .40S&W.
What Next?
5.7mm - Were it not for the size of the gun it has even better numbers all the way around. Capacity 20-30 rounds. Recoil is nil. Accuracy is excellent. Energy is high and penetration is sufficient. Weight is low. Cost per round is no higher than .45.
Thursday, October 13, 2016
Why I carry other weapons Before a Glock 19
My biggest
concern is not defeating the purpose of armed self protection
by self inflicting damage to myself. Therefore, I still act extremely
cautiously when carrying a Glock. In some cases depending on the
situation I don't chamber a round and go with the old method used by the
U.S. military before being turned into the newer approach called the
Israeli carry method with a fast charging included as part of the
presentation.
I have an M&P shield that I sometime carry concealed and it has a safety that I engage prior to holstering the weapon for safe holstering and then disengage once holstered, just an approach I take.
I also have an HKP30 that I carry when not concealed and on the nightstand. It actually does conceal about as well as the Glock 19, but more comfortably, because of the rounded edges versus the squared up Glock. It is absolutely reliable and with the double action trigger pull I do have that additional element of safety that is undeniably there to reduced risk of a Negligent Discharge no matter how much training I do. It does weight a little bit more and requires a different skill set when it comes to training since it is double action and has the paddle mag releases on the trigger guard.
Others I have carried include a J Frame .38 and the Makarov that are retired now and only used for range fun. I do sometimes like to have a J frame 8 round .22 Airlight in the pocket for no weight carry (approx. 10 oz. Loaded).
Full Disclosure: I'm still a Glock guy and have been since they came out in the 1980's. I just find myself thinking more and more about the downside of a striker fire negligent discharge on my ability to walk.
I have an M&P shield that I sometime carry concealed and it has a safety that I engage prior to holstering the weapon for safe holstering and then disengage once holstered, just an approach I take.
I also have an HKP30 that I carry when not concealed and on the nightstand. It actually does conceal about as well as the Glock 19, but more comfortably, because of the rounded edges versus the squared up Glock. It is absolutely reliable and with the double action trigger pull I do have that additional element of safety that is undeniably there to reduced risk of a Negligent Discharge no matter how much training I do. It does weight a little bit more and requires a different skill set when it comes to training since it is double action and has the paddle mag releases on the trigger guard.
Others I have carried include a J Frame .38 and the Makarov that are retired now and only used for range fun. I do sometimes like to have a J frame 8 round .22 Airlight in the pocket for no weight carry (approx. 10 oz. Loaded).
Full Disclosure: I'm still a Glock guy and have been since they came out in the 1980's. I just find myself thinking more and more about the downside of a striker fire negligent discharge on my ability to walk.
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