Home defense Gun Tests - Guns for the Pandemic - Shotguns for Self Defense

 This is Paul Harrell.  He is a master and is one of the best communicators when it comes to gun videos.

For the non-firearms owner that decides they need a gun for the Pandemic.  it's for newbies but it is still very useful information.

Here are his Top 5 Guns for Home Defense

I like his analysis of the safety feature of the old style Winchester vs the modern shotguns. 

Paul Harrell again. 

Excellent Video by Paul Harrell on why the shotgun doesn't suck for Self Defense.

His point is to use something less than 00 Buck.  I use #4 buck in my 12 and 20 if available.  He suggests #3 for a 20 Gauge since it's more readily available.  The #4 Buck is approximately .22 caliber balls that won't over-penetrate.  The #3  buck is .25 caliber with 20 of them in a 20 gauge shell.  It also didn't over-penetrate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiHHgjaR0TI

This is an add-on video I found that I won't endorse if you don't like strong language with lots of cussing.  His wall penetration efforts and explanations are helpful though and this is what we are here to see.

Video - strong language if you are sensitive to this or have kids in the room you may want to skip it.

Interesting test.  I always like to see wall penetration.   I already knew that the sound volume from an AR is way too high for interior firing and the same with magnum rounds unless you have ear protection. 

The shotgun is great for stopping but if you're using buckshot it still has a penetration problem passing through all wall materials and hitting innocents.  He doesn't discuss changing the type of round to use that will change the amount of penetration.  A Shotgun can be easily adjusted for the task by changing the type of round.  Shotgun masters know this. 

 It looks as if the 9mm JHP is the answer for most users which most of us already knew but he showed it going through a test dummy and then multiple wall materials but not the excessive penetration that came with the other ones.

Still, it all comes down to the choice of ammunition to determine penetration, expansion, and over-penetration.

Who Disarmed the Military on Bases

1992 - who was in charge at the time?  Hint: Name starts with a C

But you can be he's never gone unprotected since his election to the presidency. 

It's the way they see the world.

Pilots request to be armed on base.

Defense Skills: The Drill You're not doing Enough

Great Article - read, learn, and practice.  Final exam later

Handgun Training: Video

The Secret to Mastering the Handgun

Great Video and excellent information

Controlling Thought and Action: Banking

Credit Card Companies attack the 2A

This is another reason why crypto-currencies and other forms of payment including cash have to be used to cripple the banking industry.  They are now part of the DEEP STATE and also subject to the extreme left agenda thanks to boycotts and social media pressure.

AR-15 Sniper Duty

5.56 Sniper Rifle Duty

This article outlines what is common knowledge among skilled riflemen.  The equipment is only part of the equation and often the ability to hit accurately within 300 yards is enough.


Windage

Here is a good page for calculations and check out the IOS app advertised

Anti Gun Frenzy turns to Hysteria and Mass Psychosis

Superintendent retires after he throws away a magazine of ammunition he found
I suppose he should have reported it, but really, are we this far gone from reality.  If a police officer were in the school he would be obliged to have multiple magazines on him.

Investing in gun companies for retirement
At least some companies understand that the purpose of investing is growth and return so what you invest in should reflect that.  Those that will remove gun companies from their investments are only hurting themselves.

Trump Betrays Gun Owners

Home Defense

Home Invasion Video
If this doesn't get your mind right about home security and carrying in the home or around it then just accept your fate if it happens.

Survival News: No Safety Net - 1/4 of Americans don't have $400 in cash reserves, Tomatoes

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-05-20/quarter-american-adults-cant-pay-all-their-monthly-bills-44-have-less-400-cash


tomatoes - survival garden hacks

6 Areas of preparedness 

Alt-News Hub - great idea

Mom's Big Guns Stop Home Invasion

https://bearingarms.com/erika-h/2017/05/18/tennessee-mother-chases-away-intruders-firearms/

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. 

Self Defense: Capacity Rules, Chemical Spray Defense, .380 Self Defense

Capacity Rules
Magazine capacity is a big factor in a self defense weapon.    Read this article on ponder.   In the 9mm realm Glock Wins 33 round mags are hard to beat.  Kel Tec makes a carbine that uses the same magazine as the Glock pistol.


Chemical Defense 101
This is a great article.  He recommends  The Triple Action Police Mace Brand.  I'd have to agree since I have carried Mace Brand products for 40 years.  The flip top approach is intuitive and a great safety feature preventing accidental discharge unlike some if the other designs out there.

The manual safeties require too much thinking and fumbling that might not work well in a stressful situation.

380 Self Defense Rounds
If you want to carry a .380 it helps to know what round to use.  This is a great breakdown of the main JHP personal defense rounds available in this caliber.

The great thing about .380 is the low recoil and ability to fire from a small handgun and still manage that low recoil.

Sig P238: My favorite is the SigP238.  It is ultra compact but totally reliable with all American made ammunition I used including Hornady FTX.  It is also the most accurate shooting of all the guns I tried in this caliber due to the trigger and single action 1911 style function.


Glock 42: The Glock 42 is ammo sensitive and needs a firm wrist.  It might help to also add a grip overwrap if it is too small for your hand.  It is very accurate and light shooting.


Walther PK380: Other notable .380 guns include the Walther PK380.  Having owned one I can tell you it shoots reliably and very softly due to its large size.  It is very accurate but feels cheap in the hand and the reverse safety and hammer drop function is not something I want to get used to since it is dissimilar to most other guns that I own.

Colt Mustang:  Nice gun but you might as well get a Sig.  I don't like plastic triggers and reliability is iffy unless you put lots of work into it.

Hornady Critical Defense .380 Ammo Review 

How to Shoot a pistol

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.

HK Pistols

HKP7 Remake
This is a work of art and so I thought I'd share the link for HK lovers.

HK P30  - I love this gun.  It comes in many variations but the best part of it is the grip.  Find a used one and you can get a world class work of perfection for not much more , $800 than a New Glock $550.    You can get it with a safety that can go cocked and locked, or double action.  Or you can get the version that doesn't have a safety and operates first shot double action and second shot single.  You can always cock the hammer. 

HK VP9 - This is the Glock competitor.  If you like the HK grip and don't want to hammer and prefer a striker rent a VP9.  It has a nice trigger reset and a nice trigger overall.  It points better than a Glock.

HK USP 9 - Big Grip and too big if you have a small hand.  Great if you prefer the single action method of function.  The trigger is nice but you have to get used to the size of the grip.

Where you live matters - Violence

3 Year old shot in road rage
Little Rock - Ranks 92 out of 100 for crime 

For comparison

Tucson  58 

Dallas 59

Nashville 91

Austin 35 **********

Baltimore 92

Annapolis 44

Los Angeles 44

Myrtle Beach 93

Low Crime Places to Live

Low Crime Cities

Top 10 Lowest Crimes Cities

Pick your place but remember demographics matters.  Live among people that think like you.

Home Defense: Home Invasion Goes Wrong

Thanksgiving Home Invasion

Intruder shot with his own gun by homeowner
This came out well.  No more home invasions for the perp either.

What to do: How to Defend Yourself.

• Get a dog or an alarm.  You need to be alerted before you wake up looking at an axe handle. 

• Get a gun.  Nothing works better for stopping a home invasion than having the ability and willingness to apply lethal force if necessary.

• Get Trained.  Practice your method.  If you rely on a handgun then spend time familiarizing yourself with the operation and practice shooting it.

  Make your home less appealing for invasion   

  The Five  Ls

  Locks - Bulk up your locks.  Deadbolts require them more time to get in giving you time to react and call authorities.
  

  Lights - Motion sensing lights, perimeter lighting, indoor lighting.  You can spend very little on electricity by using LED lighting.

  Landscaping - thorny bushes,   open wide spaces around the house and few hiding spots.

  Lettering -  ( Alarm Monitoring Signs) even if you don't have an alarm.  No trespassing signs if allowed in your subdivision.  Neighborhood watch stickers and signs.  Video monitoring signs.

  Look - How appealing your home is for invasion often is the apparent value of goods to be found.  Someone living in a rotted out trailer has less to offer a home invader than someone with new cars in the driveway of an immaculate and expensive home in a remote location.  

 

.22 for Self Defense Update: 81 Year old man kills attacker

81 Year Old Defends Himself in his home in PA - One Career Criminal Retired Permanently

A little .22 did the job.  Don't feel under-gunned if you can't handle anything else.  It's better than a club or a kitchen knife.  Actually, I'd have all three in the house ready for use.  The nice thing about the .22 is that if it doesn't stop them you've made it known you are willing to resist.   That is much better than submission.  Just because it didn't stop them doesn't mean the fight is over.  Sometimes they run and sometimes the fight has just begun.

Book Review: Way of the Reaper by Nicholas Irving

Book on CD: 6 Discs

Review by Lexington - The narrator makes this book feel realistic.  The action and descriptions during missions is excellent and gives you an idea of the proper mindset and risk an Army Sniper faces.  As a mental preparation for facing a combat situation this has value.  As a overview of what the men face while deployed this is another excellent perspective from someone who has done it.

This is a great book on CD. 

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.

Gun Confiscation: Will you turn yours in rather than wait for the door kicking session.

This article says you turn them in voluntarily. 
He said it was to slap gun owners awake and good for him if he did wake a few up.

As for turn ins.  Do what makes you feel better, safer, and accept the accompanying fate.

Ammo will be the real concern since they can choke that supply off easier than guns.  Imagine a world of cars without gas.  Ammo shortages have already been implemented by the ruling class as a test most likely.

Have a few extra guns around that are way old and probably not trackable, and whatever you do make sure you have enough to feed them for an extended period of time.

I somehow agree that they probably won't go door to door initially, but rather will first keep adding groups of people who must lose their gun rights for various reasons, Veterans with PTSD, Medical Marijuana Users, Drunk Divers and then later seat belt violators, and alimony delinquents.  Eventually the list might include mental illnesses that are defined by believing in the Constitution or anyone who utters things that are not approved by the collective.

Finally, they might come after online commenters and bloggers who suggest any kind of resistance to overt actions by the government even if the resistance is only in the form of non-compliance to illegal edicts.