Self Defense: Stay Stock

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. 

Firearm Safety: Man shoots self accidentally and now faces charges

Bad Day - Man shoots self

It sounds like he broke the rules of gun handling safety and the law at the same time.  So he had no holster and no permit to carry.

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.

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

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.

Peltor President - Review

This is a QUICK REVIEW.

I bought this a week ago and find it one of the best hearing protectors I've owned in terms of comfort and sound reduction of 26 db.  Though you can find some that cut sound more the comfort level is always an issue.

These have deep cups and lots of foam and the spring tension doesn't give me headaches unlike some others I currently own.

As for how long this set will last it may take some time to give that outcome.

Here are some specs.

Liquid Foam Ear Cushions
Folding for Portability
Weight 8 oz.
USA Made

Price $31.56 online
I found a pair at $20 at a shop.

 More info to come as I try this set.

Additional recommendation:  I always have a set of plugs with me and wear them under the muffs as a backup for a loose fit or especially when shooting indoors.

Ultra Low Cost Handgun Training with BB Pistols

Regular practice that allows for many thousands of trigger pulls is a great way to increase your handgun skills.  To afford such regular practice I recommend adding BB guns to the mix of live ammunition and dry fire training.

I've been doing this for years.  Daisy makes some of the best and most economical Co2 powered BB pistols on the market.  Just as important is that they are of the proper size, function, and trigger pull to allow presentation, rapid fire, movement, and multiple target engagement.

You can set up a training range in your backyard if you have enough space for safe firing.  What matters is that these guns allow shooting for considerably less than live ammunition and give you some level of satisfaction that dry fire drills can't give you.  Even laser training gets old after a while since no real projectiles leave the barrel.  With 6000 rounds costing less than $10 and Co2 cartridges going for 50 cents each you can enjoy an hour of shooting for less than 4.

My first try on this was with some of the reproduction bb guns like the Walther Copy.  It was an $80 gun with magazines that cost a fair amount and eventually after not too much use it failed.

One day at Wally World I came across a Daisy 15xt on sale for $20 and tried it.

At the time it seemed like a winner compared to what I had tried.  I went through almost half a dozen of these as they eventually failed usually due to gas leak problems.  With a 15 round capacity it gave you as many trigger pulls as your average 9mm full size pistol.  I averaged almost 100 rounds per Co2 though the last 15 rounds had to be fired at close range to the target.  It also fit in a number of holsters that I already had including the HKP30 Serpa.  It didn't fit perfectly but it did work.  I even started using this gun to dry fire to avoid so much wear and tear on my real handguns.

One problem with the 15xt was that the trigger pull was stiff and the edges of the trigger were sharp so blisters became a problem.  I think daisy has phased out this model in favor of a newer one with some of the issues resolved.

The new Daisy Power Line 415 is a winner.  It fits an HKP30 holster perfectly and locks into a Serpa.  It has an upgraded capacity of 21 rounds.  The trigger is smooth and relatively light.  The sights have been changed on the front to fiber optic so it is easier to see.  I get around 100+ shots per Co2.

You can find the Daisy Power Line 415  BB pistols Online for less than $35 at this time. 

Be advised that eventually these guns do fail.  Either something will break or more likely you'll get a Co2 leak.  Daisy has sent me extra seals when requested but sometimes the problem is the plunger that punctures the Co2 gets dull or bent and it can't be fixed unless you're a good mechanic or are willing to send it back to Daisy.  I have a stack of both the 15XT and the 415 that have failed, but in general I get many thousands of rounds through them before failure.  When that happens I just order another.    Maybe someday I'll get around to repairing them.

In the last few years I went through 60,000 rounds using this approach at a cost of $100 ($10 per 6,000 rounds) for the BBs and $270 ($18 per 40) for 600 Co2 cartridges.  This is a total cost for BBs and Co2 cartridges of $370 plus six BB pistols as they failed.  Combined cost is around $600.

Compare that to firing a .22 nowadays at 10 cents per round.  Cost of 60k rounds is $6,000.

Shooting 9mm  at 20 cents per round for 60k rounds.  Cost $12,000.

Do you see the logic here.

Here are the advantages. 

One tenth the cost of shooting .22 ammo and one twentieth the cost of 9mm.

Draw and fire training.  Presentation etc.

Moving and firing that is much safer but realistic enough.

If you want to master the movements this is an inexpensive way to go.

In addition to all of that you have a cheap way to plink and have fun.

(Warning:  Always wear eye protection when shooting bb guns as well as firearms.  As for targets, if you use metal targets make sure that they are located in a safe area with enough distance to take into account ricochets.) 

Practice Sessions

So here is the setup for easy loading so that when the bbs drop past the feeding hole on the pistol they are simply caught in the plastic tub.   A plastic container such as this old tennis ball can is better than the one the bbs come in.  You can pour them easily into your hand and when you accumulate enough in the tub it's easy pour back in the can. 

Have a tube of pellet gun oil to rub a dab at the top of every Co2 cartridge before you install it in the pistol.  It punctures easier, protects the gasket, and is easier to remove the Co2 when empty.

Notice the eye-guards.  Wear them every time you shoot.

I practice with two pistols and have two holsters on the same belt.  One at 3 O'clock and one at 5 O'clock.  You have more practice shots and train for draw and presentation from both locations. 

4 Co2s will get you at least 400 shots, 400 trigger pulls. 
Do that a few times a week and you'll see incredible improvement in your shooting skills.

Happy shooting.

Kryptonite for the Left - A gun channel on cable.

I had to laugh when I heard about it.  A sports channel is one thing, but a guns for sale channel is heaven.    Check it out.

The left with go Bat Guano crazy over this and especially the number one Bat Guano crazy politician who is prattling on about something must be done about gun ownership.  Ah, such small pleasures as knowing the angst about to be rendered when the channel goes live.

Choosing A Pistol

 Here is a great site I found on choosing a pistol.
http://www.wikihow.com/Choose-the-Right-Pistol-%28Handgun%29


If you want my quick and simple weapon recommendation for a handgun of choice I'd go with a Glock 19 for 9mm or a Glock 23 if you want to have a .40 S&W.

These two weapons are built on the same platform and can function as weapons for concealed carry or as a primary service weapon that you might have on your nightstand.  So if you intend to go with only one weapon I'd choose one of these two.

9mm will give you more practice time if your funds are scarce while the .40 will offer more stopping power depending on the round used.

One other main benefit of the Glock is the availability of the Advantage Arms .22 adapter that will give you trigger time at 1/3 the cost per round.  I've found that I need to use CCI mini-mags in this adapter to get reliable function but that still leaves you paying approx. 7 cents per round versus 21 cents per round.

Safe Revolver Use

For the beginning shooter this is must video if you intend to own a revolver or shoot one someday.  Revolvers function differently than an auto-loading pistol and what you don't know can injure you badly.

Check out this video on the risk of escaping gasses from the side of a revolver to convince you not to hold one the way a auto-loader is held.

http://lewrockwell.com/gun-reviews/how-not-to-shoot-a-revolver.html