If you followed armed self-defense issues in print media, you’ve seen some or all of these issues written about. Before you complain about the boomer discussing print on dead tree materials, you’ve likewise seen this material in the “guntube” universe, in blogs and social media.
As far as which side of each topic is “right,” I suggest a reframe – it’s not “right” and “wrong,” it’s material to be rationally considered, discussed and individually decided on.
First, and recently in one of our own services, is the issue of handloaded ammo for defense. Without raining on parades or arguing individual aspects of custom, personally assembled ammo for street use, I prefer to default to my personal defense ammo standard, the “big three.”
Defense ammo must have (1) ignition reliability, (2) functional reliability and (3) it must hit to the sights. After that, adequate penetration is good, decelerating in the target medium is likewise nice – but if it doesn't go “bang,” ties up in the gun, or hits “somewhere out there,” all that expensive bullet development and testing is a colossal waste of effort.
In my considerable experience – I was a handloader many years ago – I prefer premium defense ammo from ammo factories. I’ve seen too many failures with personally loaded, professionally remanufactured and bulk-pack low-cost range ammo from big factories to use anything but the premium stuff.
But, it’s up to you. What’s your life worth?
Closely related is the rambling of the “caliber commandos.”
Tired old tales surrounding “this versus that” sold a lot of magazines and the writers were interesting, but it’s like professional wrestling or soap operas – all scripted. I’ve fallen into the camp of “they’re all pitifully impotent popguns” and none of the rest of it really matters.
In the 1980s and 1990s, I found that the ascending 9mm service autos were often not as accurate as 38 Special revolvers and 45 Autos. I wonder why that was?
Could it be that enormous development stretching back to the 1930s – the era of bullseye, when it was rimfire, centerfire and US service auto – led to finding the best practices to make 38 S&W Special and .45 ACP as accurate as possible?
Development on 9mm as a handgun service round began in earnest in the early days of the M9 pistol and has continued. The brief 40 S&W respite – some of those loads are delightfully accurate – combined with making better 9mm delivery systems, which helped better guide the 1908 9x19mm revolution.
Bottom line: if I had to gear up to go to work today – and I’d complain long and loud about it – the caliber of handgun would be among the least of my worries.
Recently, people started to question the issue of carrying spare ammo in addition to what’s in the gun.
A reload is typical of stoppage reduction; any stoppage in the cycle of operation has to be remedied in the fight – which is where stoppages tend to happen. Having a way to unload-reload is priceless.
Don’t look at me. My first night on the job, I had a loaded Ruger Security-Six in a department Jordan holster from Don Hume. The rounds were a Speer hollow point, likewise issued by the department. There were 12 additional rounds in the snap-open double dump pouch setup, also from Miami, OK’s Don Hume.
That was it, all she wrote, to defend myself and that town.
As time went on, a Smith & Wesson Model 60 backed up another S&W, the Model 66-1. The M66 was loaded with Winchester 125gr. JHP 357s. The M60 held five rounds of Winchester Super-X X38SPD, 158 grain lead semi-wadcutter hollowpoint +P ammo. A speed strip in the shirt pocket held six rounds of KTW for the holster gun, while another had five more rounds of X38SPD for the pocket gun.
Seem like a lot? I carried it okay.
Now, old and retired, there’s at least one spare of ammo for whatever is being carried. While you may marvel at your new wonder-pistol being trouble free on the range, in fights stoppages seem to join in, just for the fun of it. Sometimes you have to empty the gun and reload it to sort out the interruption in the cycle of operation.
Having the spare mag to do that can be priceless.
Now we have, “it’s not a hands-gun, it’s a handgun.” People that devour shooting videos can be heard to marvel at the number of times someone shoots one-handed operationally, even when they don’t have to.
Why? Beats me. I shoot one-handed because I may not have both available. And, when I do regular shooting work-outs one-handed, I note that my two-handed shooting improves.
Those were easy “questioned aspects of defense firearms.” If you have some, let’s see them and we can check them out.
— Rich Grassi
