Anyone who is seriously considering getting a firearm for personal defense should get a copy of “In the Gravest Extreme” by Massad Ayoob and read it from cover to cover – twice.
There are few issues in the US more controversial today than that of firearms. Partisans on both sides of the issues are passionate, often fanatical, about their viewpoints. Those who are rigidly and categorically opposed to them have real and valid concerns, while those on the 2nd Amendment side contend that answer to those concerns is to stress responsible gun ownership and use, not to ban them.
Guns are certainly dangerous things. They were created to be dangerous and for their danger. Like any powerful and potentially dangerous thing, they must be used with good sense and in a controlled manner or their destructiveness can outweigh their good. But, at the same time, they are far from the only dangerous things in our world.
Unlike several decades ago, few Americans use firearms to put food on the table. Before the advent of the modern farming and meat-packing industries, having a rifle or shotgun and knowing how to use it often made the difference between eating and going hungry.
But, in today’s world, the only two real reasons left for the use of firearms are skill-based sport and self defense. Sports such as trap and skeet shooting, sporting clays, or simple target shooting are accessible to people who may not have the physical attributes to engage in basketball, rock climbing, or other physically demanding activity. Men and women, boys and girls, of all ages can gain great satisfaction from developing the concentration and hand-eye coordination required to send those little projectiles down range and have them meet their target.
But, aside from the potential “fun”aspect of firearms, they have a use that has literally life and death significance. A favorite saying of gun ownership supporters is – “When seconds count, the police are just minutes away.” When one is in “The Gravest Extreme” danger, a firearm can be the only thing which stands between you and death or severe injury for someone you love.
In 2007 a young couple, Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom, were abducted, brutally assaulted, mutilated, and killed. No matter how many police we have, most people will spend most of their time in situations where they are vulnerable to random violence. If either or both of those kids had been carrying firearms it might not have saved their lives, but it would have given them more of a fighting chance.
The decision to get and use a firearm is an act of taking responsibility for oneself and one’s own protection, as well as the protection of those you care about. A firearm is a great equalizer – neutralizing the power differential between slightly built woman and a 200 lb rapist, or between 2 young people and 5 rapists and murderers.
Once the decision is made to take what control over one’s personal safety that one can has been made, there are a wide variety of options. There are many fine firearms available. Choosing one always boils down to a matter of a few practical considerations and personal preferences. Firearm advocates are often passionate about the subject, and if you ask a question of two of them, you are likely to get at least 5 opinions.
Here are a few of mine.
The first decision to be made is what type of gun – handgun or long gun, and if handgun, revolver or autoloader. For personal defense, I go with a handgun, hands down. In personal defense situations, long guns are hard to handle, and often way overpowered for the situation.
For the beginning handgunner, I believe the choice between an revolver and an autoloader is also a slam dunk – a revolver. Autoloaders are fine pieces of equipment, but they require a higher degree of skill and maintenance to use effectively. And, no matter what the auto lovers say, they are inherently less reliable than revolvers. On the top 10 list of characteristics a self-defense firearm must have, reliability is numbers 1-7. If it doesn’t work the first time when you really need it, then it is worse than useless – MUCH worse. Introduction of a firearm into a conflict situation totally changes the nature of it and ups the stakes as much as they can be upped. It MUST work. A standing joke among firearm enthusiasts is that Smith & Wesson invented the original “Point and Click Interface.”
The next consideration is size. Here is where personal preference and personal characteristics take precedence over any “advice” you can get. Basically, you want to have something large enough to do what you need it to do, but not too large for you to handle effectively. Your choice will also depend on whether you plan to use it for home defense or as a personal defense weapon you have with you at all times – generally termed a “Concealed Carry” type of weapon.
For home defense I don’t think it is possible to beat the venerable .38 caliber. It is powerful enough for most circumstances, but not too powerful so that it runs the risk of significant over-penetration and injuring someone behind the bad guy. The best and most versatile combination is a .357 as it is able to shoot both the more powerful .357 ”Magnum” and the standard .38 special. There is a huge variety of different loads available for these two calibers, and their popularity assures that almost any store which carries any ammunition at all will have a few choices in .38/.357.
The brand of firearm you choose will depend on a lot of things. Like everything else there are bargain lines/models as well as top-of-the-line and everything in between. Above a certain floor of quality and reliability, any additional money spent will go more toward fit, finish, and name mystique than to the core function for which you are buying the firearm.
While there are literally hundreds of good handguns available, when someone asks me to suggest what a good first one would be, my recommendation is always a 4″ Ruger GP100 – the one shown in the picture above. To me it is the perfect combination of power, cost, reliability, and durability. I’m sure that there will be some other opinions expressed – because the one thing gun enthusiasts seem to like even more than using their firearms is talking about them.
The decision to acquire, and use, if necessary, a firearm, is one of taking personal responsibility – being responsible for one’s own self-protection and the protection of those we care about, the decision to use it responsibly, and the decision to talk about the issues responsibly. Not everyone has what it takes to escalate to potentially lethal violence if the situation demands it, and sadly those people who don’t are helplessly dependent on both the goodwill of others to not target them as victims and on those who are willing to take that step. Taking responsibility, taking initiative, and being protectors are all very masculine traits.
But, most of all, the decision is one of claiming personal power and hegemony over one’s person. I am a fervent advocate of handguns for women because nothing puts the exclamation point at the end of “no means no!” when faced with a criminal psychopath, like a weapon which takes the balance of power away from his greater size and strength and puts it in her hands.
It is the world’s most eloquent expression of – “I do not give you permission to harm me.”
