Charley Reese Warns "Choose the Right Gun"

King Features Syndicate, Inc. ^ | 11-12-03 | Reese, Charley

[Core_Conservative]

I asked a police friend of mine what the best gun was for self defense in the home? Answer: Sawed off shotgun. Has a great pattern - will disable most bad dudes in a hurry, you don't have to be REAL accurate and you will probably not kill any inocent people!

[AnalogReigns]

Glock Perfection....in a 40 cal. Standard Issue of the FBI and 75% of US Law Enforcement.

[AnalogReigns]

One must make sure that a shortened shotgun is
a) safe...done by a gunsmith, not your hacksaw, and
b)legal, as most states have a minimum length requirement for shotguns (gun friendly Virginia I believe, requires an 18" barrel). Cheapest and easiest to buy one factory shortened.

The Russian factory that makes Kalashnikovs offers an AK-47 action shortened 12 guage, available in the USA. Sounds good to me....

Shotguns are even legal, so I understand, in places like the Peoples Republic of the District of Columbia--where no other gun is legal (for us little people).

[wardaddy]

late to the thread.....do you guys sleep?

I prefer a .357 wheelgun for grab it and go. My favorite "feel guns" are about any 1911 or P2SB style semi-auto by various manufacturers.

Like many here, my family has a about every caliber conventionally made and I am comfortable with them all. I would prefer to grab a 7 shot cheap .357 wheelgun off the night stand quick grab safe but if it happens to be a 44mag Vaquero SA then so be it...it'll work fine.....or a 15 shot Peitra 9mm or a bulky 45 Long Colt or even a High Power (whose action I am not crazy about)

I would not keep plinkers like Colt Cowboy 22LRs or Baby Browning 25s or NAM .32 Guardians around for danger grabs were it me. The lightweight .38 these days make those guns not so enticing for light work. My wife's 642PD packs a nice load and will blister a small hand quick and is fairly effectively.

But like all here admit, the 44 special (one we don't have) is arguably the best punch for recoil and reliability and low collateral damage. In a perfect world, I'd opt for 40s only aside from the .357 in either caliber.

However, if an intruder is coming down the hall, I'd grab the 45-70 or even a 460 Weatherby Mag (if I had one) or my .54 Jaeger frontloader...if I missed him I'd at least blind him so I could then beat him to death with it.

The best gun when you need it is always the one you can grab.

PS: Everyone (I know some of you are tired of hearing it) should watch the Medal of Honour repeat on PBS tonight at 9EST...

Regards

(rant off)

PS#2: Buy mankiller ammo....the good stuff....Corbon or Blackhills but if it's grandpa's wheelgun, ask the gunsmith if it's ok.

[Squantos]

Gonna have to set the TiVo for the MOH special.....I'm off to the salt mine in a few.......Good advice ! I'll add to never bring a handgun to a gunfight if at all possible. 12 Gauge or 30 caliber semi-auto long gun is my first choice when I know my Rott's are losing ground. But as you say....dance with the one that brung ya !

Stay Safe ........sleep ?

[wardaddy]

Yep....I'd be comfortable with one of our old SKS(s) anyday in that scenario.

with plenty of strippers at the ready.....you gotta like that.


my office gun is at the moment a 9MM 99 with a 30 round extendabutt clip and the right ammo....Glazers leading off followed by Talons or Sabers....you never know....feels like a Mac more or less.."grab that clip and let er rip"...lol


Where is our resident Mac poster child anyhow?

oddly though...as a middle aged man, I have grown fond of wheelguns for quick synapse relief....when I was a boy, I had to have the best in semi-autos ...which were rather limited back then when Gun Digest was a lot thinner...lol

[William Tell]

From the article: If you saw the recent video of "Old Mr. Grump" shooting the "Lucky Lawyer" in Los Angeles, you can learn a valuable lesson about which firearm to choose for self-defense.

This incident also teaches a good lesson about the use of cover and the value of not giving up. The victim did a good job of using a relatively small tree as a barrier to prevent the attacker from closing on him. The virtually unaimed shots were far less damaging than a contact wound to the head or chest would have been.

Six .22 slugs delivered to center of mass is a tremendous challenge to the circulatory system and the victim would probably not have survived it.

[Travis McGee]

I don't shoot enough to rate an auto anymore. Wheel guns are more forgiving to those with limited range time.

[Travis McGee]

Good points! If the victim had given up and "gone fetal" he's be dead in all likelihood. Even while staring at a smoking muzzle, and taking hits, he kept his head. He's a survivor! Too bad Kali didn't let him or any bystanders carry a gun for defense.

[Eaker]

It looked to me like the guy was shooting blanks and it was the wadding that hit the guy.

[patton]

.22 short

[Eaker]

.22 short

I don't think a .22 short would stick in the meat of the neck which something fairly clearly did.

If blanks, which would hurt like hell were used it wouldn't fit the media's agenda anyway.

[oldcomputerguy]

You will hear some suggest the Kel Tec P32 (.32ACP caliber).

I have a P32 and have had two problems with mine after about 70-80 rounds thru it.

In the first instance, the trigger pull grew progressively longer as I approached 50 rounds. It then could not be pulled back far enough to fire.

After that was fixed, I put another 20 rounds thru it and it jammed. The reason was that the plastic recoil guide rod has worn down from friction and allowed the recoil spring to slip into the guide hole along with the guide rod.

Now I don't target shoot it anymore but still have it. Just make sure you keep a new guide rod handy to use for serious shooting.

[Mr. Mojo]

I prefer a .357 wheelgun for grab it and go.

I hear ya, but I've just never been able to shoot them as accurately as semi-autos, for some reason. (I can't hit the side of a barn with a .357 snubbie......shooting 125 gr. full-power .357 loads). And the semi-autos I shoot best are 1911's, which fit my hand like a glove. .....although I'm uncomfortable with the short-barreled (<4 in.) varieties. When CharterArms comes out with that bobbed-tail Bulldog .44 Spl I'll give it a try as my "grab and go" piece.

[wardaddy]

I shoot semis more accurately too and 1911s as well....I think they fit everyone's hands better.

But, most civilian firearms exchanges are within 7 yards and I just like the simplicity and relaibility of wheelies.

I keep high cap at work because it's in gangsta zone.

At home for fumbling in the haze, I'd opt for any wheelgun .38+P and up.

I can hit well at distance with a wheel gun given time to aim.

I'm not a recon-ranger...just a simple man raised with guns. I'm confortable with all of them.

The only gun ever to vex me was a Competitor single shot like a TC Contender with a "cannon breech". I had to be shown how to reload it...lightest trigger I ever saw too....284 Winchester I think...nice punch...you knew you'd shot it.

[Mr. Mojo]

I just visited the FAQ's section of the Charter Arms website and this particular Q&A caught my eye:

Q. Can I shoot +p in my .38 five shot revolver?

A. Charter .38's are the smallest revolvers in this caliber, they can handle +p but we do not recommend a steady diet. Studies have shown that +p ammo is not a great defensive round because the bullet travels so fast that unless a critical area is hit the perpetrators may not be stopped. We recommend hollow points and full metal jacketed ammo as it will open and have a better chance stopping the intruder.

This doesn't make sense to me. First of all, their assertion that FMJ ammo will "open" - I'd imagine they mean 'expand' - is clearly false, from my experience with phone books and water jugs anyway. And secondly, their suggestion that +p .38 ammo has essentially the same (or even less!) stopping power as standard-pressure .38 flies in the face of all street-stats I've seen. Obviously hitting a "critical area" is most desirable, and I'd rather hit the CNS with any .38 than miss it with a .45. But the quote above seems to be suggesting that the +p's extra velocity is a hindrance, all other factors being equal.

[patton]

I have not been following the case that closely.

But I gotta tell you, that lawyer was awsome.

[William Tell]

Travis McGee said: "Too bad Kali didn't let him or any bystanders carry a gun for defense."

Perhaps mistakenly, legislators in Kalifornia are afraid that armed bystanders might just exercise too much discretion in identifying who is the victim and who is the attacker.

This might be especially a problem if one of the parties was a lawyer. Perhaps this lawyer owes his life to the disarmament of his clientele. If four or five of his former customers had been in the area, he might have been a goner.

[Possenti]

Killing for the sake of honor is no longer allowed in our decadent society — more's the pity, as it would greatly improve manners.

Reinforces the old saying, doesn't it? - - An armed society is a polite society.