a .75 Recoilless like “Slippery Jim” DiGriz--I knew the day was coming, but OMG, what was I thinking buying so many weapons in different calibers??? The only answer I can come up with is I have a gee-whiz personality and want to own all the gee-whiz toys I can lay my hands on. But, OMG, now I'm paying the price and don't like it one bit!! I've already dropped thousands and haven't even secured a decent supply for half my guns (which I'm figuring at approx. 1,000 practice rounds to start with and 250-500 self-defense rounds, or so -- although I recognize the latter is WAY too optimistic... Who do I think I am anyway, John Wayne???).
I should probably buy 5,000 rounds of practice ammo for each gun and one small box of self-defense ammo. My last humiliating trip to the range with my newbie nephew strongly suggests it. This isn't like riding a bike; you may not forget, but you do get incredibly rusty with lack of practice.
Anyway, good article. I love his perspective. Has me thinking I should get rid of my mouse guns and save myself a bundle in the process. Then maybe I could buy that FN Five-seveN I've got my eye on! :-)
The BG?? Ballistic gelatin? Is that what we call them now?
This makes me very comfortable knowing that I have a .357 next to the bed and in the car. Sure they are revolvers but that’s what I started with and still gravitate to.
Well, I did until that boating accident at least. Tough luck that.
The problem with this article and his issue with the 9mm is that most gangbangers are using the cheap walmart ammo. there is a huge difference between 115gn FMJ CCI blazer and Federal Hydrashock 147grn JHPs. in a 9mm.
Flame away
I shoot .452 in pistol and larger in rifles.
A 9MM will get you a fair fight, a .45 ACP most likely will end the fight on your first shot.
Big slow calibres are the best.
You may wish to start reloading. Much cheaper and more accurate than factory rounds.
Way cheaper.
Thanks for posting this. I’m going to have to rethink a few things after reading it.
When it comes to home defense, it's time we started thinking Somalia instead of Suburbia. Pistols for home defense are so twentieth-century. Today's home invader is likely to be insane, accompanied by a small army of likeminded invaders or SWAT-ted out in kevlar. Rapid, deeply penetrating, decisively wounding hits are needed. Nothing delivers them like a semi-auto battle rifle.
9 x 23
Pros
Capacity of the 9 mm
Stopping power of the .357 mag
Cons
Not much in the way of commercial ammo (mostly reload)
Not much in the way of standard guns (mostly custom builds)
I take these things with a grain of salt. The man who taught me how to really shoot was a Viet Nam vet, and longtime member of the army rifle team. What did he carry as his personal sidearm in the civilian world? A Ruger Mark III.
One thought for shotgun guys. My 12 ga. is loaded with the last two rounds in 3-1/2 inch magnum buckshot, a whole lot more kick than the Federal Reduced Recoil 2-3/4 inch rounds loaded for home defense. In the event that I lose count, and if I end up needing that many shots, (1) I want a reminder that I’m almost empty, and (2) I’m a whole lot more interested in hitting hard and a whole lot less concerned about over-penetration.
The thing I find most intriguing about this round is the big, black, hole you find when you go looking for first hand reports on it's effectiveness.
Lots of hearsay and naysay available from "expert" opinion peddlers, but damn little in the way of After Action Reports, or terminal ballistics out there for a round used by so many LE agencies and foreign military organizations.
It would seem to me the best way to employ this round is to shoot "at" something, as opposed to just trying to score hits on the BG.
“... I can tell you that when the chips are down, there’s nothing that beats a 12-gauge...”
Thank you.
A 12Ga. loaded with double-0 buckshot is my preferred means of investigating noises at night.
a .75 Recoilless like “Slippery Jim” DiGriz--bfl