Posted on 06/05/2018 10:27:46 AM PDT by Simon Green
Recently, Sheriff Jim Wilson posted his thoughts regarding the practice of purchasing and carrying “pricey” firearms for personal defense, and I’d like to offer my perspective to the conversation. In particular, I’d like to address the pervasive sentiment—on anonymous Internet forums, at least—that it is foolish to buy or use expensive firearms because it may need to be used in a defensive shooting, and would subsequently be held as evidence by the police.
This is pure “Web Warrior” B.S. of the first degree, in my opinion, and here’s why. Let’s just say you own and carry a $1,500 firearm … Scratch that, let’s make it a $4,000 gun … Heck, let’s call it a full-custom, gold-inlaid, unicorn-tear-lubricated $15,000 one-of-a-kind pistol. Now, let’s just say you use said firearm to successfully defend yourself and your loved ones. Sure enough, the pistol is collected as evidence, and you have no way of knowing when or if you will see it again, or what condition it will be in once returned.
Even if you never see that gun again, that $15,000 was the best investment you’ve ever made. That tool empowered you to save your own life and the lives of your loved ones—frankly that’s a bargain, don’t you think? Especially when you consider that personal defense was probably a primary reason for buying the gun in the first place. Regardless of the price, when you buy a tool for a specific task and it performs as expected and gets the job done, that’s money well spent.
Now, there is a different question that also informs this issue, and that I think many of the keyboard ninjas are trying—unsuccessfully—to convey, which is, “Do you NEED an expensive gun for self-defense?” The answer here is clearly, “No.” Used and maintained properly, a $250 gun is absolutely a defensive force multiplier. And I would much rather have a $250 gun in place of nothing, if those are the only choices my budget allows. All of this coincides perfectly with Jim’s assertion that you should buy and carry the best quality handgun that you can afford—and, yeah, higher quality commands higher prices.
In my experience, when dealing with reputable arms makers, guns that cost more feature higher-quality components and tighter tolerances of quality control yielding products that break and malfunction less. (Let’s be honest, every maker and every model experiences failures, but quality guns from reputable makers fail less and should be trusted more—reputation matters.) Beyond reliability, additional outlay might provide “quality of life” enhancements—better sights, better triggers, more ergonomic designs—which can help the user shoot faster or more accurately.
For those who are just getting started in defensive shooting, or gun owners looking for the “best” or “greatest,” I would recommend, instead, purchasing a “good,” reliable firearm from a reputable maker. Perhaps look at what law enforcement agencies are using, as a starting point. A good, service-grade defensive handgun will probably set you back $500 to $800. After that—and before you start looking for your next gun, or hundreds of dollars’ worth of upgrades and accessories to hang on your pistol—you should consider spending the same amount, or more, in range time, practice ammunition and quality training (again, reputation matters when it comes to instructors). I promise, if you put in the hours and ammunition to become proficient with a “good” gun, you are going to learn for yourself what you want in a “great” gun that will better suit your needs. And that gun, at any price, will be a good value if it performs reliably, and enhances your ability to defend yourself and those dear to you.
From experience, there is always someone crazier than you are. If your weapon has worked the last 500 times at the range, you,re one unlucky son of a bitch when it fails on the street. Doesn't matter what it is. No worse luck than if one of your cells starts to reproduce uncontrollably.
Wow! I've had a Taurus PT-99, based on the Beretta 99 (1911 style safety, 9mm w/ adjustable sights,) since 1988, and it's been an amazingly reliable handgun. I used it for USPSA competition for nearly 3 years, as well as plinking and bowling pin competition. I'm guessing that I've put at least 40,000 rounds through it over the years, and I've only had 2 failures - the first was where the roll pin securing the rear sight came out during a match. While I was shooting, I felt that there was something different, but didn't know what it was. Only after the course of fire did I realize that the rear sight had fallen off the top of the slide!
The second was from me trying to come up with a good 9mm "Pin Load." Using IMI 169gr 9mm FMJBT bullets, I finally found a load that took pins off the table with authority. After about a month of shooting those at weekly pin matches, the slide stayed locked shut after firing a round. Examining what happened, one of the locking lugs sheared off, causing the action to stay locked. I sent the pistol to Taurus and they repaired it, no questions asked. I later learned that the load I had been using was actually considered an SMG round, exceeding +P+ pressures. I was lucky the handgun didn't go grenade on me.
I would trust my life with that Taurus.
Maybe things have changed.
Mark
I take it you aren’t a big believer in mathematics?
Quality is one thing but when it comes to my daily carry piece I’ll stay away from the gold inlay and unicorn tears.
Forget about the police taking it. What about the other 10,000 days your carrying around your tool. I’ve had mine soaked in rain, soaked with sweat, dropped in a lake and slid down a gravel embankment. All while still attached to me!
Spend as much as you want, just don’t expect it to remain pretty.
“I would add powerful enough to stop the attacker immediately.”
No handgun qualifies, then.
That should be in the gun wisdom hall of fame.
Hmm...I have a Kimber. Nuff said.
JoMa
Heh heh heh, that was funny!
Ed
The P-99 is a fine gun. The PT-22 and 25, not so much.
Reliability and stopping power are the only prerequisites I believe in for home defense.
Cheap old Ruger police model .12 gauge works for me. In 50 years I have never had to use it to defend my home so the average cost per year is really cheap.
Anything else is for the ego and pleasure of having something of conspicuous consumption. But if you feel the need for a .44magnum like Dirty Harry or a Barrett .50 for that matter, go for it. No one cares but you.
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