Charley Reese Warns "Choose the Right Gun"

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

[Theodore R.]

Choose The Right Gun

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.

The press rarely reports what kinds of guns are used in crimes, and usually gets it wrong when it tries. Nevertheless, I have concluded Mr. Grump used a .22-caliber pistol. Otherwise, the Lucky Lawyer would not have remained on his feet for so long.

Now, a .22, a .25 and a .32 will kill you, provided the bullet strikes a vital organ. Sometimes the person will bleed to death if the wounds are not treated promptly. But in a self-defense situation, you will not be comforted by the fact that your assailant bled to death an hour after he cut your throat or blew your brains out. And, as Mr. Grump demonstrated on camera, hitting a vital organ is not that easy for an untrained pistolero.

By the way, the numbers used to describe bullets refer to the diameter of the bullet. We use the English system, the Europeans use the metric system, but the diameters are the same.

Most people who know anything about guns recommend as a minimum the .38 special, preferably the .38 Plus P with hollow-point bullets, for self-defense. I have always personally favored the .45, either the .45 ACP or the .45 Long Colt. Of course, the .40, the .357 Magnum, the .41 Magnum, the .44 special and .44 Magnum will also more than do the job, but there are disadvantages to those weapons.

Firing a .44 Magnum in a close room is likely to make your ears ring for weeks. There is also the danger that the bullet will pass through the assailant, through a wall and into some innocent person. After all, most of us no longer live in stone castles, but in places built with cheap wood and plasterboard.

I am not recommending that you run out and buy a hog leg for self-defense. That's too important a decision to be made on the basis of a newspaper column. If you are, however, thinking about it and you are not familiar with firearms, you must first do three things.

One, you have to prepare yourself psychologically to take a human life. It's one thing that can't be undone. As my father said repeatedly when he was teaching me to shoot, "After you kill somebody, it's too late to be sorry." And so it is. In a life-and-death confrontation, you can't afford to conduct a debate on whether to pull the trigger or not. So, if you can't visualize yourself killing a human being and then living with it, you're better off buying a can of pepper spray.

Two, you must learn the laws in your state regarding self-defense. They are both easy and tricky. It's easy in that the law states that if you, as a reasonable person, believe that you and/or another person are in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm, you can use whatever force is necessary to defend yourself. If you are inside your own home, you do not have to retreat.

Now the tricky part. Outside your home or place of business, if there is an escape route, you must take it. Even if someone walks up to you and spits in your face, slaps you or even punches you, you cannot whip out your gun and shoot the person. Killing for the sake of honor is no longer allowed in our decadent society — more's the pity, as it would greatly improve manners. Nor can you claim self-defense if you initiate the confrontation. For example, if you start a fistfight and your opponent whips out a knife or gun and you shoot him, that's not self-defense. Even in your own home or business, if the assailant turns tail, you cannot shoot him in the back and claim self-defense. If you plan to use a firearm for self-defense, you had better know the law, or you'll see the inside of a prison.

Third, you have to buy your gun and then practice diligently to become really proficient in its use, so proficient that you can use it in the dark when you're scared and caught by surprise.

And finally, a politically incorrect word of advice passed along to me years ago by a veteran cop: If you have to shoot somebody, make sure the judge will hear only your version of what happened. In other words, kill; otherwise, your assailant will probably sue you.

© 2003 by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

[Squantos]

Kewl.........I have had a tough time finding that round. Will order a case in the AM from my local gunrunner inc.

Thanks for the info...........Stay Safe !

[freedomlover]

FYI I have a Ruger 6 shot GP-100 357 with a 6" barrel - fun to shoot but a little clumsy to swing. Car gun.

[Mr. Mojo]

Damn, Squantos. ....I hope I didn't steer you wrong. I just checked out Winchester's website and the only 158 grs. listed were NOT hollowpoints. I sure hope I didn't pick up one of the last commercially available boxes the other day.

Did you hear anything about why it was discontinued?

[Mr. Mojo]

And neither Remington or Federal have them either, so it appears. This ain't lookin' good.

[Travis McGee]

Get a five shot .38 or .44sp snubbie!!!!!

[Squantos]

I was pretty sure they were no longer available as they worked well. I haven't been able to locate em but thought ya had found em back in the stores.........we'll keep looking. I have about 10 boxes left and they are "reserved more for carry vs plinkin........till I find a source.

Thanks for trying......keep me posted !

[Squantos]

I am impressed with the new Charter Arms Bulldog Pug. Harpseal has suggested that the 2004 shot show will present a few custom versions of that fine , cheap, well made little lightweight .44 special.........I feed it the 200gr Blazer Gold Dot Ammo. Very nice little revolver and extreamly accurate.

I'm waiting for the SHOT Show. Stay Safe !

[Mr. Mojo]

Ah, the Bulldog's back? The only other (relatively) compact .44 Spl I'm aware of is the Taurus (M445, I believe). Does the 'Dog come with a concealed hammer option?

[Travis McGee]

I like my old blue steel Charter Arms snubbie .38 with Hogue grips. Fits in a pocket like car keys. Goes bang every time you pull the trigger, and won't go bang if you don't. What more can you ask for in a defensive piece?

[Squantos]

No bobbed tail bulldog yet.....Harpseal says after 2004 SHOT Show possibly.

Stay Safe !

[Squantos]

Agree......I carry a 640 S&W Performance Center 357 mag snubby (when I need really deep concealment) that is ported with federal hydra shok's. I prefer the Barimi Grips for mine as it rides without a holster in my waistband really well with those grips.

The federal Hydra Shoks have almost zero night time flash from the port thus I get less recoil and don't get flash blinded per se.......Works well.

the Barimi's seem cheap but really work well. A custom grip maker makes a copy from laminated wood called Grip Lip ? I believe. I'll have to dig em out. They are really worth a peek if ya carry a revolver everyday.

Stay Safe !

[patton]

Why? I saw no mention at all of C4, or a trench broom.

[Eagle Eye]

Guns are like screwdrivers. You need the right one for the job or else you just mess things up.

I'm still trying to convince my wife that the 'one gun a month' legislation requires me to buy more.

[Shooter 2.5]

I did a search and the authorities said it was a .38. I did find a couple of comments from people who thought it was a .22.

[harpseal]

I have not talked with Nick from Charter Arms in a while now but will probably see him over the holidays. I will check on what he has in teh works the bobbed hammer Bullgog Pug is I know something that has been discussed and it really is not all that big a deal. Charter likes to keep costs as low as possible because that is where theri market is.

[holdmuhbeer]

I prefer a Remington 870 super mag pumping 18 pellets of 00 buckshot.

[Mr. Mojo]

"I did a search and the authorities said it was a .38. I did find a couple of comments from people who thought it was a .22."

I did a search and found some articles saying that authorities said it was a .38 and others saying that they said it was a .38. There must be a way we can definitively find out what it was. Any ideas?

[Mr. Mojo]

".38 and others saying that they said it was a .38"

I meant .38 and .22

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

Yeah. That guy stole my material. I'm thinking of suing him.

[Squantos]

LMAO.....Get him ....that was a good read !..........Stay Safe Ern !!