Long-term readers here at Target Liberty know that I have not focused on gun ownership.
My view has been that if you want to own a gun, it is fine with me but that I felt no special desire to own one myself.
I have now changed my view on this. At the present time, we live in an extremely unstable environment.
It is impossible to know what comes next. There is a possibility that things die down and return to relative normality or the madness intensifies with society moving even closer toward the collapse of civility and respect for freedom.
I am too steeped in Austrian school economics methodology to believe I can know how things will play out in advance. But I do know that it could get very bad. I am not saying it will, just that it could.
Under this possibility, I consider it important to own a gun(s).
It may be required to protect your life or property. It may be needed when taking an escape route to a saner place. I don't know.
But this is not the time to just hope things turn out right.
Get a gun, learn how to shoot it and hope you never have to shoot it at anyone.
-RW
Glock Model 23. Bedside Companion.
ReplyDeleteOoops, second half of comment.
ReplyDeleteI'm KIND of a gun newbie, or I was a few years ago. So, I'm in Walmart to buy a shotgun for the boat. I was going with a smaller (410?) gun for maneuverability. So I said to the man, "Is that the shortest barrel you got?" He said anything shorter would be illegal. The guy behind me says, "Got a hacksaw?"
budsgunshop.com
ReplyDelete(1) Revolvers are more reliable. No magazine springs that get metal fatigue. Old technology that always works. Go for a Smith & Wesson .38 caliber.
ReplyDelete(2) If you're going with semi-auto, get a Glock 17. It's a full-size, but shoots very manageable 9mm caliber (basically, same as the .38 mentioned above). Hardly any recoil, given the size of the gun frame.
(3) 12-gauge shot-gun. Get #4 buck-shot ammo... Every trigger pull sprays out about 22 pellets, each the size of a .22 caliber round. Perfect for home defense.
And remember the saying: "A handgun is for shooting your way to your rifle." So, think about getting a good rifle too. Ruger 10/22 is classic...they even make a model (the "takedown") that comes apart and fits in a back pack.
A Taurus 692 will give you 3 different calibers out of the same revolver. Hard to beat the flexibility.
DeleteI agree with the revolver. Simple, easy to see its loaded and always ready. But the best gun is the one you have on you.
DeleteAgree completely. I'm new to gun ownership myself. Got a home protection shotgun two weeks ago. Mossberg Auto-Loading 930 shotgun (5 cartridges, semi-automatic), advised by my neighbor who owns the range & gun shop. Force protection for your home. With The right shells, this will fire through walls and hitting a single shot with this shotgun to an intruder / attacker would be similar to firing 6 or 9 .22 caliber rifle shots at once.
ReplyDeleteAlso attending a 3 hour Permit to Carry class virtual Zoom meeting tomorrow night, to enable purchase of hand gun and permit to carry in my state.
Intelligence in our area was Antifa from neighboring state had planned violence at big box stores, which closed and boarded up for a few days. If they couldn't hit the stores, intelligence was they were to hit prominent republicans with home invasions.
Capt, if you want stopping or killing power, imo your best bet is 12 ga. There you have a choice of two of two killing shells, double 00 buckshot ( shot about the size of peas) and a slug (one large piece of lead). I believe .410 shells are limited to birdshot, not effective in stopping power.
ReplyDeleteOh, I agree. My concern was the tight quarters in my sleeping cabin. The thought was, that boat invaders in the islands are actually quite timid, and any loud noise will chase them.
DeleteI ended up giving up (for now) on the shotgun and snuggling up with my Glock .40 S+W. Hollow points, of course. Do the damage in the bad guy, not in my nice teak bulkheads.
For the timid: fire crackers!
DeleteYou may scoff. It's a lot easier to scare them off rather than deal with dead, bleeding bodies. Especially if you're an American in a foreign country.
DeleteFrangible bullets---if you can find them---won't penetrate and sink your boat. They break apart easily---inside the intruder, of course.
DeleteJust being silly, Capn Mike, not scoffing.
DeleteI know, I was just being rhetorical. :)
DeleteSo, the "gun nuts" who saw what's coming decades ago aren't looking so crazy now? By the way, from my halfway liberal friends who were always anti-gun (but recently decided they want a gun) I've heard that it's hours-long lines now in gun shops in SF Bay Area.
ReplyDeleteMy sister scoffed and belittled me and my twin brother for years and years over our "obsession" with guns. I almost thought I was having an LSD flash-back the other day when she said she's looking for a concealable pistol, is going to take classes and get a carry permit, etc. Weird times...
DeleteNever need an excuse to buy another gun, but I like excuses for that purpose.
ReplyDeleteI like revolvers, a person should have at least a .44 mag with bear loads if you are out and about in the woods of Alaska. Grizzly bears don’t negotiate much if they want to kill you.
But I really like my semi auto pistols too, and my shot guns and rifles. The key is to get to know whatever gun it is that you decide to shoot. I have a lot of guns, I reload my own ammunition to get that “perfect” load, but that’s mostly for hunting, although I reload a lot of 7.62 and 5.56 with fmj bullets too.
But, I have a certain .45 auto that I am very familiar with and shoot the most. Also I have a couple semi auto rifles that I know better than the rest. Shoot shoot shoot. Get comfortable with it, so you trust it and yourself using it. Then it doesn’t matter what gun you have, it can do what you need it to when you need it to.
As far as the .410, you can find defensive rounds for that now too, slugs, buckshot, and Hornady has a “critical defense” line of ammo that is supposed to work well, and it comes in the .410 also.
Practice with cheap inexpensive ammo, but always shoot plenty of what you plan on having in your gun for protection. The kick(recoil),muzzle blast, and a few other things may be different, and in a time of need, you don’t need extra surprises.
I’ve never shot a human and hope I never will, ever.
But I have been attacked by grizzlies before where we both got surprised, and being comfortable with my weapon has saved me in a “seconds count” situation a few times.
Shoot shoot shoot. Then shoot some more.
Not much cheap, inexpensive ammo in stores these days Josh!
DeleteThat is true, but I see deals online on gun and ammunition sites that if you can buy bulk or surplus it’s much more reasonable. We cannot get ammo shipped here in Alaska through online means normally, so a bunch of us, and I know several groups of guys who do this, go in together and buy a pallet of ammunition at a time, this cuts the cost down quite a bit normally. But, it’s certainly not going to get cheaper I don’t think, and maybe priced out of reach for all of us soon.
DeleteSure wish we could have 'muh open borders' and let in more low IQ turd world trash per the libertardian policy directives. And where all those libertarian brown, black, and yellow people? If there are so many of them, why all the unrest?
ReplyDeleteWhere did your ancestors come from? How can I be sure they weren't "low IQ turd world trash"?
DeleteI find that people who fear immigration are the ones who aren't secure in their own skills to pull their weight in society.