Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - In lieu of New Orleans, I'm thinking of purchasing a gun...

longbough · 09-20-2005, 08:50 AM

Unless you are prepared to practice regularly I would not recommend an autoloader for defense at all. Everyone thinks they'll practice a lot in the beginning, but the vast majority of them buy a weapon that's going to remain in the drawer by the bed.

In this case I'd suggest a good 4" (or less) .38/.357 (nothing smaller than a .38) revolver. Ideally, you'd want a "hammerless" type, or a bobbed hammer, because it won't snag when drawing. Also, proper combat shooting is double-action only. Single action is for target shooting.

I wouldn't suggest doing anything fancy to it like porting. At best I'd get the best DA trigger job I can find and maybe (just maybe) have it cut for moon-clips.

Ammunition. There are fancy defense rounds that abound but I'd suggest you get regular ball or HP ammo for 2 reasons.

#1. Liability. Regardless of the circumstances, even in a justifiable use of deadly force on your part, you may find yourself arguing your case in a court of law. Face the facts, this isn't a perfect world. A prosecuting attourney will latch on to the fact that you used "special" bullets to "maim" your "victim" and portray you as someone looking for a fight. Don't give them ammunition for that argument. Stick with JHP ammo. Even people I know who reload their own ammunition use off the shelf JHP ammo in their personal defense guns because the lawyers will do a similar number on you if you were using "homemade" ammunition.
#2. It is important that you practice almost exclusively with the same type of ammo you intend to use. And if you use Glaser Safety Ammo/ BAT Safety Ammo/ Black Talons/ Corbon +P or whatever it's going to get mighty expensive. You wouldn't want ldiscover that your weapon behaves differently with the Corbons you have loaded up (maybe even fail to function!) than with the JHPs you used for at the range!

All those fancy rounds have seductive advertisement campaigns - but the only thing that consistently puts down the subject is shot placement - which comes from practice.

Personally, I use a Glock 23 .40 with hi-cap mags, and an HK USP Compact .45. But I practice a great deal - including malfunction drills and emergency/tactical reloads. I also keep around a very pretty S&W M-19 .357 revolver which would be the first gun I'd hand to someone like yourself in a moment of crisis (heaven forbid).

Oh and BTW the "ultimate home defense weapon isn't a shotgun."
It's a good dog.

09-20-2005, 08:50 AM	#8 (permalink)
longbough Soylent Green is people. Location: Northern California	Unless you are prepared to practice regularly I would not recommend an autoloader for defense at all. Everyone thinks they'll practice a lot in the beginning, but the vast majority of them buy a weapon that's going to remain in the drawer by the bed. In this case I'd suggest a good 4" (or less) .38/.357 (nothing smaller than a .38) revolver. Ideally, you'd want a "hammerless" type, or a bobbed hammer, because it won't snag when drawing. Also, proper combat shooting is double-action only. Single action is for target shooting. I wouldn't suggest doing anything fancy to it like porting. At best I'd get the best DA trigger job I can find and maybe (just maybe) have it cut for moon-clips. Ammunition. There are fancy defense rounds that abound but I'd suggest you get regular ball or HP ammo for 2 reasons. #1. Liability. Regardless of the circumstances, even in a justifiable use of deadly force on your part, you may find yourself arguing your case in a court of law. Face the facts, this isn't a perfect world. A prosecuting attourney will latch on to the fact that you used "special" bullets to "maim" your "victim" and portray you as someone looking for a fight. Don't give them ammunition for that argument. Stick with JHP ammo. Even people I know who reload their own ammunition use off the shelf JHP ammo in their personal defense guns because the lawyers will do a similar number on you if you were using "homemade" ammunition. #2. It is important that you practice almost exclusively with the same type of ammo you intend to use. And if you use Glaser Safety Ammo/ BAT Safety Ammo/ Black Talons/ Corbon +P or whatever it's going to get mighty expensive. You wouldn't want ldiscover that your weapon behaves differently with the Corbons you have loaded up (maybe even fail to function!) than with the JHPs you used for at the range! All those fancy rounds have seductive advertisement campaigns - but the only thing that consistently puts down the subject is shot placement - which comes from practice. Personally, I use a Glock 23 .40 with hi-cap mags, and an HK USP Compact .45. But I practice a great deal - including malfunction drills and emergency/tactical reloads. I also keep around a very pretty S&W M-19 .357 revolver which would be the first gun I'd hand to someone like yourself in a moment of crisis (heaven forbid). Oh and BTW the "ultimate home defense weapon isn't a shotgun." It's a good dog. Last edited by longbough; 09-20-2005 at 09:04 AM..