Firearms for Personal Protection: Armed Defense for the New Gun Owner

226 Pages·2014·14.21 MB·English

Firearms for Personal Protection
provides the armed citizen with
comprehensive information and FIREARMS
education on critical aspects of practical
personal-protection gun ownership and
use, featuring:
• Solid, practical information
on fi rearms, free of pseudo-tactical
attitude.
PROTECTION
• Technical information on various models
of suitable personal protection fi rearms.
• How-to: choosing the right gun,
becoming profi cient, methods of carry,
and more.
• Special section on Prepping, for those
whose fears extend beyond dark
parking lots.
Achieve solid, quiet competence with
the help of the old-fashioned, practical,
About the Author:
Joseph von Benedikt spent common sense approach you’ll fi nd in
several years as editor for Firearms for Personal Protection.
Intermedia Outdoors, and most
recently as Editor in Chief of
Shooting Times magazine.
US $22.99
U8581 (CAN $25.50)
® ISBN-130: 917-844-01-2-4340892-93-5899-4
Gun Digest Books
AN IMPRINT OF F+W, A Content + eCommerce Company 52299
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0 74962 01679 9 9 781440 238994 JOSEPH VON BENEDIKT
U8581FulCVR.indd 1 8/13/14 2:33 PM
FIREARMS PROTECTION VON BENEDIKT
UPC
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FIREARMS
F O R P E R S O N A L
PROTECTION
ARMED
DEFENSE
FOR THE NEW
GUN OWNER
JOSEPH VON BENEDIKT
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Copyright ©2014 F+W Media, Inc.
All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be
reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic
or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information
storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the
publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a
critical article or review to be printed in a magazine or newspaper, or
electronically transmitted on radio, television, or the Internet.
Published by
®
Gun Digest Books, an imprint of
F+W, A Content + eCommerce Company
Krause Publications • 700 East State Street • Iola, WI 54990-0001
715-445-2214 • 888-457-2873
www.krausebooks.com
To order books or other products call toll-free 1-800-258-0929
or visit us online at www.gundigeststore.com
ISBN-13: 978-1-4402-3899-4
ISBN-10: 1-4402-3899-5
Cover Design by Dave Hauser
Designed by Tom Nelsen
Edited by Corrina Peterson
Printed in the United States of America
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For Guthrie
Who taught me the value of a Glock
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4 • FIREARMS FOR PERSONAL PROTECTION
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments ...............................................................................................5
Introduction .........................................................................................................6
Chapter 1: Semiautomatic vs. Revolver ............................................................7
Chapter 2: Caliber Choices ...............................................................................15
Chapter 3: Concealed Carry vs. Nightstand Guns .........................................25
Chapter 4: Recommended Concealed Carry Handguns ...............................50
Chapter 5: Recommended Nightstand Guns ..................................................60
Chapter 6: Choosing the Right Handgun ........................................................71
Chapter 7: Handguns vs. Rif es vs. Shotguns .................................................80
Chapter 8: Rif e Cartridges and Shotgun Gauges ...........................................96
Chapter 9: Prof ciency and Safety..................................................................104
Chapter 10: The Practical/Tactical Dichotomy ............................................113
Chapter 11: Get the Most Out of Your Handgun ..........................................119
Chapter 12: Get the Most Out of Your Shotgun ...........................................135
Chapter 13: Get the Most Out of Your Rif e ..................................................141
Chapter 14: Care and Maintenance ...............................................................161
Chapter 15: Customizing .................................................................................171
Chapter 16: Lights, Lasers, and Other Gizmos ............................................181
Chapter 17: Avoiding Conf ict ........................................................................194
Chapter 18: After a Shooting ..........................................................................197
Chapter 19: Your 2nd Amendment Responsibility ......................................203
Chapter 20: Special Prepper Section .............................................................205
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS • 5
Acknowledgments
To my wife Jenna, who supported and encouraged me and who suffered cheerfully
through my stamping and grouching when the stress of working a full-time position as a
magazine writer and attempting at the same time to pen a book sent me out of my nut,
and to my lovely little children, who allowed my bedtime presence and the clacking of my
keyboard to lull them to sleep in lieu of bedtime stories: Thank you.
Also thanks to my twin brother Aram, who gave up his time and served as a model for
many of the photos contained herein, and to the other patient friends who allowed me to
put guns in their hands and take pictures.
And f nally, thanks to the excellent editors at FW Media, who worked their magic and
polished my manuscript into readable form.
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6 • FIREARMS FOR PERSONAL PROTECTION
Introduction:
Earning
Competence
was 13 when I f rst carried a gun for personal protection. My twin brother and our
14-year-old buddy were heading into the Southern Utah desert for a week of cow-
Ip unching. Only a few days before, a hiker had found 21 cattle dead and dying, shot
with a small-caliber rif e. Pregnant or with small calves, no less. It was later determined
that one of the more radical environmental groups had hired a hit man—if someone that
murders cows can be dignif ed with the term—to go in and kill the cattle.
Young we were, but there wasn’t going to be any of that on our watch. Lever-action
carbines slid into dusty saddle scabbards without drama or fanfare, and we rode 17 miles
through desert gulches and towering red cliffs to the line shack, prodding the packhorse
into a trot so as to make it by dark.
Southern Utah in the ’80s was still undiscovered, for the most part, and though I
didn’t know it at the time, I grew up among the last traces of the American West. Little
kids could buy .22 shells at the local gas station without raising anyone’s eyebrows.
Teenagers packed guns when camping or working in the backcountry. My father gave
me a reproduction Single Action Army in .44-40 in my mid teens, and I’ve been carrying
handguns, rif es, and short shotguns in one form or another ever since.
My philosophy regarding f rearms for personal protection is founded in practical
mastery, versatility, and the unconscious competence that only comes with time and
frequent use. I don’t believe that compressed tactical training—as in the many tactical
classes so popular today—can match long acquaintance and familiarity with a f rearm,
though to be sure such training is a great way to attain a jump-start on correct handling
techniques.
Unconscious competence, to my mind, will always trump pseudo-tactical enthusi-
asm. Such competence cannot be wooed, cannot be purchased; it must be earned.
Where do you start? With knowledge and practice. You’ll never master a gun lying
untouched on a shelf any more than you will a guitar gathering dust in the corner.
The knowledge is in this book and others like it. The practice, and the competence
that follows, that’s up to you.
This book may be read cohesively or sporadically. Start at the front and read right
through to the back page, or start in the middle and dip here and there as interest dic-
tates. Each chapter complements the others yet stands on its own.
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SEMIAUTOMATIC VS. REVOLVER • 7
Chapter 1
Semiautomatic vs.
Revolver
ome time ago, my schoolteacher nephew and I headed out of town and pulled off
the highway onto a two-track in likely-looking coyote country. Utah’s bounty was up,
Sand both of us f gured we could use a few extra bucks. I removed my Smith & Wes-
son M&P9 Shield from my waistband, stuck it into my war bag, and climbed into my camo
clothing. As I belted on my revolver—a customized Taurus 425—I noticed that my nephew
had removed his Beretta Nano and was threading a holstered Ruger SP101 onto his belt.
I had to laugh. It was the perfect demonstration of the fact that sometimes revolvers are
more suitable than semiautos, and vice versa.
Semiautomatic handguns are typically the better choice for suburban and in-home
use and, when cared for and kept clean, are the f avor of the day in what I’ll term combat
zones—whether an Afghanistan outpost, a disaster area overrun by consequence-free
crime, or an apocalyptic end-of-days scenario.
Revolvers and semiautomatics are very different beasts,
though both are capable personal protection arms.
Know the differences and choose what best f ts your
environment and needs.
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8 • FIREARMS FOR PERSONAL PROTECTION
Revolvers are less susceptible to dirty, adverse conditions than are semiautos. If your time is spent in the
outdoors, and you prefer a low-maintenance approach to your gear, you’re likely best served with a revolver.
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SEMIAUTOMATIC VS. REVOLVER • 9
Revolvers, on the other hand, are the better option when sand, dust, and involun-
tary neglect add up to an environment that may challenge a semiauto’s reliability. They
are just more reliable in very dirty conditions. Also, revolvers tend to be chambered
for more powerful cartridges—sometimes much more powerful—than semiautos. While
this is an advantage in the backcountry or around livestock and heavy predators, it’s a
disadvantage in an urban neighborhood composed of thin walls and sleeping children.
Can the two vastly different handgun types cross over in usefulness? Absolutely. How-
ever, each has its strengths and weaknesses. Here’s a look at the def ning characteristics
of each type.
Revolvers
Since revolvers don’t depend on harnessing the energy of a cartridge to function, like
semiautos do, there’s just one less thing to go wrong. Squib loads, dud primers, a tight
cartridge too stubborn to chamber easily—none of these affect revolvers. Additionally,
since human muscle works a revolver’s action, bits of sand, lint, dust, or fouling that
would choke a semiauto can be overcome by, well, a little more muscle. Just ear that
hammer back and let f y.
Revolvers have the virtue of extreme simplicity.
The double-action versions best for personal
protection may be f red by simply pulling the
trigger through it’s long stroke, which rotates the
cylinder to a fresh cartridge, cocks the hammer,
and then drops the hammer and f res the gun.
With practice, a revolver
can be reloaded quickly
via the use of a
Speedloader.
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