Free For All Friday: 4-17-2015: Defense Calibers, Home Defense Guns and Picking Holsters
Completely unrelated to guns (which is really how I start out almost every FFAF, now that I think about it) but is anyone else getting tired of click-bait posts on social networks? Stuff like “you won’t believe what this cat does after the owner gives it catnip” or “my jaw dropped when I saw what happened next”. It’s especially bad when they’re trying to make a completely mundane video or article sound controversial or interesting. On the few times I’ve ever clicked on those, I wind up feeling like I’ve completely wasted my time and bandwidth. In the words of the Emperor: “For the love of all stop signs in the galaxy, cease and freaking desist!”. I don’t know what annoys me more, though, the fact that everyone seems to be doing it or the thought that they’re only doing it because it actually works.
How do you feel about a .380 versus a 9mm for home self defense? -Shelly M.
The debate of .380 vs 9mm is almost as heated as the 9mm vs .45 debate. My personal opinion, .380 is perfectly fine for the majority of situations the average person is going to run into while carrying. Think of it like this: when you rent a car, they always push that optional insurance on you. You can pay that extra money (which usually doubles your rental rate) to be completely and utterly covered no matter what happens or you can just use your own insurance to cover the car. In the grand scheme of things, you’re not likely to need either (although not having insurance at all is not a good idea) but it really depends on how much you’re willing to prepare for. The biggest far/against is rather situational: If you’re regularly in situations where you might get encounter assailants wearing thicker, clothing (i.e. northern states during the winter) then the extra punch from 9mm would probably be beneficial. During the summer when people are wearing t-shirts and shorts? You probably won’t need the extra weight or power. In the end, it’s a matter of preference. Ballistic tests have shown that there isn’t that much difference in modern defensive rounds, however.
How do you know you found a good holster? IWB would be my concern. Ps I love the blog and thank you for offering this to the community! -Shaun M.
First off, thanks for reading! When it comes to IWB holsters, I personally have a few important guidelines what with to judge:
- It should facilitate concealment – In other words, a good IWB holster should make it easy to conceal the gun
- It should have good retention – a holster is useless if the gun won’t stay put in it. With all of my holsters, I can turn them upside down with the gun in them and it won’t fall out.
- It should allow for an easy draw – there’s such a thing as too much retention, however. If you can’t get the gun out of the holster without fumbling it’s kind of pointless, isn’t it?
- It should be secure inside the waistband – If you go to draw the gun and the holster comes with it, that’s not good. It may be funny in the movies but it real life it can be life or death.
- It should be comfortable – Notice comfort is last on the list. It needs to be comfortable, mind you, but that’s not the most important factor.
What makes the shotgun ideal for home defense? What’s wrong with using my handgun? -Mike H.
The main reason why shotguns are always touted as the de facto home defense gun is because they’ve always been touted as the de facto home defense gun. Now, I know I’ll probably get some operator wharrgarbl for saying this but the truth is: the best home defense gun is the gun you’re holding at the time. I’d rather have a .22 pistol in my hand than the best shotgun in the world on the opposite side of the room. At the same time, the best defense gun in the world is the one you’re most comfortable using. A defensive scenario is a fast, violent and stressful situation. That’s not the time to be learning how to use a gun. If you’ve got an AR-15 that you’ve shot so much you could work it in your sleep versus a shotgun that you maybe fire once or twice in a month, you’re going to be better off with that AR no matter what. That’s not to say a shotgun isn’t a great option. All things being equal, however, it’s not really much better than any other option. It truly depends on the person holding it.
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