More thoughts on self-defense

Cube's comments on the previous post lead us to further thoughts.

We fully support personal ownership of machineguns.  Indeed, the Posse hopes to buy several at some point.  Guns are cool and there really is no upper limit to the number we intend to purchase.  Only our finances prevent us from having more small arms than the Soviet Union.

But self-defense is another issue and we strongly suggest you acquire more experience with guns before making a costly and possibly unnecessary purchase.

A used .38 revolver will do for 99 percent of your needs.

We say this based on our own experience, our own needs and the advice of our friends who include law enforcement officials and military veterans.

Any gun is better than no gun.  Use what works for you.

And lest there be any confusion, being prepared isn't being paranoid.

It is a perfectly rational desire to defend yourself.  Carrying a loaded gun in your pocket is every bit as sensible and prudent as having a spare tire in the trunk of your car.

However, there is a point where one can go too far.

Lugging around 30 rounds of ammunition "just in case" is a little bit much - just as carrying an entire set of tires in your car is overdoing it.

Comments

[Chase]

So the micro Uzi under the car seat was a tad too much?

[Zendo Deb]

5 shots enough? Maybe. I don't know what the rated stopping power of a +P round is, but I would guess it is significantly better than a 9mm or .380. Given that, you would need fewer shots on average to stop an attack.

But don't give up on reloading. Speedloaders are wonderful. A friend of mine shoots competition against police regularly (He gets invited by the chiefs to show the rank and file how it should be done.) He shoots a .38 to their glocks. He often wins even though he has to reload more, in part because a 9mm won't always knock a steel "popper" down at long range. And of course accuracy counts.