The training industry, whether professional trainers, writers, bloggers, or the denizens of any tactical training forum, tend to be more than a little snobbish. I’ve been guilty of it myself. “If you don’t carry XYZ pistol, and ZYX knife, you’re gonna get kilt in deez streetz, yo!” There is an article going around social media right now, that I read the other night. I don’t recall the website or author, so I can’t link it, but it made a point that a number of other people, who specialize in criminal/predatory violence and personal protection issues, that resonated with me, again. The point made was that, criminals, armed with whatever piece of shit gun they could steal, had a higher hit rate than police officers did (it also made the point that, while police officers should not be considered the pinnacle of firearms skill, they are probably more skilled than the AVERAGE concealed carry permittee). I suspect the reason that this jumped out at me, this time, was because, half an hour after I read the article, a friend of a friend called me on the phone. “Hey, John, Bobby suggested I call you. I asked him, but he said you were the guy to ask, so…if you had to choose between a S&W Sigma40 (I don’t actually recall what S&W it was, but I do know it wasn’t an M&P), and a Taurus, which would you choose?” Now, my initial response was, “Fucking neither one of those pieces of shit. Get a Glock.” “Well, I’d get a Glock, but I can’t afford it.” “How much money do you have? Why can’t you save up the difference?” He went on to explain that he had roughly $250, and with his income (barely above minimum wage), and with a wife and a school-aged kid, he really didn’t think he could save double that, without something taking priority before he saved it up. “Well, in that case, I’d look for a decent .38 wheel gun.” Now, that sounds like sacrilege to a lot of readers, and it sounded like sacrilege to him, because he’d been around me enough to hear me explain that ammunition capacity, when coupled with accurate fire, is never a detriment. So, I asked him what he wanted/needed the gun for. Home defense. “Alright, dude. Here’s the thing…unless you are doing something that you think is gonna cause a crew of ‘bangers to come through your door, a revolver is probably gonna be more than adequate for home defense in our little town.” I kept considering it though, after I got off the phone with him, and it actually really bugged me. I’m not rich. Economically, I’m probably not even upper middle-class. Nevertheless, I’ve got enough gear and weapons and preparedness supplies to outfit not just us, but a couple other families within our community. So, at a brief glance, it seems fair for me to tell people, “Exercise some self-discipline, save some money, and get a decent gun!” But…I also recognize that not everyone shares my concerns and priorities. Not everyone makes even as much money as we do. Not everyone who makes as little money as we do has enough self-sufficiency to raise some of their own food, to reduce their financial burdens. They should, but they don’t. And, that’s not the end of the world. So, my point is, so what if someone comes to you and asks for recommendations on guns, and cannot afford the gun(s) you think “everyone” needs? Do you scoff and tell them to suck it up and get what you recommend, or do you offer them some ideas on which they should get? The Armed Citizen column, at the end of The American Rifleman, the NRA magazine, and Tamara Keel’s relatively new column for SWAT Magazine, highlight the defensive use of firearms by normal, average Americans. Lots of them are elderly, or live in poverty-stricken neighborhoods. It’s fair to guess—when we don’t explicitly know—that most of those guns used are NOT red-dot equipped, custom-stippled polymer frame guns with aftermarket triggers. They are old surplus 1911s, or .38 SPL revolvers, left over from Grandpa’s days walking a beat. I don’t want to face down a home invasion with a .38 wheel gun. You know what I have never done? Anything that warranted me being worried about a crew of ‘bangers coming through my front door. Granted, I live in a very rural location, on the outskirts of a very small, rural village, but even when I lived in a shitty, ghetto apartment, in a large urban center, I never really worried too much about it. Most of the people you and I know probably don’t legitimately need to be worried about it either. If you do, fix your shit. If your friends do, reconsider your social choices, and fix their shit while you’re at it. That doesn’t mean I’m going to trade out my Glocks for the ancient Harrington .32 caliber revolver sitting in my desk drawer, but at the same time, I have decided to peruse the counters of some of the pawnshops and gun stores in the closest larger towns to us, to see what is available, in different price points. That way, the next time someone calls me and asks for advice on what kind of pistol he should look for, when he only has $XXX to spend, I can actually give him better advice than I was able to this time. At the end of it all, one of the things I’ve tried to express to readers, in this blog, and in my books is, when shit gets sporty, you’re probably not going to have a hand-picked crew of pipehitters with a decade of door-kicking experience under their battle belts. You’re going to have your friends and your neighbors. So, while it would be NICE if they were all equipped with top-of-the-line M4s and tricked-out Glocks or M&Ps, it’s probably not going to turn out that way. It’s going to turn out far more inline with typical SF CIDG/UW experience, where folks show up with everything from old bolt-action hunting rifles and single-shot, break-action shotguns, to pocket pistols, retired police revolvers, and whatever Saturday Night Special that Grandpa bought as a home defense gun for Grandma when they were in their twenties and just starting out. You’re going to have to do what SF soldiers and old-time Jedburghs did when that happened…roll your eyes, laugh at the ironic sense of humor of the gods of war, and drive on with the mission. So, get in the practice now. When someone asks you for the advice I was asked for, look at it as a training opportunity for yourself. When someone shows up at the range, and they are sporting a gun you think of as a piece-of-shit, take the opportunity for what it is: a chance to a) familiarize yourself with a gun you’d probably have NEVER even touched, otherwise, and b) a chance to train a local G with their personal weapon, just like you will be doing as things get more desolate. Oh, and don’t be a dick, by telling them they’re dumb for buying a piece-of-shit. You don’t know their circumstances, so roll with it. Continue reading...
