Loading ...
What about caliber? Three items to consider. First, availability of ammunition; second, ballistics; and third, recoil (mentioned above). There will be times where you decide on a Saturday afternoon that you want to go to the range and practice. Darn! All you have are your self-defense rounds so time to run to Wal-Mart for a box of ammo. If you own a Makarov, chances are you’re not going to find 9mm Mak on the shelf in the Sporting Goods department. Pick a chamber size you can find—Your 9mm, .40S&W, .45ACP, and .38Spl will save you a lot of heart burn. That being said, there has been a panic that has set into the shooting community since the tragedy of the November elections. Finding ammunition in popular calibers has been something of a struggle. One way to solve this problem until the mass hysteria subsides is to make buying a box of ammunition a bi-monthly occurrence.
Ballistics have garnered a lot of attention these days. In April 1986, the FBI learned a tragic but valuable lesson on the importance of ballistic choice.
Two FBI agents were killed and five wounded in Miami during a confrontation with robbery suspects at approximately 9:45 a.m. on April 11. Prior to the shootings, the Agents, along with officers of the Metro-Dade Police Department, were conducting a mobile surveillance, attempting to locate two males believed to have committed a number of violent bank and armored car robberies. Observing a vehicle matching the description of one that had been stolen and used in previous robberies, an attempt was made to stop the car. When the Agents in three FBI vehicles subsequently forced the suspects’ vehicle to a halt, two males, aged 32 and 34, emerged firing weapons. They used a 12-gauge shotgun with a modified pistol grip stock equipped to fire eight rounds; a .223-caliber semiautomatic rifle with 30 round magazine; and two .357-caliber handguns. The resultant gun battle left the two assailants and two Agents dead, as well as five Agents wounded. The victim Agents, both killed by rifle fire, were 53 and 30 years of age with 24 and 3 years of service, respectively.
Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted, 1986. United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reports, Washington, D.C., 1986, p. 27.
Just because you may use your gun primarily for plinking, there may come a time where you will need to defend yourself with it. Shortly after the events of April 11, the FBI launched a study into the ballistics of their service pistols. Out of those findings came the decision that Special Agents can only carry calibers that have at least a “4″ as the first number. That means the FBI went to .45ACP and .40S&W. Both of these rounds tend to stop perpetrators quickly (not necessarily instantly). Massad Ayoob, an expert in firearms, even suggests that the modern 9mm round is a perfectly capable caliber, especially in warmer climates (video interview in Shoot to Live).
The .40S&W and .45ACP are fine bullet sizes, but will you be able to control the recoil and get back on target? Each person is different. Hand strength, grip style, barrel weight, and gun style will contribute to your ability to shoot accurately. Again, this is why it is very important to actually hold and shoot the weapon you’re considering before you buy it. There may be many who can not handle the full throttle recoil of a 230 grain .45ACP round, but 9mm is manageable. I’d rather have a 9mm I could control than a .45 I couldn’t—that’s why I don’t shoot the temple-thrashing of a Desert Eagle!
These are simple things to keep in mind as you look at a weapon of choice. Firearms can be a marvelous stress reliever as they cause you to focus on every step. Control your breathing. Control your trigger press. Control your body. Don’t flinch. Success is that much sweeter because you must stay focused from shot to shot. Be sure that your fighting weapon isn’t a weapon you’re having to fight. Keep these questions in mind, and find the weapon that fits your need and your hand and tell everyone else to keep their brand loyalty to themselves.
Be ready for further articles in this series.
Austin Tactical Firearms
Shoot.Straight.Accurate.