Bloggers Buying Guns
First Jeff Goldstein mentioned it was on the list after Dr. Psycho threatened his kids. Now The Jawa Report’s founder and head dude, Dr. Rusty Shackleford, is sufficiently creeped out by the Seattle shootings that he now realizes that hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid.
Vinnie has set up a comments thread for gun-buying advice there for poor Dr. Shackleford, whom I guess was one of those academic libertarians who don’t personally own a gun or a bong but like the idea of them. Personally, I thnk this is a brilliant srategy since everyone wants to give people advice on guns and he will get links and comments a-plenty. Including mine. My advice below the jump.
A lot of people well versed in these things are advising Rusty to get AR15 variants or semi-auto pistols, and position several guns strategically around the house. They emphasize using your pistol to fight your way to your rifle, armoring your house, and all kinds of stuff. They may be right, but their advice sounds a lot like some of the advice I was geting about computers—too much of a radical change. The guy’s buying a gun, not a tactical worldview.
Rusty should get a .38 revolver, or a .357 revolver and use .38’s in it. Don’t get a tiny one but do get one small enough that you can stick it in your belt or your glove box if you think there might be trouble. If the gun is too big and bulky it will get left behind when you need it. When you don’t use it it stores out of the way, unlike a big ugly pump-action Mossberg. A revolver is easy to operate; when the chips are down you need only operate the trigger to make it go bang. No safeties, no decocker lever, just a steady squeeze. You can learn how to use it in an afternoon. It’s powerful enough to stop a fight on a solid hit, but the recoil is mild enough that your wife won’t mind trying a few shots with it.
There are better and more powerful weapons. But if this one is handy and cheap and easy to use and easy to practice with, it might make a better tool over the long term than a more expensive or more sophisitcated pistol.
If I were in the market for a single self-defense gun today, but pretty new to guns, I’d probably look for one of these. Used. Ain’t paying no six hundred sixty bucks for it.
UPDATE: Robert in the comments suggests a K-frame Smith&Wesson .38 instead of the small J-Frame I linked to. That might be a better choice both because the extra weight will control recoil better and you get an extra round—six instead of five. On the other hand, that 3-inch barreled Smith is just sweet.
And any pistol you buy that’s made out of steel (maybe with some aluminum) is going to have a great sentimental value to your kids and grandkids. It’s worth getting good ones—by Colt, Smith and Wesson, or Ruger, especially, for the revolvers—since you will ideally be investing in an heirloom.
By the way, I didn’t mean to denigrate training and planning in this post. Since I live in California, I have an earthquake plan; since I live in the real world, period, I have a “bad guy in the house” plan. Just common sense to think about how you will react to dangerous situations. I do think it’s unrealistic to expect most people to alter their lives too much around these possibilities. A .38 revolver you know how to use is a cheap and reasonable first step toward making your house safer.