Guns and Common Sense

A Geezer's answer to Newbie questions

Originally posted on: rec.guns Date: 1997/07/09

Dear Newbie,

The size of the hole you can make with the weapon you carry for self-defense has very little to do with the realities of carrying a concealed weapon. The thing -- whatever it is -- is a chore and a responsibility. It is uncomfortable to carry, tends to rust or corrode and will eventually fall out of your belt at the supermarket bringing you instant fame, however brief.

If you ever have to use it, the odds are you'll miss, which is embarrassing but not necessarily bad -- there's a lot of paper-work, hit or miss but more when you hit.

Despite conventional wisdom to the contrary, having to use your personal weapon is never combat, which implies a certain degree of order, it is survival, usually under conditions impossible to foresee, including the strong likelihood the other guy will be more heavily armed than anything you are willing to tuck in your belt, day in, day out, for years at a time.

Your personal safety in today's society has far more to do with the state of your mind than the specifications of what's on your hip.

As to the specifics of your questions, ask your local range-master to let you fire a number different handguns using a variety of loads. What works for some may not work for you. But the odds are, you will find a five-shot .38 caliber stainless-steel revolver having a 2" barrel the most practical weapon to wear. The reasons have more to do with logistics and practicality than ballistics and stopping-power.

-Bob Hoover