Pistol Advice for Mike
First, caliber is both important and unimportant. I need a bullet that will do the job but
there are any number of cartridges that will take care of business. I can defend myself with a 9 mm, .40, 10 mm,
.357 SIG, .45 ACP, or just about anything that goes bang. I would personally stick with 9 mm or .45
simply because ammunition is more available than some of the less common
calibers. Select a good bullet that will
give you the penetration you need. Test
the ammo you select in your pistol for reliability. Don’t expect the same sort of performance out
of a .25 as you would a 9. Also, even
though a .500 will do the job, follow up shots will be more difficult and
weight can get out of hand. My personal
preference is for a .45 ACP with a controlled expansion hollowpoint or full
metal jacket flat point in 200 to 230 grains.
Don’t get too caught up with accuracy. Accuracy is actually at the bottom of my
desirable attributes in a defensive pistol- reliability is the most important. Remember that virtually all defensive
shootings occur at conversational distances (“Gimme yer wallet!”) with most occurring
at contact range. Yes, you are most
likely to start shooting when your opponent actually has his hands on you. Many years ago, Col. Jeff Cooper stated that
virtually all modern, quality handguns were capable of shooting golf-ball size
groups at typical defensive ranges.
Clint Smith states that, if you can keep all your shots on a paper plate
at 15 yards under all conditions, you have sufficient accuracy to save your
life. I don’t mind as much accuracy as I
can get but I won’t give up reliability and I don’t see an advantage to
carrying a pistol that will shoot one-inch groups at 50 meters when I can’t
shoot one inch groups at 50 meters under field conditions. If you and your pistol can hold one inch per
ten meters under stress and field conditions, that’s really all you need out of
a handgun.
Don’t spend so much time agonizing over which pistol to get
that you end up without. I can work with
just about anything. I have my
preferences but I’ve been issued or had to settle for something else on more
than one occasion. I will understand the
limitations of whatever I get and work to maximize my ability with whatever I’m
carrying.
I would advise you to get a nice used Glock or Springfield
XD in 9 mm, .40, or .45. Police
trade-ins can be a good deal. Otherwise,
there are several inexpensive but solid imports like Taurus or Canik. You can find something inexpensive you can
work with until you decide what you really want. It doesn’t hurt to have more than one
pistol.
