Getting Organized for Handgun Self Defense

H

Hard Ball

New member
If you are going to defend your self with a handgun you should amke some basic preparations over and above just getting a handgun. In no particular order you should:

1) Have spare ammunition available. When you carry the weapon have at least one complete reload on yor person and two is better
2) When you are at home keep your spare ammunition available so that you can pick it up in the dark when you pick up your gun
3) Have a good small flashlight that you can carry with you or pick up with the gun in a home defence situation. The best ones I know are the Surefire 6P and 9P.
4) Get a good holster and practice with it
5) When you practce at the range do some reloading using spare magazines for an automatic and speedloaders or individual cartridges for a revolver
6) In the home defense situation you will find it hard to carry all the gear I am recommending around in your hands. The best solution I have found is to use a belt with a holster, spare ammunition in carriers and flash light installed. This way if a situation is starting to develop you simply put on your belt and you have everything
7) This last point has nothing to do with equipment, but practice! Practice engaing multiple targets, reloading while keeping ypir eyes on the target, shpot in low light conditions if you can and integrate using your flah light with your shooting techniques.

Remember what Teddy Roosevelt said:
"Always be prepared for trouble. It's surprising how little trouble you will have if you are always prepared."
 
Hard Ball,

You made some good observations in your post. I've been using a large fanny pack to store my "extras" in - just strap it on or grab and go. You might want to add a cell phone to your list.


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BKs Pistol Pages
 
I am a bit dubious about pepper spray because of its uncertain effects on people who are on certain drugs. Still, it could cpme in handy in certain situations such as encountering an ubarmed opponent.
 
I'll add;

- have a warning system, either canine or electronic or both. advance notice is priceless, much more important than caliber or any of the other commonly contended issues...

- know your home; hiding places, cover, and concealment. do a lights-out walkthru with your flashlight (and I concur on the SureFire 6P/9P/6Z/9Z family of lights) to understand what it will be like trying to clear your house.

- think about having a fixed-blade knife in case things get to close-order drill.

- lastly, many folks are more in danger of fire than violence in the home. check your smoke alarms and extinguishers.
 
My suggestion: Don't be a reckless hero. By that I mean--

If you hear an intruder(s) downstairs (or the other part of the house), and you and the family are upstairs, retrieve the kids and bring them to the master BR. Secure the door, and call 911 on your cell phone you keep by the bed.Guard the family, and be prepared to react if the BG's attempt to enter the room. They are toast at that point.

Never attempt to clear a house by yourself if at all avoidable, with an unknown # of BG's in it, without help or backup.(SWAT cops won't do it). It's a recipe for disaster. Stuff isn't worth dying for. Loved ones are. imho.

[This message has been edited by Covert Mission (edited March 09, 2000).]
 
Streamlights STINGER is a good light as well - the rechargeable one that is. Very good light. You can get them for a little less than the Surefire light.

And the suggestion for the Cell phone... Yes.
Add that cell phone - as long as we are talking products and which are better make it a Nokia. www.nokia.com - better than the Ericssons by a large degree and better than the motorola or sony or mitsubishi models by less extents, but better none the less.

And this has nothing to do at all with the 500 shares of Nokia I picked up last week!
:D
 
Covert Mission has it right on! Remember you are armed for DEFENSE. Don't try to start an offensive against an unknown force armed with a handgun and flashlight. The bad guys will have the upper hand. Pull back into your defensive position (bedroom, etc.) and guard the door while you wait for the law enforcement types to arrive. After all, that's what the cellphone was for.

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"An unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man."

Cesare Beccaria, the father of modern criminology
 
Sithjedi....I will have to agree with you on the pepper spray portion. In a court of law, it will be much easier to defend the fact that the "alleged criminal was unaffected by verbal commands to stop/stay away, which resulted in the use of pepperspray, which was also rendered useless, so I was therefore limited to the use of deadly force." In my opinion, it makes the civil law suit I may face a little harder to pursue if all means were exhausted before I resorted to deadly force. Just a thought.

JJC
 
Sithjedi....I will have to agree with you on the pepper spray portion. In a court of law, it will be much easier to defend the fact that the "alleged criminal was unaffected by verbal commands to stop/stay away, which resulted in the use of pepperspray, which was also rendered useless, so I was therefore limited to the use of deadly force." In my opinion, it makes the civil law suit I may face a little harder to pursue if all means were exhausted before I resorted to deadly force. Just a thought.

JJC
 
First, self defense involves a lot more than buying guns and stocking up on ammo. How many attackers are you expecting? The Chinese Army?

If you are going to carry a gun legally outside your home, the first thing you need to do is find a good lawyer and put him/her on retainer. You are putting yourself into a position where you could need legal advice in a hurry, and giving the cops a lot of BS about your rights won't get you out of jail.

Then consider the situation. Right or no right, if your reasons for carrying are only that it makes you feel good, reconsider. See my post on "I forgot" in this forum for the other side of the coin.

Jim
 
Jim,

great reply, that is a definite must

JJCook,

i was thinking of the scenario of the drunk, dangerous relative that stumbles in (or other similar situation) and is getting belligerant, hard to control, etc. the points that pepper spray doesnt work absolutely 100% of the time are well taken, but i think there are situations in which the gap in force between hand2hand and firearm is too big.

thanks
 
The "drunk intruder" situation happened in Virginia last year at a graduation party. The intruder had a gun and the party host ended up killing him. Some people would consider this cut and dried, but the party was at a hall, not at home. If the host had not had a CCW license, he could have gone to jail on an illegal gun charge, even though the killing was ultimately ruled justified. It was obvious that the cops were, in fact, bending over backward to give him the benefit of the doubt, but the press (as usual) took the side of the "poor oppressed victim" and it was touch and go for a while. No civil suit that I know of, at least yet.

Jim
 
keep in mind that some characterize pepper spray and mace as "less lethal" weapons, not "non-lethal". some states consider pepper spray roughly in the same category as Zyklon B, others don't. get some informed legal counsel on both code and case law on every force level you intend to use.

personally, in most common home defense scenarios, I want to limit the number of possible responses. some criminals are skilled at taking advantage of hesitation; in the process of using spray, you may find yourself wishing you had escalated straight to the gun. generally, if the bad guy is outside the house, then he is not an immediate threat, and the proper weapon is the cellphone. once inside, there won't be a lot of time. fortunately, in many localities once a bad guy is inside the house, he is fair game if he doesn't retreat when you issue a challenge.
 
Regarding pepper spray backup--

A pistol and a flashlight, two items--one for each hand. Add one or more BG's and it's plenty complicated for me without adding another dangerous device. If you've got time to decide whether or not to use the spray, maybe you've got time to take aim at a certain non-thoracic vital organ. If the BG still is a threat (miss :eek:, won't put gun down, whatever) two in the chest at that point seem plenty reasonable to me. For the court case afterward, you first tried using lethal force in a non-lethal manner.

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Show someone the way
to the NRA
 
OC has its merits... It isnt a universal tool and wont work 100% but then neither does .357 Magnum. Nothing is 100%.
When it does work - 90% of the time - it works just as advertised... which is very well.
Packing Heat for self defense is fine - but not every threat is a life or limb threat - meaning its not necessarily a gun response issue. Then you gotta resort to less than leathal methods... Not EZ-Off - but a commercial brand of OC spray will work good. I like 10% Pepper Foam. I've used it many times with good results each time.
It goes good on Tacos too...
If the only tool you got is a hammer - everything is nail... In self defence - that can get you in trouble. Take all the options you can. OC is a good option, Cell Phone is a good option, an ASP baton is a good option, and an overheated compact handgun is a good option - all IN THE RIGHT TIME AND PLACE.
In a complete kit - you'll have a cell phone, a flashlight, a Multi-Tool, a can of OC, a gun. Clipped to the pocket of your choice or to the belt would be a good quality folding knife. How you carry your kit is all up to you.

"Why Multi-Tool?"
Because not every emergency is a threat - very handy.
I go through several a year... because generally I end up getting them stollen by friends... well - they neglect to return them. :D I prefer the SOG multi tool with the gears that aid in leverage... Very nice. Like your other tool - get one of a good quality and it will last longer than you will have it.
 
Ya'll ought to try reading a little ayoob, he covers this pretty well, although I forgot he dosent know anything..lol....he adds one more thing that I recall ...body armor....., at least that was covered in the book I read over a decade ago....he also includes the file for the lawyer and bail bonds men that you already have on retainer, and were to place that first phone call.........fubsy.....it just occured to me that ya'll might be forgetting a good impact weapon, an asp....although by then you will weigh an extra 50lbs, in pajamas or what ever...lol...what a picture...fubsy.
 
The concept of a lawyer is something most shooters will bypass much to their chagrin.
It is vital. I have learned that most self-defense shootings result in prosecution on various charges.
In regards to the use of EZ-Off, I had a class last week and that was covered. A lawyer in class who does criminal defense work noted it's use would be defendable as using a chair, shoe, or feet. He noted if the attack against you is unlawful and you fear great bodily harm the instrument of defense is moot. As for civil problems, he noted the long list of legal actions against MACE and other chemical products and a long history of deaths associated with OC products. Using a product that you know can cause death is certainly not as defendable as one you don't know nor can prove can cause death.
Any product sprayed at close range into an eye for example can cause serious damage including window cleaners and hair spray.
When you feel your life is in danger I find it difficult to embrace a concept that one would not chose nor avoid using a weapon of any kind for monetary reasons. I would think any chap would use anything at hand.
I have been trained that the concept of self-defense is to live. I shall do that no matter what the effort required of me shall be. To do less is to risk the obvious. I don't like that option.
Cheers!
 
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