Bolt Barrel Breech Bullet... What?? Terms and Structures Guide For New Shooters Part IV - Which Gun Should I Buy

I realized I forgot the most important part, to some people..., of this series.  How to choose a gun!  Sorry about that...
Part I, Part II, Part III

I own several guns, and I carry one nearly everywhere I go.  I read up on all of the major gun manufacturers and most of the ammo manufacturers. I don't subscribe to any magazines, but I do a lot of reading about the science of shooting, and practicality of self-defense shooting. Guns fit under my larger interest of practical self-defense. I don't really wish to take the time to train with bladed weapons, so guns and unarmed combat are it for me.

In the city most "normal" people have very little exposure to guns. This is different from the farm where I was raised. There nearly every boy and most girls knew how to shoot and were well accustomed to having all sorts of weapons in the house. So, I get asked by people, who know very little about guns but have some interest in guns as a self-defense tool, which gun should they buy.

I am not a gun expert. I do not spend hours upon hours a week at the range. I go to the range maybe once a month, maybe more if I get the itch. I go to the trap range perhaps once or twice a year. But, I am a "safe" person to ask. I don't make people feel like they are idiots for asking questions, and I approach the subject as if it is a fun hobby to have. Most people are buying a gun out of an interest to keep their family safe in the worst case situation. Let's face it, if you have a gun in your hand, you are in the absolute worst case situation...

So, what do I tell people they should buy? I DO NOT tell them to go out and buy a Beretta PX4 Storm in .45, or a Glock 30, or a Sig 226. That would be like telling someone to buy a Cadillac STS when they only ask you what kind of car should they buy, before they even learn how to drive.
Now that we have discussed the different types of guns, actions, ammunition, and terminology, the very first thing new people need to do is learn how to shoot.

Learn How to Shoot

You don't need to purchase a gun to learn how to shoot.  Most classes will provide something for their students to shoot, so you don't need to worry about spending any money on guns just yet.
Learning how to shoot will build the foundation of skills that you will need to evaluate what kind of gun you want to purchase. It will also teach you about safety.

Safety is of paramount concern.  A gun is a tool, but like a table saw or a very sharp knife, you need to treat them with respect in order to avoid injury.  If you ignore safety when using a table saw, you are likely to loose an eye or a finger.  Ignore safety with a gun and you could get a hole where you don't want one.

The best classes are ones that are sponsored by the National Rifle Association, or that have a NRA certified instructor.  Don't worry about NRA as a lobbying organisation.  The NRA's primary focus is on gun safety, not on making sure every man, woman, child, and parrot has an automatic weapon.  When it comes to gun safety, the NRA is the group to go see.
Nearly every gun range or gun store will either offer or will know of a class you can take.  Just go to the closest store and ask about a beginner gun class.  Unless you are paying for the class that the shop offers, DON'T BUY ANYTHING!  The clerk's job is to sell guns, and I guarantee that they will want you to look at the "perfect starter gun."  Go ahead and look, but don't buy.  Take your class first!

After The Class

After your class is done, you will have shot something.  Most likely it will have been a little .22 pistol.    These are the typical class guns because ammo is very inexpensive, recoil is negligible, and they aren't very loud.  The problem is that, while these guns are a ton of fun to shoot, they are not very good for self defense.  

After the class you will be charged up and ready to buy!  You can bet the farm that the gun store will have a bunch of people ready to help you buy something right there when your class is done.  Again, their focus is to sell product, and the best time to sell product is when the buyer is excited about the product.  You need to be strong and not buy anything yet.  

What you need to do now is to go home and review everything that you learned in the class.  In a few days, and it really needs to be in a few days, don't wait a long time!  The skills you have just learned are perishable, and you need to get to the rage very soon after your class is done!!  In a few days you go back to the range to begin your purchase selection.

Choosing Your Gun

All gun ranges will rent guns.  You are going to take advantage of this.  First, you are going to rent a gun from each ammo type they have.  One 9mm, one .40, one .45, and so forth.  Don't mix up revolvers and automatics at this point.  Stick with the automatics, and come back another day to try the revolvers.  There will be more selection with the automatics, so that is why we go with them first.

Go to your spot on the range and try out each caliber type.  See how they shoot, and deal with the recoil.  Find the right ammunition that you think you can handle.

Don't listen to anybody about what they consider to be the best gun or ammo at this point.  Just shoot and find the ammo group that you like best.  There is no right answer, just the right answer for you.

After you find the type of pistol (revolver or automatic) you like, and the ammo group you like, it is time to expand in to the brand offerings in that ammo type.  If you choose 9mm, then rent all of the 9mm pistols you can get your hands on.  Shoot them, have the clerks show you how to break them down.  Put them back together.  Ask about holsters and accessories for each model.  Do as much as you can with them, and ask every question that comes to mind.

Now you will have a pretty good idea of what you want to buy.  You will have put several hundred rounds down range, and you will have practiced the safety lessons that you learned in your class.  Now it is time to think about the mission of the pistol.

Mission

Ask yourself this question:  What will the primary job of this gun be?  This is the mission of the gun.  The answer to this question will determine the type and feature set of the gun you buy.  

If the gun is to be used for home defense, think about getting a full size pistol with external safeties, and a Double Action/Single Action trigger pull.  This is a good way to keep you safe when you have time to collect the gun and get in to a defensive position, such as you would if you were dealing with a home invasion, and you are awoke by a noise.

If the gun is to be used as a carry pistol, think about getting a compact or a sub compact pistol with no external safeties.  In a situation where you have to draw and shoot quickly, you do not want any fine motor movements, such as a thumb safety, to delay you getting your gun in to the fight.  You want to grab and go.  

If the mission of the gun is for shooting competitions, you want to make sure that the gun you buy will be easily customizable, and that there is a large market of after market accessories.  

If your mission is just to have something to shoot at the range, then you should think about small caliber pistols that use inexpensive ammunition.  

Purchase

Now that you have done all of your homework, it is time to buy.  I like to go on to the internet to see if I am getting a good deal on the gun.  Places like The Gallery Of Guns are good places to start, as you can look up the type of gun you like and do a search for it in your local area.  There you can do your price comparisons and make sure you walk in to the gun store with a price in mind.
Be ready to fill out quite a bit of paperwork when you purchase, and know that a background check will be done on you by the ATF.  This is federal law, and the only way you can get around it is to buy your gun from a private party.
Some states will have waiting periods before you can pick up your pistol, and some cities force you to register the gun before you pick up your pistol.  You will have to deal with all of this red tape before you can actual take home your gun.  Some states/stores/cities will have laws/policies that will prohibit you from carrying your new gun out of the door.  So be ready to have a clerk walk you out of the store, then hand your gun over to you once you are outside.
If you are, like me, in an area that is gun friendly, you can pay and walk out of the store with your brand new gun.  Just go with the flow and follow all laws and policies.
If you buy your gun from a private party, be sure that you get a bill of sale that allows you so many days to have a gunsmith check over the gun, and to have the Police do a check on the gun serial number.  Be sure that the bill of sale has the Name, Address, and phone number of the seller.  I would even attempt to get the seller to agree to accept partial payment for the pistol pending these checks.  You can take down the SN and run it with the Police.  Then you and the seller can agree on a time and a gunsmith to do the operations check.  Easy peasy.

Last Ditch Triangle Escape

Ever roll against someone who has a really really good triangle choke?  I mean a really good triangle choke.  Always finishes, always seems to catch everybody, it is his go to move.  You attempt posture to avoid the move, and that works for a while, but when he grabs the triangle, you really have no escape.  I have a couple of guys at my gym who are unstoppable with their triangle chokes.  I have tried just about everything I can to escape, but nothing seems to work.  When they lock the choke, it breaks my posture, and I have no way to straighten back up.

The traditional escapes require you to have posture.  If your posture is already broken, you can not use them.
So, what can you do in this situation.  The following escape is a last ditch type escape, it restores your posture, and puts you in a position to break the triangle's hold.  It is a neat gimmick.
I say gimmick, because it should never become your go to triangle escape.  It is a last resort, holly crap escape.

Finding a New City - Albuquerque, NM

Albuquerque is a city in the South West... If you didn't know that, they smack you with that fact over and over and over again with their Architecture.  EVERYTHING seem to be made of Adobe, or made to look like adobe, even the airport terminal. I bent a piece of paper at a right angle just so I could feel normal by seeing an actual corner. Because in Albuquerque, every corner is rounded.

The view there was hazy because of some fires going on to the north, but other than that, the city vaguely reminded me of Las Vegas.   Albuquerque has some mountains to the west, and a wide expanse of desert to...  well... everywhere else.
There is very little grass.  Mostly there was rocks and this kind of sagebrush that grew everywhere.  It was different in that... well, everything was the same color.  There isn't really a showing of the many colors of nature, just the one, brown.

There is some work in the city, but not a lot.  It is very unlikely that I would find work that would pay me the same that I am making now, therefore I would have to travel.
The cost of living in ABQ is about 10% higher than in OKC.  The biggest differences being in Housing and Health.
With both income and sales tax, New Mexico is virtually identical with Oklahoma, the latter being just a bit lighter in the tax burden department.

There is a single general aviation airport in town, with a couple of places to fly out of.  There is one place that teaches helicopters, and that might be fun to do.

There are a bunch of places to train in Albuquerque.  So that won't be much of a problem.  Gracie Barra has a large presence in ABQ, with three schools.  Greg Jackson is also in ABQ, and, through Ryan Jensen, I do have a connection there.

New Mexico is a shall-issue state, so getting a CCW license shouldn't be a problem.

An interesting part of ABQ was that there are several breweries.  Both in the city and in the surrounding areas. Near the University there is a very neat little area with several bars, and a neat place that is both a tap house and a brew pub.  Their brews were alright, but if they didn't brew something that you liked, they had several others on tap that you surely would.  Neat place.

I was not overly impressed with ABQ.  I really don't think that I would enjoy living there...  Although, there are some ski resorts nearby, and ABQ does offer quite a few outdoor activities, though golf is in short supply...  much like grass...

What Happens When You Pull The Tiger's Tail??

You get JUDO TOSSED BITCH!!!!

The Coolest Takedown of All Time

I wanna see somebody use this in the UFC very badly...

What Happens When the Duke Boys Don't Have The General Lee??

Self Defense Rounds

I have been teaching some people basic firearms safety and shooting to some people lately, and the subject of tactical and self defense shooting always comes up. I don't ever talk about tactics of self defense shooting beyond the basic draw, conceal positions, and the Weaver stance. There are much more qualified instructors for that.

I do talk about self defense rounds, because it is necessary to know the different types of ammo and their uses. The question is always asked, what self defense rounds do you use? Well... I have shot a lot of different rounds, and I found the ones that I like best.

All of the self defense ammunition for my handguns are hollow point rounds. Hollow points are used for self defense because they open up when they strike their target.   Opening up, means that there is more surface area to interact with the target.  This causes the bullet to tumble and they transfer all of their energy in to their target. This also means that the bullet will tend not to pass through the target, and endanger anyone behind the target.  For a fun demonstration the guys at ADSI have a video of them shooting a melon with a Full Metal Jacket round and then a melon with a hollow point round.

First, I will go over the ones that I have shot. I have to stress that the choice of self defense ammo is a personal one. You send a bunch of rounds down range and use the ones that you like best. All of the rounds that I shot have very similar ballistic statistics. I like the ones I shoot for a few reasons that I will state later on.

Cor-Bon Pow'R'Ball

I started using Cor-Bon's Pow'R'Ball  when I had my Kahr CW45.  Hollow point ammunition usually has an edge on it where the nose is cut off and the cavity begins.  If your pistol is picky about ammunition, like my Kahr was, this is a good choice.  The gelatin tip kept the round nose of a FMJ bullet, but it would disintegrate on impact leaving a standard hollow point bullet.
This ammo is 165 grains in weight behind a +P load of powder.
Velocity at 50 yards is 1024 feet per second.

Hornady Zombie Max

I admit that I fell for the hype of the Z-Max.  They are virtually identical in every way to the less expensive Hornady XTP round.  They ARE the XTP with a green tip in the cavity and a cooler box.  I liked the way these shot, but they are very expensive out of the box.  There is no real benefit to the Z-Max round, other than you can tell your friends that you carry anti-zombie rounds.
This ammo is 185 grains in weight under a standard powder load.
Velocity is 853 fps at 50 yards.

Winchester PDX1 Defender

When this bullet first came out it was marketed under the "Black Talon" name.  The bullets were even jacketed in black metal.  What made them unique was that when the bullet opened the "petals" would be razor sharp to incur more tissue damage.  This was a bad move by Winchester.  The Liberals got a hold of this marketing and went nuts.  To much fanfare and noise, Winchester removed the Black Talons from the market. 

Soon after that mess they released the PDX1 Personal Protection round...  It looks, weighs, and acts EXACTLY like the Black Talon.  Why?  Because it is the Black Talon under a new name and a new metal jacket covering the lead.  

PDX1	Black Talon

See the differences?  Nether can I.
This is a 230 grain bullet under a standard powder load.
Velocity at 50 yards is 882.

My Rounds
I carry the PDX1s.  I like the way they shoot.  They keep their speed really well for such a heavy round so that makes them very accurate.

Recoil is the worst on the Pow'R'Balls.  Throwing 165 grains at almost 1200 fps out of the muzzle really takes some punch.

What I like about PDX1s over the other rounds is that they are "bonded."  That means that the jacket is bonded to the lead core.  There is no fragmentation of the round, so everything is more consistent.  Does it make a difference?  Or do the petals give some sort of wound advantage?
Yup:


You shoot to stop a threat, and the PDX1s will stop threats quicker than the other rounds.

Shotguns


Despite my love of handguns, they are NOT the best self defense weapons for your house.  That honor, in my opinion, belongs to the shotgun.  Close up, Shotguns are devastatingly effective.  Further back, not really going to hurt anyone much.  Exactly what you want in a defensive weapon in a home.
For a long time the 00 (pronounced "double ought") buckshot ruled the self defense market.  There was some interest in slugs, but the 00 gave the best chance of a hit.
Recently, shotgun ammunition manufacturers are reaching back in to the past for help to put a new take on an old idea.
What if you could combine the effectiveness of a shotgun slug with the hit potential of buckshot?  Our ancestors came up with the idea of "buck and ball" ammunition that did just that.  They put a standard musket ball and three or four buckshot down the barrels of their smooth bore muskets and increased their hit potential in close combat.  This method was so loved by Americans that George Washington himself would arrange his ranks so that those with Kentucky long rifles would be the "volley" shot ranks, and those with muskets loaded with buck and ball would form the rest.  Giving the poorly trained American troops better combat effectiveness when the armies closed to fight.  They didn't need to worry as much about accuracy as the British troops firing musket balls.
This load was well used past the time of the American Civil War; up until specific cartridges of breech loading firearms took over as the weapons of choice for the military.

With such firearms as the hand held .410 Taurus Judge coming on the scene there was a new demand for self defense shotgun rounds in something other than 00 buck.  Winchester took a look at the problem, reached back in to history and brought buck and ball back to the future.  They didn't forget about the most popular gauge of shotgun, and released their PDX1 Defender buck and ball shells for 12 gauge soon after.
Here is a cut away of what it looks like:

You can see the buck on top of a rifled "ball".  It is all kinds of awesome.  This is the ultimate in self defense rounds, and it is what my shotguns are currently loaded with.