Biden Ballistics 101

It’s always a good idea to listen to Joe Biden if you want to learn about guns, or maybe not.

Remember, he’s the guy who famously told a young lady during a 2013 YouTube interview to “Buy a double-barrel shotgun” for home defense, so when a burglar breaks in, go outside on the deck and fire two blasts into the air.

So his most recent revelation about 9mm bullets got my attention, and launched a feverish search of every ammunition company website to find out about the hottest, most destructive, hard-hitting 9mm loads ever produced. Alas, I came up empty handed, but honestly, that was my initial expectation.

Biden told some reporters outside the White House, “A 9mm bullet blows the lung out of the body.” The remark set off a chain reaction of sarcasm, laughter, eye-rolls and blistering criticism from people who actually do know something about firearms and ammunition.

Still, I’ve got to get some of this ammo, if for nothing else, to run a few rounds over my chronograph. That stuff must leave the muzzle at warp speed with the roar of a loose chainsaw. If Jeff Cooper were still alive, he’d be demanding a sample to see how much more effective it is than his beloved .45 ACP. Elmer Keith could set aside his 4-inch Model 29 and start packing a Glock (though he might have a rough time attaching ivory grips).

Biden was holding forth on the latest gun he’d like to ban, which happens to be a typical 9mm pistol. He first admitted his desire to ban “the sale of those things” during a CNN Townhall broadcast live last summer. The Second Amendment Foundation got hold of the film clip and has been mercilessly reminding people of Biden’s comment in a series of advertisements on more than two dozen cable channels.

‘No Rational Basis’

Biden kicked a hornet’s nest in the aftermath of the terrible massacre of elementary school children in Uvalde, Texas last month, but instead of offering words of comfort to a mourning nation, he launched a tirade about guns. Why he zeroed in on the 9mm pistol — which was not used in the crime — may have been a reflex action.

Gun expert Biden told reporters, “There’s simply no rational basis for it (the 9mm round) in terms of self-protection, hunting.”

He will have to take that up with the FBI, Secret Service, a majority of metropolitan police departments, the U.S. military and millions of legally armed private citizens who have chosen 9mm pistols for their personal protection.

Back when I was the Alaska editor at a now-defunct outdoor news periodical, I remember one case of a salmon fisherman dispatching a brown bear with a 9mm Smith & Wesson while fishing somewhere along the Kenai River. Wouldn’t have been my first choice, but when you need a gun, use the one you have.

Biden says the 9mm is a “high-caliber weapon” that ought to be banned. Obviously, this guy has a future as a gun writer.

I’ve Been Deprived

During all of the years I actively tested different 9mm handguns, including a revolver from Charter Arms called the Pitbull, I never had chance to fire this Sasquatch-stopping ammunition. I’d surely tell my pals to buy all they could afford.

I’ve fired thousands of 9mm rounds from the best companies on the map, and for a few years when I owned a good TZ-75 pistol, I reloaded and fired many hundreds of rounds in practice.

Maybe the awesome ballistics Biden mentioned were hidden in small print on the side of the box. Henceforth, whenever I handle a box of Federal Hydra-Shok, Winchester Silvertips, Remington JHPs, Hornady Personal Defense or some other 9mm ammunition, I’ll break out a magnifying glass to see if I can find a note stating: “WARNING: The ammunition inside will blow the lungs out of a home invader. Use with extreme caution.”

None of my acquaintances at the various ammunition companies ever let me in on this secret about the 9mm.

Don’t Forget the 2A

During the impromptu press encounter, Biden resurrected a tale for which Washington Post Fact Checker Glenn Kessler has repeatedly criticized him, and it’s about the Second Amendment.

“Remember,” Biden said for reasons still not explained, “the Constitution was never absolute. You couldn’t buy a cannon when the Second Amendment was passed. You couldn’t go out and purchase a lot of weaponry.”

Oh, yeah you could. Back on June 28, 2021, Kessler scolded Biden for repeating this canard. When the Constitution was ratified, including the Bill of Rights including the Second Amendment, it was amazing what people could purchase without a background check.

Small cannons, called swivel guns, were used on some Mississippi River boats to fend off river pirates. Privately owned merchant vessels had cannons, as did frontier forts.

Why does he perpetuate this myth, especially after the centerpiece of print journalism in the nation’s capital has called him out? When a politician repeats a fib after being corrected, one has to wonder what else that guy is saying that also happens to be wrong.

Good Gal With Gun

Gun prohibition lobbying groups routinely ignore, and develop lockjaw in the process, any case in which a law-abiding armed citizen acts in self-defense or defense of others.

They especially remain silent in cases where an armed citizen stops a mass shooter, since those cases (there were four in 2021, according to the FBI) go against the narrative about citizens with guns. They are, a) dangerous to themselves and others, or b) never able to stop mass killers.

In Charleston, West Virginia. late last month, a man identified as Dennis Butler, 37, opened fire on a party of about 40 people late one evening. A female bystander happened to be armed. She drew her sidearm and capped Butler.

WCHS News quoted unidentified Charleston police officers that said Butler “did have an extensive criminal history.” Yet, he still had an AR-15 type rifle.

Prior to the deadly shooting, Butler reportedly had been warned about speeding in the area because kids were present at the party. Charleston Police Detective Tony Hazelett told reporters the armed woman would not face any charges.

“Instead of running from the threat, she engaged with the threat and saved several lives last night,” Hazelett said.

Does anyone wonder if she was armed with a 9mm pistol?

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