A Hard Look In The Mirror
The home page of this website boldly reads American Handgunner. It’s a website held in high esteem by many because of its quality — and others hold it in disdain because of the same reason. Yet, even we suffer at times from the “newest and greatest” syndrome —call them trends and techniques that amaze and astound.
On this website there are handguns named after English princes and sights claiming to be innovative that can be found on old African rifles made long before anyone reading this was born. Elsewhere the killing of bowling pins is promulgated, although I can find few who have been attacked by the pot-bellied oak posts. The folks who make the best double action revolvers in the world promote their latest semi-automatic? Everybody demands their pistol is best and used by the most elite of all crime fighters — and who among us really cares, because we know that mostly they just take reports.
70-Percent More Firepower
Something is promoted as the gun used by world champions. And that means what to a woman being assaulted in her home? There are the ads promoting the “X” gun to the “X” generation of extreme shooters. I guess skateboarding must be tougher than when I was a kid.
And, no matter how much it costs, one should go to a school that guarantees to make you a better shooter. Period. I have always wished I could say that. There are Italian pistols and German pistols — all we need is a Japanese pistol and the Axis would be alive and well. But most of the Pacific Rim folks can’t have handguns, so no Evil Axis after all.
One of my favorites is the “It’s a lot lighter but has 70-percent more firepower.” Firepower from a handgun? I’ve seen a few F-4 Phantoms put down what I thought was firepower in the form of umbrellas tied to the top of 500 pound bombs. Actually, I didn’t really see that much ‘cause my head was kinda down. But, when the bombs landed so close they sucked your helmet off your head, I thought that was firepower.
Then we have the TV screens mounted on top of handguns. I wonder if you can get MTV or the Extreme channel looking through that red dot-thingy. Oops, it’s off, oh crap, the battery died.
Magic Handgun Bullets?
And then there’s always a section on magic handgun bullets. So, I have to ask, since you have been shooting a handgun, how many new pistol projectile designs have you seen introduced on the market? Lots, right? Wanta’ know why there’s been so many? I’ll let you guess why. Handgun projectiles, which normally don’t travel much over a 1,000fps, sometimes (usually?) don’t work.
Or if we run a reality check on effectiveness, most handguns don’t work all that well anyway. Sure, people are killed by handguns — just ask the Brady boobs. Then again, lots of people are killed by lighting. Hmm, sounds foolish, but if I had a choice I’d rather whack ’em with a lighting bolt than a handgun.
Then someone drags out the gelatin blocks. You know, we might have all been better off when we just ate the wiggly stuff. I repeat, I have never been attacked by gelatin and shooting it proves what to me in the middle of a fight? Not to worry though, consider this thought: Would you willingly go to a gunfight with a handgun?
Handguns For Fun
Rifles For REAL
On this website you’ll find ads and posts for everything from knives to plastic grips. Hell’s-fire, there even mention on how to change your pistol into a rifle. But on the whole website there are only a few mentions of rifles, real rifles. Folks, without putting a hole in your balloon, maybe we need to wake up and smell reality. Handguns are concealable; they can sometimes win a fight if used effectively. Handguns work best when you remember to carry one of size and substance regardless of whether or not it is comfortable to wear. Handguns are a tool designed to respond to a fight someone else starts and when you have no viable route of withdrawal — or escape.
We are not talking about choices. If there was a choice to be made we should choose to leave the area of contact. If there is nothing but a handgun available — or if it was your personal choice — then being mediocre with it is not good enough. And, if there was in fact going to be a fight with no option for withdrawal, a rifle is a better choice and more effective.
But then, handguns are truly at their best when they are used to fight your way to a rifle. A rifle you should not have put down in the first place. Play with handguns — fight with rifles. Period.
Get More Personal Defense Tips!
Sign up for the Personal Defense newsletter here:
