A Close Look At: Personal Defense

Personal defense is different for everyone, so for this quick look I sorta’ sampled something off of different shelves. Keep thinking outside of your comfort zone with this sort of thing and keep an open mind. “Hey, I never thought of doing that!” might just make sense for your own situation!

SIG SAUER’s ammo comes with the tag line “The perfect combination of affordability and performance.” It sounds like bragging but I think we’ll allow it. SIG manufactures the ammo here in the USA and it all meets or exceeds SAAMI specifications. The SIG FMJ centerfire pistol cartridges (lotsa’ calibers) feature solid brass cases and copper jacketed bullets and are great for general practice. Like their guns, SIG’s ammo will appeal to even the most discerning shooters. This is good stuff.

At first glance, the D’Wedge may appear to be just another drop in the holster for your purse or man bag. But this is no everyday drop-in. The D’Wedge insert can be adjusted to 14″ long, 5.5″ high and 2.75″ wide. After you’ve custom fit the D’Wedge, you pick your holster, then adjust your draw angle as you attach it. The holster can be moved and angled to accommodate every draw. In short, D’Wedge is D-bomb.

The First Defense MK-6 Stream OC Aerosol by Safariland is 1.3 percent concentration, and with a great carrying clip for your pants or bag. It delivers over 12 shots at a range of 10-12 ft. The spray is non-flammable and target specific! Safariland offers a full line of inert sprays (with green canisters to avoid confusion), so you can practice your draw and aim. The colors are the easy coding system; each color is a different concentration.

The KATANA by Guard Dog Security is like having an arsenal of tools at hand. It advertises a 400 lumen light and a “shocker” in an impact-resistant aluminum body. The KATANA is free of visible prongs so you can carry it inconspicuously in the included holster. If the sound isn’t threatening enough — appp — the shock is very effective. I love the whole thing is rechargeable, because once you start sharing the “fun” of the stun gun with others — it’s hard to stop. Maybe that’s just me, though?

The Trainer Trigger Tyme Compact Pistol works the fundamentals like dry firing but with audible and visual feeback. The LaserLyte has a trainer for almost every mainstream caliber, but if you don’t want the whole gun, you can drop in a LaserLyte having the LT-Pro which fits nicely into the barrel. The LaserLyte Pro lets you have the weight and feel of your gun. For the cost of a few batteries you can get in hours of training. Great for people who say, “Guns? Ewww … I don’t want to practice.” Make ’em practice.

EOTech has been an industry standard with their red dot sights. Their XPS2 HWS has a run time of 600 hours and an automatic power off switch, just in case you forget. At a mere 8 ounces, it’s the smallest and lightest holographic sight from EOTech. For those of us feeling our eyes are becoming more “experienced,” you can select from 20 settings of brightness. The generous window means you can keep both eyes open as you aim. That’s important.

Make your personal defense your own. Buy the best gear you can — then practice with it. The bad guys are practicing right now.