Recently, a fellow who has a number of very nice handguns suitable for personal defense made the statement that he uses a rather inexpensive handgun for daily carry. His argument is that if he is involved in a defensive shooting, his gun will be confiscated as evidence and he might very well never get it back. Even if the gun is returned to him, it will be after a lengthy period of time when the gun has sat neglected in an evidence locker, gathering rust and dirt.
While I share his regard for good quality firearms, I can’t agree with his reasoning for not carrying the best gun for the job. That job, of course, is protecting himself and his family.
When faced with a violent criminal threat, we really have two separate jobs to complete. The first is to survive the attack, and the second is to survive the aftermath of the attack, whatever that might be. I would suggest that this fellow I mentioned has put part 2 in front of part 1, which is nearly always a mistake...and could be a deadly one at that.
To survive the attack, it is a good idea to use the very best tactics, the very best training and the very best tools available to you. Less expensive defensive tools are generally less expensive because they have been built with lower quality materials and, in some cases, questionable assembly and fitting. This is generally indicated by increased malfunctions and decreased reliability. In short, they are more likely to let you down when you need them the most.
Now I am not suggesting that one can only survive if he is carrying the very best, hand-fitted, custom defense gun. But the darn thing has got to be dependable and reliable even after thousands of rounds fired in training and practice. And I would suggest that you are not going to find this type of quality and dependability until you get into the medium price range and up. There simply is no free lunch when it comes to good defensive firearms. I kind of value this old hide of mine and have always carried the best gun I could possibly afford. You would be wise to do the same.
So, having survived job number one, we now, and only now, are faced with job number two. Hopefully, we took time to study and understand the laws covering personal defense and we have conducted ourselves in a lawful manner. The reality is that our defensive firearm will very likely be taken as evidence until the whole thing is sorted out, however long that might take. Also, depending upon where we live and the attitude of the courts and law enforcement, we may never get that gun back. So, who told you that life was fair?
The smart thing to do is to rejoice that you and your family have survived this violent attack. Save your money, quit smoking, take a second job if need be, and go out and buy another quality defensive handgun. You know, like one you can really depend on because you may have to face job number one again one of these days.
