Last week we had a 5.8 earthquake in the DC area. I realize that to people out in California that’s nothing, but on the east, we’re not used to that sort of thing. I happened to be on the top floor of a building at the time and to tell you the truth I thought a bomb had gone off.
I exited the building rather slowly (as everyone else ran past me) because I wanted to make sure it wasn’t a terrorist attack and someone wasn’t waiting outside with an Uzi. Once outside I was surrounded by hundreds of people milling around on the streets, with a few of them so upset they were crying.
Quite frankly, there was very little damage and it wasn’t really that bad, but I was amazed at how people overreacted. I looked around on the street as people we’re freaking out and thought to myself, “there are hundreds upon hundreds of people out in the city streets right now. Had this been a ‘real’ earthquake it would only have taken one or two ‘punks’ to set off looting or some type of riot.”
Why Society is So Fragile…
It was a good reminder how fragile society is and how most people these days are not prepared for any disaster or even any adversity at all in their lives. For instance, during the earthquake, I was in the terrible state of Maryland because my wife goes to law school there.
This means I wasn’t carrying a gun at the time, but I did have my knife on me, my tactical pen and a 72-hour kit close by. As I looked around at people crying and panicking I felt confident knowing that I’d be able to defend myself and escape if chaos started breaking out.
Of course, I would have had my gun on me if I had been in Virginia at the time, but we all know there are plenty of places we can’t carry a gun and that some days people even forget to put their gun on before they leave the house.
The Tools You Need…
That’s why, at the very least, I recommend you have the items I had on me the day of the earthquake. First, get a quality pocketknife with a clip. I prefer the Benchmade brand of knives. Second, get a tactical pen. I carry mine everywhere (airplanes included) and know if I ever have to use it, the person on the receiving end is going to be in a world of hurt when I’m done with them (if they’re alive at all.)
Lastly, have a 72-hour kit close by, at your work or in your car. You never know if you’re going to have to abandon your car on the highway and hike several miles back to your house, or if you’re going to have to seek shelter for a period of time. Either way, if you’ve got food, water, and protection (my 72-hour kit also has a tactical pen, a collapsible steel baton, and a fixed blade knife with a sheath, in addition to food and water) then you’ll be better off than the majority of Americans.
The bottom line is, most of society is not prepared, which means they freak out when any disaster at all occurs, which puts all of us in danger. So if you can legally carry a gun, then you absolutely should have one on you. If not, have the other items I mention above, especially the 72-hour kit.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Shotgun Myths and Secrets of Home Defense
Sitting in my bedroom is a Remington 870 shotgun full of 00 buckshot. Because, in my opinion, along with a good handgun (mine is a Glock 19) everyone also needs a shotgun for home defense. However, thanks to Hollywood, many people are often confused about how to properly use a shotgun.
I’m going to try and clear that up for you. First off, as I just mentioned, I think the best home defense shotgun is the Remington 870. They’re simple to use and can take a beating. Plus, they’re cheap, costing less than $350. However, if you want the “Rolls Royce” of shotguns, then go for a Benelli. It’ll set you back around $1,300, but to each his own. I’d be willing to bet my life on either gun, so the 870 works fine for me.
Once you’ve chosen a gun, you obviously need to get ammo for it. I use 00 buckshot for my gun, but you have to be very careful with over penetration with this load. Many experts recommend using bird shot for home defense, but I know the layout of my house and I don’t have any children, so 00 buck is what I prefer.
Now, let’s get to the nitty gritty of actually using the gun.
In short, the shotgun is like any other firearm we use for self-defense purposes. It’s only used when you’re in immediate fear for your life, and when you pull it out you better be prepared to use it.
In other words, when I’m doing training I’m often asked, “can’t I just rack the shotgun and that noise will scare off a burglar.” The answer to that question is “if it does, that’s a blessing, but don’t count on it happening.” When you pull out your gun, you better be prepared to pull the trigger and defend your life. You should not be thinking to yourself, “I’m just going to rack the shotgun and wait and see if that scares him off.” That’s the type of mindset that will get you killed.
Think about it this way:
If you’re carrying concealed on the street and somebody is running at you with a knife are you going to draw your gun and sit there assuming the sight of it is going to scare them off without you having any plans of actually using it? Of course not. You’re going to draw your gun and if they keep coming at you, you’re going to shoot. (If they happen to stop when you draw, then that’s the blessing you hope for, but don’t count on it.)
Another important aspect of the home defense shotgun is making sure it has a butt stock and not just a pistol grip. I realize that a pistol grip shotgun such as the Mossberg 500 Cruiser looks cool. You see them a lot in the movies, but they’re much more difficult to shoot and be accurate with. And I’m willing to bet that when someone breaks into your home and you’re sitting there with a “cool” looking shotgun, you’ll probably wish you had the “less cool” gun that was easier to shoot.
Also, as you’re sitting in your home with your shotgun you need to practice maneuvering around your house with it. Ideally, if someone breaks into your house you’ll just lock yourself in your bedroom with the gun pointed at the door and wait for the police to come and do their job.
But if you have to go out and inspect a suspicious noise make sure you’re not knocking into the walls and you know how to handle the gun. In fact, just like with all types of new guns you should take a shotgun specific class or at least go to the range with a buddy who’ll show you how to use the shotgun.
As I often have to remind my wife, you should have multiple guns to ensure the safety of you and your family. So, even if you’ve got a Glock or Springfield XD sitting in your nightstand, consider getting a shotgun this week because you can never be too prepared. (At least that’s what I keep telling my wife every time I add a firearm to the Hanson Family Arsenal.)
I’m going to try and clear that up for you. First off, as I just mentioned, I think the best home defense shotgun is the Remington 870. They’re simple to use and can take a beating. Plus, they’re cheap, costing less than $350. However, if you want the “Rolls Royce” of shotguns, then go for a Benelli. It’ll set you back around $1,300, but to each his own. I’d be willing to bet my life on either gun, so the 870 works fine for me.
Once you’ve chosen a gun, you obviously need to get ammo for it. I use 00 buckshot for my gun, but you have to be very careful with over penetration with this load. Many experts recommend using bird shot for home defense, but I know the layout of my house and I don’t have any children, so 00 buck is what I prefer.
Now, let’s get to the nitty gritty of actually using the gun.
In short, the shotgun is like any other firearm we use for self-defense purposes. It’s only used when you’re in immediate fear for your life, and when you pull it out you better be prepared to use it.
In other words, when I’m doing training I’m often asked, “can’t I just rack the shotgun and that noise will scare off a burglar.” The answer to that question is “if it does, that’s a blessing, but don’t count on it happening.” When you pull out your gun, you better be prepared to pull the trigger and defend your life. You should not be thinking to yourself, “I’m just going to rack the shotgun and wait and see if that scares him off.” That’s the type of mindset that will get you killed.
Think about it this way:
If you’re carrying concealed on the street and somebody is running at you with a knife are you going to draw your gun and sit there assuming the sight of it is going to scare them off without you having any plans of actually using it? Of course not. You’re going to draw your gun and if they keep coming at you, you’re going to shoot. (If they happen to stop when you draw, then that’s the blessing you hope for, but don’t count on it.)
Another important aspect of the home defense shotgun is making sure it has a butt stock and not just a pistol grip. I realize that a pistol grip shotgun such as the Mossberg 500 Cruiser looks cool. You see them a lot in the movies, but they’re much more difficult to shoot and be accurate with. And I’m willing to bet that when someone breaks into your home and you’re sitting there with a “cool” looking shotgun, you’ll probably wish you had the “less cool” gun that was easier to shoot.
Also, as you’re sitting in your home with your shotgun you need to practice maneuvering around your house with it. Ideally, if someone breaks into your house you’ll just lock yourself in your bedroom with the gun pointed at the door and wait for the police to come and do their job.
But if you have to go out and inspect a suspicious noise make sure you’re not knocking into the walls and you know how to handle the gun. In fact, just like with all types of new guns you should take a shotgun specific class or at least go to the range with a buddy who’ll show you how to use the shotgun.
As I often have to remind my wife, you should have multiple guns to ensure the safety of you and your family. So, even if you’ve got a Glock or Springfield XD sitting in your nightstand, consider getting a shotgun this week because you can never be too prepared. (At least that’s what I keep telling my wife every time I add a firearm to the Hanson Family Arsenal.)
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Why You Need to Invite a Liberal to Go Shooting
I work six days a week, but never on Sunday. On Sunday, I go to church and try and relax and spend time with my wife. However, she often has other plans that involve us being social. I do not like these plans, but I like my wife, so this means I always end up at someone’s house for dinner or having someone over for dinner on Sunday.
For instance, this past Sunday, I ended up at her best friend’s house. Her friend had invited two other people that I didn’t know. And being that we’re in the Washington, DC area, one of the first questions that popped up was “what do you do for a living?”
I explained that I was a personal security specialist and that on the weekends I taught concealed carry classes and taught people how to shoot. As I said this, I’m pretty sure I saw smoke coming out of her friend’s ears and she looked at me like I was the devil. She immediately proceeded to go on a rant about why in the world would anyone need a gun, and all guns do is kill people.
I’m used to this type of reaction. It doesn’t bother me one bit.
I let this woman continue with her rant as I sat there patiently. Once she was done I asked her how she would protect herself if someone broke into her house at 3am. And you want to know her response? She said, “that’ll never happen, the chances of that happening are next to none. I’m not worried about it.”
That’s a response that I hear too often and it’s a sad one. Of course the chances of getting your home invaded are small, but it happens often enough and it’s got to happen to someone. I proceeded to tell this anti-gun woman that I have car insurance, yet I never hope to get into a car accident. I have homeowners insurance and I hope my house never burns down. And I have my “gun insurance,” and although I pray I never have to use it, if the day comes I’ll be ready.
In my reading…
I often come across women who were anti-gun until someone broke into their house and ended up raping them. Now these women own guns and go around convincing others to own guns. I certainly hope that the woman I was at dinner with never has a home invasion and never finds out the hard way why every American needs a gun in their home.
As I continued to explain why I think it’s important to own a gun, she didn’t want to hear any of it. Then, I asked her if she had ever shot a gun. Not surprisingly, she said no. So, I invited her out to the range the next time my wife and I go shooting. She accepted and said she would be interested in trying it.
Often, once a person tries shooting, they realize how enjoyable it can really be. But even if this woman still hates guns after we go shooting, at least she’s a little less ignorant about guns and has actually used one.
So, if you’ve got friends or family or co-workers who are anti-gun, it probably won’t do any good trying to have a conversation where you convince them why they need a gun. But, if you invite them out to the range, they just might realize that guns aren’t the devil after all. Heck, if you invite them out to the range and they end up getting a gun because they enjoyed it so much, then you might have actually helped save their life one day.
By the way, next week, I assure you that you won’t hear me telling any stories about Sunday dinner because I’ve told my wife I don’t care if the President (Obama jokes aside) invites me to dinner, I’m not going anywhere.
For instance, this past Sunday, I ended up at her best friend’s house. Her friend had invited two other people that I didn’t know. And being that we’re in the Washington, DC area, one of the first questions that popped up was “what do you do for a living?”
I explained that I was a personal security specialist and that on the weekends I taught concealed carry classes and taught people how to shoot. As I said this, I’m pretty sure I saw smoke coming out of her friend’s ears and she looked at me like I was the devil. She immediately proceeded to go on a rant about why in the world would anyone need a gun, and all guns do is kill people.
I’m used to this type of reaction. It doesn’t bother me one bit.
I let this woman continue with her rant as I sat there patiently. Once she was done I asked her how she would protect herself if someone broke into her house at 3am. And you want to know her response? She said, “that’ll never happen, the chances of that happening are next to none. I’m not worried about it.”
That’s a response that I hear too often and it’s a sad one. Of course the chances of getting your home invaded are small, but it happens often enough and it’s got to happen to someone. I proceeded to tell this anti-gun woman that I have car insurance, yet I never hope to get into a car accident. I have homeowners insurance and I hope my house never burns down. And I have my “gun insurance,” and although I pray I never have to use it, if the day comes I’ll be ready.
In my reading…
I often come across women who were anti-gun until someone broke into their house and ended up raping them. Now these women own guns and go around convincing others to own guns. I certainly hope that the woman I was at dinner with never has a home invasion and never finds out the hard way why every American needs a gun in their home.
As I continued to explain why I think it’s important to own a gun, she didn’t want to hear any of it. Then, I asked her if she had ever shot a gun. Not surprisingly, she said no. So, I invited her out to the range the next time my wife and I go shooting. She accepted and said she would be interested in trying it.
Often, once a person tries shooting, they realize how enjoyable it can really be. But even if this woman still hates guns after we go shooting, at least she’s a little less ignorant about guns and has actually used one.
So, if you’ve got friends or family or co-workers who are anti-gun, it probably won’t do any good trying to have a conversation where you convince them why they need a gun. But, if you invite them out to the range, they just might realize that guns aren’t the devil after all. Heck, if you invite them out to the range and they end up getting a gun because they enjoyed it so much, then you might have actually helped save their life one day.
By the way, next week, I assure you that you won’t hear me telling any stories about Sunday dinner because I’ve told my wife I don’t care if the President (Obama jokes aside) invites me to dinner, I’m not going anywhere.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
How Many Rounds To Stop a Home Intruder?
It’s 3:00am and you hear your window break and footsteps on your main floor. Since your child lives in the basement you don’t have the option of locking your bedroom door and getting behind cover with your gun until the police arrive.
Instead you have to go and confront the intruder to protect your family. As you get to the bottom of the stairs you see the intruder in another room about 20 feet away. You yell “Don’t move,” and instead of obeying your command or turning around and fleeing the house, the intruder runs right at you.
At this point you know you’re allowed to shoot because the guy’s in your home and he’s coming at you, but how many rounds can you shoot without getting in trouble or having some prosecutor trying to paint you as an evil gun nut?
Well… thankfully, the answer is very simple.
The number of rounds doesn’t matter when you’re shooting in a self-defense situation, because we shoot to stop our threat. If you shoot seven rounds at the guy running at you, and you see him keel over and lay there incapacitated, then it took seven rounds to stop him.
However, if it takes 15 rounds to stop the guy then by all means shoot 15 rounds. If you shoot all 15 rounds and he’s still coming up the stairs after you then reload and continue shooting until he’s not trying to take your life anymore.
There are so many variables in the number of rounds it takes to bring a person down. How big are they? Where is your shot placement? Are they on any type of drugs? When I was in the police academy years ago, we went over a home invasion case where it took the homeowner more than 20 rounds to kill the person because they were on PCP.
Please remember though, once you’ve stopped the threat you need to stop shooting.
If you kill a home invader and walk up to him and put one in the head for good measure it’s not going to look very good for you in our court system. Also, let’s say you shot the person seven times and he’s down on the ground not moving, however he’s alive and breathing. At this point he’s no longer a threat to you so you can stand there with your gun on him until the police arrive but please don’t follow the often joked about advice, “the best witness is a dead witness.”
In a self-defense shooting it makes no difference whether the guy lives or dies. What matters is that you shot as many rounds as you needed to stop that person from killing you. One final thing. When it comes to the number of rounds, you’ll have no idea how many you shot anyway. When you’ve had the adrenaline dump you won’t know if you’ve shot five rounds or nine. Oftentimes I hear people say that you need to count the number of rounds you shot so that you know when to reload, especially if you’re carrying a 5-shot snubby. That advice is nonsense. Nobody is going to count their rounds in a life and death situation, so just make sure you shoot until you’ve stopped the bad guy from coming after you and your family.
Instead you have to go and confront the intruder to protect your family. As you get to the bottom of the stairs you see the intruder in another room about 20 feet away. You yell “Don’t move,” and instead of obeying your command or turning around and fleeing the house, the intruder runs right at you.
At this point you know you’re allowed to shoot because the guy’s in your home and he’s coming at you, but how many rounds can you shoot without getting in trouble or having some prosecutor trying to paint you as an evil gun nut?
Well… thankfully, the answer is very simple.
The number of rounds doesn’t matter when you’re shooting in a self-defense situation, because we shoot to stop our threat. If you shoot seven rounds at the guy running at you, and you see him keel over and lay there incapacitated, then it took seven rounds to stop him.
However, if it takes 15 rounds to stop the guy then by all means shoot 15 rounds. If you shoot all 15 rounds and he’s still coming up the stairs after you then reload and continue shooting until he’s not trying to take your life anymore.
There are so many variables in the number of rounds it takes to bring a person down. How big are they? Where is your shot placement? Are they on any type of drugs? When I was in the police academy years ago, we went over a home invasion case where it took the homeowner more than 20 rounds to kill the person because they were on PCP.
Please remember though, once you’ve stopped the threat you need to stop shooting.
If you kill a home invader and walk up to him and put one in the head for good measure it’s not going to look very good for you in our court system. Also, let’s say you shot the person seven times and he’s down on the ground not moving, however he’s alive and breathing. At this point he’s no longer a threat to you so you can stand there with your gun on him until the police arrive but please don’t follow the often joked about advice, “the best witness is a dead witness.”
In a self-defense shooting it makes no difference whether the guy lives or dies. What matters is that you shot as many rounds as you needed to stop that person from killing you. One final thing. When it comes to the number of rounds, you’ll have no idea how many you shot anyway. When you’ve had the adrenaline dump you won’t know if you’ve shot five rounds or nine. Oftentimes I hear people say that you need to count the number of rounds you shot so that you know when to reload, especially if you’re carrying a 5-shot snubby. That advice is nonsense. Nobody is going to count their rounds in a life and death situation, so just make sure you shoot until you’ve stopped the bad guy from coming after you and your family.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Why Your Spouse and Children Need Their Concealed Carry Permits
Last night I got home from a long vacation in Utah. My plane left at 5:40pm and arrived at Baltimore Washington International airport at 1:00am. By the time I got home, unpacked, and got in bed it was 3:30am. Usually, I get up at 5:00am every morning but today I didn’t have to get up until 7:00am.
So why in the world am I telling you about my late flight? Because I’m running on three and a half hours of sleep and I feel like death. When I was in college I could get two hours of sleep a night and feel fine. But these days, when I get little sleep, I often have a headache for the entire day, my allergies kick in and I can barely concentrate on what’s going on around me.
And for this very reason, I chose not to carry concealed today. You see, once you get your concealed carry permit you are held to a higher standard than the rest of society. And you should be because you’re walking around with a tool that could take someone’s life.
For instance, if you’re walking to a restaurant and you see a shortcut down an alley with three thugs hanging around I would advise you not to go down that alley and just take a longer way. Because if you go down that alley and get in a gun fight I imagine our legal system is not going to look very favorably upon you if you tell the jury “I knew I had a gun on me and could take care of those guys so that’s why I decided to go down that alley and not walk a longer route.”
But let me get back to why I’m not carrying concealed today…
Like I mentioned, my allergies severely affect me from lack of sleep. And I’m sure some of you are reading this thinking “Jason’s a wimp, I’m going to carry my gun no matter what, I don’t care how sick I am.” And if you are thinking this I encourage you to re-read my paragraph about being held to a higher standard. If you’ve got a killer case of the flu or if your allergies are so bad that one of your eyes is swollen shut, you need to do the responsible thing and not carry your gun.
As a firearms instructor, you’re rarely going to hear me say that. I always believe in carrying my gun as long as I can do so responsibly. But if I’m sick, or can’t see, or on medicine that’s made me groggy then obviously I shouldn’t be walking around with a firearm on me. After all, can you imagine what would happen if I got in a self-defense situation and shot an innocent bystander and the prosecutor found out I was full of Benadryl and Nyquil? Or the police reported that my eyes were bloodshot and I looked like I was on drugs when they tried to interview me?
It obviously wouldn’t look very good…
However, I don’t like to be unarmed and I know people who refuse to leave their house without a gun on them, so that’s why you need to have your wife and your children (over 21) get their permits too.
If you’re wife (or husband) is like mine then they’re not always going to carry concealed. And that’s fine, that’s their choice. However, if they do have their permit at least they have the option to carry on the days you’re not well enough to carry or the days you’re all hopped up on medicine.
Plus, not only does this apply to carrying concealed, but it applies to home defense as well. If you’re flat on your back, barely able to move with sickness, and someone breaks into your house, do your wife and children know how to manipulate your self-defense firearm so they can protect themselves and your sickly self? My wife certainly does.
The bottom line is this: If your family members don’t have their permits and don’t know how to use a firearm then I would try and change that ASAP. I realize the chances of needing them to protect you while you’re sick are one in a million, but it may be that one time that saves your life and theirs.
So why in the world am I telling you about my late flight? Because I’m running on three and a half hours of sleep and I feel like death. When I was in college I could get two hours of sleep a night and feel fine. But these days, when I get little sleep, I often have a headache for the entire day, my allergies kick in and I can barely concentrate on what’s going on around me.
And for this very reason, I chose not to carry concealed today. You see, once you get your concealed carry permit you are held to a higher standard than the rest of society. And you should be because you’re walking around with a tool that could take someone’s life.
For instance, if you’re walking to a restaurant and you see a shortcut down an alley with three thugs hanging around I would advise you not to go down that alley and just take a longer way. Because if you go down that alley and get in a gun fight I imagine our legal system is not going to look very favorably upon you if you tell the jury “I knew I had a gun on me and could take care of those guys so that’s why I decided to go down that alley and not walk a longer route.”
But let me get back to why I’m not carrying concealed today…
Like I mentioned, my allergies severely affect me from lack of sleep. And I’m sure some of you are reading this thinking “Jason’s a wimp, I’m going to carry my gun no matter what, I don’t care how sick I am.” And if you are thinking this I encourage you to re-read my paragraph about being held to a higher standard. If you’ve got a killer case of the flu or if your allergies are so bad that one of your eyes is swollen shut, you need to do the responsible thing and not carry your gun.
As a firearms instructor, you’re rarely going to hear me say that. I always believe in carrying my gun as long as I can do so responsibly. But if I’m sick, or can’t see, or on medicine that’s made me groggy then obviously I shouldn’t be walking around with a firearm on me. After all, can you imagine what would happen if I got in a self-defense situation and shot an innocent bystander and the prosecutor found out I was full of Benadryl and Nyquil? Or the police reported that my eyes were bloodshot and I looked like I was on drugs when they tried to interview me?
It obviously wouldn’t look very good…
However, I don’t like to be unarmed and I know people who refuse to leave their house without a gun on them, so that’s why you need to have your wife and your children (over 21) get their permits too.
If you’re wife (or husband) is like mine then they’re not always going to carry concealed. And that’s fine, that’s their choice. However, if they do have their permit at least they have the option to carry on the days you’re not well enough to carry or the days you’re all hopped up on medicine.
Plus, not only does this apply to carrying concealed, but it applies to home defense as well. If you’re flat on your back, barely able to move with sickness, and someone breaks into your house, do your wife and children know how to manipulate your self-defense firearm so they can protect themselves and your sickly self? My wife certainly does.
The bottom line is this: If your family members don’t have their permits and don’t know how to use a firearm then I would try and change that ASAP. I realize the chances of needing them to protect you while you’re sick are one in a million, but it may be that one time that saves your life and theirs.
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