Why I believe you should carry a 9mm handgun

The other day I ran into an acquaintance (who I barely know) and he told me that he’d just purchased a .45 caliber handgun. He said he loved the gun, but the only problem was he couldn’t shoot it. All of his shots were going low and he couldn’t ever hit the target.

Next, he asked me what type of gun I carried and I told him my carry gun was the Glock 19 9mm. He looked at me kind of funny and said “a 9mm, why don’t you get a manly gun like I did?”

I had a nice laugh, especially since this fellow asked me to give him a private shooting lesson. I told him I didn’t have time and quickly left the store thinking to myself “if I’m ever in a duel, I hope he’s my opponent.”

So why exactly do I carry a 9mm and why do I think you should too?

Well, it’s not because I don’t love a .45 and the feel of my Springfield 1911 in my hand. It’s because I’m able to keep my ego in check and realize that the only reason I carry a gun is to protect my life and the lives of my loved ones. I don’t do it to be “cool,” to be “manly” or as a way to impress my buddies.

And the fact is, if I’m ever involved in a self-defense shooting situation, I have the odd feeling my “target” is not going to be standing perfectly still like it is when I’m at the gun range. This means if I’m shooting its likely going to take multiple hits to bring down an attacker. In other words, if it’s a dynamic situation where people are moving my hits might end up in the arm, leg, chest, any number of places.

And it’s for this very reason I carry the 9mm.

You see, the 9mm lets me get off a quicker burst of shots because it has less recoil and enables me to get my gun back on target quicker. If you think that all you need is your .45 and one bullet to stop an intruder, then what if that one round hits him in the arm? By the time you’ve got one round off, I’ll have 3-4 with my 9mm and the attacker will hopefully be stopped by then.

In addition to allowing me to shoot more shots more quickly, the 9mm also lets me carry more rounds. I realize the majority of gun fights are under 6 rounds, but I still prefer a 15 round magazine to an 8 round magazine. After all, the way life works your defensive encounter will be the 1% of gunfights that requires 10 or more rounds. (Don’t forget multiple attackers and the “flash mobs” we have these days.)

Remember, shot placement is what’s important. I have several friends that are doctors and surgeons who see gunshot wounds all the time. (They work in terrible Baltimore, MD.) These friends tell me that people often survive gunshot wounds no matter the caliber because the handgun round in general isn’t that powerful. That’s why you’ll likely need multiple ACCURATE hits. And if you’re like the fellow I ran into the other day and you’re carrying a .45, not only will you be slower with your hits, you’ll be less accurate if you don’t practice often.

The bottom line is, I’m very comfortable carrying my 9mm Glock and if the day ever comes where I have to defend my life I’m more than confident the 9mm round will serve me well. Are you comfortable and confident with your gun?

How to Choose a Self-Defense Lawyer

I don’t like lawyers any more than you do. I’m pretty sure that the first day of law school they escort them into a little booth where they suck out the creative part of their brains and replace it with the three word phrase: “Just sue them.” (I’ve witnessed this on many occasions with my lovely wife’s brain dead friends.)

However, if you choose to carry a handgun then you absolutely need to find a good self- defense lawyer. And, you need to find one today. The worst thing you can do is wait until the day you have to shoot someone for trying to kill your family and be flipping through the yellow pages in jail trying to locate someone. (Especially, if you haven’t yet had a lawyer tell you what to do in the aftermath of a shooting.)

So how exactly do you find a self-defense lawyer?

Well… it’s not as bad as you might think. First off, ask all of the firearms instructors in your area and they should be able to give you a referral or two. If for some reason they don’t know of a lawyer, then go to your local gun shops and ask around. Lastly, you can call the NRA and they’ll give you a list of lawyers in your area.

If you ask the folks above, then the same names will probably pop up over and over. This is a good sign and you’ll want to call these attorneys and interview them. You’ll want to ask if they’ve ever handled a self-defense shooting… how many cases have they tried… can you get their phone number to carry around in your wallet at all times…

And remember, you are interviewing them. Don’t let them intimidate you, or avoid your questions. This person might keep you out of jail one day so make sure, as much as possible, that they know what they’re doing. If for some reason all they do is brag to you or they talk about all the criminal cases they’ve done (but not self-defense) then find someone else.

You see, you need someone who knows how to try a self-defense case when the person is innocent. You don’t want a criminal attorney who is used to using a bunch of tricks to get scum bags off because this will not work for you.

My personal attorney…

For instance, my personal self-defense attorney is the NRA’s former lawyer. He’s certainly not the cheapest guy around but in addition to my gun, my holster, and the training I do… my attorney is on my list of things never to be cheap about in life.

In addition to the obvious factor of being able to call him if I’m ever involved in a shooting, perhaps the most important thing is the discussions we’ve had about how to deal with the police after a shooting… what to say and what not to say.

So, if you happen to carry concealed and don’t have a lawyer yet, please change that ASAP. I’d hate to see you preserve your life from a criminal only to get screwed by the legal system because you didn’t have a quality attorney.

My Course Review of Massad Ayoob’s MAG-40

When I rule the universe I’ll approach my wife to tell her that I’m going to another firearms training class and she’ll say to me, “Honey, that’s fantastic. To help pay for it I’m going to return those ridiculously expensive jeans I bought last weekend that almost gave you a heart attack.”

But until that day comes, I will continue to be blackmailed into trading firearms classes for pairs of shoes, expensive jeans and more picture frames. (If there’s ever a shortage of picture frames in the world, the Hanson’s will be sitting on a gold mine.)

Thankfully, I can say my latest blackmail trade of Massad Ayoob’s MAG-40… for lots of cardigans that all look the same to me (though she tells me they have different necks even though they’re the same color), turned out to be a very good one.

If you don’t know who Massad Ayoob is…

He’s one of the top instructors in the country and he’s authored numerous books on self- defense. His MAG-40 class is ten, 4 hour days that consist of range time and classroom lecture.

Quite frankly, I could stop right here and just tell you that you need to attend this class. I’ve been very blessed to attend some of the top classes in the country (both government and private sector) and this class is without a doubt among the best.

The man’s vast amount of knowledge when it comes to firearms and personal protection is astounding. More importantly, he doesn’t just teach you how to be a better shooter. He teaches the responsibility of gun ownership. He teaches when you’re allowed to use deadly force… what you need to do if you ever have to use deadly force… how to deal with police… witnesses… the investigator, and even your own lawyer.

He teaches several shoot/don’t shoot scenarios and emphasizes that the last thing any of us ever want to do is use the gun. In fact, as I’m writing this, I’m looking at the more than 15 pages of handwritten notes I took and it’s as if he crammed 40 years of knowledge into just 4 days.

Of course we did lots of shooting too.

We did one handed shooting drills, shooting from the knee, shooting from 15 yards out and other timed shooting drills. The final day we shot a qualification course, and yes my friend, I did shoot 300 out of 300.

To tell you the truth, it’s tough to put into words how good this course really was. I was never alive to see Jeff Cooper teach in person, but I imagine watching Massad Ayoob is similar – seeing a master at his craft.

He also offers another course called the MAG-80 and I plan to attend it one day. (So, yes dear, that means we can get more picture frames.)

For anyone truly serious about preserving their own life and taking care of their family, you owe it to yourself to try and attend one of these classes. If you’re like me, and most of the people who attended with me, it will be something you’ll remember for the rest of your life.

Your College Kid’s Guide to Personal Protection

In the past two weeks I’ve had a brother in-law and a sister-in law start college. I also had a brother who graduated from college, but he was on the 8-year plan (and no, he’s not a doctor.) For the two who were starting college it got me thinking just how vulnerable college students are and what they can do to better protect themselves… So I shared with them the following advice, which I’m sure they’ll ignore:

First off, if they can (and are responsible enough) they should have a gun. In Utah, where my brother and brother in-law attend college, they are allowed to carry concealed on campus. With all that’s occurred on college campuses these last few years I don’t have to tell you why it’s a good idea to carry concealed there. Even if they don’t want to carry everyday they should still have a gun in their apartment for home defense.

Now, if your kids go to a school where they can’t have a gun, but they live in off campus housing, then again, they should have a gun in their house. Of course, make sure they’ve had training with it and know how to properly manipulate and shoot the gun.

For those who don’t go to college in Utah, Virginia or any other place where you’re allowed to carry on campus then they need other tools to protect themselves. One of my favorites, if not my favorite, is the tactical pen. You can carry it anytime, anywhere and if your child knows how to properly strike with it, it can cause some serious damage. I’m not a fan of pepper spray or tasers because there’s just too much that can go wrong with them.

Also, you need to give your child a situational awareness speech.

If you have a daughter it’s a short one and goes like this: “Do not trust any boy no matter what he says to you. It’s all lies and he’s the scum of the earth.” If you have a son, it goes like this: “Pay attention to your surroundings, don’t have your head buried in your cell phone, be careful at parties, don’t go out alone at night, etc. etc. etc.”

By the way, do you know how Ted Bundy used to get young women into his car to murder them? Ted would walk around with a cast on and when a young woman was around he would “accidentally” drop his keys. When the woman bent over to pick them up he would knock them out with his cast. (The moral of the story is to tell your kids to be very suspicious of all people. If a boy happens to knock on your daughter’s door at 3am and it’s an “emergency” she shouldn’t open the door. She should call the police for him through the door. I know this is common sense to you and me, but it’s not to most college kids.)

Also, I know this is next to impossible, but if you could tell your college kid not to drink, that would lower their risk of harm significantly. I don’t drink and neither do my brother or my in-laws so I don’t have to worry about that with them. But here’s just one sampling of the many horrible things that happen from college drinking. (The following is from a study done by Wayne State University.)

“A college student who participated in one of our studies explained how she agreed to go back to her date’s home after a party: “We played quarter bounce (a drinking game). I got sick drunk; I was slumped over the toilet vomiting. He grabbed me and dragged me into his room and raped me. I had been a virgin and felt it was all my fault for going back to his house when no one else was home.”

Obviously that’s horrible but it happens thousands of times a year on college campuses across the nation.

Two more quick tips for your college kid: First, I remember many of my female friends not understanding that having the oil light on in their car was a bad thing or that air in a tire was pretty important. In other words, college kids are lazy about car maintenance so make sure they are taking care of it. The last thing you want to have happen is to have their car break down at night on some back road in the middle of nowhere as they drive home to see you.

Second, have them get a door stop alarm for their dorm room. I love these alarms and have several myself that I use. (They’re great for hotels.) Just Google “Door Stop Alarm” and you’ll see what I mean.

The bottom line is, predators know that college kids and college campuses are easy targets. After all, just think about how you and I felt “invincible” when we were that age and how we weren’t afraid of anything. So, if you’ve got a kid just starting college or heading to college next year I hope you’ll sit down with them and have a long chat. I also hope you’ll arm them with as many protection tools as possible… and if they don’t know how to shoot a gun yet, then you should spend some quality time with your kid next weekend at the shooting range.