Guns

The point of my post on stopping power isn’t to engage in caliber wars. Nope. I think that the suitability of a handgun caliber for self defense (against human sized opponents) is, like many things, a bell curve. On the left side of the curve, a caliber is unsuitable because it is underpowered, and on the right side of the curve handgun cartridges are so powerful that they are unsuitable because the handguns that fire it are just too large for practical carry.

In the center of the bell curve, the differences between one cartridge and the other are small and not really significant from a self defense standpoint. At that point, the features of the handgun itself overshadow the effectiveness of the cartridge to everyone except the writers of shooting magazines (the publications, not the feeding devices).

For the reasons above, I don’t get into caliber wars. My criteria is this: the left side of the curve for a self defense begins at the .380 level and progresses through .38 Special, 9mm, .40S&W, .357Sig, .44Special, .45ACP, and on to the right side of the curve with .357Magnum, .44Magnum, and 10mm. Mixed in there are the less popular calibers of similar capabilities. Outside of the ends of the curve are calibers like .22lr, .32ACP, and the .500 S&W.

The trick is to locate your handgun on that curve. Do you need a smaller caliber handgun like a .380 for concealability or control reasons? Or can you make a large from handgun like a 10mm work for you? I have a large selection of handguns, in most of the above calibers. (I don’t have a .44 or a 10mm- yet) I have guns by Beretta, CZ, Glock, Sig, Smith & Wesson, Taurus, and others. I have owned pistols by Colt and Kimber. I have revolvers and Semi Autos. I have each for a reason. Some I carry, others are only range guns.

Don’t become too much of a fanboi of one gun, brand, or caliber. Guns are tools. Buy quality. Learn to use them. I’m a gun guy. I, like many gun guys, have heard from my wife about how many guns I own. She thinks that it’s overkill. I just like guns.

The AR-15 is the most popular hunting rifle in America. So much for the theory that “assault weapons are only good for killing humans.” Also, since there are approximately 20 million Ar-15s owned in the US, making that rifle the single most popular firearm in America. The AR-15 is in common use, meaning that banning it would be unconstitutional under the Heller decision.

One thing I take from the article:

Of that total, around 741,000 are fully automatic machine guns registered in the US, up from almost 457,000 in 2010, per ATF reports.

Since the registry has been closed to privately held machine guns since 1986, that entire increase has to be dealer samples and police machine guns. I can’t see more than 300,000 dealer samples, so that must mean cops have greatly increased their inventories.

The press is making a big deal out of the Indiana mall shooting and how one first victim shot was carrying a gun that he never got to use. They are, of course, claiming that this is proof that carrying a gun won’t do you any good, because a mass shooter will just shoot you before you can use it.

We all know that this is bullshit. The fact that the first victim was carrying a firearm was just happenstance. After all, it was concealed to the point that police didn’t know the decedent was armed until they moved the body.

The guy who took the shooter down made a hit with a handgun from 40 yards. If I were that guy, I would be cutting a deal with the maker of my firearm to do some paid advertising: “When I have to hit a mass shooter in a crowded shopping mall from 40 yards away without hitting a bystander, the only gun I trust is my Blastomatic M6.”

All fun aside, this shooting and the Texas school shooting where the CCW holder made a headshot across a crowded church have given me pause. In both cases, the first person shot by the killer was armed. The guy who wound up taking the killer out did so at distance using some pretty good marksmanship.

In Florida during the summer months, I frequently have to wear clothes that make concealing a large handgun very difficult. For that reason, I usually carry a Smith and Wesson 642. Taking an accurate shot at distance with a snub nosed revolver just isn’t practical.

So I need to be able to make rapid, accurate hits from distance. That means carrying one of the pistols that I have that is equipped with a microdot. Now one of those two is an M&P 9c. The 9c is still a little bit too large for carrying in clothing that is comfortable in Florida’s July and August heat.

My other option is to carry my performance center Shield Plus. The only problem is finding comfortable leather for it. The only holster I have that will fit is my custom Milt Sparks. I am going to have to work on some more holster options.

This is a gear review of the HexMag Series 2 AR-15 30-Round polymer magazine. I first came upon these when I was shopping for new magazines for my AR pattern rifles over at GunMagWarehouse.

The price was right at $9.99, and being that they are selling at 33% less than the Magpul PMags, I decided to get a few. The magazine spring is stainless steel for corrosion resistance, and you can disassemble the magazine without using any tools. The magazine follower is safety orange, but more on that in a minute.

The construction is sturdy, and I especially like that the hex pattern on the magazine enhances grip, especially if your hands are wet. Speaking of wet hands, HexMax also makes grip tape to make the outside of the magazine easier to hold on to. The biggest flaw with this tape is that it is not available in any colors other than black or grey. The other major drawback to the tape is that it is out of stock.

One of the things that I like is the ability to order color identification kits. These kits allow you to change out the follower and dust cover of a magazine. This allows rapid identification of different loadings or calibers (say 300 Blackout, or different bullet weights). You can get them in any one of seven different colors, and they sell in packs of four for $7. I didn’t buy any, but it’s nice to know that they are available. You can see that the color code is visible from the base as well:

They engage my rifles well, and there are no problems with them at the range. The fed and operated flawlessly.

For the price, I recommend them. Keep stocking up on mags, guns, and ammo. You can resupply friends, or even resell them later. At least their value isn’t being destroyed by inflation.

As usual, the disclaimer: I don’t advertise, and receive no compensation whatsoever for my reviews. I have no relationship with any products or vendors that I review here, other than being a customer or user of those products. I pay what you would pay and don’t take any discount that is not available to the general public. I only post these things because I think that my readers would be interested.