Guns

Every so often, a set of statistics comes up where I can show evidence that it is likely false. Like this one:

Look at Florida. This claims that there are under 29% of households with a firearm in it. Let’s take a look at the actual numbers.

There are approximately 14.6 million adults over the age of 21 in Florida. About 2 million of them are ineligible for a concealed weapons permit because of criminal history, immigration status, domestic violence orders, etc.. There are 3 million people licensed to carry firearms in the state (including cops, retired cops, judges, and others), even though they aren’t required for concealed carry. This likely means CCW holders are underrepresented, but it’s the best proxy we have. Still, this means that roughly 24 percent of Florida’s eligible adult population has a CCW permit. Now assume that not all legal gun owners have a CCW permit, and not all people who are ineligible for a permit or gun ownership are without a firearm. (In other words, have a gun despite the fact that it is illegal for them to do so.)

This makes me believe that this number is not accurate. What likely happened was that a survey taker called random people and asked them “Do you have a gun in your house?” and the person said, “Nope, lost them all in a tragic boating accident during the last hurricane, when the gators ate them.”

Now extrapolate that to the three states where less than 10% of the households own guns: Hawaii, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. Do you think the numbers there are likely higher?

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In researching this post, I also came across this interesting fact: There were 15 million hunting licenses issued in the entire US in 2018. At the same time, more than 21 million people have concealed weapons permits, even though the number of people with permits is dropping as more states become Constitutional Carry states. This indicates to me that gun culture 2.0, the move from guns being about hunting to guns being about defense, has taken over the entire gun culture.

My very first handgun was a Smith and Wesson Model 59, which I bought in 1987. A true classic, the Model 59 was the first double stack pistol manufactured in the United States. I loved that handgun, and I am sorry that I don’t own it any longer. It was lost to me during my 1997 divorce from my first wife.

When the 4506 came out, I bought one from a guy that was selling guns out of his house. That thing was a heavy brick. The issue that I had with the third generation Smiths was that sometimes you would pull the trigger and nothing would happen. The safety is off, there is a magazine in the well, but pulling the trigger doesn’t do anything- the hammer stayed back.

I never did figure out why it would occasionally do that. It was the reason why I changed my daily carry gun to the Sig Sauer 226 in 1990.

Peter gets into the caliber wars. I was going to comment, but the comment got pretty long, so I decided to post. I happen to be an ED nurse and a paramedic and have seen more than a couple of gunshot wounds. This is my take: The more energy you dump into the target, the more effective each individual shot will be. At ranges of 10 to 50 feet, nothing is nastier than a shotgun. A load of large shot or a slug will flat out stop an attacker nearly every time.

Likewise, a rifle is king at ranges of 50 feet on out. Carbines are a great compromise. So is a skirmish rifle like the one I built a couple of years ago– especially since a .308 will punch through most body armor.

I once had a firearm instructor tell me:

If you know you will be in a gunfight, endeavor not to be there. The easiest gunfight to win is the one you don’t get into. Failing that, bring a long gun. In fact, bring friends with long guns.

Of course, no one never knows when they will be in a gunfight. That means we need to carry a gun all of the time, and carrying long guns is inconvenient, so we carry handguns as a compromise. That’s what handguns are- a compromise. The handgun on your hip is better than the shotgun or rifle in your closet.

It’s simple for me- in a perfect world, you should carry lots of really big, fast moving bullets. All handguns are poor at stopping an attacker. Still, in a full sized handgun, I would carry a large caliber, more powerful handgun over a smaller caliber.

• My M&P9 holds 18 rounds of 9mm, delivering a 115 grain bullet at 1400 FPS, for a total of 500 foot pounds. A handgun in 357 sig is about the same power, but only holds 15 rounds.
• An M&P45 holds 10 rounds, delivering 200 grains at about1000 fps and 500 foot pounds.
• An M&P10 delivers 15 rounds of that 200 grain projectile, but at 1250 fps from a 4.6 inch barrel, meaning you are sending about 700 foot pounds of energy downrange.

Seeing this, you can see that a 10mm holding 15 rounds is a great handgun. Still, I wouldn’t feel undergunned with that M&P9. In fact, I have fullsized M&P’s in 9mm, .357Sig, .40S&W, .45ACP, and 10mm. I love the M&P platform, and any of those calibers would suit me fine.

The problem is that I live in Florida. It’s hot. It’s humid, and open carry it illegal. So as a result, people wear lightweight clothes that make it a challenge to carry full sized handguns, so you leave it at home. Like the rifle in your closet, the handgun in your dresser drawer isn’t doing you any good. As a result, we wind up carrying smaller, more compact handguns. When you start looking at compact handguns, the situation becomes more, shall we say, nuanced.

When it comes to concealing handguns in lightweight clothes, you lose a lot of the advantages of the larger bullets. Now large bullets are slowed down, capacity is reduced.

A subcompact .45 now gives you only get 6 rounds, and the shorter barrel means a slower bullet, perhaps as slow as 800 fps and only 280 foot pounds with a 200 gr bullet.

Similarly, you get the same performance out of .40S&W and out of 10mm with the shortened barrel of a subcompact, and you are now restricted to 8 rounds.

The .357Sig is now delivering 9mm like performance, but with an 8 round magazine.

Subcompacts are where 9mm begins to shine. The Shield Plus is now delivering 13 rounds and with its 3.1 inch barrel you are now sending 115 grain bullets downrange at 1250 fps, delivering 400 foot pounds of energy.

It’s a tradeoff. No handgun is perfect, and each caliber has its advantages and disadvantages. Look at what you are trying to accomplish in light of the restrictions that are being placed upon you by the tactical situation.

That is the reason why I own a lot of handguns, or at least that is how I justify it to myself. To make the manual of arms and shooting easier, I largely only carry one brand. In my case, I shoot the M&P line. You may decide to shoot other models. We all know how rabid fans of the Glock or the 1911 can be. I am not saying that people who shoot those are wrong. I am saying that those handguns are wrong for me. They may be right for you. At least let articles like this get you to think about what you are carrying. If that means you get to buy another gun, is that such a bad idea?

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A word about revolvers- I own a few. My little 5 shot model 642 in .38 special gets carried more often than any other. Still, 38special from a 1.88 inch barrel isn’t a great performer. The length is about the same as a compact auto, but Again, compromise. I also have a 4 inch barreled revolver in .357Mag. I don’t carry it as a defensive handgun because, frankly I think revolvers are suboptimal for defensive use- capacity is too low, and reload times are too long.