If one reads enough history, one knows that blood was the fertilizer keeping the frontier green, as those of non-native ancestry slaughtered their way to the West coast. It's not a romantic image, but it's true. From sea to shining sea, East coast to West coast, wars fought, homes defended, innocents hurt, innocence protected.
That's humanity in a nutshell for you.
I'm on this tangent because I'm contemplating purchasing my first firearm. I grew up in a rural area, the kind of place where trucks had gun racks in the back window, shotguns were kept propped up in the corner, and where reloading one's own ammo is an artform, so to say I'm familiar with firearms is accurate. To me, buying my own gun is much like buying my own car. Unlike a car, a gun's purpose isn't to get from point A to point B with a minimum of fuss. Nope, a gun's sole purpose is to blow holes in shit from not real close proximity. Both guns and cars are dangerous. I know this. But after the whole stun gun incident, I've been contemplating getting my CCW (carry concealed weapon license) and for that, I need a handgun.
California is one of those states where guns are restricted. Any handgun bought has to be on the accepted gun list, can't be a caliber larger than .45, and cannot hold more than 10 rounds.
So, that basically rules out my .50 Desert Eagle dreams.
My dad suggested the 1911; it's a military style gun that has a safety on the pistol grip-- and my great-grandfather had one chambered in .380, and according to my father, since World War I was started with a .380, it's good enough for self-defense. A point well noted, but after the half-charged stun gun catastrophe, I'm thinking bigger is better. Minimum effort, maximum damage.
If I'm in a situation where I have no doubt the safety of me or mine are legitimately at risk, I want knock down power. I want that threat neutralized ASAP.
It's cold reading, but I've read FBI ballistics reports about how many 9mm rounds it required to kill a pit bull. 9mm is a standard size around the world, so it's cheap and readily available but if it takes 3 to stop a dog, how many would it take to stop a human on an adrenaline rush? California maximum is 10 rounds per magazine, so what if you have to reload because there isn't enough knock down power in that 9mm?
My mom has a .38; it's not a bad gun, but again, I question the knock down power. Especially if I'm camping (as we tend to do in the summer ) and cougar/bear/UFO come a-knocking... a .38 is just going to piss a bear off, period. Not that I want to shoot a bear, but if one is bringing a gun to a bear fight, then one shouldn't fire it into the ground (as it's rocky and that means unsafe ricochet) or into the air (because what goes up must come down)...
A .40 is slightly better. My bestie, The Viking, carries a 357 Magnum; his revolver can also shoot .38, which means cheaper target ammo.
But where my heart lies, after researching all sorts of stuff, is the 1911 chambered in .45-- significant knock down in a no-thrills package, with ample safety features. My local shooting range has many guns one can try; for me, it's going to take a side by side comparison of a Glock (which comes highly recommended by several people) and the 1911, both in .45.
Specifically eyeballing the Rock Island Armory's GI CS 1911-- RIA is a Philippines-based company with a solid reputation for dependable firearms. The CS means "Compact Size" which means it'd be small enough for lawful concealed carry. It's still a hefty brute weighing a couple pounds, but the weight also helps with the recoil.
Youtube is a wealth of information to ownership of such weapons, but I smiled when I found the manufacturer's ad for the gun I'm eyeballing.
It's like 1911 porn. (Imagine Barry White or Issac Hays saying, "Ohh, look at that slo-mo action, the smooth recoil, the empties ejecting...")
Author's Note:
I in no way advocate irresponsible gun ownership. Training, imho, is a must. Hunter's Safety is a starting point, but all the education and hands-on knowledge one can glean, the better.
My daddy had rules for guns:
- Never use one when angry
- Never point one at anything unless you intend to shoot it
- Always treat a gun as though it's loaded (or you'll lose a toe like Uncle Paul did*)
** Uncle Paul married my dad's sister. No more than a week after the wedding, they were out at grandpa's ranch, shooting targets. Paul took out the magazine, but didn't clear the chamber. Went to holster the gun, ended up shooting himself in the foot. The super sad part (aside from the family joking that Paul shot himself a week after marrying my aunt as a means to get away from my aunt) is that he was in the Marine Corps... so he should have known better.