Reply #89: My thoughts [View All]

[Lurks Often]

My thoughts, in no particular order
1. If you can't hit anything with the gun, it doesn't much matter what caliber it is.
2. I don't care who owns Kahr, they make a a very good gun and I am not going to rule out what might be the best choice to save my life just because I may not like the owner's beliefs or politics. The Kahr PM9 is a regular carry gun for me when I can't/choose not to carry my H&K P7M8. (I shoot a 1911 in 45 ACP well, but I can't shoot it as well as the 9mm P7M8)
3. The .380 caliber is borderline, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. (but that applies to all calibers, see #4)
4. Shot placement is the key, if you don't hit a vital area, it doesn't much matter what the caliber is.
5. If they are are on meth, pcp, crack, cocaine or heroin (and I may have missed a drug or two), you either need a central nervous system hit (brain or spine) or a structural bone (hip, pelvis) hit to stop them.
6. Most people can't hit shit with a snub nose revolver, I see proof of this on a regular basis at competitive plate shoots where there are 8" round targets at 30 feet and the people who win match after match are the ones shooting semi-auto's.
7. .380 class choices in the $300 price range: Bersa makes a good gun, an East German made Makarov is a very good gun, if a tad heavy (I carried one for years until I moved up to a 9mm, extremely reliable and accurate), the CZ made guns in the same class in either .380 or 9mm Makarov are also very good.
8. I have a Kel-Tec in .32 auto, it is difficult to shoot well in a hurry, the same would apply to the Ruger LCP or Kel Tec P3AT.
9. If at all possible, find out what the ammo the local police department carries and use the same ammo (if possible).
10. Ammo choices: (While I don't feel that foreign ammo is necessarily bad or junk, when it comes to defensive ammo, I believe the American ammo companies make the best defensive ammo) In 9mm either the 115 or 124gr hollowpoint, my preference is the 124gr CCI Gold Dot, in .40 S&W either the 135 or 155gr hollowpoint, in .45 ACP the 230gr hollowpoint by an American manufacturer. There are no real bad choices in 230 gr hollowpoint, but my preference is the CCI 230gr Gold Dot.
11. If you are not willing to spend enough time, money and ammo practicing with your gun to become proficient, get a revolver.

What passes for my "credentials":
I have been shooting competitively at the local level for 15 years now and at plate shoots (5 steel plates, 8" in diameter, from 30-45 feet away, whoever knocks them down the fastest, wins) I am only marginally slower ( a half second) then some of the shooters who shoot near the top of their respective classes in the IDPA Winter Nationals at Smith & Wesson. In other words, with all due modesty, at the local level, I am considered one of the better shooters. I routinely shoot competitively at LEAST once a month, more often twice a month.

I have taken 3 separate pistol courses: the NRA course required to get my carry permit, I shot expert, with a perfect score, at the US Army Military Police School and using two separate pistols shot a 295/300 and a 300/300 during Lethal Force I, a civilian firearms training and use of force course that equates to many police qualification courses.

In other words, with all due arrogance, I am a very good pistol shooter who has spent 15+ years competing, researching and taking the courses to make me a better shooter.