Guns purchased for self-defense are like your car insurance. You may be a safe driver, always wear your seat-belt, double-check your blind spot and pay careful attention to your driving, but you still buy auto insurance. You pay large sums of money to protect yourself and your assets just in case something happens, even if it isn't your fault. Likewise, many people spend large sums to purchase a gun for self-defense and then spend almost half the gun's price in ammo to practice with it. The gun, like insurance, is there to protect the owner, their family and their assets, just in case something happens.
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Speaking of costs, a neighbor of mine, here in California, wanted to know how to purchase a handgun. It seems a family member is something of a black sheep and will be getting out of prison soon, something he and his wife dread. He wanted to know how much it would cost to buy a decent 9mm pistol and practice enough to be comfortable with it. When I told him to expect to shell out between $900 and $1,200 I thought his eyes would pop out. I explained he should expect to pay about 1/2 to 2/3 of the price of the gun in ammo and range fees to practice, plus the cost of cleaning supplies, and a lockbox (he has two nice kids). When he got through sputtering, I told him the good news - he only has to pay that much once, not annually like his insurance. The on-going costs of ammo, range fees and cleaning supplies amount to less than about $200 a year for non-competitive shooters.
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I have to admit to being biased in favor of the older Smith & Wesson revolvers. Not only did my family own a Victory model, but my first duty and carry guns were S&W's. Lately, however, I've been trying to find S&W target grips for a couple of my revolvers and they seem to be scarce in supply and expensive. I see all sorts of after-market standard or "Magna" grips, but few grips patterned after the factory "target" grips. I think someone is overlooking a profitable market here.
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In a gunfight, the most important thing to do is to score effective hits. The second most important thing is to make hits. Why is this an important distinction? Because the human body is a remarkable resilient design, able to take some serious damage before it quits. Most of us have been taught to fire center-of-mass (COM) to stop an attacker and targets reflect that concept. We have seen instances where people are hit center-of-mass and still keep going or even survive. A shot to the lungs, which occupy most of the chest, are not immediately incapacitating (Andrew Jackson carried a musket ball in one lung for over 30 years). Even a shot to the heart may not cause rapid incapacitation because the muscle can sometimes close up around a puncture with little leakage.
Look at a diagram of human anatomy and it quickly becomes clear that center-of-mass is a narrow, vertical line between 4 to 6 inches wide, from the head to the pelvis. In this area are the spine, heart, and the major veins and arteries of the body which transport blood to organs and muscles. In self-defense, you want to hit an area about as wide as the subject's neck anywhere in this vertical zone of the body. Preferrably higher, but certainly on this center of mass line
Because the spine and major arteries are closer to the back, when shooting at an angle, you need to imagine your target's position relative to the body. At shot centered on the sternum from a 45-degree angle can miss the critical zone by several inches.
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