‘Pipsqueaks’ for Personal Protection?

My dad once told me about a fellow who was shot in the kneecap with a .22 Long Rifle handgun in self-defense. According to dad’s account, the bullet deflected upwards through the leg and traveled into his vitals, cancelling his ticket. I was never certain if the details were accurate but having seen what a .22-caliber bullet can do to small game, I have no reason to doubt the story.

While the .22 LR might not be anyone’s first choice for a defensive sidearm, when it is the only choice, you do the best with what you’ve got.

The good folks at Federal just upped the rimfire game with the introduction of the Federal Premium Punch .22 LR round. Suddenly, having a .22-caliber hideout gun doesn’t seem such a foolish notion.

I’ve owned a couple of small .22-caliber semi-autos sized just right for tucking into a jacket pocket, and this new round from Federal seems just right for such handguns.

The Punch .22 LR pushes a 29-grain nickel-plated lead-core bullet out the muzzle of a 2” barrel at a startling 1,070 fps. I don’t care what anyone says — that’s going to get someone’s attention, and it just might ruin his or her whole day.

Federal’s Rimfire Product Manager Dan Compton said in the news release, “Punch makes the 22 LR cartridge a viable defensive choice for the first time ever.”

In addition to the bullet, the case is also nickel-plated, which translates to better extraction and corrosion resistance. Federal says as much in their product announcement, and my personal experience with rimfire and centerfire cartridges with nickel-plated cases bears that out.

Available in 50-round boxes, Punch .22 LR ammunition isn’t cheap at $9.99 per box, but as I used to ask my personal protection students, “How much is your life worth?”

The .22-caliber pistol or revolver has one advantage over larger-caliber guns that few people appreciate. With inexpensive ammunition for practice, the citizen who owns a rimfire for personal protection is likely to practice more.

Mo’ Magnum

Like many people, I happen to have a mini-revolver from North American Arms. Mine is The Earl, with a 4” barrel and 5-shot cylinder chambered for the .22 WMR, along with a second cylinder chambered for .22 LR.

I keep the magnum cylinder installed, loaded with CCI Maxi Mags. This round launches a 40-grain hollowpoint bullet at a reported 1,875 fps and the muzzle blast is enough to give some people a fright. In low light, the muzzle flash could convince someone you’re armed with a larger-caliber handgun. The ammunition is designed for varmints — of the two- and four-legged variety.

Hornady markets a .22 WMR Critical Defense round with a 45-grain FTX (“Flex Tip”) bullet and advertised muzzle velocity of 1,000 fps with 100 foot-pounds of energy. This ammunition uses what Hornady calls “low-flash propellants,” so it won’t disrupt one’s night vision, which seems like a good idea to me.

Long story short, if a smallbore handgun is all you have — or as John Wayne observed in the classic western Rio Bravo, “It’s what I’ve got” — you’re not helpless. You’ve got a gun, chambered for what is widely known as an accurate cartridge, and it just might be what you need to survive a bit of unpleasantness.

As pilots often observe, any crash you can walk away from…

And the Survey Says…

Recently, the Second Amendment Foundation commissioned McLaughlin & Associates, the national polling firm, to include some gun-related questions in a broad national survey, and the results sure didn’t follow the gun control crowd’s narrative.

Insider spoke with pollster Jim McLaughlin, who said 1,000 likely voters were randomly surveyed all over the country. The results have a +/- 3.1% sampling error, with a 95% level of confidence, which is on par with other surveys done by other firms with the same or similar-size poll sampling.

McLaughlin’s survey, conducted during the period of April 8-13, revealed 73.4% of Americans agree “There is a reason why the Founders made the right to bear arms, the 2nd Amendment to the US Constitution right after the 1st Amendment.”

Right behind that, 72.6% of survey respondents support the Second Amendment, while 20.9% oppose it, McLaughlin learned.

SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb observed: “Based on these survey results, anti-gunners, including Joe Biden, should cool their zeal for passing new legislation.”

But wait, there’s more! McLaughlin’s poll also revealed 58.1% of American voters are more likely to support political candidates for Congress who support the Second Amendment. People are already announcing their intentions to run for Congress in 2022, and it will be amusing to watch some of them squirm when asked about their position on the right to keep and bear arms.

Keep your ears open for anyone who says, “I support the Second Amendment, but…”

Another interesting statistic was the survey’s revelation that 52.2% of the public thinks better enforcement of existing gun laws is preferable to pushing new laws, and 55.5% want politicians to take that approach. It may not earn as many headlines, but it doesn’t step anew on anyone’s rights, either.

Oh, and 44.9% of survey respondents doubt that more gun control laws would have prevented any of the recent mass shooting tragedies, while 37.6% think more laws are the answer.

Sources
https://www.saf.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/National-SAF-Topline-4-13-21.pdf

Trying for A Record?

Recently, while researching for a story on convicted felons found with guns they should not have under existing law, Insider stumbled across the astonishing tale of a guy identified as Damion Tobias Bryant, who managed to get himself arrested three times over the course of a four-week period.

His story was carried by NorthEscambia.com in Florida, and all Insider can say is this guy appears to be a magnet for trouble. Remember, all suspects are to be considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

According to the report, when the suspect was arrested for the third time back on April 19 — also known as “Patriot’s Day” for the anniversary of Lexington and Concord — he was already free “on bonds totaling nearly a half-million dollars,” the news agency noted. That was the day he was arrested by Pensacola police “for trafficking methamphetamine over 14 grams, trafficking fentanyl, possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, possession of drug paraphernalia and driving with a suspended license.”

On April Fool’s Day, it appears our hero was also in trouble, this time with the Escambia County Sheriff’s Department and a sharp-nosed K-9 officer. Seems a couple of deputies stopped the truck he was driving only to discover “1.3 grams of MDMA, 31 grams of heroin, one gram of marijuana, 98.5 grams of fentanyl, glass smoking pipes, a loaded AK-47 with a round in the chamber and more than $1,300 in cash.” In addition to various drug-related charges, Bryant was also reportedly charged with carrying a concealed firearm, felon in possession of a firearm and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

The saga reportedly began back on March 19, when the same fellow was involved in another encounter with the Escambia Sheriff’s office. This time, “Bryant possessed approximately 267.8 grams of methamphetamine, 37.37 grams of a heroin and fentanyl mixture, 12.1 grams of synthetic marijuana, 22 grams of marijuana, 265 whole and 37 partial Alprazolam pills and two oxycodone pills…In addition, deputies reported finding $1,475 in cash in the room and a .45 caliber pistol in a pool.” Note: Guns can’t swim.

There does not seem to be a moral to this string of misadventures. “If at first you fail, try, try again” isn’t it.

Source:
http://www.northescambia.com/2021/04/for-the-third-time-in-a-month-eight-time-convicted-felon-from-molino-arrested-for-drug-trafficking

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