Hallway Howitzer for Home Defense?
Every month it seems some kind of new handgun comes onto the marketplace. Cruising this site I found “The Ultimate,” “The Best,” “The Biggest Super Magnum” and the “Minimum Magnum” — you get the point.
I am slightly confused because if all these badboy handguns are so effective, why is it everyone I know (or care about their opinion) seems to agree that given a choice, they’d select a shotgun or a rifle for a fight? Says something about handguns doesn’t it?
Now everyone knows the reason we use handguns is to be politically correct as is required by the morass of state and federal regulations, and yet still be armed after a fashion. After all, selecting cantaloupes in the produce isle of the local Piggly Wiggly with a rifle slung over your shoulder is likely to get you more attention than you really want.
And yes, we use a handgun to fight our way to a long gun we should not have put down in the first place. We carry handguns because if the sheepeople can’t see the gun it doesn’t concern or bother them. See no evil, etc. We do not carry handguns because they are efficient threat stopping devices.
For Regular Everyday “Joes” or “Joettes”
At home we have a different set of issues. Some people do not have or want to own a handgun. Many people who own handguns don’t carry them even though they possess a legal permit — we can argue this — but it’s a fact.
Contrary to what sells magazines, not all of us are or want to be SpecOps, SEAL, Recon, Delta, CQB, Ninja, firearm-knife-tactical-death-touch instructors. I would bet most folks reading this are just regular everyday “Joes” or “Joettes” who have a regular job, a regular family, plenty of bills and probably do not have a level-three tactical vest stashed under their bed.
Primary interest number one is to have the gun safely in the home. Number two, to protect the family and yourself if you are forced to. And number three; don’t shoot anybody, because you probably can’t afford it. Yes, you will defend yourself if forced to, however, it’s also true you’ll only do as well as you have previously trained yourself.
There is a common belief that handguns are hard to shoot well. I don’t argue this but would add that all firearms require more than basic
manipulation skills to be used in a confrontation environment.
So, consider the hallway howitzer — the shotgun — because lots of people already have one in the home. Learn how to use the shotgun by
measuring all the distances inside your home were you might discharge the shotgun. Go to the range and reproduce these measured distances for your practice. Don’t be surprised if you learn a few new things.
Include Family Members When Planning Defense Strategies
As a point of interest, all targets are harder to hit than most people believe, and some degree of aiming or sight alignment is required for the target to be hit well. Conduct what the military calls “Fam Fire” — the acronym for familiarization firing, only your “fam fire” should stand for family firing. All members of your family should learn how to operate this firearm that occupies a place in your home.
While you’re at it, teach everyone how to run the fire extinguishers that are in each room of your house. “No fire extinguishers in our house,” you say? Hmm, maybe there’s a message there.
“Don’t I need a menacing, black, semiautomatic, pistol grip, extended magazine, thermal sighted, comp and laser equipped shotgun with tactical sling and slug sights,” you ask? In a word, no. To the point, Joe and Joette homeowners are not going to be shooting slugs. And they’re not going to practice shooting slugs because it’s not fun, period. Besides, experience has shown that many of the expensive “tactical” shotguns have a habit of shedding their fancy front sights and other doo-dads at the worst possible moment.
Joe and Joette would in fact be well on the way to being armed and dangerous if they had a simple 18-inch barreled Remington 870 with dumb old bead sight that they knew how to operate. Charged with a load of well-aimed, high-based No. 6 shot down the length of the hallway, this simple, proven pump gun will be discouraging to all but the stoutest of intruders.
“Well Mr. Smarty pants,” reply the nay sayers, “what happens if four armed men with MP5s, wearing level three armor and using flash bangs storm J&J’s house from two directions at once?” Probably not much is going to happen… J&J are in big trouble.
Probably more trouble than all the fancy howitzers, shotguns or ammunition in the world will get them out of. Sometimes you get the bear — sometimes the bear gets you. Then again, I wouldn’t want to be the first home invader through Joe and Joette’s bedroom door.
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