Best Guns for Home Defense II

Reexamining My Needs, and Variables for the Decision

Since I originally wrote about this, I have reevaluated my selection of primary home-defense weapon. I implied that shotguns were a great deterrent, so a great home-defense weapon. And through the wisdom of others, my thinking has abandoned the deterrent effect of a cocking shotgun. By default, my home defense gun has been a 9mm service-size pistol. I've considered other choices, but I have always reverted back to the 9mm. And I have choices, since I own a handgun, a shotgun, and a rifle.

It all comes down to your individual needs.

I have narrow hallways. I've heard the counter argument that you can rule a narrow hallway with a staff, but I'm not game for that.


I'm concerned with overpenetration of drywall, because I have family at every turn in my house. 9mm can be an overpenetrator, and I've seen demos of 5.56x45 and 12 gauge with certain ammo being safer, in that regard. But that leads me to my next need:

My goal is not to devastate an enemy; it is to get a threat out of my house. 5.56x45 and 12 gauge can devastate a target with the right velocities and ammo.


And my wife is familiar with a 9mm. It's good to consider the ability and preferences of other users in your home. That will be more important when my kids get older.

Can you defend your home with a .22lr snubnosed pistol? Sure, but can you operate with the limitations and advantages of such a tool?

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Federal Departments Stockpiling Ammo Like a Survivalist: 1.1

When I wrote about this before, I concluded that based on crunching numbers that I wasn't alarmed. But, well, I was never real comfortable with that. It is possible, that based on the sworn LEOs, and handicapping the Coast Guard to assume that all its personnel are war fighters, to conclude that the different federal agencies were procuring a reasonable amount of ammo. But it really is hard to believe that all of those gunmen and gunwomen are practicing and shooting at enough "bad guys" to utilize that much ammo. It is just logical to conclude that the federal government is stockpiling ammo for some reason.

And it is logical to conclude that those reasons could be (in no particular order) either-and-or-all-of-the-above: (1) The feds are expecting civil unrest based on fears of the revitalized freedom movement, which realizes that sovereignty is the individuals first. (2) The continued weakening of the economy, despite the feds fruitful attempts to conceal it, has made even the government's future ability to acquire supplies suspect. (3) The feds are competing in the marketplace with a revitalized civilian gun-owning population. (4) The weakening economy makes the possibility of food and employment rioting a distinct possibility. (5) The Oath Keepers, with their commitment to the Constitution, and their employment with local, state, and federal law-enforcement and military entities, are a direct threat to federal power within government. (6) Because of the current economic downturn, the feds plan to enforce nationalization of sectors of the economy through force. (7) The states are decriminalizing victimless behavior, making it less likely that the states will participate in the enforcement of federal victimless crimes (e.g. marijuana, which is already compelling the feds to make raids in California). (8) State and local officials are protecting citizens against federal enforcement of laws and regulations that threaten the lives of citizens (e.g. sheriffs threatening to arrest fed agents that would enforce rules against landowners creating firebreaks on federal land).

I've been mulling this issue over for quite sometime. Like Bob Mayne, on The Handgun World Show has said, I don't want to be a tinfoil-hat kind of guy, but there is something afoot. And I am not the only one still talking about this:

So, Why did the DHS Buy all that Ammo? by Brad Kozak on Guns.com is an interesting read.

The Federal government never communicated why they need this much ammo, and what they plan to do with it. We are waiting on answers. Are they “keeping us safe” by arming the Social Security Administration and the National Weather Service? I find that hard to believe. But I can believe that they are worried about riots and armed revolts. Because DHS is tasked with keeping the homeland safe, I wonder if this is how they plan to go about it.

Personally, I think the DHS distributed, on paper, ammo to the less belligerent agencies in order to do two things: (1) to feebly conceal the true purpose of the ammo, and (2) to easily distribute it to multiple locations throughout the country.

Whatever's going on, I am vigorously attempting to keep my tinfoil hat away from my head. But I've still got my finger to the wind. 

Previous In Series: Federal Departments Stockpiling Ammo Like A Survivalist: 1.0

Federal Departments Stockpiling Ammo Like a Survivalist: 1.0

Hypothesis #1: A Civilian firearm and ammunition purchasing bubble has started in anticipation of a possible Obama reelection. Federal departments are purchasing and arranging contracts for large quantities of ammunition, so that they don't have to compete with civilians in a tight market.

Hypothesis #2: The Federal bureaucracy anticipates rioting, an insurrection, or other large scale conflict within our borders.

Hypothesis #3: Procurement schedules limit the actual amount of ammo on hand the federal departments will have. The large volume of these contracts and orders are just to secure a supply and prices over time.

Through a Facebook link, I learned that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office (ICE) have placed an order of 1/2-billion .40 S&W rounds. Sounds alarming.

RT America's YouTube channel claims that they report "the other side" of stories. Well, that's good, but I wish their anchor and reporter knew a little about ammunition. They acted like hollowpoint ammo was unusual, and that it couldn't be used for target practice, because it is very expensive. Well, I use hollowpoint ammo in my guns for target practice, because I want to know that it works. Also, hollowpoint ammo has been the standard for law enforcement and self defense for decades. It's debatable if it is appropriate for all applications, but on average it's the go to ammo.

Regardless, RT America reported that the the DHS/ICE order was for 450 million .40 S&W rounds over five years. 

InfoWars.com reports that the order is "Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ)" with a maximum of 450 million rounds, with an initial 12 months and optional additional four years. With that info, we have some numbers to speculate about:

Speculations About First 12 Months of Orders

DHS has approximately 216,000 employees. If a fifth of the contract is fulfilled in the first year, the DHS would have 90 million rounds in the first year, and 417 rounds for each employee. That's enough for each employee to qualify twice a year (2x40 rounds), and to practice 5 times (5x50), and to have 87 rounds to carry around (a little more than 5 standard magazines carrying 15-17 rounds each).

Of course, DHS does not have 216,000 "law enforcement" types. Actually, in the entire Federal government, there are only 105,000 employees "authorized to make arrests and carry firearms in the 50 states and the District of Columbia," according to Wikipedia.com's article Federal law enforcement in the United States. But then you can lump in the Coast Guard's 50,000 active duty and reserve personnel, for a final figure of 155,000, since the Coast Guard is part of DHS. And DHS could supply all of those law enforcement and military employees with 580 rounds in the first year.

That scenario would require DHS to share ammo with other Federal departments. But maybe that's part of the DHS's ammo plan. Either way, 580 rounds per year for each law enforcement employee is still not alarming. 2 qualification a year (2x40), 87 rounds to carry around, and only about 8 quick practice sessions.

But then I found on The Rant forum a reply by Blue Trumpet showing that here are 151,427 armed agents (including the Coast Guard) under DHS. That's a larger percentage of law enforcement agents in DHS than I expected. If that is true, then you are still only talking about 594 rounds in the first year per employee.

US Forest Service Ammo Order NOT Alarming

There's a buzz about the US Forest Service, too. According to the Federal Business Opportunities website, the US Forest Service just finalized an order on September of 2011 for 326,000 rounds (including 120,000 .40 S&W rounds). That looks like a drop in the bucket, compared to even the first year of the DHS order. US Forest Service has only about 590 law enforcement types. But their order would only give their law enforcement employees about 200 rounds of .40 S&W each, and it would all have to be delivered in the first year.

NO LONGER ALARMED

For the time being, I am no longer alarmed by the massive purchase of ammo by DHS. It doesn't appear that they are stockpile or preparing for a massive conflagration with the American people. It appears to be the normal usage of ammo by a law enforcement entity - large, largely unnecessary entity - but that's a debate for another post.

Hypothesis #1 - Disproved

Hypothesis #2 - Disproved

Hypothesis #3 - Sort of Validated

What do you think? 

Next In Series: Federal Departments Stockpiling Ammo Like A Survivalist: 1.1 

Zombies Have Jumped The Shark

Michael Bane pretty much said that a while ago on his podcast. And what a torture it was when the Fonz did jump the shark, but I had my doubts earlier when I discovered that the Fonz's real name was Henry Winkler. But I digress. 

I like the zombie stuff.

Hornady Zombie Max