Why we prep
Here’s another reason why you – and your friends and family – should prep:
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? (“Who watches the watchmen?”)
Oregon standoff: Case of possible misconduct by FBI in LaVoy Finicum shooting now before grand jury
For those of you who don’t know who LaVoy Finicum was, here’s a quick (and, not surprisingly, biased) synopsis from Wikipedia.
The point of this “why we prep” portion of the column isn’t to rehash the events that led up to Mr. Finicum’s murd … execu … assassi … darned auto-correct, obviously I mean death. No, I simply want to point out that if you can’t count on the FBI to pick up their own trash (spent shell casings can be a danger to our non-human forest companions), then how can you trust them to get the goods on that privileged walking felony, Hillary Clinton?
Depending on the law enforcement community to always act within the law is akin to expecting our lawmakers to do the same (a probability approaching zero).
Privilege is a compound word from priv, meaning private and liege, meaning law. Private law. Preppers need to be in a position to defend themselves, no matter what or who is after their God-given freedoms – or lives.
And that’s one of the reasons we prep.
Last week we began a review of the prepper shotgun. I mentioned that the shotgun as a home defense/prepper weapon is incredibly versatile, but too often it’s assigned characteristics and abilities that it is simply not able to assume. For those new to the shotgun, it’s time for a quick look at the some of the shotgun myths.
Let’s start with the “I can just point the thing, pull the trigger and waste me some bad guys!” (alternately known as the ‘I don’t need to aim, dude! It’s a SHOT gun”) myth.
Here’s a link to a guy who tested a lot of different buckshot rounds for pattern at 12 feet (about the right distance for most interior defense needs). The largest spread he got was three inches. Three inches, people! No matter what you’ve heard or read, you have to aim a shotgun.
And if you think hitting a human-sized target in the dark, when you’re scared or barely awake, and the adrenaline is pumping, and maybe the bad guy (BG) is shooting back, and how did this skateboard wind up on the steps, and where are your kids/pets/spouse/liquor cabinet … well, point and click just isn’t enough.
Practice. And then practice some more.
Ancillary to the “just shoot it” myth above is the “Smaller pellets are safer in the home shooting situation” myth. It goes like this: “If I use birdshot instead of buckshot, it won’t go through the walls to my baby’s bedroom.”
Sorry to burst you bubble, but here’s a video on different shot sizes and their ability to go through standard sheet rock walls. (Love these guys. You can tell that they must have great parties.) If you have to pull the trigger of anything in a home defense situation, you must have good situational awareness. Killing a friendly while trying to stop a BG means you lose.
Forget the bird shot (unless you’re going bird hunting, that is). You want to stop the BG quickly. And three rounds of buckshot center-of-mass will prove to be for more satisfactory then a ticked off BG with a new case of shotgun acne.
Now for the “The best shotgun is a double-barrel wall-of-death” myth.
For those who don’t know, a double-barrel shotgun is typically a break-action gun. About Sports defines it as follows: “…[T]his means that the gun’s barrel is (or barrels are) set on a hinge. A latch holds the barrel(s) closed against the gun’s receiver. When the latch is opened, the rear of the barrel(s) may pivot upward from the receiver, while the muzzle pivots downward.”
Typically, a break-action shotgun can hold only one or two shotshells at a time. While they are very common for bird hunting or for protecting the wives of clueless vice presidents, they are not the best choice for preppers. (Remember? This is a prepper column.) You want your firearms to meet specific criteria, a couple of which are: (1) hold lots of ammo; and (2) delivers that ammo quickly and repeatedly to its intended recipient. A double-barrel shotgun simply fails these requirements.
Let’s not forget the “Shotguns kick like a mule! I’m weak/ill/old/a girl. That’s why I want a 20ga or a .410” myth.
Shotguns do kick. So do rifles and handguns. I’ve watched skinny 12-year-old girls handle a 12 gauge loaded with double-aught buckshot fire multiple rounds with no problems – because they’ve received correct training.
But let’s take a look at this from our prepper viewpoint.
One, the 12ga. shotgun is the most common gauge shotgun by far. Hence, it is also the gauge with the most available ammunition. A standard two-and-three-quarters length 12 gauge shotshell in #4 buck can hold as many as 34 .22 inch diameter shots. That’s a lot of “bullets” heading down-range at high velocity. Yummy!
A 20ga. two-and-three-quarters inch #4 buck may carry 24 pellets or 10 balls less that the 12ga. per trigger pull. Fire that gun four times in a row and you’ve shot 40 “bullets” less than a 12ga in the same time frame. That’s a heck of a “shot gap.” And finding buckshot ammo for the 20ga simply won’t be easy when the lights go out.
Two, and for the same reasons – popularity and availability – a 12ga. will also be the easiest shotgun to find spare parts for.
With proper training – and, if need be, low-power or tactical shotshell selections – practically anyone can “light up” a 12 gauge shotgun. So go for the gusto.
Next week we’ll wrap up our survey of the shotgun with some suggestions on best types for the prepper, a review or two, and ways to acquire a good one as cheaply as possible. I will also tell you why getting a handgun first is still the best advice.
Until then, be well, don’t tick off the FBI, and get prepared.
|
