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I was recently in a Facebook argument. Some whack job was talking about shotguns being shitty for home defense. The longer version is in the link I put in the first sentence but the short version is: he’s a troll. Or a moron. Or a troll-like moron. Maybe all of the above.
But it got me to thinking that there are actually several weird ideas floating around on the internet. Some of those weird ideas involve guns.
Table of Contents
1. A modern striker gun is the only one to have.
Yeah, no. There’s nothing wrong with a striker gun. I have several. In my nightstand is a Springfield XDM. I have an M&P Shield I carried for years and still do at times. Yet most of my guns are hammer fired. Why?
- I’m a fan of two things: revolvers and DA/SA guns. If there’s a revolver with a striker I’ve never heard of it. The only DA/SA striker gun I’ve ever heard of is a version of Canik’s TP9. I had a TP9 once but not that version. I was very happy with the one I had I just don’t feel the need to go buy another gun to say I have a DA striker gun.
- Hammers work just fine, thanks. I mean, come on. If there’s some evidence that striker is more reliable or something someone please let me know. All I know is that when I pull the trigger on one of my hammer guns it goes off. What else do you want?
- I happen to like the visual indicator. It’s not a big deal. Just adds in with the first two reasons. There are striker guns with a “cocked” indicator (like my Springfield); I like that but it’s still not as good as a hammer for me.
2. 1911’s suck.
This is just the dumbest thing in the gun world. 1911’s have proven their worth over and over. Are there better guns now? Maybe. I still haven’t found anything that points as well for me or is as accurate for me as a 1911. Others may have different views. I will readily concede that a 1911 requires more maintenance than a more recent design. It’s clearly harder to assemble and disassemble than other guns. And I certainly prefer the 15 rounds of 9mm in one of my Sigs to the eight rounds of .45 ACP in my 1911. Nevertheless, I still carry my 1911 at times. I am never under gunned when I do so.
Some of this comes from trainers who run classes where several hundred rounds are required during the day and they’ll say things about 1911’s being unreliable. And maybe in that context they are; I can’t say. Question: what defensive situation do you expect to get into that requires 300 rounds of fire through your handgun? Maybe most 1911’s will have issues after that many rounds without cleaning. Who cares? I regularly fire 100 at a time of mixed FMJ and JHP and can’t remember the last failure I had.
And let’s not forget the old saw about how “1911’s need to be hand fitted by a craftsman to be reliable.” Look, in WW II there were 1.9 million of them produced. They weren’t hand fitted and they were as reliable as required.
3. Manual safeties are bad
I’ve been over this one. Manual safeties are a matter of preference. I will admit that I’m baffled when some trainers say they don’t like them since their only objection is correctable by training. That is: you may not take the safety off when you’re under stress. I don’t want to say that’s impossible. I do want to say that if you practice sweeping your thumb down every time you practice drawing then your odds of not taking off the safety go down.
One proviso: I own guns with two kinds of safeties. Frame mounted click down and slide mounted push up or forward. I don’t use the slide mounted safety. That, to me, is a bridge too far for training to overcome. I don’t want to have to remember which safety I have today. Not to say someone can’t do it but I won’t.
The slide mounted safety is on a Smith & Wesson 910. I like it. Shoots decent and I got a really good deal on it. And the safety that I don’t use is also a decocker that I do. Which brings us to:
4. DA/SA triggers are bad
This is another training one. DA/SA triggers are harder to master than the single consistent trigger of a single action or striker pistol. I agree but it’s not that much harder. It’s the DA part that’s the hardest. After that, well, riding the reset is riding the reset. Although, to be fair, the single action trigger on a DA/SA can be a little sloppy. I have trouble getting worked up over that in a defensive pistol.
As I said, the DA part is the hard part. So work on the DA part first. When you can put that first round right where you need it every time then do two shot drills: one DA and one SA until you get it right. I don’t think it will take that long.
5. Only recently designed guns are viable
Related to #1. Look, people have been effectively using firearms for defense, hunting, and a hobby for quite some time now. A Springfield Hellcat or Sig P365 perform exactly the same function as an 1846 Walker Colt: send a projectile downrange at sufficient velocity to stop whoever’s attacking you.
Obviously, that’s pretty much the end of the similarities and I’m not saying the Walker is as good as a modern pistol. Technology has advanced. I’m saying that, at some point, you hit diminishing returns.
Is a P365 better than my first generation M&P Shield? Yes. Is it worth the $600 or so to make the switch? That would be up to you. I’m fine for now.
Is a P320 better than an SP 2022? There are those who will say yes purely because it’s a striker gun instead of the P229’s DA/SA hammer but I’ve already discussed that. The versatility of the P320, though. Now that’s a thing worth getting the newer stuff for. Still, 15 rounds of 9mm out a (just under) 4″ barrel is the same no matter what year the gun was produced in; it means nothing with regard to viability: i.e., to stop an attack on you.
Conclusion
At the top of the article I used the word “believe.” While there are reasoned arguments for some of the previous ideas the fact is that a lot them of are approached in almost a religious manner. It’s almost like two bishops arguing over some obscure doctrinal point.
The point is: your emotions are going to be involved in deciding what gun to buy and/or carry. That’s fine. Just make sure your brain is involved, too. There are people with far more knowledge and experience than I who have different views on some of these things than I do. I don’t care. They’re not me and they’re not you. They’re not carrying my gun and they won’t be carrying yours. Do what’s right for you.
