best of

The single-best all-around pistol is the Sig Sauer P226-ST (stainless w/rail) 9mm (or .40sw) automatic pistol. It's not ideal for concealed-carry ... but no one can agree on that anyhow. The added heft of the stainless frame ... and the rail, putting more heft towards the muzzle ... makes for much faster follow-up shots ... as there is far less muzzle-flip (this is such an advantage, I believe this pistol is not legal for IDPA SSP use). The rail is critical for a nighstand-gun ... every such pistol should have a light ... whenever possible. For plinking, from both a cost, and minimal-recoil standpoint, 9mm is extremely tough to beat. If you've ever tried to do a reload under the pressure of time, you know ... unless your last name happens to be Miculek ... that a reload of an automatic is not only much faster, but for each such reload, you've got another 15rd on-tap (vs. 6rd - 8rd). Yes, you should only need 1rd - 2rd for most defensive encounters ... so just go ahead and remove 4rd from your revolver on your nightstand.

Revolvers are about style. And few have more style than a Ruger Blackhawk (for less than double the money, anyhow). .45colt is anything any handloader wishes to make of it. But there's just something about a .44 Blackhawk. Of course, many prefer a double-action ... typically a S&W. So long as you limit your shooting to cooler loads, they should be fine. Of course, for defensive purposes, they afford much faster reloads (via speed-loaders or moon-clips). But, again, you should only need 1rd - 2rd for most defensive encounters ... that's what made the choice of revolver over automatic tolerable in the first place ... right? I only have two personal problems with S&W ... 1. the eye-sore just above the thumb-latch on post-2001 revolvers ... 2. the discontinuation of K-frames (what I believe was most desirable of the S&W DA revolvers). In fact, while I continue to build my collection of S&W's, with older, used revolvers ... I have absolutely no use for any new S&W revolvers. Gun-writers have taken to nearly completely dismissing the eye-sore ... and proclaiming any such criticism of same as merely juvenile ... as of yet, I've not seen the audacity of such comments adjacent to a full-page S&W ad.

A fine over/under 12ga is simply something to behold. Ideal for Skeet and Sporting Clays, it's also quite formiddable for Trap ... and pretty much any game you desire. I just read "kicks like a 20ga" as to suggest a particular 12ga had significantly less recoil. I'm sure many believe, as I did, that 20ga, being significantly smaller, recoils significantly less. My experience is that most 20ga shotguns have significantly smaller frames as well as bbl's ... and as a result, are significantly lighter than comparable 12ga guns. It's also been my experience that all factory 20ga ammo available is not loaded particularly soft. The combination of the two, in my experience, makes for, if anything, a harder recoiling gun. I've recently heard a guy say "the nastiest gun I ever shot was a 20ga". Winchester ... and, I believe now, Remington ... offer low-recoil 12ga shotshells (and slugs). Why no one offers such 20ga ammo, I can't fathom. Should your boy be unfortunate enough for you to have chosen an NEF/H&R single-shot 20ga for him, do him the least favor of removing the butt-pad to reveal the 3/4in - 1in hole, cut a lead-pipe to length, and fill it with melted sinkers or wheel-weights, stick the pipe in the hole, and replace the butt-pad (this is about the same as a mercury recoil-reducer for a lot less money).

While not nearly as refined, honorable mention absolutely has to go to the Mossberg 930. Herstal has seemed to have lost its way with what's left of the Winchester line ... otherwise, the Japanese used to make a very nice SX2. And I'm sure the Browning Gold is a fine scattergun as well. But for the price, particularly considering the Made in U.S.A. stamp, the Mossberg deserves serious consideration. As for 3.5in shells ... unless you've got a T-Rex problem, it's not a concern. Also, inertia-driven is actually undesirable for almost every reason.

For a brief time, Herstal made an absolutely exquisite 1892 and 1886 Extra-Lite out of their Miroku, Japan factory. Those two aside, I can think of no better rifle ... for under $10,000 ... than the Browning A-Bolt. In WSM, they'll do just about anything you could possibly want. In 7mm-08, it's quite possibly the best Whitetail rifle in existence. Until Herstal sees fit to produce a Japanese Winchester 1894 in .30-30, that is. Of course, many others believe the Remington 700 is king (I'll bet they drive Chevy's too). Admittedly, I've only owned one 700 ... an LSS ... and was very unimpressed ... and that may not be fair. I've owned a couple Winchester 70's ... one was OK ... the other ... even the manufacturer stated it was unrepairable and offered me a replacement ... I chose another A-bolt ... and was not disappointed. I've never owned a Weatherby or Sako ... not that I'd mind. I suppose I'm guilty of having been fooled once ... a couple times ... and, along the way, figuring out that I have absolutely no desire to fix what ain't broke.


1911's are notorious for being unreliable. The design is nearly 100yr old. Today, by some of the most knowledgeable and lethal people in the world of/with a pistol, the 1911 is held high above all others ... even compared to designs of the 21st century. There is a reason for that. And it's actually relatively simple. Today's firearm manufacturers ... particularly of pistols ... have a tough time turning a profit. And the fact is, most pistol purchasers fire their new prize only on a few occassions ... and then it sits in a closet for years and years. It may not fire straight ... they may not know how to fire it straight. It may not operate correctly ... they may believe it's the pistol ... they may believe it's them. Either way, the pistol rarely makes a trip back to the manufacturer for warranty repairs. Warranty repairs are expensive ... for the manufacturer ... because most barely even charge shipping for such repairs. They save money manufacturing the pistol initially ... with less attention to detail ... and then take a hit when the pistol is shipped back for repairs. The trick is, if 1,000 pistols are initially shipped ... maybe only 100 come back. Compared to manufacturing all 1,000 near perfectly in the first place, the company saves money ... a lot of it. For those lucky enough to get a pistol initially manufactured correctly ... or who have the patience to send it back to the manufacturer for repairs ... they claim their pistol is among the best in the world. For those not quite so lucky ... or knowledgeable ... they claim the pistol is garbage. Having said all that, if you choose to have a beaver-tail grip-safety, longer trigger, and extended thumb-safety put on your 1911 (if it does not already have all those), and if you have the patience to work with the manufacturer to make the pistol right ... you may find yourself among thousands of others who proclaim there is simply nothing finer than a 1911.

I told myself I wasn't gonna do this ... but here it is ... the best carry gun is a Sig Sauer P239 (.40sw or 9mm). Is it the most concealable? No. Is it the lightest? No. Is it the most powerful? No. Is it the most controllable? No. Is it the most accurate? No. However, I guarantee you one of two things ... should you choose a gun which is one of those ... 1. you will either not shoot it enough to become proficient enough with it to stake your's and your family's lives on ... 2. when you actually need it, it will be at home. The P239 has many positive attributes for carry ... not the least of which, it's size/power ratio. So long as you are able to wear the clothes you normally wear, you should be able to conceal the P239 comfortably. If you cannot, you need to seriously consider changing your wardrobe or re-assessing your desire to carry. But the real issue here is the decocker and the first-pull being DA. Many would argue that this is unnecessary with regard to safety ... and I agree. However, saying and doing are two very different things. Call it paranoia if you must ... but I feel much more relaxed with a decocked pistol on my hip ... period. Not for that, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend a Colt Defender or Kahr PM9 (both of which I keep in reserve). But let's consider the reverse. Detractors, of the first-pull being DA, claim the inconsistency from the first to the second pull might yield undesirable results during an encounter. First and foremost, I've actually competed with such a pistol ... and beaten Glocks ... period. Secondly, such a pistol is likely available (or can be made so) to function DAO (utterly unnecessary, IMO). If you consider, if only for a moment, that such a pistol has no disadvantage whatsoever ... then who really cares if it's actually more safe ... or only just as safe? Is a DA trigger-pull more difficult to be accurate with? Yes ... at 50yd. Immensely inconsequential compared to how much time is spent becoming proficient with the pistol. I guarantee, the man who's competed in IDPA/USPSA with his DA will have ridiculously better odds of survival than the man who proclaims his 1911 can shoot 2in groups at 50yd ... regardless of whether he can.

hypocrisy

Probably in its ultimate form, the dismissal of ideas ... consummated by simply declaring one as intellectually inferior. This can be extreme where one has significant knowledge of the topic in-question, and the other bases his argument on little more than limited first-hand experience and/or television.

Some have the capacity to learn that they, themselves, are hypocrites ... upon discovering that their opinion(s) were based on limited, or biased information. Unfortunately, many fall victim to those experienced in the art of deception ... to varying degrees of subtlety. This is most often achieved by way of statistical information. Many are unaware of the extent to which statistical information may be biased (ex. if a survey asked "do you believe it's ok to slaughter an 8mo-old fetus?", many people's answer would be quite different than "to save a woman's life, or had she been raped, should abortion be permitted?" ... to simply state a particular number of respondents are either for or against abortion would be entirely invalid).

People today are most influenced by television ... and to a lesser degree, movies. When was the last time you saw a tv show that depicted your average Joe averting tragedy with his own pistol? Or the story of how a youngster trains hard to win gold at the Olympics for the 25m Rapid-fire Pistol event? Contrast those with the last time you saw a criminal using a pistol in a despicable, if not cowardly fashion? Or the cop, with a deep-rooted sense of civic duty, reluctantly using his pistol to ... well ... do what must be done? And the news stories citing a pistol having been "brandished" ... leaving you to your imagination ... with no idea of the circumstances ... or to what extent said pistol was actually "brandished".

Then there are billionaires (yes, with a "b") funding movements aimed at nothing less than total civilian-owned firearm abolishment. Like PETA, these extremists put forth whatever statistical information suits them ... along with any news stories ... void of any extenuating circumstances ... that would make just about anyone want to ban laundry-detergent ... I mean, firearms.

Ask yourself these simple questions ...

Who would you trust more, the man who, on his own free time, being paid precisely $0, does his best to make sure your son or daughter is taught DNR Hunter's Safety such that it may save their life ... or a tv news anchor?

Who would you trust more, one billionaire and a few extremists who worship him ... or a few hundred thousand of your neighbors and co-workers? More importantly, would you prefer to take hundreds of thousands of votes away from your neighbors and co-workers and hand them over to one billionaire ... to apply to any election he desires?

Don't believe any such folks exist ... or are not after your average hunting guns? Ask a Brit or Austrailian why they are not legally permitted to own a Remington 870 pump shotgun. And if you think they actually are ... and I'm just making this up ... then you are in for a very big surprise someday. Remember the 1994 Assault Weapon Ban? Could you buy a new pistol magazine that held more than 10rd? Why not? Is a 15rd semi-automatic 9mm pistol an assault weapon? Just who, precisely, do you think is deciding what is, or is not an assault weapon. Once a law passes the majority of Congress, and is signed by the President ... which authorizes a list of assault weapons ... would any addition to that list also require such a passage by Congress and the President? Why is it that today, a Walther PPK can not be imported from Germany, but the same exact pistol, manufactured in the U.S. by S&W is just fine ... for now? Think it has to do with economics? Just how many people do you think actually purchase foreign-made pistols ... vs. cars, cameras, tv's ... hell ... you name it!

There are a very few, very well funded extremists trying very hard to convince a lot more people that we are all much better left to the protection of the police and military (look outside your window right now, you see them there, don't you?) ... than to allow law-abiding citizens the right to own and carry firearms ... all, supposedly, in the name of disarming criminals ... those who would ignore such laws, as is their nature (and the very definition of a criminal). I thought cocaine and heroin were illegal in the U.S.? That must mean that there are no criminals ... or at least an extremely low number of them ... who actually have any ... right?

Firearms have been around since the 1300's ... over 600 years ago. Some of the most effective firearms of today are virtually unchanged from their late 1800's and early 1900's designs. In other words, anyone with late 1800's manufacturing capabilities (i.e. Home Depot) can reproduce these in a matter of days ... if not hours.

During WWII, Britain actually had Germans landing on their shores ... without troops ... or their own firearms ... to defend themselves against certain death. Many U.S. citizens lent their own personal rifles to those Brits ... who, after they were no longer needed, proceeded to melt them down.

Over 3,000 people died in NYC in 2001 at the hands of a dozen terrorists. In New Orleans, not much later, cops were caught on tape ... looting. Some of their fellow officers were later caught ... on tape ... confiscating legally owned firearms from law-abiding citizens in their own homes.

No ... such tragedies would never strike you and yours ... it's simply not possible ... I know. To think otherwise is simply paranoia. But let's just pretend such a breakdown in civil services were to occur around your house ... cops looting ... rape gangs roaming your neighborhood with absolutely no fear ... and you're out of food and water for your wife and children. Flash your tie-dye t-shirt at 'em ... I'm sure they'll scatter like the roaches they are!

Just propaganda? Maybe. But what if it's the equivalent of one man pulling the fire alarm of both World Trade Center towers on the morning of September 11th, 2001 ... about 1/2 hour prior to the first jet? What if everything said here is 100% true ... and everything else to the contrary is analogous to a used-car salesman looking to rip you off ... for little more reason than to smile at himself in the mirror when he gets home ... that night?

Does watching more than a few episodes of Law and Order or CSI inherently make you an expert on all things firearms? Do you know the precise event which started the American Revolution? Do you know the intent of the authors of the 2nd Amendment? If the 2nd Amendment is obsolete, who's to say whether any of the others are or are not? If American Idol is the #1 tv program in the country, is whatever else, the majority of the U.S. population believes, best for the country?

For nearly a full year, every year, year after year, we tolerate 15yr-olds learning to handle 2,000 lbs, 70mph projectiles coming within inches of our own wives' minivans carrying our own children. And even then, insurance companies insure them ... charging them higher rates ... because they are expected to have more accidents than most anyone else. And what percentage of 15yr-olds are afforded this privilege? 90% ... 99% ... 99.9%? Those accidents are considered by everyone to be acceptable losses. Why? Because if they're not, eventually, no one will be able to drive a vehicle ... right? Every year, year after year, over 40,000 people die in car accidents (according the the CDC of the U.S. government).

Every year, year after year, a little over 700 people die in firearms-related accidents (according to the CDC of the U.S. government). How many hours of classroom and hands-on training do we afford our 15yr-olds ... across the country ... to help them become proficient enough with firearms? A right afforded to Americans ... second only to that of Free Speech.

And you're getting bent out of shape over a little wire-tapping? Ask yourself why ... and pay very close attention to your answer.