Urban Survival Weapons - Guns for Your Wife

UrbanMan received a private message from a reader (Jake) who asked what handgun would be appropriate for his wife. He further stated that his wife is going along with his Urban Survival Preparations for the Collapse kind of grudgingly. She has been to the range a few times; shot a couple of handguns and didn't really get into it.

Well Jake, here are some things to think about:

A handgun is primarily a defensive weapon. I always carry two handguns, a Glock 19 and a Kel-Tec .32 ACP even then I am under gunned if faced with Mutts and semi-automactic rifles. So getting your wife a handgun is a good idea; getting her a rifle is a better idea.

As the indicators for the Collapse (or TEOTWAWKI as you prefer) get stronger, our levels of preparedness needs to rise. Right now, it really wouldn't make sense to keep rifles and all magazines fully loaded in all corners or at all fighting positions in your house. Not would it make sense for you sling an M-4 as you perform land work or gardening. So the handgun is sometimes you ALWAYS carry for personal protection and to be able to fight your way to safety and your long guns.

Your wife may get more involved with shooting if you can make shooting or firearms training more fun. Rimfire (.22 LR) bullseye competition, shooting exploding targets or other targets that provide immediate feedback may serve this purpose. A .22 LR or .22 WMR Revolver are always good bets for firearms novices as they have no external mechanisms like safeties, hammer drops (de-cockers), magazine releases or bolts/slides to manipulate.

Another good choice would be a Ruger or Browning .22 LR semi-automatic. These are not only good guns to train new shooters on, but every Survival Firearms Battery should have one,...or more, plus a couple thousands of rounds of .22 LR ammunition.

You should have a .22 LR rifle as well. I have several. These are also good to train new shooters on long guns with. However, neither handguns or rifles in .22 LR are good defensive firearms, simply because they don't have the stopping power or vehicle penetration power of center-fire cartridges. The next step up would be a carbine in a centerfire handgun chambering such as the old Marlin 9mm or .45 ACP carbines; .357 magnum, .44 magnum or .45 Long Colt lever guns; an old M-1 carbine in .30 caliber carbine; and others. However, long guns in a handgun chamberings leave alot to be desired in stopping power as well as effective range.

The first rule of a gun fight is to have a gun. If you have to give up stopping power, magazine capacity and effective range in order to get your wife trained and ready to use a firearm, as well as to carry it when the indicators dictate, then so be it. You can always do some familiarization training on bigger guns, as you should, including shotguns. I think as she sees the need, her mindset and acceptance of firearms will grow. Good luck, Jake.