You just purchased your first pistol/rifle/shotgun. You are feeling great about the purchase and feel like you are on your way to being a responsibly armed citizen prepared to protect yourself and loved ones. As you get home from the shop after picking up your new firearm you start to think, "Ok, now what?"
Assuming you purchased your firearm for defensive purposes, you now need to think about a few specific things:
-Proper storage
-Training to include defensive shooting and movement inside of a home
-Types of ammunition for defense
-Added accessories (such as lights)
I will discuss each of the following in detail below.
Proper Storage
Storing your home defense firearm is critical to its proper deployment in the event of an intruder as well as, very important legally depending upon which state you live in. Many states are beginning to put regulations in place that dictate how a firearm must be stored any time it is in the home. This typically includes having the firearm stored separate from the ammunition in locked safes. In some states such as California, you must use a certain type of safe or gun lock to be considered within the bounds of the law.
Unfortunately, rules such as the separate storage of the firearms and ammunition are not conducive to home defense situations considering the time it would take to deploy your firearm in an emergency. While you may wholeheartedly disagree with these laws, you must abide by them, or you could find yourself in some serious legal trouble. Make sure that you read the laws of your individual state (if they have any) and purchase what you need to so as not to get in any legal trouble.
Ideally, you will be able to store your firearms loaded and/or with loaded magazines in a readily accessible gun safe or case that allows for quick access. The debate rages on about how to store your firearm for home defense. The following methods could be in a locked safe/case, in a drawer or out in the open such as on a nightstand:
-Loaded magazine with a round in the chamber
-Loaded magazine with no round in the chamber
-Unloaded with no round in the chamber and the ammunition/magazine separate from the firearm
You need to make the right choice for you and your situation both legally and from an overall safety perspective. Storing a fully loaded gun in the open with children around is highly dangerous and can result in unnecessary injury or death. Whichever method you choose to use, you must practice deploying your firearm in that specific configuration.
For example, let's assume you plan on storing your pistol in a locked, fingerprint access safe that is in your closet with a fully loaded magazine next to it. You need to practice getting out of bed, getting to the safe, unlocking it, loading the pistol, and being ready to defend yourself. While doing this, you need to set a stopwatch and time yourself repeatedly until you have an average deployment time. Then you need to figure out how much longer that would take if you were woken up in the middle of the night and needed to orient yourself to the situation.
Think about whatever method you want to use to store your firearm and practice the deployment repeatedly until you are comfortable with the time. You may find yourself altering your storage method (when legal) and/or choosing different locations for your safe. Many people store their safes in, on or next to their nightstand for much faster access. I personally keep mine in the top drawer of my nightstand. The key here is safety, legal protection, and time management. You must take all three into consideration and make the right choice for yourself.
Training
Now that you have your firearm, you cannot just assume that you will be able to successfully use it in an emergency. The idea of, "I'll just point and shoot," might work. However, this is NOT a good plan or strategy to use in the context of protecting yourself and loved ones. Do you really want to bet your life or others on a maybe?
You need to go to the range and under the supervision of a professional learn how to properly operate your firearm. Learning the proper process of loading and unloading the firearm as well as how to shoot accurately and effectively are key to your success.
Not all range time is created equal. For example, if you go and shoot 100 rounds of 9mm but the shots are all over the paper and you can't control the recoil or have horrible trigger control, then you didn't achieve anything. You simply wasted 100 rounds, money and time. If you are not accurately and effectively shooting at the range, then the odds of you doing so in a life-or-death situation dramatically decreases.
A qualified instructor will teach you effective shooting drills that include how to properly aim, what targets to aim for and how to effectively manipulate your firearm. A qualified instructor should also discuss the legalities of shooting if you are trying to learn about home defense usage. If you choose to increase your training, then you can move onto shooting with movement and even shooting within structures. Though you may have a qualified person in your family who can instruct you, please be wary of who you pick. Your wife’s Uncle Joe who was in Vietnam then became a police officer may not be able to effectively teach you anything. Just because he owns some cool guns and says he knows how to shoot doesn’t mean anything. Please verify that the person teaching you is knowledgeable. A few questions you can ask include:
1.) Are you a certified instructor? What is your background and what makes you qualified?
2.) Do you discuss the legalities of shooting while teaching/instructing?
3.) Have you ever had any negligent discharges and if so, what happened?
4.) What are the different types of malfunctions and how do I clear them?
5.) How should I store my firearm for defensive purposes?
If your instructor can’t answer basic questions such as these with ease or seems to be very arrogant that you are even asking, be wary. In a future article I will go over exactly what you should be looking for in an instructor.
No matter the amount of money you choose to spend, you must receive training by a trained professional to ensure your future success. Obviously that instructor cannot guarantee you anything, but you will increase your capabilities beyond what they would be simply going to the range on your own.
Home Defense Ammunition
Not all ammunition is created equal when it comes to home defense. For pistols and rifles, Full Metal Jacket commonly referred to as FMJ rounds will penetrate walls easily. For shotguns, slugs will easily penetrate. You need to be shooting ammunition that does not over penetrate your target or over penetrate if a shot is missed. One of the greatest dangers of home defense shooting is putting rounds through walls/door/windows causing you to hit an unintended target. Part of this has to do with where you are shooting and what is behind your intended target. If you know your child's bedroom is behind the intruder, you will need to be taking extra precautions to mitigate any potential collateral damage if you were to miss. In most cases, you wouldn’t take the shot.
The following are recommendations that are not set in stone. You must do your own research on all topics and come to your own conclusion as the person who owns the firearm. Only you will be held responsible if you make a mistake. No one else is at fault if you put a round through a wall and accidentally injure or kill someone. Also, only the lives and the lives of those around you will be affected if you make the wrong choice in terms of type of ammunition and its effectiveness.
For shotguns, using buckshot is typically the way to go. There are several varieties of standard and personal defense buckshot from companies like Federal and Winchester. The defender or personal defense rounds are purpose built for defensive use rather than hunting. Though slugs do pack more of a punch, they also have a much higher rate of penetration if you were to miss. Please understand that even with a shotgun, you do need to aim. Some people think that if they just pull the trigger using buckshot, they can’t miss because of the quantity of pellets. This is inaccurate. Look at the spread of buckshot at a shorter distance and you’ll realize it is not as big as you thought.
If you choose to utilize a pistol for home defense, there are countless numbers of choices for ammunition. You will want to purchase a hollow point style round that offers good penetration and stopping power. Each round varies depending upon grain count and expansion capabilities. I personally use Hornady Critical Defense rounds from my 9mm. One thing to take into consideration is the grain count. Using the 9mm as an example, you’ll have people argue about 115, 124 or even 147 grain ammunition. Pick which ammo works best for your gun and runs the smoothest. You should not be shooting +P ammunition frequently however because it will cause excess wear and tear on your weapon due to its high pressure.
An interesting note that I read once discusses Hornady and using their Critical Defense ammunition for home defense versus Critical Duty. The comment made by a lawyer was in regard to which ammunition was used in a defensive situation and whether the person had purchased the ammo thinking it was their “duty” to shoot someone or whether they were strictly using it for “defense.” Though I find it to be semantics I could see how a gung-ho lawyer could try and twist the words around. There is a difference between Duty and Defensive rounds specifically from Hornady and what their purpose serves. The Duty rounds are specifically made to meet the FBI standards set forth for law enforcement while the Defense rounds are not. Just something to think about.
Rifle rounds are the final type of ammunition to discuss. Those who choose to use a rifle such as an AR-15 also have many, many options regarding brand, grain weight, expansion capabilities, etc. Though the typical argument is that the rounds don’t have stopping power there are plenty of newer rounds from Black Hills, Federal, Hornady, and other major manufacturers that fit the bill. Once again, your unique situation will help dictate which round you go with. Utilizing something like a standard M855 62 grain round can be effective but may have too much penetration. Utilizing a 55 grain FMJ might cause you problems with stopping power. Do your research and make an educated choice on which grain weight you want to use and what will work best for your home. Once again, there is not necessarily a one size fits all approach. I like any round that provides a good knock down power while also reducing potential over penetration.
Make sure you are buying the appropriate ammunition for your barrel. You should not be shooting 5.56 through a .223 barrel. The easiest thing to do with rifle barrels is to purchase a 5.56 rated barrel so that you can shoot both .223 and 5.56 with not issues.
Added Accessories
I am a firm believer that any firearm being used for defensive purposes should have a white light attached. This includes rifles, shotguns, and pistols. Any time you intend on using a particular firearm for home defense you need to be able to accurately identify who/what you are potentially shooting. Having a white light helps you tremendously.
For my pistol I use a Streamlight TLR-1 HL. This light provides 1000 lumens and is very easily used. For my rifle I have a Streamlight Protac that is 625 lumens with a pressure switch that provides temporary on, constant on, and a strobe light.
There are options for shotguns but I do not have one so I will not speak to their effectiveness. Regardless of what firearm you use, you need to ensure that you are abiding by Rule #4 of the Firearms Safety Rules; Know your target and what is behind it. You can only do this successfully if you are able to accurately identify your intended target.
There are a range of other accessories to include lasers, red dots, and scopes that people can use. On my rifle I utilize a red dot sight for easier target acquisition. You can also use red dots on pistols and shotguns. One benefit of having a red dot for home defense is the ability to “point and shoot” by simply placing the dot on target. However, you do need to be aware of what your point of aim and point of impact are.
For example, my rifle is zeroed at 25 meters. If I bring the target into 7 meters, I can aim dead center of the target and my round will impact about 4 inches lower due to the range variation. I need to be aware of this when utilizing my rifle indoors. I know that my point of aim needs to be higher at closer ranges since the round will impact lower. You will need to test this out to verify what your POA and POI are for each of your home defense firearms especially if you have a rifle zeroed at a greater distance. If you want to zero your home defense firearm at a closer range, then you won’t have to worry about POA/POI as much.
At the bare minimum, a light is an absolute necessity. Everything else you can add on later after you have become proficient with your weapon. If you are only proficient with a red dot or scope, you need to put in the time to learn how to operate your firearm with iron sights first.
Conclusion
When all is said and done, you are now a firearm owner and must actively choose to be responsible with your purchase. If you think that you can purchase a pistol for home defense, put 50-100 rounds through it then secure it in your biometric safe without touching it again you are sorely mistaken. Owning a firearm is an active process. If you want to be fully prepared to protect yourself and loved ones then you need to put in the work.
Stay safe. Stay practical. Stay educated.
-Pat
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