09:43 – I just got back from walking Colin. This is the first morning this season that was too cool for just a t-shirt, so I wore a light flannel shirt as a jacket. It was 59F (15C) when we left.
People are getting very concerned about how things are going in this country. Not just people who self-identify as preppers, but “regular” people. They don’t think of themselves as preppers, but are starting to prepare for coming bad times. And with what’s going on, who can blame them? What would in the past have been stunning outrages have become commonplace. Rioting, looting, burning, and random shootings of cops and whites have become the norm. And it’s not getting better, it’s getting worse. People rightly perceive that the government isn’t going to protect them from these goblins, so they’d best prepare to protect themselves.
Barbara was talking with one of her friends the other day. She’s a hobby shooter, so I was surprised when Barbara said she’d asked which specific weapons we’d bought for defending ourselves. There’s obviously a quick answer to that question, but answering it properly requires more than just giving her a shopping list. But my short answer for a first choice would be a short-barrel Remington 870, Mossberg 500/590, or Maverick 88 pump shotgun in 12-gauge if she can handle the recoil, or 20-gauge if she can’t. And 100 to 1,000 rounds of mixed slugs and buckshot ammunition. If she already has a suitable pump shotgun for shooting clays, all she needs to do is buy a short open-cylinder barrel and keep it on the shotgun by default, loaded with buck. That, and get some practice in with the heavy loads. There’s a world of difference between shooting light skeet loads and shooting heavy buck/slug loads, and the middle of the night with an intruder threatening you is not the time to discover that difference.
The other good choice is a heavy-caliber pistol. I prefer a 1911-pattern in .45 ACP, but I have no real argument with someone who prefers a revolver. The big advantage of a pistol or revolver–and its only advantage–is that it’s small enough to carry on your person so it’s always available. Otherwise, it’s grossly inferior to the shotgun in every respect that matters. If you’re at home and realize that an intruder is in the house, grab the shotgun, take cover (or at least concealment) behind something substantial, and lie in wait for the intruder to come to you. Shoot from ambush. Wandering around the house looking for the intruder is a good way to get yourself shot.