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SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER '11
Home defense vs. Street
defense ammo
Self defense ammunition can be divided into two categories, home defense and
street defense. The purpose of both is to stop the bad guy, but in the
home you want to protect family members in other rooms or neighbors in adjacent
apartments or condos from errant shots penetrating hollow walls. The most
common choice for street defense are hollow-points that expand in tissue and
usually stay within the body, although with smaller calibers (.22, .22 Mag,
.25, .32 and .380) many choose FMJ (full metal jacket) ammo to ensure adequate
penetration. For home defense, many opt for frangible ammo designed to
disintegrate on hard surfaces but
 penetrate and disperse in tissue, creating a
traumatic wound channel.
Glasser rounds have
around for years but a couple of newer companies are interesting.
DRT has a compressed powder bullet and
Extreme Shock has a round designed to not penetrate
aircraft exteriors (or wallboard).
 Note: some of the gel blocks in the video seem to be about 4 inches thick.
I've tested the Extreme Shock and DRT in Perma-gel. The Extreme Shock was
impressive, however, the DRT passed through the gel and left no trace.
Note:
Louise & Irene Mandrell have an interesting video although it
doesn't show the effects of handgun ammo in ballistic gelatin.
Note 2: Clicking on the left image originally was a direct link to the
video but now it takes you to DRT's website where you must click on "video
files" on the right column, then click on the image below of woman shooting.
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Compare: Ruger LC9
vs. Kel-Tec PF9
For the past couple of years the .380's were the hot guns, this year the
pocket 9mm is king. Two of the most popular are the Ruger LC9 and the Kel-Tec
PF9. The Ruger is basically a copy of the Kel-Tec with a few changes.
Ruger added a manual safety and a loaded-round indicator. The Kel-Tec is
17% lighter (and 17% more recoil).
Gun Tests magazine gave the Kel-Tec an A and the Ruger a
C. The primary reason for the A was: 1/ Kel-Tec was about
$100 less expensive and, 2/ The Kel-Tec had a much better trigger pull.
The Ruger pulled at 4 lbs vs. 2 lbs for the Kel-Tec, also, the Ruger stacked
(got progressively harder to pull) while the Kel-Tec got lighter before the shot
fired.
Comment: This is the same problem with the Ruger LCP,
the trigger pull is long and stiff to the point where a couple of women I've
taken to the range were unable to fire it.
J.P.
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Range bag tips:
Dots
When I go to the range I'm often surprised to see some shooters shooting a
target that looks like swiss cheese with so many holes that you can't tell where
the new rounds are going. Personally, I like a fresh target about every 10
rounds. If you enjoy shooting large silhouettes (at about a dollar each)
this can get pricey. A simple solution is to purchase a pack of white and
black press on dots at the office supply store. After shooting, apply the
dots to your bullet holes
and you have a fresh
target.
Comment: The black dots may be hard to find at the
big three office chains, so you can use dark blue or try an Xpedx paper store.
J.P.
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New Shooters Tips:
2012 Buyers Guides
If you're considering purchasing a new gun, before shopping, go to the
magazine section of your newsstand or supermarket and in the gun section, look
for a 2012 buyers guide (there at least 2 or 3 different ones). They list
most of the handguns on the market with list prices and specifications. If
you go to gun shops without an idea of what you want you may get side tracked.
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Misc: My Beretta
Tomcat
 The
Beretta Tomcat was my occasional carry gun a few years ago. Last
month at the range part of the frame broke off and the slide blew halfway off
the frame (fortunately it didn't fly completely off since the ends are very
sharp). I returned it and Beretta is sending a new one with a heavier
slide which they claim will address the problem.
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