A chapter in my book

[MachIVshooter]

I thought I would submit this section of my mini-book on preparation to all of you for review. It is rather long, so I understand if you don't want to, but I appreciate any feedback. And please, keep in mind when critiquing that this is not geared toward gun nuts like us, but people who are looking to arm themselves in case of disaster and may know little or nothing about firearms.

Also please bear in mind that this is not a book about firearms. It is about preparation and survival, and firearms are but one component of that. They are a section of a chapter, and one that is already longer and more in-depth than any other.

I would also ask that no one plagiarize my work here. Feel free to use it, but credit me if you do.



Chapter 10: Security and Defense

Now this is the fun part for many of us, because it involves lots of cool toys and gadgets. Obviously, one of the primary components of security and defense is the gun, and since it is an area in which I have expertise, we will cover this fairly extensively, in addition to the other aspects of securing and defending you and yours in the event of a breakdown and resulting hunger, etc. that turns otherwise decent people into plundering goblins, and makes those who already have nefarious tendencies that much more dangerous. The basic principle of security and defense is this: If you can't protect and defend what you have, then you don't really have it.

In the United States, there are countless robberies, aggravated assaults, rapes and other violent crimes in every corner of the nation, even when times are OK and law enforcement is not overburdened. Hurricane Katrina showed us just how bad it can be when the law isn't present. Predators, both resource and process, are opportunistic. They will always be most likely to victimize those they see as being least resistant or least able to defend themselves. This is not a novel concept, and there are books upon books written on the subject. In a time of crisis, the potential victim pool becomes much larger. The resource predator wants what you have, and is willing to take it by force. The process predator wants you, and his level of commitment to violence is usually even greater. Either way, physical force or threat of physical force are your only recourse. If the attacker is physically stronger than you, armed, or if there are more than one, your odds are not good without a weapon.

The most obvious choice for defending oneself is the firearm. Some people do not like them, but that doesn't change the fact that they are, unequivocally, the best presently available implement for defense against violent predators. Unlike Tasers, pepper sprays and other less-lethal means that certain people are unaffected by, bullets are effective on all people. The other way a gun is effective in stopping threats does not involve any injury at all, but merely the threat of lethal force. There is no hard figure on how many criminal acts are stopped because the criminal found himself facing the deadly force of a firearm, but it is a large number. Many a big bad criminal has had a change of heart when he realized that his would-be victim was not so helpless and could, in fact, bring lethal force to bear. Myriad interviews of hardened criminals reinforce that one of their greatest fears is the armed citizen. Even physically disabled and elderly people have effectively fended off much younger, much physically stronger attackers with a firearm. No one wants to be shot, and criminals are no exception. So in addition to being our most effective defensive tool, the gun is also the best deterrent.

Before we get into the nuts and bolts of the gun, a brief history on their development and use is in order. If you don't care or already know, then skip the outlined history section. But I feel it is important, especially for those less familiar or perhaps a bit apprehensive about possessing and using a gun, to better understand them.

Firearms are a part of our history that has shaped who and what we are in ways second only to the wheel. Whether you love them, hate them or are indifferent, there is no denying what they mean to mankind. Though it deserves more, I will attempt to summarize the entire history of the gun in about 2 pages.

History of the gun

The quest for ranged weapons is as old as man himself. First the sling, then the bow, the catapult, the trebuchet, and a host of other strange stored energy and kinetic energy weapons, all based on mechanical means of accelerating a projectile. Then around the 8th century AD, things changed. Chemical explosives and propellants came to be, and their potential as a weapon was quickly realized. Though no one truly knows, it seems that the first widespread appearance of hand-held firearms was in the 12th century AD. The early guns were very crude, nothing more than a hollow cast metal tube, sealed at one end, and often attached to a stick. Called "hand cannons", crude black powder was poured down the barrel, and a projectile rammed in front of it. This is known as muzzleloading, and remained the principle method of loading a firearm until the late 19th century. The powder charge was ignited through what is called a flash hole (a small hole exposing the powder charge) by use of a hot iron or smoldering wick (punk). Reliability and accuracy were poor, and it wasn't uncommon for the cannoneer to blow himself up on account of the imprecise manufacturing and metering of early gunpowder.

The next major breakthrough was making the weapon more practical to aim and fire by attaching the barrel to a shoulder stock and making a trigger system that held the smoldering wick above the flash hole until the firer depressed a lever, which would lower the wick, thus igniting the powder and discharging the weapon. This became known as the matchlock and served for quite some time. Always seeking to improve on his fellow man's creation, the drawbacks of the smoldering wick or punk were not ignored and sought to be improved. Enter the flintlock.

The flintlock didn't look vastly different from its predecessor, but its ignition system was a marked improvement. The flintlock firearm used a piece of flint secured to the hammer, which would strike the metal cover over the flash pan when the trigger was depressed. On striking, it accomplished two things; It moved the cover to expose the priming charge, and it created sparks that would ignite that charge. The flintlock also made it possible to have a firearm loaded and ready to fire indefinitely, where the punk of the matchlock had to be ignited just before battle and would only burn for so long. The flintlock became the standard military arm quite quickly, and served for some time. But for its improvement in ignition, the flintlock musket suffered from the same problem as all of its predecessors: Inaccuracy. It took until the 17th century before guns really evolved into a refined fighting implement. It was the advent of rifling (grooves in the barrel which impart a stabilizing spin on the bullet, as a thrown football) that made them accurate enough to be useful in more ways than just military volley fire: With this accuracy, they became a vital tool of the frontiersman for harvesting game to feed himself and his family. The ability to stabilize the bullet also allowed the use of conical bullets instead of balls; The conical bullet can be heavier and more aerodynamic than a ball of the same diameter, thus flying further and hitting harder at range.

In the 19th century, an invention by a clergyman ushered in the modern era of firearms. That invention was the percussion cap, a small, malleable metal cap filled with an impact-sensitive explosive compound that was mounted on a nipple behind the main powder charge. When struck with the hammer, the cap detonated, igniting the main charge. It revolutionized the gun in three ways: It made lock time (trigger pull to ignition time) nearly instantaneous, made loading and "unloading" (a decapped muzzle loader is effectively unloaded) much less cumbersome than the flintlock, and it made guns virtually weatherproof. Equally important, the jump from the muzzle loading percussion gun to one that fired a completely self-contained cartridge was a practical evolution that took very little time, and gave us the ammunition we have today. At first simply being a small lead ball, or BB, stuffed into the end of the percussion cap (the BB cap, or bulleted ball cap) in about 1845, it was a logical progression to scale up the cap and the bullet, and add a powder charge. This allowed for a breech loading weapon, a gun that loads from the back of the firing chamber.

While there had been attempts at breech loading guns, it didn't become practical until the advent of the self contained metallic cartridge. The cartridge case not only houses the bullet, powder and primer, but also creates a gas seal against the chamber walls that prevents hot gasses from escaping and possibly injuring the shooter during ignition. As well, repeating arms before the metallic cartridge required either multiple barrels or a cylinder with multiple chambers, as the revolver, to be fired more than once without reloading. As such, guns were not able to hold more than a few shots without becoming very heavy and cumbersome. With the metallic cartridge, not only could the gun be reloaded very quickly, but the cartridges could also be arranged in a magazine, allowing a firearm with a single barrel and chamber to fire repeatedly with only small and very rapid movements on the part of the shooter.

The final major development was smokeless gunpowder (nitrocellulose) toward the end of the 19th century (several parallel developments). Smokeless gunpowder is more stabile, allows for the very high velocities of modern bullets, and has the obvious benefit of minimal smoke from the discharge. Ammunition really hasn't changed much since then, but firearm design did progress. The revolver and single shot rifle made the transition from percussion to cartridge more or less unchanged, but the development of new, ever-faster firearms became possible. The earliest machine gun was designed in 1861; It was the Gatling gun, a multi-barreled, manually cranked and carriage mounted support weapon that was employed like artillery. The next evolution was quantum, and came 22 years later. It was the Maxim machine gun, and pioneered the basic design upon which all other machine guns to this day are based. It used the recoil energy of the fired cartridge to cycle the action, which ejected the fired case, drew in the belt, stripped and chambered a fresh cartridge. This cycle was repeated 8 times per second until either the trigger was released or the ammunition belt ran out. Though the specific way the action works and the firing rates vary, the principle remains unchanged to this day.

From the Maxim, progression was rapid. The operating system of the machine gun using the energy of a spent cartridge to cycle the action was modified and scaled down into a smaller weapon that could be carried and fired by a single person. This became the auto-loading handgun and rifle. The first successful design was a rifle, the Mannlicher model 1885, which used the high pressure gasses from the spent cartridge acting on a piston to cycle the action, instead of recoil like the Maxim. Then the first successful semi-automatic pistol, the Borchardt, arrived in 1893; It employed the recoil operating system of the Maxim machine gun, but fed ammunition from a spring loaded magazine in the grip instead of a cloth belt. Over the next 20 years, notable designers all over the world tinkered with and modified designs, and many of those designs are still with us today.

About the only real improvements in the world of firearms since then have been the use of ever-lighter, ever stronger materials and more advanced manufacturing techniques. The gun itself, however, has not really changed in the last century. Though there have been attempts with such things as caseless ammunition and directed energy weapons, none have proved superior to the metallic cartridge gun for the individual soldier, police officer or citizen defending himself. Firearms are the great equalizer. Before the gun, a person's combat effectiveness depended solely on their physical strength; The firearm makes a petite female just as lethal as a 6'5", 300 pound monster of a man. The implications for effectiveness in self-defense are obvious.

End of history brief

Safety

It is incumbent on anyone advocating the purchase or use of a firearm to mention the basic safety guidelines. Mostly common sense stuff, nearly every "accidental" shooting or firearm-related injury was the result of a safety violation. By definition, such "accidents" are not accidents at all: It is negligence/carelessness. There are but a handful that are actually the result of a mechanical failure, they almost always result in relatively minor injuries, and are mostly avoidable with proper maintenance of the firearm.

The rules of firearm safety are:

1. Always keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction. You cannot call a bullet back once it is fired, they can travel great distances, and the damage they
can do is permanent.
2. Keep your finger off the trigger until ready to fire. A violation of this rule is the cause of virtually all unintentional discharges
3. Don't rely on the safety. a safety is a mechanical device and, like any mechanical device, it can fail
4. Be sure of your target and what's beyond it. See rule # 1 explanation
5. Use proper ammunition. Firearms drive their bullets with very high pressure gasses generated by the burning propellant, and use of the wrong ammunition, improperly loaded ammunition or a barrel obstruction can increase those pressures beyond what the firearm is designed to contain, resulting in a catastrophic failure that effectively turns the gun into a hand grenadeIt is your responsibility to know what cartridge your firearm is chambered in and what, if any, other names that cartridge may be know by, as well as making sure that the ammunition is loaded properly and the barrel is clear
6. If your gun fails to fire when the trigger is pulled, handle with care. This is in place in case of what is known as a "hangfire". A hangfire occurs when the cartridge does not discharge immediately, but has a slight delay. Though a rare occurrence, it does happen.
7. Always wear eye and ear protection when shooting. this is about protecting you from the things that are a byproduct of shooting even when everything is going right. Bullets hit things at high velocity, so ricochets and secondary projectiles are always possible, and the decibel level produced by an unsuppressed firearm being discharged is sufficient to cause instant and permanent hearing damage.
8. Be sure the barrel is clear of obstructions before shooting. See rule #5 explanation
9. Inspect and service your firearm regularly. Like any machine, firearms can wear or suffer broken parts that make them unsafe to operate. If you are not confident in your ability to inspect and/or repair your firearm, pay a qualified gunsmith to do it for you.
10. Do not handle a firearm while intoxicated. Operating any potentiall dangerous equipment while intoxicated is just plain stupid

Until you receive advanced training that allows you to make some very informed decisions, there is no latitude in these
rules.

End Safety Brief

 

[MachIVshooter]

In all their glory, small arms are broken down into four basic categories. Rifles, shotguns, handguns and rimfires. To have a well rounded prepper armory, it is my opinion that you should have at least one of each, plus one handgun and rifle per capable member of the household/group. Before we get into what specific types of arms and ammunition are best suited, we'll cover what each class of firearm is most useful for.

Rifles. The rifle can serve three distinctly different purposes for the prepper, but not all rifles can serve all three well. We'll discuss the advantages and disadvantages of particular platforms later. Those three purposes are defensive, offensive and big game hunting. The line between offensive use and defensive use can be very blurry, especially if trying to defend your family and property in the event of chaos. During normal times, shooting at a person a great distance away would be considered offensive, but in dire times, taking out the enemy before he's close enough to take you out turns that long shot into a defensive action. Only the rifle is capable of this; Handguns, shotguns and rimfires are limited range weapons. The rifle also possesses a quality the others don't at shorter ranges, and that is wounding effect. A high velocity bullet fired from a rifle will create a wound significantly larger than the bullet itself through cavitation as a result of hydraulic shock, whereas handgun bullets, rimfire rounds and shotgun projectiles do not produce enough velocity to crush and tear tissue substantially beyond the mechanical wound bath created by the bullet itself. Because of this, the rifle is generally far more effective for incapacitating the enemy quickly. And that is the essence of defense: We don't care if the attacker lives or dies, as long as he ceases the attack. Of course, we reasonably expect anything we shoot to die, but that's neither here nor there. It is about stopping the threat, and the rifle, in a proper configuration, is tough to beat for this task. The third function of the rifle is hunting. While handguns, shotguns and rimfires can certainly also be used for hunting, they have less range and, for the most part, far less power. You cannot responsibly take an elk at 300 yards with anything but a rifle. The main drawback to the rifle is, of course, size. Usually weighing 7-10 pounds and being between 3 and 4 feet long, they're much more cumbersome than the handgun, and so can't be the constant companion under any circumstance. Nonetheless, they are one of the most valuable assets one can have when survival is the game.

Shotguns. So named because it primarily fires shot (a large number of pellets) rather than a single projectile, the shotgun is a truly versatile firearm. The most versatile class of firearm, the ammunition can range from shells filled with hundreds of tiny pellets for shooting small birds in flight to solid slugs meant for taking big game, and even less-lethal ammunition like bean bags, rubber balls and rock salt meant to scare off pest animals or subdue people without killing them. But for all its versatility, the shotgun does have limitations. For one, it shares the size drawback with a rifle. But more importantly, the shotgun is a short range weapon. Except for slugs, the maximum effective range of a shotgun is 50-100 yards. And though they carry lethal energy considerably beyond that, the low velocity and poor aerodynamics of the slug cause it to lose velocity rapidly and have a rainbow-like trajectory. Despite those shortcomings, the shotgun is a vital tool in the prepper battery, both for game harvesting and defense.

Handguns. Generally firing low velocity, relatively small and blunt bullets, the handgun's primary role is defensive. The strong point of the handgun are its diminutive proportions, allowing it to be with you all the time, where the rifle and shotgun are too encumbering and may have to be left behind while performing certain tasks. Its ability to be easily concealed makes the handgun ideal for being discreetly armed. There are, of course, large and very powerful handguns geared toward hunting, but for the needs of the prepper, these cannons are impractical for a number of reasons. The prepper needs what we call a service or combat handgun, meaning it is the type carried by law enforcement officers and soldiers. The basic characteristics of the service handgun are that it usually chambers a medium power cartridge, is full-size (not able to fit in your pocket, but not large like hunting handguns) and can be comfortably carried in a hip or shoulder holster all day long. These days, semi-automatic (or autoloading) handguns dominate the scene, but revolvers are still popular. Choose what you are most comfortable with, as long as it meets the basic criteria of being easily carried day in, day out and firing a cartridge with enough power to get the job done.

Rimfires. They may come in rifle or handgun form, but do not really fit in those classes because of the cartridge they fire. Though rimfire doesn't refer to a specific caliber (and did come in all shapes and sizes many years ago), the modern rimfires are generally .17 or .22 caliber, and are fairly low powered compared to their centerfire counterparts. What rimfire means is that the impact sensitive priming compound that ignites the main powder charge is actually located in the small rim of the cartridge, and the firing pin strikes the rim to detonate it, whereas center fire cartridges have what's called a primer that is a separate component from the cartridge case, and is pressed into a recess in the base of the case. Forward of the recess is a very small hole (called a flash hole) through which the explosion of the priming compound ignites the main charge. The principle reason rimfires are low powered cartridges is pressure; For the firing pin to be able to dent the case and ignite the compound at any position, the entire case must be relatively thin, where a centerfire case can be quite thick except for the primer cup itself, which is very small and supported from blowout by the bolt face. The thin case wall of a rimfire means it can only operate at lower pressures to keep from blowing out, and lower pressures mean lower velocities. The primary advantage of rimfires, especially the most common of them, the .22 Long Rifle, is low cost and low noise compared to the centerfire rounds. .22 long rifle ammunition can be had for as little as $0.03 per shot at present, where the cheapest common centerfire handgun round, the 9mm, is roughly $0.20/round, and the cheapest rifle cartridges are about the same. In good times, the principle use of the .22 is plinking and target shooting. But in a survival situation, it is tough to beat for harvesting small game animals.

A quick note on caliber or gauge. As in the safety commandments, always make sure the ammunition you're using is correct for the firearm. Catastrophic damage to the weapon, and injury or death to the user and bystanders can occur with the use of improper ammunition. And while "caliber" is the common term in our lexicon, what should be said is chambering: Caliber denotes bullet diameter in decimal inch or millimeter, but does not reflect the cartridge itself. There are multiple different cartridges in every caliber, and the only thing they have in common is bullet diameter - and sometimes not even that is accurately reflected. Take the .38 Special and .357 Magnum; Same bullet diameter, different cartridge. Or 9mm Luger and 9mm Makarov. Same caliber, but they are different cartridges and actually use a slightly different diameter bullet. To confuse matters even more, you have the .380 Automatic, 9mm Browning Short, 9mm Kurtz, 9mm Corto and 9x17mm; They are the exact same cartridge, with different nomenclature found from one gun or box of ammunition to the next. Know these things as they apply to you.

Now that we've covered the basic classes of firearms and their principle uses, lets talk about what type of each is probably best in a survival situation. One of the main considerations here is going to be ammunition. A gun that fires uber-expensive and rare ammunition is not a good choice, as it's difficult to stock up on expensive ammo, and rare ammo will likely become completely unavailable in a time of crisis. So, we should make sure our basic assortment of prepper guns are all chambered for common, relatively inexpensive cartridges. The .22 is already the most common cartridge in the world, so no need to revisit that. But that still leaves 3. For someone outside the US or in a non-NATO country who is reading this, stop. It doesn’t apply to you. But since I expect my reader base is primarily Americans, we will go over the best cartridge choices and why.

Rifle cartridges and the rifle to choose. Rifle cartridges are generally identified by being rather long and often having a bottleneck shape, allowing a large quantity of propellant to be used behind a smaller bullet. By far the most popular, most available and one of the least expensive rifle cartridges in America is the .223 Remington, which has the military designation 5.56x45mm or 5.56mm NATO. The most common firearm so chambered is the semi-automatic civilian version of our military's M-16, called the AR-15. Due to ammunition cost and availability, combined with the incredible flexibility of the modular AR-15 platform, and the fact that there is no shortage of parts for the AR-15, it is my recommendation that an AR-15 be in the prepper's inventory. If you want to add others, great. But I emphasize that if you're only going to have one rifle, this should be it. As an aside, the rifle you buy should be marked 5.56mm, not .223 Remington; Though essentially the same cartridge, there are some minor differences that can present problems firing 5.56mm in a .223 chamber, but .223 can always be fired in a 5.56mm chamber. The next most common cartridge in the country is a non-NATO round, the 7.62x39mm M43 Soviet, the foremost firearms so chambered being versions of the AK-47 and SKS rifles. The 7.62x39mm and AK rifle would be the second most logical choice for the prepper. There is, however, a drawback to both the 5.56mm NATO and 7.62x39mm rounds; Power. These are intermediate cartridges, developed by militaries to provide acceptable power within normal combat ranges using a smaller, lighter cartridge that both allows the soldier to carry more ammunition and makes fully automatic firing controllable. The problem is, they are not capable long-range cartridges, especially for big game hunting. For a more powerful cartridge, we have two great options: The .308 Winchester and .30-06 Springfield. The .308, also known by its NATO designation 7.62x51mm or 7.62mm NATO, is very common and relatively affordable, though much more expensive than 5.56x45mm or 7.62x39mm. It is much more powerful than the intermediate cartridges, perfectly capable of taking game or eliminating a threat at considerable range. It also has the unique advantage of being chambered in rifles that can serve all three rifle functions pretty well, such as the magazine-fed, semi-automatic AR-10 (simply a larger version of the AR-15). There are a number of other accurate, semi-automatic rifles chambered for this round, as well as bolt action, lever action, pump action, single shot and combination rifles. And finally, the .30-06, the most popular hunting cartridge in the United States for decades on end. A U.S. military cartridge from 1906 until the '50s, this incredibly capable and flexible cartridge found its way into the hearts and homes of millions world-wide. Slightly more powerful than the .308, its primary advantage in the field is being able to use heavier bullets than the typical .308 rifle will allow due to length. A prepper would be hard pressed to find a better general purpose hunting rifle and long range threat eliminator than a good bolt-action .30-06 rifle. Of course there are myriad other rifle cartridges and platforms galore, so if you don’t like my recommendations, find what suits you best. Just remember that ammo availability and cost, as well as the performance and durability of the rifle, are of utmost importance for this purpose.

Shotguns and shells. Shotgun shells are cartridges, but differ from handgun, rifle and rimfire cartridges in that they are usually comprised mostly of a plastic or paper hull that contains the shot payload, with the brass base only being the very bottom portion where the gunpowder is contained. Shotguns are denoted in gauge, which was originally the division of one pound of lead into equally sized round balls: A 12 gauge shotgun bore would be sized for a lead ball that was 1/12th of one pound, hence 12 gauge. The smaller the number, the bigger the shell/bore. Shotguns have been as big as AA gauge, which were mounted, weighed well over 100 pounds and were used by commercial hunters to shoot at entire flocks of waterfowl back in the 19th century. The bore size of the AA gauge would accommodate a nearly 14 pound lead ball! The gauges currently available in common shotguns are 10, 12, 20, 28 and the oddball of the bunch, .410. There have been others, but variations of shell length allowing more payload in the smaller gauge caused significant overlap, and most were simply dropped by manufacturers. Despite its designation in caliber, the .410 is and always has been a shot shell. It is the smallest currently available (in gauge denotation, it would be a 67 gauge), and is still popular for rabbit and small game hunting, and for hunters who want a challenge in shooting smaller birds. The 28 gauge is not very common these days, with only a handful of rather expensive sporting shotguns so chambered. The 10 gauge is a beast, and typically used for goose or turkey hunting, but has waned in popularity since the introduction of its near-equal, the 12 gauge 3-1/2" magnum. 12 and 20 gauge are by far the most common in the US and the world, with 12 being significantly moreso than 20. If the shooter in your family or group is recoil sensitive, the 20 gauge may be a better option. Ammo availability is very good, and cost is roughly the same as 12 gauge; It just doesn’t have quite the selection of loads available. If you can handle the 12 gauge, that's what you should get. There's not a store in the country that carries ammo but doesn't carry 12 gauge shotgun shells, and our military uses it too. Additionally, any kind of shotgun you can fathom is produced in 12 gauge, and they can be had for as little as $100 brand new. The pump action dominates for a reason, and the most popular shotgun in the world is the 12 gauge Remington 870. A better pump there is not without spending significantly more money, though the Mossberg 500 series is also a great option. For those who want a little more class in a pump gun, there is the Ithaca Model 37, and if your budget is tight, there is the great little Maverick 88. Tons of other options if you don’t like these ones, but I recommend them because they’re affordable, well supported and highly functional.

Handguns and ammunition. Handgun ammunition is usually identified by having a rather short and straight-walled case, just large enough for the base of the bullet to fit inside. There are almost as many opinions on the best handgun and handgun cartridge as there are people who own them. But as with the others, we cannot ignore the logic of common and affordable ammunition being a major factor in deciding on a pistol. By far the most common handgun round in the US and the world is the 9x19mm Luger. Commonly referred to simply as "the 9", 9mm, 9x19mm, 9mm Parabellum, 9mm luger, 9mm NATO and probably a number of gangland slang terms I'm not familiar with, there is no denying that this is the most logical choice if you're only going to buy one handgun. Though far from the most powerful, it has ended plenty of fights and left probably millions of people pushing up daisies. Tons of major law enforcement agencies and all NATO militaries, including the United States, have adopted the 9x19mm as standard. And as with 12 gauge shotgun shells, if a store sells ammunition, they stock 9mm Luger. It is also the cheapest centerfire handgun ammunition out there, and if you can't find a 9mm that fits you, you can't find a handgun that fits you, period. Some of the top choices would be the Glock (model 17, 19, 26 and 34), the Beretta 92 FS (US military adopted it as the M9), Smith and Wesson 5906 (Discontinued but widely available and very reasonably priced), Sig-Sauer (several models), the CZ-75 and variants. The list goes on and on and on. There are simply too many good 9mm handguns to cover them all here. The other 3 chamberings that can be seriously considered are the century-old .45 Automatic (.45 ACP) that our military used from 1911-1985 (and still does, though the 9mm became the official combat handgun round), the .40 Smith & Wesson, which has been widely adopted by law enforcement agencies across the country, and the .38 special/.357 Magnum revolver, which dominated police officer's holsters from the turn of the century into the 1980's. As an aside, a .357 magnum revolver can also fire .38 special ammunition, but the reverse is not true. Any of these rounds are widely available, reasonably priced and offered in a dizzying array of handguns. As with rifle cartridges, there are certainly many other options, some of which offer significant advantages over these 4 (5). If you want more, great, but if you're a prepper, your first one should be chambered in one of these rounds.

Rimfires. We've already covered that the .22 Long Rifle is the dominant rimfire, some 2.5 billion rounds manufactured every year. But it is not the only current production rimfire. There are also the .22 Short, .22 Long, .17 Mach II, the .17 Magnum Rimfire, the 5mm Magnum and the .22 Magnum. While fun little cartridges, these six are far from common on the scale of the .22 LR, and are much more expensive. Therefore, you should stick to the .22 Long Rifle as your first/primary prepper gun in the rimfire class. The selection of rifles and handguns offered is staggering, ranging from under $100 to many thousands. For the prepper, the best bet is probably a decent quality bolt-action repeater from a reputable maker like Marlin, Remington, Winchester, Savage and others. Any .22 long rifle firearm can chamber and fire .22 Short and .22 Long, but it is even better if you find one that will reliably feed the .22 short from its magazine; Though more expensive than .22 Long rifle ammo, .22 short is also much quieter, which can certainly be an advantage. This type of .22 rifle can be had between $100 and $300 all day long, and are essential if you even think small game might have to be on the menu at some point. A companion .22 pistol is never a bad idea, and always plenty of fun in the now as a cheap-to-feed target shooting and plinking gun.

Ammunition stock. It goes without saying that this is a vital component. A gun without ammunition is nothing more than a sophisticated club, or perhaps a pike if you have a bayonet attached. So how much should you keep? That is a personal and financial decision, although the prevailing wisdom seems to be on the order of 2,000 rounds of each type of cartridge you plan to use for defense. But let's face facts: Guns aren't cheap, and neither is ammunition. Stocking an AR-15, a Remington 870, a Glock 17 and a .22 Bolt rifle with 2,000 rounds for each is going to be somewhere around $4,000. Not everyone has that kind of money to allocate for this purpose. As such, the obvious answer is whatever you can afford comfortably.

 

[MachIVshooter]

Reloading. Most shooters don't, but many do, especially those who have firearms that are expensive to feed. In addition to the potential money saving aspect, there is the self-sufficiency aspect. Although the amount of ammunition floating around in the USA is mind-boggling, it is conceivable that you may not be able to resupply under bad circumstances. Reloading can really come into its own here. While those of us who reload today purchase most of our components, they can all be made, and with surprisingly common products. Gunpowder is nitrocellulose, which is cellulose (cotton) combined with nitroglycerin (easily made). Bullets can be cast easily with lead or other soft metals. Primers have always been an issue, but they can be "reloaded" themselves with perchlorate (perchloric acid salts), which is most easily procured as the white tip of a "strike-anywhere" match. The cartridge case would be the most difficult component to manufacture, but it is also the reusable one, and logic dictates that empty cases will abound if loaded ammunition is scarce. Of course, home made smokeless gunpowder and perchlorate-reconstituted primers are not going to be as safe or perform as well as commercially manufactured products, but nonetheless, it can be done in a pinch.

Simpler guns. As with automobiles, the simpler the implement, the easier it is to keep it going. While there are obvious drawbacks to a muzzle loading firearm, they require no cartridge case, and black powder is easier to make than smokeless. Casting lead bullets is a snap, and if you opt for a flintlock gun, the ignition source does not require tinkering with little caps and dangerous explosive compounds. There are also some very powerful air rifles on the market (up to .45 caliber), and the only consumable with these is the bullet itself. Of course, they do have seals and valves that can wear out, but nonetheless, they are probably the easiest projectile weapon to keep in operation when everything is in short supply.

Ok, now that we've covered the firearms themselves, it's time to move on to the still interesting but not quite as fun aspect of employing them effectively in securing and defending your family or group of preppers from the goblins. Guns are not magic talismans that will protect you from evildoers. They are inanimate objects, have no will of their own, and are unable to act autonomously since they are just simple mechanical machines. It is up to the person firing that gun whether it is used for good or bad, and whether or not it is effective in executing the task at hand. If you cannot effectively employ your weapon against an attacker or to anchor a game animal for food, it will do you little good to have it. And no, practice alone doesn't make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect. If you want to be effective in hunting and defending, you need to learn the proper techniques and tactics, and you need to hone those skills and make them second nature. Pay for training if you have to, get it for free if you can. Just get training. Make sure that everyone in your family or group who will be expected to help out with food harvesting and/or defense is also proficient with the arms he or she will be using.

Firearms provide the defense, but barricades, perimeters and observation provide the frontline security. All the weapons and tactical training in the world won't do you any good if you become overrun by a violent mob because your perimeter wasn't secure or your vigilance was poor. You have to see the threat coming, and it's better if you can slow them down and focus their potential angles of attack to positions you can best defend. Electronic surveillance and alarms are optimal for observation and detection, but it creates a challenge keeping it powered if the grid goes down and stores are wiped clean of batteries. This needs to be thought out beforehand, and if you intend to provide security with the aid of electronics, you need to make sure you have sufficient battery stocks or other means of powering them without the grid supplying your home. Recall what we covered in chapter 9.

An age-old detection and alert system that is just as effective today as it was thousands of years ago is dogs. With far sharper senses than us, they can detect things and alert us before it's too late to react. Though it does create additional requirements for food and water storage, I feel that they are well worth the cost. Besides, they're great companions. Cats also have great senses (sharper than a dog's) and require far less maintenance, if any. But they are generally unreliable for this purpose. Being alerted by them means watching them constantly; They’ll pick up the threat, but are very unlikely to alert you vocally as a dog will.

Barricades and fences. A very effective means of repelling, slowing and channeling attackers, they present a very real challenge in contemporary society, especially if you have neighbors close by. That challenge is, you're definitely going to draw unwanted attention if your property is surrounded by 8 foot chain link fence atop concrete barriers and finished off with razor wire. If you do intend to barricade in such an overt and imposing fashion, it would probably be best to either move to the middle of nowhere, or to keep it on hand but disassembled and hidden unless/until needed. Maybe you don't care, but with the current climate in the United States, I'm betting an obvious fortress in the middle of suburbia will be graced with visits from various 3 letter agencies at the very least. As much as I dislike that we are scrutinized that way by the very people we gave jobs to and whose salaries we pay, it is a fact of modern life.

Layout is also an important aspect of security. Most people who are accosted by predators that are looking to assault them or gain entry to their home are ambushed. Situational awareness is number one for avoiding this kind of encounter, but the layout of your home and landscaping is also paramount. Is there anywhere a criminal can hide, laying in wait for you? A large bush by the front door, perhaps? Once again, if you can't see the threat coming, your options for reacting to it are much more limited.

Lighting. Though criminals certainly aren't completely nocturnal, many do prefer cover of darkness, especially for ambush. This tactic isn't going to change in a crisis situation, and the lack of power providing illumination will further embolden them. If you're able to keep your home and property well lit, you are less likely to become a victim than the guy who didn't.

Team/pack strategy. Some criminals are organized and calculating, and will use distraction to draw your attention or lower your guard. Something like a woman approaching you and asking for money while professing her heartbreaking situation, all the while one or two of her associates preparing to come at you from behind. This tactic is used in the present, and would continue to be used during a time of chaos. Don't let your guard down, and pay attention to your instincts. If your gut tells you something is off, don't ignore that feeling.

Hardening your residence against looters, marauders and other evildoers. This is the cheapest and most discreet way to provide security, and really should be done whether or not you are a prepper. A criminal can force entry into the average home in mere seconds and, even if he trips an alarm, your security measures have failed and you're now in the defense stage. We don't want to be there if we can avoid it. So, we should do some things to make it much more difficult to get in. Solid doors with deadbolt locks are a great start, so long as you use the locks. Shatterproof glass and/or window bars are also a huge improvement over plain old glass. Better yet is UV resistant ballistic lexan, but unless you have a $100,000 window budget, that's not going to happen. Basically, reasonably hardening your home is not that difficult. Just find every point where a crook can smash through with his foot, a crow bar or a brick, and make sure he can't. And have a strategy just in case they do get in. Don't find yourself on one end of the house, with your children at the other, the crook between you and your gun in the basement.

In summary, while many of us find the notion of a reinforced concrete bunker with automated sentry guns appealing, it is impractical, prohibitively expensive and likely to land you in FBI or NSA custody for at least a time. Some common sense and relatively low cost measures can provide decent protection from everyday thugs and post-disaster goblins without raising too many eyebrows.

 

[Ringolevio]

MachIVshooter,

You and I have had at least one exchange on this forum in which my comments could be characterized as "argumentative". But I'm writing you now only to offer encouragement, and also to offer advice on how to "be all you can be".

I am a proofreader, copyeditor and re-write specialist (I also write technical manuals and political commentary, with some 3 dozen pieces published on a major political website).

Your spelling, punctuation, grammar and syntax are all acceptable; if I were your editor, I would suggest only a few very minor "tweaks". And, based on my own knowledge of firearms, your content appears to be factually correct and presented with clarity.

But I had to stop reading, because too many of your paragraphs are far too long. This is the only significant flaw in your work.

Paragraphs that go on too long tend to make the reader's eyes glaze over.

Shorter paragraphs also enable the points you've made to sink in.

Try to write more like Hemingway, and less like Faulkner.

Go back over your work with paragraphing in mind (and resolve to paragraph much more frequently as you continue writing) and I'm confident you will produce well-written, easily- read and understood material.

But if you want help, feel free to PM me.

Good luck!

Cheers, "Ringolevio"

 

[Telekinesis]

I'm also going to echo Ringolevio's suggestion of separating some of those blocks of text into separate paragraphs. You don't have to go crazy with it, but by splitting it up into smaller, easier to divide sections, it will be much easier for the reader to understand it. Something you might do is use section headers when you're listing your recommendations as to which rifles, shotguns, and pistols people should look into. For example:

Rifles

General overview of what you want in a defensive/combat rifle (semi-auto, good mag capacity, as compact as possible etc.)

Rifle recommendation #1 and why

recommendation #2 and why

etc.

Another small nitpick is that I don't think "rimfires" should have their own section when discussing weapon types. It is an ammo type which can be used in multiple weapon types, not a weapon in and of itself. Including it in that section could be confusing. (I know what you're trying to get at with it being underpowered for the majority of tasks, but that commentary should go with the ammo section, not the weapons.)

Now that we're on the ammo side, I want to point out that the in the "7.62x39mm M43 Soviet", the M43 only refers to the bullet and specific loading used in the round, not the cartridge type itself. If you look at some of the USSR's later development of the round, they use different designations denoting a different projectile/loading, but it is all still a 7.62x39mm round. It is somewhat akin to the US/NATO 5.56x45 SS109 designation.



I want to applaud you for including a safety section, but I think it could be organized in a much more effective way. Honestly, I stopped reading it (on my first read through) because it is just confusing as hell when you're mixing numbers and and reasoning saying "numbers 3 and 6 are here for this reason and numbers 8 and 2 are here for this other reason and number 5 is here for a completely different reason..." I didn't feel like going back to a list and seeing what rule numbers you were referring to. This is another area where paragraphs will help a lot. Think about something like:

Rule number 1
-explain
Rule number 2
-explain

I would also drastically cut down the list of "rules". They are all good and should be adhered to, but I'm more of a fan of the "4 rules" as they cover pretty much everything you need to know to be safe with a gun without adding other "contingency" rules that muddy up the real goal of not killing someone you didn't mean to. Some of the extra rules (I'm thinking about the one saying to not trust a safety on a gun) could and probably should be included in the explanation of an overriding rule like "treat all guns as if they are always loaded".

Furthermore, some of your rules have absolutely no place in a defensive setting (which I assume is the purpose of this section, to provide suggestions on defensive weapons and use, not just range guns). For example, number 6 dealing with hangfires. Yes, on a range, you keep the gun pointed in a safe direction until you're sure its a dud and not going to go off, then you clear it. But when someone's shooing at you, you DO NOT have the option of pausing the conflict for 10 seconds to diagnose what went wrong and to then fix it. You should immediately do a failure to fire drill (tap, rack, bang) and get back in the fight. A hang fire going off while you're extracting it can be painful, but barring some really specific circumstances, shouldn't be fatal. On the other hand, sitting around in a gunfight counting to ten before you reload your gun is a good way to get killed.

The one about eye and ear protection is a good one if you have the opportunity, but it is not absolutely mandatory to have them in a defensive situation. It is quite possible to shoot without glasses and, while painful, it is possible to shoot without hearing protection as well. I agree with the instant and permanent hearing loss, but sometimes you have to choose the lesser of two evils.

Maybe you should split this into two subsections. One on "these are the rules of firearms handling/shooting: NEVER break these!" And another on "these are things that are great recommendations and you should always practice when possible, but are not absolutely mandatory".

If you do choose to use the "4 rules" or something similar, you might also want to add in a sentence or two about how breaking one, while not good, usually won't be too bad, but breaking 2 at the same time can be disastrous. For example: gun pointed in safe direction but finger on trigger, gun goes off - scares the ____ out of everyone but no one is hurt and the shooter gets a good ribbing by his friends. Or: gun pointed in an unsafe direction (at an occupied building, for instance) and finger on the trigger, gun goes off - scares the ___ out of the shooter and possibly ends up killing someone.

Ok, I'll get off my safety soapbox



I would also consider adding a section about penetration of common barriers such as dry wall or sheet metal. It doesn't have to be too in depth, but just something that mentions that these materials are ridiculously easy for even handguns to penetrate and shouldn't be counted on as cover. And looking at it from the other side, to know that if you must, you can shoot through them if you really need to. Of course, the "know that all downrange are hostile" caveat definitely applies.

Another thing to think about is a small section on emergency medical care focused on combat (not that you shouldn't have regular medical care mentioned elsewhere in the book) one of the things about being in a gunfight is that by the end of it, there is a pretty good chance someone will have been shot. Maybe focus you section around something like an IFAK. Basically "TQ the wound, add gauze, apply bandage, and call someone who knows what they're doing".

I'm not sure if this is really in the purview of your book, but you may also want to talk about the basic psychology about gun fighting. You don't need to go into great detail like Grossman's On Killing (highly recommended if you haven't read it already) but maybe just something that points out that if they're in a gunfight, there is a very good chance that they could end up killing someone, and they need to understand that and come to grips with it before they actually get into a shooting situation.



I know this is a lot (and I honestly didn't mean for it to be this long... sorry) but I do think you have a pretty good chapter so far. There's not too much in there that I actually disagree with (ok, I'm not an AR fan, but we'll save that for another day ). But if you only take one thing from this incredibly long post, use more paragraphs. It is in my sig line after all

 

[MachIVshooter]

Thanks guys. Yeah, I realize the paragraphs became very protracted, and I've been debating on how to deal with that. Probably going to have to section some of the chapters. It's still a work in progress, I just started writing it on Friday and have 37 pages that I've barely proofread myself, so there will definitely be changes.

TK-
I agree with what you say, but I do still feel that rimfires are in a class of their own for this purpose. I say that because, again, this section of my treatise is not geared toward gunnies, so the degree of separation between rimfires and centerfire rifles or handguns I feel is important, and that is why I chose to remove them to a greater extent than just some numbers in the ammunition section.

On the safety guidlines, yes, of course in combat not all rules can be obeyed. But that is why I implore training as well. Let people take from my writing the safest possible way to handle firearms, and once they've received training, they can choose to bend or break some of the rules.

I will revisit the rules descriptions, though. That was done at 2am this morning.

Another thing to think about is a small section on emergency medical care focused on combat

There is an entire chapter on medical and sanitation. 13 chapters total, plus preface, prologue and epilogue. When it is done, I will make it available to THR members in its entirety.

I'm far from done with it, but this short book is not meant to address every aspect of preparation in great detail. My intention is to get people interested with something only about 40 or 50 pages long that they can read in an evening or two, and from there further their education on the matter with other resources that specialize on each aspect.

I may write a much longer version later, but I myself need a greater education on pretty much everything other than firearms to do so. None of my work was researched, just written from memory. A longer, more in-depth version is going to require tremendous time and an extensive biliography.

 

[olafhardtB]

During the last ammo rush I found 30/30 and 44 magnum much more available than 223 and 9mm. Why do we need this verbose history of firearms? Why do we need all these explanations? We gun people sometimes get bored with this stuff. I think you could cut a lot of this out. In fact the things you need to say could be said in a few paragraphs. To be honest I have to admit I am one of those who doesn't agree with your thesis. I have evacuated for hurricanes and floods and I have come to the conclusion that when the shtf we generally have good government to take care of things. The sky ain't falling and it's not going to.

 

[MachIVshooter]

During the last ammo rush I found 30/30 and 44 magnum much more available than 223 and 9mm.

An ammo rush is not a national catastrophe/disaster. I'm not talking about election year scares here.

Why do we need this verbose history of firearms? Why do we need all these explanations? We gun people sometimes get bored with this stuff

Which is why I cautioned in the OP:

And please, keep in mind when critiquing that this is not geared toward gun nuts like us, but people who are looking to arm themselves in case of disaster and may know little or nothing about firearms.

And also stated at the beginning of the chapter in the book itself

a brief history on their development and use is in order. If you don't care or already know, then skip the outlined history section.

this verbose history of firearms

This section is hardly loquatious. It is, in fact, concise and condensed in the scope of all that could be said.

I have come to the conclusion that when the shtf we generally have good government to take care of things.

Then my book is not for you.

I appreciate you taking the time to read, but you've not offered anything constructive.

 

[Ringolevio]

Really?

olafhardtB:

To be honest I have to admit I am one of those who doesn't agree with your thesis. I have evacuated for hurricanes and floods and I have come to the conclusion that when the shtf we generally have good government to take care of things. The sky ain't falling and it's not going to.

Right on! Why be self-sufficient when you can just count on our wise and beneficent government to take care of you? They're only interested in protecting our rights and our well-being, Right?

When I hear stuff like this on a gun forum, I know we're in deep doo-doo.

(I guess the Korean-American grocers who took to their rooftops with rifles to keep their stores from being looted in the L.A. riots should have just waited for the government to step in and restore order. Sheesh!)

 

[MachIVshooter]

OK, the history is now a section and broken into much smaller paragraphs per Ringolevio and TK's suggestion, and the safety rule explanations better laid out.

 

[45_auto]

The most obvious choice for defending oneself is the firearm.

The rules of firearm safety are:

1. Always keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction. You cannot call a bullet back once it is fired, they can travel great distances, and the damage they
can do is permanent.
2. Keep your finger off the trigger until ready to fire. A violation of this rule is the cause of virtually all unintentional discharges
3. Don't rely on the safety. a safety is a mechanical device and, like any mechanical device, it can fail
4. Be sure of your target and what's beyond it. See rule # 1 explanation
5. Use proper ammunition. Firearms drive their bullets with very high pressure gasses generated by the burning propellant, and use of the wrong ammunition, improperly loaded ammunition or a barrel obstruction can increase those pressures beyond what the firearm is designed to contain, resulting in a catastrophic failure that effectively turns the gun into a hand grenadeIt is your responsibility to know what cartridge your firearm is chambered in and what, if any, other names that cartridge may be know by, as well as making sure that the ammunition is loaded properly and the barrel is clear
6. If your gun fails to fire when the trigger is pulled, handle with care. This is in place in case of what is known as a "hangfire". A hangfire occurs when the cartridge does not discharge immediately, but has a slight delay. Though a rare occurrence, it does happen.
7. Always wear eye and ear protection when shooting. this is about protecting you from the things that are a byproduct of shooting even when everything is going right. Bullets hit things at high velocity, so ricochets and secondary projectiles are always possible, and the decibel level produced by an unsuppressed firearm being discharged is sufficient to cause instant and permanent hearing damage.
8. Be sure the barrel is clear of obstructions before shooting. See rule #5 explanation
9. Inspect and service your firearm regularly. Like any machine, firearms can wear or suffer broken parts that make them unsafe to operate. If you are not confident in your ability to inspect and/or repair your firearm, pay a qualified gunsmith to do it for you.
10. Do not handle a firearm while intoxicated. Operating any potentiall dangerous equipment while intoxicated is just plain stupid

Until you receive advanced training that allows you to make some very informed decisions, there is no latitude in these rules.

Hopefully the rest of your book makes more sense than the safety rules part. As others have pointed out, do you really expect someone in a self defense situation (isn't that what you're talking about in your book - the chapter is titled "Security and Defense") to actually follow these rules? Do you know what "no latitude" means? Heck, most people out there couldn't remember all of your rules if they studied them for several days.

Jeff Cooper established 4 basic safety rules that can be easily memorized and followed in a couple of minutes by anyone with the mental capability to handle a firearm. They will cover any situation applicable to a firearm.

1) All guns are always loaded.
2) Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy.
3) Keep your finger off the trigger till your sights are on the target.
4) Identify your target, and what is behind it.

 

[o Unforgiven o]

Well, I read the whole thing and I thought it was very well written, with the content also very good. I am not much of a writer myself, so all I can add to what has been said is a little help proof reading. Best of luck with your book, keep on writing.

beyond the mechanical wound bath created by the bullet

Should probably read "wound path".

9mm Browning Short, 9mm Kurtz, 9mm Corto

Should read "9mm Kurz".

 

[MachIVshooter]

Thank you, unforgiven. Those are the kinds of things I miss sometimes trying to re-read my own work.

I have added a brief ammunition selection section as well:

Ammunition Selection

Now that we've covered the basic types of firearms and the general differences in their ammunition, we'll touch on the different projectile types available and what their intended uses are.

Rifle bullets

-Cast lead. As implied, cast from alloyed lead. May be very soft, or very hard and meant to penetrate. Generally not able to be used at high velocities

-Full Metal Jacket (FMJ). This is usually a lead core completely enclosed or "jacketed" with copper except for the base. Generally non-expanding with good penetration capability.

-Soft Point (SP). A lead core with a copper jacket, but a small lead tip exposed. Designed to expand, used for hunting

-Hollow Point (HP). Either lead core or a solid copper bullet, but a hollow tip designed to promote expansion. Generally used for hunting. There are, however, match-type hollow points that are not designed to expand.

-Polymer tipped. Like a hollow point, but with a pointed polymer tip to aid in aerodynamics and promote controlled expansion.

-Armor Peircing (AP)-Basically a FMJ, but the core is designed to penetrate hard barriers. The core of an AP bullet is usually steel.

-Boat tail (BT). Any of the rifle bullets above can be a boat tail. It is a tapered base designed to improve aerodynamics. Identification is "BT" as a prefix; BTFMJ, BTHP, BTSP

Handgun Bullets

Same as rifle, except boat tail design is generally not applied, and armor piercing types are illegal for civilians in the USA.

Shotgun Projectiles

-Bird Shot. Pellets ranging in size from # 12 (0.05") to BBB (0.19") and anywhere from a few dozen to hundreds in a shell, this type of shotgun ammunition is meant for hunting birds and waterfowl. Pellets may be lead, steel, tungsten or bismuth

-Buckshot. Meant for close range deer hunting and defense, buckshot pellets are lead and sizes range from #4 (0.24") to 000 (0.36"). The number of pellets in a shell will depend on the shot size, gauge and shell length

-Rifled Slug (Foster slug). The rifled slug is a solid lead projectile with grooves cast into its outer circumference. Meant for hunting and defense.

-Sabot Slug-a solid lead or copper jacketed lead projectile enclosed in plastic hull, or sabot ("Say-Bow") that falls off as the slug exits the barrel. Same purpose as a rifled slug, the sabot slug must be used in a rifled barrel

-Less Lethal. Bean bags, rubber balls, rock salt and other unconventional projectiles meant to inflict pain without seriously injuring or killing the person who is shot. Less lethal is not non-lethal; People can and have died from less-lethal ammunition.

Rimfire bullets.

-Lead round nose. A soft, pure-lead bullet of round nose shape

-Copper washed round nose. Same as above, but with a copper coating to prevent bore leading

-Hollow point. Soft lead or copper washed bullet with a cavity in the nose

A note on rimfire bullets. While the more exotic rimfires (.17, 5mm and .22 magnum) may use the FMJ, jacketed hollow point or polymer tipped bullets associated with rifles and handguns, such bullets are not available in .22 Short, .22 Long and .22 Long Rifle.

It goes without saying that there is much more to bullet design and application than what I've covered here. These are simply the basics, and there are exceptions to nearly every generalization I've made about each bullet type, as well as much more advanced details in specific design such as bonded bullets (lead core and copper jacket bonded to prevent separation). Please take what you've learned here and expand upon it to choose the ammunition types most appropriate for your needs.

 

[MachIVshooter]

Hopefully the rest of your book makes more sense than the safety rules part. As others have pointed out, do you really expect someone in a self defense situation (isn't that what you're talking about in your book - the chapter is titled "Security and Defense") to actually follow these rules? Do you know what "no latitude" means? Heck, most people out there couldn't remember all of your rules if they studied them for several days.

In writing something like this that is meant to advise people, I assume some responsibilty for the content and injuries that would result, even with a disclaimer. Whether or not one chooses to adhere to any of the rules is their business, but it's there so that people can understand the dangers involved with firearms. None of us keeps both hands on the wheel and both eyes on the road at all times, either, but that is how driving instructors will teach.

And they're not my rules. They are the "ten commandments of firearm safety", of which there is some minor variation depending on source, but basically all the same.