Powering Down

Current Trends

I see quite a few credentialed professionals these days endorsing .22s and guns in the .32 caliber range for personal defense. Some speak of the “small handgun lifestyle” and the “J-Frame lifestyle,” explaining if one is not hunting criminals for a living or being stalked by one, a lesser weapon should suffice.
It’s a nice theory, but whenever I hear it, the words popularized by John Hearne ring in my ears: “It’s not about the odds, it’s about the stakes.” Hearne is one of the rising stars in the training business and you would be wise to take training from him (twopillarstraining.com). Whenever I’ve interacted with John, he was carrying something between a 9mm and a .45, and spare ammo. There is a lesson there.

The vast majority of armed citizens defensive gun usages (DGUs) end without any bloodshed on either side — the assailant realizes he is about to die from a sudden and acute failure of the victim selection process and surrenders or flees. What we’re looking at here, mostly, is the situation on the far end of the defensive bell curve when the criminal perpetrator forces you to shoot. Larger guns are generally more conducive to fast, straight shooting under stress, and we’ve already discussed the “power factor.”

Larger guns hold more rounds and current crime trends — larger groups of felons, criminals with body armor, attackers on substances making them insensitive to pain and bad guys who understand tactical movement and cover — all mean more rounds likely to have to be fired to achieve a “stop.” None of these situations are better served with a smaller, less powerful, harder-to-shoot defensive firearm that holds less ammunition.