Popular Posts

2/27/2013

Ok Joe, I'll get a Shot gun

By Gabby

Since my last post was on the topic of shotguns, I thought I’d comment on the Vice President's Parent’s Magazine interview from 7 days ago, which also addressed their use. In the interview he was asked about a ban on “assault weapons” and how one would defend themselves without them.
His solution was to “get a shotgun,” and “fire two blasts into the air”.
First, I’d like to comment on his concept as a whole: Typical of politicians, with this statement, I believe he avoided answering the question. The question was about defense. How is firing into the air, a form of defense? Do the secret service fire warning shots into the air?
Rifles & ShotgunsFurther, many shotguns only hold two rounds, so let’s say you give the criminal the scare of his life with those two blasts... great, but now you need to reload.

Mr. Biden says, “You don’t need an AR-15...” I don’t really appreciate anyone telling me what I do, or do not need, but for the sake of discussion, I’ll play along... 
Why, Joe, is a shotgun preferable to an AR-15?


“It’s harder to aim.”
That’s fair. A rifle such as an AR-15 is a precise tool. It fires one small round at a time where as a shotgun, depending on the shells you use, will spray many pellets of lead in a general direction. If one practices and uses their sights properly, the bullet from an AR-15 will likely hit, only the target. Then again, with only one small bullet, you might miss.

With a shotgun, if pointed generally at the target, some of the spray of lead will probably hit the right things, but some of the spray may hit other things.

“It’s harder to use.”
Again, I understand where you’re coming from. An AR-15 has a few more buttons and levers than a typical shotgun. The first few times I picked one up, I didn’t know what did what.* But then I learned, and practiced. Generally, shotguns tend to be long and heavy, and a 12 gauge, specifically, (because that’s the round you’re recommending) packs a major punch. I’m no small girl, but a 12 gauge is a lot for me to handle. Yes, an AR-15 can be all those things too, but they tend to be lighter and more balanced. It’s true, if you miss with the AR-15 you’ll have to line up the shot again, but that recovery is a lot quicker when you’re not reeling from the kick of a 12 gauge.

(*Part of me wants to ask him, “Um, Joe, is a woman too dim to learn these buttons?” “Should I wait until I need the gun for defense, to familiarize myself with it’s operations for the first time?” “Do you think I would keep a firearm for defense that I didn't know how to operate?” But these are incendiary questions that only create arguments and impede progress.)
Furthermore, once I’ve fired two into the air, I may need to reload. Reloading two 12 gauge shells is considerably slower than swapping a rifle magazine of any capacity, assuming that I’m not wearing a shell bag around my waist (and I don’t live in California, but that’s a discussion for another post).

“You don’t need 30 rounds to protect yourself.”
A Woman's Right to Chose... her GunAs you might have gathered from my earlier statement, I don’t believe that the VP understands the definition of the terms, defense or protect.

I may not need thirty rounds, Joe, I may only need one, but if you are going to have me waste two, by firing into the air, I prefer to have enough to stop the threat from coming toward me, and then some.

In conclusion, I really don't care what gun the Veep recommends for my self defense. I also don't care if Mrs. Biden loves her 12 gauge shotgun (well, actually, that would be a great interview and article... I'll wait for her call!) What I do care about is that she, and I, have the choice to defend ourselves with whatever tool we prefer.
©2013 ArmedCandy,LLC

1 comment:

Roger Holmack said...

Here here! Well said!

Post a Comment