19
WHAT PISTOL SHOULD I BUY?
The answers I received were what you would expect to hear from most instructors with a couple of distinctions. The guys recommend that you pick a pistol that fits comfortably in your hand. You must be able to manipulate the weapon properly. Make sure you can reach all of the controls. If you are unable to rack an automatic pistol, or the trigger pull on your revolver is too heavy, consider other options. Other options may include training, modification, or a different gun.
When it comes to caliber, pick the largest that you can fire rapidly while still getting combat accurate hits (consistent hits in the high center chest of an SEB target for example). Don’t pick the caliber of your pistol based on knock down power alone. You must be able to control the recoil and put multiple shots on target during a dynamic critical incident. If it takes excessive time to recover between shots, either your technique is bad or the gun is too much for you to handle.
The final and perhaps most important issue in the eyes of the 360 instructors, was simplicity of operation. During a fight blood flow increases to the core of your body. When this happens you are likely to experience a decrease in fine motor skills. Small, complicated movements become more difficult. For this reason it is very important to have a gun that is simple to use and does not require that you make small, complicated motions while someone is trying to harm you. Lean towards efficiency of motion and simplicity of use. Choose a gun that works well with what your body does naturally in a fight.
19
WHAT PISTOL SHOULD I BUY?
The answers I received were what you would expect to hear from most instructors with a couple of distinctions. The guys recommend that you pick a pistol that fits comfortably in your hand. You must be able to manipulate the weapon properly. Make sure you can reach all of the controls. If you are unable to rack an automatic pistol, or the trigger pull on your revolver is too heavy, consider other options. Other options may include training, modification, or a different gun.
When it comes to caliber, pick the largest that you can fire rapidly while still getting combat accurate hits (consistent hits in the high center chest of an SEB target for example). Don’t pick the caliber of your pistol based on knock down power alone. You must be able to control the recoil and put multiple shots on target during a dynamic critical incident. If it takes excessive time to recover between shots, either your technique is bad or the gun is too much for you to handle.
The final and perhaps most important issue in the eyes of the 360 instructors, was simplicity of operation. During a fight blood flow increases to the core of your body. When this happens you are likely to experience a decrease in fine motor skills. Small, complicated movements become more difficult. For this reason it is very important to have a gun that is simple to use and does not require that you make small, complicated motions while someone is trying to harm you. Lean towards efficiency of motion and simplicity of use. Choose a gun that works well with what your body does naturally in a fight.