I worked many years for an older gentleman in Greene County by the name of Ralph K. Bell. You probably knew him as the owner of Bell’s Christmas Tree Farm: “The Tree Guy.” Ralph operated his Christmas tree outfit for more years than I have inhabited this earth. On more than one occasion, I heard my friend Ralph tell his customers that he didn’t like to give advice on picking out a tree. Ralph felt picking a tree was very personal, stating, “Why, I’d have better luck picking out a husband for a wife than to pick out a tree for you.” Ralph was right about a lot of things and at 99 years old, he was right about more things than I realized.
Ralph would have also been correct about picking out a firearm for another person, too. No one can select the proper firearm for you. Like a Christmas tree, but a whole lot more important, choosing a weapon is a very personal thing. It has to fit YOU — not your husband, not your best friend, not your brother-in-law who knows a lot about guns, and especially not the guy you bought it off of, cheap, at work.
People ask me frequently, what is the best gun? I usually respond with a version of this.
- How many parties will be attacking you?
- At what range do you expect the gunfight to occur?
- Will zombies be involved? With or without body armor?
- Will your particular gunfight occur in daylight or darkness?
- Will the gunfight occur against Republicans or Democrats?
- How big is your hand?
- What is your I.Q., Zodiac sign and bench press?
- What is the largest caliber you are capable of controlling?
It’s about this time that they turn and look at me like I’m an alien from another planet and say, “How the heck should I know?” “Exactly!” The short answer is, “I’m not sure.”
The long answer is longer than most people want to hear. “It depends.” The best gun may not even be a gun. You may not want a gun but rather pepper spray or an electric stim device.
The best gun will fit your hand so that you can reach the controls, rack the slide, be able to load and unload it, as well as clear stoppages and malfunctions. On the other hand, you may choose a revolver for its simplicity. The best gun is small enough to be carried on your person, so you have it with you when you need it and small guns are easier to carry. It is large enough to shoot comfortably, because larger framed weapons usually are more comfortable to shoot and easier to manipulate. The best weapon shoots enough caliber to stop a human threat without being so large that recoil is intimidating to the shooter. The best weapon is the one you shoot well.
Overwhelmed yet? This is what happens to most of us when we first wade the waters of all things guns. The perfect gun does not exist. It is a compromise about less than perfect choices in a flawed world.
I instruct from the educational side of the gun. Zero intimidation. We have eight to ten weapons available for you to handle and shoot. See what feels good to you. Some gun stores do this. Ask them to shoot it before you purchase and they will laugh. We do exactly that. Shoot several weapons of varying size, weight and configurations. Try before you buy because once you buy it, you own it. It is like a new car, once you drive it off the lot, it depreciates, and you can’t get your money back. This try on mentality is built into the course of instruction and costs nothing, additionally. If you have your own weapon, bring it along and shoot it, too. Compare and contrast your weapon with others that you may like better. At the end of a five hour course, you will have a much better idea of what the best gun looks like for you. Shoot everything and something will jump out at you. It’s all about the feel. Realizing that the perfect gun does not exist, you can at least begin to recognize what you can live with and what are the nonnegotiables. Once you start to become a gun handler, most guns will feel “better.” If you shoot it well and it fits, then that’s the best gun!
Dave Bates is the owner of Alpha Omega Shooting Solutions, LLC in Khedive, Pennsylvania. Bates is an NRA certified instructor, a teacher, coach and police officer with nearly 40 years of experience. If you have questions or are interested in learning more about firearms training, contact Dave by email: alphaomegashootingsolutions@gmail.com or by phone at 724-966-7011.
