Dear Professor Prepper,
What handgun should I get?
A Glock 19. Period. End of story.
Let’s be serious. At 10 feet, can you tell the difference between a .40 S&W cartridge and a 10mm? How about at 5 feet? What about 2 feet? How about in the palm of your hand?
Will a 10mm round fit into a .40 mag? How about the other way around?
How about this: what centerfire pistol cartridge is the most popular, most widely used, and most readily available in your neighborhood as well as the rest of the world? You don’t need no stinking hints. You know full well its the 9mm. So why tempt fate and deviate?
Armchair gunfighters will espouse the benefit of the .40 and 10mm over the 9mm to bring down the bad guys, but they fail to mention there are serious drawbacks to a higher recoil, lower prevalence of ammo. And that does not begin to address the cost of ammo which is considerably higher when one leaves the 9mm which, of course, has serious downstream training effects. And there is a mild weight increase when on the run with your ENTIRE AMMO SUPPLY.
Further, think about the target. Zombies aren’t real, and sorry, but they never will be. In a real prepping situation, you will not be fighting off a drugged-up robber in the middle of the night. Nor will you be exchanging gunfire for an hour with a mob of hoodlums. If you prep right, you will be standing your ground, and shoving the problem on down the street.
But if you plan poorly by advertising your prep like a Las Vegas casino (lights, noise, abundant food, action, fancy prep-mobile), you will deserve your fate, which will be sudden and likely vindictive. Prep for a long boring stay in your own Hotel California. This ain’t a snow storm where you want to showoff your four-wheeling skills. Do that when TSHTF and someone else will be driving your rig after wiping YOUR blood off the seat.
Instead, you will need to enforce the message that there is nothing here worth dying for, and without a doubt, you WILL die. You must be quick on the draw when necessary, but not on the shooting. If others nearby think you’ve stripped some gears, you might be sacraficed for the good of the many. So don’t make yourself a liability by going all he-man on us.
The Glock is made to shoot. End of story. It is not made to not shoot which is exactly why there is no external safety--to make the gun NOT shoot. Glocks shoot. That’s what they do. That’s all they do.
But wait, there’s more. Next time you see him, ask your Sig-loving buddy where he plans to get spare mags, let alone spare parts for his shiny sidearm after all the gun shops are looted.
Glock. Period. Save the “nickel plated sissy pistol” for the range and the man cave.
If you’re still wondering if it really matters, imagine this. You got zero minutes to take your show on the road. Get out now.
So you grab your BOB and hit the highway. Oops. No roads open. You go to plan B. You have a plan B right?
Now you might have noticed that a great way to get supplies is to shake down those who are traveling. We see it daily in other countries, and have seen it in this one. If you’re lugging the Radio Flyer full of ammo boxes and MREs, you won’t make it through the night. If you act like Wal-Mart, get ready for customers.
I’ll give you some credit and assume your BOB is a real backpack (not some cheesy school daypack) that fits tight enough to run and climb with. You also might have an injured arm, or need to use your hands for something more constructive than carrying your BOB. And I’m also going to assume you have not packed your BOB to the gills with every Girl Scout survial trinket, cheap tube tent and rain poncho that some dude with numbers after his name posted in his Zombie Killer List on Amazon.com. Did the dude name five cheap knives, two swords, three hatches, but forget the compass? Ignore him. He’s probably a she, and she is 12 years and old half way through the Hunger Games.
So your Glock is nestled inside your Blackhawk SERPA paddle holster. Slam the holster on your pants? You are wearing pants, right?, and get moving.
So now it's real. You’re on your own for a while, and your friend with all the 10mm ammo has been promoted to Major Hoarder in his army of one. You’re so SOL dude. Sorry. He ain't your friend no more.
In your BOB you have at least five more loaded high cap mags for your Glock. And every other Glock 19, 17, and 34 mag will fit like a proctologist’s glove into your Glock. If your backup gun is a Glock 26, then EVERY 9mm Glock mag EVER MADE will fit into it. Get my point.
So, time for a pop quiz sport. What handgun you should get?
