Dan Terry’s Gun Zone: Choose your Weapon!

by Dan Terry

Oct. 16, 1991: George Jo Hennard drove his pickup through the window of a Luby’s Cafeteria in Killeen, TX. Dr. Michael Griffith was the first to run to his aid. He was also the first to die as Hennard began a shooting spree that killed 23 people and wounded 20 others. Dr. Suzanna Gratia Hupp had left her gun in the vehicle, and watched helplessly as the madman murdered her father and mother before her eyes. The handgun in her car was useless.

Over the course of years of working with guns, having one with me as a constant companion, I have found my opinions about what gun to carry has changed considerably.

If you research the opinions of the experts, many believe as I once did that any caliber smaller than a .357 Magnum is pretty worthless. The “wonder nines,” as they were called in the late 80s when the caliber became popular, are now called the “weenie-nines” by police officers because of their lack of stopping power.

For police carry, I still believe that anything without a “4” in its name (.40 caliber S&W, .45 ACP) is taking an unnecessary risk. But this is not about the police, who “live by the gun,” but concealed carry for the citizen.

What I now believe can be summed up in two lines:

1. No one wants to get shot; having any gun is usually enough to stop a fight before it begins.
2. A .22 in the hand is better than a .45 at home.

Hand guns are uncomfortable to carry, even though some of the new holsters available make it easier than ever before. It’s a commitment to carry a gun wherever you go. While I’d like to carry my full size .45, it’s sometimes difficult in the summer to conceal it well. Often, I’ll drop my two inch .357 snubby into a jacket pocket or inside the waistband holster. Only five shots, but a .357 magnum is still one of the most effective calibers available.

And when just running to the store, I have a .380 semi-automatic that fits well into the front pocket of my jeans. Not one of the greatest man-stoppers, but at least it’s with me.  And that’s the point of concealed carry.

The FBI rates guns by stopping power. There are two schools of thought, those that use ballistic gelatin and measure the wound canals when a bullet is fired through them, and ones that take the results of actual shootings and deaths by guns. We can reduce this to the “Jell-O-Junkies” and the “Morgue Monsters”. I tend to lean towards actual results, not theory based on holes in bland dessert.

It use to be that gun size and caliber were directly related. But with the use of new polymers, guns with a decent caliber can be fairly small. Today, you can pick up some 9mm and even .40 calibers not much bigger than the .380 I put in my pocket. Lighter, too.

As you look through calibers, here is a short list of available sizes and their rating as “one shot stop” bullets. This means, according to government studies, this is the number of incidents per 100 times used that one shot stopped the attacker.

          .22 LR: 34%                          .25ACP: 25%

          .32ACP: 63%                        .380: 70%

          .38 Special: 67%                   9mm: 91%

          .357 Magnum: 96%              .40 S&W: 96%

          .45 ACP: 94%

Aside from caliber, the action of weapon is your next choice. Revolvers or semi-automatics. There is a wide difference between the two. Revolvers, even the small two-inch snub nose .357 I carry off-duty, are often wider than the semi-auto and takes longer to reload.  Semi-autos, on the other hand, require more care and cleaning, and fail more often then the old style revolver. You’ll find a comfortable handgun size in either action.

What gun you carry is a personal choice.  As you can see, I change with the weather and conditions. What are you going to carry? Full size .45? Or a small revolver or semi-auto with a .22 caliber cartridge? What matters is that you have something to fight with. Dr. Hupp had a gun in the car, just as you may have a very good quality handgun sitting at home when you find yourself at a store or restaurant waiting your turn to meet your maker. In this case, even a .22 in your hand is better than the shotgun in your car.

Dan Terry is the Assistant Chief of Police in New Haven. He offers an eight-hour concealed-carry class several times a year in New Haven. Terry has been giving this class for six or seven years and is certified to instruct by the NRA, FBI and Missouri State Highway Patrol. His class includes time in the classroom and a marksmanship portion on the firing range. The next class starts May 23 and the cost is $100. NRA members and First Responders have a reduced cost. Anyone interested should contact him at 573-237-4798.

You can find Dan’s previous columns by clicking on the links below:
The Castle Doctrine:
http://www.ngnn.com/65041/content/2010/apr/28/dan-terry-gun-zone-castle-...

The Gun Zone:
http://www.ngnn.com/65041/content/2010/apr/21/gun-zone

The War on Guns:
http://www.ngnn.com/65041/content/2010/may/05/dan-terrys-gun-zone-war-guns