If you’ve been reading my blogs for a while, you probably know that I work part time at an indoor range/gun store, and I have to say that at times it’s an eye opening experience. As such, I’ve decided to start a little segment on some of the things I observe; good and bad, in an effort to help us all be better prepared to defend ourselves and our families.
Recently during the range qualification segment of a concealed carry class, one individual kept having issues with his firearm. It would either misfeed the first round or successfully fire one round only to misfeed the next. He went to the front desk and purchased better quality ammunition apparently thinking that was the problem, only to
experience the same failures. In his defense, low quality ammo can cause problems, as well as improperly racking the slide, but not this time. Shortly thereafter, the instructor requested a Glock 42 from the rental line in hopes of solving the problem – no more failures. The problem this time wasn’t the ammo or the operator, rather the operator’s choice of firearm; a Jimenez .380. Yikes!
I’ve been guilty of saying that any gun is better than no gun, but in this case that might be a stretch. Warning: there are lots of cheap guns on the market and you do get what you pay for. If you’re just buying a gun to plink with, then fine, but if you are purchasing a gun for self defense do not, DO NOT go cheap! Better to save a little longer and purchase a good quality firearm from a trusted manufacturer than put your trust in a gun that might fail you when you actually need it. You can toss this aside saying ‘this is all I can afford,’ but can you afford to have your gun malfunction when that street thug comes after you and your girl in a parking lot? I see misfeeds all the time and 9 times out of 10 it’s in a low quality firearm. Do yourself a favor: buy Glock, Colt, Smith&Wesson, Ruger, Sig Sauer, etc, buy a quality firearm from a reputable dealer. If possible try the gun before you buy it; some gun ranges have an assortment of gun for rent, or maybe a friend has one you can try, but don’t just buy the cheapest thing you can find. Your life is worth more than $150.
Happy shooting!
Prepper 365 