10-30-2017, 12:22 PM
Dcommoncents Wrote:Thanks for the detailed response and link. I agree, very well put. I have zero military or law enforcement experience but have adopted the same mentality you discuss. I live life aware and prepared, but not in a state of paranoia or fear. I've just accepted that bad things can and do happen, and believe that simply accepting that reality and being mentally prepared to react appropriately (including realistic mental rehearsal - not self aggrandizing hero fantasies) is critical. Realistically training is probably the next important step in my view, and of course buying the coolest gear isn't going to overcome training deficiencies.
I'm not an alarmist, but truth be told the vegas situation did make me rethink my prior belief that my 9mm carry pistol would be adequate to engage an attacker in any situation there is a realistic possibility I could encounter. Obviously if I had been in that concert an ar pistol wouldn't be available to me, nor would it be responsible to return fire in that situation, but I can think of others where it might be. As just one example, I live in Pittsburgh where we have long, traffic laden tunnels. It is not unthinkable that some whacko could use a traffic situation like that to create an ambush from which I could not escape and would want more than a compact handgun to deal with. Likely? It wouldn't seem so, but none of these things seem likely until they happen. Indeed, a similar attack was attempted in I believe Houston, and many have predicted that coordinated attacks are going to become an increasingly common tactic. Again, I don't have any hero fantasies, but I want to be equipped to defend myself, my family, and other innocents if I can do so responsibly and without putting myself in danger from first responders.
I also agree that a 5.56/.223 chambered pistol is going to be rather effective within 100 yards, especially with the right projectile selection, but one chambered in 6.5 G, or 300 BO is going to be more so. It sounds like a 6.5 G can be plenty reliable for that use, but like any other system I will have to test the gun and any magazines to make sure. I especially make a point of that for self-defense guns. I ran a couple hundred rounds of different makes of self defense ammo and jhp through my s&w shield without a hiccup before I felt comfortable carrying it. Just a good common sense practice.
While on the surface, it would seem that being prepared to respond if caught in a Vegas scenario would be great. But I would suggest that you re-thiink that a bit. Had someone there been able to return fire ( how many yards away and at what angle of fire and ... ) and engaged in doing so.
Then the locally deputized guys show up. Considering the mayhem in progress, how do they differentiate the good guys from the bad guys? Initially they can't. Their information is "active shooter" somewhere! So, to them, it may be you! This would just make an already bad day even worse, and probably more so for your family when two of the good guys show up at your front door with flowers and bad news for your survivors.
While there are many who have the training and the kind of "equipment" to do so under those circumstances, there are few of us who have the skills to successfully respond to a Vegas scenario without actually making a bad situation even worse. Something about unintended consequences?