Massad Ayoob answers the viewers questions

[timmy]

Of all of the youtube people online -- and there are some good ones -- there is nobody more expert when it comes concealed carry, police work, and self defense than Massad Ayoob. He's been there and done pretty much all of it, from policeman, trainer, expert witness in court cases, and as a pistol shooting competitor. When you don't have time to waste on rubbish opinions and you really want to know, Massad Ayoob should be our first choice.

A lot of his advice is oriented toward where he works, in the USA, but the principles of what he says are often relevant to any location. Searching youtube for his name will turn up lots of hits, because he's present on a lot of channels. This one for Wilson Combat (a very well-known name, itself) is a bit of a summary of his many videos on the Wilson Combat channel.

I highly recommend this video to all IFG members who have any interest in concealed carry and self defense:



For those who, unfortunately don't want to take 15 minutes for the whole video, here are some high points that may be of interest to you:

0:30 - What is your first favorite carry gun?
2:15 - Is the 380 Auto sufficient for personal defense?
3:25 - How much magazine capacity for personal defense?
7:25 - bullets for concealed carry
8:30 - Sights for seniors
9:50 - carrying the pistol with a round chambered or unchambered (This is perhaps the most important question in this video!)
11:05 - How often should ammunition be rotated in the carry weapon?

There are other issues addressed, but I picked these as possibly being of most interest to those of us at IFG.

Note, these aren't so much issues to argue about, as they are advice. My Grandmother used to say, "A word to the wise is sufficient." For instance, premium ammunition in my location can run around ₹2800 for a box of 20 or 25. When one considers running at least 100 rounds, or better yet, 200 rounds, of a new type of ammunition through a pistol to know whether it is reliable, and then swapping the carry ammunition for fresh rounds every 6 months, I was thinking, 'How am I supposed to afford this?'

So, I have stepped down in my ammo choice: rather than the expensive police duty ammo that is effective on the target or being fired through a wall or car door, I'm going to try out a cheaper ammo that is just as effective in penetration and expansion, but without the effectiveness when fired through a barrier. This ammunition is a bit less than half the price of the police duty stuff, but even still, it is expensive when trialling it and then rotating it for carry.

When I listened to Massad talk about the issues involved: the heat, humidity, shaking, and even the breaking of the bullet-case seal, I knew he was right. No matter how much I hated it, I know he's right, and I considered all of my arguments against rotation to be simply rubbish. He's right, end of story.

There are some issues as they pertain to India to take into account: no 9mm available, high cost of a very limited amount of ammunition, and the lack of effective hollowpoint ammo in 32 Auto and 32 S&W. Also, however, one might think that the heat and humidity in India might be more of a factor than in Massad's location.

The sights issue was very interesting!

I had considered carrying with an empty chamber an issue of speed and practice. This video shows that there's more to the story to be considered.

Finally, I hadn't considered magazine capacity as a big issue, but as Massad puts it, being grabbed by a gang puts a different perspective on things. When (and if!) some money comes available for a new carry gun, I'm factoring current events into the choice and considering a large capacity double stack weapon.

[kanzakibullet]

Thank you sir for sharing this. I think another factor we should consider is that we do not have the same variety of handgun holsters they have in US. Holsters tend to play a big role is safe carry of a firearm (according to Gun Youtubers). In the US you can have hip carry and appendix carry polymer holsters. I am not sure if that is available in India.

[Vikram]

Excellent video, Tim. There is very little that Massad Ayoob does not know about hand guns and self-defence. He covers almost all the essentials for staring off carrying a handgun for protection. Everyone serious about self-defence must watch his videos. As you said,irrespective of local legal specificities, his views are relevant across the globe.