Self-Defense

To Mel Bernstein, owner of Dragon Arms in Colorado Springs, storing an AR-15 in a synagogue is as common sense as any other safety measure. And in the wake of a massacre in Pittsburg that left 11 Jews dead, he’s putting his money where his mouth is. “I don’t really like what’s going on in the country,” he told KOAA. “And I’m offering them a free AR-15 rifle with two magazines and 100 bullets.”

I should not have to say this, but just because someone “doesn’t look right” and is carrying a weapon doesn’t mean you are about to be assaulted or that he is an armed robber.

At the time these events happened, I considered myself to be well-prepared — maybe over-prepared — in the area of personal self-defense. (I am retired military and a former police officer.) I foolishly thought I was smart enough to be able to keep a criminal from getting the best of me. I was wrong.

A harrowing incident at a smoke shop in Savannah, Georgia, offers several key takeaways for practitioners of armed self-defense. Jerry Lawrence had just opened Mary Jane’s Vape and Smoke Shop when two customers entered the store. Thinking they were innocent patrons, Lawrence turned his back as walked behind the counter while speaking on the phone with the store’s owner.

When the new XDM came up, I asked Springfield Armory if they were ready to dance. Not only did they say yes, but they knew a good ammo guy. My proposal was 10,000 rounds, every round shot on camera. That is a huge risk for a new gun, and I had no way of knowing if it would survive.

Crazy can happen anywhere, but one HVAC repairman in North Carolina was ready. The Charlotte Observer reported last week that a pet Japanese macaque had escaped its enclosure and attacked a neighbor woman in the coastal town of Shallotte, NC. The primate “just went bananas,” Shallotte Detective Sgt. John Holman told the Observer.

A homeowner in a rural neighborhood outside of St. Augustine, Fl., earlier this month fought off five intruders who were in his home at 2am. He killed one with a handgun and forced the remaining four to flee as police arrived. All four suspects are currently in custody, and they’ve been charged with felony murder and attempted robbery.

A concealed carry permit holder is being praised by Chicago-area police for helping stop a shootout between officers and a suspect that took place last week near a busy interstate.

Murphy’s law says that if something can go wrong, it will. That’s why it’s important for every handgun-owner to learn how to clear a jam or stoppage.