# What is the best self defense weapon?



## Joab (Feb 17, 2009)

I would say a gun, more specifically, a handgun. Nothing really beats a gun, if you have the time and space to pull it and the attacker is far enough away for you to pull the trigger you will win unless the gun jams or something. Personally, I prefer revolvers, because they jam far less often than automatics. That is, if you live somewhere where you can legally carry, than again it is certainly true that it is better to be judged by twelve than carried by six.

I like the Irish Blackthorne walking stick for number two. It is legal, easy to use, gives you distance, helps balance you for low kicks, has nice little knots in the wood to produce breaks in the skin when impacting upon an adversary's body, and generally is not viewed as a weapon, especially when carried by someone like me with lots of gray hair.

The knife is an excellent weapon, but unless it is a Swiss army knife or a box cutter knife and the like that you need to carry on your job, is generally not adviced by my self defense guru because in the USA the knife is considered the weapon of the bad guy. Certainly advisable to consult local laws regarding blade length, the knife was considered by Fairbairn to be the most dangerous close quarters weapon.

What do you consider to be the best self defense weapon? All opinions appreciated.


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## Bill Mattocks (Feb 17, 2009)

Your brain.


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## SFC JeffJ (Feb 17, 2009)

Bill Mattocks said:


> Your brain.


If that fails, a rifle or shotgun.


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## Joab (Feb 17, 2009)

Bill Mattocks said:


> Your brain.


 
True, but thinking your opponent to death is not going to work unless you are some mutant like the X-men's Professor Xavier, the brain has to iniate some sort of action. When somebody is out to do you in, some sort of action is required, a physical action, and a self defense weapon under the control of a trained mind is fearsome indeed...


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## MA-Caver (Feb 17, 2009)

Remember that box cutters wreaked havoc on board a couple of jet liners and helped crash them into the WTC some years ago... don't discount them as offensive or defensive weapons in a pinch. 
One can be heavily armed and not seem to be so with a simple but very sharp folder, a mini-mag on a belt sheath (used as a kubotan), a sleek but fine ball point pen in the shirt pocket and of course one's own "empty hand" MA training (whatever art). 
All it takes is the knowledge and the wherewithal to use them.


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## Joab (Feb 17, 2009)

SFC JeffJ said:


> If that fails, a rifle or shotgun.


 
Difficult to carry without law enforcement intervening, good home defense to be sure...


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## Joab (Feb 17, 2009)

MA-Caver said:


> Remember that box cutters wreaked havoc on board a couple of jet liners and helped crash them into the WTC some years ago... don't discount them as offensive or defensive weapons in a pinch.
> One can be heavily armed and not seem to be so with a simple but very sharp folder, a mini-mag on a belt sheath (used as a kubotan), a sleek but fine ball point pen in the shirt pocket and of course one's own "empty hand" MA training (whatever art).
> All it takes is the knowledge and the wherewithal to use them.


 
True enough.


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## Andy Moynihan (Feb 17, 2009)

The Will To Act.


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## Joab (Feb 17, 2009)

Andy Moynihan said:


> The Will To Act.


 
Quite true you need to have the will to act. But what do you use once you have that will to act? What specific weapon?


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## Andy Moynihan (Feb 17, 2009)

Joab said:


> Quite true you need to have the will to act. But what do you use once you have that will to act? What specific weapon?


 

The one you brought with you and can deploy at the time. A .38 snubbie in your pocket is far from ideal, but it beats the full size Glock, SIG or 1911 you left at home because it wasn't comfortable to carry.

Thing to remember is weapons only do any good if 

A) You *HAVE* it, there, on you to start with

B) You can deploy it in time to deal with the threat

C) The threat is such that calls for one.


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## Bill Mattocks (Feb 17, 2009)

Andy Moynihan said:


> The one you brought with you and can deploy at the time. A .38 snubbie in your pocket is far from ideal, but it beats the full size Glock, SIG or 1911 you left at home because it wasn't comfortable to carry.
> 
> Thing to remember is weapons only do any good if
> 
> ...



May I expand on that a bit?

1) Any weapon you carry can be used against you if taken from you.  Know how to prevent that from happening.

2) If you are not proficient in the use of said weapon, you will not be able to use it to its best advantage.  Short of a B.F.R. there are no weapons that do not require training and expertise.

3) Expanding on C above, understand the law in your jurisdiction on the right to employ deadly force in self-defense.

4) Be willing to use the weapon if the situation calls for it.  A weapon you carry but are unwilling to use is not useful, and may be used against you.

5) Understand that no use of a weapon, legal and justified or not, ever makes your life less complicated.  It may save your life, and that is a good reason to carry one, but you will not simply walk away without a good deal of serious discussions with people wearing badges and expensive lawyers.  Do not think that legal and justified use of deadly force will not still get you sued - even if you win.  Do not think that waving around a weapon will prevent you having to use it for its intended purpose.  It may - but if you count on that, you may die if the aggressor has a weapon too.

6) Don't advertise it if carrying concealed.  Licensed for concealed carry means 'concealed'.


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## searcher (Feb 17, 2009)

Though you do need your brain to think and a will to act, they are not truely weapons.   They are a means to which you initiate the use of a weapon.

Best self-defense weapon?    Short-barreled shotgun with buckshot.    Or if you are talking a carryable firearm, I go with my G17 of G21sf.    If I have a different option, my M4 and about 400 yards distance between me and the BG.


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## arnisador (Feb 17, 2009)

Bill Mattocks said:


> Your brain.





Bill Mattocks said:


> Any weapon you carry can be used against you if taken from you.  Know how to prevent that from happening.



Yes, always defend your brain lest your opponent take it and beat you to death with it.


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## shesulsa (Feb 17, 2009)

LOL! I'm not falling into this one again! LOL!


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## Touch Of Death (Feb 17, 2009)

Joab said:


> I would say a gun, more specifically, a handgun. Nothing really beats a gun, if you have the time and space to pull it and the attacker is far enough away for you to pull the trigger you will win unless the gun jams or something. Personally, I prefer revolvers, because they jam far less often than automatics. That is, if you live somewhere where you can legally carry, than again it is certainly true that it is better to be judged by twelve than carried by six.
> 
> I like the Irish Blackthorne walking stick for number two. It is legal, easy to use, gives you distance, helps balance you for low kicks, has nice little knots in the wood to produce breaks in the skin when impacting upon an adversary's body, and generally is not viewed as a weapon, especially when carried by someone like me with lots of gray hair.
> 
> ...


Ze Mind. Did you know there is no German word for mind?
Sean


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## Bill Mattocks (Feb 17, 2009)

arnisador said:


> Yes, always defend your brain lest your opponent take it and beat you to death with it.



It could happen!  LOL, OK, very good.


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## Andy Moynihan (Feb 17, 2009)

Bill Mattocks said:


> May I expand on that a bit?


 
You certainly may. 



> 1) Any weapon you carry can be used against you if taken from you. Know how to prevent that from happening.


 
Absolutely. Even my concealment holster has a thumb break so that should it be discovered while grappling or otherwise first trying to stop the threat nonlethally, it'll keep the scumbag off the gun long enough to employ a "thumb break" of my own. If the scumbag grabs it while drawn? well, assuming I've some how had an attack of the dumbass and allowed him that close to begin with,  he'd better hang on, because I know the trick for that, too, and I'm gonna light him up as soon as there's no innocents behind him.( Incidentally, there is a certain neat little trick where a snubbie revolver can be fired whilst grabbed, repeatedly, even if the cylinder is grabbed, where with the auto with a grabbed slide group you may only get the one).



> 2) If you are not proficient in the use of said weapon, you will not be able to use it to its best advantage. Short of a B.F.R. there are no weapons that do not require training and expertise.


 
Absolutely. As strongly as I will always support the right to bear arms I will always qualify it with this statement: Never arm an untrained person.



> 3) Expanding on C above, understand the law in your jurisdiction on the right to employ deadly force in self-defense.


 
Should be part of the training.



> 4) Be willing to use the weapon if the situation calls for it. A weapon you carry but are unwilling to use is not useful, and may be used against you.


 
YES. As soon as the scumbag, or group of same, percieves that you won't use the weapon you just presented you are in deep trouble-six feet deep.



> 5) Understand that no use of a weapon, legal and justified or not, ever makes your life less complicated. It may save your life, and that is a good reason to carry one, but you will not simply walk away without a good deal of serious discussions with people wearing badges and expensive lawyers. Do not think that legal and justified use of deadly force will not still get you sued - even if you win. Do not think that waving around a weapon will prevent you having to use it for its intended purpose. It may - but if you count on that, you may die if the aggressor has a weapon too.


 
I'm of the theory that I will never draw a weapon I am not immediately about to use or immediately prepared to. Take care as well where you point your muzzle if using a firearm-- Stopping one argument and then threat scanning 360 degrees with your muzzle down and asking "Is everyone all right?" and threatscanning while still sweeping everyone with your muzzle and saying nothing (Can you say Rule Number Two? I knew you could!) makes the difference on the witness stand in court between "He shot the suspect, then looked to make sure we were all ok" and "He shot the suspect, and then whipped around and pointed the gun at all the REST of us too!!!"



> 6) Don't advertise it if carrying concealed. Licensed for concealed carry means 'concealed'.


 
It should go as common sense but bears repeating because there are those few who give the rest of us a bad rep.


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## Deaf Smith (Feb 17, 2009)

Bill Mattocks said:


> Your brain.


 
This is true. 

It is what separates us from the animals. The ability to reason. To plan. To fashon tools. To codeify our experiences. All else is supplementary. Be it a knife, gun, club, rock...

If you don't see it coming, the weapon means little. If you don't plan ahead and train, the weapon means little. If you don't train to be skillful, the weapon means little.

If you don't think the brain is the most important, then give a chimp a gun and see how effective it is against the guy with the spear.

Plenty of not-so-smart people have been brought down by those with inferior weapons but much smarter tactics. They used their brains!

I'm not saying to ignore the weapon, but cultivate the brain! It's the essential weapon!

Deaf


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## just2kicku (Feb 17, 2009)

If I'm out and about, I like to carry a pencil (sharp) and maybe a pen, I know this sounds paranoid, but, I sharpen the corners of my ATM card just in case I'm at the machine and someone wants to rob me. (Good for slicing soft flesh and you can still use it.) And maybe a "work knife".

Home protection, whole different story.


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## jks9199 (Feb 17, 2009)

Here's the thing...

There is no perfect self defense weapon.  Guns are great... in the right circumstances.  A knife can do the trick in other cases.  Tasers aren't bad, in some circumstances.  Pepper spray works, sometimes.  One problem with any of the above is that you can't take them a lot of places...

Consider a cane or similar short stick, whether hooked or straight.  There are very few places you won't be able to take your walking stick or cane... even places that search you and prohibit guns, knives, and the rest.

Personally, I carry a gun pretty much anytime I walk out the door.  But that's also a habit of my profession.


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