A lot has been said recently, specifically with the premiere of the new Ruger LC9 about the gun having a magazine disconnect is a deal breaker. Why? Is the magazine disconnect really a bad feature? Is it not in fact, often a life saving feature?
Consider the fact that for decades, a large percentage of officers killed in the line of duty, are officers killed with their own gun after they were successfully disarmed during a gun grab situation. Whether the gun was snatched from their holster, or from their hands during a contact distance struggle, the end result was that they were immediately shot with their own gun once the suspect got control of it.
Many officers who survived being disarmed can attribute their survival to the fact that during the struggle for their gun, they managed to drop the magazine before the person wrestled the gun away from them, and thus prevented them from being murdered with the one bullet left in the chamber when the gun was turned against them. That is, those who have a gun with a magazine disconnect feature.
Many of those officers were then able to go for their back-up gun and then regain control of the situation. Others were able to subdue the person by other means. But the magazine disconnect allowed them to avoid being killed immediately after losing control of the gun when they were able to eject the magazine, thus allowing them time to go to other options.
Because of high incidence of officers killed with their own guns, today more and more officers are now trained in effective handgun retention techniques. However, a large population of officers still are either not trained in handgun retention, or are not very adept at their gun retention skills.
Okay, that speaks for police officers, but what about citizens who are ccw holders and carry a gun everyday? Or those who carry part time, when the mood suits them?
Consider the fact that statistics clearly show that most gunfights, civilian and LEO's alike take place within 5-7 feet. We can split hairs over the exact distance, as I don't have the stats right in front of me right now, but suffice it to say, up close and personal. And a great deal of shootouts occur at arms length, within 2-3 feet.
Many civilian gun carriers have never even heard of handgun retention, let alone been trained, or are adept at performing retention skills. If you carry a gun, you should ask yourself, "Is the possibility more likely that you may be involved in a struggle over your weapon during the midst of what will likely be your one and only deadly encounter? Or, is it more likely that you will be trying to reload your gun when the bad guy tries to overtake you, and forces you to fire that last bullet in the pipe while your magazine is out of your gun?" If you think the latter is the most likely situation, do you really think that in the overwhelming stress of the situation, you are really going to have one left in the pipe? Or, because of the startle effect of the whole situation, will you be pulling the trigger 4 or 5 times before you even realize your gun has run dry and the slide is locked back.
Sure a case can be made for being in the unique situation of needing to fire that one one bullet left in the pipe while the magazine is out of the gun during a reload. But, what is the real likelihood of that being the case as opposed to being in the middle of a struggle over possession of your gun?
Is a gun with a magazine disconnect really a deal breaker? Any thoughts on that?
Consider the fact that for decades, a large percentage of officers killed in the line of duty, are officers killed with their own gun after they were successfully disarmed during a gun grab situation. Whether the gun was snatched from their holster, or from their hands during a contact distance struggle, the end result was that they were immediately shot with their own gun once the suspect got control of it.
Many officers who survived being disarmed can attribute their survival to the fact that during the struggle for their gun, they managed to drop the magazine before the person wrestled the gun away from them, and thus prevented them from being murdered with the one bullet left in the chamber when the gun was turned against them. That is, those who have a gun with a magazine disconnect feature.
Many of those officers were then able to go for their back-up gun and then regain control of the situation. Others were able to subdue the person by other means. But the magazine disconnect allowed them to avoid being killed immediately after losing control of the gun when they were able to eject the magazine, thus allowing them time to go to other options.
Because of high incidence of officers killed with their own guns, today more and more officers are now trained in effective handgun retention techniques. However, a large population of officers still are either not trained in handgun retention, or are not very adept at their gun retention skills.
Okay, that speaks for police officers, but what about citizens who are ccw holders and carry a gun everyday? Or those who carry part time, when the mood suits them?
Consider the fact that statistics clearly show that most gunfights, civilian and LEO's alike take place within 5-7 feet. We can split hairs over the exact distance, as I don't have the stats right in front of me right now, but suffice it to say, up close and personal. And a great deal of shootouts occur at arms length, within 2-3 feet.
Many civilian gun carriers have never even heard of handgun retention, let alone been trained, or are adept at performing retention skills. If you carry a gun, you should ask yourself, "Is the possibility more likely that you may be involved in a struggle over your weapon during the midst of what will likely be your one and only deadly encounter? Or, is it more likely that you will be trying to reload your gun when the bad guy tries to overtake you, and forces you to fire that last bullet in the pipe while your magazine is out of your gun?" If you think the latter is the most likely situation, do you really think that in the overwhelming stress of the situation, you are really going to have one left in the pipe? Or, because of the startle effect of the whole situation, will you be pulling the trigger 4 or 5 times before you even realize your gun has run dry and the slide is locked back.
Sure a case can be made for being in the unique situation of needing to fire that one one bullet left in the pipe while the magazine is out of the gun during a reload. But, what is the real likelihood of that being the case as opposed to being in the middle of a struggle over possession of your gun?
Is a gun with a magazine disconnect really a deal breaker? Any thoughts on that?
