What to Consider When Buying a Firearm
Michael Johnston:
Well, good morning, everyone. I'm Michael Johnston with Boss Security Screens. I'm here with Josh Nilson, a good friend of mine. He is the owner and operator of Dark Horse Tactical. Today, we're going to follow up on the article that I had written previously on whether or not to own a gun. And we're going to talk about some of the key decisions that go into making a gun purchase, and then the proper follow-up after you make the decision to do that.
Michael Johnston:
So Josh here is an expert in firearms, obviously. He has his own store. He's a former police officer and SWAT officer with sniper duties. So he is very astute when it comes to firearms and the knowledge of how to properly fit someone for a firearm. So Josh, what do you think's one of the most important things you need to do when you are starting down the road and making a decision to purchase a firearm?
Josh Nilson:
Yeah. Ultimately after we've made that decision to take that next step and own the firearm, the next thing is to be finding the right firearm for you. And that can be through a variety of different ways of choosing a proper caliber and choosing the proper size of firearm for your intended purpose, whether it's home security, personal defense, or just for recreational purposes.
Michael Johnston:
So really like I wrote in our article, the purpose of the firearm is really the driving factor. After that, it comes down to your physical abilities. Do you have a small hand, large hand, strong grip, maybe not quite as firm of a grip? So Josh is going to cover a couple of firearms that we have displayed here. And we're going to talk just briefly about the pros and cons of each firearm, given your physical characteristics.
Josh Nilson:
One of the most common mistakes that we see when people come in to purchase a firearm, whether it's their first firearm, or maybe they're taking that next step of going from a recreational standpoint to a personal defense standpoint, is they always tend to lean towards the smaller type firearms because they think smaller is better for concealment, which in theory would be true. But what we also see on the flip side of that is not everybody can handle a particular firearm the same way. Something where a advertised male may be able to handle a firearm in a certain way, may not be the same for a small petite female.
Josh Nilson:
And what we'll often see is that miscommunication between the sellers of the firearms and the purchaser, not knowing exactly what they need or how to go about that properly. And that's one of the main issues that we tend to see. So what we tend to do is have a variety of different firearms available for people to test, to feel, to see if they can operate functionality wise, because it does you no good. If you can't function the firearm properly, there's no point owning it in the first place.
Michael Johnston:
Okay. So let's start with what we've got on the table here. What do we have?
Josh Nilson:
Okay, so we actually have several semi-automatic firearms and then we have one revolver. The revolver definitely has its place when it comes to functionality and reliability. It works on a cylinder system. So with every pull of that trigger, the cylinder rotates and a new round is available. This is a popular option for most people that don't want to deal with a more mechanically inclined firearm, such as a semiautomatic. They just want to be able to pull the trigger when they need to and have the firearm operate as it should.
Michael Johnston:
Yeah. In my experience, it's kind of a foolproof weapon. You pull the trigger. It goes bang. And so there's a lot less mechanics that you have to think about. Firm grip, making sure that the slide goes all the way back, and reengages. That's a weapon that is more useful. If you have less skill set when it comes to firearms.
Josh Nilson:
And in functionality, you're absolutely correct. One of the downfalls or some of the drawbacks to the revolver, however, is it the way it is set up, so that it only is a straight trigger pull is that trigger pull can be very heavy for a lot of people.
Michael Johnston:
What does that mean?
Josh Nilson:
Trigger pull is the poundage of force applied to the trigger in order for the mechanisms to engage and for the firearm to actually fire the round.
Michael Johnston:
And those are usually what? Five to eight pounds of pressure?
Josh Nilson:
Anywhere between there. Yep.
Michael Johnston:
Okay.
Josh Nilson:
So the revolver tends to be more on the heavy side. And what we'll have to see is even though its reliability side is high, people have a tendency to not be able to manipulate the trigger as easily.
Michael Johnston:
And that can cause the weapon to go to the inside or outside. Right? If you're pulling too much with your finger, it can cause the weapon to, or the round to go to the right or the left. So again, that's very important in making sure that proper fit allows you to get a nice straight shot and that you're not having to put too much finger into the trigger.
Josh Nilson:
Correct. Yep. So that's the revolver side. It's a great option for those things that we talked about. You just got to be mindful of some of those drawbacks if you don't have that necessary hand strength to be able to operate that trigger.
Josh Nilson:
Moving over to the semiautomatic side, we have several Glocks here. Those are my personal favorite. We trusted our lives to it when we were on the department. Right? So we continue that to this day, just because of the ease and functionality of them and the reliability of the Glock handgun.
Josh Nilson:
When we come to the semiautomatics, what we got to start looking at is now instead of the revolver, just being a straight turn pull, we have to be cognizant of the slide will reciprocate as the gun recoils after pulling the trigger. So there are certain times where firearms can malfunction. And those are things that through experience and training that you can then overcome. Right?
Josh Nilson:
So as we start to work in size, if you want to cover size right now, revolver tends to be on a little bit of the smaller size. Smaller semiautomatic firearms, even though they look very appealing for concealed carry or for ease of use, if you will, because you think small is going to be easier to handle depending on the caliber of that firearm, that may not necessarily be the case.
Michael Johnston:
Right. Right.
Josh Nilson:
As we start to bump up in caliber, wherever it's a nine millimeter. Now we're jumping up to a 40 caliber or maybe a 38 special, that gun is going to recoil differently. And it may be a little bit difficult to handle for people that don't necessarily have hand strength or the training to be able to overcome that. So picking the right size of the firearm and the type of the firearm is going to be paramount. And it's going to come down to can you actually function the firearm with your physical makeup?
Michael Johnston:
So what about a single stack versus a double stack? Because I know that I've had trouble operating a 45 caliber double stack. Again, I'm on the smaller side. So it's hard for me to wrap my hands around a double stack of that caliber. And so I've never really operated at the 45 caliber. I really like nine millimeters for that reason. And I also carry a 40, but when you're in a double stack, what does that mean to the consumer and how does that impact and drive that decision?
Josh Nilson:
Right. So when we're talking about double stack and single stack, it's the makeup of the magazine itself. So as you can see here, with the single stack, obviously the rounds are stacked right on top of each other. That creates a smaller profile for the magazine itself and therefore, in turn, shorter grip surfaces on the firearm itself, making it easier for people maybe with smaller hands or even bigger hands to get more of a grip on the firearm itself with that single stack combination.
Josh Nilson:
Potential drawbacks of that is less of a round count. So if you're looking for a type of firearm that has more rounds available to you, the single stack tends to limit that a little bit, depending on the manufacturer of the firearm itself.
Josh Nilson:
When we move to the double sack, now these rounds are offset slightly in order to contain more rounds inside the magazine, and in turn, then makes the grip of the firearm that much wider because now you're widening the footprint of the magazine itself. So then, depending on your hand makeup, you may not be able to grip it as well, be able to get a full, solid grip around that firearm.
Michael Johnston:
Okay. So going back to the article that we wrote, and I hope you all had a chance to read that article, we did cover what I thought were some of the most important elements. One, first choosing the purpose of the weapon, then taking into the characteristics of the buyer and your skill sets. And then of course, the type caliber of weapon that you're going to use. But what I really believe is the most important after you make that decision to purchase is training. And I think most people forget that part. They buy the gun, they play with the gun, they like it. They love it. They go out and shoot it a little bit. And then the next thing you know, they put it in the safe, the drawer under the pillow, whatever. And then they never touch that firearm again.
Michael Johnston:
Josh, would you tell us a little bit about the importance of training and the ramifications of failing to train properly with a weapon? Especially a semi-auto, because if you're not staying up on your training, what kind of malfunctions can happen? What kind of bad things can happen when you really need that weapon?
Josh Nilson:
Right. Yeah. And you're absolutely right. One of the sad things we see in this industry is the lack of training. People have made that ultimate decision to purchase a gun for whatever reason, but then they don't follow up it with the proper training in order to know how the firearm operates, number one. And then, some of the safety aspects and then the train to be able to use the firearm effectively for whatever they may be using it for, the main one being self defense or personal defense of their home or their person when they're out in public training.
Josh Nilson:
Training is paramount. Just like what was mentioned, if we purchase a firearm and it sits for long periods of time, we don't do anything, we always said it in the training aspects of our department, shooting a gun is a perishable skill. Shooting it well is a perishable skill. If you're not staying up on that and constantly practicing and receiving new training, as far as techniques on how to shoot the firearm properly, those tend to degrade. And then the first time we need it, if it happens to be in a personal defense situation, we haven't trained with that firearm, and we have some type of malfunction or we don't remember exactly how the firearm operates, maybe through an external safety mechanism or we left the lock on because we lock it up at night every time we go to bed, under those stressful conditions, we don't have that ability to make those decisions quickly and accurately to be able to handle the situation as it progresses.
Michael Johnston:
So what happens in a stressful situation, Josh? I mean, we all talked about it in law enforcement, right? Your fine motor skills. Describe what happens in a stress situation. What happens to the body? What happens to your ability to make a move?
Josh Nilson:
Right. So as human beings, we have those same fight or flight tendencies, just like any other animals on the planet do. When we start receiving stress, our brains go into that carnal or primal instinct of, okay, either I'm going to fight my way out of the situation or I'm going to try to flee the situation.
Josh Nilson:
Blood vessels tend to contract. If you've ever been super nervous or been in a high intensity situation, you'll start to feel like your hands start to get cold. Your extremities start to get cold. That's your heart and your brain kind of redirecting blood flow through your body to kind of conserve and protect your body in case of injury. What it can also happen is our tendencies in our brain tend to go to a, I am a gross motor skill right now, kind of mentality of when it comes to operating the firearm, there's some tips and techniques that often are very unique. And under the stress, our brain just does not sit on that same wavelength. It goes more to, oh, I know I need to pull the trigger and squeeze and that's it. That's all the kind of synapses you're getting.
Josh Nilson:
So our brain tends to shut down and only focus on very minute tasks that are very small, if you will. And then also, our vision tends to shrink in what we call in the industry, we call tunnel vision where just like going through the tunnel of a train track or whatever, everything tends to shrink down. So we're not seeing the broad spectrum of all of our peripheral vision. We get sucked into whatever the threat may be. And we tend to focus on that and it limits our abilities to make decisions.
Michael Johnston:
So in those high stress situations, folks, you got to make sure that you're practicing because when you make the decision that a weapon has to be employed and that you are going to take it to that level, then you got to rely on your training, right? You got to rely on all of those motor skills that you learned during the training process so that it's automatic during a stress situation, because you're not going to be able to think about those mechanics when you are under stress.
Michael Johnston:
I really appreciate the time that you've taken here today, Josh. Here at Boss Security Screens, we take your safety and security seriously. And we only partner with the best. And I want to let you know that if you are serious about buying a firearm, then you should come down to Dark Horse Tactical out here in Henderson on Boulder Highway. What is it? 21 ...
Josh Nilson:
2140 South Boulder Highway.
Michael Johnston:
2140 South Boulder Highway. You can see that Josh builds his own custom weapons and he is extremely knowledgeable. They have an indoor range and again, Boss Security Screens wants you to be as safe as possible. We select only the best partners in the industry to bring you the information that you need. If you have any questions, concerns, get ahold of me through boss security screens at johnston@bosssecurityscreens.com. I'll be glad to answer any questions. Have a great day. Thanks, Josh.
Josh Nilson:
Thank you.
Dark Horse Tactical
darkhorsetactical702.com
(702) 333-2523
2140 S. Boulder Hwy
Henderson, NV 89002