Recently, I taught an extended-range handgun class, with shots fired out to 100 yards, with Brandon’s assistance. The class, Brandon included, fired the “Brandon Moore Drill” from the same distance as had been measured in the actual firefight, and in the same position, including holding their crotches. Brandon beat everyone and agreed that it was much easier to do when you aren’t bleeding out. In any event, the lesson here is that the handgun can be effective at long range is one important to understand, and being capable with a handgun at extended distances is a skill set you should be ready to use should the need arise.
Handguns for survival use in societal disorder situations have the same basic requirements that rifles and shotguns do. The characteristics of reliability, ruggedness, portability, simplicity, effectiveness, and sustainability are just as critical. Now, portability may seem to be an “oh, duh” type of requirement for a handgun, since they are designed to be portable, but it really isn’t. For example, if you don’t expect your travels to carry you through wilderness areas where grizzly bears roam, than a handgun chambered in .500 Smith & Wesson or even “just” a .44 Magnum simply isn’t required and, in fact, can be detrimental. Portability for a handgun also doesn’t mean you have to have a primary handgun as small as the Ruger LCP. What you need is a standard size, standard make, law enforcement or military duty sidearm, in its most basic configuration, meaning lights, optics, or custom competition modifications of any kind are not only not needed, but detrimental to the mission. Also, it should be a high-capacity weapon—remember the concept of crowd control—of a commonly available caliber.
There are six basic centerfire calibers to consider (rimfires will be examined later), and I will list them in order of preference. They are the 9mm, .40 Smith & Wesson, .45 ACP, .357 Magnum, .38 Special (I know, these last two are for revolvers) and, just to stir things up a bit, the 5.7×28mm. While I love the .357 SIG and .38 Super and would take them over the .40 in a gunfight (the .357 SIG was our duty caliber at the Sheriff’s office), they are not easily obtainable calibers. Again, these are my personal favorites, but I need to provide you with the guns and calibers that are best for survival.
Semi-Autos—Your First Choice
In the world of pistols, there are quite a few that will work well for survival, so don’t be offended if I don’t list your favorite pistol. If it meets the six requirements and you like and can afford it, then it will serve you. But back to my choices. The semi-automatic pistol that I would choose above all the others out there in 9mm is the Beretta 92 (military designation M9), or the updated 92A1 (military designation M9A1), now available to civilians and which includes a light rail. I only mention the A1 as a choice because, if you already have one that works, but don’t buy another for the rail because a weapons light isn’t necessary. It also costs you $40 more than the standard-frame version. Also, there are not as many holsters available as of this writing for the A1, as it was a late arrival to the civilian field. The tricked up 90-Two model, sorta the polymer-framed, Italian sports car version of the 92, also works if you have it already, but it’s $50 more than that the 92FS. While the Beretta 92 is also available as the .40-caliber model 96, it would be wise to avoid it, since it is not widely distributed, thereby limiting replacement magazine availability. (Holsters aren’t a problem for it, as anything that works for the 92 works for the 96).
There are plenty of 9mm naysayers out there, and there is some validity to their concerns. However, there are a lot of positive things going for the round, including lower cost, lower recoil, lower muzzle blast and flash, lighter weight, and universal availability. I, for one, am totally comfortable with the 9mm and use it as my duty caliber. There are also plenty of documented failures out there with the .40 S&W in law enforcement shootings, especially in the 180-grain bullet weight. In essence, it is not the “magic bullet” it was originally hoped to be. But more on that later.
As far as the 92 goes, there is no questioning the reliability of the original Beretta 92FS/M9. It has been given the ultimate field test, since 1985, as the U.S. Armed Force’s standard-issue battle pistol. Used in all types of environments, it has passed with flying colors. With a legendary smoothness of operation rivaled only by custom pistols, (the slide runs like it’s on ball bearings), the 92 was, for much of the 1980s and into the ’90s, second only to Smith & Wesson in terms of police service use. That changed with the advent of the Glock safe-action trigger design and its acceptance as being simpler and easier to operate than the high-capacity double-action/single-action 9mm of any other make and model.
As far as the 92 series goes, it just runs and runs and runs. In one of the Army trials, 12 Beretta M9s fired a total of 168,000 rounds without a single malfunction. I have never had a malfunction on my personal 92FS, and the only ones I have observed were when the shooter tried to substitute aftermarket magazines for Beretta factory originals. I am not sure why this is, but don’t take the chance. Spend a bit more for the real McCoy.
In terms of ruggedness, the same qualities that make the 92 reliable also bolster its ruggedness. Its design has stood up to the worst environmental conditions on earth and the worst neglect possible by men in combat. It is still going strong some 27 years after its adoption, even though potential replacements have been examined in the recent past. True, the SIG has supplanted the Beretta in certain situations, such as for use by the Navy SEALs, and has also been ad-opted by the Coast Guard recently, but the M9 and M9A1 remain the military standard. The only other duty handgun to survive in service that long was, of course, the .45 ACP Model 1911.
Portability is less of an issue when discussing protective handguns than it is when talking long guns. While the 92 may not be the best choice for deep cover carry under current conditions, it still can be done. I know, because I’ve done it. There are many ways to carry the 92 out of plain sight—backpack, sling pack, fanny pack, IWB holster carry, or belt carry with specialized holsters like the innovative types from Crossbreed.
I earlier mentioned simplicity of operation as a requirement. This is an area where the 92 gives up some ground to a few more modern designs such as the Glock. (However, the 92 doesn’t give up ground on its metal magazine versus Glock’s plastic. I replace broken Glock 19 magazines on our academy guns. The plastic ends up breaking off the body of the magazine tube body in the area forward of the follower.) As I’ll expand on in the sidebar “DA/SA or One Action Only?” the 92 has a manual safety/decocker and the standard DA/SA trigger requires transition practice. Some find this to be a problem. I haven’t, since the first duty autos I carried in my law enforcement career were the early Smith & Wesson series, starting with the elegant Model 39. Training and practice will overcome any such issue.