s it worth getting a Gun? Firearms and other Defensive Tools

Hey,
First up, your book was awesome! Loads of food for thought -
especially your 3 is 2 rule.
However I would like to ask a question.
While reading I noticed that you placed a heavy emphasis on fire arms
(I can understand that) because of the rising crime. In Australia on
the other hand it is practically and legally impossible to get any of
the firearms you suggest and the ones you can get are so restricted
that using the self defence excuse will not warrant a gun license.
So,
1) Should I worry about not having a firearm, seeing as pretty much
everyone else is in the same boat?
2) Is there any alternative defence weapons that you would suggest, or
am I going to be restricted to a martial art (Muay Thai)/knife?
Thanks for any advice you can offer.
Stephen

Hi! Glad you liked my book! Regarding your first question, take a look at the “Preparedness or Paranoia” post made a few days ago.
What are the chances of you being attacked, either on the streets or your own home? Is crime a serious problem in your area? Maybe it is, maybe its not. Lets suppose for a minute that an disaster occurs and you suddenly see a rise in crime or are forced to defend yourself. Even in perfectly nice and safe places bad things do happen. Everywhere, there’s the possibility of other people being violent and evil towards you and you should have the best possible means of defending yourself. A psycho breaking into your home and hurting or killing your loved ones is a very rare occurrence, but unfortunately there’s no place in the world where its rare enough that it shouldn’t even be a concern to you.
Maybe your nice sleepy town is very safe, no one has ever been killed there in the last decade, yet that doesn’t make the person that was murdered ten years ago any less dead or that it could have been you. When it happens to you, all statistics mean nothing. It doesn’t matter if chances of something like this happening are 0.001% or less. When it happens to you, its 100% you.

Its comes down to this simple fact of life. At the very least, when in your home, sheltering in from whatever is happening, you must have a tool to defend yourself and your loved ones.
While gun laws are different everywhere, in nearly all countries you are able to own a firearm of some kind. A double barrel shotgun can be extremely effective in stopping an attacker. While a skeet shooting long barrel shotgun is far from ideal for home defense, its also FAR better than having nothing when a nutcase or sociopath is kicking your door down.

You can own firearms in Australia. You can own a double barrel shotgun and with a little more effort and paperwork you can own a semi auto rimfire of up to 10 round capacity and a pump action shotgun of 5 round capacity. That you can do. Now the question is, will you do what’s needed to get your gun? Of course they’ll make it hard for you, but as long as its legal it’s a matter of you wanting it bad enough or not. In my opinion and based on what I’ve experienced in life I dont care if I live in the Vatican, I still want to have means of defending myself and my family.

1) Should I worry about not having a firearm, seeing as pretty much
everyone else is in the same boat?

Its up to you. I’d do everything I can, spend the time and money so as to have one and some ammo for it, and practice enough so as to be as efficient as possible with it, so that in case something bad happens, I’m NOT in the same boat as everyone else.

2) Is there any alternative defense weapons that you would suggest, or
am I going to be restricted to a martial art (Muay Thai)/knife?

Even an expert martial artist would be in disadvantage when going bare handed against someone armed with a firearm or even an edged weapon. While its important to have at least some hand to hand fighting knowledge any tool that increases your potentiality for defense and attack turns the odds in your favor. A big ten or twelve inch pointy “chef” knife will do that if firearms aren’t available. In some cases a crossbow can be used effectively, but at close range you are limited in the amount of damage you can deliver to an attacker. Do I want to get stabbed with a 10 inch butcher knife? Heck no! Would I like to get shot with a crossbow? Absolutely not, but a crossbow leaves you unarmed after the first shot while with a knife its just a matter of stabbing or slashing again with an easy, instinctive motion.

It has been my understanding that gun ownership in the UK is much more
restrictive than in U.S.A.. Could you tell us about your experience
there?
Thanks
P.S. Am new to this site and just ordered your book last week.
Joe

Hi Joe,
Thanks for buying my book, I'm sure you'll find it helpful. Thanks for your question too. I receive lots of emails asking why I moved to a country were guns are illegal. This just goes to show that people often assume the worst instead of looking into it more. You can own shotguns, bolt action rifles, lever action rifles, semi auto rimfire carbines, and straight pull rifles. These would be FALs, AKs, or AR15 that have been reduced to single action shots and require manual cycling of the action after each shot. Sound suppressors are very common and sold along with rifles and even pump action and semi auto shotguns.
In Northern Ireland, it’s the only part of UK where handguns are allowed, so you can own Glocks, and various other pistols and revolvers if you participate in sporting events where they are used. While restrictive, if you want it enough, commit to joining a club and participating in the shooting activities you can own an acceptable variety of firearms. Not as good as in USA by any means, but still ok.
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