Stay with me here folks, this is important stuff. If you’re in one of those commie states that won’t let you carry a weapon, or if you just don’t like the idea of guns in general, your choices are fairly limited.
If you don’t have a gun, what’s second best? On Sunday, I put out a letter where I literally implored you all to go to selfdefencefund.com and sign up for their service. I pushed it pretty hard because I believe in it, and I feel that in this crazy society where you can get sued for virtually anything, these guys will come to your defense if you’re ever arrested/sued for the act of defending yourself.
But the one thing I didn’t push hard enough is that this isn’t just about guns or rifles, etc. They will come to your defense with unlimited amounts for lawyers and another million in “extras” like expert witnesses, if you fight back your intruder/attacker with anything. A club, a chair, a knife, a screwdriver, your hands, you name it. No one else does that folks. No one.
If you want an example of how screwed up our society is, just google “burglar sues victim” and start reading. It’s amazing how many times a bad guy will break into a home or business, the homeowner/Business owner subdues the bad guy, and sure enough the bad guy sues for his injuries. In one instance, a bad guy came into an auto parts store with a gun. He put the gun in the clerk’s face and demanded money or he’d kill him. After getting the money he turned to leave, and as he got to the door, a customer he hadn’t seen rushed up and hit him in the head with a hunk of pipe.
The cops came, arrested the punk and sure enough, the punk sued the auto parts store AND the good Samaritan for his injuries from the pipe. Oh and of course “pain and suffering.” His plea was “I didn’t kill nobody and I was leavin, they didn’t need to hit me.” Really? I’d have shot you. But hey, that’s me.
Anyway, I got a lot of great emails, which is why I wanted to do a bit of a follow up today and the reason I just mentioned that their protection, (which is just 12 bucks a month), isn’t just for self-defense with a weapon.
A couple emails were fairly similar in content. Basically, what’s my next best choice? Check it:
Bob,
I have weapons in my home, but where I live, getting a concealed license is almost impossible. I will go with SDF in case I ever have to use my shotgun in-home defense. But if I can’t carry a gun, what’s my next best choice?
Thanks,
Tim
Stay with me here folks, this is important stuff. If you’re in one of those commie states that won’t let you carry a weapon, or if you just don’t like the idea of guns in general, your choices are fairly limited. You’ll be arrested carrying a bat, tire iron, club, etc. so that really limits things.
Well Tim, and all of you reading this, everyone’s going to have their own opinion about this, but in my estimation, the second most important “carry weapon” is a tactical flashlight. Followed by a knife. But having both is really as good as it gets.
So why the flashlight? Well, I’m not talking about the typical house flashlight that you leave in some drawer and hunt for during power outages. No, I’m talking “tactical” flashlights, which are a much different breed of animal.
The typical 2 C cell battery plastic flashlight produces about 15 lumens ( a measure of light output/brightness) Well that’s fine for finding the candles in the dark. But to have any “tactical” function, they’re useless. I guess you could throw it at the bad guy.
A tactical flashlight is made of high strength aircraft aluminum, titanium, etc. It is said that it takes 80 lumens to temporarily “light blind” someone, and these little puppies now pump out 250, 350, 500, 1000 and more lumens. So yeah, we’re talking massive, blinding brightness. And that’s the point. In a self defense situation, we want to use our flashlight to temporarily blind the attacker, so we have a few seconds to flee, or attack back.
With some of the latest tactical flashlights, using incredible LED bulbs, even in high noon broad daylight they’re so bright you can temporarily “light blind” an attacker. It’s very hard for someone to try and stick you with a knife, if they are turning their heads and putting their hands in front of their eyes.
This is Especially true for you ladies out there. If you can’t/won’t carry a gun, get yourself a really good tactical flashlight and carry that religiously. Don’t let it hide in the bottom of your pocketbook, mixed in with all the other crap you guys seem to carry. Carry it where it is very fast to get to. Then, if you see something sketchy, and think something bad might/could happen, put it in your hand. If you are confronted, hit that button and put those 500+ lumens right in his eyes.
He will flinch. He will try and block his eyes. And for a few precious seconds, he’ll be “blind”. That’s your chance to run. I can’t stress this enough to you folks, don’t let someone get so close to you that he can grab you. As he’s getting closer, put that light in his eyes.
Tactical flashlights will almost always have a scalloped bezel. That bezel is made that way on purpose. If things are really ugly and you’re face to face with the bad guy, hitting him in the face with those ridges will do quite a bit of damage. Don’t forget these are “tactical” meaning they’re designed for military/police, etc. They’re tools and they’re tough. They’re made for people working in dangerous places.
Of course they’re also very handy for just getting around in the dark. They can illuminate for a long way, and that’s always helpful. Just as an attacking man doesn’t like that light, you can often stop a charging dog with the same tactic, shine that light straight in their eyes.
I think the amazing thing about these tools is that now they’re so small you can almost make them disappear in your hand. Years back they were still big and clunky, but now? Ha, the technology has improved to where my favorite light is only 5.4 inches long. It’s only 1.25 inches in diameter ( wide) oh and it puts out 600 lumens.
So, my number one “next have” if I can’t have a gun is my flashlight. After that, it’s my knife. Whenever I’m in a state where I can’t conceal carry, you will never find me out in public without my flashlight in one pocket, my “legal” knife in the other.
Again, I don’t sell tactical flashlights. Just like I don’t “sell” selfdefensefund.com for legal help if you’re arrested or sued. I’m simply telling you about things that I believe in. If you can’t/won’t carry a gun, get a great tactical flashlight. ( I use the surefire E2D)
If you want peace of mind financially, in the case that one day you might have to use a knife, fist, pistol, shotgun, screwdriver etc to protect yourself and you get sued/arrested, sign up for selfdefensefund.com. It’s the best 12 bucks you’ll ever spend.
I hope you never need to blind a bad guy and I hope you never need the services of a place like selfdefensefund.com. But “things happen” and this is a crazy world. I hope this helps.