Motorcycle Firearms
Posted: Tue Jul 04, 2006 6:03 pm
With the growing popularity of personal firearms carry among motorcyclists, it's important to find
the weapon that best meets our rather specific self defense needs. On occasion, a drunk driver
or a car driver experiencing road rage will purposefully ram a motorcycle, which never works out
well for the motorcyclist.
Use your superior agility and acceleration to evade the car if you can. However, because the driver
is attacking the motorcyclist with a deadly weapon (the car), the motorcyclist is legally entitled to
defend him or her self with lethal force, probably a firearm. Will you ever be in this situation? Let's
hope not. But should you be, here are some suggestions:
1.
When selecting a firearm for motorcycle carry, opt for one that has a ported barrel, especially if your
choice is a lightweight gun in a magnum caliber. Ported barrels are a relatively new technology, and
they significantly reduce the recoil of the firearm. That means that when you are firing from a moving
motorcycle, the shot will be less likely to disrupt your balance.
2.
Additionally, choose a high velocity medium bore cartridge (.357 Magnum, .38 Super, .357 Sig, or
9mm Luger+P). When you are firing at a moving vehicle, remember that the bullet must penetrate
safety glass and still stay on target. .357/9mm high velocity or +P rounds are smaller in diameter than
the big bore calibers, but pack a big punch; this translates into more penetration power.
3.
For the same reason, keep relatively heavy weight (for example 158 grain in .357 Magnum) full metal
jacket or jacketed soft point ammo in the firearm when on the road. Especially avoid hollow point bullets,
which provide less penetration than standard cast lead bullets.
4.
Practice firing the weapon from your motorcycle. For this, you need a large, privately owned, sparsely
populated property area where you know ahead of time there will be no people wandering around. Start
with dry fire practice. Pick a specific target (like a tree) as you are moving and track it, dry firing the gun
3-6 times at the target. Once you are comfortable taking your eyes off the road for the time it takes to fire
3-6 rounds, load the firearm and practice firing one round at a time at a paper target (so you can see
where your bullets hit) in front of a safe backstop. Start with a smaller caliber if you have one available.
(Another reason I like a .357 Magnum revolver is that you can use the same gun to fire the lighter .38
Special round.) Work your way up until you can empty all the chambers comfortably and accurately with
full power ammunition.
5.
If you decide to fire, FIRE AT THE DRIVER, NOT THE CAR. Obvious in retrospect, make sure you decide to
fire at the driver before you engage to avoid time-consuming, and therefore dangerous, mistakes.
6.
Once you hit the driver, get away from the car! The car could go ANYWHERE at that point, and the further
you move away from it, the less likely it is to accidentally hit you. If you are ever in a situation where you
are being attacked with lethal force on the road, it goes without saying that you should try to escape by
any means possible that does not endanger your life or the life of innocent bystanders. Evade if you
possibly can, resorting to lethal counter-force only as a last resort.
For info on firearms:
http://www.chuckhawks.com/index2.guns.htm
the weapon that best meets our rather specific self defense needs. On occasion, a drunk driver
or a car driver experiencing road rage will purposefully ram a motorcycle, which never works out
well for the motorcyclist.
Use your superior agility and acceleration to evade the car if you can. However, because the driver
is attacking the motorcyclist with a deadly weapon (the car), the motorcyclist is legally entitled to
defend him or her self with lethal force, probably a firearm. Will you ever be in this situation? Let's
hope not. But should you be, here are some suggestions:
1.
When selecting a firearm for motorcycle carry, opt for one that has a ported barrel, especially if your
choice is a lightweight gun in a magnum caliber. Ported barrels are a relatively new technology, and
they significantly reduce the recoil of the firearm. That means that when you are firing from a moving
motorcycle, the shot will be less likely to disrupt your balance.
2.
Additionally, choose a high velocity medium bore cartridge (.357 Magnum, .38 Super, .357 Sig, or
9mm Luger+P). When you are firing at a moving vehicle, remember that the bullet must penetrate
safety glass and still stay on target. .357/9mm high velocity or +P rounds are smaller in diameter than
the big bore calibers, but pack a big punch; this translates into more penetration power.
3.
For the same reason, keep relatively heavy weight (for example 158 grain in .357 Magnum) full metal
jacket or jacketed soft point ammo in the firearm when on the road. Especially avoid hollow point bullets,
which provide less penetration than standard cast lead bullets.
4.
Practice firing the weapon from your motorcycle. For this, you need a large, privately owned, sparsely
populated property area where you know ahead of time there will be no people wandering around. Start
with dry fire practice. Pick a specific target (like a tree) as you are moving and track it, dry firing the gun
3-6 times at the target. Once you are comfortable taking your eyes off the road for the time it takes to fire
3-6 rounds, load the firearm and practice firing one round at a time at a paper target (so you can see
where your bullets hit) in front of a safe backstop. Start with a smaller caliber if you have one available.
(Another reason I like a .357 Magnum revolver is that you can use the same gun to fire the lighter .38
Special round.) Work your way up until you can empty all the chambers comfortably and accurately with
full power ammunition.
5.
If you decide to fire, FIRE AT THE DRIVER, NOT THE CAR. Obvious in retrospect, make sure you decide to
fire at the driver before you engage to avoid time-consuming, and therefore dangerous, mistakes.
6.
Once you hit the driver, get away from the car! The car could go ANYWHERE at that point, and the further
you move away from it, the less likely it is to accidentally hit you. If you are ever in a situation where you
are being attacked with lethal force on the road, it goes without saying that you should try to escape by
any means possible that does not endanger your life or the life of innocent bystanders. Evade if you
possibly can, resorting to lethal counter-force only as a last resort.
For info on firearms:
http://www.chuckhawks.com/index2.guns.htm
