Boomstick-Fu

A while back I was on one of the local PA Firearm Forums when I came across a YouTube video on lock picking. I didn’t particularly have an interest in learning how to pick locks but there was a segment on gun safes and trigger locks that I wanted to see.

As it turns out, the video was interesting enough that I now watch them whenever I stumble onto a new one. The videos do a great job of showing vulnerabilities in security and I find that aspect fascinating. While watching the latest video on lock picking, during the gun security section, there was a brief mention of a firearm discussion from a previous conference.

After the video was finished, I quickly looked up the firearm discussion video, entitled Boomstick-Fu, and checked it out. The quality of information in that video wasn’t even close to that in the lock picking videos and I was left disappointed.

The discussion reminded me of a pickup game from childhood. It was as if the panelists were picked out of the crowd attending Defcon 15 (Which is a bit dated – 2007). None of those individuals sounded like firearm experts and the advice given and statements made were hit or miss.

While I like the concept of the video, I think it contains some bad information that wouldn’t be noticed unless the viewer is a firearm enthusiast. The video also contains some good information but it may be difficult to pick out for potential new gun owners.

Some of the Bad:

At one point during the video a question is raised about what type of ammunition to load into a home defense shotgun. One panelist talks about being at a crime scene (LEO) where a slug went through a wall, hit an innocent bystander (killing them), then “continued through like four other walls”. While I’m no expert on shotgun slugs, that just seems like a rather large feat.

The same panelist then goes on to talk about being at another crime scene where an attacker was shot with #7 Birdshot and “dropped like a sack of potatoes”, acting as a one shot stop for the situation. While using small shot does reduce the chance of over penetration, I’m much more comfortable with the idea of using something more substancial, such as buckshot.

Some of the Good:

Towards the end of the video, one of the panelists (an attorney) makes a statement that any sort of training will hold you in a higher standard in a court of law. The way the statement was delivered almost sounded as though he was hinting that training was a bad idea.

I’m not claiming to be a legal expert but I think that this piece of advice was inadvertently good. In the event that you have training and become the victim of a life-threatening attack, I believe that training shows that you have a better understanding of when deadly force is necessary in order to protect yourself.

One of the last questions from the audience involved what to do if you have to defend yourself if you are out of state or do not have an attorney. The advice was to request a public defender to get the ball rolling then to contact a local gun range to seek advice on a local attorney specializing in the field of self defense and/or firearms.