Welcome to the Gun Bench. This is a series where we at Straight Talk bring our readers into the thought process behind how we set up our gear for various roles and scenarios. There is a saying that purpose drives gear. In the gun world, that saying rings clear. With each selection of equipment, there is a purpose—whether it be for hunting, competitive shooting, home defense, or survival—that equipment matters and must stand up to the task at hand. This series looks to help with the thought process behind each piece of kit, so that you, the reader, can have the best available information. One important note, Straight Talk is Ohio based. Some items may or may not be legal in the state you reside in. Also, not every state has Constitutional Carry or Castle Doctrine in place. So please, educate yourself on the laws that you must abide by.

A primary reason why many people own a firearm is for some sort of protection or self-defense. Preserving your life and the lives of those you love is paramount to the ideologies of many Americans. And for those that follow the nation’s events, they know there is a national shortage of police officers which correlates to rising 911 response times. People need to rely on themselves when bad things happen. So with that in mind, many people are flocking to gun stores to buy a firearm for self-defense in their home. Using a gun within the confines of one’s home opens up possibilities. The individual no longer has to worry about conceal carrying the firearm. So popular options include full-size handguns, shotguns, and rifles or carbines. While all of these will be covered in the series at some point, what I keep by the bedside is a little different.

For a home defense firearm, there needs to be a balance between security and accessibility. I’d like the firearm to be in a secure location where it is concealed and locked up, but is accessible when a threat arises. For most people, this location is in their bedroom. People are generally worried that an invasion will occur during the night while asleep. Having something at the ready is important. For me, that means having a weapon close at hand in a small safe that fits within the furniture. So, to start, the safe is a Vaultek LifePod. This is a small, easily transportable safe that fits nicely in most drawers. It uses a touch panel for the code and can be securely tied with a metal tether. Its internal dimensions are 7.75” long by 6” wide. This limits handgun size, but with some of the newer options on the market, that point is rendered moot.

For the handgun, I have gone with Sig Sauer’s new P365 X-Macro. The Macro takes the standard P365 series and sizes it up a couple of notches. For starters, instead of the 10 or 12 round capacity of its predecessors, the Macro increases it to 17. That’s the equivalent of most full-size handguns. For recoil management, the 3.1” barrel is housed in a 3.7” slide where there are ports cut into the slide near the muzzle. The gun uses Sig’s X-Ray day/night sights, but has an optic cut for RMSc pattern optics. Since the X-Macro sits a bit bigger, it has a common picatinny rail underneath the slide on the frame. Since it is optics ready, I have added Vortex’s new Defender-CCW red dot. This optic has impressed with initial testing, and its durability, coupled with motion-sensor activation, means you don’t have to worry about pressing buttons or messing with brightness settings during bump-in-the-night scenarios. Target identification is a key component to home-defense. There are plenty of examples where a perceived threat has entered the home, but it turns out to be a family member sneaking home or an inebriated neighbor entering the wrong house. Having a light can be the difference between protecting and a horrifying accident. So, for light, I have gone with Sig Sauer’s FOXTROT1X. It fits nicely on the Macro’s rail and sits almost flush to the muzzle. Its compact size produces 450 lumens with an 1.5 hour runtime on one CR123 battery. Other options for lights include the Streamlight TLR-7sub, or Sig’s FOXTROT2. The FOXTROT1X, while having a low Candela output and softer hotspot, produces a lot of white light to illuminate a room and temporarily disorient the potential threat. For ammo, I am a big proponent of Hornady’s Critical Defense load for civilian use. Critical Duty is great for Law Enforcement, where officers may need to overcome barriers, but that can be problematic within the confines of a home. Over-penetration is a real concern that must be thought about. Rounding out the gear includes a spare magazine and a handheld light—for me, this is a Cloud Defensive MCH that has high lumens with superior candela output, other options include the Streamlight ProTac series, SureFire G2X, or the Fenix PD35.

Of course, all of this gear is great and serves a purpose, but without proper training, it doesn’t amount to much. Becoming familiar with your firearm is very important, so getting out to shoot is key. From there, look at formal instruction, such as basic or advanced handgun courses. To really test your skills and mental makeup, look for Force on Force classes. In conclusion, the thought process behind each piece of gear is important. It may be the difference between survival and being a victim. This series will hopefully help you with that decision making process.