In the Gravest Extreme: The Role of the Firearm in Personal Protection

This is an important book for defensive firearm use. The copywrite is 1980. Thirty Three years have passed from its authorship. During that time violence has escalated to dominate the news more and more these days. Thirty Three Years ago there were fewer Public mall, school, and restaurant shootings by armed perpetrators killing random unknown targets. Just last week a school shooting in Russia made our national news saying, it is not only in America this is going on. There were fewer conceal weapons available in 1980, and there were fewer carriers of those weapons.This book cries out for a second edition update. But the material is still relevant. If you take your conceal and carry class you will be introduced to gun law. One of the things about any law is that you find out laws are made by lawyers for lawyers. They are intentionally obscure to read because you may not figure out the definitions of those legal terms. But if you land in court because of your firearm, you'll get an education on those terms and it will be expensive!You better get a handle on "JAM" if you are going to conceal and carry a weapon. "J" is for jeapardy. Your weapon is for that time when you fear for your life or the lives of your loved ones. It may be a split second, because after the attack comes and the attacker starts to flee you are no longer in jeapardy, you can't then pull your firearm. "A" is for ability. It basically refers to the FBI's 21 foot rule. Is your possible threat within 21 feet. That is the distance that can be covered in the span of some 2 seconds where your attacker would be on you. "M" stands for means. Is your attacker armed? This is where it gets a little ambiguous. You don't see a weapon, but you see a disparity between you and your attacker, or attackers. I'm a 65 year old senior. A younger more agile attacher is easily an overmatch situation for an overweight arthritic man. Especially if that attacker is multiplied...there are three of them. You do not have to wait till you have been shot or shot at. He does not have to produce his combat knife before you defend yourself. You have to be sure in your mind that it is "The Gravest Extreme," life and death. You need to be sure.Moreover, you need to make a concertive effort to retreat, hide, flee if possible. You cannot be the instigator or escalator in some conflict which starts with words, and goes up from there to deadly force. If you do not avoid escalating an incident to deadly force, you will be in another kind of JAM. You will be jammed up in court, dole out attorney fees, or end up in prison, It may cost you in every way to use deadly force when it is not legally and ethically correct. Be afraid. Be prepared by getting informed. Conceal and Carry can be a lifesaver, literally. But spell that lifesaver... R-E-S-P-O-N-S-I-B-I-L-I-T-Y. There are places you can't carry. There are things you can't do. Knowledge of these things is key. Be informed.If you ever have to pull and once you do, it is deadly force on your part. You can't claim to shoot to wound. It has to be the gravest extreme, life and death. If you ever pull let alone shoot, you better not then flee, rearrange anything on the scene, or run your mouth. When the police come it is, "I was afraid for my life, and I don't think I will say anything else without an attorney." You may be tempted to run off at the mouth. Trust me, you don't want to do that.Your incident is not going away without a thorough investigation. Second, that investigation may not clear you of the civil liabilities that you may get from the family of the attacker. They think their Billy Bob is harmless, never mind that he came after you with a Louisville Slugger or a .357 magnum. Your words at the scene can land you in a pickle even if you were in the right. We're living in a day when right is wrong, and wrong is right legally speaking.If your life is on the line, there is no time to do all these mental gymnastics unless you prepared before hand. Defensive firearm carry is a mindset to be ready. Be aware of your surroundings, have a sense of where the exits are, and if you ever have to run for your life, be ready for that. If your attacker comes for you when you are trying to retreat and get away, and as the last resort, you pull and shoot. It will matter that you tried to get away...You tried not to shoot. You will be seen in a much more favorable light if you make every effort to avoid using deadly force first.This book and this subject have never been more relevant than 2014. I would suggest Ayoob's Second Edition Gun Digest Concealed Carry book. Another important read might be Ayoob on combat shooting.God help us to be vigilent and righteous in the carry and potential use of deadly force. I am a Baptist pastor. I do not believe in murder. I know how to "turn the other cheek" in accepting insults without retaliation. But I believe in self defense. Recently in our denomination a gunman entered that church and shot and killed the young minister on Sunday morning in front of his wife, family and congregation with a .45. I wish instead that he had been carrying, that he had knealt and drawn from an ankle holster and sent that gunman attacker onto next world. Churches have been targets of armed criminal action. Even the clergy should conceal and carry these days.

This book is an absolute must read for anyone that even thinks they might use a firearm for self defense. It will help you evaluate issues BEFORE you are in the middle of a situation. I have bought and distributed this book to libraries and friends for years. Excellent reading.

If you have recently purchased a firearm or if you are considering buying a firearm for the first time. GET THIS BOOK. Get it now, and read it first. There are a ton of books on self defense and guns out there. Forget them all for now. Get this book first and after you read this, go and get more training and education.The book is not so much about using a firearm but the role that the firearm plays and some of the legal concepts that you need to understand before you hold a firearm in your hands.Bottom line aside from a motor vehicle, a firearm is very likely the second most dangerous machine that any of us will likely operate in our lives. Guns are designed to be extremely simple to operate and to be rugged and reliable. Their purpose is to stop or kill animals or humans. You should never ever handle a weapon casually, loaded or not.Beyond that you need to know the law of where you live and that's what this books gets you to think:- Are you ever justified in shooting an assailant who has given up or is retreating?- do you have a duty to retreat before you use lethal force? in your home? on the street? in your state? what about other states?- is simply pointing a gun at someone a crime? what if the gun is empty?- what is brandishing?- can you keep shooting an assailant over and over even after s/he has stopped being a threat to you?- when are you justified in shooting a home invader?There are dozens of questions like the above and the answer to the question is that depending on the situation and your actions, you could land you in jail even if you survive a confrontation in the gravest extreme.What I'm saying is that if you own a firearm, you owe it to yourself to know and understand the law as it pertains to you and the use of a firearm because by and large, you can't just shoot people without there being a ton of repercussions. Simple mistakes can cost your your freedom, your home, your life, your family and their well being.This book is not the end all or be all of firearms education and it is dated in many ways and there are minor idiosycracies to the book but to me at least, it was the very first stepping stone on a long road that I don't think will ever be complete. Preparing for a situation that I hope never happens.Whenever anyone asks me for advice regarding firearms, I suggest they:1) Get this book and read it first2) Read as much as they can on the law3) Talk to an attorneyIt's old and it's dated but it's probably the single book that I think everyone should who owns a firearm should at least read. I have personally given away half a dozen of these to friends who tell me they are first time gun owners or who are thinking of getting a firearm and who start asking questions -- I tell them to start here.

Although some of the gear recommendations are a bit out of date, I consider this required reading for anyone who wants to own a firearm for personal defense. (I hold firearm instructor certifications issued by DoD, NRA, and Maryland State Police). Anytime a friend or family member gets into firearm ownership, I buy them a copy of this book.

This book comprises a series of articles that were published by Masaad Ayood many decades ago in a Guns magazine (as is described in the book itself). Some of the chapters are obviously dated. This is especially apparent as he talks through things like firearm selection and mentions specific models and their merits. Consider that this book was published in 1980 - four years before the first Glock, today's most popular handgun, was ever sold to the public. Things has certainly changed. The same can be said (to a lesser degree) in his discussion of calibers.Still - the other chapters of the book are solid. But don't misinterpret this book for something that it is not. Mas doesn't try to explain tactics or techniques for how to use a firearm. But he more discusses the repercussions from doing so on the individual. These are timeless and profound lessons that will always be true.So yes, the book is certainly dated. At times it's humorous. But the core of the writing is timeless and excellent. I'm very glad I read it.

Clear discussion of when deadly force is legally permissible for the average citizen. Ayoob explains the responsibility that goes along with carrying a concealed firearm, and argues that anyone who does so must do everything possible to avoid using it. An eye-opener for anyone who wants to carry a gun "for protection," this book ought to be required reading for armed citizens.However I feel that Ayoob should maybe release an up to date edition as this book was published in the 80's