Against a rapist

By Massad Ayoob Issue #65 • September/October, 2000 Can you use lethal force in self-defense against a rapist? The answer, of course, is yes. Deadly force is permissible only in a situation of "immediate, otherwise unavoidable...

Home handgun defense — Simplicity suffices

By Massad Ayoob Issue #54 • November/December, 1998 You can get as high-tech as you feel you might need when you select the firearm(s) you'll use to protect your family. I "do firearms" for a living,...

Of kids and guns

By Massad Ayoob Issue #68 • March/April, 2001 In the almost two years since the Columbine tragedy, American police have coined the term "active shooter." It means, in essence, a crazed gunman who is at the...

Do rural homeowners need guns for self-defense?

By Massad Ayoob Issue #72 • November/December, 2001 Do rural homeowners need guns for self-defense? Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't, according to Ayoob's experience, but those who did never really knew they would until...

Just because

By Massad Ayoob Issue #144 • November/December, 2013 I generally recommend that people buy guns the way they'd buy power tools, or automobiles, or homes. Assess your needs, analyze your budget, correlate it all with your...

BHM hosts Appleseed marksmanship event

By Massad Ayoob Issue #139 • January/February, 2013 Long a supporter of the Appleseed concept, Backwoods Home Magazine hosted one in Gold Beach, Oregon, in second quarter 2012. Naturally, a good time was had by all....

Tailoring guns to females

By Massad Ayoob Issue #131 • September/October, 2011 So, I'm sitting here in a hotel writing this, less than three hours after getting off the witness stand in a manslaughter case. The defendant was a 5'3",...

Armed citizens: the deterrent factor

By Massad Ayoob Website Exclusive • January/February, 2001 Does an armed citizenry deter tyranny and invasion? History and logic both answer emphatically, "Yes!" Some months ago, in an article in this publication titled The Rationale of the...

Body language and threat recognition

By Massad Ayoob Issue #87 • May/June, 2004 Reader mail indicates that while some Backwoods Home readers turn to this column for advice on putting wild game on the table or keeping four-footed poachers out of...

Picking a holster

By Massad Ayoob Issue #69 • May/June, 2001 One good thing about being out in the boonies by yourself is that you can carry a gun on your own property. It's a fundamental right that, for...

Use the right ammunition!

By Massad Ayoob Issue #130 • July/August, 2011 The purpose of the gun is to fire ammunition. It follows that the ammunition should be the correct ammunition. This is simple. It is not hard to understand. But...

Consider the 20-gauge shotgun

By Massad Ayoob Issue #120 • November/December, 2009 A year or more ago in these pages, I made the suggestion that sometimes less is more, and usually shooters with less powerful guns with which they are...

Thoughts on ammunition

By Massad Ayoob Issue #108 • November/December, 2007 Ammunition is to firearms as gasoline is to automobiles. However, with guns and ammo, the fit isn't quite so generic as just getting the right octane rating. Recent...

Firearms handling refresher Part II: Shotguns

By Massad Ayoob Website Exclusive • December, 2003 In Part I, we began a series of refreshers on safety and proper handling of firearms. This time, we'll examine what may be the most common firearm in...

Understanding the gun debate, part 2

By Massad Ayoob Issue #162 • November/December, 2016 Click Here to read Part 1 When debating any controversial issue, the first thing one has to do is sort the lies from the truth. On the pro-gun side, mistruths...

Avoiding legal traps

By Massad Ayoob Issue #105 • May/June, 2007 Dave Duffy wrote recently on the plight of Brad Metcalf. There are several lessons to be learned. Metcalf represented himself, pro se, in court. This is almost never a...