In this week’s mailbag we cover…
Aiming using your dominant eye…
How to destroy and get rid of medication bottles…
Whether or not to keep stored magazines loaded…
My recommendation on waist wallets…
Differences between the Glock 19 vs the Glock 23…
What to do to make salt water drinkable…
And more!
Let’s dive in…
Which eye do you use as your dominant aiming eye when shooting normally and which eye do you use as your dominant eye for aiming when shooting one-handed with your weak hand?
– Terry T
Answer: A lot of folks claim that shooting with both eyes open, especially at close distance, will give you the most accurate shot.
With that being said, any shooter is going to do what feels most comfortable and comes naturally to them, which often includes closing one eye.
About 80 percent of the world’s population is right-handed. However, about 65-70 percent of the population is right-eye dominant, with about 20-25 percent being left-eye dominant.
I shoot right-handed, but I am left-eye dominant. So, I close my right eye when I shoot, whether I am shooting with my strong hand or weak hand.
How do you recommend the destruction of bottles of medication which has, glued onto it, your name and other identifying information – not to mention the name of the medication, that of the prescribing physician, and that your pharmacy…
– William M
Answer: If it has a label that has been glued onto the bottle, I would soak the empty bottle in hot water for a few minutes and then try to remove the label with a razor blade or knife.
Then you can shred the label like you would normal paper. In addition, you can also contact your local police department and ask them if they can dispose of empty medication bottles.
However, ask them specifically how they destroy the bottles and if the labels are destroyed as well.
I’m new to handguns and recently read something in a book that raised a question: When storing handgun magazines, does it impair the spring mechanism if it is loaded to capacity with rounds? It seems like it would take too long to load them when the SHTF and is better to have them ready to use.
– Vic S
Answer: I always recommend keeping your magazines loaded because as long as you purchased quality factory magazines you shouldn’t worry about the spring failing.
I’ve had guns loaded for years and know many people who do too. It’s a myth that you need to “relieve” your magazine springs every few months.
In the past I think you mentioned something about waist wallets in one of your articles. Which one do you recommend?
– Anthony P
Answer: One good one is the Shacke Hidden Travel Belt Wallet, which goes around your belt and sits inside your pants.
This costs around $15 on Amazon and is perfect for traveling because it goes inside your pants so criminals can’t grab it or cut it loose from your neck.
You’ve mentioned the Glock 19 in your prior articles. In comparison, what do you think about the Glock 23?
– Jared C
Answer: These guns are nearly identical to each other except the Glock 23 is a .40 caliber and the Glock 19 is a 9mm.
Now, there has always been the fact that the .40 provides more stopping power, which is why many people prefer the 23 to the 19.
With that being said, with the quality of ammo you can buy these days, I’m completely confident carrying a 9mm defensive round and I trust that it will stop a threat.
I know there are a lot of people who still say a .40 is better, but the Glock 19 has less recoil and it’s easier to shoot more accurately. I think both guns would be great to own and it’s important to find which one fits you best.
I live near the ocean. I assume the water filters won’t work on salt water. Any other ideas?
– Bonnie T
Answer: You are right, the majority of water filters won’t be able to remove salt from water and oftentimes, the salt would end up clogging the filter.
Unfortunately, during a survival situation, one of the only ways to desalinate water would be through distillation. There are survival distillation systems you can buy and they operate using a heat source such as a stove.
The problem with these is that the process is very slow and probably wouldn’t provide enough water for a family. For example, one survival distillation system produces about 1 quart of drinkable water each hour.
So, for a family of 4, you would need to distill water for about 16 hours each day to provide each family member with 1 gallon per a day. In other words, it wouldn’t be an easy process.
