The 686 is a sporting revolver. - not really intended to protect.
However - I know the history in UK and elsewhere. - Again this is a topic of ideology and politics.
No matter. A firearm by itself is nothing bu
t " sometimes shiny" steel , (Quoted from Steve Lee I like Guns),
wood and eventually polymer.
Most people see guns only in TV, and think it is sometimes magic or yes used to shoot at humans.
This is what press reports, certain gun control promoters are try to plant in human brain - etc.
However - it is a personal decision. - A gun does only what the person that controls the trigger is commanding.
So, as long as, a person is sane, no criminal record, knows how to handle a firearm, put it in a safe storage when unattended - there should be no problem with any firearm.
And - indeed - I never thought about firearms in relation to self protection. - It was always fun, exactness, speed (e.g when clay shooting), body motion control and of course acquisition of food and pest control such as racoons.
Denial of firearms to citizen by a government is mostly about control. Only a dictatorship denies general possession of firearms. So called democratic governments that deny firearms are an illusion of demo - crazy but in reality.
However, I was wondering myself why your comment on punching people - is it that unsafe where you live?
In past 40 years 2 times I got a knife pointed at me. - The first person was sent to concrete immediately .. the second gave up by contact with a large Walther torch on his wrist.
In July 1994 I was in Dillons Book Store on High Street Kensington while in front of Israeli Embassy almost next door a car bomb detonated. (No gun could help there)
Just went off as fast as I could and went to a pub (The Kings Head in Bayswater) and had a decent pint to settle down my mind.
In 1996 in Salt Lake I was refueling my car at an AM/PM gas station .. Some guy tried to relief me from my Visa card by wielding some gun at me. The operator .. however resolved this with a Baseball bat.. The guy fled. Don't you dare attacking my customers. Shit happens. In all cases the problem was resolved within seconds. The adrenaline lasted a bit longer.
Perhaps this is some gadget you would like..
up to 50,000 mW nice n'warm at the point. Class 3A
This is something I put in my emergency kit.
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