Onion Field Insurance

On the night of March 9, 1963, LAPD officers Ian Campbell (age 31) and Karl Hettinger (age 28), both former Marines, were riding in an unmarked car. They pulled over a 1946 Ford coupe containing two suspicious-looking men at the corner of Carlos Avenue and Gower Street in Hollywood. The two men, Gregory Ulas Powell (age 30) and Jimmy Lee Smith (a.k.a. "Jimmy Youngblood", age 32), had recently committed a string of robberies, and "each had a pistol tucked into his trousers." Powell, the driver, pulled a gun on Campbell, who "calmly told his partner, 'He has a gun in my back. Give him your gun." The two officers were then forced into Powell's car and, were driven north from Los Angeles on Route 99, to an onion field near Bakersfield, where Campbell was fatally shot. Hettinger was able to escape, running nearly four miles to reach a farmhouse.

Today, many businesses and organizations are concerned with the possibility of an "active shooter". Current advice when faced with an active shooter is "Run, Hide, Fight". But, fight with what? The potential victims of an active shooter are often prohibited from being armed, and thus having a means to fight back. Ill-conceived workplace policies, laws, and regulations take away our right to self-defense and give a distinct advantage to violent criminals - who don’t care about "gun free zones".

So, if you can, be armed always. Yes... I know. But consider the implications. Of those who died facing an armed attack, how many would have willingly disobeyed unconscionable laws, policies, and regulations in order to stay alive? 

According to U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics data, having a gun and being able to use it in a defensive situation is the most effective means of avoiding injury (more so even than offering no resistance) and thwarting completion of a robbery, assault, or other violent attack. In general, resisting violent crime is far more likely to help than to hurt, and this is especially true if your attacker attempts to take you hostage...

Called "onion field insurance" by some in reference to the 1963 murder of Officer Campbell; small, hideout guns provide that last chance at survival when you are taken hostage and faced with a violent assailant intent on killing you. These small hideout guns are much smaller than a service pistol, or even your back-up gun (which is often just a compact version of your service pistol). Hideout guns are very small and can be deeply concealed so as to avoid detection, even during a cursory search. The hideout gun might be the gun you carry when you are "not carrying a gun". The hideout gun, your "onion field insurance" is also there to save your life if you are somehow disarmed of your primary weapon. Small in size, usually of a small caliber, the hideout gun is going to be limited in effective range from about arm’s length to maybe across a large room. But if you are being forced to walk out into a dark field some night, or are trapped in your office while an active shooter is breaking through the door - that little hideout gun can be the difference life and death.

One of the smallest and most easily concealed hideout guns is the North American Arms Pug, chambered in .22 magnum. This micro-revolver is easily concealed in a pocket, or clipped inside your waistband.

Moving up a little in size, we have the Ruger LCP-II in .380 Auto. This compact pistol (5.17" long and 3.71" tall) is also easily concealed and gives you 7 rounds (6+1) should the need arise.

And the Kahr Arms CW380 (4.96" long and 3.9" tall).

Just slightly larger than the LCP-II and Kahr CW380 is the Glock 42 (5.94" long and 4.13" tall), also in .380 Auto.

The Diamond Back DB9 is a 9x19mm pistol, in the same size range as the LCP-II, Kahr CW380, and Glock 42. Holding 6+1 rounds, the DB9 pistol gives you the advantage of the increased power of 9mm cartridge, while still maintaining a compact pistol design.  

All of these little hideout guns (and others like them), have the advantage of being easily concealed. But they suffer the disadvantages of lack of power, reduced accuracy, and limited magazine capacity. As you do with your service pistol and back-up gun, you must practice with your hideout gun as well. Consider the LEOSA Basic Covert Carry / Off-Duty Proficiency Qualification Course as a standard for your hideout gun. With the Glock 42 this course might offer little challenge, but with the NAA Pug this course becomes much more problematic. Still, we must balance the ability to conceal our hideout guns against our ability to use them effectively to protect ourselves against a violent attacker.

You will also want to choose the best performing ammunition available for your hideout gun. The first and most important consideration is that it feed flawlessly. And, of course, you want to carry the best defensive ammo that you can get. My personal choice is  Lehigh Defense 380 Auto 65gr Xtreme Defense Ammunition.

As with most insurance, you hope that you won't need it - and you may never need it; but if the day comes when you do... ???