I was going around ATC Mall this afternoon with my daughter and came across this ad from Ace Hardware for their baby bats which they are selling and marketing as a defensive weapon. It’s much smaller than your regular baseball bat. What caught my attention was the “NO GUN” sign which they used as their marketing ploy. If we will look at the ad at face value it seems that they are trying to convince consumers that using a bat is a better alternative to using a gun for self-defense. I don’t know about you, but when my life is at stake, I simply prefer to use a gun to protect myself and my loved ones; it is efficient and effective, period! The idea of bashing a person’s skull with a bat (ala Al Capone in the untouchables) simply does not appeal to me; it’s just too messy. Plus, using a bat to beat someone to death, even in self-defense, simply might not sit well with the judge; you might come off as a deranged violent psycopath.
On a positive note, the bat they’re selling is very affordable, it goes for less than P400.00 and it looks very sturdy. It’s made of hard steel metal alloy but is very light. Overall, I give this product two thumbs up, although, I am not a fan of bashing criminals to death, I highly recommend it for those who wish to deal with criminals the old fashion way; I don’t think a little barbarism in dealing with criminals is inappropriate, in fact, I would say it’s well deserved, hehehe!
I’m sure it would make the current Chief PNP very happy if we all decided to give up our guns and just decide to carry this product. But then again, he might move to reclassify it as a firearm and would require people to register it and have it licensed. After that, he will refuse to issue us permits to carry our bats around rendering it useless; just like our guns.
Well, what can I say, morons will be morons, unfortunately, there is no cure for stupidity.
Hmm..A baseball bat should be used for its intended purpose which is for baseball games – or at least it should be. It is not a weapon. If it is used as a weapon, it’s not defensive. It’s an offensive tool. It can kill. For Ace hardware to sell and even suggest that a baseball bat should be used against another human being, is in my opinion inapropriate.
Happy ang mga anti-gun nito….it’s a 25 inch hard steel metal alloy vs 230grn bullet…WoW!…a 25 inch metal alloy is more humane to kill than a 230grn bullet…I could see now in court!
Judge: Why do you use a bat to kill the person?
Defendant: Because I don’t have a gun that I could use…
IMHO…just bloody messy!
Hehe! Gunwriter Masaad Ayoob wrote in his book that when a PR-24 police baton is jabbed hard into the guts of a criminal, you are actually generating 2000+ ft lbs of energy as opposed to about 100 ft lbs for a .25 caliber bullet. The BIG DIFFERENCE is that with the baton, you will not make a HOLE in the person. That’s for purposes of court liability. BUT the effect will be that the criminal will blow his bowels and guts out.
I am handling an actual case for HOMICIDE right now before the Regional Trial Court of Quezon City. A group of youths had a rumble. None of them were armed with anything other than their fists and feet. As it turned out, one of them had a brass knuckle wrapped in his fist. As he punched the victim, his forehead shattered creating a head injury that caused the victim to go comatose and eventually die a few days later. The lesson here is that even blunt impact weapons, if hit hard enough to vital parts like the head, can kill just the same as a gun.
Since the youths used fists and feet, I think we should follow anti-gun logic and now call for a ban on limbs, or at least registration and licensing. The bigger your fingers and toes, the higher the fee. Maybe there should be a rule on only one long and one short too!
Haha! Believe it or not, just for informational purposes, CA and NY ban PR-24 type batons and nunchuks. YET, guns are legal to carry in most States. Hehe!
Perhaps this is just the result of a poorly executed design. It could be that they’re just saying: “Since there’s a gun ban, use a bat!” In any case, I think that this kind of instrument has its place in your toolkit.
There is a saying that if all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a nail. While a firearm would be the preferred tool for self-defense, it is not the ideal solution to every situation. I think that part of being a responsible gun-owner is to recognise this.
For example, if you are in a crowded environment where there is no safe backstop, it would be grossly irresponsible to fire your weapon; the likelihood of hitting an innocent bystander would be extremely high. Sometimes, if set upon at close quarters in a tight space, presenting firearm could be more of a liability, while a knife may be the better tool.
I for one think that we should applaud ACE for selling these babybats. They are ideal for keeping in the car or in your home as one possible option out of many. Other tools include pepper-spray, a knife and a telescopic baton.
Wow!! How could they hit a 5 meter away armed criminal with gun pointing with just a bat? Having this bat may be better than nothing in hand, but it should be the BEST (gun)and not just enough for my family’s safety.