Gun Class

I got my Texas carry permit the first year I moved here. I carry a Tuarus PT145 or the Kel-Tec 380 depending on the clothes I am wearing. I also
have a Taurus 45/410 Judge concealed in my vehicles loaded with 6 shot.
I hope I never have to shoot any one but I will not hesitate to protect my family or myself. Take a look at the Taurus web site for some video of
The Judge 45/410.

Yep, I remember that - city ordinance to have a loaded firearm on the premises - I think it was a $10 fine if you didn't, but to my knowledge that's never been enforced. The TV show "60 Minutes" even did a piece on that & one guy laughed about it - folks here have always been armed - just now the whole country knows about it. But guess what? The criminals from Atlanta don't come out here .....

But why? I don't know anyone in Talladega County who got one, but I sure know a lot of folks who are armed - that's where I lived before I moved to North Carolina & where my son lives. Breaking into a house in Talladega Co. would not be a wise thing to do. Nor would it be up here.

With respect to the earlier comments:

I won't even go to NYC & yes, I have been there several times. One reason I won't go there anymore is the insane restrictions on firearms & yes, every time I was there I had one. I don't go anywhere without a firearm & if the local laws are too crazy, I just don't go there.

Same in N.C., but no permit for me & there's no permit required if you don't conceal the weapon. A pistol in a holster on your belt out where everyone can see it is a very good "deterrent factor" & as I said, odds are you'll never have to use it.

It must be the training from my Dad & the USMC - "gun" is not the proper word to use - "firearm" or "weapon" is & what some call a "handgun" I call a "pistol", etc. Don't get sucked into names the "news media" created like "assault rifle" - there is no such thing - a rifle never attacked anyone.

Sounds like the South is armed to the teeth and maybe the North is unarmed???? Restrictions on firearms???..... Should we start another war!!!!! JUST KIDDING....Done kicked our a&s one time!!:rant: Maybe not while Abe is President

Like I said before in another post, I like my short stroke 12 ga for home defense.....most people recognize that sound when one is chambered up, and I don't think even criminals are THAT stupid to keep coming after hearing that. And, if they are, well....what can I say? I looked today at a few pistols but there ain't much available today. There are alot of Sig Sauer available, a few Taurus and only 1 or 2 Glocks, neither of which my mags will fit. I'm going to check another dealer tomorrow, and if that doesn't pan out then I will head to Cabelas I guess. I'm open to any kind as long as it fits my hand well and is smooth. I will post again with an update tomorrow....

Too slow Mine already have a round chambered & the only sound before "boom" will be the "click" of the safety. Thank God I've never had to shoot anyone & that just seeing the weapon was enough. No problems where I live now, but I have lived in big cities where my "argument ender" stopped an attack before it started.

FLHTbiker sez:

LOL !!! I'm certainly not "politically correct" either, but if I'd called a firearm a "gun" when my Dad taught me about them or when I was in the USMC, I'd have been yelled at for hours !! Do 50 pushups, etc. :roflmao: This is a rifle, son - this is a revolver, etc. - take it apart & put it back together. OK, there is such a thing as a "shotgun" but it's still not a "gun". That's a generic term the "news media" uses. Do you have any "guns" Art? Nope. Do you have any firearms? Yep. And no I won't say exactly what type or where they are

Well, I picked up a little Bersa .380. It's something that the wife can handle as well, and it's not too small for my hand either. I looked at the beretta 92F, nice piece by the way. It's really smooth and well made, but I couldn't swing the $$. I will try to post a pic in a few, if i can remember how....

well, here it is.

Anybody here from the midwest?

short story

firearms,,,one nite wife is yelling lungs out ,,she been outside,,,door flys open ,,bast(((((s are in back yard,,,i run for door with pistol,,,from bedroom,,,chase the little shiiiiits ,,over fence down street,,,accross town,,,and catch three of them in open field,,,, they are yellling about how they will kik my assss,,,, then i chamber round,,,silence,,, so i told them what may have happened to them ,,,,recognise two of them as boys i had coached in football,,,, told them to tell their daddys to come down and see me,,,did not happen,,, a girl had been with them when in the yard,,,my wife called 911 ,,unbeknoenced to me,,, the girl is screaming what kind of jerk we are,,,the police have arrived and she commenced to beride them,,, she is in the brush down by river,,,cant see her,,,probably was inriver wading as only way to get from my house to hers,,,, so now i go thru my yard and am tryiong to get an angle on her,,,i am behind house,,,, i hear,,,now this is bad ,,,because police have been at my house for me enough times they kno my wife and i first names,,,, so i hear,,,DARLENE PUT THE GUN DOWN,,, crap what is she looking at,,,,ME????,,,in the dark ,,,, damn cop is yelling at her to put it down,,,i did not kno she kept one in the kitchen,,,, first yelll i made was like a dog been kiked in his gonads,,,, cop yelling on other side of house ,,,girl in river screaming,,,me ,,,finally can say my name,,,, everyone of us with guns out,,, so i catch site of cop and he is white as can be,,,, tells me to tell dar to put gun down,,,, I WANT THAT TOO,,,,, she lays it down ,,,cop asks ifit loaded,,,i jack shell out of chamber ,,,he tells her not to do that ,,,WRONG THIN TO SAY,,,he learns what a dim asss he is,,,, than tells her dont shoot unless they get in house,,,WRONG AGAIN,,,was informed by her if they are in the yard they are hers,,, his voice is still shaking so he tells me to come out to driveway so he can talk to me,,,only thin he made clear was,,,police WILL come when called ,,,and they will yell when they get out of car,,,, and i have been shot,,,and i have shot ,,,,pops

You guys can have all those 380s you like. I personally carry a Kimber Ultra Carry .45 acp. You gotta love those great big holes they make. It's also small enough to easily conceal.

Did a lot of research before I bought my carry gun. I carry a Springfield XD-40sub-compact. Easy to conceal and nice to shoot. I looked at the Glock and S&W, I have large hands and the grips were to small for me, to thin for my hand. Michigan CPL is good in 36 states.

.380 is a great pocket pistol round. Only issue with them is the hollowpoints mentioned. We (class instructors) normally suggest FMJ on anything smaller than 9mm due to penetration issues. A .380 HP against T-shirt/hide will make for a real nasty hole, but the smaller HP rounds (especially high speed) have a tendancy to expand early against heavier layers of clothing. Say a leather riding jacket, carhart, several layers, or even bulky winter coats.

Most times the style of firearm will make more difference than caliber. I am not an advocate of brandishing but in a lot of cases that is all that is required. Many a big bad man will step down when viewing the business end of a shiny piece. Along with this caliber also makes a difference, although I find a .22 quite large enough when looking at the muzzle to change my mind on many topics.

As for the folks with the great big car stopper rounds, the issue of over penetration must be taken into account. When you pull the trigger releasing that slug into the air you are going to be held accountable for all it does until it comes to rest. You bust a cap in bad guy A's rear, round goes through bad guy A and strikes Joe Citizen and you will find yourself in the midst of a mighty big civil and criminal lawsuit. Lord help you if Joe croaks too, now you are looking at real prison time. That is the reason I have a 12ga shotgun for the house. I told my neighbors it was for them, I didn't want my AK poking holes through their houses and maybe them too. Amazing what #4 shot will do to a body at close range (ie in a house).

Phsyc reasons on choice of firearms is good too. Yes as men we love our mean looking highpower machinegun Mike looking toys. However, always keep in mind what a prosecuting attorney will do with it in a court room. If he holds up a normal looking duck gun and factory loaded hunting rounds a jury isn't as shocked as if he holds up a 18.5" barrel side folder with flashlight and bayonet mount. If he holds up a nickle 38 revolver verses the Black Glock military looking weapon.

Also NEVER refer to your firearm as a weapon. Three people have weapons in Joe Citizen's (read here as Jury) mind. Those are Police, Military, and Bad Guys. If you are not police or military then you must be a bad guy, not a good title to have as a defendant. As a citizen we have a (I hate saying this uke: ) a Gun, a firearm, a pistol, a rifle, a shotgun but we NEVER have a weapon.

Part 2

Although I have many toys that are quite tactical looking, for now that is all they are Big Boy TOYS that I enjoy killing paper with. Anytime I am in search of a carry pistol I reverse enginer it. I start in the courtroom and bring it back to the store. My favorite carry right now is my wife's lady smith 38Spl. It's a girly gun (unless you get hit with it) to most and no "bad guy" would be caught dead with such unless he just stole it. It is pretty, it is accurate inside the legal 21 foot mark, it is small, relatively light weight and the 38spl will put a good punch on something inside that magic 21. Recoil is light and I can keep all 5 in a chest size target at a pretty fast rate.

With a revolver it is best to chose one with an enclosed hammer or hammerless. Two points, first the hammer spur don't get caught up in clothing on a quick drawl. Second if it doesn't have a hammer you can **** then it removes the question of did you **** the revolver? Never **** a revolver first shot agains a human target. Theory here although messed up like many pertaining to firearms is that if you had time to **** it you had time to do something else or it was a deliberate shooting (well no kidding I pulled aimed and squeezed I haven't accidentally shot anyone in YEARS ok ever). I realize this is a bogus assumption, but in a courtroom an attorney can have a field day with this little fact. CYA guys.

Prepare for the worst while praying for the best. I view a carry pistol like an insurance policy, I pray the money I spend on it is wasted and I never need it. The best weapons anyone can have is a solid mindset and kean sense of situational awareness. With those two working together the fight or flight response really never gets to critical.

Part 3

Also don't forget to practice practice practice. Just like riding a motorcycle, shooting only improves as you do it. Don't just practice a steady rest, time taking shot either. Spend the money on some of the better classes out there and learn to use your carry in the methods you are buying it for. You pay the money for the MRF riding classes to learn to use your bike better, it is the same idea. Stress REALLY affects one's ability to drawl and hit anything. Getting into timed competition shoots is also a good way to increase your stress shooting skills. Heck if all else fails do jumping jacks, or run, look at naked girls whatever to get your breathing and heart rate up before you shoot. Remember your accuracy is going a long way in helping you be responsible for that slug until gravity and friction take over completely. Shoot from weak side a lot as well. You never know when the right hand won't work like it should (or left for you south paws).

There is a lot more to it than just picking out something that will fit in your pocket easy. Give it all thought, and then think it through again and again before you settle for one piece. It may make the difference in living or dieing someday.

Sorry about the book here, but this is a topic I truly love. Stay safe.