Concealed carry?

Cocked and locked....100% agree. 

 

Thanks for the laugh SVT. It was a good call. Its all good KB. Oh, As someone who deals with a fair amount of timber. I'd stay away from the weak tree and wind reasoning.

Well as a civilian that may be the plan, but I can assure you that there was seldom a month when I was a police officer in Texas that I did not have to draw a pistol on somebody to control the situation and prevent anyone from being hurt.  Now Iowa seems to be a different story but we do have a few dangerous people here also. One just is not allowed to shoot everyone who needs to be shot, so sometimes it is better to have a show of force to allow you to create distance or control the threat without having to kill someone.  Speaking as someone who has had to shoot a bad guy in the commission of a felony - there is a lot of worry and grief involved even when you are right. Do that as a civilian and you may spend all you have in attorneys fees - so unless its really clear cut like a felony in progress the better part of valor may be to avoid the conflict.  laws vary by state significantly.   The choice go go armed is a life time commitment to avoidance and de-escalation of conflict. Unfortunately situations can occur where you get sucked into a problem and have to deal with dangerous people and when you do; to survive it you must be agressive enough quickly enough. Creating distance is your friend.  

 

Pratice, Pratice, Pratice drawing from where ever you carry. Pratice drawing empty so you develope good habits of clearing yourself before bearing down on the trigger. You can't know if you will be the focus of an attacker, where suprise and quick response puts you back in control. Or if you have to come to the defense of another. I prefer concealed because it gives me the choice of when and how I respond. When I was in the gunshop it was a given that I was carrying whether It was visible or not. In that situation I expected to be the focus of an aggresor. In public I want to appear bland and unassuming. The days of being the "Big Dog" no longer appeal to me. Not saying that anyone here is projecting that.

Whatever I carry I prefer it be double action, one in the pipe hammer down. Safeties are for single actions hammer back and can get you hurt in a rush. Unless you Pratice, Pratice, Pratice.

I prefer the Beretta 357sig ( you know it Dan) and the CZ82 9X18 has really impressed me. Hornady makes defense rounds for it and they are worthy. For most women and any men who just can't or don't get to the range "often" a revolver is the most reliable choice, .38 or larger preferably. The thing I try to stress to new gun owners is the responsibility of learning their weapon. I tell them to imagine themselves being a bystander in a gun fight where one is a paniced attacker and the other is a good guy blasting away more paniced than the attacker. I've seen guys keep thier head, some freeze and others totally loose it. An armed public is ideal but, the unpraticed citizen is a potential disaster. One of my greatest concerns in combat and at home is loosing focus of whats beyond my target. I want to defeat my enemy but not at the expence of a Mom, Dad or child who happened to be there. If your gonna carry it you've got to do everything in your power to be worthy of it.

 

I prefer a hammer for pratice purposes but for pocket carry and for women I recomend hammerless to prevent snagging or hangups in a rush. Most hammerless guns are not gonna be good target guns and they do require a good bit of range time to get accustom to trigger travel and pull weight. Their most effective range is gonna be 10ft. or less and shooting from the hip. Aiming belly guns is a luxuary that most situations don't allow.

Holsters are a hard call because of personal preference. I prefer shoulder or inside the pants but honestly even they are a nusence most of the time. After being in the gunshop I am more conditioned to carrying but nothing so comfortable that I forget I have it on.

watch the movie... you'll love it... Bill Murray at his best

picking on you, of course... you are so EASY....

These guys have lived the life. I covet their experience.  

What I'm witnessing at my local range are a bunch of would be pistoleers running around shooting up mag after mag, devil may care, into a 25 yard berm at paper targets, orange clays and sometimes even balloons.

90%, are DEVOID of any proper shooting techniques, stances, accuracy or acceptable weapon handling skills...and please don't get me started on basic firearms safety, which I consider abysmal out there.   

Ya'll are HORRIBLE !!!!!!!   

IF...these range rat plinkers ever found themselves in a "Situation" and had to defend their lives with a pistol, I shudder to think about the possible outcome. Under stress, as Rancid eluded to, the first thing that goes is a persons fine motor skills. These folks I'm seeing can't properly handle a pistol at the range, let alone when everything is going South.   

Now, I freely admit that I'm a "work in progress" on my pistol shooting skills and I've got a ways to go, I've not "arrived", but I've made it a point to get the best training available to me and do try and practice my draw, reloads, sight picture, malfunction drills, etc. on a regular basis, and then shoot my pistol once a month. I wish it were more.

At the house, I draw and dry fire my G19 several times a week. Shooting skill is a perishable commodity, I once read and I firmly believe that. 

Even though I try to run gun drills often, I'm quite sure that if and when I'm faced with a life or death situation, I'll be LESS PROFICIENT in that scenario, then I am at the range or standing in my room in my underwear doing dry fire, trigger control practice.  

  

The pistol is the hardest weapon to master, in my mind. Shotgun and rifle proficiency generally comes more natural to most people. At least it did too me. It's easier to get "hits" with those 2. Probably why the worlds military's use the rifle as it's primary weapon and not a pistol. 

 

My advice to those that carry a side arm is to attend a local training class and learn the BASICS. I've been to 5 or 6 classes, some better than others, but I've always learned something. Then, attend other advanced classes and get better. 

As inept as a pistol is as a personal defense weapon, it's probably going to be the one most civilians have to go to if you are outside your house and have to defend yourself or your family. You owe it to yourself and your family to be the best you can be.  

  

EXACTLY! You made me point for me. 

Graham, I don't dismiss anybody else's experience, but if the subject is "combat", when those that have actually been there are talking, I like to be listening. 

Sparky, I didn't begin to even mention the "AR/AK crowd".....  

I wanted to pimp slap these dudes the other day that were shooting off their Saiga AK's next to me at the range.  

They blew about 2000 rounds showing each other how best to bump fire.....

This happened near Tip's neck of the woods, he may even be familiar with the area. I sure hope he carries.....

 

Different folks carry in different clothes and different situations.  Pocket carry works best with a small, flat, lightweight gun, unless you're in work clothes or uniform.  Once you go to waistband carry, a large caliber pistol or revolver is just as easy to carry as a small one.

 

I carry a Kel-Tek .32 loaded with Winchester Silvertips ALL the time.  It's small enough that I'm not even aware it's there...unless it's needed.

 

I add a Glock 23, S&W .357, or S&W .44 Mag when traveling, heading into the woods, or going to (or through) a possible trouble spot or situation.

 

One or two experiences do not make an expert.  Mind-set and training are everything.  Know your gun, practice with it, keep it clean with fresh ammunition, and be mentally prepared to do what you need to do with the weapon at hand.