Carry guns ? I have 4 different ones that I carry , a Sig P 238 in 380 , a Ruger LCR 357 that i carry loaded with warm 38 spcl wad cutters , a Charter Arms Pit Bull in 45 ACP ,and a ATI Titan also in 45 ACP . The ones I carry most because of lighter weight and conceal ability are the P238 and the LCR .just drop one in your pocket and your good to go. I have no intention of ever getting in a gun fight. I carry to cover my escape .
If you don't ever want to get in a gun fight, I'm curious how a handgun is going to help "cover my escape"? I am not throwing rocks at you, but would like to know your thinking and what scenario you have mentally worked thru to come to this conclusion. Perhaps it's a scenario I have not considered.
War story time:
When I was a police officer, my mother in law wanted me to buy her a gun because she had twice been burglarized in her Bakersfield, CA home and was fearful of another burglary when she may be at home. I commended her for her willingness to not be a victim and told her I would buy her an appropriate handgun and take her to the range to train her in the use of a firearm for self protection. When I mentioned that we would be spending some time at the range shooting, she told me that was not necessary as she didn't need any bullets. What? She said she could never shoot anybody and would just use the empty gun to "scare em"! That quickly ended our discussion. My willingness to buy her a handgun went to absolute zero.
I tell this story because in reading the very numerous posts on buying a girlfriend, wife, friend, whomever, a handgun, it seems the discussion often centers on what kind and what caliber of firearm, when the first point in the process should be a discussion of the persons willingness to kill another human being, regardless the reason. Typically, women are far less likely to assume a killing mentality or posture with a firearm than are men, especially us "gun guys". In reading the posts, perhaps that step has been taken by some and it's now time to buy and train with the gun, but I suspect that is frequently not the case. And I am not necessarily singling out women, but that was the subject of the thread, so my comments are relative to that thread. That said, ANYBODY that carries a firearm should make a determination as to what point he/she is willing to drop the hammer on somebody. Is it to protect yourself or your family from a life threatening situation? Would you use the same rational to stop an armed robbery at a retail business where you are just a customer and happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time? What if you observe a man beating a woman in the parking lot, or in a parked car? Once you draw your gun in an attempt to stop the action, you have set events in motion that you have little or no control of. Regardless of how unlawful/threatening the actions of the bad guy are, you have then put yourself in a position where you may have to take deadly action if the situation escalates and your threats are ignored by the bad guy. Having a uniformed police officer drawing a bead on the bad guy and yelling commands is far different than a private citizen in street clothes doing the same thing. You may not be perceived as much of a threat by the bad guy, even with your gun in hand and authoritatively yelling commands. Moreover, once you have taken action, even if no shots were fired when the cops arrive, the mere fact of somebody being armed creates a very high caution call for the cops, and on their arrival you're very likely going to be laying face down with your arms spread out and put in handcuffs. Your weapon will absolutely be in police custody until a determination is made on how lawful you actions were, which, depending on what state you're in and other arbitrary factors, may or may not be returned to you. If there is ANY amount of uncertainty, you're probably going for a ride in the back seat. A report will then be taken and the DA will determine if any charges are appropriate. The DA is NOT your friend and would love to file charges on you for a case that he/she feels they could easily win. You see yourself as a good citizen for stopping a crime. Their viewpoint is very likely far different. This is especially true in our current society where gun owners are demonized on a very regular basis on TV news and in the newspapers. Our media and education system have created a large segment of our society that live in absolute fear of guns and, often, of gun owners who are perceived as screw balls that want to kill things. Again, your results may vary depending on the state where you live. But, if you're in California, NY or perhaps Oregon or Washington, you're likely very screwed if you're not on extremely firm ground as a result of your actions taken.
I am a gun guy (should be obvious by being on this site) and extremely pro 2A and I carry. But, I was a cop for many years and have somewhat of an understanding of the "system" and offer these comments for whatever they are worth to the reader.
. Much cleaner break and little over travel.
