twisted... (love the moniker)
First and foremost... Welcome to THR.
Second... life's interesting at times and ya get the bitter with the sweet.
Third... KC Kansas is beautiful country with great people for the most part and CZ USA is located in your neck of the woods.
You've got the Winnie 12 ga. for the house... cool
You say you want a handgun and in fact ya actually bought a pretty good little peashooter, now you want a little bigger one... that's understandable. 'Twere it me, I'd want a couple, just for practice mind you.
My dear old Daddy always said, "You never need a pistol till you need one real bad" followed by "I'd rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it"... but it sounds like you learned that one on your own, so that's good. (kinda)
You've been given sound advice so far, ranging from less than lethal tools, new to used, revolver to semi-auto, 9MM to .45 acp and practice practice practice, so I won't go there (maybe) yet.
As to the carry thing... The bar scene thing... don't carry, leave. Watch out who ya hang with cause booze and females and their cavemen types can be, well, you obviously know. While driving or in car... yeah, car-jackings and hiwaymen do exist, so keep something near you when in car.
Home... 12 ga. beats everything else.
Ya got the peashooter for carry when out and about, so you don't really need anything more except the mindset thing.
MINDSET Thing... You never go out with evil intent, you go out expecting to get back home to family, home or work... to live your life. Keep your eyes and ears open to things the Just Dont Look Right (JDLR) and see them before anyone else does, then leave or get all "Snaky Eyed" if you can't leave (line from the movie Little Big Man). You never shoot to KILL, you shoot to LIVE. Memorize that along with the four Firearm Safety Rules till it is ingrained in your psyche/subconcious. You shoot to stop lethal force, repeat, LETHAL FORCE being used against you. Once the lethal threat has stopped, you stop.
Take a handgun safety class and go take a CCW class across the border in MO. Should you ever need to use your peashooter in a "DEFENSIVE" situation you can then show that you have some training and know the laws concerning use of and proper application of force when you get to court. Whatever you carry and use in your defensive situation will become evidence and it will be gone, taken from you, leaving you with zilch to have and hold until death do you part... unless you've got another something waiting for you back home or at brother's house.
sigh
Such is life. Bitter and sweet.
Whereabouts in KCK? Wyandotte, Overland Park, Olathe, Lenexa or downtown KCK? (Ya don't gotta answer that) Some parts as you know, are better than others in terms of your neighborhood situational awareness requirement, but bad things (and guys) seem to have a way to crop up anywhere nowadays, so keep your eyes and ears open.
I'd never suggest breaking the law by telling one to carry concealed when the law says NO... but always remember that "Concealed Means Concealed".
May I be so bold as to make another suggestion? See if the KCK Police Dept offers a "Citizens Police Academy Class". If they do, sign up for it. Its a hoot. You will then be a little more knowledgable and might make some new friends on the force (always a good thing... tho' most Cops are clannish in terms of real friends), you might get to shoot at their range, do a ride along, etc. The LV Metro Dept has one and I took the class years ago. The Alumni Assoc has annual competitions with the dept where we can compete against them at their range, help with Shop with a Cop at Christmas time, etc. Certified Good Guy in another manner.
I bought my CZ83 (.380) for $239, my CZ75 for $339, a used S&W Model 10 for $175. Cruise the Pawn Shops as well. Carry some cash and look around the end of each month and maybe you'll fall into a good deal on a slightly used something or other. You might find a used Ruger 85/89 cheap or an older Security/Service Six. Great tools. Help ya sleep at night.
After the little gun acquisitions settle down, look into old milsurps and find a friend with a farm, willya? Makes shootin much more fun.
Once again welcome. Didn't mean to be so wordy... well maybe just a little.
Twistedgimp... kinda like a 21st century Hopalong, ain't it?
when you pull the trigger. There are 5 rounds in it and you're gonna get your 5. With an automatic, you're only guarenteed 1. If you are in a stressful situation, and your gun fails to feed (FTF) and jams, knowing what to do without thinking is what will save your life. This reaction comes with expierence and knowledge and patience. You have to put the time in to get to this point of familiarity with a automatic. For the novice hand gun owner, it's a no brainer. Find a good wheel gun.
