Vanity - What Type of Hangun Would You/Do You Own For Personal Protection?

Vanity Question | January 31, 2004 | GreatOne

[GreatOne]

I am a prosecutor in a small, rural area. My state has a conceal and carry law. I recently convicted a person who has subsequently made veiled threats against me. Nothing specific enough to charge him with assault or terroristic threats, but enough to take note. He has a drug (meth) background, and is in the process of being civilly committed for his overdosing and engagin in violent behavior after the conviction (misdemeanor charge, requiring him to do 90 days in jail starting in February).

So, I am now seriously thinking about obtaining a handgun. What type of handgun would anyone out there recommend? I have a family with small kids, so would obviously keep this unloaded and up high when at home.

Your suggestions are appreciated.

[the gillman@blacklagoon.com]

Re; kid training.

That's exactly what I did. Learned it from my dad when I was tiny.

[Shooter 2.5]

Too bad we don't know where he lives. We could direct him to a shool.

Jeff Cooper isn't getting any younger. Since he's a prosecutor, he should have enough money to attend a week course. The only problem is he would be leaving his family and home behind. If he doesn't mind having his home wrecked by someone, he could send the kids to Disneyland and the wife and he could attend Gunsite.

[Shooter 2.5]

This must be the Anti-Super Bowl thread.

[Dan from Michigan]

For home defense, I recommend a shotgun. 12 gauge.

For pistols, I recommend going the 'try and buy' since it's different for each person. I like my 1911 .45 ACP, but that's just me.

[Dan from Michigan]

legally is clunking each other over the heads with empty Guinnes bottles

Glad they are empty. :)

and slapping each other in the face with freshly caught bass or Salmon

That's illegal in San Diego....

[MonroeDNA]

Thanks for the ping, and I agree with you about not divulging personal firearms to anyone but our closest folks.

If you are not used to shooting, get a revolver, a .38 special.

[El Gato]

I'm just one step above wuss. But then, I got it in trade for a TV set. It's a .38 cal S&W revolver

Nothing wussy about a .38 special. Cops used to carry them almost exclusively. With right ammo, they'll do fine. Some kind of modern (or not so modern) hollow point, perhaps +P for your carry loads, and you should be good to go.

'Course I like big bullets, designed to stop drugged up Muslim fanatics, (.45 ACP) myself, then I ice the cake by using the aforementioned hollow points.

[GreatOne]

I want to thank each of you for your thoughtful responses. I think that I will definitely take the lessons first to try out different guns before buying. Also sounds like it's best to keep it loaded at all times (probably a liberal myth I picked up).

The reason why I haven't spoken with my local law enforcement officers is that as the proseuctor in my area, I don't want to make it seem like I am overreacting/acting rashly. This guyI'm a little concerned about really went wacko after his conviction, and one of the cops said that it was the only time as a police officer that he's been afraid. His probation officer, after getting yelled at by him said the same thing. So, while this guy was blathering on about his friends in Hell's Angels, Crips, Bloods, Vice Lords, etc., which says "all talk no action", the fact that he scared them and asked the cops if I wore a bulletproof vest (like he has) makes me think that it's no time to be a macho s---head about things.

This guy is ticked off because he doesn't want to do any jail time, and has always gotten out of jail time previously by doing undercover drug buys. This time (his 6th Driving After Revocation - he hasn't had a driver's license since 1994), we said no deals, and the judge said he's doing 90 days, period. I'm also going to prosecute him for doing contract work without a license, and disorderly conduct for his behavior. Hopefully convictions on all of these will be enough to trigger a parole violation. It may be jumping on him with both feet, but he's making it very easy to do.

Thanks again for your help.

[ought-six]

"Done. I would advise all concerned, however, not to divulge any personal details of what they might individually own on a public forum such as this."

Good advice. If you are in a jurisdiction that has few or no unconstitutional restrictions on your RKBA, that's one thing, and posting a description of one of your guns (i.e., make and model) is not that big of a deal (since the government already has that info if you purchased the gun legally). If you are in a jurisdiction that infringes on your RKBA, then mum's the word (5th Amendment and all that, you know).

[ironman]

That Tarus .38 Ultra-Lite is tough on the hands when shooting +p rounds but still is a very sweet concealed carry choice for smaller persons. Along with a .357 w/ 4-in barrel and a Mossberg 500, then you got your bases pretty well covered.

[Mulder]

This guyI'm a little concerned about really went wacko after his conviction, and one of the cops said that it was the only time as a police officer that he's been afraid

In your line of work, not only do you have to worry about the cons you put away and eventually get out, but their friends, family members, and gang associates.

It's likely that eventually you'll run into one of them while you are out in public minding your own business.

That's just one more reason to carry 100% of the time.

[HairOfTheDog]

make it seem like I am overreacting/acting rashly. This guyI'm a little concerned about really went wacko after his conviction

Getting a gun because of one threat and imagining only in that situation does make it sound like rash, or at least, reactive without seeing the big picture. I wouldn't describe it to them that way.

Becoming armed is a lifestyle choice. You will realize that the first time you dress with it on and think through new perspective. It changes you, but not in the way you might expect. Shoot at lots of targets until you are skilled with the tool, but most important, think through LOTS of situations and scenarios until you have developed a philosophy and a strategy for its use that is ~reasoned~.

My .02 cents. :~D

[LibKill]

If you don't know much about handguns, get a .38 revolver.

Easy to use, hard to shoot yourself in the foot with.

[in the Arena]

Speaking of Cooper, I just found this quote of his...

'Back when we audited the FBI academy in 1947, I was told that I ought not to use my pistol in their training program because it was not fair. Maybe the first thing one should demand of his sidearm is that it be unfair'.

[Shooter 2.5]

Now that I understand the situation a little more I think I can give a little more advice. You don't have to explain everything to the officers. If you know of one who is a very good shot, you could ask him for advice. In fact, make it known that you want to learn to shoot. You don't have to explain why. Let them guess as to the reason. If you do have to kill the bad guy, it may help.

When you get the gun, do get some concealed carry training. Gunsite, Thunder Ranch and Massod Ayoob's training courses are excellent. You're looking for combat pistol training. You aren't looking to shoot bambi or bunnies.

Jeff Cooper is the head of Gunsite. He taught me. I wish he had taught me when I first picked up a pistol. Luckily, I learned to keep my mouth shut in the class and I learned a lot. After taking his class, you should be able to draw, fire and hit the vitals on a person across a room from a concealed position in less than two seconds. That's not very fast. It is fast when you break that down to a eight inch target from concealed.

If you choose to teach yourself once you buy the gun, figure on shooting as much as some people watch tv for the first couple of months. That means a lot of ammo and you will raise blisters. I have had a lump on the web of my hand for as long as I remember.

IF you need added help, let us know what state you're in and we can help. I've taken one freeper to my lease and we had a good time.

[Shooter 2.5]

The only gun I can think of that would be unfair would be a belt fed from a hardened positon or a Barrett at 1500 yards.

One the things I never had liked about Cooper was his habit of say, "we" when I thought he meant "me". After I started to go to the lease with a large group of people, I noticed I was saying the same thing. I never went to the lease. It was alway, we went to the lease. It also turned out where it wasn't just my idea to do something. It started to be a think tank of ideas rolling around as far as what we could dream up that day.

We started to try out the JFK final shot on Melons, shoot gangster sideways style[Right handers shoot low and to the left] shooting windshields, plastic, bowling pins, furniture, telephone books and steel.

We've seen everything from mouse guns shooting at 65 yards away to trying to use a 454 Casull, standing position both hands at 400 yards on a welding tank[hit after three reloads, most of the misses were within a foot].

[blackie]

Right ~ an unloaded handgun isn't as useful as a claw hammer in a fight. :)

Keep em locked (not locked up) and loaded!

The Second Amendment ~~
America's Original Homeland Security!

[Lazamataz]

terroristic threats

Yer in Georgia.

Georgia is the only state I have ever seen where the legal term 'assault' is replaced with the more menacing-sounding 'terroristic threats'.

[Lazamataz]

BTW, I am an NRA certified instructer in Personal Safety and Basic Pistol.

[Lazamataz]

So freepmail me if you want instruction. There's a lot more to being safe then selecting a good pistol.