Posted on 07/22/2012 7:04:54 AM PDT by Kaslin
I would venture to guess that the folks filing in to see the latest Batman installment in Aurora, Colorado last Thursday evening didn’t figure on over 70 of them getting shot before the credits rolled. The last count I received before filing this column was 12 dead and 59 wounded.
As the news starting pouring in about what happened in the theater this week when Satan’s spawn James Holmes donned Kevlar and a small battery of weapons and opened fire on an unsuspecting crowd, I kept thinking, “One fast-thinking and trained person who was armed/licensed with a concealed weapon could have stopped that SOB right in his tracks before the body count skyrocketed.”
Yep, the armed citizen could have either killed him, sent him running for cover, or at least diverted his fire away from the masses and toward their person. Some readers, no doubt, are saying, “Well that would be stupid. What if that citizen got shot trying to protect others?” To that I reply: Well, Dinky, if they would have been shot and killed at least they would have died a hero. Have you ever heard of the term “hero”?
The Aurora Dark Knight Massacre is exactly why I carry at least one gun everywhere I go—because crap always happens when you least expect it. That’s why, as responsible citizens and gun owners, we must always be ready and must always expect it because when it happens, it happens fast; if you’re not ready, you and others are screwed.
For instance, it’s a beautiful and quiet day on Miami Beach this morning. I’m drinking my coffee at an outdoor cafe, minding my own business while I work on this column and on my website. I don’t see any bath salt zombies on the prowl. There are no Trench Coat Mafia wannabes lurking around. There is no real foreseeable reason to carry a weapon. But I am. The reason? Well, I’m not omniscient. I’m just a dumb clunk living in a jacked-up world where med school students go bat crap crazy and shoot up normally peaceful places for inexplicable reasons. Therefore, I’m locked, cocked and ready to rock should some demented dill weed decide to strafe the local patrons sipping a cup of Joe.
For those who say, “Doug’s insane with all this concealed weapons crap. We should leave such affairs to the police,” allow me to point out that the theater was crawling with cops for the Batman opening to control the crowds. By the time the police got to the particular theater, it was all over. Blood was already running down the aisles and the gunman had already left the building. You, my friend, are your first responder … your first line of defense.
Look, stuff happens when and where you don’t think it’ll happen. My recommendation to you, the good citizen, is to get equipped with a gun—a fire-breathing dragon of a weapon. Get proficient with it. Make it like a cell phone: an additional appendage to your body. And then pray that you’ll never have to use it. However, should you be in line at the grocery store, or at Chili’s eating a burger, or at a park playing football with your homies, and some James Holmes wannabe shows up carting an arsenal and quoting Kafka as he shoots kids … you’ll be ready. Simply find cover if you can, draw your weapon, take a fine bead, and double tap the center mass of the murderous jackass. Should he or she have a bulletproof vest on then pull your sight picture up to the perp’s noggin and shoot him or her in the head; it’ll explode like a watermelon. You’ll feel bad for a nanosecond. But then the cops and families will show up and thank you for putting Jack the Ripper down. The end.
The way I understand the killer did not come in originally with weapons but went out after he got a phone call on his cell phone, and came back in through the emergency door
My S&W .38 Special has an integrated Crimson Trace laser. You might check to see what they have available for you.
Whoever DID write it is ignorant. If you own the gun then it’s your gun; if you are the gun it’s “you’re (a) gun.”
Fox News reported it, although they did not say Kevlar, but said he wore a bullet proof vest
I did read here at FR that gun sales in CO have soared.
Re ammo & weapons: I understand there were others in the theater in other/ batman costumes. One of them was getting in people’s faces and frightening them.
How did the shooter exit the theater? Still in the gas mask and with weapons? With other people?
If the police were there, why didn’t they just drop him there?
I, too, agree with your post 100%. It appears Holmes thought of a ccw person on site, hence the body protection.
“I have the same (even the same ammo) but, frankly, I don’t like it. Not enough fire power and long, long trigger pull. I’m looking at the new Springfield Armory XDs (I have a full size XDm). It’s a delicate balance finding a gun small enough to carry every where but still big enough to feel confident with.”
I would go for a head shot with the laser and not body shots. There is no doubt where a round will hit with the laser dot.
BTW, the $50 Sweet Pea trigger turned my LCP-CT into a different and much better gun. There is still a long, but smoother take up. The big difference is the smooth firing pin release. I’m sure glad a gunsmith friend installed it though.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBVnaC63pcU
Dan Oates - the Chief and lead on site has stated that Holmes had a tactical helmet, throat guard, vest, crotch guard, leggings, etc. I think he had serious body armor not Halloween party stuff..
bfl
That’s my next gun.
I got one of the first Kel-Tec P32s back when they first came out.
Since them, Ruger and S&W have done a good job of copying the basic design and producting a much better weapon. Not sure about the laser though. Don’t really like them and I would much rather have an LED light than the laser.
I have had a CHL for 17 years. I have carried almost every day. In 17 years I have never pulled or flashed my handgun. I have had no reason to.
Your opinion is one highly shared by liberals. Specifically that those who carry think they are Rambo, etc.
You should stick to speaking for yourself and not project your failings onto others.
Agreed. Check your SARC meter; it appears to be malfunctioning.
Then someone must have aided him(by opening the emergency door).
The practical scenario with an accomplice would be for that accomplice to buy a ticket, enter the theater, call James Holmes who was in his car largely already geared up, open the emergency door for him and either leave, join in the carnage or, as is so weirdly common, record it with his cell phone. I’d be very attentive to the perspective of any cell phone recordings of this that may pop up.
Would a hit on the armor from a heavy enough round or a lighter one one with high enough velocity be the equivalent of a hard body punch, or being hit with a baseball bat? In either case, could an untrained individual continue to function, or would he need a few seconds or even minutes of recovery time? Would that time perhaps save some lives?
I wish I had the answers...
“That’s my next gun.”
“I got one of the first Kel-Tec P32s back when they first came out.”
“Since them, Ruger and S&W have done a good job of copying the basic design and producting a much better weapon. Not sure about the laser though. Don’t really like them and I would much rather have an LED light than the laser.”
I have a S&W Scandium framed Gunsite edition .45 with a Crimson Trace laser. There is a huge difference in accuracy with the CT laser dot. Everybody who has shot the S&W loves the CT laser. It turns them into incredibly accurate shooters.
With both the LCP-CT and the S&W, the laser only is on when the button on the front of the grip is squeezed.
Some people think CCW is only useful in the “perfect” scenario. Those are the people who have a license but never carry. I ignore them and carry anyway.
I have a Veridian green laser on my Glock. It’s riding in a Kydex holster designed for such an arrangement.
The key is ‘foot-pounds of energy’ delivered by the round. A .45ACP 230 gr at 950 ft per sec delivers more FtPds of energy than a .22 40 grain at 1200 ft per sec. With the .22 shot placement is vital and follow up shots on target. As someone who used to practice every week with a semi auto .22 at ten yards, the gas mask would have been a big target, and even one hit in the mask, which doesn’t penetrate the skull, will slow the perps down for a follow up through an eye socket.
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