WE GO ARMED

The Facts ^ | 1-4-03 | Allison Pollan

[buffyt]

Looks like we have BRAGGING RIGHTS here.

"Brazoria, Galveston and Montgomery counties are among areas in Texas with highest gun ownership per capita."

[buffyt]

ping bang ping

[xm177e2]

If he really loved and trusted his wife, he would have given her a .45.

[Citizen Tom Paine]

A rapists worst nightmare, An armed woman.

[Free the USA]

http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/bump-list

[wimpycat]

I took a handgun course a couple of years ago. Before this class I had fired a handgun only once in my life. The gun I used was a 9mm. After the classroom portion we went in and fired at targets. My very first shot was the best one, right in the middle of the chest area. Then we fired one round at a time at our own pace and I wasn't bad, but I was slow. But after that we were supposed to fire several shots in a row and then after that fire six shots in quick succession, and I really sucked, I mean big time. My last shots didn't hit anywhere in the body area. (The target was shaped like a person.) The report and recoil were much more than I expected and I started anticipating and flinching. Plus my arms and shoulders started getting tired.

[babyface00]

This gives me an idea. What if, outside every town/city, in addition to the "Welcome to wherever" sign, it was mandatory that the town/city post:

Total adult population
Total concealed carry permits

If gun control is such a great way to reduce crime, then cities practicing it should have no problem reinforcing the fact that their citizens are disarmed.

Cities with concealed carry can get a little extra "bang for their buck" by making the stats public.

Surely Sarah Brady should have no objection to this...

[buffyt]

I LIKE it!!!! I will tell Gary Broaddus about that idea! My husband took me out to shoot our shotgun once, and I about fell backwards. Our sons know how to shoot.

[LibKill]

Your problems with recoil indicate that you may have not done much shooting with handguns. If this is the case, start small. Shoot a .22 until you get good with it, then move up to a .380 or .38 special with moderate loads. And so on up the power scale. Have a more experienced friend coach you on grip, sighting etc.

If you work at it, you can even enjoy shooting full power .44 magnum loads.

[muir_redwoods]

A rapist real worst nightmare: Arriving in prison after the armed woman gave him a .45 cal vasectomy.

[Ben Bolt]

Mr. Kozak is a good husband bump .

[wimpycat]

Yes, I came to the same conclusion. The lady in my class who did the best was using a .22 revolver and I was wishing the whole time I was using a .22, too. Hers was like a cap gun compared to mine.

Part of my trouble is that I think my ears are particularly sensitive to sudden, loud noises. Balloons popping, cars backfiring, etc. startle me and make me flinch, even when the noise is expected.

The problems with recoil are, as you say, a matter of practice and starting small.

[El Gato]

If he really loved and trusted his wife, he would have given her a .45.

T'would have been better. But he was probably worried about recoil. Remember she had never shot a gun before in her life, and the .380 is adequate if provided with the proper ammunition. However a nice compact polymer framed .45 with a ported barrel would have been a better choice. Maybe even a .40 S&W. I've got a witness polymer compact in .45 ACP with the ported barrel, and it generates less felt recoil than old slabsides (1911A1) even though it weighs about 2/3 as much. A glock or other type without a exposed hammer might be a better choice for a neophyte though.

[LibKill]

You mentioned noise. Invest in good ear-plugs AND ear-muffs. Believe me, they help. If you ever have to use your weapon for real you won't need the hearing protection as you will be too busy to care about noise.

I am half-deaf from shooting with no hearing protection when I was a kid. I just didn't know that gunfire could hurt your hearing.

[El Gato]

My husband took me out to shoot our shotgun once, and I about fell backwards.

You where probably standing too straight, not leaning forward into the shot, maybe even leaning back a little. This happens with a shotgun that doesn't fit properly. Unless you and your husband are near the same size, mostly in terms of arm length, it would probably be best to have his and hers shotguns rather than "ours". If you must have only one, have it adjusted to fit you, as too short is easier to adjust to than too long, especially in a home defense type sitituation as opposed to shooting fast moving aerial targets.

[punster]

"If he really loved and trusted his wife, he would have given her a .45."

The only problem is for some women, a .45 is just too big around the grip frame for proper grasping. Also, a .45 is a difficult gun for most people to learning to shoot.

My opinion is: a .22 LR handgun is the best gun for learning to shoot. Then, I would consider stepping up to a center-fire handgun for a defensive gun. My own preference is for a 9mm or .40 caliber chambered Glock (provided that thorough safety training is given). The 9mm frame handguns fit my hands better than the .45 caliber handguns.

A word of caution, the 9mm handguns must be loaded with a good quality defensive load, such as Cor-Bon, instead of the economy grade ammunition loaded with full metal jacket bullets.

[punster]

"Part of my trouble is that I think my ears are particularly sensitive to sudden, loud noises. Balloons popping, cars backfiring, etc. startle me and make me flinch, even when the noise is expected."

For practice sessions, it is absolutely essential to wear adequate hearing protection, ear plugs or muff type hearing protectors. Personally, on some occasions, I will wear both ear plugs and muffs.

[CARepubGal]

My problem exactly! A very old friend took me shooting at the Outdoor Sheriff's range and let me shoot his .45 and 9MM Beretta. Nice guns (and I was taught: 2 to the body and 1 to the head) but the guns were simply too big for me to grasp. The Ladysmith was too cute (pink steel?) and small to be really useful. Any suggestions on brand of gun with a smaller grip (not a girly gun please!)

[Bob Mc]

“The licensed handgun owner ... has not created a problem, to the best of my knowledge, in Brazoria County so far,” said Charles Wagner, chief deputy for the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Department.

Sounds like the chief deputy is still not quite yet fully convinced.

[punster]

I like the Glock 9mm frame guns, and I carry a Glock model 17 (because it has a longer grip, which gives me more to hold when I shoot 2 handed). But I do have slightly longer figers. The Glocks are light, about 21 oz unloaded. Other good choice are the S&W 3906 compact and the Kahr. By all means, get at least a 9mm caliber.

In revolvers, good choices for a concealment gun are the Ruger SP101 and the .357 chambered S&W Ladysmith (or its equivalent in the regular S&W line) in stainless steel. Both of these guns are chamibered for .357 magnum, which means you can shoot .38 special loads for practice. You can use either good .38 special +P loads or full .357 magnum loads for defensive purposes. Use the 125 grain bullet loads for defensive purposes, they have a much better record for one-shot stops.