Funny how much firepower some think they need here at home

[vetparatrooper]

When I went to go get some 9MM ammo the other day I was checking the rounds and the primers and making sure the box was all good when one of the rounds popped out of my hand and landed on the floor. Some stupid kid, maybe about 19 yrs old at the most, was there looking at .45 rounds, for Mommy and/or Daddy's gun I am assuming...actually I am assuming nothing...I am however being a jerk in saying that ...but still the rounds were probably for Mommmy and/or Daddy's gun.... and he also had dropped one just before me. He thought his round was the 9MM round and when he looked closer at it (should not have had to look closer to distinguish the rounds in the first place but whatevah) he turns to me and says "Oh that is just a baby round"..."this is a REAL round", he says to me once he locates his .45 round. I just turned to him and said, "You know what, kid? Come to my house down the road in the country some night, uninvited or invited but without so much as a phone call first, and let me pop you in the ass with this 'baby round' and I doubt seriously you will be worried about what caliber it is." (I was buying Magtech 9MM Luger, 124 gr., FMC)

I do not know why his comment pissed me off but it certainly did. Some people are in for the overkill when looking for personal protection and that just ain't me. If I can only stop somebody from doing me or my property harm, then these days, I will certainly setlle for that. Whatever bloodlust I had in my youth is either numbed out or completely gone. Is that not weird how we mellow with a little age? I probably would have said something just as stupid about 10-15 years ago, but now I just pity those people.

Anyway, I do not know why I just thought about that again but I only wanted to share that little story. Do not get me wrong I still love my Big Guns and I have a few special ones; however, I will be damed if I ever will voluntarily lug any auotmatic rifle around town with me ever again....I do not care what town it is......Deer season is the only time I have lugged anything stateside around with me larger than a pistol...My little "baby rounds" will be just fine sitting in the compact pistol being held in a featherweight holster on my hip. If I cannot stop somebody from closing in/harming me with that then I probably deserve to be shot.

[rickshaw92]

My little "baby rounds" will be just fine sitting in the compact pistol being held in a featherweight holster on my hip.

Dont you lot feel just a little bit silly walking about armed to the teeth?

[vetparatrooper]

Not here I don't...not when I hear about some poor old man or woman getting their home invaded somewhere in this county almost every night on the local news. The ghetto moved to the rural areas in this country over the last decade or so.....crystal meth is being made in the mountains here and there are socio-paths whose brains are so drug-addled by overuse of narcotics that they cannoot even "feel" anymore and they steal whatever is not tied down.....I came back here last year and was up in the local Feed and Seed store talking with an old WW2 veteran about an injury I got while deployed and some girl in the store overheard me talking simply about the fact tthat I had an injury and all of a sudden she asked me to go outside because she needed to talk to me in private. I barely knew the girl now, but she gets me outside and out of the blue starts asking me if I am on pain meds, what kind am I on and if I am on them do I want to sell them....I knew better than to say I was on anything at all. I told her she was crazier than a loon for asking me a near total stranger such a question and god knows if I had answered her truthfully I probably would have been robbed that night. The old man who owns the house and land next to me apparently had a home invasion a couple years ago and they beat him so bad he is now bedridden and in a nursing home. He also had a mentally challenged daughter who they threatened to rape if he did not tell him where his medications were...(he had been through a bout with some kind of cancer and I guess they figured he was on some good stuff).....Now his house just sits empty, the daughter is so severely emotionally messed up that she had to be put in a home as well.....and they did not even want his valuables or any cash which he apparently tried to offer to them....according to local stories, all they wanted was his mediccation....and when the closest Cop station is twelve miles away -9-11 does not do you much good in such a situation....and this is definitely Rural america here.....The community I live in only has about 200 people altogether....we have to travel 7 miles to get to the nearest grocery store....so this isdefinitely not the inner city....it is happening right here in Gods' Country and Hell No I do not feel the least bit upset about walking around with a gun or having my home armed....it is my right and I will be damned if anyone is going to bust into my house or even try anything when I am out walking with my dog in the woods for that matter

[Woodsman]

Rickshaw is a Canadian Expat who works in London and a world traveler who walks about without so much as a toothpick, best I can tell - but he probably has a 6 pack of good beer in his ruck.

Most Americans (probably over 80%) do not carry arms, but lots of people in other countries don't know that.

For all I know, to a non-American we must all look like John Wayne with the tumbleweed rolling by.

I think someone must be blind or very inexperienced not to be able to tell the difference between a 9mm round and a .45 round.

The kids comment is simply ignorance, that's all.

A 9mm is plenty for self defense as long as the person behind it knows how to shoot it.

Those G19s are good shooters too.

Personally, I use my little pistol for everything - including deer hunting, which is why I went with 10mm. No need for a rifle when the furthest shot on my property I can make due to the trees and topography is 200m - and even that shot requires a chainsaw to maintain. Last deer I killed here was a 20 yard shot - which is easy to make with a pistol - especially with such a large target.

I don't know if you have thought about getting a .22 conversion kit for that Glock yet, but it's a sweet kit for small game hunting too. I've yet to kill anything with the G29 yet (killed plenty of small game with rimfire pistols), but before too long I'm sure there will be interest in some pan fried grouse or squirrel or need to take out a porkie (taste like lamb but stringy). Glocks are fun, even if they have funky triggers and weird grip angles.

[vetparatrooper]

Yes when I go hunting I like to have a pistol with me when in the woods for any smaller critters I might encounter. And in this state you have to have a Carry permit to have a pistol afield with you even when not carrying a rifle during any of the hunting seasons...I personally hunt mainly with a bow, and again like to have a pistol with me in case I run across soemthing nasty ( foxes, coyotes, etc..) that I might not be able to get at with a bow quickly at a close distance.
As i said I thought the kid should have been able to tell a .45 round from a 9mm round without having to hold it up and look at it. However, I was probably a little harsh with the child. I just think it is funny when anyone calls any ammo anything other than potentiallyy lethal....even a .22 Mag round can killl a large critter if the shot is placed correctly which means it can also do some damage to humans too. To not respect all weapons and/or the ammunition they carry I suppose is what got me all riled up in the first place.
...and I include in the weapons category everything from a Fully Automatic Rifle right down to those items that might seem pretty innocuous such as machetes or even your local little league's baseball bats... after all how many humans in Rwanda were killed with the crates of 10 cent Machetes ordered by the Interhamwe right before they started killing people??? I am sure no one is still too young to remember that right?

[Sri Lanky]

Interesting...today I read an article on the drug war (can't remember the name of the magazine as I've done my fair share of dope in the day) about where the problems are. It mentioned the inner cities and rural areas. Meth instantly came to mind. There's not a big meth problem here (yet) but just south of us in N.Dakota and Montana it's supposed to crazy. Boredom have much to do with it there?...... 'cuz i don't think inbreeding is an issue in those states.

[Chimborazo]

In a lot of rural areas of Virginia, Oxycontin is called "hillbilly heroine." Don't have much meth here yet.

[vetparatrooper]

The state police just recently busted their first person in this area who actually had a little mobile meth lab in the trunk of his car...pretty damn brave and also stupid to be driving around town with a lab in the trunk, ya' know? If there is a devil, I am convinced that Meth is it...some of the meth fiends around here absolutely look like the Walking Dead.. skin falling off their faces and teeth falling out of their head..this region is full of plenty of extra's for any zombie movie one might ever want to film....and all you would have to pay them is a dime bag probably....i never thought a little more than 16 years ago when I first bought this house here that this little community would have such a problem..but this is also the first time I have lived here full time since I bought the house, and yes, Oxycontin is called hillbilly heroin here too

[Chimborazo]

What state are you in?

[Michael]

A 9mm is plenty for self defense as long as the person behind it knows how to shoot it.

That's why I schooled my spouse in the finer points of a 12-guage pump. All she needs to know is the general direction.

[suwon fish]

A 9mm is plenty for self defense as long as the person behind it knows how to shoot it.

That's why I schooled my spouse in the finer points of a 12-guage pump. All she needs to know is the general direction.

Unless I miss my mark, the spread of shot for all shotguns is about 1 inch plus the distance in yards, i.e., a shot at 10 yards produces an 11 inch pattern. Different chokes alter the density of shot in the middle of the pattern but not the spread.

There are dozens of good arguments for the shotgun (intimidation, ease of use, pointablility, effectiveness, less chance of hitting unintended targets, choice of ammo etc, etc) but even a shotgun needs significant range time.

That said, I am sure I am preaching to the converted ^^

[vetparatrooper]

See under "location" over there --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->>>>>>>>>>>>

[rickshaw92]

Woodsman wrote:

For all I know, to a non-American we must all look like John Wayne with the tumbleweed rolling by.

Not really, or at least not till I read some of the gun chat amongt you Yanks on this board. Anyone know where Tarkan these days?

Keeping a gun athome to defend your self and property is a great idea, and laws allowing you to blow the head off of anyone who comes round uninvited is even better. But strappin on the heat just to go get a paper and a double double seems kinda gay.

You guys ever lose them things? I have lost at least 3 cell phones and that was back in the early 90s when they cost a fortune to buy much less replace. What about misplacing your hand cannon somewhere around the house like keys, ever been late for something and you gotta go but you forget where you left the damn gun?

[Woodsman]

Nah - Never lost a gun. I have misplaced it for a few minutes though - I'm sure someone has lost one. Lots of them are stolen. Easy to do when they are not secured.

I work in the woods - often alone with the exception of wild dog packs, a few bears, bobcats, zillions of biting bugs, ticks and spiders and lots of deer (+ a bunch of other stuff to lengthy to list here) - main reason I even got a concealed carry permit was due to shooting grouse with a .22 pistol when I was cruising timber and would run into 'em. Best meat of the woods. Thing is I often wear a tool vest for my jobs and if you holster a pistol it cannot be seen (therefore it is concealed - which is regulated) - plus I often use tree marking paint, so wouldn't want to get the paint on the pistol anyway - and even though there is a teeny tiny chance I would get busted by some warden, I went and took the classes and got my carry permit to follow the idiotic (to me) law.

My thought is something really shouldn't be illegal unless it is a serious problem. Carrying a pistol really isn't a serious problem - but it got regulated because of some whiny fearful people. That fear wasn't rational - but it created a rational problem:

If you outlaw carrying guns, the only thing you can be sure of is the only people carrying are criminals - and to be quite honest if carrying a gun was illegal and I was headed to a place I knew a lot of criminals existed, I would be a criminal too because I'm not going to give up carrying a gun so long as I know someone one else out there is carrying too - and with bad intent. Where I live I would have a very low likelihood of getting into a gunfight - still, since I am legal with it I might as well carry anyway.

Vermont is the only state in the U.S. to have it right: carrying is not restricted in that state.

There are places within an hours drive from here that the risk of assault goes up - and if you look at federal law enforcement figures, you will easily be able to indicate those places on a map. Occasionally, though not very often - I get called to do short term projects in those areas.

In some places in Detroit, it would probably be a good idea to wear some body armor and maybe keep a few tampons on you. Seriously, it's straight up ghetto in those places and crackheads and methheads value your shoes more than your life - and guns are easier to find than shoes for them.

I have a friend that got shot recently in Kalamzoo, Michigan. Some little teenage punk pulled a .22 jennings (or revolver - I can't remember which) on him when he was coming out of a bar (and yes he was buzzed or drunk or whatever) and told him to give up his wallet. My friend said no way and they had a scuffle and the gun went off - he didn't even know he was shot until the 911 operator told him to lift up his shirt. Then when the cops came, they treated HIM like the criminal and gave him a bunch of shit before taking him to the hospital Nice, huh?

That guy is super cool and he didnt' deserve that shit. This is the world we are living in. 99.99+% of the time you are not going to need a gun, but all it takes is one rare event to jeopardize your health or life.

Maybe things are different in Canada - not sure - but pretty sure they are NOT different in England. I don't care how many cameras there are, bad guys are still gonna have guns and get their money from people who don't...and that right there is the problem.

If I'm not mistaken, gun crime has gone up proportionally to the restrictions to guns in England.

Did you know that 3 MILLION times a year here in the U.S. people defend their person or property with firearms?

Woodsman wrote:

For all I know, to a non-American we must all look like John Wayne with the tumbleweed rolling by.

Not really, or at least not till I read some of the gun chat amongt you Yanks on this board. Anyone know where Tarkan these days?

Keeping a gun athome to defend your self and property is a great idea, and laws allowing you to blow the head off of anyone who comes round uninvited is even better. But strappin on the heat just to go get a paper and a double double seems kinda gay.

You guys ever lose them things? I have lost at least 3 cell phones and that was back in the early 90s when they cost a fortune to buy much less replace. What about misplacing your hand cannon somewhere around the house like keys, ever been late for something and you gotta go but you forget where you left the damn gun?

[Penta]

If I'm not mistaken, gun crime has gone up proportionally to the restrictions to guns in England.

I think you are mistaken. Crime statistics are notoriously difficult to read sensibly. For instance, recorded gun offences go up every time there's a new restriction, because of the number of people who haven't yet complied with the new requirements. That doesn't mean that people are being threatened, injured or killed by guns more often. Or they apparently go up one year, but it turns out that it's only because there's been a much bigger reduction than usual the previous year. The trend in all offences involving firearms is clearly downwards. Here's the relevant bit from the latest British Crime Survey:

Offences involving firearms
Provisional statistics for 2009/10 are available for police recorded crimes involving firearms
other than air weapons (referred to as ‘firearm offences’ in the remainder of this section).
Firearms are taken to be involved in an incident if they are fired, used as a blunt instrument
against a person, or used in a threat. Finalised figures are planned for publication in January
2011.
Provisional figures show that 7,995 firearm offences were recorded in England and Wales in
2009/10, a three per cent decrease from 2008/09 (8,208). Following the introduction of the
NCRS in April 2002, there were small increases in the number of firearm offences recorded
by the police until 2005/06, followed by a general downward trend since. This mirrors the
trend in police recorded violence against the person. The number of firearm offences
recorded in 2009/10 is 22 per cent lower than in 2002/03 (Figure 3.3 and Table 3.10).

Provisional firearm offences can be broken down both by injury and by the type of weapon
used (Tables 3.10 and 3.11).
• There were 39 firearm offences recorded by the police that resulted in a fatal injury in
2009/10, the same number as the previous year.
• The number of injuries resulting from firearm offences increased by eight per cent from
1,764 in 2008/09 to 1,901 in 2009/10. This follows a substantial 46 per cent decrease in
the previous year, which was largely due to reductions in offences that resulted in slight
injuries.