The importance of self-defense:

[SS5R]

You may have heard we had a shooting at an IHop restaurant in Carson City Tuesday the 6th before 9:00 am. My wife and I were driving down to the town of Genoa for the day and had to drive pass the crime scene. We said to each other I wonder if anyone in the restaurant was carrying? Turns out there was a man in the parking lot that was carrying a pistol and saw this guy walking across the parking lot with the rifle but did not want to engage a person carrying an AK- 47. You can’t blame him there are a lot big decisions to be made in a matter of seconds. We later found out there was 4 killed; 3 National Guard in uniform and one civilian, 8 more wounded, AK-47 variant, rounds went though buildings across the street. These people never thought this would be there last meal, no one there to protect you but you. Police show up after the fact to take the body count and try to figure out what happened.

Another recent incident happened to a friend of my sister whom I have met before, they live in San Jose, CA. This person was leaving one of the largest shopping malls in the area on a Saturday afternoon, broad daylight, stopped at a light two guys run up and jump in the car (no doors locked, mistake) pull a gun on him and make him drive to some remote foothills, make him get out of the car take his valuables smash his cell phone and fortunately left him there without shooting him. He had to walk several miles to get help and later that night the car was found on fire outside another city about 80 miles away.

Again you are on your own no one to protect you but you. Self-defense is not just carrying a gun but locking your car and home doors being aware of who is around you. If in a resterant sit so you can see the doors or out the windows and have an escape route. People play the lottery thinking it might happen to me I might win but they never leave their house thinking something like these two incidents will happen to them. This happens everyday accoss the country anytime anywhere USA.

[side_job]

An AK is an intimidating foe to go up against for sure. I wonder how long it will be before our military is armed anytime in uniform? I wrote an essay once trying to explain to my mother why I felt the need to carry personal protection... If I find it Ill post it. The abstract of it was... you carry a spare tire in your car... but all four of your tires are in good shape... you don't NEED to CCW everyday, but the day you do, you REALLY DO!

[Toepopper]

Good points to ponder. The event that really disturbs me is the mass shooting over in Norway where the classic lone gunman went on a shooting spree for over 2 hours and killed 92 teenagers at a resort. Not one of them had a weapon to shoot back with. Norwegians are allowed to posess firearms but to buy a pistol you must belong to a shooting club and take firearms safety course. Then the pistol you buy must be stored in a lockbox at home that has been inspected by a govt official to see if it is up to snuff. If just one of those victims had a handgun he could have stopped that crazoid from shooting anyone else. Since this event happened the news media has had a news blackout about this story, like it didn't happen. They would rather tell us about Lindsy Lohans new dress.
I agree that you must be prepared for any event. If you live in the sticks you are on your own and you must be ready to deal with whatever cards you are dealt. I recently took a course to get a non-resident Utah state CCW. The last question I was asked during the interview was how many loaded firearms do you keep in your house? The other students answered none, except me and I told them I keep a loaded gun in every room plus the shop and the garage.. Expecting to get a lecture on gun safety, I was surprised to hear the teacher say, thats good, you never know when you might need one, you get a hundred percent. All of my neighbors have guns and they are locked and cocked and ready for use. We are on our own.

[acet7]

My wife usually makes a face at me when I take my gun to mow the lawn or get a paper. I tell her you never know..... In the hostile takeover were I work a few years ago I could have engaged the suspect but I didn’t. He implied he had a piece but didn’t show it, but I was ready to take action if I felt that anyone’s life was in danger. I ran after the guy and gave a description of the getaway vehicle and they were both caught. When the cops had me ID the vehicle I found out he was “signal zero” meaning he had a gun, made me think of what I would do next time. He had a .40cal SIG with a full clip but did not have one in the chamber, so I had one up on him as I always keep one in the chamber. The last one gets out of prison in December, hope he does not come around.

[side_job]

"Always keep one in the chamber"... These words ring true. I know some people do not feel comfortable with one in the pipe... I will admit, I have had some weapons that I did not feel comfortable with one in the pipe, due to the nature of the weapon design, and what I felt to be an unacceptable risk for accidental discharge. So, what did I do about it? I traded the weapon off. I will not own (my personal stock) a weapon that I do not feel is 'safe' to keep one in the chamber. I suggest everyone obtain that blend of comfort/readiness with their protection piece, and if just cant get there, find a different weapon. Some of the best weapons I have found, that I feel most comfortable with in a ready state, are either double action pistols (think pocket pistols - Keltec, Ruger LCP), revolvers of all types (you just cant go wrong here), and medium to duty size pistols with decockers (Sigs, FN, H&K). For me, I try to avoid striker fired pistols, as you are constantly 'cocked' and usually have a very nice light trigger pull (glocks with 3.5# disconnet), with one exception, the Walther line P-99 strikers, with a unique decocking button on the slide. I have no problem with these strikers as a target, or back up weapon, which I then would leave empty chamber. Just my take on it, I think everyone should give it some thought, and make the necessary adjustments.

[Toepopper]

I have re-armed myself with modern technology handguns specifically so I can keep a round in the chamber and feel safe about carrying it that way. I used to carry a worn out Colt 1911 and was afraid of keeping a round chambered even though that model was designed to be carried "hot". I had practiced quite a bit using the Israeli draw, pulling the pistol and reaching down with my left hand and racking the slide back but thats just not as good as having one in the tube and ready to go. Now I carry a Sig P220 45 caliber with a chambered round in the de-cocked safe carry mode. This pistol is very reliable, its smaller, lighter, easier to conceal and is more accurate and has the knockdown power of the 45 ACP.

[SS5R]

I carry the Kimber Tactical II in 45 ACP cocked and locked with 230-grain Winchester hollow points and one extra 8 round magazine. It took a little getting used having the hammer cocked and the safety on but now I don’t feel right unless it is in that stage of ready. I am perfectly comfortable with it. It is 7 ounces lighter than the standard model.
If I need something smaller I carry a Ruger LCR 38 special +P. It weighs 16 ounces loaded. The ammo I use for this is the Hornady Critical Defense 110 grain +P this has a muzzle velocity of 1090 fps out of a 2 inch barrel. I sometimes carry both.