First round of drinks on me. I love my Glock 23; I understand. LCP is respectable; it's just not for me.

 

It's kind of on the heavy side. If I'm going to carry something that heavy, might as well take my Glock. The 239 appears to be a well designed weapon though.

 

You have a point, my friend. If the victim started acting mentally ill and speaking gibberish, the attacker might not attack. Some violent crimes, like rape, are all about power and dominating the victim. Acting mentally ill in the extreme takes all the power out of the situation. It's a good way to avoid a fist fight. With a knife or a gun in your face, the stakes, however, have been substantially raised. There's no right answer on how to proceed and I know I will have to make a split-second decision, which will be entirely dependent on the particulars of the situation. I pray I don't have to use violence. I think your questions show a high degree of maturity.

 

VM,

Fanny packs certainly are not the fastest draw, but Florida frowns on a peacemaker in a western quick draw rig or my STI Limited gun in a Bianchi Hemisphere race holster.

For a medium to large frame pistol, the Tommy's Gun Pack works really well. Though it does require a two handed draw, non-dominant hand unclips the quick release molded nylon buckle and pulls the pack open while the dominant hand goes in the opening and grabs the pistol. I was carrying my Walther PPS in it this morning.

http://www.tommysgunpack.com/Original_Gun_Pack_p/1.htm

This particular pack is good up to a commander sized .45 - I often carry my Springfield Compact .45 in condition 1 (loaded, hammer ****ed, safety on).

Really like your comment about practice, most folks I talk to about concealed carry went to the class, shot for the instructor and then never practice with their carry weapon. I tend to stress two things when talking to people about selecting and practicing with a carry gun.

First. You need to be comfortable and intimately familiar with the controls on the weapon you choose. So if you're new to firearms don't buy a snubby .357 or a 4" .44 magnum - it will take far too much time to get comfortable. Instead a 5 shot .38 is a good start or a .380 or 9mm in an auto. The gun needs to fit your hands, we all live with the cards we're dealt and if you have small hands you need a pistol with a grip that fits your hand. Same goes for large hands, a big guy that can palm a basketball doesn't need to be fiddling with a NAA revolver in his time of need. If you have little experience with firearms, often a revolver or a pistol with a safety built into the trigger like Glock or Walther PPS is best as this elminates the potential that you draw and are unable to fire because you forgot to disengage the manual safety.

Second. Practice with your concealed weapon. At a minimum perform dry fire and unloaded draw practice at home and take it to the range for some live fire practice. If you are uncomfortable performing these drills with an unloaded firearm, buy a blue plastic non-functional training weapon and practice your draws with that. It is infinitely better to find a place where you can have the proper supervision and instruction to perform draw and fire exercises this includes attending and participating in local IDPA matches or going to one of the firearms instructional schools like Gunsite.

Ryan

 

Ryan, spot on with regard to pulling the weapon from a concealed body holster and doing dry fire. Big pistols are not really needed. If I need a Desert Eagle, hell, I might as well bring a long gun. Hahaha. Honestly, a well-trained person can be effective in 7-10 meter engagements with a .380 and some XTP hallow points ammo or a 9mm/.40 with some hydra shock hallow points, i.e., effective in terms of target penetration and bullet expansion on target. I like the PPS, too. Wife gave it to me for Christmas. She's the best woman I know. It's a wonderful life.

 

one thing I do at the range is think to myself, run and gun, and gun and run etc etc to remind myself not to stand still that shoot and move for cover, extend the distance where my greater accuracy and training give me the advantage as I try to escape. Shooting at the range gets you used to just standing there, like the British Redcoats, standing up straight and shooting till they fell, I want to be like Mel Gibson in the Patriot, using movement cover and concealment to win. Odds are if you can afford a Porsche you are smarter than the guys you come up against and I will use that advantage to win, my firearm is just another tool in my arsenal, if I dont have my 9m w/me Ive got a knife or OC spray or golf ball Im gonna throw at your head (thats my NYC concealed carry weapon) I dont know if my Haliburton case will deflect a bullet, but its worth a try and if yourre close enough Im gonna stick my Mont Blanc into you. Survival is a mindset, thinking and training will help you win. Just like I know theres no way the guy in the muscle car is gonna keep up with me once the road gets twisty, Ive got the training and the equipment to win. Second place on the track is one thing, in survival its a loss

 

Okaaaaay....

 

you believe Porsche owners have the same average IQ as most criminals?

 

Hmmm, one of the strangest threads I've ever read. I enjoy target / skeet / trap shooting, own an antique Mauser, and have never, and I mean NEVER feared being carjacked or attacked while out for a drive - or at home, for that matter. I don't know anyone who has been, either... I'd have to purposely cruise through areas like the South Side of Chicago or SE D.C. to get myself into what you're describing.

Consequently, I'll admit that much of this thread comes across as paranoia to me (I seriously don't mean that in a disrespectful sense, but in a cognitive dissonance way where I'm having a hard time grasping how a few hundred miles would make such a difference) - or... I mean, has one of the posters talking about always carrying a gun been attacked? Had friends attacked / carjacked? Are Florida / GA / the Southeast actually more dangerous? I'm just really curious if there's a statistical reason or if it's something cultural?

 

No offense taken, friend. Crime can happen anywhere, in any neighborhood. Take a recent headline for example:

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/...icle-1.1554732

West coast too. La Jolla for example.

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/loca...169450906.html

Criminals want nice cars. Ergo, it might be a good tactic for them to go where the nice cars are.

 

Personally, I think it is becoming cultural. It's getting worse here in the S.E. I think it's due to our weather and the economy. People can live outside year round here. They get here and get lost,next thing you know, they are turning to crime....and we are sick of it! Then there's the "cultural" part. We will discuss that in a new thread. Trust me, all this is coming to a neighborhood near you and fast!!

 

In Atlanta, there have been cases lately of folks getting shot and killed in carjackings, and cases of bad guys following people in nice cars home from malls, then robbing them as they pull into their garages. Violence is everywhere.

The real estate lady that sold us our first house in Atlanta 20 years ago was very successful, and usually wore nice watches, some diamonds, etc. She drove a Mercedes diesel, and a couple years prior my meeting her, she was kidnapped at gunpoint just before entering her car from a place in Atlanta called Phipps Plaza, which is our equivalent to Rodeo Drive here.

She was smart during the ordeal, and talked to him in a friendly, motherly way to her kidnapper, and got his name and gave him hers, etc, so she became a person and not just an anonymous victim. She told me he was going to kill her, but let her go because he had started thinking of her as more than just a mark. He robbed her and just took her car, and left her alive. That is one brave lady.

Call it paranoid if you want, but when I am out driving, and I come home, whether in my Turbo or my daily driver, if I have a car behind me I don't recognize, I do not pull into my driveway. I cruise around to the cul-de-sac and circle back. I don't want to lead anyone back to my wife and kids and home if I can help it. Home invasions are a regular thing in Atlanta. I'll assume most P owners do okay money wise, and live in nice areas, but it happens in affluent and less affluent areas alike.

 

2 friends murdered, 1 in a robbery, 1 friend has apt broke into assailant waited to rape her but was scared away, attacked x3 in NOLA, 1 friend beaten unconscious, another robbed at knife point (she got PTSD) coworker robbed I can't recall details, her boyfriend bought her a 1911 .45 auto (bad choice IMHO for a beginner) like I said before read up on what happened to Dr. Petit and his family, its scary upsetting and sad, but we can all learn something
p.s. is your Mauser a 9mm, German proof marks? can you tell us more about it

 

I do the same, plus if you are keeping up with me in my 911, you are definitely trying hard, so then the question is why are you following me and what are you up to

 

Thanks for the replies guys - that provides some context beyond "Is it paranoia?" I'd certainly consider carrying if I had anything like these tragic events personally or with friends - just f***ing frightening.

It's sad to have to have such concerns. Like I say, I think I'd have to go looking for trouble around here, which I'm thinking is a good thing now. Be safe in any case!

As for the Mauser, why certainly - it's a 1900 Waffenfabrik Mauser Oberndorf m/96 for Sweden, matching numbers on the parts, tip of the barrel threaded for the blank-shredding device used during training. I keep meaning to have it cleaned/checked by a professional and take it over to the NRA range near here, but I've had more luck getting to use handguns / shotguns / 22's at ranges than getting around to that.