Guns, laws, etc

I carry cocked and locked and I hope I never have to use it but if I do I'm not going to mess around "putting a shot in". That's just foolish.

I have only unholstered my gun once in a dangerous situation. Oddly enough, my would be attacker suddenly relocated.

This is a good video, it makes you think.
I have carried a pistol w snake shot. But, honestly, if someone looked friendly then attacked me (unlikely to be successful b/c of my horse's reaction), I really question if I would have been able to react fast enough to get it out, and shoot it "safely" (not getting shot on my horse). I guess, if I were really worried...I would get a holster and practice. :)

I normally have one or two in while it's in the holster. But there's always room for a third or fourth. And keep in mind this is before they've shown any signs of being dangerous, just making them think a little before they try anything.

The US Army originally used .45s. Around the time of the Spanish-American war they switched to .38s. Like you, they realized .38s had no stopping power and switched back to .45s.

However...

This reminds me of a funny "story" I heard some time back...

A big tough guy is on leave in Alaska and wants to do some hiking in the back country. Before he leaves, he stops in a gun store. He is concerned he will run across bears and wants protection. He looks at .44mag, .45, and even a .50. He asks the shop owner which would be better to stop a bear.

The shop owner informs him that they will all be about the same. However, it is very important that whichever gun is chosen, he makes sure to file down the front sight nice and smooth. Confused, the person asks "why is that?"

The shop owner replies "That's because after you shoot the bear, he will be so mad that when he rips the gun out of your hand and shoves it up your *** it won't hurt so much."



The consensus of people I know is that a handgun (while better than nothing) will not stop a bear. In addition, their sloping cranium can actually deflect most handgun caliber head shots and their body area is mostly fat/fur making vitals hard to target. I hope neither you nor I ever need to test that theory. :)

Great video.

The army switched from a single action easy trigger 45 to a double action 38's and people have the habit of blaming anyone but themselves. SO the 38 was blamed for not having any stopping power even though the problem was far more likely the poor marksmenship. Going back to a Single action 45 made the old school brass happy.

I'm even more confused now than before.....
Does the above mean that you have only one or two rounds in your handgun?

Wow........where's the rest of the ammo?

When I carry a Glock 17 there is one in the chamber, sixteen in the magazine, and another magazine with 17 more on my belt offside.

Likewise when I carry a S&W revolver the cylinder is full and there is an extra speedloader on me somewhere.

Quoted for truth. The more things change the more they stay the same. Reports of poor "stopping power" of the M16 rifles and M4 carbines in Iraq and Afg are 99% due to the atrocious level of marksmanship skill of the average soldier.

I've got several different pistols in the gun safe, and carry different ones depending on the situation.

I love the .45 acp, and carry it in urban areas because it doesn't over penetrate and lacks the velocity and energy necessary to penetrate several walls in a home, yet has the caliber necessary to provide a large a wound channel in something the size of a human target. This lack of "over penetration" made it a good choice for trench warfare in world war one where many men were confined in a close closed area.

My .44 mag, can shoot through several walls and this makes it less desirable in urban areas, but this extra energy and the ability to penetrate deeply, along with enough velocity to get the bullet to expand, makes it a much better choice for large game than a .38 special or .45 acp. The .357 mag, on the other hand, wouldn't be a bad choice for many of the same reasons, but lacks caliber.

As far as the 5.56 or .223, the army uses non-expanding ammo. This round penetrates, but doesn't leave as large a wound channel as the larger calibers. The military wanted it to wound, as it takes more men to support the wounded than it does the dead.

Most pistol calibers don't have the velocity to get reliable expansion, thus, they need large caliber. Even if a .38 expands, it seldom gets to the size that a .45 starts at.

MAKE BIG HOLES!