Before I begin... I am not a law enforcement officer or an attorney. All of the below advice is from my own personal knowledge and I guarentee none of it for accuracy. This advice is free and worth exactly what you are paying for it. Before you make the choice to go armed, you should seek legal counsel and professional training. Don't base anything on what I write other than that it is "food for thought".
This topic was inspired by a thread on one of the forums I frequent. The person starting the thread stated he had purchased a new S&W 642. This is a J-Frame, snubby .38 Special. The normal production model of this gun comes with an internal lock. This is not a safety. It is a key controlled lock to allow you to make the gun a paper weight when storing it, in order to make it more "child proof". There was a limited run of 642's last year that did not have the lock, and in fact I bought one and it is what I carry most days. The original poster of this thread bought the gun with the lock because he could not find one without the lock. The next day, he found one. He was mostly posting just to vent.
However, several people starting posting ways to disable the internal lock. The main reason you would do this is that there have been quite a few cases where someone fired a gun with an internal lock and the recoil turned the lock just enough to activate it. That means if you were defending your life at the moment, you better pray that first shot hit the mark because you won't be making another one. What I tried to explain in that thread and what I will pontificate about here is why that is such a horrible idea.
There are three phases to defending yourself and your loved ones. Rob Pincus from Valhalla Training Facility calls it the 3 fights. The first fight is the choices we all make in every day life. The choice of whether or not to carry a gun. The choice of what side of town we visit. The choice of how aware we are of our surroundings. We are in the first fight every day whether we realize it or not. The second fight is the one that most people think about. This is the actually act of defending yourself against an attacker. It is the one we were preparing for during the first fight. The third fight is the one everyone forgets. It begins the moment the last shot is fired and the bad guy falls. It's the fight to make sure that you are seen as the good guy and the fight to keep you out of jail. We can call it the aftermath.
The first thing to remember is that the first person to call 911 is seen as the victim. Since the other person is the perpetrator, if you don't call 911 immediately, guess which role you get to play. You MUST call 911 as soon as the fight is over and you are sure that the danger has passed. You should identify yourself, make sure they know you were attacked and you defended yourself. Don't get to chatty at this point. Adrenaline is still flowing. You can give all the details 24 hours later after consulting an attorney. Just make sure they understand you were the good guy, you shot the bad guy and you need the cavalry to come.
Now, hopefully you escaped the fight unharmed. In most areas of the country, there is a decent shot the DA will choose to prosecute you for the shooting. You do not want to give them ANY extra ammo to use against you. That is why you don't use reloaded ammo for your carry ammo and you don't modify your carry gun.
Now, let me back up and clarify here. I'm not saying you can't get a nice custom 1911 and carry it. When I talk about modifications, I'm talking about modifying anything safety related. For instance, if you want a gunsmith to smooth out the trigger on your 1911, go for it. However, I would not have him lighten it and I definitely would not have him disable the grip safety. Either of those things can be protrayed to the jury (which is probably not gun people) that you intentionally made your gun unsafe. Forget the fact that it didn't fire until you were ready. They will paint it in a way to make you look like the bad guy. If you want a super tricked out gun with a 2 pound trigger, get one. Just don't carry it. Use it at the range. Use it in an IDPA match, but it shouldn't be your carry gun.
The same is true of the internal locks. Do you really want to hear a DA tell that jury how you disabled a factory installed safety on your gun? Why risk it? There are tons of guns out there without an internal safety lock. Buy one of those. I could understand if there was some new gun out that had a major advantage no other gun had, and it had an internal lock... MAYBE. That just isn't the case. There are plenty of guns out there to choose from that will do a great job of protecting you that don't have in internal lock. As an example, the 642 with a lock that was bought by the original poster in that thread that started this rant will not do any better of a job defending him in a fight than the 642 with no lock that I carry daily. In fact, since there is a small chance of the lock failing, you could argue his will do a worse job. Why in the world would anyone choose to buy the one with the lock? I can hear your argument now... it's to make it child proof. That is what your gun safe is for!
Ok, I'm done ranting. I apologize that my posts this week were a bit heavy handed. I just feel this is a real serious issue that people don't spend nearly enough time thinking about. Do what you have to do to protect yourself and your family, but you won't do your family any good serving time for a righteous, self defense shooting. Think about the gear... think about the fight... but think about the aftermath too. It is just as important as the other stuff. Stay safe out there... and watch your six.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
First, some politics
Before I get to my main topic for this week, I want to bring a few items to your attention. Currently, there are two pro-gun bills going through the NC Legislature. When I started this blog, I intended for it to be mostly about gear. That is the fun stuff. However, the politics to protect our rights is very important too. Indulge me while I speak about those topics first.
House Bill 257 is the "No Seizure of Lawful Firearms in Emergency Act". Basically this bill clarifies the state law and specifically says that law enforcement cannot seize your guns in a state of emergency. This is of course in reaction to what the thugs that call themselves cops in New Orleans did during Katrina.
http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/BillLookUp/BillLookUp.pl?Session=2009%20%20&BillID=h257
Senate Bill 235 / House Bill 270 is the "Personal Protection in Restaurants Act". This would remove the restriction from holders of concealed handgun licenses from being able to carry in restaurants that serve alcohol. Of course, you still could not drink while carrying (nor should you be able to), but at least you could protect yourself while having dinner in a Chili's or Applebee's or similar.
http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/gascripts/BillLookUp/BillLookUp.pl?Session=2009&BillID=s235&submitButton=Go
Lastly, there is a online petition going around trying to get the legislature to strengthen our Castle Doctrine. NC does have a weak Castle Doctrine now that gives us the right to defend ourselves in our homes. However, it does not guarantee we will not be prosecuted and it does not protect us from civil litigation from the family of the person who broke into our home. This needs to be fixed so that good people, defending their home and family don't have to go bankrupt from legal fees because the mother of some crack head sues you for shooting her poor, misguided son who was just turning his life around when he broke into your home and came at you with a machete. In case, you couldn't tell, I have strong feelings about this one.
http://www.petitiononline.com/law4nc/petition-sign.html
Please sign the petition, and if you live in NC, contact your State Representative and State Senator to ask them to support strengthening the Castle Doctrine and to support the other pro-gun legislation I linked. Stay safe out there... and watch your six.
House Bill 257 is the "No Seizure of Lawful Firearms in Emergency Act". Basically this bill clarifies the state law and specifically says that law enforcement cannot seize your guns in a state of emergency. This is of course in reaction to what the thugs that call themselves cops in New Orleans did during Katrina.
http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/BillLookUp/BillLookUp.pl?Session=2009%20%20&BillID=h257
Senate Bill 235 / House Bill 270 is the "Personal Protection in Restaurants Act". This would remove the restriction from holders of concealed handgun licenses from being able to carry in restaurants that serve alcohol. Of course, you still could not drink while carrying (nor should you be able to), but at least you could protect yourself while having dinner in a Chili's or Applebee's or similar.
http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/gascripts/BillLookUp/BillLookUp.pl?Session=2009&BillID=s235&submitButton=Go
Lastly, there is a online petition going around trying to get the legislature to strengthen our Castle Doctrine. NC does have a weak Castle Doctrine now that gives us the right to defend ourselves in our homes. However, it does not guarantee we will not be prosecuted and it does not protect us from civil litigation from the family of the person who broke into our home. This needs to be fixed so that good people, defending their home and family don't have to go bankrupt from legal fees because the mother of some crack head sues you for shooting her poor, misguided son who was just turning his life around when he broke into your home and came at you with a machete. In case, you couldn't tell, I have strong feelings about this one.
http://www.petitiononline.com/law4nc/petition-sign.html
Please sign the petition, and if you live in NC, contact your State Representative and State Senator to ask them to support strengthening the Castle Doctrine and to support the other pro-gun legislation I linked. Stay safe out there... and watch your six.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Have you heard the one about the $1,000,000 FOID insurance?
A good friend of mine brought this to my attention and I thought it was worthy of posting here. The below is copied from the Illinois State Rifle Association's website.
**
Have you heard the one about the $1,000,000 FOID insurance?
No. It's not a joke. It's Illinois House Bill 687
ISRA tracks state legislation and has lobbyists on the ground in Springfield.
One bill that is getting a lot of attention is HB 687, which would be a $1,000,000 insurance policy required of FOID card holders. Outrageous? You bet. One can only wonder at the motivations for introducing legislation like that.
**
Here's the link for more information...
http://www.isra.org/
**
Have you heard the one about the $1,000,000 FOID insurance?
No. It's not a joke. It's Illinois House Bill 687
ISRA tracks state legislation and has lobbyists on the ground in Springfield.
One bill that is getting a lot of attention is HB 687, which would be a $1,000,000 insurance policy required of FOID card holders. Outrageous? You bet. One can only wonder at the motivations for introducing legislation like that.
**
Here's the link for more information...
http://www.isra.org/
Thursday, February 19, 2009
My first shot
This week, you get 2 for the price of 1. The story below, I have posted before on some of the gun forums I frequent, but I wanted to put it here as well. It is the story of how this all began. It is how I found my love for shooting and started a life-long hobby that I dearly love.
**
It was the spring of 1985 and I was 13 years old. My parents had been divorced for just 2 years. My mom and I had moved back home to SC, but my dad was still living in FL. He came up to visit and took me to his sister's house. She lived WAY out in the country with her husband who was a severe gun nut. They were trying to have "adult conversation" but I kept trying to participate. They decided to distract me.
My uncle goes into his office and comes out with an old, single shot bolt action rifle. He tells me to grab 2 empty cans out of the trash and fill one with water and meet him outside on the deck. When I went out there, he was setting the rifle and a brick of .22's on the table and told me to carry both cans out to the tree line and set them down. When I came back, he carefully showed me how to operate the rifle. It was an old Winchester 67 with a scope on it. He went over how to load it and unload it... how to line up the cross hairs in the scope and how to use the safety. Then he instructed me to shoot each of the two cans once.
I fired two shots and miraculously hit both cans on the first try each. He then set the rifle down and sent me to fetch the cans. I ran out and got them and brought them back and handed them to him. He took one can and showed me the small entry hole and the small exit hole in the back. He said "That is what a .22 will do to an empty can." He then showed me the other can that had a small hole in the front and a large rip in the back that went from top to bottom. He said "And that is what a .22 will do to a human. Don't ever forget that, boy."
He then told me to grab all the cans I wanted and to shoot until I ran out of ammo or lost light. I had never had so much fun in my life. They sat in the kitchen and kept an eye on me through the window and I shot all day long. It was an afternoon that would change my life forever. A few days later my dad headed back home to FL and I thought about that rifle every day.
That summer, my dad came for another visit and we headed out to his sister's house again. My uncle handed me the same rifle, a brick of ammo and said to be careful. They had to run into town and they'd be back soon. I don't know how much time went by because I was just having so much fun shooting, but a while later I hear my uncle holler from the side of the house to hold my fire. I unloaded the rifle and set it down beside me.
He came around the corner looking a little angry and yelled "Give me back my rifle! You can't shoot it anymore!" I wasn't sure what I had done wrong, but I handed over the rifle as instructed. Just then, my dad walked around the corner holding what looked like the rifle's twin minus the scope and said "Shoot your own." I damn near fell over. My mother was mad as hell of course, and my pride and joy had to live at my uncle's house for the next 5 years. She finally let me bring it home when my aunt and uncle moved to FL.
I still have that rifle to this day and I will never sell it. Financially, it's near worthless. I've seen the same guns in pawn shops for under $100, but to me it is priceless. I have another .22 rifle now as well as plenty of other guns, but that one still gets its fair share of trips to the range.
**
I hope each of you can find a young person that you can bring into our sport. We are only here for a little while and we don't want our love of shooting to die with us. Pass it along to the next generation so that when we are gone, they can stand in our place and defend the second amendment from those that would rob us of our greatest freedom.
An organization has been started called "First shots" by the NSSF to help bring people into our sport. If you know someone who wants to learn, take the time to teach them or refer them to this group. These are dark days for lovers of freedom and we need all the allies we can get.
http://www.firstshots.org/
Stay safe out there... and watch your six.
**
It was the spring of 1985 and I was 13 years old. My parents had been divorced for just 2 years. My mom and I had moved back home to SC, but my dad was still living in FL. He came up to visit and took me to his sister's house. She lived WAY out in the country with her husband who was a severe gun nut. They were trying to have "adult conversation" but I kept trying to participate. They decided to distract me.
My uncle goes into his office and comes out with an old, single shot bolt action rifle. He tells me to grab 2 empty cans out of the trash and fill one with water and meet him outside on the deck. When I went out there, he was setting the rifle and a brick of .22's on the table and told me to carry both cans out to the tree line and set them down. When I came back, he carefully showed me how to operate the rifle. It was an old Winchester 67 with a scope on it. He went over how to load it and unload it... how to line up the cross hairs in the scope and how to use the safety. Then he instructed me to shoot each of the two cans once.
I fired two shots and miraculously hit both cans on the first try each. He then set the rifle down and sent me to fetch the cans. I ran out and got them and brought them back and handed them to him. He took one can and showed me the small entry hole and the small exit hole in the back. He said "That is what a .22 will do to an empty can." He then showed me the other can that had a small hole in the front and a large rip in the back that went from top to bottom. He said "And that is what a .22 will do to a human. Don't ever forget that, boy."
He then told me to grab all the cans I wanted and to shoot until I ran out of ammo or lost light. I had never had so much fun in my life. They sat in the kitchen and kept an eye on me through the window and I shot all day long. It was an afternoon that would change my life forever. A few days later my dad headed back home to FL and I thought about that rifle every day.
That summer, my dad came for another visit and we headed out to his sister's house again. My uncle handed me the same rifle, a brick of ammo and said to be careful. They had to run into town and they'd be back soon. I don't know how much time went by because I was just having so much fun shooting, but a while later I hear my uncle holler from the side of the house to hold my fire. I unloaded the rifle and set it down beside me.
He came around the corner looking a little angry and yelled "Give me back my rifle! You can't shoot it anymore!" I wasn't sure what I had done wrong, but I handed over the rifle as instructed. Just then, my dad walked around the corner holding what looked like the rifle's twin minus the scope and said "Shoot your own." I damn near fell over. My mother was mad as hell of course, and my pride and joy had to live at my uncle's house for the next 5 years. She finally let me bring it home when my aunt and uncle moved to FL.
I still have that rifle to this day and I will never sell it. Financially, it's near worthless. I've seen the same guns in pawn shops for under $100, but to me it is priceless. I have another .22 rifle now as well as plenty of other guns, but that one still gets its fair share of trips to the range.
**
I hope each of you can find a young person that you can bring into our sport. We are only here for a little while and we don't want our love of shooting to die with us. Pass it along to the next generation so that when we are gone, they can stand in our place and defend the second amendment from those that would rob us of our greatest freedom.
An organization has been started called "First shots" by the NSSF to help bring people into our sport. If you know someone who wants to learn, take the time to teach them or refer them to this group. These are dark days for lovers of freedom and we need all the allies we can get.
http://www.firstshots.org/
Stay safe out there... and watch your six.
Be safe. Buy a safe.
Anyone that watches the news, reads news websites, listens to the radio or generally doesn't have their head in the sand knows that the economy is in the toilet and it isn't getting any better. As more and more people lose their jobs, have their hours cut or their pay rate cut, people are getting desperate to make ends meet. Some of those people will turn to crime. History shows that as the economy declines, crime rates rise. It is sad, but it's true.
There are 3 things that are at the top of the list for criminals... cash, guns and jewelry. It is more important than ever to carry a gun daily to protect yourself (see my last post) but to also protect your valuables in your home.
There are many layers to home protection. Think of it like layers of an onion.
1. Live in a low crime area.
2. A fence with a locked gate to keep people out of your yard.
3. A dog that will bark when someone approaches the house. Early warning can save your life.
4. Good, strong locks on your doors... and USE them.
5. A monitored alarm system... and USE it.
6. A quality gun safe for your guns that aren't loaded at the ready next to your bedside or on your person.
Since this is a gun blog, I'll be focusing on the gun safe. Like a gun, any safe is better than no safe but this is really not something you should be cheap on. Fire protection is nice, but security should be your first concern. Cheap safes from big box stores like Gander Mtn, Dick's Sporting Goods, Sam's Club, etc... are usually Chinese made and easily defeated. Just go to youtube and do a search. You'll see these types of safes easily defeated in minutes with hand tools. They will probably keep your guns out of the hands of your kids, but won't stop any determined theif.
Now, for the size of the safe... no matter how small or large your gun collection gets, you will need more room than you think. First of all, in most cases you can't really fit as many long guns as the safe maker claims. Secondly, your collection will grow over time. Lastly, once you get the safe in your home, you will think of other things you want to store in there like important paperwork, jewelry, family heirlooms, etc... Get as large of a safe as you can afford that doesn't compromise quality.
I will add a section on the right with links to some reputable gun safe makers shortly. If you don't have a safe, get one. Don't face living with the guilt of knowing you put the gun in a bad guy's hands that was used to kill someone because you were to cheap to secure your belongings. Stay safe out there... and watch your six.
There are 3 things that are at the top of the list for criminals... cash, guns and jewelry. It is more important than ever to carry a gun daily to protect yourself (see my last post) but to also protect your valuables in your home.
There are many layers to home protection. Think of it like layers of an onion.
1. Live in a low crime area.
2. A fence with a locked gate to keep people out of your yard.
3. A dog that will bark when someone approaches the house. Early warning can save your life.
4. Good, strong locks on your doors... and USE them.
5. A monitored alarm system... and USE it.
6. A quality gun safe for your guns that aren't loaded at the ready next to your bedside or on your person.
Since this is a gun blog, I'll be focusing on the gun safe. Like a gun, any safe is better than no safe but this is really not something you should be cheap on. Fire protection is nice, but security should be your first concern. Cheap safes from big box stores like Gander Mtn, Dick's Sporting Goods, Sam's Club, etc... are usually Chinese made and easily defeated. Just go to youtube and do a search. You'll see these types of safes easily defeated in minutes with hand tools. They will probably keep your guns out of the hands of your kids, but won't stop any determined theif.
Now, for the size of the safe... no matter how small or large your gun collection gets, you will need more room than you think. First of all, in most cases you can't really fit as many long guns as the safe maker claims. Secondly, your collection will grow over time. Lastly, once you get the safe in your home, you will think of other things you want to store in there like important paperwork, jewelry, family heirlooms, etc... Get as large of a safe as you can afford that doesn't compromise quality.
I will add a section on the right with links to some reputable gun safe makers shortly. If you don't have a safe, get one. Don't face living with the guilt of knowing you put the gun in a bad guy's hands that was used to kill someone because you were to cheap to secure your belongings. Stay safe out there... and watch your six.
Friday, February 13, 2009
EDC - Don't Leave Home Without It
Ok, I just couldn't let the new blog sit here without any actual articles on it. So, for my first article, I'll discuss EDC. For those that don't know, EDC stands for Every Day Carry. In other words, when you are getting dressed in the morning and heading out the door, the stuff you grab and stick in your pocket (or purse for the female readers). Now, I will assume for the sake of this article that you all carry a wallet, keys, mobile phone and maybe a watch. I'll also assume you know why you carry these things and I don't need to waste bandwidth telling you. What I want to talk about is the other stuff.
Many of us get caught up in a routine. It is easy to do. You get up at the same time every morning. You get dressed in the same style clothes (hopefully not the same clothes or you will have some serious B.O. issues). You get in the same car and drive the same boring commute to the same job. What could go wrong? Well, most of the time... nothing. And for those days, your wallet, keys and cell phone are more than what you need to survive the big bad world. The problem is that sometimes, things do go wrong and since we can't tell the future we have to be prepared for those things every day. If we knew ahead of time that next Thursday we would be run off the road and attacked by a mad man with a tire iron suffering road rage, we wouldn't need to be prepared. We'd just call in sick and not be there. Since we don't have a crystal ball, what can we do to be prepared?
Here are the things I try never to leave home without...
1. A pen. What?! What the hell is a pen going to do for you in an emergency? Well, not all things we run into are emergencies, but it is still nice to be prepared. Say your car runs out of gas and you need to leave a note for the highway patrol before you walk to the nearest gas station. Say it's something as simple as you are paying for a soda with your debit card and the cashier lost his pen. It can be anything minor or major but they always come in handy. Personally, I love the Fisher Space Pen just because it is small, writes well and can write upside down.
2. A flashlight. Now, I'm not suggesting that everyone walk around with a 4 D Cell Mag-Lite strapped to their hip. However, a small flashlight that fits in your pocket can come in handy. Just think... half the hours in a day are spent in darkness. Ever had to look under your seat for something you dropped? Ever had to read a map in the passenger seat while someone else drove? I never realized how useful they were until I started carrying one. Then, I realized I used it at least once per week. You can get some very small ones. I carry a Streamlight Microstream. It runs off a single AAA battery and is barely bigger than my Space Pen. Also, it costs less than $20.
3. A good knife. Now, check your local laws before you choose a carry knife. Some states, counties or cities have stricter laws than others and the type and size knife you can carry may vary. However, almost everywhere will allow some type of knife carry (in the U.S. anyway) and they come in handy for all sorts of things. I have quite a few I rotate between. I have a small Spyderco Ladybug 3 that I keep on my keychain so I always have some type of knife even if I forget my bigger one. For a larger knife, I alternate between a Kershaw Blur, Benchmade Griptilian and a Spyderco Rookie. Just be sure to get a good, quality folder that you can operate one handed. Then, put it in your weak hand pocket (front or back is your choice). This way, if you find yourself in a defensive situation and your strong hand (which was probably holding your gun) gets injured or disabled, you can grab the knife with your weak hand and hopefully create enough seperation to escape.
4. A reliable gun that you have practiced with and you know you can shoot well. This is the Watch Your Six blog after all. You didn't think I was going to go through all this and not mention a gun did you? Again, like the knife, know your local laws. In NC you can carry a handgun concealed if you have a concealed handgun license, but there are certain buildings and events that still prohibit it. Know where you can go and where you can't. That being said, carry as much as you legally can. Not only is it a good idea that could save your life, but it is a right and if you don't exercise your rights, you will lose them. I have a Ruger LCP (.380 ACP pocket pistol) that I carry when I can't carry anything else. Most of the time, I carry a S&W 642 which is a snub-nosed .38 Special +P revolver. I do plan down the road to buy something a bit larger for when I am dressed in a way that I can conceal larger guns. I'm leaning toward either a Glock 26 or a Kahr P9.
5. Cash. I keep at least $20 in cash on me at all times. More is better. You just never know when an unforseen event will happen and you don't want to get stuck in a situation where you can't use your debit card or credit card and you have no cash. I keep this "emergency money" folded up and hidden, not with my normal cash so that it won't get spent.
6. A credit card with at least a few hundred dollars of available credit. Why? Because that hidden $20 might not always be enough to bail you out of what ever mess you found yourself in.
I have yet to come up with an emergency situation that one of these six items, combined with a mobile phone couldn't bail me out of. If you can't carry a gun where you live carry pepper foam, but don't be a vicitim. I don't claim that my knife and my gun are the best choice for everyone. Guns and knives are like golf putters. They are a very individual choice. Find what works for you and get some training with it.
Just remember that 90% of the people you meet are sheep, 5% are wolves and the rest of us are sheep dogs. When the wolves come calling, do you want to be a sheep or a sheep dog? Stay safe out there... and watch your six.
Many of us get caught up in a routine. It is easy to do. You get up at the same time every morning. You get dressed in the same style clothes (hopefully not the same clothes or you will have some serious B.O. issues). You get in the same car and drive the same boring commute to the same job. What could go wrong? Well, most of the time... nothing. And for those days, your wallet, keys and cell phone are more than what you need to survive the big bad world. The problem is that sometimes, things do go wrong and since we can't tell the future we have to be prepared for those things every day. If we knew ahead of time that next Thursday we would be run off the road and attacked by a mad man with a tire iron suffering road rage, we wouldn't need to be prepared. We'd just call in sick and not be there. Since we don't have a crystal ball, what can we do to be prepared?
Here are the things I try never to leave home without...
1. A pen. What?! What the hell is a pen going to do for you in an emergency? Well, not all things we run into are emergencies, but it is still nice to be prepared. Say your car runs out of gas and you need to leave a note for the highway patrol before you walk to the nearest gas station. Say it's something as simple as you are paying for a soda with your debit card and the cashier lost his pen. It can be anything minor or major but they always come in handy. Personally, I love the Fisher Space Pen just because it is small, writes well and can write upside down.
2. A flashlight. Now, I'm not suggesting that everyone walk around with a 4 D Cell Mag-Lite strapped to their hip. However, a small flashlight that fits in your pocket can come in handy. Just think... half the hours in a day are spent in darkness. Ever had to look under your seat for something you dropped? Ever had to read a map in the passenger seat while someone else drove? I never realized how useful they were until I started carrying one. Then, I realized I used it at least once per week. You can get some very small ones. I carry a Streamlight Microstream. It runs off a single AAA battery and is barely bigger than my Space Pen. Also, it costs less than $20.
3. A good knife. Now, check your local laws before you choose a carry knife. Some states, counties or cities have stricter laws than others and the type and size knife you can carry may vary. However, almost everywhere will allow some type of knife carry (in the U.S. anyway) and they come in handy for all sorts of things. I have quite a few I rotate between. I have a small Spyderco Ladybug 3 that I keep on my keychain so I always have some type of knife even if I forget my bigger one. For a larger knife, I alternate between a Kershaw Blur, Benchmade Griptilian and a Spyderco Rookie. Just be sure to get a good, quality folder that you can operate one handed. Then, put it in your weak hand pocket (front or back is your choice). This way, if you find yourself in a defensive situation and your strong hand (which was probably holding your gun) gets injured or disabled, you can grab the knife with your weak hand and hopefully create enough seperation to escape.
4. A reliable gun that you have practiced with and you know you can shoot well. This is the Watch Your Six blog after all. You didn't think I was going to go through all this and not mention a gun did you? Again, like the knife, know your local laws. In NC you can carry a handgun concealed if you have a concealed handgun license, but there are certain buildings and events that still prohibit it. Know where you can go and where you can't. That being said, carry as much as you legally can. Not only is it a good idea that could save your life, but it is a right and if you don't exercise your rights, you will lose them. I have a Ruger LCP (.380 ACP pocket pistol) that I carry when I can't carry anything else. Most of the time, I carry a S&W 642 which is a snub-nosed .38 Special +P revolver. I do plan down the road to buy something a bit larger for when I am dressed in a way that I can conceal larger guns. I'm leaning toward either a Glock 26 or a Kahr P9.
5. Cash. I keep at least $20 in cash on me at all times. More is better. You just never know when an unforseen event will happen and you don't want to get stuck in a situation where you can't use your debit card or credit card and you have no cash. I keep this "emergency money" folded up and hidden, not with my normal cash so that it won't get spent.
6. A credit card with at least a few hundred dollars of available credit. Why? Because that hidden $20 might not always be enough to bail you out of what ever mess you found yourself in.
I have yet to come up with an emergency situation that one of these six items, combined with a mobile phone couldn't bail me out of. If you can't carry a gun where you live carry pepper foam, but don't be a vicitim. I don't claim that my knife and my gun are the best choice for everyone. Guns and knives are like golf putters. They are a very individual choice. Find what works for you and get some training with it.
Just remember that 90% of the people you meet are sheep, 5% are wolves and the rest of us are sheep dogs. When the wolves come calling, do you want to be a sheep or a sheep dog? Stay safe out there... and watch your six.
Links
I went through my bookmarks and added all the links I think my readers would find useful. I hope it helps. Stay safe out there... and watch your six.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
My first post
Welcome to the Watch Your Six blog. I have been wanting to do a gun website for some time now, but other projects kept getting in the way. I have finally decided that even though doing a blog is not as robust as I would have liked, it will at least actually get done.
Let me first introduce myself. My real name is Sean, but I go by frogger on most of the gun forums around the 'net. I'm 36 years old, married and live in NC. I have been shooting since I was 13 and have been shooting competitively off and on for the last 9 years. I've mostly competed in IDPA, but I have shot PPC matches as well. I've attended High Power Rifle matches and Cowboy Action matches to see if I'd like to try those, but just haven't had the funds to buy the right gear for them yet.
I will do my best to post at least once per week and try to come up with a new, gun related topic for each post. My interest in guns is mostly for self defense so most of the posts will probably involve self defense style guns.
I get a lot of my information on guns from multiple sources...
- Gun podcasts like Gun Talk, Down Range Radio, Handgun Podcast, Pro Arms, and the Gun Dudes.
- Gun forums like 1911forum, AR15, CarolinaShootersForum, GlockTalk, M4Carbine, RugerForum, S&WForum, SigForum and XDTalk.
- Gun magazines like American Rifleman and Guns & Ammo.
- Shooting TV shows like Best Defense, Shooting Gallery and Personal Defense TV.
I'll try to post links as soon as I get a chance for some of these. Anyway, I hope you will check back occasionally and see my latest articles. I'll try to have something a little more informative for next time. Thanks for stopping by. Stay safe out there... and watch your six.
Let me first introduce myself. My real name is Sean, but I go by frogger on most of the gun forums around the 'net. I'm 36 years old, married and live in NC. I have been shooting since I was 13 and have been shooting competitively off and on for the last 9 years. I've mostly competed in IDPA, but I have shot PPC matches as well. I've attended High Power Rifle matches and Cowboy Action matches to see if I'd like to try those, but just haven't had the funds to buy the right gear for them yet.
I will do my best to post at least once per week and try to come up with a new, gun related topic for each post. My interest in guns is mostly for self defense so most of the posts will probably involve self defense style guns.
I get a lot of my information on guns from multiple sources...
- Gun podcasts like Gun Talk, Down Range Radio, Handgun Podcast, Pro Arms, and the Gun Dudes.
- Gun forums like 1911forum, AR15, CarolinaShootersForum, GlockTalk, M4Carbine, RugerForum, S&WForum, SigForum and XDTalk.
- Gun magazines like American Rifleman and Guns & Ammo.
- Shooting TV shows like Best Defense, Shooting Gallery and Personal Defense TV.
I'll try to post links as soon as I get a chance for some of these. Anyway, I hope you will check back occasionally and see my latest articles. I'll try to have something a little more informative for next time. Thanks for stopping by. Stay safe out there... and watch your six.
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