I wish I hadn’t sold my FN-FAL. 
And you live in the PRK, right? Which means you’re prohibited from buying one. :mad:
I currently do not own any firearms or feel a pressing need to own any for self-defense. If the situation required it, I would be entirely comfortable and capable of carrying and using one.
Not anymore. But I’ve started a thread in MPSIMS where a friend of mine is tempting me to go back. I’d either have to sell the SAR-8 (HK-91) or put it in storage up here.
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- The conclusions of the Teuller drill do not apply to all types of armed encounters; in fact, they apply only to a very specific set of test conditions, reflecting what typical patrol police officers experience. If both participants are allowed to draw their weapons previous to the start (as what would occur in a home-invasion, for example), the results are become rather unsurprising.
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- The conclusions of the Teuller drill do not apply to all types of armed encounters; in fact, they apply only to a very specific set of test conditions, reflecting what typical patrol police officers experience. If both participants are allowed to draw their weapons previous to the start (as what would occur in a home-invasion, for example), the results are become rather unsurprising.
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My cop trainee friend recently told me this ‘fact’ , so I don’t know if you should slink off just yet… Maybe it depends on the type of gun?
Any good quality magazine spring should be able to remain compress indefinitely without becoming fatigued. A spring will undergo fatigue through repeated use, but barring poor design or an extremely large number of rounds fired, this shouldn’t be an issue. However, many cheap handguns or aftermarket magazines use spring material and/or fabrication processes that do lead to premature failure, i.e. the material is already deformed plastically during fabrication and therefore tends to fail while under compression. I’ve also seen people attempt to modify springs in order to get an extra round into the magazine; this usually results in permanent deformation of the spring that will eventually caused it to fail. I’ve used Browning Hi-Power magazines that were (at the time) 40 years old, stored for most of that time fullly loaded (13 rounds, doublestack), without a single failure.
By “replacing” the springs I assume you mean cycling them; this is unnecessary in terms of maintaining the integrity of the spring but is a good idea in order to keep the magazine from accumulating dust, corrosion, and so forth that might cause it to fail, especially if they are stored outside the weapon. You should, of course, be practicing with the weapon periodically anyway, to maintain handling and marksmanship skills and remain familiar with the controls and balance of the weapon.
BTW, despite what you see in films, it is never a good idea to load an auto-loading pistol or rifle through the ejector port, as this causes undo stress on the ejector claw when the slide or bolt comes back into battery. Feeding should always be done from the magazine, and if you need to carry a chambered round plus a full magazine the correct method is to feed a round from the magazine, remove and top it off, and replace it. Once sees this being done improperly all the time in films.
Stranger
Right now, it’s not even an option since I’m living in Japan. I suppose my bokutô or my iaitô could be considered weapons, but I can’t go walking around with them. Japan’s reputation for safety is overrated, but it’s still much safer than most of the places I’ve lived, and definitely safer than where I grew up. The only times I wish I could still carry my Spyderco pocket knife around with me are when the local bosôzoku (bike gangs) ride by in force. Even then, it’s more of a “wouldn’t it be nice” feeling since the gangs here are absolute pussies compared to the ones I had to deal with as a kid.
When I return to the US, I probably won’t be able to get a carry permit unless I live in a different state. The majority of my friends and family live in California. If it were an option, I would probably get a permit and carry regularly, mostly on general principles. Like Mr. Krebs one of the reasons I would want to carry is to preserve the right to do so.
I’ve been doing martial arts of one kind or another since I was 16, I’ve had the unfortunate opportunity to test those skills a couple of times, and I’ve filled out a lot since I was a kid, so I don’t really have any kind of fear problem when it comes to dealing with bad situations. I wouldn’t be carrying because I was in great fear for my life. Carrying a gun just makes it much less likely you will even need to use violence and I’m not exactly eager to put my training to use again.
Besides, I’ve been in a situation where one guy had a gun and I didn’t. It sucks, to put it mildly. He backed down, probably because he saw I was willing to take a chance on getting shot to get the gun away from him, but I’m very sure he would have backed down a lot faster if I’d had a gun too.
A gun trumps pretty much any other weapon in both utility and intimidation, which means that if simply pulling it out in a way that shows you know how to use it and are willing to demonstrate that competence doesn’t end things pretty directly, the situation is already pretty desperate. In that case, you’d probably already be in great danger of being dead or in need of a hospital if you didn’t have the gun. I can think of few situations where being armed is slightly more risky than not being armed; those situations are exceptions. Criminals look for the lowest risk with the highest rewards, as anyone would. Even people whose intention is to hurt you usually want to inflict pain, not experience it. Being armed makes you an unattractive target. That tends to limit your conflicts.
I feel that I am armed at all times, as I possess two things:
A brain, and the will to defend myself or others from attack using whatever is available. I think a ball-point pen or a fire extinguisher would make excellent improvisational weapons in some situations.
-AmbushBug
[sub]P.S. I’m the same wiseacre who, when asked “do you know any martial arts?”, answers “pistol and rifle marksmanship”[/sub]
Ye gods, no. I don’t feel the need to be armed.
That said, I have two guns in my house, purely for sentimental and decorational reasons - one’s a double-barrel shotgun passed down from my dad, the other’s a .22 passed down from Mr. Snick’s grandfather. The double barrel’s got a broken stock and hasn’t been shot in at least 20 years, and I doubt the .22’ll shoot straight anyway.
I’m also planning on taking some handgun shooting courses at our local range, just because I’d like to learn how to handle a gun (based on my own interests and also based on what I’ve read here at the SDMB). And if I find it fun, I might rent from them often and shoot at targets. I have no intention of ever owning a handgun, however.
No, I don’t really feel that my life is in danger on a daily basis. Unfortunately, you never know when danger will find you. As much as I loathe the cliche, I would rather have a gun and not need it, rather than need one and not have it.
Carrying a gun isn’t always a huge inconvenience, depending on what you choose to carry. Beyond that, it does ease one’s mind to know that he has a piece of steel that will equalize any encounter he happens to be in. I am more at ease with a shotgun next to my bed, and I would be more at ease knowing that I am prepared to defend myself and others should in an unfortunate circumstance arise.
Yes, packing a firearm carries some responsibility. I have Army training under my belt, as well as a concealed carry course and legion trips to the range. I love to shoot as a hobby, so guns really aren’t a big deal to me anymore. Suffice it to say, I feel prepared to handle the responsibility to carry one.
I’ve never felt the need to carry a gun on a regular, everyday basis. I have in the past, however, felt the need to carry one in response to an acute situation. About four years ago, I was the primary whistleblower in a $50 million corporate bank fraud case involving some black cocaine dealers from Oakland who had connections to Death Row Records, and according to some people I talked to, to Suge Knight himself. I carried a .40 S&W everywhere I went for several months afterwards, but after a sufficient period of time had elapsed without incident, I stopped doing so. Lately, I have been receiving threatening phone calls from an obviously mentally unbalanced person whom I have not yet identified. For reasons that are too complicated to explain here, I do know that this person lives in my neighborhood. I have lately been carrying a 9mm with me at nights when I walk the dog. But as matter of regular policy, I do not carry a gun if there is no outstanding reason to do so.
I armed myself this morning. In a nutshell: Heard gunfire this morning, loaded a pistol and cautiously went about trying to find out where it came from.
The pistol is unloaded now, and back in its case.
Yeah, I feel strongly compelled to be armed at home. I’m not to the point (yet) where I wish to carry a gun with me, but that may come to pass. I have a real problem with being told where I can and cannot go. That attitude has gotten me into some pretty hairy situations, which I’ve usually managed to handle without weapons. Problem is, I’m getting older, and the old body isn’t up to the task anymore. I don’t feel the confidrnce in my abilities I once did. There are some who see this, and will take advantage of it. Confidence goes a long way in avoiding situations. Old, fat, and arthritic just don’t cut it. 
Anyway, I pick up my first shotgun (Mossberg 500) on Thursday and I’ll get adequate training on how to handle it should the need arise (not likely). I also enjoy shooting, and I look forward to trying some skeet, maybe.
BTW;
My thanks to the many who helped me out on this thread with advice and answers to my questions.
Peace,
mangeorge
I have only ever felt the need to be armed once during my life. It was my freshman year of college, when a not-so-great part of my past decided he wanted to try to be a part of my life again. I carried a boot knife, though, not a gun–technically it’s armed, I guess
There is no reason I’d ever carry a gun. The only reason I carried the damn knife is because I figured it’d be enough to scare the guy off (which it did, after a fashion, but that’s another story). Anything that could potentially kill someone without a very deliberate, visceral effort just seems kind of…I dunno…kind of like cheating. Plus, I just don’t like 'em.
No, I don’t feel the need to be armed. I’m Canadian, and as such, I have never seen a gun up close, and I’m extremely hesitant to have a weapon designed specifically for killing someone at my disposal. I don’t go anywhere that I’d need a gun, and I don’t know any people from whom I have to protect myself.
Scare the guy off would your best hope. Unless you really know what you’re doing, it’s extremely difficult to stop (kill) someone quickly with a knife. Hence “multiple stab wounds”.
Though you can always attempt to stay in “safe” places, nothing is guaranteed. Because trouble has a tendency to find you, rather than the other way around, I will always choose to have a CCL and be armed, when possible. Fortunately, my wife feels the same way about this as she does about fire extinguishers in the kitchen and spare tires in the trunk…
I think this thread confirms the dramatic social difference over gun ownership between the US and UK.
I don’t have a gun and have never known anyone who does.
Our regular police don’t carry them. (They only have them at airports, on diplomatic protection and in a few armed response teams.)
We do have a rifle shooting range at school, but there are massive legal restrictions on anyone owning a handgun.
I live in a strongly pro-gun area and am the only member of my extended family that doesn’t own a single one. I also have zero interest in hunting or shooting for sport, so the sole reason I’d ever bring a gun into the house would be protection.
I have a 12 year old boy with ADD, Asperger’s and a real issue with impulse control. Hence, the only reason I can think of for owning one, to protect my child, is the same reason I won’t have one. The number of redundant safeguards I’d feel the need to put between my child and the gun would make it useless in an emergency, the only time I’d need to use it.
However, I do have a well-armed sister living across the street and a phone, yay. 