Thanks CATSIX.
So, how often do you actually carry? (I’m aware that laws vary from state to state, even between counties, but it’s been tough to find anything official on the internet).
Anyone else out there licensed to carry? Concealed or unconcealed? How often do you carry?
Shit, I bet that would be a hoot, if you had a permit to carry, not concealed, in, say, any large town or city! I wonder at the looks you would get…
(Yes I do love commas, when appropriately applied. I am a punctuation whore - my favorite is the semicolon; can’t wait for an opportunity to whip that bad boy out. Oh there she goes! Excessive commas do piss me off, however. You guys on this board are doing well with your punctuation and spelling, I think I’ll join).
I carry whenever I think I should. It really depends on where I’m going and what I’m going to be doing. If I’m taking a long car trip in state by myself, I carry.
You can try packing.org for more information on a state-by-state basis, but nothing beats actually calling the county sheriff where you live and asking them what you need to do.
So, Lucy, ‘splain somethin’ to me. How does leaving your door open make you feel more in control of your destiny?
I guess my main home defense weapon is this paperclip right here. It keeps people from entering my home uninvited, and its effectiveness is proven by the fact that no-one has ever done so.
yeah, we know.
Actually, given that gun laws vary considerably from place to place in the US there are cities where the laws are much more like those abroad than you might assume.
Me, I don’t own guns. But I do have weapons. In addition to the various big maglites/clubs, and the kitchen arsenal of knives and large serving forks, we also have a machete and a crossbrow, and I’m sure the leftover bottle rockets and fireworks from the Fourth of July could be used in some sort of weaponistic way. Then there are all the fun household chemicals, but I won’t be giving instructions on how to raise hell with those.
We have actually used the crossbow against a truck thief.
And? Did he laugh, bleed copiously or die?
G—y tease…
I used to keep my .357 loaded and conceled. I’d like to again, but I want to get one of those quick safes.
For now then, home defence is 210 lbs of me, and 130 lbs of two very alert dogs. My Wife is no slouch either, she’s a triatholete.
The dogs themselves would probably give me enough warning to arm myself. The gun is handy, just not loaded. Six rounds sit in an easily accessible spot.
The three attack cats (all with claws) and Grandma’s cane. And a very safe neighborhood where there has never, to my knowledge, been a break-in or a car theft.
Given that it’s not a very powerful or large crossbow, the bolt did not penetrate him very deeply, particuarly with his heavy trenchcoat. He was able to run off. It did, however, presuade him to drop the 18 inch knife he was carrying and for some reason he has never been back.
I suppose it’s hopeless to point out that all accounts I’ve read that were written by (reformed) professional burglars and assailants say that they never had any problems getting into occupied houses and were on the occupants before they had a chance to even wake up, let alone gather their thoughts quickly enough to grab a weapon and use it.
On the other hand, I’ve been through a natural disaster and know what humans are capable of. For looters, I keep an unloaded Mossberg 12 ga. in the closet, a box of slugs and a box of 00. It doubles as a bear gun when we vacation in remote areas.
my home defense weapon comes down to a choice between two firearms and three bright, powerful flashlights (gotta see what the muzzle of the gun is pointing at)
it’d be a choice between my Taurus 689 .357 Magnum revolver or my Mossberg 500 pump-action shotgun
flashlight choice would either be a SureFire 6P W/ P61 HOLA (120 lumens of blinding light) or my “sleeper” 2C Maglite…
the Mag 2C looks like a normal, anemic 2 cell Maglite, even when looking into the head of the flashlight with it turned off, the bulb looks like a standard MagNumStar Xenon 2 cell bulb, the light feels no heavier than a standard 2C Mag
however, when you light it up, you notice the difference, it’s brighter than my 6P, i’d guestimate it’s pushing 150-160 lumens, it’s just a tad dimmer than my MagCharger (my third flashlight choice), and the MC pushes out 170-200 lumens depending on what reference you read)
i’ve gone into the bathroom with dark-adapted eyes and “blipped” myself in the face (usung the bathroom mirror) with the Sleeper 2C, and it hurt, it was so bright i couldn’t look at the light, eyes instinctively slammed shut and head turned away from the light
the secret of the Sleeper?
a short length of heater hose, cut to fit the barrell
3 CR123a 3V Lithium cells (9V total current)
a MagNumStar FIVE CELL Xenon bulb (7.5V bulb)
spare MNS 6-cell bulb (9V bulb) in the tailcap
the MNS 5-cell is being slightly overdriven by the 9V load, it won’t last as long as if it was run in an actual 5 cell light, but it’s blindingly bright
if pressed to use the Mossberg defensively, i’d hold the Mag 2C on the foregrip of the shotgun, if i was using the Taurus, i’d use the SureFire 6P in a SureFire-Rogers grip…
hmm, looks like the Mag 2C Sleeper could be used that way as well…
Are you with the Witness Protection Program? Or maybe bringing the National Nuclear Attack Codes home with you?
Next time I am in California I am definitely stopping by for a drink!
And I will be calling ahead to let ya know I’m coming over!
Mine is a S&W model 686 stainless 357 with Glasers in the bedroom, a Glock model 17 9mm in the truck, and a .22 cal magnum that is on me when I’m not near either on of those.
As you said though, with a small amount of notice, it could change drastically.
I teach. 
Actually, the reason there are pistols scattered all over the house is that I ran out of space in the gun safe. I could hang them all in the closet with their leather, but that would cost me closet space. So, if they are going to be stored around the house, the ammo might as well be with them. It’s not like there are kids in the house.
A nightstick that, oddly enough (Sgt Schwartz), I bought at an army surplus store outside of Fort Bragg (in 1982).
Well, you gotta try!
My little friend is a Glock 17 loaded with 17 rounds of hollowpoint 9mm. Also laying around are a few swords, a Ruger M77, and a SAR-1 with 75-round drum mag in case somebody’s really pissed at me.
I’m too poor and hesitant to buy a gun, although whenever I see a picture of a Glock (or a .50 cal rifle) my mouth waters and I get a little aroused.
That being said, I have a Jack Russell that HATES people coming up the stairs, a baseball bat between the living room and the door, and a huge fuck-off meat cleaver between the bedroom and the door.
I would say that the best home defense weapon I have is the stairs themselves. You cannot, CANNOT walk up them silently. They are old, made of metal, and very very clangy.
I’ve been burgled, but wasn’t home. They stole a few things and burned the place to the ground. If there’d been any guns in the place, I assume they would have stolen them.
Don’t like guns; most gun enthusiasts I encounter seem to be fat-ass perpetual adolescents with pathetic, fetishistic power-fantasies. All my stuff is hand-to-hand.
Well, if you want to get into pointy things, there is also the wife’s broadsword by the door, the katana on the other side, the 19th Century Bavarian saber hanging over the bookcase, and a selection of axes scattered around the walls. Plus all the serious knives in various places. We use them a lot around the house, so they are everywhere.
Plus two cats who will lick you to death if you aren’t careful.