Category: Carrying / Self-Defense

SayUncle noted that someone dispatched a bear in self-defense with a .41 Magnum. I think Chris, who is located in Alaska, and I’m guessing has a bit more local knowledge about grizzly encounters than most, has some sage advice:

This is why we always carry bear spray and usually carry a gun too. The spray is Plan A, but if something decides to gnaw on me I want a plan B.

He notes that you’re much more likely to have a dangerous bear encounter in a National Park than anywhere else, and notes, “In any event, if you’re in AK doing lots of stuff outdoors, and you don’t carry at least bear spray, you’re stupid. Heck, we keep a can in each car because bears hang out around town too.”

I tend to agree with his approach, much the same way I advocate for people who carry guns to also carry a defensive spray. In a lot of cases, the spray is going to be the easiest and least problematic way out of a situation. The problem with gun control folks is that they want to sell you on the notion that one tool is really best for all situations. This is nonsense. Having both expands your capabilities and options, and there’s nothing wrong with either.

I will never understand why Europeans accept the level of violence from their protesters that they do – they just sit back and take it.

I’ve been watching coverage of Greek protests against spending cuts, and at what point do the citizens lie down and let the anarchy take over? It started with throwing rocks and burning cars. They also destroyed shop fronts & set businesses on fire. Now, the protesters are throwing molotov cocktails directly at police officers in order to set them on fire. Yesterday, they threw one into a bank to kill three people and injure more.

I’d like to think that here, we would tell our police officers to get rid of them with any means available. I can’t fathom that if a radical group started marching through a city, killing bystanders, and trying to set police officers on fire, we would just ask them to push back politely. At what point does your society decide that it no longer wants to defend itself from arbitrary mob attack?

By Nancy DeWolf Smith. In my opinion, really condescending, especially toward women, even though it’s written by a woman.

Surveys suggest that serious shooters are not particularly drawn to girlie colors. But what about the rest of the female population? The same forces that compel women to change pocketbooks and fingernail colors may add a vexing new list of daily dressing decisions, like “What color pistol grip goes with this outfit?” Next thing you know, women could be trading tips on the Web about the best way to attract men in a world where every girl can have a gun. Should she try to stand out from the crowd with a piece of rustic exotica that reminds him of the safari dolls in 1953’s “Mogambo,” like a .416 Rigby? Or go with something more crudely flashy, like one of the pretend AK-47s?

Even though she correctly points out this is a contentious issue even within our own community, and an issue where I generally favor concealment, Ms. Smith hopefully does not assume that means any of us advocate making open carry unlawful. This is an argument between gun owners, not between gun owners and the government.

Looks like we’re getting a lot closer to passage. It looks like it’ll be a done deal to me. I’m glad to see the 1000 foot from a school nonsense eliminated. How is one supposed to know when one is within 1000 feet of a school? I live that close to one too, but you’d never know it. If PA had such a law, I couldn’t carry or transport guns. In fact, without an LTC, you’re technically in violation carrying a gun on the street outside my house, due to the Federal Gun Free School Zones Act. You can’t see the school, but it’s there.

I also understand this allows restaurant carry, and fixes the airport issue that cropped up after the last ease on restrictions.

Ed Rendell shooting a Coyote for messing with his dog with a Ruger LCP with a Crimson Trace Laser sight. Dave Hardy asks if we can run this guy for President. SayUncle has another link to the same story.

Constitutional carry is now headed to the Governor in Arizona. The House just passed it 36-19 with 5 abstaining.

Looks like a security guard at a Roanoke J.C. Penney’s got a little overenthusiastic trying to apprehend a shoplifter by firing his gun into the air. I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest that neither J.C. Penney’s or the mall it’s located in hire armed security, so the guy probably packed the firearm on his own.

Now I can’t say a blame a guy for not wanting to take a bullet for a minimum wage security guard job at a mall. Given the job, I wouldn’t say packing a concealed pistol is unwise if he’s legally able to do so. But you’d think if you were defying corporate policy you’d exercise a little more judgement about when it is and when it isn’t appropriate to bring the gun into play.

Virginia has a statute for misuse of a firearm. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this applied to this guy. It should be applied to this guy.