On Thu, 03 Sep 2009 03:20:55 -0700, Gunner Asch
wrote:
My "serious" carry, for when I ever might want a serious carry as in
expecting trouble, is a Para Ordnance Carry 9 I found used in tits
condx. It's heavier than an airweight wheelgun but it's a
singlestacker so it's thin and easy to pack. It's enjoyable to shoot
and amazingly accurate. I enjoyed shooting it today. Not cheap, but
that shouldn't be an issue for you.
Pay no attention to those who preach caliber as in bigger is better, a
real man carries a real gun and such swaggerwide macho foolishness.
Shot placement counts considerably more than caliber. The best
caliber for you is the largest caliber you can shoot well and will
have at hand when you need it.
I'm comfortable and competent with .357Mag, .45ACP and .40S&W in
suitably-sized pieces but my carry choices are the very pocketable
Ruger LCP in .380 and the ParaOrdnance Carry9 in 9mmp. YMMV.
See if you can find a Star BM
http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com/C...Model%20BM.htm
They are my favorite 9mm of all times. Slightly smaller than a Colt
Commander, yet fill the hand well. And Ive got big hands.
The Para Ordnance Carry 9 is about identical in size and shape to the
Star BM, but it is double-action only. No safety to forget. Parts are
readily available and it's guaranteed for life anyway. More than
$200, though.
Now about your comments about "caliber as in bigger is better, a
real man carries a real gun and such swaggerwide macho foolishness".
Ive seen far too many bad guys eat up an entire magazine of small ammo
like the .380, break/stab/beat/butcher the shooter and then walk off to
die some distance away. Even GOOD antipersonel ammo.
You forget I was a multiple tour combat vet, a deputy sherriff and
whatnot for most of my life. I shot people, Ive been shot, Ive been
around far too many gunfights to find any joy in them..and its the BIG
bullets that end them quickly.
I didn't forget that, Gunner. I am neither a LE officer nor a soldier,
and I think that being an armed civilian is somewhat different in a
number of ways.
The zero-shot stop seems to be caliber-independent. I've seen
statistics, don't recall where, that something like 90% of civilian
armed confrontations result in zero shots being fired. Predators look
for easy prey. A citizen armed with anything at all does not look
like easy prey, potential predator backs off. Any carry therefore
improves one's ability to avoid trouble by about 10X. My intent and
desire is to avoid trouble if at all possible, not blast it to
smithereens if I have a plausible excuse to do so. There are
certainly dangerous places I do not go. If I had to go in such places
I would be packing a .40 or .45. But I don't have to, so I don't.
Am I willing to risk the 10% of remaining confrontive situations where
I'd have to shoot someone to save myself and might wish I had a .45 or
a rifle? I guess I am, YMMV. I haven't needed to shoot anyone for
several decades and I live more conservatively now than I may have in
younger years.
I do keep a substantial piece in the bedroom. Bulk and weight don't
matter and it's always there if I should need it. There's no way to
evade or avoid an invader in my bedroom and his very presence there
makes his malicious intent quite clear. The legal situation is also
very clear though it'd very probably still be a helluva mess and
significant expense.