Review: Sig Sauer Handgun 101

Sig Sauer Academy Handgun 101

Taken: early July.

Level:                    Entry level.

Lecture:         (5)   Solid 5-6 hours providing a good grounding in: safety, operating mechanisms of firearms, basic grip, basic stance, basic sighting, transporting firearms, basic legal precautions, cleaning, storage, and care of handguns.

Range:          (5)   A good several hours of basic training and drills. 50 rounds 9mm fired.

Materials:      (5)  Good handout materials including large legal appendices and future training options. 

Equipment:   (4)   Students are paired up to swap out a high quality 9mm handgun. Ammunition provided.

Value:            (5)   Tuition was $200. An excellent value for the expertise of the instructors and the included materials.

Recommended For: Anyone who would like a solid course in the basics of handguns. Acceptable for shooters with a bit of prior experience. Even those who have been shooting for several years will learn something. Could be overwhelming for someone who has never touched a gun before or has trepidations about firearms.

Total Score: 24/25  (96% for those who prefer things that way)

Opinion: I enjoyed it immensely for what it was. The information is delivered in quick concise chunks and there is far more detail in the legal and moral realms of handgun carry and use than usual for basic classes. 
The range time was put to good use with '2 body - 1 head drills' and similar. I appreciate introducing students to a 9mm immediately and the targets were close enough for relatively easy to obtain accuracy. Critique of targets was handled well although class size and only two instructors kept it a bit limited.
The cleaning lecture actually put the students to cleaning the guns which is nice over merely demonstrating what should be done.
Although it is not a concealed carry course, the topic does come up and is investigated in rather more depth than most basic courses provide. Traveling with arms is also discussed thoroughly.

One of those days

Yes, I know, usually this title precedes a rant about a terrible day. But this time I'm not talking about one of those days, rather one of those days. The kind when everything goes right.

I have discovered something. If I move closer to the target, I turn into this super confidant, and surprisingly accurate shooter. I like it when the target is close. 

Don't get me wrong, I haven't been spending my youth in ridiculously long range training, but our local indoor range is a 50ft fixed. So, I shoot 50ft targets. The other day, I did a bold thing; there being no-one else at the range, I walked up to about 15ft from the target. 

Yes, this is close. Yes, this is useful in defensive training. Yes, I have done this before at various clinics and other places, but not for a long time.

And everything went where I wanted it to go. There was a flier, one stray shot down on the bottom of the spinal column in the target. And a few times I might have clobbered the target in the nose instead of between the eyes. But nothing strayed left or right. By the end of the day, there were five nice ragged holes in my target and fifty little brass cases on the floor. I am ecstatic.

I like it when the target is close.

Excursions with Open Carry

Recently, I was helping an elderly friend of the family move from one apartment to another. Being one of the 'strapping young folk', I was enlisted to haul furniture. As the afternoon warmed, I shed my light sleeveless over blouse, revealing the grip of my carry piece on my belt. Open carry doesn't require a permit in that state and I am licensed for concealed there so I wasn't particularly worried.

We made a number of trips up and down the elevator of the facility without anyone noticing or commenting, very much as I had expected. Late in the afternoon, we were hauling a large bureau to the truck. At the elevator stop, the women ahead of us insisted that we could all cram into the vehicle. After a couple minutes protest, we furniture movers finally gave in and crowded into the car. We were about half way down the ride when the insistent lady decided to turn her attention to us. First words:

"Oh, are you expecting trouble?" with a slight nervous titter.

I'll be honest, it took me a half a moment to figure out what she was saying. Then, "No, ma'am."

"But you have your. . . weapon right there."

I'm afraid it was be the sort of remark to which I don't know how to respond. It isn't particularly a question, and supporting a solid oak bureau in an elevator is hardly the place for the sort of conversation it sparks. Fortunately, my fellow furniture mover rescued me with a cute remark about needing a bodyguard. And him at something over 6'4" and at least twice my weight.

During the rest of the moving that afternoon, my gun remained unnoticed or, at least, unmentioned. So far, 1/30 for observation and comment.

Once we had finished the moving job, a few of us went down the main street to go into some shops and get a bit of dinner. We stopped in a cafe for our dinner. The young man behind the counter seems quite confidant as he begins to ring up our orders; then, as his eyes travel over me, he suddenly adjusts his hat nervously several times. We are no sooner seated when he is overheard to say to the manager. 

"I've only got 45 minutes left." while mopping the floor with frequent glances toward our table. 

And then something odd happened.

I noticed the two fellows through the window because I like to watch the traffic go by.  One was walking just a few feet behind the other, not close enough to talk but too close to be really considered a different entity. They walked past the streetside window of the cafe and kept moving, so I put them out of my mind.

Then the side door of the restaurant opened and in walked the lead of the two. He was dressed plainly enough, jeans, sweatshirt, with one hand buried in the pocket of his hoodie. His fellow walker remained hovering around the front of the cafe.

To me it was a little odd that he would come in the side door, propped open today due to the heat but with a little sign that says 'please use front entrance'. It also seemed odd to wear such a warm shirt when I had been willing to shed my cover garment. But I was enjoying my sandwich and the conversation at the table, so I put it out of my head.

The newcomer walked up to the counter and then gave a quick glance around the restaurant. He caught the anxious counterman's glance in my direction as I stood up to remove my trash to the rubbish bin.

The stranger looked at me, eyes rested briefly on my waistband, and then moved back out the side door.

On our way out, the manager stopped me to thank us for our business.

I said something appropriate in return, but once we got outside, I had a fit of the giggles. Because, you see, the thing is, I was carrying the smallest piece at our table.

So, my experience with open carry. Most people don't notice. Those that do, aren't expecting it.

Good or Bad? I'd have to go with indifferent. Just the same, I'll stick with concealed carry for the most part. Although, once in a while, the world might just need to be reminded that there are folks with guns who lead perfectly normal lives. I'm afraid I served as that reminder. Oh, and if I caused the guy in the cafe to miss out on one of those delicious sandwiches, it wasn't my intent.

Review: NRA Basic Pistol Class

NRA Basic Pistol Class

Taken: early November.

Level:                    Entry level.

Lecture:         (5)   Solid 4-5 hours providing a good grounding in: safety, operating mechanisms of firearms, basic grip, basic stance, basic sighting, transporting firearms, basic legal precautions, cleaning, storage, and care of handguns.

Range:          (5)   A full afternoon of gun handling time. Each shooter has a personal coach to ensure a smooth experience. Shooters tried both revolver and semi-automatic pistols. Between 100-150 rounds fired.

Materials:      (5)   Nice full color spiral bound booklet in addition to slide handouts. The writing is easy to read and concise, and a solid index encourages use as a reference manual.

Equipment:    (4)   A decent assortment of handguns available to try. Ammunition provided. All are in .22lr caliber. No higher calibers available.

Value:            (5)   Tuition was $75. An excellent value for everything that was included.

Recommended For: Anyone who would like a solid course in the very basics of handguns. Acceptable for shooters with a bit of prior experience, although not too much. Could be overwhelming for someone who has never touched a gun before or has trepidations about firearms.

Total Score: 24/25  (96% for those who prefer things that way)

Opinion: I took this course with perhaps a bit too much experience under my belt already but I still found it useful, especially as a skill builder. 
The one on one coaching during the range time really made it beneficial to me. The coaching was encouraging and not too high pressure.
I would have liked to see a heavier caliber handgun available for trying at the end of the day. .22lr is great for introducing firearms, but it might be nice to offer the opportunity of a larger gun, just so students can see what it feels like to fire a .45, .38 snubby, or a 9mm.
The lecture is definately aimed at students new to firearms. Comments from a rather timid new shooter indicated that the lecture seemed overwhelming, it was her first time in the same room as a gun, but by the end everything fell into place and she felt better about things.
Again: Not a concealed carry course. Nor particularly a personal defense course; this one is just for an intro.

And, we're back, after those messages

Hmm, I appear to have gone on an unplanned and unannounced hiatus for a time. Well, you have my sincerest apologies for that. I'm back now, though, and hope to continue the good fight.

In my time away, I've had a good chance to test the new Glock Gen 4. The Glock 19, to be specific. Yes, it's not really all that new, but anyhow.

At first, I wasn't sure how I'd feel about it, being at least a pound lighter than my usual carry piece and polymer instead of all steel. Moreover, I've smallish hands and the double stack mag had me a bit concerned.

So I tried it.

Initial reaction: 'Terrible! I hate this gun. It makes me feel like a two year old. I can't hit a twenty inch square cardboard at twenty feet.' The stippling on the backstrap was uncomfortable, I had two FTE's, and came away feeling like a dunce. I think I hit my fifty foot target a whopping twice in fifty rounds.

Well, I'm not usually one to give up too easily; so I went back a week later. 

Whatever had gone wrong the first day, went entirely right the second. Everything was in a four inch group at fifty feet. There was one FTE and one FTF in a hundred rounds but otherwise no problems.

So my impressions based on these two days:

I really like it.

The recoil's well controlled by their fancy new spring mechanism; same load in my Beretta 92 SB, all steel, feels about the same as in the Glock despite the weight difference.

The trigger pull is nice; very consistent with a crisp reset. 

Magazines can be a little difficult to load all the way, but they do fill.

For those of us who aren't used to Glocks, disassembling for cleaning is a trick; but once you get it, it's almost as easy as a 92 and several times easier than a 1911.

The lack of safeties makes it a little unusual for someone used to a flip safety but it's easy to get used to and actually quite nice for people with good trigger control. Although it's not a gun I would use for someone brand new to shooting for exactly the trigger control reason. 

So all in all, I got over my initial aversion to the Glock. A gun to bear in mind for many purposes, I believe.

Missing Guns

This may sound a little crazy, but I have recently discovered that I miss my guns.

I've been at a conference for the past week and a half, hence the reason there was no post last week. It was not a gun conference, rather a meeting for my current real job: education. So naturally, there were no talks about guns and all of us gunnies were hiding under the guise of 'normal' educators. In short, there were no guns within the premises.

And this did it. I miss my guns. Especially carrying. It's a very comforting feeling, that weight on your belt, or wherever you hide it. And I do not like being in an unfamiliar city without it. I admit to being almost surprised how much more stressful it is walking out, knowing that you do not have your equalizer.

But it is much much more than that. I don't just miss the comforting weight; I miss the range time too. There's not much more fun then taking some targets out on a glorious weekend and putting holes in them. And I miss the gun people at the range; for the most part, they're a friendly lot.

So I ask that 'friendly lot', do you miss your guns too?

Hmm. I think I'll go plinking now. Perhaps there will be more insightful musings later on.

It didn't have to happen

In the news recently, I read an article about a young mother  and school teacher who was murdered by her neighbors.

The gist of the story is as follows:

The victim received a late evening telephone call from a fellow who used to plow her driveway. He asked her for some help since their vehicle had broken down on some side road. The victim packs up her two year old and goes to help the plowman. Upon reaching the 'disabled' vehicle, she exits her SUV and walks over to their car at which point the plowman and his wife proceed to beat her into oblivion and stuff her into the back seat of their car where the wife choked her to death. They then disposed of her body by pouring bleach on it and dumping it into a river.

The young woman was a high school teacher in a town not too far from my unassuming, quiet hometown. Many of us knew her. It should be very difficult to tell oneself that 'these things only happen in cities and horror movies' when your hometown turns into that horror movie.

It is not a story I particularly like to think on, but there are many lessons in it and I hope by setting them out that we can get across the main point of the day. It did not have to happen. I repeat, it DID NOT have to happen.

Firstly, you receive this phone call. Why do you feel the need to go tend to the problem yourself? You are not a mechanic. What is possibly wrong with calling the police and reporting a disabled vehicle? Call the cops, the mechanic, AAA. Why do you leave your cozy house in the late evening, well after 9pm, to go out?

Secondly, if you do have some reason to go out. Why are you not armed? Even if it is only your neighbor and you are confident they're wonderful people, there could be other less wonderful people betwixt you and your goal. Or your neighbors might be being held hostage by a horrible person which is why they made the phone call in the first place! Good heavens, you even live in a state where concealed carry doesn't need a license. Go armed, please, or don't go.

Thirdly, why are you taking your child out of their warm bed? I admit that this move simply doesn't make sense to me. If you have a young child at home, isn't that all the more reason to send someone else to deal with the problem?

Fourthly. Ok. So you've made up your mind; you're going, and you're going unarmed. You arrive and pull up behind the disabled car. Why do you immediately get out of your vehicle and proceed toward the problem? Why do you not wait for the caller to come over and talk to you through your window? Then you can find out the problem, if it's that they've run out of petrol, you will be in a much better position to drive off and get some. It will save time. If they need a jump start, well you'll be in a much better position to move your vehicle to theirs. If they plan on murdering you, well, you're a heck of a lot better off in your car where you can drive away than out of it.

I don't know about you, but I haven't car knowledge beyond fetching someone break fluid, gasoline, a jump start, changing a tire, or getting more help.  And I would think anyone who used to plow my driveway would know all of that stuff.

Fifth. So you get out of the car and go to the problem. Look friend, take a gun, a taser, pepper spray, mace, a pipe wrench, something. Please. And listen to your gut, if they don't come to you, there's a reason, get back in the car and drive away. You can always say 'woops I thought I made a wrong turn'. Or call the cops and wait if it's all so fired up important to you to stay.

I'll close with a favorite quote of mine:

"Stay low, move fast, think smart, and if you go, take someone with you." ~ Pete Thornton from MacGyver.

Tweaked a bit gives:

If you go, go armed. Please. Don't do this. Because it didn't have to happen.

Review: NRA Refuse To Be A Victim

NRA Refuse To Be A Victim Seminar

Taken: late March.

Level:                    Entry level.

Lecture:         (4)  A solid 3-4 hour discussion on various safety precautions and security techniques for avoiding crimes.

Range:          N/A

Materials:       (4)   Well designed training manuals that make for easy reference in the future, although the treatment of some sections is a bit limited.

Equipment:    (4)   An assortment of demonstration pieces that can be used to in various safety measures are available for inspection and handling.

Value:            (4)   Tuition was $30. A good value overall.

Recommended For: People without a strong background in self preservation and protection tactics. Not a firearms course. Firearms will not come up. Not particularly for the already appropriately 'paranoid' individual. Highly recommended for those who are new to the idea of self protection and need a mindset course.

Total Score: 17/20  (80% for those who prefer things that way)

Opinion: This course really needs to be taken by many people; unfortunately, the folks most likely to take it will already know much of the material.
I liked the seminar style and the chatting back and forth that came up as everyone shared ideas about the topics. Since all of us had been exposed to the basic material in the past, the swapping of suggestions and commentary really was the most helpful piece of the course for us. 
I think it would be ideal if this could be offered at a public service level, at a university, or as a parent seminar at schools, in order to pass the message to those in need of it. 
Again: Not a firearms or concealed carry course.

Would You Really?

This is 'The' question for the concealed carrier. We get it in many forms, almost whenever someone finds out, which, fortunately, is not too often.

"Would you really be able to shoot someone?"

I'm going to be honest.

I don't know.

Ah. Don't jump on me just yet. I have thought about it. I expect I would. I have decided that surviving and protecting are worth the consequences. I could. I have trained rather extensively to be able to use my weapon if necessary. (I hope it never is.) But would I?

I really can't say. Maybe in the moment I would panic and be unable to do anything but stand helplessly. Maybe I would faint dead away. Maybe I would draw and fire, just like I have practiced so many times. Maybe I would find I am capable of some amazing feat of strength or speed and not even need to draw. But any of these things might happen.

So the hard truth is: I simply don't know. I know what I would want myself to do. I know what I have trained to do. I know what I could live with. I know what I expect I would do. I might even go so far as to say I know what I hope I would do. But would I?

I don't know that. I pray to god I never have to find that out.

Breaking in the 'Cheap' Holster

Lots of talk about holsters out there, and most of it's good. We especially hear wonderful things about custom made holsters and they really are that good (more on that later). But what about a holster for someone on a budget, or as a backup, in case the nice one gets damaged?

I am by no means an expert on the subject, but here are my five cents worth on 'cheap' holsters*.

For this article, I'm actually reviewing and using a leather pancake by Bulldog Cases: $20 at my local gun shop. It fits the gun alright out of the package and is quite nicely concealable. A few steps to break it in and mold it a little better:

1) Oil up the gun and wrap her in plastic wrap. Shove firmly into the holster.

2) Get out some leather conditioner (any handbag/jacket/belt treatment works) and apply liberally to front and back of holster. You may need a couple of coats in order to really make a difference. Wipe off any excess conditioner. During this step, don't draw and reholster your gun too many times or it will need to be rewrapped in plastic.

Leave the gun wrapped and in the treated holster several hours to overnight to let the leather mold. Then slide it on the belt and wear it.

I like to wear it around the house with an unloaded gun for a few days to get used to the fit and feel of a new holster and give the leather time to mold a little more.

During this break in process, you can take some time to see if any wardrobe alterations need to be made to maintain concealment and how it stands up to daily abuse. A few quick excercises will help prepare the holster for duty.

With an unloaded gun (or training 'bluegun') find a zone with a safe backstop. Is the gun unloaded? Good. Check it again. Still unloaded? Good. Where's the ammo? Next room? Next state? Good. Check it again. Now try a few of the following: (Check it again.)

1) Practice drawing from concealment. Make sure the muzzle doesn't cross something you don't want to destroy. Adjust your draw stroke or reposition the holster if necessary.

2) Lay on the ground and practice reaching your gun and drawing from the floor. Is it where you expect it to be? Practice until it you're not fumbling too much. (Yes, for this one it's ok to make sure the curtains are closed and nobody's watching.)

3) Sit down. Sit in a chair, type on the computer, write a check, reach for your gun. You may find you'll have to adjust the position a bit for comfort or reach.

4) Sit in the car. (Find a safe zone. Gun unloaded? Good. Check again.) Drivers side, passenger side, back seat if you spend time there. Draw from behind the wheel. Someone is carjacking you with a gun, can you reach yours?

5) Draw with your other hand. For this one: grasp with 'wrong' hand, draw, give the gun a half turn, replace in holster, take a proper grip, draw again, and bring sights on target. Watch that muzzle!

So you've tried a few exercises and fixed any trouble spots, now take it out to the range for one of your standard practice sessions. Be Safe!

After all that, your 'cheap' holster (or any other holster) is ready for action.

*No matter what, the holster must cover the trigger!

On the Caliber War

I think we all hear a lot about the caliber war. What is best? Does (fill in the blank) have enough 'stopping power'? Does (fill in the blank) have too much kick? Will (fill in the blank) be better than (fill in the blank)? Does it even matter?

I'll admit it: I'm a 9mm person, myself. Oh, I know that .45ACP or 10mm might have a 'better' reputation as defense rounds and I can't tell you the number of times someone has said: 'you should get a .44 magnum for your carry gun'. Well, maybe. But I have my reasons for sticking with 9mm. Just as others have their reasons for whatever caliber they are sporting. Here's what it really boils down to for me:

Is my chosen round is used by military and/or police?

If so, it probably has enough power for any situation I'm going to get into.

Am I comfortable shooting this load?

.44magnum might be great, but the last time I shot one of those, it kicked like a mule and my hand was sore for a week. I won't practice if it's no fun.

Does my chosen ammo come priced reasonably enough that I can afford to practice?

For some, this is not a big deal, for anyone on a budget, it is. If your ammo is too expensive for you to practice with it, then you might be better off shooting a .22 at the bad guy. At least you'd hit him.

Do I have reasonably good performance with this ammo?

Facing the facts, sometimes we just don't shoot as well with certain loads/guns. Those shouldn't be our primary defensive tools.

If you answer yes to all of these, then whatever you picked is just about fine. Maybe the holes aren't as large as some, but they will end up where they need to be and that's what really matters.

Review: NRA Women on Target

NRA Women on Target Course

Taken: mid July.

Level:                    Beginner, entry, never handled a gun before.

Lecture:         (4)   Solid 3+- hours providing a good grounding in safety, operating mechanisms of firearms, and some very basic fundamentals of sight picture and alignment, grip, and the like. The lecture portion could have used a little more time.

Range:          (5)   A full afternoon of gun handling time. Each shooter has a personal coach to ensure a smooth experience. Shooters rotated stations, allowing them to try many types of guns.

Materials:      (3)  Ours were photocopied handouts. They served the purpose but are not conducive to flipping through at a later date.

Equipment:    (5)   A very nice assortment of firearms available to try. Ammunition provided. All are in .22lr caliber, although at the end of the afternoon a .38 special revolver was brought out for anyone interested.

Value:            (5)   Tuition was $10. An excellent value for everything that was included.

Recommended For: Women who have never handled a gun before, or have not done so in many, many years. If you've shot in the past, you may want to consider another course.

Total Score: 22/25  (88% for those who prefer things that way)

Opinion: Back when I took it, it was exactly the right thing for me. I wanted to handle as many different firearms as possible and this class provided that opportunity. The environment was very safety conscious but otherwise relaxed and low key. A good introductory experience for first time firearm handlers. If you want to introduce your damsel to shooting, this isn't a bad option, especially since she won't be intimidated by the pistol champ at the next bench.

Oh yeah: This is not a self defense course by any means. It's simply an introduction to firearms. Concealed carry doesn't come up. 

A new month, a new series of articles.

In an effort to make myself slightly useful to the community that reads these rambles, I am planning on writing small reviews of the classes I take. When I was starting on this quest to concealed carry, I did a lot of reading and wondering about what classes to take first. Most everything I read was good but it didn't really help me decide what to start with or where to go from there. Hopefully, these small reviews will provide something of a trail to anyone else in a similar position.

I will review each course based upon the following 7 criteria, with a score of 1 to 5, 5 being excellent and 1 being below expectations. A course may receive a score of N/A in a category if it is not applicable. In my reviews, I will attempt to keep focused on the material presented, as different places and instructors may heavily color the overall impression of the course. So, without further ado, my system:

Level: entry, intermediate, advanced, etc.

Lecture: what material is covered in the class via speaking or presentation. Higher scores for material that is clear, practical, and relevant to firearms and safety.

Range Time: the time, number of rounds, coaching, and so on. Higher scores for safe, skill building time.

Materials Provided: Texts, manuals, handouts, useful things to take home. Higher scores for materials that are useful for future reference.

Equipment Provided: ammo, weapons, holsters, variety of equipment, etc.

Value: cost versus returns, I'll try to list the price of the course here as well, but these can vary depending on season, location, and registration discounts.

Recommended For: who I would recommend the class for.

Opinion: my personal rant and rave about the class, not included in scoring.

Excluding Level and Recommendation, this gives us a maximum of 25 points.

In my rating scheme, I will take into account how accurately the advertising reflects the course. For example, if a course says you must provide your own handgun and 200 rounds of ammo, then they might get a 5 in equipment provided, even though they didn't provide anything.

Hopefully this all makes good sense.

Reviews will appear the first week of each month, if there is to be one that month.

I try to attend several courses every year but if there is one in particular that you would like reviewed, let me know and I'll see what I can do. 

Similarly, if you offer courses and want me to review yours; a tuition break would be a great incentive!

If you have any questions about my reviews, comment or e-mail me and I'll do my best to answer them. 

Reflections on Cell Phones, Guns, and University Campuses

I am currently doing a stint instructing at a public university. This goes, in some ways, very much against my grain since I am forbidden from carrying on campus. However, one does what one must, and it has given me much to think about.

I read a university wide alert this week in my e-mail that one of our promising young students died from injuries sustained in a car wreck on Tuesday evening. She was wearing a seatbelt and seated in the back seat. Neither speed nor alcohol figured in the cause of the collision. The driver was only on his cell phone when the vehicle swerved into the other lane and crashed head on into a truck.

Another article a month ago, noted that a student at the campus was critically injured while crossing the street, in a cross walk, by a driver who was texting while driving. 

I read another article advising students to always carry their cell phones because a known sex offender has been seen stalking students running on university grounds.

At this point I should make my position clear on the cellular telephone. I blog. I am fond of e-mail, texts, phone calls, and even some chat sites that keep me in touch with my knight when he is off slaying dragons. I am not a technophobe. But I have a flip phone. Pay-as-you-go, drug-dealer-special type. I do not need to access e-mail from my phone; I do not need the phone to compute the tip at a restaurant; I do not demand photographs from every occasion. I'm not adverse to these things; they simply are not useful to me.

I do enjoy receiving e-mails and texts from my friends. But I also maintain a sense of perspective, I do not need to check my phone every three minutes. It is not that important.

While teaching, though, I have noticed that, among many folks, it has become that important. My students, before they have had my class***, are in the habit of checking their phones every two to four minutes. Even at 8am!

They allow the phones to ring during class. They text; they openly disregard the lecture because 'lol, so, like totally want to get coffee after this' is clearly more important than the upcoming exam.

But I digress.  The CCW permit holders I know would not dream of checking their magazines every five minutes. We would not whip out our weapons in class. We would not allow them to distract us from our jobs.  We would not be driving while brandishing and cause a tragic accident. However, if this suspect character in the alert did try something, we would be able to stop it. A cell phone will not.

And yet, we are forbidden from carrying this self defense device that only ever appears in emergencies but we are encouraged to carry an item that seems to cause such disasters such as automobile wrecks, widespread distraction, death, and injuries? I remain puzzled.

Accidental deaths due to distraction by cellular telephones: 2600*

Accidental deaths due to careless handling of defensive firearms: 789*

I'm keeping score, oh university mine, are you?

* According to a traffic study in 2005 done by the University of Utah.

** According to the 2005 death reports to the US Government, cdc.gov. 

*** I have a policy, inherited from a much beloved professor of mine. If I hear it or see it, there will be a quiz. It used to scare them into turning them off. But just the other week, I gave three cell phone quizzes in the first 30 minutes of class. After two: I offered a minute during which to remove cells from their hiding spots and turn them off. Almost five minutes after that, 'ring/ring/ring'.

Alas poor Yorik's grade: I knew it well before it became an F.

Why I Carry

Sometimes people ask me why I carry a gun. Unlike some, I have not had the traumatic experience that serves as a trigger, pun not intended, for concealed carry. So here is my story: why I carry, and how I reached the decision.

I never really thought about carrying a handgun; my grandfather did once upon a time ago, when he worked at the race track, and my grandparents and parents shot but carry just didn't really run in the family. Growing up I learned to shoot BB guns by the age of five or six, I don't remember not knowing how to use them, but again, larger guns just weren't in the house. I'm the youngest grandchild and by the time I was old enough to learn a heavier caliber, Granddad had lost his vision and never got to teach me. I didn't think about it at all for years and years. I took the BB guns out and popped soda cans every now and again but not more than that.

One summer I took a Women on Target class at the local range and I was completely hooked. . . on rifles. I was simply enamored with my CZ452 in .22lr and silhouette shoots. Rifles, long rifles, in particular, were the end all be all for me.

Eventually, I decided to buy a handgun, a little Ruger Bearcat, to excercise my constitutional right maybe, but mostly because the Bearcat was a cute little revolver. I loved it. I still do. It's fun to shoot, easy to clean, and it looks like it marched straight out of a B-grade western. I still never really thought abut carrying it.

About that time, I met my knight. For the first time in my life, I started to think about what would happen if I weren't around. 

It's not that my knight couldn't protect me. Truth be told, he'd be better at it than almost anyone else I've met. Thing is, he's a knight, and he's often off protecting other people. You see, he deployed to Afghanistan the same year I moved to a more urban area for my work. During that first year, there was an armed mugging in the parking lot, mere minutes after I had departed for the day from that self same lot.

Perhaps that should have woken me up itself. But it wasn't until my knight came back a few months later that I started to think about my life being worth something. My knight had gone overseas to protect all of the freedom and safety I enjoyed here. He clearly thought I was worth protecting, with his life if need be. Why should I be any less willing to protect myself?

I shouldn't, was the decision I reached. I won't let him down by risking taking away one of the things he already fought to defend. 

So I carry. Not because I don't believe in knights in shining armor, but because those knights carry for me. I carry so their efforts aren't wasted. And I carry for my knight, because sometimes he needs me just as much as I need him.

The 'Just In Case' Factor

Every now and again, someone will ask me if I expect to have to use my gun. I generally reply: "I pray to God I never do," or something along those lines. Usually that's that, end of conversation, but sometimes the asker looks confused or presses further with a 'Then why do you carry it? Do you go to bad places?'

No, I don't go stupid place, or do stupid things. At least, as much as humanly possible I try to avoid such. I don't get into situations where I expect to need my gun. I carry it just in case.

Often in the gun community, I hear similar echoes from concealed carry permit holders. They often run along these lines. I don't carry because I want to use it, or because I expect to, I carry it just in case. It's the same reason I do hundreds of other things:

When I get into my car, I put my seatbelt on, not because I expect to drive dangerously or wreck my vehicle, but just in case. 

When I cross the one lane dirt road adjacent to my driveway, I look both ways. Do I really expect a lot of traffic? No, certainly not. But I do it anyway, just in case. 

I take my cat to get her rabies vaccine every year. I did it even when she lived as an indoor cat before we moved. Because I expected my house guests to bite her and give her rabies? No, but she might escape and she might need it.

I have candles in my house because the power might go out. I have smoke alarms not because I'm a pyromaniac, but just in case.

For us, who do carry and accept it as a piece of our lives, putting on your gun is like putting on your seatbelt. Just in case. But I can hear the protests to these arguments and I have to admit there is one that is pretty good: "But putting on a seatbelt won't kill you. It isn't dangerous."

Those who make this protest have a valid point. The point they're making, whether or not they know it, is that there is a difference between active and passive safety measures, to steal terms from the automobile industry.

Passive safety measures rely on objects or others to function the way they are supposed to and keep us safe. They usually don't require much training or effort to use. The seatbelt is one: putting it on doesn't require a lot of training. The 911 system is another. We can call it in an emergency and they will send help, not much effort needed. Fire alarms, airbags, deadbolts, reflective vests, helmets, shoes, tetanus shots, and so on, are passive safety measures. 

These things are great. The only problem is, they sometimes fail and they can be defeated with enough determination. The burglar with bolt cutters or an ax, the airbag that fails to trigger, the drained battery in a fire alarm, the person who doesn't see the reflective strip. You get the picture.

Active safety measures, on the other hand, are a tad different. Defensive driving, swimming lessons, fire extinguishers, and CPR are the examples I'm going to use.

Trying to avoid a crash can end worse than taking the hit if an inexperienced driver swerves suddenly on a slick roadway. Without full understanding and good techniques, defensive driving can be dangerous.

Installing a swimming pool isn't a way to make yourself less likely to drown at the beach unless you go ahead and take the swimming lessons. In fact, you're more likely to drown in your own back yard!

Someone may have a fire extinguisher in their home but if they use a water-based extinguisher on an electrical fire things could go horribly wrong. Not to mention the risk of exposure to chemical agents from some types. Extinguishers may be great in some cases, but they are also dangerous if you don't know what you're doing.

First aid and especially CPR are another example. Someone with limited or no training may try to render aid to the collapsed man in the restaurant yet CPR is dangerous too. It involves turning the chest of the recipient into so much broken rib jelly, it often induces vomiting, and once started should (read must) be carried on until someone arrives to relieve you. This is incredibly unsafe. You risk exhaustion, infection with the flu, tuberculosis, or blood born pathogens such as HIV. If some disaster is happening around you (did he collapse from carbon monoxide inhalation?), you risk getting caught in the carnage. And especially, there is the risk of making a mistake and causing more harm to the person you're trying to help.

This doesn't mean we shouldn't have fire extinguishers in our homes, pools in our backyards, consider dodging out of the way of the oncoming tractor trailer truck, receive training in CPR and first aid. It simply means we must get the training and be aware of the responsibility that comes with it.

Guns and carrying a firearm are the same sort of active safety measure. In the hands of an untrained individual they have the potential to be dangerous, just like CPR learned from a TV show. But when handled and carried by someone who knows the drill, they are quite safe and often quite useful. Just like that same CPR applied by a well trained stranger.

So we carry, just in case, but not the way we put on a seatbelt; just in case the way we take a CPR certification course, or put a fire extinguisher in our hall closet, with the awareness that we must know how to use it, and knowing that, we can be confident in our just in case measures.

The Brink

I am standing on the brink, almost ready to jump, staring at the little white sheet of paper in my hands. Do I really want to do this?

'There's no harm in filling it out.' I tell myself as I pick up a pen and begin to write in my height, weight, name, address and all the other little details. 'You don't have to turn it in; if you decide not to.'

No sooner have I signed my name when I find myself headed back to the building. Looks like I'm going to hand this form over to the powers at be after all. I hesitate briefly outside the door and take a deep breath as I push it open. O.K. I am going to do this.

The nice lady at the desk smiles and nods as I hand her the paper. I pull out my checkbook to pay the fee listed on the paper.

"Oh, we don't charge for these in Podunk, Nowhere." she tells me. I'm impressed, surprised, and wickedly gleeful. "I'll give you a call in about a week."

I thank her and leave. So far, nothing has changed.

One week later, I'm retrieving an even smaller sheet of white paper from the same nice lady. It looks like a credit card receipt from the old days when you made them out on carbon paper with a typewriter.  The top line sends a chill down my spine. 'State of Nowhere Pistol/Revolver License'.

It's official. I've taken the leap. I am a CCW permit holder.

Nothing has changed, it's only a little piece of paper after all, but everything is different. Now the journey truly begins.

Hello World

Once upon the present, there is a damsel with a penchant for tales.

This is the tale of a damsel who is not in distress, and has no plans of ever being in distress but who, if she ends up in distress, has every intention of rescuing herself. Sometimes the knight in shiny armor simply isn't in the tower when you need him.

Follow along if you like, laugh when it's funny, think a bit when it's serious, and cheer when damsel and knight ride off into the sunset.