Anybody Changing Carry Gun Due To Recent Activities?

[RenoV8]

Oh yeah... in response to the recent "truck attack", I've started carrying a construction traffic sign.

If anyone tries to run me down, I will simply whip it out and make them...

You going to sing too?

Stop! In the name of love
Before you break my heart

[rwilson452]

This thread has been going on for some time. Sometimes it's off topic. So I will give a straight answer to the OP's question.

No.

[MMH]

This thread has been going on for some time..

Yes it has & I hope that it will continue to do so. It has been interesting reading various viewpoints and justifications - obviously there are no right or wrong answers.

[sbmania]

Long story very short, and intentionally somewhat ambiguous. I' a middle-aged guy who leads a quiet life and tries hard to stay out of trouble. I always carry to protect myself and family, although I never expected to ever need to actually do so. Some years ago, my wife, two young sons and I found it necessary to stop in a Subway restaurant that was located in an old diner in a somewhat broken down part of town. No one else was in the restaurant at 7PM on a Friday which should have been my first clue. But it was late, we were tired and hungry, we still had a few hours drive ahead of us, and the part of town we were in didn't seem all that bad.
After just starting to eat, a "hoopty" with 4 occupants slowly cruised the empty parking lot before stopping directly behind our vehicle. They stopped perpendicular to my car, ignoring all the vacant spots in the lot. They had taken some time to look carefully into the restaurant, and the individuals appeared to be in their 20's or older.
A car door opened and an occupant quickly exited and disappeared from view. Realizing that they were at least about to break into or steal my car, and being far from home, I left the restaurant to confront them. I had my .380 Colt Mustang Plus 2 in my pants pocket, fully loaded, hammer down, with my hand on the gun and thumb over the hammer, ready to cock and fire as soon as it came out of my pocket if needed. I did not draw , not wishing to escalate the situation farther. There was no traffic passing by on the street and it was dark with a few streetlights.
For what seemed like an eternity, but was actually only about 20 or 30 seconds, three pairs of eyes stared out the windows of the car at me while I stood abut 15 feet away contemplating several possible scenarios. (The missing perp ran across the street to an abandoned gas station when I exited the restaurant, as seen by my wife from inside. He had initially been crouched down beside our car. I did not know that at this time.)
My thoughts: Now what happens?? If they drive away, good. If they exit and appear aggressive, draw to low ready and issue a stay back command. If they show firearms, shoot immediately. If they get out and act like they are going inside to order a hoagie (unlikely from their actions so far), maybe take a few steps back to let them pass and follow them in?? I realized that three or four possible assailants and only 8 rounds of .380 Hydroshok were not especially great odds for me. In the tension of the moment, I realized I might well miss with a round or two, and stopping power might become an issue if the worst case scenario unfolded.
Fortunately, after several moments, they made a U-turn and drove slowly down the street, eyeballing me all the way. I was able to breathe a great sigh of relief and re-enter the restaurant, where my wife wisely suggested we immediately take our sandwiches to go before they came back to get the other guy and maybe with more friends this time! By the way, the lady behind the counter looked terrified as she looked from us to the men outside and back to us. I suppose she was no stranger to this type of thing. She never said a word.
Since that night, the 380 stays in the safe. My smallest carry gun is now a G26 giving me a couple more shots over the Mustang and a heavier bullet. No more 380's for me. I have since realized that even though the odds are very low, trouble can and will find you when you least expect it. Probably even more so now in the age of terrorism. When going into the city or other suspect areas, I add a spare mag or two. Those are my changes and why.

[P89]

You going to sing too?

Stop! In the name of love
Before you break my heart

He's going to collaborate and listen before hammer time.

[GinzoMatic]

Long story very short, and intentionally somewhat ambiguous. I' a middle-aged guy who leads a quiet life and tries hard to stay out of trouble. I always carry to protect myself and family, although I never expected to ever need to actually do so. Some years ago, my wife, two young sons and I found it necessary to stop in a Subway restaurant that was located in an old diner in a somewhat broken down part of town. No one else was in the restaurant at 7PM on a Friday which should have been my first clue. But it was late, we were tired and hungry, we still had a few hours drive ahead of us, and the part of town we were in didn't seem all that bad.
After just starting to eat, a "hoopty" with 4 occupants slowly cruised the empty parking lot before stopping directly behind our vehicle. They stopped perpendicular to my car, ignoring all the vacant spots in the lot. They had taken some time to look carefully into the restaurant, and the individuals appeared to be in their 20's or older.
A car door opened and an occupant quickly exited and disappeared from view. Realizing that they were at least about to break into or steal my car, and being far from home, I left the restaurant to confront them. I had my .380 Colt Mustang Plus 2 in my pants pocket, fully loaded, hammer down, with my hand on the gun and thumb over the hammer, ready to cock and fire as soon as it came out of my pocket if needed. I did not draw , not wishing to escalate the situation farther. There was no traffic passing by on the street and it was dark with a few streetlights.
For what seemed like an eternity, but was actually only about 20 or 30 seconds, three pairs of eyes stared out the windows of the car at me while I stood abut 15 feet away contemplating several possible scenarios. (The missing perp ran across the street to an abandoned gas station when I exited the restaurant, as seen by my wife from inside. He had initially been crouched down beside our car. I did not know that at this time.)
My thoughts: Now what happens?? If they drive away, good. If they exit and appear aggressive, draw to low ready and issue a stay back command. If they show firearms, shoot immediately. If they get out and act like they are going inside to order a hoagie (unlikely from their actions so far), maybe take a few steps back to let them pass and follow them in?? I realized that three or four possible assailants and only 8 rounds of .380 Hydroshok were not especially great odds for me. In the tension of the moment, I realized I might well miss with a round or two, and stopping power might become an issue if the worst case scenario unfolded.
Fortunately, after several moments, they made a U-turn and drove slowly down the street, eyeballing me all the way. I was able to breathe a great sigh of relief and re-enter the restaurant, where my wife wisely suggested we immediately take our sandwiches to go before they came back to get the other guy and maybe with more friends this time! By the way, the lady behind the counter looked terrified as she looked from us to the men outside and back to us. I suppose she was no stranger to this type of thing. She never said a word.
Since that night, the 380 stays in the safe. My smallest carry gun is now a G26 giving me a couple more shots over the Mustang and a heavier bullet. No more 380's for me. I have since realized that even though the odds are very low, trouble can and will find you when you least expect it. Probably even more so now in the age of terrorism. When going into the city or other suspect areas, I add a spare mag or two. Those are my changes and why.

thanks for sharing & well handled

[Bang]

I recently acquired a very nice S&W model 36, aka Chief's Special, circa 1973 per serial number. A Hogue overlay type one piece grip is actually thinner (not as wide over-all) than the original wood grips. A five shot .38 Special caliber revolver with 1-7/8" barrel, it is handicapped both in capacity and muzzle velocity and reloading function.

I would really like to make this my carry gun, but know to do so would make little if any sense. It has a full unshrouded hammer, not a good idea for pocket carry either.

Maybe with time I'll figure it out. For now, it's the gun I should have bought in 1961 instead of the Colt Detective Special. Bought the Colt for the 6th round. Long-term, poor choice. Timing (and parts) issues no one wants to address today. It resides in a drawer tagged DO NOT FIRE.

The 36 is very enjoyable on the indoor range with mild reloads.

Meanwhile, EDC is a .380 KelTec P3AT in a Nemesis pocket holster, and a second magazine in a belt pouch, yielding 13 rounds, assuming opportunity/ability to reload.

OWB is a G23 in 357SIG when I intuitively decide to put it on.

[Daycrawler]

I should have bought in 1961 instead of the Colt Detective Special. Bought the Colt for the 6th round. Long-term, poor choice. Timing (and parts) issues no one wants to address today. It resides in a drawer tagged DO NOT FIRE.

I have a Colt 1971 IIRC, that I messed up. My Gunsmith sent it back to Colt. It was fixed for free. I had to pay shipping one way. IDK if this could be the case for you. If you don't ask the answer is always no.

[Bang]

I spoke to a woman who answeredthe phone at Colt, about 5 years ago or so. She said send it in and they'll see if they have the needed parts to repair it I said OK. I can name two parts it needs, can you tell me if you have them. No. That phone transaction did little to engender confidence that I would get anything for my $62 in shipping fees. One gunsmith had it for almost a year and apologized for being unable to repair it. Another said not interested in taking it on due to inability to get parts from Colt.

[Daycrawler]

I spoke to a woman who answeredthe phone at Colt, about 5 years ago or so. She said send it in and they'll see if they have the needed parts to repair it I said OK. I can name two parts it needs, can you tell me if you have them. No. That phone transaction did little to engender confidence that I would get anything for my $62 in shipping fees. One gunsmith had it for almost a year and apologized for being unable to repair it. Another said not interested in taking it on due to inability to get parts from Colt.

Well that sucks did you try Numeric's? (SP) They have all kinds of gun parts.