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All,
Many of you know that Kathy and I are firearms enthusiasts. Our ham radio club website doesn’t have too much discussion on the topic, but this is the forums “General Ragchew” area, a “place to chat about whatever is on your mind. Fun facts, interesting vignettes, interesting historical happenings; whatever interests you because it might interest others!”. And the recent incident in Twin Falls ID (Wikipedia link here), especially now that video of much of the event has come into the public domain (link here) has stimulated a lot of conversation amongst my friends. The conversations have ranged from “I need to up my game on my ‘truck gun’.” to “Man, I don’t want to get shot by first responders who think I’m the bad guy.” I completely agree with those remarks, so what is a person to do? Well, the beginning step is to be armed. I know many members of our club regularly go about their business while carrying a concealed handgun. This being an open forum that anyone can read, I don’t want to encourage people to specifically say what they carry or have in their vehicle, but that last point also brings up something important – securing any firearms at home or that remain in the vehicle. So, I am going to hit these and a few other points, do some “gun stuff!” 😂🤣
#1 – Be armed.
That is a very personal choice. Some people are simply frightened by them. Others can’t comprehend taking the life of another person. OK, that first one can be fixed with training. If you want to go armed but you are scared of guns and don’t know where to start, please pick the phone up and give me a call. I will be happy to chat with you about anything and everything on the topic. I have personally carried a firearm most of my adult life and I have a lot of training and I am willing to be an advocate on the topic. I won’t push it on you, but I’ll be happy to discuss anything and everything about it. The inability to comprehend taking another life; that one is a tough one and I’m not going to kid you, only you can make that decision. I long ago decided that while I don’t go looking for trouble, if I find myself confronted by trouble I want the ability to solve problems. A gun and the ability to use one does not solve every problem, but it may be the exact right solution to the problem you have at some given moment in time. I say emphatically, you need to have made your mind up about that before you ever pick up a gun and start training with it. There is a lot of responsibility to owning a firearm, so if you are new to the process I really want you to contemplate it seriously before you get started.
#2 – Don’t get shot by first responders.
If you are confronted by a use of deadly force situation, if law enforcement shows up you need to carefully place your firearm on the ground and comply with any directions they give you. I’m not going to lie and tell you that cops never make mistakes. This New York Times piece – Shootout in Olde Town Square: A Cop, a Killer and a Good Guy With a Gun (link here) – is a terrible reminder that it can happen. Cops are not like you see in many TV shows. They are regular folks who want to go home at the end of the day and they get scared just like anyone else does. It has been reported that one of the people shot in the Twin Falls situation was armed, but he did not have his weapon out because he was afraid of being shot by first responders. He went for it when he was confronted by the bad guy, but he was himself shot before he could get his holstered gun out. A highly trained person takes about 1.5 seconds to process the threat and get their firearm out of the holster, on target and squeeze off the first round. A highly trained person. That sounds fast, but when someone already has their gun pointed at you, it isn’t fast enough. So, lots to consider.
#3 – I need to up my game.
OK, this is the first one from the opening paragraph and I am addressing it now for a reason. It is the fun part. 😂🤣 “What gun should I carry?” I have been asked that question dozens of times. And my answer is always the same: “The one you actually have with you.” The best master blaster does you no good at the gas station if it is in your nightstand back at the house. Eventually conversations turn to whether someone should have a carbine in their car? One of the most famous shooting instructors on the planet, Clint Smith, many years at Gunsite and then as owner of Thunder Ranch (He sold it a couple of years ago – link here); he is famous for pithy quotes. One of them is to say “A handgun is used to fight your way to a carbine.” The argument is that a carbine ups your odds of surviving in a use of deadly force scenario. They are more accurate, they hit harder, their mags tend to hold more rounds than a pistol, they have better sights, this list goes on. So, without ever advocating what type of handgun a person should have (revolver versus semi-auto, polymer versus steel, striker or non-striker fired, 9mm versus .45ACP), the choices are myriad and very personal and the same thing can be said about a carbine.
Handgun – Now I will opine on a handgun recommendation – One man’s opinion: The Glock 19 9mm is my recommendation to someone who is just getting started. There is a reason Glock has 65% of the domestic US law enforcement market: They work and they are simple. The Glock 19 is in the sweet spot of their sizing. They make their 9mm pistols smaller (Glock 26), they make them larger (Glock 17) and they make them skinnier (Glock 48); but the Glock 19 is the one that I recommend overall. Go ahead and get it with “night sights”. They aren’t really for shooting in the dark so much as to help align the sights in low light. Ask me if you want to know more about any of that.
The civilian shooter at Twin Falls that kind of persuaded the bad guy to retreat and kill himself, he was using an FN Five-seveN in a pretty oddball caliber (5.7×28mm) (link to both here). 9mm can be bought at any hardware store, sporting goods store, etc.; it is ubiquitous. 5.7×28mm? Not so much. Especially if you are just getting started, there isn’t any reason to go exotic.
Carbine – This one will not get as much consideration as the other items above. A carbine just isn’t everyone’s bag. It is kind of a niche issue, whether to carry a carbine with you or not. But, for any that have considered it there is a very compact option that a buddy turned me onto just this morning. Smith & Wesson now has one called the M&P15 AXE in 300 Blackout (~$1,400). You can get it as a short-barreled rifle (SBR) or “pistol” and it is highly suppressible. I mean, if you’re going in on a carbine why not start off with something with the cool factor off the scale? 😂🤣😎 My friend, whose name I will omit for his personal security, first sent me a YouTube link (link here) and then I did some Grok analysis on it and confirmed a recommended suppressor for it, the SILENCERCO OMEGA DTM ($595) (click here for analysis on both).
Silencer Shop was one of the primary litigants in the case which would gut most of the National Firearms Act of 1934, prevailing in federal court a few days ago
(Federal Judge Strikes Down NFA Registration for Suppressors, SBRs and Federal Judge Weakens Key Gun-Control Law and Judge Takes Sledgehammer To National Firearms Act). So, while I didn’t recommend exotic on the handgun considerations above, the carbine/suppressor conversation just got really interesting. Today you can buy that carbine as an SBR, buy the suppressor and if you do the transaction with a Silencer Shop affiliated gun shop (Blackland Arms, Paris and Loan Star Pawn, Bonham) you can use their “kiosk” and get a Trust for $25, be fingerprinted and photographed and right now transfers, which under the Obama and Biden Administrations sometimes literally took two years; today it is taking as little as four days. I am not going to write a book on it, but the bottom line is that if you want a pretty darn quiet carbine, shooting subsonic 300BLK out of this gun and suppressor combination; you will have the carbine that is the envy of a lot of your friends with similar interests. A red dot and back up iron sights and some ammo (and spare mags) and you are good to go.Lock it up
Now, I am going to close out with this – Whether your gun is at home or in your car, when you are not wearing or carrying it you need to secure it. Kids come into the discussion too. A gun safe at home can hold your spare cash, prescription narcotics, the Rolex you bought when you were in the Navy, whatever. But when you leave home you really need to secure your gun. And your vehicle? Wow…many if not most of the firearms that criminals buy on the street, they come from unsecured locations in personal vehicles. Kathy and I are fans of the Console Vault line of products (link here) which will safeguard a pistol or revolver. For a carbine you have to look a little harder, but a cable lock to the trigger-guard or a purpose-made item like this Google search result provides (link here). Seriously, lock it up. You don’t want it stolen and then some kid shoot another kid or it get sold on the black market and a cop get shot with it. During the gun trace the feds will come visit with you to help understand how that gun got used in a crime. You do not want to get that guy/gal.
Be safe out there!
73
Phillip Beall (W5EBC)
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Hey,
If y’all are local to Lamar County, I am a member at the Maxey Rifleman Gun Club. It has rifle and pistol ranges. I have never had any issues with the people out there.
Off topic a little:
Personally, I am moving away from my 30-06 for hunting due to age related bruising issue. I will probable go to a AR-10 frame in 308.
Hi Thomas, I sent my application in to MRC last week. Just waiting on my membership card. Do they have any kind of orientation for new members? Let me know. Thanks!
Thomas,
Your solution is perfect for the right situation. With the bolt secured the firearm is no threat other than as a club. 🤣😂😎
Phillip
We have a Hi-Point carbine and totally love it! With a red-dot sight on it we hit in the center area of the target easily from 20 yards. The carbine has much less kick and is much quieter that our pistols. Plus the clip holds more Swiss cheese makers than our pistols and their price is not bad.
The downside is it doesn’t fit in my pocket very well, but you can put it in a musicians case, maybe a trombone case?
Have a look at:
https://www.hi-pointfirearms.com/hi-point-carbines/9mm-carbines/995-black-carbines/
Check out their reviews and YouTube videos.
So true Phillip! As a retired peace officer and one of the very first CCH Instructors in Texas (#2495 – not valid anymore) you are responsible for your own personal protection, both physically and legally. You must be prepared!!!!!
Matthew,
I didn’t go to an orientation. I read all the club rules online and at the range. All of the rules were normal range rules I have followed my whole life. I had to qualify to carry for work and the rules are inline with national standards. Hope to see you out there. Well when it cools down lol…. been really hot.
Tom AF5WO
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