Are you armed? If not, why not?

[Neudiin]

For home defense - pump action shot gun, any caliber + rock salt = pretty much non-lethal but will ruin their day. There is no mistaking the sound of a pump action shotgun's snick snack and I'm willing to bet that alone will be enough. If not rock salt is not fun lol.

Outside the home defense - take a cue from bikers - a hammer, a big lock in pocket bandanna tied to it hanging out. Neither of those are illegal or a licence is needed to carry. Both would suck to get hit with lol And yes you can have a hammer hanging off your belt and it doesn't need to be a big hammer, just a fiberglass handle =)

I think the Swiss have it right when it comes to the words of our 2nd amendment. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politi ... witzerland

And yes no matter what, you need to take your gun(s) to a range regularly where you can shoot them under supervision. Cause that is a problem I have in movies where some person that has never touched a gun before just picks it up and fires away like a pro.

 

[Bocefish]

I'm armed with a Ruger P85, Mossberg 12g and an AK-47. The Ruger is always loaded and within reaching distance of my pillow. I never carry them outside unless I'm camping but I'll be damn if anyone is going to assault me in my home.

And like Felicity said, I like to be prepared cuz I'm a crazy Oregonian hill person!

:thumbleft: Some P85s have safety issues, just fyi.

 

[Diana Blake]

I usually have a knife and a taser on me at all times if I'm out with my daughter. If I'm alone I might have one of them but for the most part they stay at home, locked up. I own a Springfield XD-M, Smith & Wesson MP .40, AK-47, a .22 rifle and a Savage 111 .300 Win Mag. We're in an open carry state so there are times when I strap on my holster. Especially lately. I was walking home the other night from the babysitter with my daughter in her stroller and a pair of coyotes started to follow us home. There's a large family of them that live on an empty stretch about a block from my house and with all the stray dogs they've been having to fight for whatever rabbits and small prey they can find. The ones that followed us looked pretty mangy and they were hella thin but I don't think they would have done anything. Once we got to a better lit area they buggered off. Buuuut, with winter coming and them already looking half starved I don't want to take chances so I carry my pistol when I pick my daughter up now.

As for the heavier firepower. I grew up shooting. I was actually a pretty good little marksmen for a while, did competitive shooting all over the South and my specialty was 300 yards. Once I hit puberty and the funbags exploded out of my chest I started pulling right and every damn time I adjusted for boob they just got bigger. I gave it up for about ten years but got my 111 for my Mother's Day present. I'm extremely comfortable around guns but that's because I grew up around them and there was never any doubt what guns were for as a kid. They weren't fun, they weren't toys, they were weapons and they were dangerous. It's for recreational shooting because it feels good to accomplish something many can't, to hone a skill. Mine just happens to be the ability to keep a fist sized grouping at 300 yards.

I don't fear being attacked, I don't worry that someone will break into my house and hurt me. There aren't any irrational fears motivating me to own a gun. That's not what owning a gun is about for me. Owning a gun for me is the same reason I have a flashlight with full batteries and a small cache of non-perishable food in the kitchen. In case of emergency. I'm not planning for one but I'll be damned if I'm not prepared for it. I mean...is it irrational to prepare for things that may never happen? You have insurance on your car but you're not planning on getting in an accident. You probably have a rudimentary plan in place if there's ever a fire or natural disaster but you don't expect it like some bible thumping wannabe prophet. Well, I have my "In case of fire" plan. My "in case of tornado" plan. My "in case of power outage" plan. Just made sense to add a "in case of psychotic nutjob" plan.

 

[Paulie Walnuts]

I used to carry a P85 everywhere I went, for yrs.
After many yrs of doing nothing with it but cleaning it and taking it on and off, I put it in my desk drawer and stopped carrying unless, I had someplace uncomfortable to go.

I have a GP100 on my coffee table under a pile of mail. Its a nice gun, its a hefty thing so I figure if my half blind shooting eye misses them with 6 shots, at least it'll make a good club to beat them with.

I if the 357 mag loads kick too much, try using 38 specials. Less kick and less noise.... a 357 mag indoors will blow out your eardrums. The 38s have less of a punch but honestly if you can put the bullet where its suppose to go, you dont need much more than a 38 special anyway. The weight of the GP100 makes a 38 round have very little felt recoil.

It gathers dust under my pile of mail, but it's there.

I have a shotgun in the bathroom sitting in the corner. There is a loaded SKS in the bedroom (a 51 tula Russian beauty, with a blade bayonette fixed and ready... after all, I'm in the house why blow holes in the walls when a good poke can do the job? :lol: )

And a few other guns... a .22 scoped heavy barrel, I use for target shooting. I get a little worse at it as years go by. I have a 100 yr old turkish 8MM Mauser I used to use to hunt deer. It's a cannon and weights about as much but, they have a light recoil and are as accurate as the best hunting rifle.

So far I have never had to point any of them at anyone.... I doubt I ever will.
Then again I live in the comatose backwater of nowhere so... maybe if I lived somewhere else I'd still carry that uncomfortable hunk of steel around.

I think the pepper spray in the face would be much more entertaining to use on an asshole. Plus you don't go to jail for it if you shoot someone with it.

 

[Jupiter551]

I think the Swiss have it right when it comes to the words of our 2nd amendment. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politi ... witzerland

Keeping in mind, the Swiss are a fairly unique case in that they have a very very small professional army with a very high number of available conscripts. They also pretty much never get into fights anymore and just sit around designing pocket knives.

 

[Bocefish]

I think the Swiss have it right when it comes to the words of our 2nd amendment. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politi ... witzerland

Keeping in mind, the Swiss are a fairly unique case in that they have a very very small professional army with a very high number of available conscripts. They also pretty much never get into fights anymore and just sit around designing pocket knives.

Once again, Jupiter knows all. Yep, they all just sit around designing pocket knives. :lol:

The vast majority of men between the ages of 20 and 30 are conscripted into the militia and undergo military training, including weapons training. The personal weapons of the militia are kept at home as part of the military obligations. Switzerland has one of the highest militia gun ownership rates in the world.[1] In recent times political opposition has expressed a desire for tighter gun regulations.[2] A referendum in February 2011 rejected stricter gun control.[3]

 

[LolasLiger]

I see a few questions here, so I will try to filter them and answer them.

I liked the way that LadyLuna had distilled the essential questions from the OP so much that I stole them. Thank you, Luna

Do you own weapons?

No...unless you count kitchen knives, and a 22 air pistol that couldn't do more than give someone a nasty bruise.

If you don't own weapons, why not?

Because private firearm ownership is highly restricted in the UK. And the law on reasonable force is still very unclear in the UK, so if I was to defend myself with anything that was deemed as a pre-meditated weapon, then there is just as much chance that I would end up in prison as not.

Do you know how to use your weapons?

Theoretically, I know how to use many WW2 weapons, all the way up to flying a Lancaster bomber :lol: In practice, I have fired a few weapons (though nothing more recent than WW2-era). But if i was to get my hands on a contemporary handgun then i would know how to load, charge and fire one. Whether I would hit what I intended is another matter.

Do you carry weapons with you in public when legal?

N/A in the UK as it isn't legal. But if it was, then no. The temptation to use it without forethought would be too great.

If you don't stay armed, why not?

See above

What are your thoughts on those who do stay armed?

If it is for so-called self defence, then i don't think it is a good idea. Firstly because it esculates the situation. Secondly, because if a criminal suspects you are armed then their first reaction will be to use more force initially. So rather than waving a knife or gun at you as a form of intimidation, if they suspect you to be armed, then they are more likely to just stab or shoot you first, rather than run the risk that you will retaliate.

 

[Bocefish]

What are your thoughts on those who do stay armed?

If it is for so-called self defence, then i don't think it is a good idea. Firstly because it esculates the situation. Secondly, because if a criminal suspects you are armed then their first reaction will be to use more force initially. So rather than waving a knife or gun at you as a form of intimidation, if they suspect you to be armed, then they are more likely to just stab or shoot you first, rather than run the risk that you will retaliate.

Whoever thinks that way should walk around with VICTIM tattooed on their forehead and be ready to handover whatever they've worked for and vote for more taxes and bigger government regulations.

:thumbleft: :dance:

 

[Nordling]

What are your thoughts on those who do stay armed?

If it is for so-called self defence, then i don't think it is a good idea. Firstly because it esculates the situation. Secondly, because if a criminal suspects you are armed then their first reaction will be to use more force initially. So rather than waving a knife or gun at you as a form of intimidation, if they suspect you to be armed, then they are more likely to just stab or shoot you first, rather than run the risk that you will retaliate.

Whoever thinks that way should walk around with VICTIM tattooed on their forehead and be ready to handover whatever they've worked for and vote for more taxes and bigger government regulations.

:thumbleft: :dance:

That's just silly. Your retort is the best case of a non sequitur I've seen in a while. Whether or not someone thinks it's a good idea to carry a penis extension has NOTHING to do with "more taxes and bigger government regulations."

 

[Bocefish]

What are your thoughts on those who do stay armed?

If it is for so-called self defence, then i don't think it is a good idea. Firstly because it esculates the situation. Secondly, because if a criminal suspects you are armed then their first reaction will be to use more force initially. So rather than waving a knife or gun at you as a form of intimidation, if they suspect you to be armed, then they are more likely to just stab or shoot you first, rather than run the risk that you will retaliate.

Whoever thinks that way should walk around with VICTIM tattooed on their forehead and be ready to handover whatever they've worked for and vote for more taxes and bigger government regulations.

:thumbleft: :dance:

That's just silly. Your retort is the best case of a non sequitur I've seen in a while. Whether or not someone thinks it's a good idea to carry a penis extension has NOTHING to do with "more taxes and bigger government regulations."

Indeed, it's entirely the fault of individuals who are doing nothing wrong yet prepared to defend themselves. How dare they. After all, the criminals have all the rights. If criminals, for one second,

suspect you are armed then their first reaction will be to use more force initially

In order to buy a penis extension, you need to have some balls to begin with.

 

[Nordling]

That doesn't even make sense. People buy "equalizers" out of fear, not the other way around.

Not that the fear isn't ever justified. If you live in a high crime area, sure, get a piece. But a lot of the folks I've encountered, buy them for the swagger more than any real danger in their lives.

 

[Bocefish]

That doesn't even make sense. People buy "equalizers" out of fear, not the other way around.

Not that the fear isn't ever justified. If you live in a high crime area, sure, get a piece. But a lot of the folks I've encountered, buy them for the swagger more than any real danger in their lives.

Well there you have it... a lot of the good folks Nordling encounters buy them as penis extensions, but it's OK if you live in a high crime area and fear is sometimes justified.

 

[SoTxBob]

Whether or not someone thinks it's a good idea to carry a penis extension has NOTHING to do with "more taxes and bigger government regulations."

Wait.. back the boat up... you mean they have peni extensions and this is the first I'm hearing about it? I've always wondered what it would be like to have 10" swingin' in mah britches. :dance:

 

[Nordling]

Whether or not someone thinks it's a good idea to carry a penis extension has NOTHING to do with "more taxes and bigger government regulations."

Wait.. back the boat up... you mean they have peni extensions and this is the first I'm hearing about it? I've always wondered what it would be like to have 10" swingin' in mah britches. :dance:

Yuh! Aisle 3 at Kmart!

 

[Nordling]

That doesn't even make sense. People buy "equalizers" out of fear, not the other way around.

Not that the fear isn't ever justified. If you live in a high crime area, sure, get a piece. But a lot of the folks I've encountered, buy them for the swagger more than any real danger in their lives.

Well there you have it... a lot of the good folks Nordling encounters buy them as penis extensions, but it's OK if you live in a high crime area and fear is sometimes justified.

Yes, I did not stutter. First I don't give a crap if people fill their basement with firearms, it's legal, right? Second, I think too many Americans are fascinated by them in much the same way as toys. They are not toys. As I believe you've said, they are a tool.

 

[Mirra]

Re: Ditch the Knives ASAP

At least as a form of Personal Protection. Unless you know HOW TO use one and ARE PREPARED TO DO SO they are a really bad idea. The risk of NOT incapacitating your assailant is very high. That said, a wise man once told me "You gonna cut someone, you cut them in the face." But seriously everyone ditch the blades for PP ASAP.

Honestly protection is a very distant alternate purpose for why I carry my knife. That's more of a perk, if you will. It's mostly for the utility of it. In fact, if I was serious about a knife for protection, I would probably want a fixed blade knife with a blade that was at least 5 inches long.

And like Felicity said, I like to be prepared cuz I'm a crazy Oregonian hill person!

This explains so much... it's like a revelation!

 

[Jupiter551]

I think the Swiss have it right when it comes to the words of our 2nd amendment. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politi ... witzerland

Keeping in mind, the Swiss are a fairly unique case in that they have a very very small professional army with a very high number of available conscripts. They also pretty much never get into fights anymore and just sit around designing pocket knives.

Once again, Jupiter knows all. Yep, they all just sit around designing pocket knives. :lol:

The vast majority of men between the ages of 20 and 30 are conscripted into the militia and undergo military training, including weapons training. The personal weapons of the militia are kept at home as part of the military obligations. Switzerland has one of the highest militia gun ownership rates in the world.[1] In recent times political opposition has expressed a desire for tighter gun regulations.[2] A referendum in February 2011 rejected stricter gun control.[3]

The subtlety of my antipodean wit just swooshes right past you doesn't it?

 

[LailaBaise]

I'm armed to the teeth with a Dennis the Menace catapult I got out of the back of the Beano and a spud gun! Fear me!

No, but seriously, I'm English. I would like to learn how to use arms and stuff though!

 

[crappuccino]

it surprises me what a hostile environment the u.s. seem to be. i have never been in a situation where i had to physically defend myself in any way, nor do i know anyone who has. i wouldn't know what to do with a weapon really. i've done my 10 months of compulsory military service, so i could probably operate most firearms in case of a zombie apocalypse... but, yeah.

 

[JoleneBrody]

it surprises me what a hostile environment the u.s. seem to be. i have never been in a situation where i had to physically defend myself in any way, nor do i know anyone who has. i wouldn't know what to do with a weapon really. i've done my 10 months of compulsory military service, so i could probably operate most firearms in case of a zombie apocalypse... but, yeah.

It's really not, unless you are in specific areas. Just like anywhere we have some bad neighborhoods. Majority of people who own weapons for home protection didn't buy it because they were already attacked, but because they want to be prepared if they ever are.
Especially in areas that Meth has become a big problem, door knocking home invasions have increased in numbers at an alarming rate. They knock on the door to see if your home. If you answer, they ask if "larry" or "bob" is home. They then either leave or break in through the back. Many leave unless someone doesn't answer, but sometimes they don't. Sometimes they are just feeling out who opens the door.

 

[Wabi_Sabi]

I like sharpening things so there is usually an atom splitting sharp piece of steel within a few feet of me when I'm in the house. 10 years or so of kung fu also means there are random sticks lying around and a rough idea of how to hurt/cut someone. Nothing has been sourced specifically for offence/defence, just the result of hobbies. If someone breaks in they will have a decent selection of weapons to choose from.

I don't carry anything weaponish in public and neither do friends/family, just doesn't seem very British. Last I heard my city is the knife crime capital of the world but on the few occasions I've had a knife pulled on me it's been a simple business transaction. If they look like they will hurt me they get my wallet or whatever, if they look like they are more worried than me they get told to fuck off. The laws here do seem a little silly when I'm shitting myself as I realise I've still got a penknife in my pocket when out for a pint of milk but such is life.

I'm insured and not really in the mood to kill a drug addict looking for electronic equipment, maybe shoot him with the dslr and then make a few calls.

 

[Paulie Walnuts]

Gun owners/carriers are sort of 2 different types... the kind you have no idea they have one or even own one, and others who are fucking nuts.

My neighbors in the summer drive around the hay field in a pickup and a couple in the bed shoot at groundhogs. They do this going really fast, in circles, and screaming. I can only assume they are trying to get the groundhogs to shit themselves before they shoot them. They decide to go target shooting at 3 am and then blow off a few 1000 rounds into cars.

These people are nuts.

Another neighbor down the road carries an empty holster on his him and a fanny pack. The gun is in the fanny pack. He says the empty holster is a decoy they don't think about the fanny pack.

This guy is nuts.

There is a local businessman here who put a .40 in my face once because I told him he was wrong about leveling a house we were looking at. He was going on about his super tech laser levels he had to go get and I pointed out repeatedly, nicely, that a 100 yr old house with a sunken mid floor is never going to be laser level. He pulled a gun on me and ranted a bit before he went to go get his laser toys.

This guy is fucking nuts.

But, the guy who owns the hardware store, myself, and a lot of other people walk around with a gun, for years, and nobody ever noticed. We are not nuts, nor should we be prohibited from carrying because of the above example of mixed nuts. They are kinda why we carry in the first place.

But to talk about these people gives a false impression that the US is overly violent. It's actually a very quiet place around here, even with the nuts.

It is potentially violent. Good thing is that the really dangerous people like the crackheads are too broke from buying drugs to have a gun, any gun they get they sell to buy a few days of fix. Their dealers with guns are closer to the city, and they are just bright enough to know if they go shooting willy nilly it's bad for business.

We just need a way to scan a brain and say "nope, sorry, you're fucking nuts, no gun for you"

:lol:

 

[GreatDane]

I have mentioned before, I have weapons in my home, I have MANY weapons in my home for that matter. If by chance I feel the need to travel I have a permit to carry as needed. I have gone hunting many times with different weapons, bow, rifle, pistol, knife, and various combinations of all the above. I have yet to feel the need to pull a firearm on someone that has not meant the they haven't been pulled on me tho.

Just because someone has a weapon, does not mean that they will use it. Weapons are tools and not everyone uses tools in the same way. most people that own them are safe with them, still doesn't change the fact that accidents happen, note the key word there ACCIDENTS. There are deaths that happen that did not need to happen but someone got sloppy with their tool and caused the situation in the first place. I support those that own firearms, but they need to take a firearms safety course or multiple safety courses before being allowed to purchase them. :twocents-02cents:

Training is the key to safe handling any tool be it a hammer or a pistol. If you don't know how to use it, you are bound to get hurt with it as much as hurt someone else with it.

 

[mynameisbob84]

I'm armed to the teeth with a Dennis the Menace catapult I got out of the back of the Beano and a spud gun! Fear me!

No, but seriously, I'm English. I would like to learn how to use arms and stuff though!

If you go to Prague, you can shoot big fuck-off guns at a firing range. Tis fun.

 

[Meoff_69]

I have several weapons in my house. I own a Springfield XD .40 pistol, a Mossberg 500 12 gauge pump shotgun, a Ruger 10-22 rifle, and 2 AK 74's. Before anyone thinks I'm holed up in mountain shack, waiting for "the end" hold up for a second, okay? LOL!

For me, each firearm is actually a specific "tool" for a specific task. My pistol is on me, or near me, at all times. It's both my personal and home defense weapon. I have a conceal and carry license issued by my state, and I take full advantage of it. My Ruger .22 is mainly for hunting small game and target shooting. .22 caliber rounds are much cheaper for me to use to keep my shooting skills up, compared to my other firearms. The shotgun is multi purpose, in that it's used for home defense and for hunting larger game. For defense, sometimes all a would be assailant needs to hear is the "chick-chunk" of the pump action...and they think twice! My AK's are strictly for the "in case of a 'Holy Shit!' scenario...break glass!"

Like a few others who've posted, the U.S. is really not as violent as we're made out to be. And to echo Jolene...we have bad areas/neighborhoods just like any place in the world. For me personally, I'm an American that is exercising a right afforded to him, by our country's Constitution. That being the right keep and bear arms. The U.S.'s history and lineage is made up of common folks who owned firearms, to be used in the ways I've described above. While I have no problems with anyone who isn't armed, or they just don't like guns at all, I don't wish to come across as an armed crazy person who's ready to draw down on someone...just because they called my an asshole, or looked at me wrong! LOL It's not about that, at all!

And since I also like to go out camping and fishing, I never travel to my campsite without some type of firearm on my person. Plus, I love to go target shooting. It's a hobby of mine.

 

[Evvie]

What I picked up today - $15

 

[BullFrogBlues]

Not armed, I live in Australia and don't feel the need. I do know 2 Australians who needed to be armed, a work colleague and a school friend of my nephew. Both used a shot gun to commit suicide.

 

[SoTxBob]

What I picked up today - $15

you can also find online at places like BudK that have several sizes and other self defense goodies to play with, delivered to your door at frequently less than local merchants. :thumbleft:

http://budk.com/Self-Defense/Pepper-Spray?pg=1

 

[Duane Dibbley]

Gun control in Israel is far far more stringent than in the USA, before being drafted they undergo a lot of physical and mental fitness tests, assault rifles are banned, ownership is limited to one handgun with the caveat that in order to own that pistol, They must for two years have been either a captain in the army or a former lieutenant colonel. Israelis with an equivalent rank in other security organizations may also own a pistol.

Or if you're a member of a kibbutz, some old law about protecting themselves I believe. My sister had a Walther 765. Had never been in the army, my brother in law (ex IDF) taught her how to to handle it.

 

[Ariel_Moon]

Nah. it's really not the norm in the UK, the only people who are armed are like...crazies or gangs. I've never even known anyone who's even SEEN a gun. ( Serious...I'm a city gal...I dont even know anyone who hunts)

I can't really comment on what people in the US do...since I have never lived there, I haven't even been there, so I wouldn't know how safe it is or anything.

I do totally understand why women would feel like they need protection from scary guys. I am thinking of getting some pepper spray and I am learning self defense. I just would never feel comfortable with a gun because I'm retarded and would probably end up shooting myself in the face somehow


This thread is making me think of that eddie izzard clip