What's Donald Trump's carry piece?

Lawrence has the details.

Florida about to issue the 2 millionth concealed carry permit

It seems that folks are high fiving the benchmark, although the media is appalled.

Reasons to Open Carry

Some may be good (I confess to not being a fan, but other people I respect think different).  But some reasons are bad:

pic.twitter.com/igRqaNp7xv

— Sal the Agorist (@SallyMayweather) October 26, 2018

Ego validation from fanbois is a bad reason.  If you're going to risk scaring the White Folks, make sure you have a good reason.

Open Carry Larping

Tam points out examples the way that only she can.  Sal chimes in as only he can.

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— Sal the Agorist (@SallyMayweather) October 25, 2018

UPDATE: Aesop has some thoughts here, and expands on them here.  Key graf:

Just because you haven't tried something doesn't mean you ought to.
Maybe learn a lesson from common sense, and from the example of the 5000 other Open Carry fucktards from coast to coast who've BTDT. 

So, in answer to WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO EXPAND GUN RIGHTS IN FLORIDA?, the answer isn't "Nothing", it's "Reminding the OC Crusaders that acting like fucktards is acting like fucktards, and harms gun rights for everyone, everywhere."

Oh, and "Rambonehead" is the word of the day.

Analysis of the Laquan McDonald shooting by the Chicago Police

Eric Raymond does an analysis of the video:

The fast version: I would have said this was what cops call a “good shoot” if it had stopped at the first two bullets. It didn’t. I don’t think this was murder one, but it was at least criminally negligent homicide and those who covered it up should be prosecuted along with Van Dyke.

This is a very thoughtful post on when deadly force is justified and when it - sometimes suddenly - turns into unjustified deadly force.  This is important reading for anyone who carries, so RTWT.

As a bonus, there's a link there to his analysis of the Michael Brown autopsy results and what it likely means about the shooting.  Short version: completely justified in that case.

Plat stupid games, win stupid prizes

Thug playing "knockout game" gets shot twice:

One teen playing the Knockout Game in Lansing, Michigan, got more than he bargained for when he attacked a concealed carry permit holder.

The teenager, Marvell Weaver, attempted to attack a father who was waiting for his daughter at a bus stop.

This particular father was well-prepared. At first, the middle-aged man tried to use a taser on Weaver.

When that failed, he pulled out a .40 cal handgun and shot the teen two times.

[Pauses to let cheers die down]

Code Yellow is your friend.  And being prepared.

A funny thing happened at the Motorcycle Safety course last night

When people were talking about Harley's nifty high end (for nosebleed price, of course) leather jacket, someone who had one piped up with:

"And for those of you who like to carry a pistol, it has a handy pocket for it."

Which led me to quip:

"Even a full-sized 1911?"

And that led to a 5 minute discussion on carry pieces among almost the entire class.  Including the women.  Got to love the biker community.

Stop touching it

Even when you're shopping.  Srlsy.

Relax, Citizen - your Government Masters are trustworthy

Tam posts on a TSA screener who got caught stealing an iPad: 

In a statement to ABC News, the TSA said it has “a zero-tolerance policy for theft and terminates any employee who is determined to have stolen from a passenger.” The TSA reports that 381 of its officers have been fired for theft between 2003 and 2012.

Well that's a relief!  I mean, with 45,000 screeners working ten years you've only had 381 thefts!  That's like (does some math: 381 ÷ 45,000 x 10) is a theft rate of around 840 per hundred thousand.

Compare to the heinous crime wave committed by concealed carry permit holders of 188 per 100,000*.  It's an outrage!  It's obviously way to easy to get a carry license!

Odd how we always hear from Progressives that gun owners are ready to snap and go all shootin' up the town square and everything.  And hey, that TSA thief rate is rock solid - I mean, the TSA says that they have a "zero-tolerance" policy and everything.

At this point can we just ask every Progressive who thinks that guns should be restricted and government expanded to shut up and sit down in the back of the room?  Grown ups are talking.

* North Carolina statistics, 1995 - 2011.  400,000 license holders, 1,200 revoked in 16 years.

Starbuck's blogging

Normally I'd be at work, but we put Little One-Eyed Dog down this morning. Her cancer was aggressive, and it would have been cruel to let her go on like this. And so I wanted to just stop for a minute.

It reminds me of being at the airport, really, only nicer and without luggage. Lots of SWPL types on iPads. And us. Oh, and their bacon, egg, and Gouda sandwich is pretty good.

Go, Starbuck's.

Why do you practice drawing what you carry?

Because sometimes you might carry a different gun.  Different gun, different draw.

Well thought out and discussed.

I don't think I'll bring this to the attention of the HR team here next time we're discussing "Concealed Carry Tuesday".  It would just muddy the waters.

Concealed Carry holsters for Ladies

It's said that all a gentleman needs to carry to look presentable is a comb (well, except for gentlemen like me, where that ship has sailed).  Things are not so simple for ladies.  And so with concealed carry.  Which holster for the to-die-for Cocktail Dress, which holster for the beach, which for jogging?

This young lady has some outstanding suggestions for my Lady Readers.



And I must confess that if I were 25 and unmarried again, I might be pretty smitten.  So I guess there's something here for my Gentlemen Readers, too.

But seriously, this looks like pretty solid, practical advice.  Carry your pistol, it's a lighter burden than regret.

A helpful reminder when you're packing in your waistband

Finger off the trigger until you're lined up on target.  Boy, howdy.

ZOMG! There's a man with a gun!

He's ordering tacos!  And then it gets really scary:

This is exactly what the Brady crowd said would happen.  Oh, the humanity!

But seriously, the Austin bats are very cool.  And the little suckers are small and keep dodging, so .45 ACP is the wrong caliber.  You'd want pretty light bird shot ...

(Image source)

Reflections on Concealed Carry

I took my 1911 with me twice yesterday.  Somehow, I managed to resist the orbiting NRA Mind Control Ray.  Here is a more or less stream of consciousness set of impressions.

1. The holster (Dragon Leather Works Quantum) is really, really good.  Specifically, it's rock solid, and holds the pistol absolutely immobile.  Sitting down, standing up, leaning on the railing of the Congress Street Bridge (to see the bats, natch) - the pistol didn't change its position at all.  This is in great contrast to the first time I CCW'ed - my crummy holster that time ended up slipping down inside my britches, so I was always worrying about it.

I was also always messing with it, and as Tam likes to say, stop messing with your gat.  This holster meant I didn't want to.  More on the holster itself in a later post, but if you're new to carrying, run don't walk and get a good, stiff holster with strong belt clips.  Srlsy.

2. I changed a couple times before I left Forward Operating Base Borepatch.  Some of my favorite Hawaiian shirts print pretty badly when I bend over - the shirt catches a bit on the grip and it becomes obvious that I'm carrying.  Heavier fabrics seem to work better - either they resist getting snagged, or the fabric is heavy enough to drop off the grip.

3. I didn't have a round in the chamber.  I was a bit nervous, it being really the first real time and all.  Obviously, you carry a pistol for the unexpected, and so this was way suboptimal.  Once I'm more used to this, I expect that cocked and locked will be the norm.

4. The laws in Texas are seemingly subtly different from those in Georgia.  My guess is that the first rule is "Don't cause a problem for someone else", but I actually asked a couple guys in the office what I should know.  The two answers were "don't drink if you go into a bar" and "Don't go places where there are the '30-06' signs posted" (this is the state law that lets private businesses ban firearms).  This bit was where the solidity of the Quantum holster came in handy - since I wasn't worried about the piece itself shifting, I could devote all my attention to keeping myself as much out of legal trouble as possible.

5. It seems that "Common Sense Gun Control" consists of a lot of strange and unexpected additional prohibitions that most people are unlikely to know, especially if you are - like me - from out of state on a reciprocal permit.  Probably I'm being nasty and suspicious here.

More impressions later, but today was a thousand times better than the first.

UPDATE 8 July 2011 17:22: Weer'd Beard and Newbie Shooter have important things to say about this.

ZOMG! There's a man with a gun!

Over there - at the Western Wear store!  I'd say that nothing happened, but that's not true: I bought a cowboy hat for #2 Son and a "You all can go to Hell; I'm going to Texas" T-Shirt for me.

See, that's exactly the sort of thing they Brady crowd said would happen.  The horror!  Still, the carnage could have been worse:

That is an "Assault" T-shirt right there.

This holster does not make my butt look big

My Dragon Leather Works Quantum showed up.

It's designed to be reversible, inside the belt or outside the belt.  I told Dennis that I was a complete n00b, and that the feedback he'd get from me would be from a n00b's perspective.  I haven't taken this anywhere, but here are some initial impressions:

1. This holster holds my Citadel 1911 very snugly.  Lots of folks have posted about how you need stiff leather for a good holster to hold the pistol snugly - the leather is certainly stiff, although as I said this is a n00b's perspective.  It's certainly better than the last holster I used, which blew chunks.

The pistol is certainly held securely.  I'd have to stand on my head for it to fall out.  Using a three-point stance (to be able to keep it from sliding, I got pretty close.  The 1911 didn't move.

But now that I've done that test once, I don't feel the need to repeat it.  Even unloaded, it seemed on the edge of "fooling around with guns", which is double-plus ungood and makes me nervous.

2. While snug, the 1911 comes out of the holster smoothly when I draw it.

3. It feels secure - the trigger is covered by the leather, and you'd have to really fool around with it (this is double-plus ungood, remember?) to cause trouble for yourself.

4.  It's pretty, in its outwards facing ("Barbecue holster") configuration.  It's a minute's work with a flat head screwdriver to unscrew the fasteners to reverse the belt hooks for concealed carry. 

5. I expect it's been 40 years since I wore a holster.  It's surprisingly comfortable, even sitting down.  Might be a different story with a full sized 1911.

6. I haven't tried concealed carry yet.  I'll post about that later.

It's a strange feeling walking around with a pistol on my hip, even if it's just inside Forward Operating Base Borepatch.  I'll have to reverse the belt clips and try concealed carry next.

7. Oh, yeah, it has a nifty logo, created by some d00d on teh Intarwebz:

Jeff Cooper on the combat mindset

It's not my intent to stand up here and tell the AMA to go fly a kite, but that's my inclination.

Heh.

Does this 1911 make my ass look fat?

I concealed carried my 1911 yesterday.

It was a long drive from Atlanta to Beaumont, TX, but we wanted to walk to the restaurant from the hotel.  Not being sure what the neighborhood was like, I looped up the holster and carried.  Some thoughts:

1. The holster blows chunks.  The damn thing rode down in my trousers.  Bah.  I'm calling Dennis from Dragon Leather Works, who has all sorts of good stuff (and I like to do business with folks I know, thank you very much).

2. Glad I didn't have a round in the chamber.  Even though the safety seems entirely reliable, the stupid holster did make my ass look fat, and that's not good.  I suspect I'll want a round in the chamber once I have a decent holster.

3. I wanted to order a beer (after the 12 hour drive, see), but couldn't remember Texas' CCW laws.  CCW Uncertainty FAIL.  I think it's similar to driving - don't get drunk, duh (Texas sanity FTW).  But I couldn't remember (Uncertainty FAIL), so no beer.

4. Chicken Fried Steak is a guilty pleasure.  And I think that in Texas, you don't have to feel guilty about it.  Texas FTW!

5. Beer and blogging in hotelroom after long drive, also FTW.

One thing that is a cold, dead certainty: the air smells entirely of freedom here.