SMF

My wife and I went to a gun range Friday night and had a great time shooting guns. We got to test out a Smith and Wesson shield EZ9 mm and a sigsauer P3 65 9 mm. I wanted to try a Glock 43X but they did not have one. I ended up going to shoot point Blank and buy in the Smith and Wesson as it was a one day sale. However I got to hell a Walther CCP and I really love the grip on that. They also have the PPSM2 which is a little bit cheaper. I’m new at this so I’m not gonna try to get too excited, But does anyone have any experience on guns that could double as home defense and concealed carry, and perhaps with either the sig. or the Walter I looked at and compare it to the Smith and Wesson

I'm licensed for handguns and other restricted weapons in Canada, but don't have any handguns and won't bother (have to keep them locked up with stringent rules, and can use only at an approved range). I can give all sorts of advice about shotguns and rifles for various sporting purposes, but concealed carry and home defense are, thank goodness, not a thing in Canada. I live a very few miles from some of the deaths and destruction caused recently by the loony denturist, but I would still rather not have a handgun for such a once in a lifetime event - a shotgun would be far preferable and way more effective. Glad he turned right instead of left at one particular junction! Almost nobody in Canada has our equivalent of a carry license outside military, police and a few security guards. That's our problem and we'll live with it just fine. My birthday present this year was a bigger gun safe, and it was needed!

I'm happy to hear of you enjoying your time at the range. Are you sure you want to carry the burden of wearing lethal force and what you might do with it? That's a Canadian viewpoint, not a judgement. You must do as you see fit.

drmoss_ca wrote: ↑Sun May 31, 2020 4:43 pm . . . . I would still rather not have a handgun for such a once in a lifetime event - a shotgun would be far preferable and way more effective. . . . . Are you sure you want to carry the burden of wearing lethal force and what you might do with it? That's a Canadian viewpoint, not a judgement. You must do as you see fit.

Same here. An incident will generally bring about many unforeseen and highly unpleasant consequences.

Chris. The carry permit is a ways off. Right now I want to learn the gun. Keep it at home. Shoot at the range just for sport. Tonight I have a daughter in Asheville, North Carolina and there were demonstrations. She was stuck downtown and the girl she was with was pepper sprayed. They are scared. They were false rumors of a riot going to happen in my town which is a suburb of Memphis, Tennessee, and while I’m not a reactionary, my wife is comforted by the fact that we now have a weapon in the house. I hope to never need it but if you’d asked me three years ago if I would have a gun in the house my answer would’ve been no

Although from my basic army training I am trained to use revolvers and pistols, a Lee Enfield 303, an FN FAL battle rifle and a Bren gun and have used shotguns for clay pigeon shooting, I have little interest in owning or using any type of firearm. However, if I were to have one type of firearm to “protect” my home it would be a pump-action 12 gauge shotgun. Hand guns are tricky buggers at the best of time, but to use one effectively in a high pressure situation requires practice and skill.

Sam, I'm so deep into firearm culture and have been for ~60 years now, you wouldn't believe it if I told you all of it. I'm an NRA certified instructor, CCW permit holder for >30 years, shoot competition and regularly make hits that I've been told are impossible to make by folks who think they know stuff but don't. Just yesterday I shot a Steel Challenge match and got 87% of the possible points shooting carbine and took top shooter in that division. I shoot competition to stay sharp and get better. The following generic video is SC in a nutshell. Just skip ahead to the :30 mark, or watch the intro'. Have you seen "The Walking Dead" show? Every time I shoot SC I can't help but think of zombie head shots, but faster if it's done right. Unlike zombie head shots in hellywood what we do is real and not trickery done for viewing pleasure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4RXNo4gEyk

But that's just a small part of what I do.

What do you want to know? You can ask in a PM and I will respond. If a public question is posed I'll probably answer you in a PM due to static that can be encountered with a public response.

Not as deep as Brian, but pretty immersed myself.

Interested in the Shield EZ in 9. My Shield carry piece is nice, but that slide action is nice. Plus the grip has been redesigned, and it fits my had better.

I also just bought a new piece - mainly because I have a ton of ammo I inherited from my dad's estate - and needed a pistol that could shoot it, if needed.

It was scary here in Austin last night - we were concerned about possible marauders, too.

Tough times.

Brian, I have a couple of friends who use rifles in shooting competitions and dress up, so to speak, and have names like Tarantula Jack. Not like the Civil War re-enactments, but they do score points and have standings over many events.

I am thinking Wife and I will get a private lesson first, and in it I will get more personalized instruction over two hours than a 'safety class" which may have 10 people it in or so. I may get my own gun, but right now, we will go to the range and share it. Wife really loved how the S&W Shield shot and felt, and so did I, but I loved the green dot front sight of the Sig P365 and it was a lighter gun. But the Walther CCP, that grip, really felt the best in my hand but alas, no place rents it to shoot that I could find in Memphis.

Gene wrote: ↑Mon Jun 01, 2020 7:19 am Not as deep as Brian, but pretty immersed myself.

Interested in the Shield EZ in 9. My Shield carry piece is nice, but that slide action is nice. Plus the grip has been redesigned, and it fits my had better.

I also just bought a new piece - mainly because I have a ton of ammo I inherited from my dad's estate - and needed a pistol that could shoot it, if needed.

It was scary here in Austin last night - we were concerned about possible marauders, too.

Tough times.

My dad wanted me to have his Berreta, his Ruger and his Glock, and then he had two other guns. Sister, who abuses prescription drugs, moved in with my mother and co-opted his collection. She just a few days ago said she got rid of his guns. Oh well, I am going to buy cheap ammo for the range, but will get a good bullet for home defense. And I do not have a problem with getting a shot gun. The gun is more than just a home defense, I enjoyed the range.

Sorry to hear about the issues, sorry about the loss.

I have done a few Neighborhood Watch meetings with our local PD Chief. I found out what the ammo of choice was for our local PD - there is a school of thought that says using what they use can't be wrong. Here in Buda they use Federal HST, +P (the +P, if memory serves, is a higher pressure round). I just went with regular Federal HST. Whatever self defense round you decide to use - run some through your weapon. They will likely shoot and feel different than the cheap stuff. Make sure your weapon likes it, and you understand how it will perform.

Oh - and we also have a 12 gauge pump shotgun, too. My wife is a whiz with that thing shooting from the hip!

A gun range where I bought the Smith and Wesson shield easy offers a free safety class so my wife and I are signed up. To begin we’re going to share the gun and also share some range time. I’m going to get a range bag and some sort of ear protection other than a little foam inserts that were like $.50. For my gun I’m considering the Smith and Wesson shield, the Sig P365XL And a Walther, the CCP Or the PPSM to or the PPQ

Sorta OT, but very soft closed cell foam ear plugs are extremely good at preventing hearing loss. I have only half of one ear left. My left ear is stone cold dead since 1965 thanks to streptomycin. My right ear has about half function. When I took out and brought back to life my 1991 Miata after 15 years underground, I drove her on a long roadtrip. The resulting tinnitus is still with me and a good lesson.Since then I've used closed-cell foam earplugs and noise-cancelling headphones (which are not really good enough for gunfire as yet), and found the earplugs the best for preventing further tinnitus whilst allowing conversation when the top is down. The very best closed-cell foam earplugs I have are roughly equivalent to these. Mine are NRR 33, and I only have to use one at a time for obvious reasons. They are comfortable enough that I keep one on the bedside table for nights when my wife is sleeping, errr, deeply. It works superbly and is soft enough that I don't feel discomfort the next morning (one should always avoid situations causing discomfort the next morning...). You have to roll it up between finger and thumb to make it thin and skinny, insert well into the ear canal, and wait a few seconds as it re-expands and blocks out all sound. Disadvantages are that I won't hear a smoke detector go off, nor the telephone, nor the burglar demanding the safe be opened, making the possession of a handgun rather a moot point...

Well I have some versions of those foam earplugs as well that I use for the wife snoring. The orange pair they gave us at the range, in one year, it did not stay in. They also have some plugs that have a wire and go around the back of your head but still insert into your ears and then they have the headphones.

Sam, if you put the foam plugs in correctly they not only won't come out on their own, but you might need a tweezer to remove them. Ok, that last might be an exaggeration, but fingernails are a definite asset. It's very difficult to fins better hearing protection than good foam plugs if they're installed correctly, and they're cool. Muffs can get hot.

The best of both worlds are the foam plugs and electronic muffs with the muffs turned up all the way. That way one gets the best hearing protection and range commands can also be heard.

Shoot point Blake had a special where I got a range bag with their embroidery on it and some walker slimline earmuffs for $10

Sam wrote: ↑Tue Jun 02, 2020 1:04 pmThe orange pair they gave us at the range, in one year, it did not stay in.

The free ones at our local range are too firm - they don't fit me well, prone to falling out, too. The link DR. Moss provided is for some nice ones, and the "roll/squeeze" works great with them.

Also - +1 on the electronic earmuffs - I do the same thing: combo of the muffs and the plugs.

Sam, you and your wife are one of many. I knew it started bigtime in March with C19. I had called my small local gun shop looking for a specific .22 cartridge and was told that they didn't have any in stock and were selling over 20k rounds per week. At that time I knew people were getting serious. Many folks on the forums were reporting nothing available for sale where they lived soon after. Even today some models are in very short supply.

Just today I discussed on a forum a gents use of a firearm that I suggested to you. He lives in Santa Monica and had it with him when he went out every 1/2 hour to check and make sure the anarchists were staying where they were, one block away from his house. He stopped at dawn. I think he bought his before the rush to buy.

Anyway, lots of new firearm owners. I hope they all have the sense you folks do and get safety instruction.
https://www.libertybell.com/guess-how-m ... ee-months/

Edit:
That Santa Monica resident also told us later that it's being said there (a leftist community) that there are now 3 types of people living there. One type is composed of the few gun owners, another are those who wish they had guns, and the last are those who want to find a gun owner for protection. It doesn't fill the population with confidence that some mayors are diverting millions from the police to other projects. LA in particular is reducing the police budget by $120,000,000. The police chief is openly questioning the mayors sanity. In the meantime I'm glad I live in a free state and I can watch the suicide of LA from a safe distance. Minneapolis appears to be intent on committing suicide by defunding the police dept also. This should be very interesting.

My late brother had our dad's pistol. Upon his own passing his widow gave it to me. I never used it (had my fill of firearms upon my infantry discharge) so I gave it to our son as an heirloom when he and his son joined the gun club.

Now I'm suddenly realizing I might be embracing the possibility that armed combat may once again be necessary, whether I like it or not.

TRBeck wrote: ↑Sat Jun 06, 2020 11:54 am There's no imminent threat to your safety. This isn't 1968. It surely isn't 1861.

Geez. And wearing a mask is living in fear.

Thanks, no offense intended.
Best regards

There are several members who've acknowledged they own firearms for their own protection, just in case. So far I'm the only one who's posted who states I don't own one.