dwcz

Good scenario to consider. Things happen so fast in real life, its better to have some mental "lines in the sand" already drawn before you find yourself having to decide how to respond in a few seconds. I think I would definitely respond differently if my wife or 8 month old daughter were in the vehicle. I've had one situation occur where I felt someone was a threat to my daughter and close enough to hurt her. Luckily, they stopped just short of me reacting physically. I was surprised at how quickly I went from wanting to avoid a physical confrontation, to ready to to do what ever was necessary when my daughter was involved and that person reached the line I had drawn in my mind. Thanks for sharing this link.

+1 for sticking it back in their faces.

Crazy stuff. Out of curiosity, in Tennessee, when you are pulled over by LEO and they run your license, does the system show if you have a HCP? I've volunteered that info to LEOs once when I received a speeding ticket and once when I was rear ended, but I figured they knew anyway.

I was surprised to see that the hotel now has proper signs up at what appears to be every main entrance... I don't remember this being the case before. I was there for another event this past weekend.

Exactly...

"Why can't we just encourage folks to act responsibly instead of bashing each other?" In a society where the majority of the masses lack personal responsibility, what do you expect their reaction to be to something they typically associate with gang bangers, hill billys and cowboys? The media certainly doesn't appear to make any real effort at responsible journalism either. So, everyone's opinions and arguments for/against aside, the media typically shapes the general public's opinion of what is good/bad and stokes the fear and uses anything to push the typical "guns are bad" agenda. A news story about a legally armed citizen justifiably using their weapon to defend themselves or prevent a crime typically promotes responsible gun ownership in a positive light. This arguably helps society see how having a gun is reasonable and maybe even desirable to prevent something similar from happening to them. Hearing about a legally armed citizen OC'ing and causing a scene (even unintentionally) "just because they have the right" to OC - not just on the news but even more so when it makes headlines - does not contribute to society viewing gun ownership and being armed in a positive light. It typically comes across as unnecessary and unreasonable and most media outlets use it as ammo to fan the flames of fear. So, how does it make any sense to OC when you KNOW you are probably going to cause a negative reaction of some type to someone who sees you? Keep it concealed. Out of sight, out of mind. Still legally armed. Everyone's happy (well, except those who demand to sit in the front seat of the bus and like to scare the other passengers by flaunting their rights). Oh yeah, forgot to say IMO...

The XD-40 SC is what I carry everyday IWB. Great gun. Grip safety is a plus. The DM Bullard Dual carry holster (OS's avatar pic) is super comfortable. I think having a metal lined belt also helps me not notice that I am carrying this around all the time. I don't even feel it 98% of the time. Highly recommend the XD-SC in 40.

+1

Nice post. Welcome.

I attended the Four Day Defensive Handgun course earlier this year. I gave a longer report in another thread, but just wanted to say that course was really great and I plan to go again. Is there a lot of marketing surrounding them? Yes, and you'll see and hear even more in the next few months based on their emails. But their training is top notch. They offer specials of some sort all the time for first time students. The one they were promoting last week was take any course for $500. Really great deal. They openly tell you that they will offer low priced first time courses knowing that you'll see the value and want to come back or sign up for a lifetime membership with them. And they run specials on those from time to time, too. As someone who has traveled from Tennessee to train with Front Sight, yes, it takes some effort and expense to travel, book a hotel and rental car. If you go, stay in Pahrump rather than Vegas - a lot less driving to Front Sight and back. I'd also recommend getting your ammo there after the hassle I went through to have mine shipped to a friend in Vegas. For the time and expense of shipping my seemingly lower priced ammo from TN to NV, it wouldn't have cost that much more to just buy it from their proshop. Believe the hype - the training is really great - but see through the hype and you may notice there are lots of good nuggets of info even in some of the emails they send out. Just my opinion...

If you are serious about being able to defend yourself when you can't carry, I'd recommend training in a good, practical martial art. Even when you can carry, its nice to have more than one option to respond with. I've been training in Aikido for the past two years. Getting my HCP and more training with a firearm was a natural extension of self defense and that art. Several LEOs train/instruct at our dojo and are a wealth of knowledge on the legal front, too.

Maybe she needs to be reminded that knives are dangerous and ask her to keep them out of the restaurant, especially those big ones in the kitchen... a gun might misfire, but a knife won't ever mis-cut. Oh and hot water - someone could get burned. Or cars. maybe they could keep those out of the parking lot just to be safe? Ignorance and naivete are incredibly dangerous, too...

Noted and changed. They may have mentioned him but I've had very little sleep (newborn baby). Thanks!

I recently did the Four Day Defensive Handgun course at Front Sight. I went there in April with a close friend of mine. It was everything the marketing claimed it would be - better really. Actually, given the marketing hype we were both skeptical going in and kind of anticipated being let down by the course. We had both heard really good things about Front Sight from trusted friends who do high level personal protection full time. We decided to go anyway because we figured if nothing else, it would be a great trip together to Vegas right before my wife and I had our first baby. Kind of a last guy type trip for awhile. We couldn't have been more wrong. Four almost twelve hour days and a two hour night shoot with static and dynamic targets, tactical scenarios, timed and un-timed drills and skills tests to see what you learned. Every instructor we encountered was pleasant and professional - no macho drill instructor attitudes - and every instructor could perform on demand what as being taught. To put things in perspective, there were over 500 people training at Front Sight that weekend. Handgun, shotgun and rifle courses. Our range was a 50 yard range with 20 lanes. There were 40 students in our group and we were split into 2 relays. We were paired up with another student the whole weekend (my friend and I worked together) and when one relay is on the line the other relay would be coaching from right behind. Student coaching is a big part of the experience and really imprints what you learn into your mind and enables you to teach your friends and family when you leave. Same as scuba diving training, medical training, etc. Great concept. We had a range master and 3-4 line instructors. Our range master was Venezuela's national pistol champion (a few times if I remember correctly) and his accent made the training stick in my head even more. I still hear him behind me: "hard focus on the front sight" and "smooth trigger press"... The consistency of instruction was worthy noting. They all taught the same methods, used the some range commands and really seemed to care that you were progressing in your training. When they noticed something that needed attention, they would step in, let you know what they were seeing and how you could correct it. Sometimes they would come up to us while we were coaching our partner and point out something our partner was doing and how we could notice and correct it. Think about the safety logistics of over 500 people training with firearms in the same place at the same time and no one getting hurt... The only time they were demanding (for lack of a better term) was when it came to safety issues - and who would want it any other way? We had one guy who brought his father (who I wasn't convinced wanted to be there) that did a few stupid things like begin to turn around on the range with a loaded weapon - and I've never seen instructors move so fast to stop him and get the weapon pointing down range again. For the record, this dude's son was his partner and the first thing we were taught was range safety. Our first priority was to watch for our partners safe gun handling and how to safely prevent them from endangering everyone around them. We didn't see these two individuals again after the second day and I know they offer a two day course but I am not entirely convinced that they were not asked to leave because the one guy just couldn't seem to grasp basic safety issues. Lots of dry practice - I think we only fired around 600 rounds over the four days. Dry practice is a cornerstone of Front Sight's training methods and I understand why. Whenever we would transition from dry practice to firing drills and back to dry practice, the next set of firing drills my accuracy would improve. Now I can dry practice often at home and occasionally go to the range to validate my dry practice. And I can confidently say that this method works and has worked for teaching my sister how to shoot after I attended the course. Was there some continued marketing on the campus? Yes, but it was optional, during a few of the meal breaks and the occasional mention during discussions and the few classroom lectures. People were actualy somewhat eager to learn how they could get more of the same level of training they were experiencing. I know I'll go back again and hope to convince my wife to go. The lectures themselves were really informative and actually enjoyable. Not boring, talking heads spewing textbook knowledge. Topics included things like the Color Code of Mental Awareness and having a combat mindset, tactics, criminal and civil liability and litigation, how to choose good self defense weapons, what weapon modifications work, choosing good equipment, etc. Great stuff. The basic premise of the four day handgun course was that at the end, you'd be able to present from concealment and place two rounds to the thoracic cavity in 1.5 seconds at 3-5 yards. We fired from the 3-15 yard lines throughout the course. Front Sight more than delivered on this and everything else I gleaned from the course. Highly recommended.

I bought a Dual Carry by DM Bullard and I've worn it everyday for a few months now (I carry an XD-40 subcompact). I looked into it after seeing OhShoots avatar photo. I'll eventually get around to replacing the tuckable clips as he did. The only thing I have found to be less than ideal with that holster was the thickness of the tuckable leather clips, so I have been using it with the standard metal clips all this time. Great holster, nice man to do business with.

Doesn't make them any less true though.

Sounds good to me, I will be writing my reps to support it, but good luck. As far as I can tell, there has never been an external audit of the debt machine we know as the Federal Reserve. Something to think about: The US pays over 17.5 million per hour in interest to the Fed... Here's a Presidential quote from just three years after founding the Fed: "I am a most unhappy man. I have unwittingly ruined my country. A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated Governments in the civilized world no longer a Government by free opinion, no longer a Government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a Government by the opinion and duress of a small group of dominant men." -Woodrow Wilson, after signing the Federal Reserve into existence "The few who understand the system, will either be so interested in its profits, or so dependent on its favors that there will be no opposition from that class, while on the other hand, the great body of people, mentally incapable of comprehending the tremendous advantages...will bear its burden without complaint, and perhaps without suspecting that the system is inimical to their best interests." - Rothschild Brothers' of London communiqué to associates in New York June 25, 1863 "Whoever controls the volume of money in our country is absolute master of all industry and commerce...when you realize that the entire system is very easily controlled, one way or another, by a few powerful men at the top, you will not have to be told how periods of inflation and depression originate." - James Garfield, 20th President "The money power preys on the nation in times of peace, and conspires against it in times of adversity. It is more despotic than monarchy, more insolent than autocracy, more selfish than bureaucracy. It denounces, as public enemies, all who question its methods or throw light upon its crimes." Abraham Lincoln "I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. As a result of the war, corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands, and the Republic is destroyed. I feel at this moment more anxiety for the safety of my country than ever before, even in the midst of war." Abraham Lincoln - In a letter written to William Elkin less than five months before he was assassinated.

Thanks for the responses. I spoke with Fed Ex's dangerous goods people. They said all that was required for this ammo was the ORM-D labeling and that I couldn't take it to a drop off retail location. Had to be on an existing account and I ended up dropping it off at the Nashville main Fed Ex place. No other form was required, or so I was told on the phone, so that's what I told the counter worker. Also, has to ship ground. Air shipping requires hazmat certification. I'll chime back in after the course... Here's hoping the ammo arrives on time. I wasn't expecting to have to ground ship.

So, I can just make sure the ORM-D labels are secured and ship like any other package? No "Hazardous/Dangerous Goods" forms?

I've done some searching online and get conflicting answers... I am headed to Front Sight in Las Vegas next weekend and need to ship .40 handgun ammunition there. Anybody know the rules on shipping ammo? I know the box has to be marked ORM-D cartridges small arms - I saved the boxes/labels from when I received my last ammunition shipment. Some sites say it is considered a "dangerous good", some say just the ORM-D cartridges small arms label is good enough. I call a FedEx store and the dude there said they couldn't take it and that the hub probably wouldn't either... I called gun store and they said I could ship it myself with the label... Can anyone with experience here please enlighten me?

Back in November I did get pulled over but wasn't carrying. The first thing I did was notify the officer that I had my HCP but wasn't armed. His response was "well why not? what good does it do you to have your permit and not carry?" and then proceeded to lecture me for about two or three minutes and drill me with questions as to why. I let him know I was on my way to get on a tour bus for a concert tour. He asked who I was out on tour with. I told him it was a christian tour with a bunch of teenagers, some of them on disney radio and movies. He replied that was all the more reason I should be carrying to protect those kids. It wasn't until I explained that we were going to multiple states and performing in some venues that were also schools that he finally let off a bit. Then he wrote me a ticket for speeding... Maybe I should have said I was out with one of the higher profile country acts he would have recognized

Thanks everyone! I'm headed out to Front Sight in vegas for their 4 day handgun course. I need to find 800 rounds for each of us, but why stop at 800 when you could just round it up to an even 1k each

Anybody have a clue where I could find this in the Nashville area or in stock online? I've checked four or five online ammo dealers to no avail... Can't be re-loads, must be factory new for a 4 day defensive handgun course I am participating in with a friend at the end of April... I know everyone is looking for ammo right now, but thought I'd ask.

Not in there thankfully, no matter how I searched it. But lots of my friends were. Definitely share everyone's outrage and opposition to these details being available like this. Here's hoping politicians do something about this that we can agree with for a change...

It was late, I was apparently speeding a little. Turned on the interior lights, hands on steering wheel, wallet out. Friendly, polite, respectful. Informed the officer that I did have a handgun carry permit but that I was not armed (I was on my way to get on a tour bus for some concerts out of state). I was then lectured for about two minutes for not carrying and grilled with questions pertaining to why I wasn't carrying. Oh yeah, then he wrote me a ticket. My LEO friends said that just wasn't right - you either lecture someone or give them a ticket, but not usually both Oh well. It was only the second time I have ever had a ticket.