JAB

Okay, I still haven't seen part 2 but, having seen the first one I have to say that I think this is one of the most well-done/choreographed parodies of a specific fight scene style from a specific set of movies I have ever seen. Pretty funny, too.

You can read a lot from most dog's eyes and posture if you are attuned with how to look. It doesn't always work - some dogs are just schizo or impossible to read but it usually works fairly well. I/my family had dogs ever since I was a little kid so I have been around different dogs with different idiosyncrasies and personalities pretty much all my life. Some friends of mine got their first dog about a year ago and sometimes when I am visiting he will be acting a certain way and I will tell them what I think he wants based on his actions, posture, etc. Most of the time I am right and I don't even live with this dog. Heck, sometimes I can get him to lay down beside me and behave even when he won't do so for them (not trying to usurp them just trying to show them how) and they have taken him to obedience training. They are very good with him but just don't have enough experience to know how to 'read' a dog, yet. I say all of that to tell you that, from that picture, my 'gut' is telling me in no, uncertain terms that this puppy knows exactly what you have done for her and she is grateful.

Some places have a coroner and a coroner's office. Some places have medical examiners. I was thinking that 'coroner' was different from 'medical examiner' - meaning that the two are not the same - in that 'coroner' actually has more authority when it comes to deciding murder, justifiable homicide, etc. and conducting investigations whereas a medical examiner mostly just gives medical input as in, "This is what killed him/her," - cause of death - and someone else decides to call it a 'murder' or not. From what you say, it sounds like I was right. In fact, don't some coroner's offices have their own, legally empowered investigators attached specifically to them just like some fire departments have investigators attached to them who investigate cases of suspected arson?

I was in my favorite LGS one day, a few years back and the owner handed me a used PC Smith revolver that he had taken in trade and told me to try the trigger out. Amazing! It wasn't a snub and I don't remember the exact model other than it was in .357. I love revolvers and if the trigger on yours is anything like the trigger on that one then no wonder it is your favorite! Oh, and did you intend for that last part (the "ohhhh my!..............) to be read in a George Takei voice? Because that is the way I heard it in my head.

Theater or not the 'ban' was obviously a big, middle finger from the Obast**d administration to gun owners, hunters and all the other 'clingers' His Highness so despised as they went out the door. If the regulation had been needed and meaningful why wouldn't they had put it in place two, four or even eight years ago? Personally, I think that every time an Obama regulation gets cancelled or repealed an angel gets its wings.

You know what I want to see? I want to see the U.S. and our allies protect against these enemy drones with drones of 'our' own. Imagine a purpose built, more powerful and lightly armored interceptor drone equipped with something like a .22LR 'Vulcan' cannon. Would probably want a centerfire round about the size/weight of a .22LR for more reliability but y'all get what I am saying. Attach a few of those piloted by highly trained drone pilots to every fighting unit in the area and let the fun begin! Hell, I see a business opportunity here: Now YOU can be a Top Gun!!! "For the low price of $450* you can purchase your very own combat drone. The drone will be deployed in theater where hostiles are using drones to attack U.S. troops and our allies but will be controlled, from the safety and security of your own home, by YOU via a high-speed Internet connection! That's right - now YOU can join in the defense of our brave fighting forces without ever leaving your couch. Think that dogfighting simulator on your console game system is fun? Well, try your hand at real, live air combat!" *$450 covers the price of a basic drone with a single .22 caliber mini-cannon with 500 rounds of specialty ammunition. Subsequent supplies of ammunition as well as available upgrades in armor, firepower and drone capabilities cost extra. Before engaging in actual combat, pilot training is mandatory at a one-time fee of $1,500 per pilot. Even if the government and allies subsidized costs, etc. for the 'Civilian Air Defense Program and Drone Warfare Initiative' it would still cost less than the U.S. government and our allies trying to pay for a drone defense program outright.

My renewal was up last summer and, knowing that the lifetime fee was going to drop to $200 in January there was no way in Hades I was going to pay $500 for it. In fact, at $500 it wouldn't have been worth it to me, anyhow. Next time mine us up, however, I probably will drop the $200 and go lifetime.

Thanks for the replies, prag! For the mylar, I was more wondering about the smaller bags people use for creating individual or family serving meals like the Mountain House meals people take camping, etc. It sounds like you are going larger scale than that with your mylar usage. I think I am still a little ways away from getting into large-scale storage in buckets.

For the jar sealer, I have read in several reviews that it works much better on wide mouthed jars than on regular mouthed jars (apparently there are two, different sealer adapters - one for wide mouth and one for regular.) I have no idea why and haven't yet tried it out for myself but, as I said, I have read where several people who have actually used them found that to be the case. Prag, where have you found to be the best place to get the O2 absorbers? Is there a particular 'brand' you use? Also, how quickly do you have to re-vacuum seal the unused ones in order to keep them from losing effectiveness? In other words, do you have to take several out and immediately reseal or can you leave them unsealed long enough to use what you need out of the pack and then reseal? I have seen them available on Amazon but haven't ordered any because they seem expensive in smaller numbers and I know I would never use something like a 100 pack in one session. Also, do you have any recommendations on a good source and/or brand for mylar bags? Those just seal up with the vacuum sealer like the regular bags, right? Do you put a vacuum on them or just seal them (I have seen on YouTube where some people just seal them with an iron.) Do you basically use the mylar bags to make your own version of Mountain House type meals or do you use them for single-item storage? I think it would be interesting if - in this or a companion thread - some who are more experienced with preserving home-made equivalents of Mountain House type meals either in mylar or in regular, vacuum seal bags would share some recipes with the rest of us for things that have worked well for longer term, shelf stable storage. As I said, before, I like canning but the problem with canning is that the jars start to take up a lot of room after only canning a few, different things - especially if you have two or more runs of each thing. Vacuum bags or mylar bags seem like they would be easier to store. It would also be easier to keep a small container of them in a vehicle for 'just in case'. I have also seen on YouTube where people make such meals using commercially freeze-dried, shelf stable ingredients they purchased from a commercial supplier. I specifically remember that one lady had a big, glass jar of freeze-dried chicken sitting on her counter that she used in making one of the meals that she was sealing in mylar bags. Anyone have any experience using anything like that?

The closest thing to 'IWB' I can do is carrying my P3AT (because it is really flat and thin) in a belly band worn very low, around my hips, so that the grips stick up just above the waist of my pants in a similar manner as an IWB holster. I wear the pistol at about 3:00 (I am right handed) and the band I use has a place for a spare mag beside the pistol. I really only use that for things like weddings, funerals and so on, though and it still isn't high on my list as a carry method. As for the size/fit, as I said I wear mine slung low, not really around my 'belly' but more at the waistband of my pants. I wear a size 44 pants and the one I have fits fine. I bought mine at one of the RK shows at the Expo Center in Knoxville. There are usually a few folks selling such things but this guy was talking about the quality and strength of materials used in the ones he sells/sold (this was several years ago) and I don't think he was just tossing out b.s. to make a sale. I have another belly band that I don't like as well (don't even remember where I got it) and the nylon and elastic on the one that I bought at the show really do feel thicker/stronger than the other one, the 'holster' part hasn't gotten stretched out and the stitching is better, IMO. I got the feeling that his business actually makes them (as in maybe his wife sews them together, etc.) but can't swear to that. Unfortunately I couldn't begin to tell you the name of the business. I haven't seen a PF-9 for sale in years. For a long time I thought I might like to have one to try for pocket carry in larger pockets (like cargo pants) but for now I am satisfied with the 642 or (rarely) the P3AT in that role. I used to have a P-11 but it was just too big for pocket carry. Basically, I ended up carrying it OWB but traded it off when I realized I could carry a Ruger P95 - with a higher capacity and which I can shoot much better - just as well in the same position with the same type of cover garment. I made a home-made hybrid holster - leather back with formed thermoplastic attached to it to retain the pistol. It was made to fit my CZ 82 which, while not the thinnest profile isn't super thick, either. I hated it (the holster, that is - I really like the pistol.) That said, I have read opinions from folks who love those type of holsters and who say that using a hybrid holster is the only way that they can carry IWB (which is what made me want to try one in the first place.) As for shoulder holsters, I have one but not for carry in 'social situations'. I have a simple nylon rig for my Super Blackhawk 7.5 inch .44 Mag. I thought it might be okay for use around the woods at home, hunting and the like but this is where the large frame (mine, not the gun's) becomes a disadvantage. My chest (it isn't my 'tactical gut', honest - well, maybe a little but mostly my chest) is so relatively wide that I find it difficult to draw the SBH from it. It would probably be easier if the holster had more of a forward cant instead of pointing the muzzle straight down but then you have the issue of basically 'muzzling' anyone who is standing behind you. I have decided that a Chesty Puller rig would work much better for me for the intended application. I haven't had a chance to try a Chesty Puller out, yet, but such a rig would probably work well with a smaller/shorter barreled gun while driving and might even work (depending on the firearm and the rig) for somewhat concealed carry with the right cover garment, I don't know. I think a shoulder holster rig is just something a person has to try out for themselves and I think they would be a viable option for the right person. John Wesley Harding liked them, after all. I have read good things about the Galco version, I think. I have also ankle carried, rarely. I have found that, while a j-frame is supposed to be the perfect 'ankle gun', the flat and light P3AT works best in that mode for me. Ankle carry is another method that can be good if you are going to be riding/driving in a car a lot as it is pretty easy to access in that situation. It can be difficult to access in other positions, though as well as difficult/impossible to access quickly or subtly unless you are sitting down. Outside those, specific situations I think ankle carry works best when you have no, other option or maybe when you are carrying a backup pistol. Drawing from a sitting position is the one, major drawback I see in pocket carry. For the most part, if I am pocket carrying I more or less ain't going to be able to effectively draw the gun while sitting down and especially not while sitting behind the wheel of a vehicle.

Honestly, anymore when I can carry it is almost always my S&W 642 in a pocket holster, front pocket. In jeans or other pants that have a watch pocket I carry a modified (cut down from six rounds to five) speed strip for a reload. When I first started carrying I was often all about OWB (I can't stand IWB) of a full or mid-sized handgun with a cover garment. If carrying a semiauto I would always have at least one spare mag on me, as well and would often carry a small, backup gun in my weak-side pocket. Several years of carrying have since convinced me that, for me, where I live and my lifestyle all that is too much - and probably borders on silly, to be brutally honest. With the aforementioned cover garment I (and others, I think) call that 'casually concealed'. You would be surprised how much you can hide under just an unbuttoned shirt over a t-shirt (more on that below) and, honestly, if you make at least some, real effort to conceal I don't think the average person will even notice. Of course, other people who carry or someone who assaults/robs/harms other people for 'a living' might notice no matter how hard you try. Just a couple of tips based on things I, myself, have noticed other people actually doing: You can hide a lot even under just a loose t-shirt. However, while those skin-tight, form-fitting t-shirts might show off your muscles and look good to the ladies (depending on whether or not you have the build for them) that Glock on your hip is not at all hidden just by pulling said tight, form-fitting t-shirt over it. In fact, no kidding, the gun would probably be less noticeable if you didn't even bother to cover it rather than as a huge bulge on your hip, under the shirt, that is waaay too 'gun shaped' to be mistaken for a smart phone. Secondly, if you are carrying a really large (like roughly Desert Eagle sized) firearm OWB in the SOB position in what appears to be a holster made of very thick material then just pulling your t-shirt, albeit not a form fitting one, down over it does not conceal the gun. Third, it kind of defeats the purpose to go to all the trouble of carrying that nice Sig in a nice, leather IWB holster in the SOB position if you then take your suit jacket off and don't pay any attention when I pass behind you in the aisle at Walmart at such necessarily close proximity that said nice Sig could very easily be my nice Sig if I were the larcenous sort because at that moment it would be easier for me to access your pistol that it would be for you to access it. Now as for hiding things under just an unbuttoned, untucked shirt, a guy on another forum was concerned about it so I did this 'extreme' example just to show what is possible. This was from several years back. I know because I was still married at the time and my ex-wife took the pictures of me demonstrating the potential of 'casual concealment' - not to mention that I have had two, different phones since the one in the pic and I keep my phones for a relatively long time. I am still carrying the same wallet, however, and it now looks even more worn out. Anyhow, shirts with a random pattern/print or things like Hawaiian shirts work really well (not just my opinion but an opinion shared by a lot of others) because they break up the lines and hide potential 'printing' very well. I did find, however, that a denim shirt works nearly as well - probably because they are fairly thick. Being a fairly large-framed individual and having a 'tactical gut' possibly adds to the concealment potential of this method, as well. In these pictures: I had all of this on me: The Taurus (four inch .357), keys and flashlight carrier were on my belt. Everything else was in various pockets. As I said, this was intended to be an 'extreme' example. I never, really carried the .357 except around home or when camping - same as with the GP100 I traded it for and my four inch Taurus Tracker .44 Magnum and the same for the mag light in the nylon flashlight holster, for that matter. I like paddle holsters (like the FOBUS the Taurus was in for the picture) for carry in some situations because they are comfortable. They provide decent retention for the handgun, itself, depending on the firearm but if using them one must be aware that it is possible to snatch holster and all by sliding the paddle out, especially if the belt isn't a strong belt that is set nice and tight. I liked them better back when there were more places we couldn't carry (restaurants that served alcohol, etc.) because they were easier to remove to leave the gun in a vehicle and then put back on when returning to the vehicle if it was necessary to enter a criminal protection zone. Of course the same is true of pocket carry and a gun carried in a pocket holster in a front pants pocket would be a lot harder to snatch. I don't like the idea of walking around with an empty holster on my belt because to me it kind of feels like a neon sign that reads, "Hey, there is an unattended firearm in my vehicle right now!"

Oh, the OP is looking for a .22lr. I only brought up the P3AT for weight comparison as an example of how relatively heavy the Phoenix .22 pistol is, not as a suggestion of 'get this, instead'. Good info about the Taurus 22PLY. I remember when the PLY first hit the market Taurus made them in a variety of colors. I kind of had my eye set on a yellow one as it wasn't going to be a primary carry gun just because it was a similar shade of yellow as my Mustang (car, not pistol) but now I only see the standard color grips on their website.

Oh, pressure canning meat is no problem. I haven't done a whole lot of just meat alone but have done several things with meat in them - soups, stews, chili and the like. You just have to be aware that there are some things you aren't supposed to include. For instance, one of the first things I ever canned was home made chicken noodle soup - complete with fresh, home-made noodles. I ate it and was just fine but have since read that you aren't supposed to include pasta in things that you home can. What I have read is that you should can everything else and then add pasta when you are heating the soup up. I have also read that you shouldn't put sage and similar seasonings in things you are going to can - not because it will go bad but because the sage might overwhelm everything else and/or develop a weird flavor. As to dehydrating, last October I dehydrated a bag of frozen soup vegetables and a family sized pack of beef stew cubes. I broke the veggies down into roughly portion sizes and put them into zipper-seal type bags and put the meat into a separate, zipper seal bag. Neither were vacuum sealed as I was making the soup mix for a camping trip I was going on that weekend. One thing I learned was that you shouldn't season stuff before dehydrating. I put what I considered a very small amount of salt on the veggies but when I rehydrated them the resultant soup was waaaaay too salty to eat. Lesson learned. As for the meat, I didn't use all of it. Come to think of it, I actually smoked it to a level of completely done before I put it in my cheapo dehydrator. I ended up deciding to use part of it as treats for my dog (the meat wasn't overly salty.) Each time I would give her a piece I would break it open, inspect it and smell it to see how it was faring. After at least a month - actually probably a little more than a month - just sitting on a shelf with no refrigeration the meat was still just as good as the day I put it in the bag. I even tasted one of the last pieces just to be sure. Of course, that was smoked (although not cold smoked) and dried so it was almost like preserving a ham or something except without the curing solution. Anyhow, the point is (relative to this thread) I would feel okay eating jerky that was prepared right (which for me would mean marinated and smoked), dehydrated well and vacuum sealed after probably at least two months with no refrigeration as long as there were no tell-tale signs that something was 'off'. I am just wondering if anyone has experience with meat staying 'good' even longer.

Unfortunately it appears that the only way to make this happen is to elect more Democrats so that the Republicans are back in the position of trying to fool...er...prove to gun owners in TN that they are on our side to get us to vote Republican next time. As it is, it appears that many of them, at least, feel secure in their control and have no need to deign to bother with the likes of us. I have said, before, that it seemed like more things of real benefit got done with an Illinois Democrat as Governor and and anti-gun Democrat as Speaker than we have seen with a so-called Repubican Governor and majority Republican State Legislature. The trick is to either not elect enough Democrats - or at least be careful not to elect staunchly anti-gun Democrats - so that we start going backward but to elect enough that the Republicans stop feeling so smugly safe in their jobs.

For those who dehydrate, do you have any experience with how long dehydrated meat in 'jerky' form will last if stored in vacuum sealed bags? How about things like 'hamburger rocks' stored in vacuum sealed jars? I have a medium sized chest freezer that was pretty well full that died on me a couple of weeks ago. Luckily, my mom has a larger chest freezer that didn't have a lot in it so I was able to take my stuff to her house so I wouldn't lose it all but it really drove home the unreliability of electric appliances. I had already been wanting to move away from needing a freezer for longer term storage. I have my grandmother's old pressure canner and have canned some things but there are some items that would be better candidates for dehydrating/vacuum sealing than canning. I bought an old - and I mean old - Food Saver sealer at an estate sale a few years back. Paid nine bucks - yeah, $9 - for the sealer and a partial roll of unsealed bag material. The sealer was just a basic model even when it came out and is old enough that you have to press down on the hinged lid in order to activate the vacuum. It is old enough that the body of the sealer is made of white, tan and brown plastic rather than the 'sleek' looking black plastic and (I guess) stainless steel that new models are made of. There is no 'push button to seal' on this one. It is also old enough that after I used it a few times the rubber strips along the edges of the lid and bottom which allow a strong vacuum to form stopped sealing very well and so I put my equivalency degree in redneck engineering to work and sort of fixed that by using a couple of strips of narrow, self adhesive (on one side) weather stripping and placing the on the original, rubber seal lines. Got it working, again but it really isn't ideal. The cutter doesn't work very well, either. Basically, I spend $9 for a 'trial' to see if I even liked or would use a vacuum sealer. The answer is, "Yes," and I got enough usage out of it to be worth $9. For one thing, when I fire my smoker I like to really smoke a lot of stuff to make it worth the effort. I found that smoked chicken breast, allowed to cool, sealed in a vacuum bag and placed in the freezer for as long as a year and a half (forgot it was in the freezer) or maybe longer will, once thawed, taste just as fresh as chicken smoked in the same batch and eaten right away. Now I am just trying to decide how many 'whistles and bells' I want and which ones are worth paying extra for. I know I want the jar sealer option.

I have an HP22 that I bought used. I also have a five inch barrel for it although the longer barrel is blued and the gun, itself, is the 'stainless' color. I haven't worked up the courage to put the five inch barrel on, yet. See, I made the mistake of field stripping a Phoenix I had in .25acp, once. Once. Swapping the barrels is pretty much the same procedure as field stripping. The procedure might not be too bad if I had three hands to do the steps that need to be done as well as two mouths so I could get in all the necessary cussing while doing it. I have a S&W 22A with a 5.5 inch barrel so I don't feel all that pressured to put the five incher on the Phoenix but I will probably get around to it one of these days. Back when I had the Phoenix .25 I was at the range one day and another guy wanted to try it out so I let him and he let me try his Phoenix .22 with the five inch barrel installed. It was remarkably accurate - although I have to say that the three inch barrel, at least with mine, is more accurate than you might think. I don't want to give the impression that I don't like the little Phoenix because I do. The potential problem for Ronald_55's intended use, IMO, is that they are so danged heavy which might present a problem for ease of concealment in a small bag. It is much heavier than my Kel Tec P3AT. Based on what I found in a quick search of the 'Net, the Phoenix 22A weighs about 12.5 ounces empty while, according to their website, the Kel Tec P3AT weighs 8.3 ounces empty and, according to another source, the P3AT weighs 11.1 ounces with a loaded magazine. So, if those sources are accurate, the P3AT + a mag loaded with 6 .380acp rounds still weighs less than the Phoenix 22A empty - if that is an issue. Personally, if I were looking for a small semiauto, I would probably at least look in to the Taurus 22PLY. I don't know anything about them but my mom used to have a Taurus .25 with a tip up barrel that was pretty much just like the .22 version and it worked well. That was before the redesign/swap to a polymer frame. The MSRP for the 22PLY is $263 so I would think that the actual, 'street price' should be down closer to $200 or so. http://www.taurususa.com/product-details.cfm?id=695&category=Pistol&toggle=tp&breadcrumbseries=SF1

Even though it probably isn't that unusual to folks on TGO, I still consider my Nagant revolver to be pretty unusual where most folks are concerned. Don't have a pic right now but I'd guess that most on here know what they look like.

Academy used to have a model of Rossi .44 Mag that I think might have been an 'Academy exclusive' or something. Instead of a 2.5 inch barrel, these have/had 3 inch barrels. Academy used to put them on sale for a really good price as part of their Black Friday specials. Before I got the 4 inch Tracker, I kind of kept an eye out for them to be part of the Black Friday sale but they haven't in the last two or three years. I'm not even sure if they still stock those. I had a newer Rossi snub in .357 Magnum and it was a great gun. I traded it toward my 642 because I wanted a revolver I could pocket carry. The 642 is my most carried gun so I don't really regret trading the Rossi toward it but I really wouldn't mind having another, some day.

I hadn't heard much about this, before. This morning I saw where the officer involved is being charged and the Chief is on suspension. http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/state/chief-of-policeofficer-charged-in-death-of-grandmother-killed-during-citizen-academy-training My question is, why in the hell were they using real firearms in the first place in a training event, especially one with non-police citizens involved? Yeah, I know they were 'supposed' to be loaded with blanks but if the rule about never pointing a (real) firearm at something you don't intend to destroy had been observed this would not have happened. I realize that airsoft guns or laser marking guns may not be as realistic for training purposes but I think that some concessions have to be made in training events such as this, especially when there is a chance (and, in this case, more than a chance as it actually happened) that an innocent person could be shot - not once but three times - by an officer in training. Now a lady is dead and an officer's life is ruined all because the decision was made to risk using firearms that were capable of firing live, lethal ammunition as part of this training. I hope that, at the very least, this incident results in any department that is or was using real firearms with 'blanks' changing the way they do the training and using equipment that cannot fire real ammo.

I pretty much figured it was the magazine, too, but as I said I had the same problem with the factory mag, a Kimber mag and (finally remembered what the third one was) a Chip McKormick mag. The Kimber one actually had the fewest jams - but that just means it got through a couple of mags with only one jam rather than the two or three jams per mag that seemed to be 'standard'. I thought about trying to get ahold of a Wilson Combat mag just to make sure all the bases were covered but by that point I had already thrown good money after bad trying different (premium) HP ammo in it over the course of about a year. Heck, I even tried Federal Guard Dog - the expanding FMJ stuff that is specifically intended for guns that don't want to run hollow points and still no joy out of any of the three mags. Honestly, at that point even if I had found a magazine/ammo combo that appeared to work it would have taken a long time and a lot of ammo ($$$) down the barrel before I would have trusted it. That Tracker, on the other hand, I lightly cleaned, took it out, loaded with three different types of ammo - two JSP of different weights and one JHP - and all three functioned flawlessly. It really made me smile. With its matte black finish and 'ribber' grips it certainly isn't as nice to look at as the little ATI, though. The ATI never seemed to have much trouble with extraction as long as the round actually loaded in the first place. Also, the Titan models (like I had) are kind of a 'hybrid' design. I don't know that much about 'standard' or 'government model' type 1911s but my understanding is that the ATI Titan models don't have the parts that a lot of folks end up 'tuning' to make their 1911 work better. I know that field stripping them for cleaning is different than a 'normal' 1911. Honestly, I think a big part of the problem was that the Titan was just so small that if one, little thing is off that big, ol' .45acp round just won't cycle right. My nephew has a full-sized ATI 1911. To my knowledge he hasn't ran any JHP through it but, unlike the Titan model I had, it runs FMJ like a scalded dog. I just don't have any, real interest in a full size because, and this is just me, if I am going to carry a semiauto that big I want the one thing that I think semiautos have as an advantage over my beloved revolvers - much higher ammo capacity. I did shoot a Smith and Wesson 1911 in 9mm on one occasion. It was the model that Smith created to be a 'production target gun' or some such (can't remember the model number, now.) That danged thing was as accurate as a laser beam. I put the first, three rounds I fired out of it into a group about the size of a nickel from ten yards shooting offhand and with the exception of one, minor flyer the first eight fell in a group that I could cover with the palm of my hand with plenty of space left over. The guy who owned it didn't even shoot it that well and said, "Man, I hope I don't ever give you a reason to be shooting at me!" I didn't tell him how much of the credit his gun deserved for the group, I let him think I was just that good (I am a decent shot but that pistol made me look downright good). I wasn't really even shooting all that slow a rate of fire. The sights, trigger pull and the way it fit my hand just seemed to be a 'perfect storm' for accurate shooting even though I had never even held a 1911 before that point. Was a lot of fun to shoot and the guy wanted to sell it so sometimes I have a little - just a little - twinge of remorse for not trying to work a deal with him on it. Not really the same as the trader's/seller's remorse you are talking about but along the same lines. I think I had just bought something or another that had drained my gun budget, though and I didn't have anything I wanted to trade.

The only 1911 I have owned was an ATI. It was one of the compact models (officer's model, I guess) and had the nickel boron finish. It was a nice looking gun. I bought it used and it already had the type of hammer and trigger I would have put on it aftermarket and a nice safety lever (I think they were factory original). I had plans to trick it out with some really nice, custom grips, make a nice, leather holster and mag pouches and carry it as sort of a 'barbecue gun'. I shot it pretty well, liked the size of the .45acp round and so on but could never get it to reliably fire hollow point rounds even though I tried several, different brands and types. This was despite trying the factory mag, a Kimber mag and another, very well regarded brand of aftermarket mag (which I can't recall right now.) Would pretty much never make it through a full mag regardless of mag or ammo type used. In fact, every once in a while certain FMJ types would jam, too. The nose of the bullet would get 'stuck' on the feed ramp. This continued even after I polished the feed ramp to a literal mirror shine. Well, I really am more of a revolver guy, anyhow, so I traded it at the LGS for a Taurus Tracker in .44 Mag. The Tracker was new/used - apparently a guy bought it, took it home and brought it back within a day or two, unfired. It seems he got home and got 'scared' of firing a .44 Mag so he bought it back and traded it. It really did appear to be unfired. I had been wanting a double action .44 Mag and so I didn't and don't really have any remorse about the trade. Also, I have to admit that - once I really started thinking about it - I am not sure how comfortable I would be with 'cocked and locked' carry and I wouldn't want to carry a 1911 any, other way. So, while I remain a bit bummed that I didn't get to create the cool, semi-custom 1911 setup I wanted to create I also have to say that there is a good chance I will never own another 1911 which is kind of a bummer, I guess, because I want to like them but the reality is that I am not sure I would even if it had ran perfectly.

Naw. My two favorites are probably my four inch GP100 and my SBH 7.5 inch .44 Mag. I have really never carried the GP100 (will get around to making a holster one of these days and then maybe I will carry it a little). I made a western style holster for the SBH but have only carried it around the house/in the woods. My most often carried is my S&W 642 with my Kel Tec P3AT in second place. Now, my CZ 82 might well be my favorite semi-auto and I did carry it pretty often for a while in a home-made leather belt slide holster. I mostly pocket carry the 642 now, though.

Nice lookin' wheel guns. I don't have any old S&Ws. In fact, my only Smiths are a semiauto 22A (my first .22 firearm, period - which I didn't buy until I was in my 30s - I owned shotguns as well as centerfire handguns and rifles long before I ever bought a .22) and a 642 that I bought new a couple of years ago. Like others have said, I love wheelguns. Unlike what others have said, I do carry them. In fact, since getting the 642 it is my most carried gun - when I can carry (which is pretty much only when I am not at work.)

1. Again, the very fact that he didn't shoot at the bad guys but, instead, shot into the air - which indicates trying to scare someone, not defending against a perceived threat - will probably be used against him. 2. No, drawing a firearm from a holster is not automatically self defense. In some cases, such activity could be considered 'brandishing'. Unless I am mistaken (and maybe someone else can fill in the details) there was a case a few years back where two men got into a verbal confrontation at a school event. One man followed the other to his car. Upon arriving at his car, the latter showed the man who had followed him that he had a gun in order to get the other man to back off. He was charged for having the firearm on school property. It is my understanding that a judge refused to drop the charges based on the claim that the man acted in self defense and, by the law, could not be charged for having been discovered to have had the firearm in a location where it would, otherwise, be against the law. The judge ruled that, as the defendent did not actually shoot the aggressor, he was not acting in self defense. Basically, he told the defendant that if he had actually shot the other guy then he would have been justified and likely would not face any charges but as he did not shoot the other guy - or even shoot at him - it was not considered a case of self defense under the law. Anyone else remember that and can provide more details? I really don't think I dreamed it. 3. Again, self defense involves a reasonable fear of death or serious, bodily injury. Perhaps the driver's lawyer will successfully argue that firing a gun into the air indicates his client had such a fear. More power to him if he does but I find it very doubtful. If I really and truly think that someone is going to try and kill me then I am going to be shooting at them, not at the sky. Showing a would-be robber that you have a weapon in order to scare them away is one thing. Firing bullets into the air - bullets that have to come down, somewhere - is something else, entirely. 4. As DaveTN has already addressed, it sounds like the bad guys were breaking in to the cargo trailer area of the truck and not the cab where the driver was sleeping. Would a court find that - even though the trailer is a separate area with no access to the occupied cap - it is still a 'part' of the vehicle while the two are hooked up? Maybe but I don't think that is necessarily as clear cut as you are arguing. As you said, we'll have to wait and see.

The DA can very easily prove that the truck driver was not in fear for his life. If he had been in fear for his life he would have shot/shot at the bad guys and not into the air. As for him having a reasonable fear after they came back and shot at him, obviously - but the way the article is written it seems he fired shots into the air before the bad guys shot at his truck, not after. Finally, IANAL but I don't believe that state preemption applies because shooting into the air is not a 'self defense' shooting - shooting or shooting at the bad guys is self defense shooting. If the situation was such that the driver felt okay giving warning shots then he wasn't in that great of an amount of fear for his life. As DaveTN said, the real problem is that the driver couldn't (legally) shoot someone for burglarizing his truck.