JC57

Yeah, if I weren't married I could live really cheap. I don't need that much myself and I don't have any particularly expensive hobbies or leisure activities. I don't know what it is about women, but they can make money disappear faster than anything you can imagine.

I think it's going to be more amazing how much it's going to change in the next 10 years.

I actually carried a Glock in a holster for a while yesterday and did not get shot by it, nor did it discharge in any manner, intended or otherwise. I don't know how long this insanity can continue. Zenman, you better stop while you're ahead.

For my G26 I have the Comp-tac Minotaur MTAC for IWB carry, and for OWB I got the Bonneville from UBG Holsters, which is a high-ride leather pancake holster. I ordered the "slide" model which works with both the G26 as well as my larger G22. Even though the Minotaur is very comfortable, I personally prefer an OWB holster so I wear the UBG Bonneville more often.

Other than the rollmarkings, about the only difference in the Firestorm 22 and the Thunder 22 are that the Firestorm has a rounded trigger guard compared to the Bersa's serrated combat trigger guard, and the Firestorm comes with rubber grips with front finger grooves, while the Bersa has the molded plastic grips without the front wrap-around part. The grips are interchangeable between the models so you can order the other type of grips if you want. I don't know about a local source other than a gun shop, but the primary source for Bersa accessories including mags and grips is www.condorsflight.com. Spare parts for the guns that are not carried by Condorsflight can be ordered directly from the importer, Eagle Imports, at www.bersa.com. The two companies are related, if not outright owned by the same people. I had always read that the Bersa 22s were picky with ammo and prefer CCI Mini-mags. Good to hear your trouble-free experiences with regular ammo.

I sometimes carry a S&W steel J-frame (old model 49) in a Desantis Nemesis, and it's quite a pocketfull. I couldn't see doing that with a G26. Glad it's working for you, though. I carry my G26 in either a leather OWB pancake holster or an IWB kydex-leather hybrid.

I have a G22 Gen4 and it is an excellent pistol, but due to its size it's a home defense gun only (which is why I bought it). For carry purposes I also have a G26 Gen4 in 9mm. If I had it to do over again, I would rather have a G23 instead of the full-sized 22. Small enough to carry and still adequate for home defense.

I got nothing fancy like you guys. Remington 870 12-ga with 6 rounds of 00 buckshot, TLR-3 LED flashlight that used to attach to a pistol but the clip broke, still nice and bright though. I doubt the cat would be much good, and I'm allergic to dogs. If I run outta ammo it will be up to the wife to mop up with her .357.

I've lived in and near Memphis for about 50 years. Like any large city there are areas to avoid and areas that are just fine. I live in East Memphis and have never been the victim of violent crime. A couple of property crimes in the last 20 years, sure. Cars broken into once, two home break ins with not a lot stolen. I have good neighbors, live on a pleasant street, and can get to pretty much anywhere I need to go in under 30 minutes. Since we don't have any kids, the fact that the public schools are lousy isn't a big issue to me, but I can see how it would be for someone raising a family. Now if you were moving here and were going to be working out near Gallaway, then I'd definitely suggest living out in that part of the county. Arlington, Lakeland, Bartlett, or the unincorporated county in that area is fine. Or even just over the county line in Fayette County. Easier commute, less traffic, and in general I think it's nice to live more out in the country than in a large city. My only real gripe with Memphis is the dysfunctional and embarrassing government here, and I wish there were more large companies with their headquarters here. The job market isn't that great, but there are always opportunities like the one you found. Anyway, it's not as bad as the "rep" it seems to get on this forum. I lived in Nashville for 4 years when I was in college and I ran across a lot more of what I considered to be bad neighborhoods there. But that's probably because I didn't know what areas to avoid like I do in Memphis, having grown up here. I think you'll like it just fine here.

Nobody has ever noticed mine except a salesman at a gun shop who told me he found that a 4 o'clock carry worked better for him (I was carrying at 3 o'clock) and we were discussing holsters anyway. I have found that if you act helpful rather than rude, even if you know they are being rude, it works wonders. My plan if it ever comes up is: Them: "Why are you carrying a gun?" Me: "Oh, sorry, didn't know it was showing. Yeah, I never used to, but times are changing so it's good to be prepared. You know, it's really easy to get a handgun permit in Tennessee if you don't have a criminal record. You should think about it, so you'd have it just in case. I know a great place to take the class if you're interested." I suppose it could do downhill from there, but I'd still take the approach of "well, I can understand your concern but you should give it some thought for yourself. Nice talking with you." At least that's my plan. Closest I came to having that conversation was with a couple of ladies who were standing near me in line while I was waiting at the Driver's License Station to submit the forms and fees to get the handgun permit. It went along similar lines, except they were the ones who brought up the idea of how they could get their permits and how much it cost. I felt like a spokesperson for HCPs. So even if a busybody pisses you off, you can still turn it around on them and become a good example and perhaps even an 'ambassador' for legal carry.

Really, this is so simple. Let old people die. Quit investing in medicines and health care for the elderly. If everyone over 65 died tomorrow all of the problems would be eliminated - social security and medicare bills would drop to zero, all of their private wealth would pass to the next generation which would act as a massive stimulus package, and the inheritance tax skimmed off the top would replenish the government coffers. Housing market would probably suffer because that's a lot fewer people who need houses, and a ton of empty houses on the market all at once. But hey, housing prices would drop way down so that all of the people who got foreclosed before could buy at like 1955 prices. It's a big sacrifice, of course, but it's for the good of the country. So come on, grandpa, quit taking those meds and skip your doctor's visits, make way for the next generations!

Not as a civilian. During my years in law enforcement, yes, a few times, no shots fired. I don't think you were looking for police situations from 30 years ago, so no need to bore you with the details.

Any time I have ever sold a gun to an individual, I have drawn up a bill of sale. I make two copies and both the buyer and I sign both, and we each keep our copy. That protects everyone involved from any issues that may come up regarding the gun at some later time. I don't see the harm in it. If someone is more concerned about making sure they have an "untraceable" gun then I don't much want to be selling to them anyway. I have never sold a firearm to someone who was not already well known to me personally, and I have never bought a firearm from someone other than a FFL holder (gun store of some sort) so it really isn't common issue for me. It has been about 18 years since I last sold a firearm so I'd probably have a hard time putting my hands on those old bills of sale now, but they're probably stashed away somewhere

I bought two of the gun safes from Center-of-Mass, linked earlier, keyed alike. In Car Gun Lockers Uses a steel cable that you have to loop around the seat frame support. It also has bolt holes in case you want to bolt it down. I chose keyed over combination lock, because I need both some light and my reading glasses to do a combination lock, but I can open the keyed lock by feel, plus if I'm in the car, I have my keys. I believe they are identical to the GunVault brand Nano series. They also have some models that are designed to fit into the consoles of certain vehicles. I don't happen to own one of those vehicles, so I went with the under-seat version. Here's another option: FAS1 SAFE, LLC

Wow - I've got nothing like that. The class I took at RangeUSA in Memphis last year consisted of about 12 people, mixed genders, ages, and ethnic backgrounds. Everyone was polite and attentive, and the instructors were exemplary. There was an older woman who was having a bit of struggle on the qualifying course but they gave her the time and assistance she needed and she completed the course successfully. I learned quite a lot in the classroom portion about the current TN laws and the various legal and liability issues. It was time well worth spent for me.

50 to 100 rounds per gun, depending on what I take with me. If I'm just working on one gun I may go 150-200 for that one. My wife and I went last Tuesday and I think we put about 100 rounds through a S&W Model 49 J-frame all-steel (original bodyguard), 50 rounds through the Glock 22, and 50 through the Glock 26.

.380 - Kel-tec P3AT or Ruger LCP .38 = S&W 642 / 442 9mm - Kahr CM9, Ruger LC9, Keltec PF-9 (some of these may be too large for pocket carry - depends on your comfort level and your pocket size.)

I've bought several guns at G&A on Summer and I've personally never had any problems. The staff has always been courteous and friendly, but very businesslike. If you're not ready to be helped when they ask you, be prepared to wait a while as they help other customers. I think the main issue is that they are very busy, so not everyone can get the red-carpet treatment just due to the staff-to-customer ratio. If you want a shop with really friendly staff, then Arms-Fair out in Cordova is a great place. Problem is that their in-store selection can be somewhat limited, and their prices are a bit higher. However, they are a GunGenie dealer so anything you want to order from Davidson's will be there the next day for you to pick up. Classic Arms, which is a little further north off Germantown Rd near Corky's Barbecue, is another nice little shop with friendly staff. Again, limited selection but competitive prices and also a GunGenie dealer. The G&A in Southaven, MS just across the state line seems friendlier because they are ususally less busy. Downside is their prices are a little higher on identical guns compared to the Summer Ave store, and you can't take the gun home with you that day if you live in TN. However, they will transfer it to the Summer store at no charge for you to pick up there the next day. People have already talked about how nice the folks are at Range USA, and I agree, but they usually have a very limited selection of guns for sale in stock, and their prices are a bit high on the ones they do have.

Couple of points that haven't come up yet that may be worth considering: 1. Some people choose to carry at all times where it is legal to do so. It becomes a way of life and putting on their holster is no more unusual for them than putting on their shoes. It's not that "I'm going to carry a gun to an amusement park." It's "I carry a gun with me, and I happen to go places, including amusement parks." There is nothing at all wrong with this and those people are within their rights and within the law. It's like carrying a cell phone - you want it there when you need it. 2. Related to the first point - perhaps the person you saw would agree with you, that he doesn't feel he needs the firearm inside the amusement park either. However, he has to walk to and from his car in the parking lot, and then leave there and drive somewhere else. It's not always reasonable to disarm yourself in your car, lock away your pistol, and then leave it there (susceptible to theft), and then rearm when you get back to your car. I think you're still in the mind-set that there's something wrong with carrying a gun, and that it should only be done in special circumstances. I know, it took me a while to warm up to the idea myself. It is perfectly legal as long as you have a permit and follow all of the laws about restricted locations.

Well, now they know.

3 weeks should do it. It was 3 weeks to the day after I paid my fees and got printed (electronically) that my permit showed up in the mail, a little over a year ago.

Mine just got hacked last week.. Turns out it was a virus with a rootkit that infected my work PC. It found my CC number in an e-mail attachment that I had sent in to my corporate travel office 4 years ago when setting up a corporate traveler profile. Only thing that showed up was a little $16 charge but that's probably just the start so I had the issuer cancel the card and send me a new one. Had that card forever, pretty much had the number memorized. The rootkit was a TDSS variant, which can be cleaned by a free downloadable tool from Kaspersky Antivirus called "TDSSKiller" - but the version I had was smart enough to know about the removal tool, and would block it from launching. To the OP - go out to the Kaspersky Labs site and download the program: http://support.kaspersky.com/faq/?qid=208283363 If you try to run it and nothing happens (i.e. the program doesn't launch) then you've got the same version of the virus that I had. I ended up having to edit the version info in the Kaspersky executable using a tool called Resource Tuner: www.restuner.com , which luckily has a free trial period.

I haven't noticed anyone carrying since I got my HCP, but lots of people wear really baggy clothes so they could be carrying anything really. I assume either the majority of people just aren't carrying anything, or those that do are concealing them reasonably well. Only place I see OC is in gun stores, by the employees.

I'd leave my gun at home. Been to CA several times over the past decade or so: SD, LA, SF and various surrounding regions. Haven't been to Van Nuys since 1980, but it was nice when I was out there then. I didn't carry a gun any of those times. Worry less, enjoy your time out there. That's my advice.

I do not carry more than one gun at a time. Most of the time I don't carry at all. When I carry a 380 I sometimes carry 1 spare magazine, left front pocket.