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Old Dog

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Everything posted by Old Dog

  1. I learned real fast that carrying guns all day is not fun once the initial novelty of doing so wears off. I went from an Sig P229 and Officer Sized 1911 to a few .380s like the Colt Mustang and Ruger LCP but mostly my Sig P365 and lots of snub nose revolvers to carry in my pocket. Funny that out of all the guns I owned and I owned over 70 that I bought and sold in the last 12 years, the pocket guns twice saved my bacon when I would not have worn a big gun that day. People really do not care what caliber or size gun you have. They do not want to be shot and I still not have run into the drug crazed guy they all talk about who can absorb shot after shot. Maybe I do not go to places where they hang out. :) I am now 71. Most of us in my retirement community of almost 150,000 seniors, start off with hip holster carry and end up with occasional pocket carry. No one has been murdered here since the 70's and the was an LEO couple who shot each other at their home. We have tourist visiting here and no outsiders can even find us in the maze we live in that covers 4 counties. Most others go decades with never even having to think about using the gun they are carrying and so they carry less and less and smaller and smaller when they do. Let's face it, most of us do not even know anyone who would have lived had they had a concealed gun.
  2. I retired this month. My company transported military arms and goods around the world on behalf of the US Government. I had to get a security clearance and background check regularly. I see a Psychiatrist for Insomnia, Anxiety, Depression and ADHD. I never had a problem. These are things that many people suffer from these days. I had my last background check from a US Defense/Security Agency just two months ago and was approved with no problems. My PDOC said that they are only obligated to provide information that they deem to be a danger to themselves or others.
  3. I just want to point out something I am aware of about this subject. I know a lot of gun owners who are afraid of confiscation and against registration. Yet they register their guns with the manufacturer for warrant support. They buy online from companies who keep sales records. This is like guys I know who do not want to get EZ Pass or other things to stay off the grid and yet they are so on the grid from other ways that they are not even aware of it. I did Skip tracing for a year and not only did I find people but learned the names of their girlfriends and places they hung out at through credit card receipts and other means. These days you cannot hide anything. Even if confiscation came to be and let's say you hide your guns. What good would that be? If you use it you will probably get a life sentence. If you brandish it you will get a very long prison sentence. Some may say but at least I will be alive. Sometimes being dead is not the worst that can happen to you.
  4. I will be dead in 20 years. Although I think it inevitable that civilians will not own guns in the future, NJ will be one of the first to fall due to the makeup of their population and proximity to NYC. That is why I moved. I am like someone who knows a flood is coming so I keep moving to higher ground to delay the inevitable flood. I hope this will never happen but I am intelligent enough to know that life does not revolve around guns or single issues in electing officials. How many of you have needed to shoot anyone as a civilian? That is how low down the chain of importance owning guns are to most people. Nice to have just in case but not the most important thing in their life. If it were, none of you would still be living in NJ. There are far greater social issues to be tackled in the future and as long as the biased media keeps reporting mass shootings so that the population thinks there is mass slaughter happening every day, we are in for a fight and NJ is already down for the count while those of us in other States have just taken the first punch.
  5. No condolences needed. I can carry any gun in a car without any permit needed. I can carry any weapon concealed, not just a gun, without proving a need. I can use 100 round magazines or moe in any weapon allowed by the Federal Government. I can use any ammo I like in my guns. I can keep my guns loaded in my car read to use. I do not need any FID or permit to buy any firearm. We do not register guns around here. I can walk around with a knife on my belt and am legal as long as it is visible. I can carry a switchblade or any other knife but ballistic, concealed. So we lost a little due to a Governor running for the Senate that affects very few people. How you doing?
  6. That is what I did. Been 8 years. Just went back to NJ two weeks ago, unarmed but it was just EWR airport and then to NYC where I could not even carry one of my knives. I keep a Shockwave loaded with 8 Aguilar buckshot rounds next to my desk in my home office. I must say that I went crazy when I moved to Florida. I bought about 70 firearms and all sorts of automatic and illegal NJ knives. Even got a sword cane which I can use legally. I must say that I do not miss NJ at all. I have more land here than I had in NJ where I was paying $14K in property taxes. Now I pay $1,8000 in prop. Taxes. My wife and I carry guns and I can carry a sword as long as it is concealed. Life is good here despite the once every 10 year hurricanes that hit central Florida. I am wearing shorts and a tee shirt still. I can understand that guns do not and should not be the deciding factor in major life decisions but we have no kids and I can work from anyplace in the world with an internet connection so we moved and despite a 20% salary cut, no city/state taxes along with the lower cost of goods, I actually have more disposable income. Plus my home cost half of what it did in NJ so I have a tiny mortgage that will be paid off before the end of next year. Then I live mortgage free, can carry a gun anywhere not prohibited by Federal and State law, and continue my hobby of gun collecting and recreational shooting without having a FID or applying for permits every time I see a handgun I like.
  7. I never knew how much Vietnam affected me. I have been on sleeping pills and tranquilizers since then. I used to wake up and attack my wife so we slept in different rooms. I have some minor problems that no one can diagnose and was in the area where agent orange was most concentrated. I have never had a lot of friends and moved 13 times, mostly within NYC and NJ. Songs, smells and tastes being me back to Nam. I was never thanked for my service until 4 years ago. Read this and know what we went through and why I get pissed off when guys show up on the range looking like soldiers and using gear like soldiers do. They remind of kids playing Army who never thought to risk their life for their country but want all the toys that the real soldiers used to feel dangerous and brave. I used to pick up the newbies and take them out to the field. Despite all their training and many were gang members given the option of Nam or prison, none every thought that they would soil their pants the first time under real fire. That is why I get amused when I see guys who think they are prepared having never been shot at or shot in anger. Anyway, most of what you will read below is me:
  8. I am with you. I lived in NJ for about 30 years. I got off my butt and got others involved but guess what? It just kept getting worse and not better. One day I just got fed up and told my wife to put the home up for sale during the housing recession. We just kept lowering the price until we sold it and then moved to Florida. Now I have a whole room filled with guns, many that were illegal in NJ. I had to learn about small carry guns and holsters. They used to make fun of me in the numerous guns stores found at ranges, Pawn Shops and other retail establishments with FFLs because I kept asking them if what I wanted to buy was legal. I can get to 5 gun stores in under a half an hour and three ranges in the same amount of time. My wife and I have ccw licenses. They call them licenses because it is felt that we do not need permission to carry a gun. No license at all required to carry a gun in your car as long as it is out of sight. I can buy any gun that is not banned by the Federal government and that took time to adjust to. We voted with our feet and love it here in Florida. I have bought about 60 guns in 6 years. I bought 8 handguns within weeks of moving here. My wife carries, all her girlfriends carry as well as their husbands. My relatives here carry and so does the woman who cuts my hair, takes care of my lawn, fixes my plumbing and takes care of my electrical systems. Anti gun people are the ones who have to keep quiet about guns. The biggest difference is that in NJ I felt that we were always on the defensive to water down an anti gun law or fight against passage of one. In Florida we are offensive since we are not fighting to defeat anti gun laws but rather getting more pro gun laws. Last year they passed a law that says we can fire a warning shot or pull a gun without having to shoot it. They even now allow brief unintentional display of carry guns too. My boss wanted me to return to NJ to handle a multi year project and I tendered my resignation which you could accept if she wanted to. I was throwing away a job where I work my own hours and make over $100 an hour. That is how strongly I feel about staying in a pro gun State.
  9. Done here in Florida we read about defensive use of firearms all the time because our newspapers and politicians are mostly pro gun. In fact, they go out of their way to mention it. Just tonight we read about a home invasion that killed a father and son in the next town. I cannot recall reading stuff like this in NYC or NJ.. The interesting thing is that you often read many posts about caliber and guns to use when most times I read about a .22, .38 spl or .380 stopping the bad guys. Not 45's or Glocks but Tauruses, S&W 642 and Ruger LCP's. Then again I live among 150,000+ retired people so recoil and big guns are a problem. Despite the reporting, most who do not own do not read those articles or remember them. I do not forget and will tell them about why their neighbors needed guns to save their lives. Many people are naive and/or live in a dream world where everyone has the same morals as they do. I do not think North States will print articles that portray guns in a positive light since the media's goal is to demonize guns, not promote them.
  10. My 4'11" 100 lb. wife can rack my Sig P938. I also bought her the handi racker. Works great and is easy to use. http://www.handi-racker.com/ Others that my wife can rack are a Sig P229. Sig Slides are very easy to rack after they have been broken in. My wife also likes my HK VP9. Easy to rack with the small racking wings and without ever having shot it before she placed one dead center into her bullseye. However she carries a Ruger LCP II when she leaves the house. She has a CCW License where we live in Florida. THe new LCP II is a .380 but with modern ammo, it will penetrate 10 and even 12 inches plus it is small enough to fit into her purse with built in holster. Ruger had made the new version of the LCP with a lighter to rack slide. Around her, it is "THE" gun for women to carry and a lot of old men too.
  11. There are many guns that fit your description but my main home defense guns is a HK VP9. I have short fingers but the new HK's have changeable side grips as well as rear. This is the only gun that really fits my hands well. My wife can shoot it with ease and she is only 110 lbs. Smaller guns fit my hands well but they are lightweight so they recoil more than a bigger gun. You can always mitigate recoil by using lighter ammo. The new ARX ammo is lightweight and sometimes feels like a .22 in my larger guns. Interesting design. There is a few others that make light recoiling 9mm ammo so that is one way to lessen recoil. Take a look at the guns that have replaceable grip panels. Those are your best bet. My choice would be the Ruger 9mm 1911. Nice slim grip and its weight absorbs recoil nicely. I love 1911 guns, especially for range use. Also look at single stack guns as their grips are thinner. In NJ where I could not carry I had a 1911 and CZ75. Both good guns and easy to shoot. If you can try a gun out first before buying it, look at the Glock 19. Even though the grips are thick, they fit my hand well. For me, as it would be for you, the important dimension will be trigger reach, not grip thickness. Your best bet is to go to a gun store and hold a few guns in your price range, 9mm recoil is not a lot. Most if it is mental. You can shoot 100-200 rounds in a 9mm and not be sore afterwards if you properly hold the gun and it is not too light or small. Take a look at the Walther PPQ line as well as the S&M M&P line.The VP9 is a good choice with a good trigger and you can configure your grips anyway you like. The new Ruger American 9mm is another good gun worth looking at and has the ability to change out the rear backstrap. I have found Rugers to be very reliable and although most of my guns are from HK and Sig, I own a few Ruger's too and never had a problem with them. Their 1911's are a bargain for their price point compared to similar 1911's with the same or similar features. Good luck but I went through a lot of guns before I found the ones that fit my hand best.
  12. I carry guns as well as use them at the range. Most of us who uses a gun for even just home defense will use different ammo for HD and range us. I personally carry Speer Gold Dots or Federal HST. There are others like Hornady FTX, Golden Sabers. The Golden Sabers and FTX's give you 25 rounds instead of the usual 20 and are cheaper. For range use I buy the cheapest ammo I can find online and buy it in bulk. Winchester White Box is cheaper than carry ammo but is on the high end of range ammo. I have had good luck with PMC who is from a Korean company that supplies the South Korean military. Also Federal American Eagle, my personal favorite, is priced well. More good foreign ammo can be found from Fiocci and a few other overseas ammo makers. Wolf ammo is dirty and not all guns feed it reliably. I have been shooting for 47 years and my rule of thumb is to find the cheapest ammo I can that shoots well in my gun. I am OK if it jams once per 50 rounds since it is just range ammo. Each gun has a favorite ammo brand. Some ammo is weaker than others and will not reliably cycle your slide. I just kept buying ammo and once I found a brand that worked for a gun, I bought it. For range use, 115 gr, is fine. One gun will not reliably feed a heavier 9mm while other guns have no problem with any ammo weight. Trail and error. I do advise you buy good defensive ammo if you are going to use the gun for home defense. Remington Golden Saber and Hornady FTX with the flex tip or even their XTP bullent are inexpensive compared to other high quality defensive ammo. I tend to buy ammo that has proven street results so any ammo used by LEO is fine for me as long as they are satisfied with it and get good results. A box of these two brands can be had for $17 online. I never buy from a store but if you buy online you need to buy a lot to spread the shipping cost over the ammo or else you can end up spending $27 for a $17 box of ammo. For home use I would go with the FTX since it does not penetrate hard barriers well and that is good in a home. I use them in my home defense revolvers and used to use them in HD guns as well but went with Federal HST and Gold Dots because they have a track record and I have seen them perform well in Gel tests.
  13. I used to own one. Great gun and I especially like the Short Reset Trigger. Gun is heavy enough to absorb recoil so it is a pleasure to shoot. I love Sigs, Colts and HKs. Never had one of them jam on me and always a pleasure to shoot. I sold my M11-A1 not because I did not like it, but because I wanted a Sig with a rail for a combo light/laser for home defense. I got a Sig P226 instead.
  14. I escaped NJ and fled to FL a few years earlier than planned, but glad that I did. We have a law that says we can briefly expose our carry guns by accident without being arrested, like it used to be. However, no one has defined "briefly" and there has been no case law on it yet. Laws that leave definitions up to the people enforcing them are dangerous.
  15. I do but I had to move to FL to get it. I knew that I would never get a ccw in NJ as it seems you first need to survive an attempt on your life to prove need and if you do not survive, it may still be difficult to prove need.
  16. Florida also issues out of State carry licenses. Just download the application online, fill it out, get a passport photo at your local drug store, and a set of fingerprints using the cards FL will mail you if you request them. When you have the completed application, fingerprints and picture, add proof of taking a gun course and mail it to them. In FL, all military veterans do not need to attend any gun classes.
  17. I moved from NJ to FL in two days. I only had two dogs but I had two cars. The moving company accepted long guns but not handguns. I only had 3 handguns so I put the handguns in my SUV and the ammo in my wife's car. It was an uneventful two days and a pretty straight shot down I95. There are many dog friendly motels but I do not know if they will take 3 dogs. I had made the trip to FL about 6 times before so we knew where to stay and how long to drive each day. MD and VA have some tough gun laws so make sure you check them out first because I believe that you take the train in VA. Also double check the info for the auto train as sometimes you get told the wrong thing.
  18. I live full time in Florida having moved from NJ 6 years ago. One thing I learned real quick is that many who say they carry all the time really mean that they carry when they think they need to or when legally able. Carrying a gun is no fun. Most will start off carrying all the time and then more and more that gun gets left at home unless they are going someplace they are unfamiliar with or afraid of. I am usually the only guy with a gun on him when I am with a group of people who carry all the time. Of course they mean all the time when they are not in their own town. Try running and doing physical things with a pound or more on your belt someday for more than an hour. You will feel it. Then after you put up with the gun for many years and never have had to use it, you start to carry smaller or lighter guns. Eventually as you reach my age you tend to pocket carry since it is just as easy to carry a 15 oz. gun as your wallet and keys. I always have a gun on me and mean always. My wife also always has a Ruger LCP in her pocket book wherever she goes. Our friends who just had to buy a big gun usually have their gun at home in their safe because why would they need one so close to home. I have bought 60 guns in 6 years, maybe more than that number of guns. I lost count. I still have about 15 carry guns and a very nice collection of the popular ones. Here I go with my recommendations but first let me say that with modern ammo a 9mm is a good choice and even a .380 with Polycase ARX ammo will penetrate 12" and have light recoil. I do not worry about expansion because we are talking about fractions of an inch and expansion is not always reliable in flesh and blood. If I want a bigger bullet I carry a .45. You have a S&W M&P Shield in 9mm or .45 acp. I have the 9mm with a manual safety. I do not have to use the safety but I like it for when I store it and put it in or take it out of my holster. While in my holster the safety comes off but I am so used to swiping a 1911 safety that I swipe imaginary ones on Glocks too. My favorite for belt or pocket is the oft overlooked Sig P938. You will not find much wrong with this gun. Small, lightweight and SA. It likes 124 gr. ammo as Sig recommends. Some will have problems with 115 gr. weak practice ammo but not 115 grain self defense ammo. Comes with night sights and you can even put a CT laser guard on it as I do. Pocket and belt holsters to accommodate the gun and laser are easy to find. My IWB gun of choice though is a Glock 43 in a VersaMax II holster by Milt Sparks. Just is comfortable for a few hours. At my age I am not out all day like the younger guys are. For short periods of time to dangerous places I carry a Springfield Operator Commander sized 9mm. 31 oz. and rides nicely in a VersaMax II holster too. For a .380 my favorite is a Colt XSP which is a polymer version of their Mustang but with better ergonomics and sights. I also like the Sig P238 with night sights but it is a little heavier than the Colt. The Glock 42 is a good choice. Soft shooting gun that you can shoot all day at the range and enjoy it, The HK P30SK is a great shooting gun but very fat. It is almost the size of a Glock 19 but holds 10 rounds. I added a pinkie grip mag floor to it so I can grab it with all my fingers. It will take its big brother's 15 round mags too. Well built soft shooting but too thick for my taste. I now carry single stack only because I no longer have fantasies about taking on terrorist or gangs and surviving long enough to need more than a few rounds. In my two close encounters, just showing my 5 round snub nose J-Frame was enough to scare the bad guys away, two of which were similarly armed. The Kahr PM9 is a great carry gun, probably the best pocket gun I ever owned. However you can save yourself a lot of money and get the CM9 version. It does not have a Polygonal barrel or fancy roll stamping on the frame and only comes with one mag but add a mag and it is still much cheaper and the regular barrel shoots just as well at self defense distances. I have owned both and saw no difference out to 15 yards. Kimber advertises a lot but myself and others around here have had problems with their Kimbers. Kimber is selling man jewelry as Sig does with its P238/P938 line. With so many guns available now, they know that most new gun buyers are going to look at crowded gun shelves filled with black guns until they all look the same so a gun that looks pretty will stand out. To me a gun is a tool and stays concealed so I do not care how it looks. Colt makes a good 3' 1911 called the Defender. Springfield Armory also has the EMP and a Officer sized 1911 in 9mm. They are all good guns and cheaper too. However, the recoil slows down your follow up shots in .45 so stick with the 9mm version. By my way of thinking I rather have a Shield than a heavier 1911 with the same round capacity. For someone like you who cannot carry but may want to for special occasions or just to answer the door late at night, a snub nose is a good choice. Heavy trigger makes it safe to just toss in a pocket and you can stand at the door with your hand in your pocket holding the gun pointed at the person you are talking to and look natural while doing it. When I go shopping I like a snub nose in my pocket since I am standing most of the time. For when I have to sit down a lot, like driving, a pocket gun is not a good choice although you can make it work if you take your gun out of your pocket in the car and put it in your center console. Something you cannot do there but we can do here. You can also get a Sticky or Remora holster and move it to waist while you sit down at a restaurant and then back in the pocket when you walk around.
  19. I have four GunVault safes around the house for home defense. However, the biometric ones are not as reliable for me as their normal ones where you just tap your fingers in a pattern. The fingerprint reader does not work every time, especially if you are in a hurry or have blood on your finger. There was a magazine article pitting the two types against each other and the manual open one was faster for what it is worth.
  20. I own and carry the G43 and Shield. I owned the XDs for a few months but in 9mm it is way too heavy for a small gun. It weighs more than the .45 XDs at over 20 ounces. Since you are not carrying, why get a heavy little gun that puts all the recoil into a thin section of your hand. Unless you are going to carry it, you will not shoot it much at the range once the initial excitement wears off. I find the Shield to be a very good gun. Nothing negative but it just feels and looks out of proportion to me. Plus if I am going to use the extended magazine, I might as well get a gun with a longer barrel too. I out a laser on it and with the extended grip it is used as one of my home defense guns. I love the Glock 43 and I am not a Glock lover. I love all metal Sigs and revolvers. However, the G43 is a very comfortable gun to carry and shoot. I also have the G42 since I have some torn tendons in my arm right now and cannot even hold a gun over 20 ounces or shoot a 9mm. It too is a very nice small gun. If you want a big grip then go with the Shield. It is a very fine gun and holds more than the G43. I just do not find that it fits my hand as well as the Glock does. Plus with the extended grip it looks like a big grip on a small barrel and just does not feel right to me but I am very picky on a gun's balance in MY hands. I would stay away from the XDs. It has a not so great trigger, is unforgiving of less than a rock solid grip and does not spread the recoil around like a wider gripped gun does. Plus it too heavy for what it is. If you have the money the Sig P938 is the best of the small nines. It is lightweight, all metal and a very soft shooter. It shoots so well that you can use it as a range gun. It also has night sights. It is not discussed much probably due to price and that it has to be carried cocked and locked, which is not a problem for anyone not carrying one. I think it is the best all over small nine. The Shield is too heavy and big for pocket carry. The G43 is about the same size as a snubnose so it can be carried in my pocket but the Sig with its SA trigger is a dream to shoot. I would just stay away from an XDs because although it is thin and fits in your pocket, its weight, more than a Glock 26, drags your pants down. It is not a comfortable gun to pocket carry and if you carry it on your belt, by the time you add a holster, you do not have a very thin package anymore. For you I would say that the Shield is your best choice since you can get a full handed grip on the Shield with the extended mag. I will suggest one other gun which I think is a great gun. The FNS 9c. It is a compact sized FNS gun from FNH who makes military weapons. They have high quality and reliable guns at affordable prices. It comes with three different sized magazines so you can have a short mag, short mag with a pinkie extension or a long mag for a full handed grip. It is a double stack though but you cannot carry in NJ so why not.
  21. Old Dog

    Ham radio

    I hold an Extra License and found that during emergencies my thousands of dollars of radio equipment was useless. First off you need power and emergency power only lasts so long. Secondly, all emergency communications is usually encrypted or limited to trained ham radio operators. Thirdly, during an emergency we are asked to stay off the air so that they official emergency operators can use the frequencies. Lastly, the information you receive from other regular people is usually contradictory or just plain wrong. I live in Florida where we get tornados and hurricanes. During the last hurricane the air waves were quiet. All emergency communications was done by authorized ham radio operators and was digital and encrypted. I bought a digital scanner for emergency use to supplement my own equipment and all the emergency agencies are now encrypted so it is useless. You have to remember that only other ham operators can hear you so you cannot reach family, etc.. I have handi talkies, scanners and a HF radio. Not one of them was of use during the emergencies here. What was useful was the internet. I was able to reach my family members and get accurate information from trusted sources. Since I am not one of the people who think things will get so bad that we will lose all alternate forms of communications for any length of time, I find my cell phone to be the best thing to use in an emergency. A lot of ham radio operators confuse what is truly an emergency. Finding out if others are OK is good to know but not an emergency. Information for information sake is not an emergency. Also make a note of how long it takes to get a message from another State to a non ham operator sometime. You can ride a horse there faster. Just have not had any good experience with ham radio during weather emergencies here.
  22. Seems that NJ will want you to actually be run over first and survive. In the case of domestic Violence it seems that NJ will allow you to get a CCW to prevent harm from just one person. I wonder if they will do the same for a non DV situation to allow protection against one person only.
  23. I moved from NJ to Florida 5 years ago and took some guns with me that I did not have any records for, since the paperwork got packed away or tossed out with all the other stuff we were cleaning out. I never have been stopped and searched in all of my life so I did not worry about it. I also tore up my FID card when I got here since I have no family in NJ or reason to return.
  24. I am in my mid sixties and still waiting for the SHTF. It is a waste of time to worry about things getting so bad that you will need to barter ammo. If things reach that point, I will only need one bullet because I would not want to live in a world like that. YMMV
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