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Old September 23, 2004, 01:06 PM   #1
pbass
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Picking the gun last.

I went to my local gun show looking for a replacement front pocket gun, and after some initial dazzlement and confusion with all the neat guns, ended up talking with Marty at the FAO Holster island, consisting of several tables totally loaded up with holsters. I asked to see a J-frame pocket holster and he immediately asked if I was going to be wearing my jeans. I said yes, and he told me it wouldn't work and made me try it. He said if I'd go to Dockers it would work, but if I wanted to keep my jeans, he suggested a Colt Mustang or Kahr Micro (either one for reliability).

While waiting for my paperwork to clear, I asked to see J-hook holsters for the PM9. Marty advised me to make a pocket holster my primary as it made it easy to develop a constant carry habit. He explained that after selling a friend a pocket holster for his P32, he'd been leaning on him for weeks to put it in his pocket as soon as he put on his pants in the morning. Finally his friend told him he decided to start doing that. Ten days later at 10 or 11 on a Saturday morning, as always on a Saturday morning, he was sitting on the living room couch minding the kids while his wife and her friends went malling. Suddenly, four guys with guns dressed in ski masks and black BDUs broke through his front door. He leaned sideways on the couch to get at his gun, drew it and nailed the first one who fell dead on the spot. The other three ran out. The police caught them wandering around the neighborhood (they'd found the getaway vehicle keys in the dead one's pocket). When asked why they had broken into the house of a "gun nut," one of them replied "Who carries a gun inside their house?"

All of this is a long way of saying that I used to get things all backwards. I'd learn about some cool gun or the other and buy it with the holster as an afterthought. When I left home for the gun show, really I was trying to decide between a J-frame and a Glock 26. But after Marty clearly defined my problem for me, I discovered that the only decent solution was another thing altogether.
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Old September 23, 2004, 01:24 PM   #2
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Very interesting post. I wonder if the mods might move it to Tactics and Training . . . it is about gear, but it's more about mindset and planning.

Anyway, thanks for posting!
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Old September 23, 2004, 01:56 PM   #3
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Food for thought. Thanks for posting.
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Old September 23, 2004, 02:10 PM   #4
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Quote:
Very interesting post. I wonder if the mods might move it to Tactics and Training . . . it is about gear, but it's more about mindset and planning.
Good point.


This is exactly why I carry the same guns in the same places, and why I make a point of putting my gun on with my jeans in the morning, and taking it off with them at night. My hand is easily confused, and I wouldn't want it fumbling about looking for something that wasn't there.
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Old September 26, 2004, 08:01 PM   #5
Don Gwinn
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That really is a good point. I tend to buy my guns as bargain finds and then start hunting for holsters, mags, etc. as bargains to be found as well. This satisfies the collector urge in me, but it's probably not the smartest way to go about it.
Having the gun on you when you need it should clearly be the first priority.

That's the kind of service a craftsman gives that most manufacturers usually can't even if they'd like to do so.
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Old September 28, 2004, 04:00 AM   #6
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Quote:
they'd found the getaway vehicle keys in the dead one's pocket
Thats a riot...
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Old September 28, 2004, 10:55 AM   #7
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"it's more about mindset and planning. "

"they'd found the getaway vehicle keys in the dead one's pocket "

Actually, I don't think it is funny. I see that as being just as important a lesson as anything else in the post. Their whole plan was tied into one small item: this is also clearly a planning and mindset issue as well. We can learn from other people's mistakes. I read post after post on-line where people put all their eggs in one basket and it appearently never enters their mind that things might not go down they way they envision.
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Old September 28, 2004, 09:49 PM   #8
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Perhaps I should attend a class before I go buy a carry gun?
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Old October 2, 2004, 04:36 PM   #9
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I think a large point this thread makes is that the gun really matters the least. The person is the weapon.

Let me clarify in saying that yea, it must go bang, and must shoot straight and it must be enough gun.

Gifted, perhaps you should borrow a gun for a class. Or just go out and buy a gun you like and learn how to use it.

Way top often we all, myself included, get caught up in the search for the perfect weapon, or the ultimate arsenal. We argue over caliber, and single vs double vs safe actions. Maybe we should all be looking for the perfect mindset, the ultimate technique.

That being said, anyone else see the S&W Thunder Ranch 44!!!!!
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Old October 3, 2004, 01:46 PM   #10
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Very good thought provoking idea, and post.
thanks
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