Carrying! A personal thing!

Wow xrocket, that is great. You responded to me twice. I am honored.

When I carry small, it is a Kahr in 9mm for pocket carry. My normal carry is a full sized 1911.

If you feel belittled because I am not impressed with a .32 acp for self protection, then I apologize for touching on your insecurity.

9mm, .45 acp, .357, etc. are substantially bigger and more powerful calibers when fired out of proper length barrels for which they were designed and even then, they are not terrific performers. Take a .32 acp and fire it out of a cut down length gun like a Seecamp, and you aren't even getting full power out of the tinier round.

There are better carry options that come with similar and slightly larger guns.

Of course, Wildalaska is right....
The average armed citizen under average circs doesnt need more.
Click to expand...

In fact, under average conditions, the average citizen won't be drawing and firing their gun in a conflict. Even if the gun is drawn, on average, it won't be fired.
 
Please let me weigh in. This is a hearty debate that happens about once a month on these forums. The .45 guys (I'm one of them) are already convinced that nothing less will do. The placement/confidence folks (who I have a lot of respect for) have their say, then things get ugly and the mods snuff the thread.
The title was "Carry! A Personal Thing!" let's leave this thread open to whether carry is a personal thing or not. Wait a day or two, and some new member will start a thread about handcannon vs. mousegun.
C'mon guys, I hate to see respectable members such as yourselves start chipping at each other about opinions that won't change.

junytuck, I've once in my life brandished a firearm thinking I may need to use it. It happened to be a .45 and the wide SS barrel against the blued finish has a formidable appearance. I also pulled it out confidently. Having tested it's damaging power on my private land I had no doubt what would happen to the BG should I pull the trigger (or sneeze for that matter), So not to sound like a toughguy, but I probably looked like I meant business pointing it at him, and he left the scene.
I agree that it is a personal thing. Are you looking for reassurance that your caliber is sufficient? If you are, I just bawled out some of my buddies for nothing. If you want someone to back you up about feeling safe because you feel it's enough, I'm with you.
 
It happened to be a .45 and the wide SS barrel against the blued finish has a formidable appearance.
Click to expand...
Intimidation is a possible factor when pulling a firearm in self defense. it could mean the difference between just pulling it and actually having to fire it. There was thread about that very topic awhile back.
http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=229206&highlight=intimidation

A bigger barrel can be more frightening and make you rethink your actions.

attachment.php
attachment.php
 
Come on Playboy whats with the skewed photos...with the 32 you sensitive and with the 44 you look insane :)

WildcheckouttheyesAlaska
 
Come on Playboy whats with the skewed photos...with the 32 you sensitive and with the 44 you look insane
Click to expand...
That is what I call my OPF..."Official Photo Face".

Every time I have ever had my picture taken for a state or federal ID that is what I end up looking like for some reason. :)
 
Ha ha I have the same hat!
I think whats scary-er is seeing those big hollow points staring at you ready to back up their brother in a heart beat!

Back on topic I think if you are happy with a .32 than so be it. I mean it is Texas, if you get into a shoot I'm sure they'll be at least 5 other people jumping in at a moments notice. (Joking!)

Carry what you feel comfortable with. Let everything else happen when it does. Because no matter what you carry when its time....

Also situational arwareness plays a big role. If you are gonna play in the ghetto be prepared.
 
I don't think a .32ACP should be quickly dismissed. It certainly is a poor choice for an offensive weapon. The average civilian's encounter will be at close range and He needs a weapon that won't be left on the top of his dresser because it's a bother. It was a standard for decades in Europe and at one time saw use in large city police departments. Bridgeport, Conneticut comes to mind. A .32 and the right mindset is not a thing to be triffeled with. Essex
 
Also situational arwareness plays a big role. If you are gonna play in the ghetto be prepared.
Click to expand...
I have tried to drill that into my partner's head for years. Things like being aware who is around if you get out of your car at a gas station, walking to the far outside of the sidewalk when you pass dark doorways or alley entrances, paying attention to what is behind you or around corners, etc.

These things help avoid bad guys. Also, just by being aware and looking alert you can make alot of bad guys think there are easier targets.
 
+1 Playboy, If you go to New York and stare up at the buildings some call you a tourist, others call you a victim. BTW - I for one was not looking at the hat until it got mentioned. Yikes!
 
I think situational awareness goes much farther than most people think.

Things like watching a blind side and alleys. But also demography plays a big role as to how I pack and dress.

City, Country, region, laws. These should all fall under situation awareness. If you are strolling about a rural area there is no need to be on defcon 3 and have three spare mags a bowie knife and a back up.
A .32ACP in the hands of someone who knows what they are doing can mean the difference between acceptable and not.
 
It really is about what you WILL carry.

Wildalaska has access to just about anything he might want, but in the one encounter that I'm aware of where he needed a gun, it was a .32 ACP that saved the day. As in most instances, no shots were needed. Just the presentation of the gun was sufficient.

And while he took a lot of guff from several people on this board about the size of gun he was carrying, the important thing to remember is that the only thing that saved his butt was that he had a gun. A mousegun, but a gun none-the-less.

I have access to larger guns as well, but when I carry it's usually a .380 Sig. Why? Because it carries well and I can hit what I aim at. That is what is important. That you will carry it and that you can hit what you aim at. I'd rather be able to spit and hit than have to spray and pray.
 
Wildalaska has access to just about anything he might want, but in the one encounter that I'm aware of where he needed a gun, it was a .32 ACP that saved the day. As in most instances, no shots were needed. Just the presentation of the gun was sufficient.
Click to expand...

Right, so that this is understood, the fact that it was a .32 acp did nothing. Since no shots were fired, an empty gun would have sufficed. More often than not, since no shots are fired, empty guns would work most of the time, but as with a tiny, underpowered caliber fired from a very short barrel, you don't want to have to count on it to save your life.

Heck, you want to talk about intimidation, I have a wonderful accounting from Forestburg, Texas in the 1860/70s or so where a man, his wife, daughters, and daughters' friends held of an Indian raiding party with a single shot rifle and broom handles stuck out the windows. No shots were fired.
 
but as with a tiny, underpowered caliber fired from a very short barrel, you don't want to have to count on it to save your life.
Click to expand...

Shot placement baby.

a.32 in the nose is better than a 45 in the fleshy part of an upper arm :)

WildnoseshotAlaska
 
Allow me to expand my point.

WA had the .32 ACP and was capable of putting the bullets where he wanted if he needed to. A gun that he had and could place his shots with was better than one he didn't have, even if he could place his shots even better with that one that he wasn't carrying.

The original poster and his wife have chosen to carry .32 ACP mouseguns. The guns are small enough that they will carry them. The guns are from reputable manufacturers. If they are proficient with these weapons, then more power to them. May they never truly need them, but if they do, they'll be confident in their abilities to use them.

Like WA said, at the time, he would have preferred his Garand. But that isn't what he had with him. But he did know that if he needed to use the little gun, he could hit what he aimed at.

As has been said many times and in many ways (so I'll just tweak it one more time) "A mousegun you have with you is better than the machine gun you left at home."
______________________

as with a tiny, underpowered caliber fired from a very short barrel, you don't want to have to count on it to save your life
Click to expand...
You don't really want to be in a position to where your life is in danger in the first place. It all boils down to having a gun, any gun, on the very rare occasion that you need one. Second rule of gun fighting for when the first rule gets violated - bring a gun. (First rule being: don't be there in the first place.) Corollary to second rule - know how to use it.
 
I'm a 1911 guy. Always have been. Live in Texas and in the summers I end up carrying a Seacamp more than my Wilson. It's just too damn hot. I have a PM9 that I use if I feel I am going someplace dangerous (like 6th street). I would rather have the Seacamp in my pocket than nothing at all and I don't wear enough clothes sometimes to make it worth my while to carry a full size. Just my 2 cents.
 
CC

Unless one has any actual combat experience, one should not belittle another's carry choice. A .32 in your pocket trumps a .45 in the gun safe.
 
I'm happy with a .32 acp in the pants pocket.

If I know there is danger, I will be better armed, but If I'm not expecting anything, then the 32 is fine..
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top