Daughter needs advice

M

mrsMTN

New member
Some horrendous things just happened, all within 36 hours, near my daughter's home. A major bank was robbed by a young female heroin addict, a major heroin bust went down right around the corner from my daughter's place, and an armed robbery right up the street, with the perp still at large. When she picked up her son at preschool, the area was crawling with LEOs and the after-school program kids who normally walk home were not permitted to without an escort.

Here's the thing. She feels her apartment itself is safe (second floor, only one entrance which is a heavy steel double locked door), but the streets are not. She has been approached, and frequently must pass junkies and the "majorly unbalanced."

She wants to carry concealed and I suggested a Christmas gift from Coronado Leather (the big black "hobo" bag, which is her style anyway). But she wants to consider any and all options.

She is 25 years old, 5'7" and about 145; works in an environment where the co-workers would be CCW-friendly, but the management would probably not be. Her child's preschool would definitely not be.

Her father will be instructing her extensively this weekend, and there is a wide variety of weapons from which she can choose.

Any and all advice?
 
She should move. Soon.

No matter WHAT the circumstances of a "good shoot", if she pulls the trigger, there is a MUCH better than 50% chance that her life will be ruined.

Is it really worth it?

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"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary." - H.L. Mencken
 
mrsMTN, I agree with Dennis that her best bet is to move.....when she is able to do so.
In the mean time let her pick the gun that she prefers....with a little guidance from you and her father and drop me an Email. Given the circumstances Terri and I will be happy to send you one of our concealment rigs free of charge. Just give us an address to send it to. I already have her size from your description. The holster will accomodate any handgun she chooses. With the concealment properties of these rigs no one will know she is wearing it.
gunscustom@aol.com

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Gunslinger

I was promised a Shortycicle and I want a Shortycicle!
 
I'm w/ Dennis on this one too, for the time being she should do as George said but that's no place to live, she needs to get out of there, it's way to difficult to be on guard 24-7.
 
Gunslinger: Thank you! She'll be responding to you in the morning; she's here with us this weekend, but she's already gone to bed.

I also thank those of you who suggested moving. It certainly is the best solution, but her area is in the midst of a serious housing crisis and rents are through the roof! She is working, going to school and raising a son, so that would be a major challenge.

Her building/housing complex really is not a bad place; the neighbors are rough, but basically decent people; and it would really be hard to break into. Anyway, I ramble. I'll let her speak for herself tomorrow.
 
You can't pay ANY rent (nor raise a child) if you're dead. And if she were to get sued for "wrongful death" of a goblin (and if she lost), her child could NEVER have a life, as she would be paying a settlement for the rest of her life.

Really, the BEST solution to self-defense is to NOT NEED TO EMPLOY IT. She should get together with a couple other young women (as room-mates), and rent a place that way. There are ALWAYS alternatives.

No need for a ruined life in exchange for cheap rent. Definitely a lose-lose situation. She needs to get out ASAP.
 
I would disagree with Dennis. Whether your life is ruined by a self defense shooting depends largely on the attitude of the community in which you live. I know people who've "pulled the trigger" in this area, which is very conservative, and have not had their lives changed to any great extent, much less ruined.
 
Room mates are a two edged sword IMHO. Unless they area people you know and trust before hand, and also trust their friends and relatives.
 
Have to agree with Dennis. Last year, 3 guys broke into my neighbor's house and held him and his wife at gunpoint. He was able to wrestle one of the guy's and take his gun. He chased them out shooting at them. He hit one of the guys. Turns up, the guy ran through my yard and died. My other neighbor's found him the next morning. Now I keep a gun close by everynight.
 
Move where the problems are less asap if at all possible--good advice indeed. In the interim, a good quality .38/.357 revolver and some good training. I would suggest she get and read a copy of 'Armed and Female' by Paxton Quigley, in paperback and reasonably priced.

Just finished training a lady with a .380 S&W for similar reasons. She had a real need for it and the local police encouraged her to get a CCW gun. (She bought the gun before asking my advice...) She says her stress level got a LOT lower after the first range session. CCW isn't for everyone but it makes quite a difference for those willing to make the effort.

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Gunslinger/Teri -- You are exactly the type of people that make me feel privileged to be associated (even in a minor way) with TFL!

MrsMTN -- She should move now. If (Heaven forbid) anything were to happen to your loved ones in the next months, could you live with it? If (as I suspect it will be) the answer is no, urge her to leave soon regardless of the difficulties. In addition, find very high-quality, very reliable handgun (I suggest a Ruger GP100 or a Smith 868 revolver) that your daughter is comfortable with, strongly recommend she learn how to own/operate it safely and effective, and urge her to practice frequently. Unfortunately, the world has dangers, even in the safest neighborhoods.
 
a gun that fits her hand well, that she can control during recoil, that she can follow up with fast.
i would lean towards a high cap semi-auto.
and get the stuff for it she needs, good comfy grips ect.
and also an ambi safety would be a plus.
all of this IMHO.
also she needs to get out of there, the idea of rooming with a couple of friends who she trusts is a good idea.
since both my parents have gone back to college in the last 8 years i have spent a lot of my formative years up to this point on campus and have had chance to encounter women who did this type of thing for similar reasons. all of them seemed to like it, and had no problems with it, from what they said.



[This message has been edited by guerilla1138 (edited September 16, 2000).]
 
This is not mrsMTN, but daughter of. First of all, to Gunslinger and Terri, you people are just fabulous and I thank you for your generosity. I will be in touch w/ your E-mail. BestDefense357, the same goes for you. Thank you sir. I feel I must elaborate on my situation. Normally My neighborhood is, albeit seedy, pretty mellow. This past week has been a bit of an aberration (full moon, I suspect)
I've done the roomate bit before, and quite frankly, my situation is better now. At least I have peace of mind in my own home. The possibility of having to use a firearm is very remote, however, I'd like to be prepared should the situation arise.
 
Agree with RIK on this,you cant always leave, somtimes you stay and fight. If you could always leave then there would be no RKBA people in kali,mass,ny,ri, and maybe other states I know little about. You can have trouble anywhere.

I would agree with the sp101 as stated above,and after using that for a while if you become profiecent and get "into" shooting then maybe add an auto to. Cant hurt to have a couple.

You be safe now, daughter of MNT.

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The beauty of the second Amendment is that it is not needed until they try to take it. T JEFFERSON

Do you really think that we want those laws to be observed? We want them broken. We're after power and we mean it. There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breakings laws. Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens? What's there in that for anyone? But just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced nor objectively interpreted-and you create a nation of law breakers--and then you cash in on guilt.
A RAND

Carry concealed so as not to spook the herd. "Some TFL Member?"

Some Problems require an LGM-118A Solution.
 
Gunslinger and Terri=VERY GOOD PEOPLE!!
You were extremely generous with your offer to a fellow TFLer who was in danger. I'm proud to be on the same board with you. I mean that from the bottom of my heart. You both are top drawer!!!!

Will
(No signature line this time. Nothing mendacious about Gunslinger or Terri!)
 
The daughter went back to "hell city" to bring her son to her ex's and to get ready for the work week. She and her dad spent time this weekend shooting a Browning Buck Mark (?) .22, a Ruger P89 9 mm. and a Glock 20, 10 mm. She'll probably do more next weekend.

Our ISP was down most of the day, or she would have said "so long" herself. She is so grateful for all the help from the TFLers. She plans to read the book that is being sent to her, and I am going to get her Paxton Quigley's book this week.

If she can get her own password (her only e-mail as of now is Hotmail -- not good) she will probably post here on her own after this.

Thanks again to all of you!
 
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