Chui-
Do you live somewhere that has zombies?
"28 Days Later" and "28 Weeks Later" type? One would like to think no. Check your newspaper and CNN, however, and they mysteriously appear (at least in major cities and the surrounding suburbs, thereof).
Question: Do you think the bastards who organized, planned and executed the OKC bombing, WTC I, Columbine, September 11th, VaTech, etc. as zombies? Did you FULLY EXPECT ANYTHING OF THE MAGNITUDE OF WTC II TO OCCUR IN THE USA IN YOUR LIFETIME? If you think or answer, "no", then you're in the norm. But they happened. And more will come.
As I said before - anyone who keeps coming after being shot at (or shot) is obviously insane, and nothing besides a CNS shot would put them down immediately.
Apparently, you cannot shoot quickly or ever witnessed a shooting. It happens very quickly and in the thread aboubt being shot some report they did not feel a lot of pain immediately. Should be a lesson in that for you...
Apparently, you are spooked by more than knives - if you think a crazed assassin bent on your destruction (at the cost of his own life) is after you.
Yes, we ALL realize that a bigger gun is better. We simply no longer feel the need to carry a big gun. We would rather be comfortable and go about our lives armed. You carry your big "rig" all you want. One day you just might say, "You know, those old guys were on to something."
"Spooked" would be an inoperative word. "Concerned" would be a much better descriptor. You pull a knife in a quarrel and you're oh, so damned close to being shot until you drop it... You see, I know what a knife can do as I've trained a bit to use them. I've also seen first hand what they can do and I want no part of that and if you're wise you'd concur.
It's good to see that you DO recognize that what you carry is less than ideal. I wasn't aware of this by reading many posts here. "Comfort" is relative. What one laughs at crushes another. I'm quite comfortable with what I carry daily and I'm extremely comfortable and proficient with it's use if it comes to it.
The only time I'll switch to something very small and more difficult to fight with will be when I can no longer carry what I do with any comfort. As long as I'm able I will go no smaller than a P30, Glock 19 or M&P9.
You know, [IDPA] might be a pretty good example. I don’t know very many IPSC and IDPA folks that use their competition guns for carry. That might be because so many folks realize there is a difference between what is needed to score lots of points in a game and what is adequate for DGU incidents. In fact, IDPA developed a whole subcategory of the game just for BUGs due to popular request. And there are a whole lot of armed professionals that carry small guns the world over in various situations.
Absolutely. They KNOW that they hit better with full-size pistols. My question is why don't they carry what they compete with? The same with those who show up at Defensive Shooting Classes with firearms they'll never have on them... Why? Several reasons: they aren't comfortable shooting over 700 rounds or more, obviously; they are SLOW to reload and they are VERY DIFFICULT to hit well with at speed (and any distance). I'd like to take several BUG classes, drills and shoot a few BUG IDPA practices & matches before I'd feel comfortable with one.
Admittedly, there are circumstances where a 340PD would be well worth having. But when those circumstances arrive I'm under no illusion about my ability to hit very well and quickly with it as compared to any mid-sized semiautomatic pistol. So being aware of one's limitations (I'm under no illusion that adherents of "micropistols" and J-Frames as primary feel that they can shoot as well with, say, a Glock 17, M&P9, 1911, P226...).
I just refuse to buy into the "I cannot conceal a mid-size or full-size pistol" for most people. Why? I work at a gunstore as a hobby (they're close friends of mine) and when I sell a pistol no more than 5% take the advice to purchase a "gun belt" and a decent holster. They wear whatever thin belt they have, they want the cheap nylon holsters and they aren't willing to alter their dress to accomodate the pistol or revolver. Many are not open to even discuss altering their dress. It's pathetic, but there it is. Modern-day Americans - Wimpus Americanus. So my vociferous defense of nothing less than mid-size and irreverence for the "comfortable" argument is based upon about 100 cases of pure ignorance. That's not to say that anyone participating in this online conversation fits that bill but statistics will say that some here have not tried good equipment to see if it fits them well. You should.