How many times have I heard that? The suspect having their fingerprints taken would always insist that it wasn’t their fault. It was their friends that lured and seduced them into a life of crime!
It is easy to forgive if one gained the impression that tens of thousands of gangs of roving, highly charismatic, incredibly friendly criminals wandered the countryside in order to recruit morally upright youth for their nefarious schemes.
The latest is a young woman who used coercion, bullying, and promises of ever elusive riches to rise high working for a TV sports channel. She would contact the owners of popular accounts on Twitter and other social media, claiming that they would be paid money if the account was turned over to her. When the original owners objected due to lack of payment and demand their property back, the ne’er-do-well would threaten legal action.
But it is all okay! The lying, the bullying, the broken promises and threats weren’t her fault!
“She also said she made poor choices and fell in with the wrong crowd.”
Whew! Glad that is cleared up! For a minute there I got the impression that she was a scheming piece of dirt who was all too willing to con people out of their property. Instead she is just a good girl who was urged to make “poor choices” by the immoral scum she hangs around with!
The poor, poor girl! Such a fragile flower must be feeling low from all the negative media attention! Perhaps one of her victims should send her a teddy bear in order to show how forgiving the trusting people she bilked can be.
Man shoots girlfriend while hog hunting. Heard a noise and just blasted away.
I have no sympathy for that idiot. He could have killed someone!
Let us hope the girlfriend becomes an ex, and sues the dickens out of him.
In this post, we discuss solutions to carrying a handgun while driving. What do you do if your holster pinches and jabs tender flesh when you buckle up and turn the key?
A helpful reader pointed me to a thread at an online gun forum, where they mention the use of powerful magnets to secure a handgun to the auto.
The problem is that I have no idea if this is legal or not. My impression is that it is most assuredly not legal in Ohio where I reside. If it isn’t legal in the state where you live, then you might be inviting a felony arrest if pulled over for a minor traffic violation.
But I cannot be sure because I am not a lawyer! The only way to make sure would be to pay good money to hire a lawyer, a professional licensed to practice law in my state, one who specializes in criminal law, and ask them!
This is why I am extremely leery of any suggestion of concealed carry where the gun isn’t directly strapped to the body of the license holder.
Anyone making such a suggestion might be offering their opinion in good faith, and the methods they advocate might very well be legal where they live. But this is the Internet, and people from all over the world read what we write. A suggestion designed to be innocent and helpful could very well ruin a life.
Besides, my instincts as a professional firearms instructor say that the decision to give up direct physical control of a primary defensive firearm should never be taken lightly.
More reader mail …
“i just got my permit in Pa and had a quick question. I saw your post about holsters and am in the process of trying to select one to carry. i have been using a plastic paddle holster and wanted to know, what do i do while driving? i don’t want to be messing around with my weapon while getting in and out of the car but its is uncomfortable to have it on while driving. Are there any tricks you can pass along to the noob? is there a specific type of holster the works best for car carry?”
Carrying a concealed firearm is certainly a bother. The weight drags at you, you are self conscious and wonder if everyone is looking at you, and you have to make sure that you retain control of the weapon at all times. Quite frankly, it is nothing more than a heavy and solid lump that bulges out your clothes and jabs into sensitive spots.
But we legally carry them anyway, just in case.
There are a few questions that must be asked before we can help our friend.
Firstly, is it required of concealed weapon permit holders in PA to have their weapon attached to their bodies at all times, or can they place the gun in the glove box while they drive? Glove box carry is legal here in Ohio, but I am woefully ignorant of the laws in Pennsylvania. Does anyone know?
If it is legal to place the gun in the glove box, then problem solved! Just tuck it away when behind the wheel to avoid a jab in the ribs. But if the weapon has to be carried on the body, then we have to turn our attention to other solutions.
Howsabout a shoulder holster?
That handsome devil pictured above is smiling because he is wearing the one holster design which jabs the least. Comfy, and pretty handy if you are sitting down. Got to wear some sort of outerwear like a jacket at all times, though. Hot in the summer, even if you just put an open button-down shirt on over your T-shirt.
(Picture source.)
Since our friend uses a plastic holster, I assume it is stiff and unyielding. Maybe something softer, floppier, would work better. It could be that a slight change in the angle the gun is held against the body would result in alleviating his discomfort.
Experimentation is good, but could be expensive. If buying a new holster, try something made from inexpensive nylon to start.
If you like the results, then you can always later upgrade to something fancier. If it doesn’t work as well as expected (which is usually the case), then you are only out the price of two or three Happy Meals. Toss it in a sock drawer and forget about it. Better than weeping over the hundreds spent on a hand-tooled, one-of-a-kind holster you had to wait months for delivery.
I think that holster cost more than the gun!
But what if my reader is fully satisfied with the plastic holster, except when he is in the car? What if he likes the ergonomics of his plastic holster, the way it holds the gun close to hand for a draw, and how he feels the gun is nice and secure while he goes about his daily routine?
Then I’d say that, unfortunate though it may sound, he should just try and bear up under the discomfort he feels while driving. Unless he spends a great deal of time in the car, the advantages of using a holster which suits his needs through the majority of his day outweighs the problems that might crop up by switching designs.
Everyone is different. Everyone has something to contribute. And you, my valued readers, have helped many people who were stumped when it came to self defense issues.
So what do you think?
(I asked our friend in The Keystone State if he would mind if I posted his question. It is my policy to keep every personal communication strictly confidential unless given permission to discuss it with others. If anyone has a question they would like to ask, keep in mind that it will be kept between the two of us if that is preferred.)
Grandmother uses .38 revolver to foil robbers. Intense gunfight ensues.
The erstwhile crime victim was armed with something similar to this.
Follow the link and take a look at all the bullet holes in her car. Seems the attackers opened up on her with spray-and-pray tactics, hoping to put so many bullets in the air that she would be hit by sheer random chance.
The grandmother fired once, and hit what she was aiming at. When she saw that she was flanked, she ducked down for cover and fired wildly into the air. This ended the fight as both criminals took to their heels.
The wounded gunman drove with all speed to the hospital, wrecking the getaway car in haste. His accomplice fled on foot, and is still at large.
Let us hope that he is captured by the authorities before he decides to attack another innocent victim.
(Hat tip to Glenn.)
Steven has a question …
“One of the tropes of steampunk is using brass for nearly everything, and that gun looks like it’s supposed to be made of brass. If someone did that for real, is brass strong enough to make a decent firearm? Would the firing chamber stretch, or blow out?”
Brass has been used for centuries as a material in the construction of gun barrels and mechanisms. All types and sizes of guns!
Artillery was made from brass.
(Picture source.)
Long arms like a blunderbuss.
(Picture source.)
Since I’m on a tear when it comes to old school self defense techniques, you might find this to be of interest. It is a collection of excerpts taken from essays written before 1910, discussing the popular self defense techniques of the time.
knirirr was kind enough to send me a copy of this work as a Christmas present. The subject matter is extremely wide ranging, from methods of self defense to the best actions to be taken when escaping a burning house. It is highly recommended, but not for the reasons you might think.
The author of the tome was Lt. Col. Charles Random, Baron de Berenger, who as a young man got his start as an illustrator at a printing house in London. His claim to be a baron is due to a fortunate marriage to a penniless noblewoman from Prussia who had no other prospects. There is no evidence that he ever served in any military organization, let alone rising to the rank of Colonel.
Baron de Berenger’s main claim to lasting fame is due to his playing a pivotal part in a shameful and criminal plot to manipulate the war bond market. The role assumed by the Baron was to first disguise himself as an aide-du-camp to a British nobleman, and then as a French military officer.
Seems the companion of a member of the British royal family aimed what appears to be a handgun at paparazzi.
Muzzle seems kinda small. Airsoft gun, maybe?
This was in Paris instead of London, so I suppose the legal restrictions on owning and carrying a gun are somewhat less. Even so, I bet the applicable laws would still seem to be totally unreasonable to an American such as myself.
One aspect to consider is that I really, really hope that members of the royal family have some armed protection. All this running around and jet setting from one photo op to the next, their faces plastered on every tabloid and newspaper in the world, would seem to me to increase the risk of kidnapping.
If the gun is an actual firearm (doubtful), then the wielder shows a criminal lack of concern for the safety of innocent people, waving it around in public like that. Hardly professional behavior at all.
There has been some discussion in the comments about this type of shoulder holster.
It is a shoulder holster designed to hold a snub-nosed revolver in an upside-down position. A snub-nosed revolver like the one below.
Why have the gun upside-down? The idea is that gravity will grant speed when drawing the gun, as it should fall into your palm the second it is free from the holster. Steven wants to know how they work.
“On that first one, what keeps the gun from falling out? I assume there’s a strap. But if so, then the strap has to be removed before you can draw the gun.”
Speaking of holsters, I want to turn your attention to the following picture.
She has two guns, but her shoulder rig only has room for one. Where in the world does she put the extra? Or does she just carry it around in her hand all the time?
Aaron has very kindly updated his list of firearm related contests for this month. Hit the link and enter whatever strikes your fancy.
Many will enter, and very few will win. But you won’t have any chance at all unless you bestir yourself and put your name in for the running.
Who knows? You could be the next big winner!
What are shoulder holsters good for? What are the advantages?
Just speaking from my own experience, I have found them to be one of the most comfortable methods for carrying a concealed firearm there is. It certainly is the best way to carry large handguns and still keep them concealed.
Most people seem to think that shoulder holsters are a modern invention, and are surprised when I tell them that these rigs have been around for a long, long time. They were somewhat popular as far back as the 19th Century, back during the Old West days with cowboys and riverboat gamblers.
(Picture source.)
Compare the modern rig shown in the first picture with the Old West version seen in the second. The major difference is that the old design features a belly strap that stretches across the torso.
There are a few advantages to having such a strap. It means that the gun will be held tight against the body, reducing the profile of the weapon. For those concerned about quick access, such a design also means that the gun will always be held in the same place on the body, allowing for more positive draws. The strap also keeps the gun from shifting around or slapping against the chest with vigorous activity, a decided plus for those who have suffered bruised ribs from large magnums banging into their sides.
