From my sister I got the following report (no link sorry) that she read in the newspaper. A lady of some 84 years was pulled over by a state trooper for having a break light out. The officer explained the problem and let her know that he was just going to give her a warning to get it fixed, but as was checking her license he noticed something shiny sticking out of her purse. Whereupon something along the following lines transpired...
Trooper: Mam what is that object in your purse?
Lil old lady: Oh that's just my 9mm pistol.
Trooper: Ummm OK. Mam would you mind taking that out of your purse and setting it on the passenger seat where it is in plain view?
Lil old lady: Not at all officer. (reaches into purse removes chrome 9mm pistol and sets it on seat.)
Trooper: Thank you mam. I need to ask you if you have any other weapons in the vehicle or on your person?
Lil old lady: Yes officer.
Trooper (slightly discomfited): Could you set it on the seat as well please?
Lil old lady: Of course officer (reaches into glove box and removes .38 snub revolver and sets it on seat).
Trooper: Thank you again mam. Just to be sure, are there any other weapons in the car or on your person?
Lil old lady: Yes. Would you like me to put that on the seat as well?
Trooper (eyes rolling): Yes mam, if you would please.
Lil old lady: (Reaches under passenger seat and pulls out .357 magnum revolver and sets it on the seat.)
Trooper: Is that all of the weapons mam?
Lil old lady: Yes sir, that's all of them.
Trooper: Mam, can I ask you a question? What on earth are you afraid of?
Lil old lady: NOT A DAMN THING!
John, I'm digging the lady's idea of risk attenuation.
ReplyDeleteThen my mind wandered empirically into the tactical realm. Which three-gun sequence would make sense? If I remember my factorials correctly, the lady has a choice of six permutations.
I've been a fan of the French counter-terrorist GIGN since forever on the strength of its unusual methodology of using a revolver as a primary handgun and a high-capacity semi as a backup. Its reasoning is that the revolver's fast presentation gives superior "first hit" capability. (This was the same rationale for the FBI's issuing the revolver during the J. Edgar days.) If one needs additional rounds, well, that's the semi's job.
Most folks reverse the sequence--auto as primary, revolver as backup.
Unless one is looking for, or expecting trouble, I am of the view that a judiciously loaded .38 spl should be more than adequate for all but a catastrophic scenario. It also has the advantage in snub form of being easily concealable with virtually any form of dress and not uncomfortable to carry. Most semi-auto and your larger framed revolvers require one to consider your wardrobe for carry purposes. Some are decidedly uncomfortable as a carry weapon.
ReplyDeleteMy opinion is that one should go with whatever you are most likely to carry in any situation or however you may be dressed. The .38 snub in your cargo shorts pocket with a T shirt will do you a lot more good than the hand cannon you could only carry if you were wearing a sport coat or suit jacket.
On the other hand if I am expecting the kind of trouble that would make me want to carry something with 15+ rounds, my initial response would be to make whatever lifestyle changes were needed to avoid that problem.