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I even carry IN my house.

I try and stay out of as many convenience stores as I can. Just keeps me out of any potential situation.

I have only had my permit a a little over a month now and while at first I only carried coming and going to my office and when I had deposits to make. Since then I have seen and heard of enough going wrong in seemingly unlikely places that I carry all the time now. You just never know when some nut job is going to come down with a case of stupid. Be it at a movie theater or a house of worship. No where is safe anymore.

RHenriksen wrote:

karder wrote:It is really easy to get lax about carrying. Sometimes I don't feel like strapping on a service size pistol when I am just running out the door for a minute.

I'm puzzled by this line of thinking - not just karder, but I hear this from a lot of people.

I have a pistol/holster/belt combination that works for me well enough that I never take it off unless I'm showering or in bed. So there's no 'strapping on' - if I'm awake, I have it on me. I just never need to think about it.

. Same here I keep my rig on till its time to get ready for bed. You never know if you will need it or not. Always be prepared.

I've gotten lazy when I get home. Lately when I come home, I am exhausted and still have at least a couple of hours of homework left. I change into some basketball shorts or the like, and slip the LCP into my pocket. G17 or G30 goes into the safe, loaded, and safe stays open.

I always have the LCP in my pocket and shotguns, etc are handy.

ShepherdTX wrote: It's manor, 290 and shadowglen. I'm out and about tonight (and carrying a bigger gun plus extra mags) but I plan on swinging by the store to get the details tonight or tomorrow.

Not far from me. We had that whack job shoot the DPS employee right by my place a month or so ago. This is a nice nieghborhood as well. Goes to show you never can tell. I carry everytime I leave the house. My wife was unsure at first but after that she was happy I was carrying then again after the Aurora shootings, and again after the Sikh Temple. I think she is considering getting her own CHL now.

Wow, that's quite a story. Just out of curiosity, are you describing the store at Dessau Road and Tudor House? Your story sounds like it could be my neighborhood.

Just wondering.

Ha, I was thinking of Brookfield as well.

ShepherdTX wrote:More details on the incident:

Two black males, both wearing gloves and white t shirt across mouth. One of them had a metal pipe that he was using as a weapon. That guy was tall 6' 3". They didn't drive away, they ran into the neighborhood.
So they may be living here. Might also explain the recent property crime in the neighborhood. Still creepy to me that had I been there an hour or two earlier, we definitely would have put the .380 vs. metal pipe debate to the test.

Good thinking on recognizing that anything can happen anywhere at anytime, and carrying that through to not going out unarmed. However, count yourself as fortunate that you didn't have to learn the results of that .380 vs. metal pipe test firsthand.

A determined guy with a pipe can do a lot of damage and, while no pistol round is a sure thing for an instant stop, the .380 relies more on a psychological stop (the bad guy freaks out that he's been shot) rather than a disabling physical stop than do more powerful rounds.

Food for thought: when you need a gun, you need all the gun you can manage.

BKRushing wrote:I have only had my permit a a little over a month now and while at first I only carried coming and going to my office and when I had deposits to make. Since then I have seen and heard of enough going wrong in seemingly unlikely places that I carry all the time now. You just never know when some nut job is going to come down with a case of stupid. Be it at a movie theater or a house of worship. No where is safe anymore.

Nowhere has ever been reliably safe in our lifetimes.

A determined guy with a pipe can do a lot of damage and, while no pistol round is a sure thing for an instant stop, the .380 relies more on a psychological stop (the bad guy freaks out that he's been shot) rather than a disabling physical stop than do more powerful rounds.

Food for thought: when you need a gun, you need all the gun you can manage.

Why do people keep spreading this crap? If you look into any of the data, most handgun wounds are survivable. You think you're going to shoot someone with your .45, they're going to go flying back, and drop -- that just doesn't happen. Some handgun calibers give you a little bigger hole and a little more penetrating power, which gives a little more likelihood of hitting a vital. That's it. Placement is still key.

ATXchl81 wrote:

A determined guy with a pipe can do a lot of damage and, while no pistol round is a sure thing for an instant stop, the .380 relies more on a psychological stop (the bad guy freaks out that he's been shot) rather than a disabling physical stop than do more powerful rounds.

Food for thought: when you need a gun, you need all the gun you can manage.

Why do people keep spreading this crap? If you look into any of the data, most handgun wounds are survivable. You think you're going to shoot someone with your .45, they're going to go flying back, and drop -- that just doesn't happen. Some handgun calibers give you a little bigger hole and a little more penetrating power, which gives a little more likelihood of hitting a vital. That's it. Placement is still key.

Yes, shot placement is very important. A .380 is better than nothing, but I will take that bigger hole (aka more blood loss and diameter to potentially hit a vital organ), better penetration (going through clothes, bone and deeper to hit a vital organ), and the muzzle energy to induce more shock to the body so it may cause the central nervous system to be impacted or cause the BG to feel more impact and surrender.

EDIT TO ADD: The person you challenged is IMO an expert on such matters.

ATXchl81 wrote:

A determined guy with a pipe can do a lot of damage and, while no pistol round is a sure thing for an instant stop, the .380 relies more on a psychological stop (the bad guy freaks out that he's been shot) rather than a disabling physical stop than do more powerful rounds.

Food for thought: when you need a gun, you need all the gun you can manage.

Why do people keep spreading this crap? If you look into any of the data, most handgun wounds are survivable. You think you're going to shoot someone with your .45, they're going to go flying back, and drop -- that just doesn't happen. Some handgun calibers give you a little bigger hole and a little more penetrating power, which gives a little more likelihood of hitting a vital. That's it. Placement is still key.

i used to carry a .380 and spat the same argument at every single person who questioned my caliber choice. i said things like, 'lower recoil means better control which means, I'M the one with the upper hand against someone with a .45'


...then i watched a ton of ballistic test videos from the FBI and other sources...



now i carry a 1911 chambered in .45

not saying it's for everyone... just my choice after reviewing data.

take a look at http://www.gunthorp.com/Terminal%20Ball ... morgue.htm- it's a review of deaths by caliber from the perspective of a morgue worker who sees this stuff all the time. VERY interesting read.

Excaliber wrote:

BKRushing wrote:I have only had my permit a a little over a month now and while at first I only carried coming and going to my office and when I had deposits to make. Since then I have seen and heard of enough going wrong in seemingly unlikely places that I carry all the time now. You just never know when some nut job is going to come down with a case of stupid. Be it at a movie theater or a house of worship. No where is safe anymore.

Nowhere has ever been reliably safe in our lifetimes.

Indeed, my good man. Indeed.

ATXchl81 wrote:

A determined guy with a pipe can do a lot of damage and, while no pistol round is a sure thing for an instant stop, the .380 relies more on a psychological stop (the bad guy freaks out that he's been shot) rather than a disabling physical stop than do more powerful rounds.

Food for thought: when you need a gun, you need all the gun you can manage.

Why do people keep spreading this crap? If you look into any of the data, most handgun wounds are survivable. You think you're going to shoot someone with your .45, they're going to go flying back, and drop -- that just doesn't happen. Some handgun calibers give you a little bigger hole and a little more penetrating power, which gives a little more likelihood of hitting a vital. That's it. Placement is still key.

The schools of thought on this subject are pretty entrenched on both sides. My personal belief is the .380 is a solid defensive round. I have seen first hand what they can do to ballistic gelatin and find the penetration with Federal HydraShoks to be adequate to the task of killing someone if it comes to that. In some cases a person high on PCP or other drug may not even be stopped by a venerable .45 instantly. Whatever caliber you carry, I say get comfortable with it and try to develop a strategy for various scenarios and how best to deal with them.

A Ruger LCP is what I carry when my Glock 26 or 27 are not practical (ie. Summer months when no one is wearing thick bulky jackets or coats that could impede penetration). In those instances, either Glock is usually in my glovebox in case I need more firepower. Winter months I plan to switch to one of the Glocks in my Blackhawk Serpa holster. It fits me well and the additional punch should aid in penetration of thicker fabrics.

Actually...

a .45 ACP has a high 90's% stop rate on the first hit. The problem is that some people are too ignorant to know when they are dead, and they keep on keeping on until the brain no longer can sustain them due to lack of oxygen. Needless to say, this moment of terminal revelation comes much quicker if they get one through the heart, or through the brain stem.

I carry a Glock 30 as my EDC, and an XDs as my BUG pocket gun...both .45 cal. However, I also love my XDm 9mm and have carried it a lot. It may not have the first hit stopping power...but I have 13 other rounds behind the first to put the period at the end of the sentence. I choose to not carry smaller than a 9mm, but I understand new technology is producing some outstanding 380 ammo.

RJ