For Phoenix...XXOO

..............not to mention he wants to take away our guns...............

Btw, is Phoenix in NY, do you know? Pls post here if you don't mind; thanks

Hi Seas-My body is in Florida.......my heart is in NY.

Bi- He sounds just like "one of the boys"!

Sorry to hear you won't be in NY, Phoenix.... I know Lola and Blatham regret very much not being able to see you at their parties in NY again - but we can all go to Oregon: good gun laws there, btw!

Down in my neck of the woods, it is the wild south. I could get a gun anytime that I wanted. I considered it once, but then figured I would probably end up inadvertentently shooting myself!

For heavens' sake Phoenix - I can teach you (have won several prizes in rapid fire - that's pistols) and take you to a really good shooting range with instructors expert in correcting whatever mistakes you make; posture, breathing, focus, eyesight all matter.

Btw, better you go to a range (the NRA will provide you with addresses) try out a few handguns before you buy anything - then you know what you're comfortable with. Should I come down to Florida I'll take you with me - hey, it's a plan!

Next time that there is a gun show, which happens quite often 'round these parts, I may just take myself down and peruse the equipment. I am definitely not a pearl handled 22 type..................I probably would not be happy with anything less than an elephant gun! :wink:

that's because, like all the gun nuts, you have no penis

Look for a good quality semi-auto .380. The recoil is light, yet there's enough mass and velocity to be effective. Owning a weapon requires responsibility by the owner. Register the weapon, and store it so that it can never get into the wrong hands (burglaries and children aren't the right hands). If you own it, you need to know what it is capable of, and that means taking it out on a regular basis for practice. Shooting is both fun and a challenge.

Avoid the large caliber magnum pistols. Women tend to have smaller hands, and the grips on a heavy frame isn't a good fit. It takes much more practice with a large caliber heavy frame pistol to get used to the recoil and become an accurate shooter. Semi-autos are also usually more accurate than revolvers for the person who only shoots occasionally.

Don't ever point a weapon at another human being unless you are prepared to kill them. Never fire a round if you don't know where its going to end up. When you fire at a human, aim for the belt-buckle. If you must shoot, fire in two round groups with a pause between groups. Never let a threatening person get within six feet of you before taking your shot. Distance is your friend, though the chance of missing is also greater.

I know of a a case where two experienced police officers who regularly had high scores on their monthly firearms qualifications emptied their weapons (a total of 16 rounds) at two armed kidnap suspects at one car length yet only hit the brick wall behind the suspects. One of the most effective police combat shooters often had trouble qualifying, but out in the field he killed three men in separate gun battles (I think his total number of rounds fired in those events was 8). The closest he came to being hit was a round stopped by his ammunition pouch. Practice is essential, but not a foolproof guarantee that you will hit what you aim at. Don't take chances with fancy shooting. People in combat shooting tend to shoot high, so aim at the belt buckle and you have the greatest probability of stopping the attack.

Usually for home protection, etc. most people are well advised to use a 12 gauge shotgun, fired from the prone position. You make a smaller target that way, and there's less chance of missing or that errant rounds will hurt someone a block away.

Instructions now?

My husband, growing up, lived in a tough part of town. The family had a rifle in the front closet.

Mama was a good lady, whatever our differences. Their front door was open one summer night, if I remember correctly, probably with only a screen, actual door atilt, and they were all watching tv, probably (imaging) with tv dinner tables. Home invasion, whole family on floor, except mama, who had advanced arthritis even then, sort of chair hanging. Guns in their faces, themselves on the floor, the oldest brother said where the piggy bank was in the back room. (no kidding)

I don't know how they were all positioned, but assume mama was at a chair by the door.
Mama got out the door and went across the lawn yelling 'help' while the guy in the front room was looking the other way.

Surely the guy watching the front room stopped at shooting this woman in the back.

I met the family some time later. I agreed to my husband having his rifle when we lived together and then married.... the first few years I knew him, he tended to routinely watch his back.

The other brother didn't go there. So far so good for both of them, several decades later. They both have other ways of interactiing with people besides with bullets, one becoming a writer, the other in other ways.
I know this disagreement is conceptual and emotional, and realize the depth of the arguments each way.

I'll never have a gun in my house again. (I don't live in a forest with grizzlies.) I don't argue on a one to one basis with those who do want a gun for protection; eh, some of my best friends... I understand the protective right.

I've lived in gang territory, certainly more than most here. (Where is amigo, and what does he think on all this. We may disagree, who knows. But he at least understands the territory from being around.)

Lotta fear mobilizing gets in the way.

We have a BIG rifle somewhere. I don't know where it is, and I don't know where my husband keeps the ammo. At one time, many years ago, I went to the shooting range. The kick on that mother made my shoulder sore for days!