A question for the ladies, regarding saftey while shooting

[Tedder]

Originally Posted by tonyniev

+1...

Thank you for your post.

I succeeded in staying out of this thread when it first came up in December, but the implication that it's always a good idea to be defenseless was just too strong a draw for me to resist.

If someone determines that the wisest course of action in a confrontation with a robber is to surrender a few hundred or even a few thousand dollars worth of his own possessions, that's one thing. But I think I know where the idea that "the best defense is no defense at all" leads.

[YamahaRob]

Originally Posted by birderman

There should be no need to carry any sort of weapon, it becomes a catch 22 cos you carry a weapon for defence the crooks carry them incase they confront you only to find you are armed.....it creates a vicious circle...IMO there is no justification to carry a weapon, statistics show that many people injuered in fights are with their own weapons and most muggers only use weapons as means of threat and rarely use them unless the victimn fights back....if You go to a place that make you feel a weapon is necessary then don't go to that place is the safest and most reliable choice you have.

Didnt they try to ban hiking boots in the UK because someone kicked someone to death with them? Or ban steak knives?

There were many times where a victim complied 100% with the criminal only to have the criminal shoot, stab or beat them. We recently had a store robbed at gunpoint only to have a customer with a concealed handgun thwart it. Both crooks caught, one was shot but survived. Should mention both crooks had shotguns and turned out neither was loaded. Customer shot the one guy when the crook swung the shotgun towards him and his daughter.

[lensfreak]

Night shots I keep my monopod close. If things get ugly, its a really really dangerous monopod when fully retracted as it packs a lot of weight and momentum when swung.

[lensfreak]

Originally Posted by tonyniev

I also bring a knife and a cell phone

Are the bullets in the photo 'hollow head' as they say in the movies?

I think taking a gun is ok if your in a neighbourhood where your prone to muggings or theft, but then why would you put yourself in that position in the first place?

[tonyniev]

Originally Posted by lensfreak

Are the bullets in the photo 'hollow head' as they say in the movies?

I think taking a gun is ok if your in a neighbourhood where your prone to muggings or theft, but then why would you put yourself in that position in the first place?

yes they are hollow points, but have special augers in the middle and branded as hydroshocks.

[Channel One]

Originally Posted by tonyniev

yes they are hollow points, but have special augers in the middle and branded as hydroshocks.

You sure they are not Hydra-Shoks as in Federal Premium Hydra-Shok?

I tried them once in .45 ACP but due to the Colt Officer's Model being quite finiky about what it is fed I had a couple of jams so I went back to Winchester Silver Tips.

Wayne

[tonyniev]

I know them as Hydrashocks and use them for my 40 and 45 cal 1911 both series 80 Colt Commander and Gold cup, some images here

http://www.google.com/search?q=hydra...w=1669&bih=863

[Haswell]

I make sure, in those situations, to have a friend with me. he looks out for me, enjoys the time out and he looks like someone you don't want to be curious over.

[Channel One]

Originally Posted by lensfreak

I think taking a gun is ok if your in a neighbourhood where your prone to muggings or theft, but then why would you put yourself in that position in the first place?

That’s a nice theory on paper but muggings and robberies don’t only happen in the “bad” neighborhoods they also occur where one would least expect it. Back in 2004 I walked into a convenience store in what could only be described as a solid middle class neighborhood, as I exited the store a guy who talking on a cell phone began to follow me, when I got to my car I grabbed the door handle with my left hand and partially opened the door which gave me a little cover as I drew my firearm from under my shirt with my right hand, at the same time I did a one eighty and was now facing the guy approaching me and I noticed what looked like a knife in his hand, it turned out it was a knife and he was now looking down the barrel of a .45. The guy paused for what seemed like forever and then took off running, at that point I was considering just packing up and leaving but the store manager came out and told me he had just called 911, so I waited and filed a report with the police whence they arrived.

Had I not been armed I probably would have been robbed or worse.

Wayne

[Channel One]

Originally Posted by tonyniev

I know them as Hydrashocks and use them for my 40 and 45 cal 1911 both series 80 Colt Commander and Gold cup, some images here

These are the ones I tried, I picked the 165 grain tips as the Colt OM only has a 3.5 inch barrel and I need to get that projectile moving as quickly as possible, alas though the OM with it’s lightened slide and steep ramp didn’t like the shape of the tips and balked at feeding them. The Silvertips have never given me a feed problem and at 185 grain are still within the ideal projectile weight for that short barreled firearm.

http://www.federalpremium.com/products/details/handgun.aspx?id=405

Wayne

[KeithS]

"I think taking a gun is ok if your in a neighbourhood where your prone to muggings or theft, but then why would you put yourself in that position in the first place?"

Sigh......I live in a gated community-the houses are probably a little above average in cost. Last year, a couple of residents were robbed at gunpoint when they stopped to open the gate. A few months back, a wealthy couple, up in years, in a high dollar neighborhood in the Phoenix area were killed in their home during a home invasion and their house burned down to try to hide the crime. It can happen anywhere, at any time. You don't have to "put" yourself in a position.

That said, constant situational awareness and using common sense can go a long way.

[SkipD]

Originally Posted by tonyniev

I know them as Hydrashocks and use them for my 40 and 45 cal 1911 both series 80 Colt Commander and Gold cup, some images here

The ammunition is by Federal Cartridge Company and their name for the bullet type is Hydra-Shok® JHP.

[RDKirk]

I have carried concealed before, not in my current state of residence, however.

But if one really expects to be tactically capable of using a concealed firearm effectively, it take quite a lot of thought about when it's possible. The Kenny Rogers Law comes into effect: You gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away, and know when to run.

I might carry a weapon to a shooting session with a client, but frankly the circumstance in which it would be effective would be limited. For one thing, when I'm "in the zone" and my head is in the viewfinder, I am not maintaining tactical situational awareness of my surroundings. I can do a lot of things while maintaining SA, but making photographs with a client is not one of them--I can't watch for stray hairs in the viewfinder and watch my six at the same time. Darned near anyone can sneak up on me when I'm in the middle of a groovin' session.

I saw "Deliverance" back when it was first released. If I were venturing into questionable territory, I'd enlist or hire security to come with me, and that would be his (or their) sole task.

Shooting solo at an event, I will be even less likely to resist giving up my cameras if I'm armed than if I'm unarmed. If I draw, I'm going to shoot. I won't know if the bad guy has backup, so I'm not going to try to hold him at gun point, I'm going to double-tap him in the center of mass immediately and then scan for secondary targets. I'm not going to kill over my equipment. That's why I'd give up the equipment first.

[Echo Johnson]

As an American who has not spent a lot of time in the States, I'm suprised by how many US POTNers carry firearms when engaged in photography.

While in the military I obviously lugged my rifle along with my camera on the few occassions I decided to bring it along, but as a civilian the most I've brought with me is a baseball bat & a friend. I've carried a knife too, but that's been more because it can be a useful tool rather than a weapon.

NB: I've never been out shooting in a sketchy area of the States, and on the few occassions I'm shooting in the States I've always been out with a number of other people.

[john-in-japan]

Don't know a lot about guns, but what do you use an "open bolt" gun for? It does not look like a target or hunting gun. it looks to big to carry for personal protection. It seems to have a larger capacity than needed for home protection. Perhaps I am naive?
John