Mostly gift cards to places that sell ammo – which is exactly what I wanted. Also, one really cool item, which I’ll blog about as soon as I can get a decent photograph of the thing.
Remember folks – if you can’t give ammo, give giftcards, because those can be turned into ammo!
My wife and I just got back from our every-other-year trip to Seattle (and boy are my arms tired), and while the trip itself was great it was also rather weird. Not anything that my family or friends did, so Mom I know you’re reading this and you can relax, but rather it was weird for me, as it was the first time traveling in quite some time where I wasn’t carrying.
You see, Washington State in its infinite wisdom has decided that my Indiana carry permit, which I received after passing a state, local, and federal background check isn’t good enough for their exacting standards. Yes, Washington is an open carry state, and in most of the places I would be going that wouldn’t be a problem…but there are plenty of places that I visit with my wife and friends where open carry is forbidden (such as private property that prohibits weapons). I’m also aware that WA issues out of state permits, and I really should take the time on my next visit to go through that process, but for now it remains that I quite simply don’t carry when I’m visiting my family.
And that my friends is what’s weird. I carry a gun every day, unless I know for a fact that I’m going somewhere I can’t carry. For me, sliding my Jetfire into a pocket or strapping on a 9mm is as normal as putting on my pants, or carrying my wallet or a pocketknife. It’s just something I do, and when I can’t do it, my whole day feels off. I know that may sound odd to non-gunnies out there, but it’s quite simply the truth. You get used to doing something for so long, it becomes a habit and part of your comfort zone. I’m proud of this – I received my Indiana carry permit 3 or 4 years ago, and it’s taken that long for me to feel like carrying a gun was an important part of my daily routine. Probably the most influential factor in that was acquiring a pocket gun that allows me to carry when I’m wearing the Business Casual uniform of my people.
The moral of the story is quite simple: carry your f***ing guns, people. Carry them until not carrying them seems more odd to you than strapping on a pistol every day.
Update: After reading some comments below, I decided to look up the relevant statute in WA law regarding reciprocity. It seems that WA would honor my IN permit…but for one teeny little factor.
The other state does not issue concealed pistol licenses to persons under twenty-one years of age.
That’s the relevant part of Washington law, and because Indiana’s permit process has a minimum age of 18, it’s not eligible for reciprocity with Washington. Figures.
Ouch. I wish my profs at The Academy had been as lenient on me as Obama’s been with his personal grading.
To all my readers, friends, and fans, may you have joyous Christmas. It is my fervent hope that your stockings are full of ammo…but more importantly that you spend today in the company of friends and family.
Merry Christmas!
While on vacation, I’m reading Public Enemies by Bryan Burrough; this is the factual accounting of the exploits of Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, Bonnie & Clyde, etc on which the Michael Mann movie of the same name is loosely based. The book itself is quite good, as Burroughs does an excellent job of weaving the patchwork of witness accounts and FBI files into a compelling narrative. I for one had no idea that Bonnie and Clyde were active at the same time as Indiana’s most infamous son, nor did I realize the amount of interconnectivity between the various V-8 bandits of the time.
However, what’s interesting about the book from a gunnie perspective is the firearms selection by the criminal class. While virtually everyone carried a pistol, if they knew they were headed for a shootout, they would always take a rifle, a shotgun, or an SMG. Long guns were the weapon of choice when violence was certain.
The same holds true for the lawmen hunting the criminals. When they knew a fight was coming, they’d always be kitted out with rifles, SMGs, and shotguns. Despite the prevalence and concealability of handguns, it seems that what the old cowboys knew in the 1800s was still true – pistols are for fighting your way back to your long gun.
That’s still true today – the role of a pistol for the armed citizen hasn’t changed from the ’30s. Valuable for its portability, it behooves us to remember that the real fight stoppers are fired from the shoulder.
Leaked photos of the Gen4 Glock. While interesting, my real comment to the new Glock is “hey, maybe now Glock can reclaim the marketshare they lost to Smith & Wesson’s M&P”.
In all seriousness though, it’s great to see a Glock model with a modular backstrap to accomodate shooters with different sized hands. I’m holding out for the G19 version though, as I don’t have a lot of use for a G17.
To get the hottest item this holiday season – the 2010 Gun Nuts calendar now marked down to $6.50 to liquidate remaining inventory! Now for only $10 which includes shipping you can own the hottest calendar of the year! Get yours now!
Also, if you’re looking for the finest in tactical gear, check out the Gun Nuts Store, where you can find polos, coffee mugs, and other Gun Nuts gear.
The newest line of AR pattern rifles available next year at SHOT SHOW. My personal favorite is the rifle from Apple, the iR-15.
Steve from The Firearm Blog is going to his first Shot Show. One piece of advice: wear comfortable shoes. I made the mistake my first year of not wearing the most comfortable shoes possible, and my feet paid for it in blisters.
Just an FYI guys, there is no Gun Nuts Radio tonight. Breda and I are off for the week tending to our lives and families, so we won’t be doing a live episode of Gun Nuts tonight. However, if you’d like to go to Gun Nuts Radio and check out over a year’s worth of our archives, which have such excellent guests as Tom Hughes from NRA, Rob Pincus, and many others!