concealed carry

43 States

Runcible — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 16:53:43 +0000

As of July 1st, the only states that ban concealed carry in restaurants are North & South Carolina, North Dakota, Louisiana, Ohio, Montana, Wisconsin and Illinois. All of the rest allow people with concealed carry permits to enter restaurants that serve alcohol on the premises.

In both Virginia and New Mexico laws went into effect on the first of the month that permit concealed carry in such establishments.

Check out Guns Rights Examiner for more info.

Carry gun calibre comparison

Runcible — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 15:51:57 +0000

I already own a .45 ACP; while it's great for home defense I can't imagine lugging it around on my belt all day. So I've been trying to decide for myself whether to purchase a .380 or 9mm caliber handgun for carrying purposes.

I found this terrific article by Dick Metcalf, who's the Technical Editor at Shooting Times:

When it comes to personal-defense carry, most people buy little guns. The single largest category of handguns bought in the US during the last 10 years has been small, short-barrel, pocket-size defense models-autoloaders and revolvers alike. Overall, compact concealment-size handguns account for more than 70 percent of all current civilian handgun sales, and autoloaders account for approximately 75 percent of that number (according to the most current BATF statistics). In terms of caliber selection (not counting the sub-effective .22 and .25 chamberings), the two most popular choices within this dominant portion of the overall handgun pie are the .380 ACP and the 9mm.

My research has helped me settle on a 9mm.

[9mm Versus .380 ACP For Self-Defense]

Concealed carry conversion story

Runcible — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 19:42:59 +0000

Here's a terrific account of how one woman changed her mind not only about firearms ownership but also about carrying a concealed weapon.

Concealed Carry in Harper's Magazine.

Runcible — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 17:38:20 +0000

The cover story of the August 2010 issue of Harper's Magazine is titled "Happiness is a Worn Gun: My Concealed Weapon and Me," by Dan Baum. It's unusual.

It's certainly not the kind of cover story that Harper's would have run under the editorship of Lewis Lapham, whose trademark leftist rants became too frequent and too detached from reality for me to continue purchasing the magazine. Lapham is still listed in the masthead as "National Correspondent", but his name is not among the writers in the table of contents. If the Harper's Index were to to somehow quantify the contempt for America and Americans spread throughout each issue of the magazine, it would certainly record a substantial drop from the closing years of Lapham's editorship. Good riddance to an old fool.

I would not have picked up the August, 2010 issue if not for the promise of the first-person narrative in "My Concealed Weapon and Me." That phrasing in the title, and the cover image of a vintage High-Standard Sentinel "belly gun" revolver suggested authenticity, so I paid my $6.99.

The article itself lives up to my hopes. Baum is a lifelong gun owner and the article is free of contempt for those who hunt or own guns for defensive purposes. He gives a fair appraisal of the state of concealed and open carry in the United States, why and how people choose to do it, and what the societal effects have been and might be in the future.

Baum is at his best when he is gently dismantling anti-gunner beliefs. Playing to Harper's readership, he presents John Lott's More Guns, Less Crime with a fair amount of skepticism and neglects to mention the Bellesiles fraud. Immediately after, though, he brings forth this defense:

Concealed Carry Videos

Runcible — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 18:14:53 +0000

Guns in Bars

Runcible — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 23:48:58 +0000

"There are going to be armed people in bars. The good news for you is that people who are concerned about the law are now allowed to be among them."

(Thanks to @Serataru for helping me come up with this formulation.)

How to carry concealed

Runcible — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 02:18:55 +0000

So you've got your Virginia concealed handgun permit (CHP) but maybe you don't really know how to carry a concealed handgun. That's certainly my current dilemma - where do I stick the damned thing?

My searches led me to this interesting blog post at "Front sight, press" about the physical mechanics of drawing a handgun.

Kaine Veto

Runcible — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 17:18:05 +0000

The Washington Times diagrams the Kaine gun vetoes in an editorial. It begins:

When Tim Kaine campaigned for Virginia governor in 2005, he ran an ad implying that former National Rifle Association President Charlton Heston was praising him. His campaign claimed that "Tim Kaine strongly supports the Second Amendment." Once he won office, Mr. Kaine vetoed one gun bill after another that would have helped Virginians protect themselves from criminals.

Kel-Tec PF-9

Runcible — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 03:16:31 +0000

I fired my new Kel-Tec PF-9 today. I bought it last week from Gary's Guns & Transfers and then today I took it out to Dominion Shooting Range to put a few dozen rounds through it. I fired nine magazines; I had one failure to fire but no feed problems. I attribute the failure to fire to a bad cartridge, because after I waited 30 seconds and ejected the round, the next one fired without a hitch.

Though it proved reliable, the PF-9 is not a smooth gun. My marksmanship with it is significantly inferior to my performance with my steel-frame .45 ACP and with a Glock 9mm I've fired. At seven yards I only hit center mass on the target about 2/3 of the time. But I'm OK with that. With practice I'll surely get better, and the PF-9 cannot be beat in terms of ease of carry and power.

The advantage of the PF-9 is that it's very light and reputedly the most slender-framed 9mm handgun ever made. It's small enough to serve as a "pocket gun" but still formidable enough to be a primary self-defense weapon.

I'm happy with the purchase and I'm confident that with marksmanship practice I will make my PF-9 a truly effective self-defense carry gun.

More women carrying concealed

Runcible — Wed, 27 May 2009 13:27:30 +0000

Here's an interesting article by a Cincinnati TV station about women purchasing handguns and seeking concealed carry permits.

RedEye weighs in on guns in Starbucks

Runcible — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 22:15:20 +0000

Not tremendously informative but it is pretty funny.

Richmond bartender comes unhinged

Runcible — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 16:27:08 +0000

A Richmond bartender and writer posted an angry, profanity-laden, violence-threatening rant to Blogger yesterday, directed at any of his own customers who might be lawfully carrying a concealed handgun. Jack Lauterback, a local booze-slinger who writes a column for Style Weekly, begins his blog tirade with "80 fucking stupid assholes met at O'Charleys Bar in Richmond today to celebrate the fact that they can bring a hidden gun into a bar."

It pretty much goes downhill from there. Between stereotyping typical CHP holders as "redneck idiots who are extremely overweight" and sporadically employed unskilled workers, he takes several opportunities to suggest that we're idiots, morons and otherwise mentally and morally impaired, plus a bunch of "pussies", and then threatens physical harm against any who dare to step inside any bar he's working. Lauterback writes:

If you attempt to walk into my bar with a concealed weapon and for whatever reason you didn't conceal it enough.... You won't have enough time to draw your piece cowboy. Your face will already be on the pavement. I promise.

When I tweeted that he had threatened to murder people who are obeying the law, he replied that he only intends to "maim" them.

SB1035 veto not overturned

Runcible — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 14:15:10 +0000

There's good news and bad news on repealing vetoes by Tim "No Guns" Kaine. It's sad how the governor claimed high and low to be pro-gun when he was running for office, but now that he's got the job he's gone completely against his word.

Anyway, the restaurant carry veto - SB1035 - missed being overturned by just three votes. The law would have allowed concealed handgun permit (CHP) holders to carry concealed in restaurants with that serve alcohol, so long as they themselves don't consume alcohol while on the premises. Strangely, it's perfectly legal to openly carry a handgun in restaurants that serve alcohol, even without a CHP. I'm disappointed because it's an inconvenience; I'm not comfortable openly carrying a handgun.

Two other vetoes were overturned, regarding retired police officers and computer based training for CHP classes.

The NRA-ILA site has more information.

Strong Side Carry

Runcible — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 22:59:36 +0000

American Rifleman has a description of the strong-side carry and its advantages. I prefer pocket, 5 o'clock and 11 o'clock before the typical 2-4 o'clock strong side carry, but if you wear a jacket, a long shirt or are a big husky guy, strong side may work well for you.

Regardless of the type of holster, strong-side carry has some definite advantages over other methods. First and foremost, the handgun is easily accessible. There is no reaching across or around the body as the hand is already near the gun. Another strong-side advantage is that it allows the use of the weak arm for close-quarters defense without interfering with the draw. Most importantly, the strong-side draw can be simplified to its most basic motions, which, with practice, creates a very smooth, fast draw. And practice is more readily available since many gun ranges limit how shooters can train from retention (holster), if allowed at all, to strong side for safety.

Read the whole thing!

Concealed Carry: The Strong Side

Virginia House Bill 505

Runcible — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 03:19:20 +0000

House Bill 505, which would amend the current Virginia concealed carry laws as to allow lawful concealed carry in bars and restaurants so long as the permit holder consumes no alcohol on the premises. Here's the NRA-ILA take:

On Tuesday, February 9, the House Militia, Police and Public Safety Committee passed HB505, by a vote of 16 to 6.
House Bill 505 would allow a concealed carry permit holder to carry his or her firearm into a restaurant, provided he or she does not consume any alcohol. This bill is similar to last year’s bill that was passed by both the House and Senate Chambers and ultimately vetoed by Governor Tim Kaine (D).

Two legislators, Delegate Jim Shuler (D-12) and Delegate Bill Barlow (D-64), who previously supported reforming Virginia's concealed carry statute, voted against this year’s bill.

This bill will make my life a lot easier. I'm very meticulous about carry laws, and as a committed pedestrian in an urban area I'm often unable to join my friends at unplanned dinners in restaurants. Once this bill passes I'll be able to enter a restaurant and enjoy dinner with them.