Wheelgunner

"My third maxim was to endeavor always to conquer myself rather than fortune, and to change my desires rather than the order of the world, and in general to habituate myself in the belief that save our thoughts there is nothing completely in our power." Rene Descartes, Part III, Discourse on Method, Norman Kemp Smith translation.

"Occupy thyself with few things, says the philosopher, if thou wouldst be tranquil... [T]he greatest part of what we say and do being unnecessary, if a man takes this away, he will have more leisure and less and less uneasiness. Accordingly on every occasion a man should ask himself, Is this one of the unnecessary things? ...[A] man should take away not only unnecessary acts but also unnecessary thoughts, for thus superfluous acts will not follow." Marcus Aurelius, book IV section 24, George Long translation.

"[E]very man is worth just so much as the things are worth about which he busiest himself." Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, VII, p.62, George Long translation.

I would think make, model, and caliber would be determined by the shooter's purpose and skill, and that the holster would be the more important question. As a guy who used to ride often and who's been thrown from a horse before, my two biggest suggestions for any gun you carry horseback are: 1) the gun should be absolutely drop safe; and 2) attach a lanyard to the grip. Also, a gun with fixed sights would be a good choice. (If you get thrown and land on your weapon, no risk of adjustable rear sight piece breaking off and making it harder to aim.) When I was a teenager I had a mare cut and run half a mile through thick woods one time with me hanging on. She came up on two legs and tried to buck me every time I reined in. If I'd dropped a handgun that day, I would never have found it again.

"Show those qualities then which are altogether in thy power: sincerity, gravity, endurance of labor, aversion to pleasure, contentment with thy portion and with few things, benevolence, frankness, no love of superfluity, freedom from trifling magnanimity." Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, V, p.41, George Long translation.

"Fate the willing leads, the unwilling drags along." Seneca, Letter CVII (quoting Cicero). Or, stated differently: "The only safe harbor in this life's tossing, troubled sea is to refuse to be bothered about what the future will bring and to stand ready and confident, squaring the breast to take without skulking or flinching whatever fortune hurls at us." Seneca, Letter CIV.

"Each day, too, acquire something which will help you to face poverty, or death, or other ills as well. After running over a lot of different thoughts, pick out one to be digested thoroughly that day." Seneca, Letter II, Letters from a Stoic, Robin Campbell translation.

"If thou workest at that which is before thee, following right reason seriously, vigorously, calmly, without allowing anything else to distract thee... if thou holdest to this, expecting nothing, fearing nothing, but satisfied with thy present activity according to nature, and with heroic truth in every word and sound which thou utterest, thou wilt live happy. And there is no man who is able to prevent this." Aurelius, Meditations, III, p.27, George Long translation.

Gentlemen, This thead will be my small contribution to our community, of which I am grateful to be a part. I will keep my own thoughts and opinions here to a minimum, striving to merely share those words that my betters have written - reliably good counsel in times of trial. It is my hope that this is helpful to you as we navigate this strange passage. Please check back; I will update regularly. Hint: if you think the Stoics were fools, read no further. Admins, please move or delete this if I have chosen an inappropriate location, or if this content is not appropriate for TGO.

As others have said, a person who goes on a hike in the woods should bring along a magnetic compass, a whistle, a good map, and plenty of water. A hiker should also know where the nearest hardball road (or river) is that runs along the edge of the woods. That way, if you get lost, you can shoot your emergency azimuth, which will get you to the road. There are other things that are helpful to know, such as your 100 meter pace count and how to read a topo map. I'm glad the man who was in the news is alright, but it seems like a pocketful of equipment would have saved him a whole bunch of trouble.

@ Morgan88 - I haven't seen any successful lawsuits where a person is killed by a lunatic with a firearm, the deceased victim's next of kin brings action against the retailer where the lunatic purchased the ammo, and that plaintiff recovered money damages in a jury trial. Frankly I don't think any plaintiff wins that kind of suit, because the retailer didn't do anything reprehensible by selling the ammo. Stated differently, selling the ammo was not the proximate cause of the murder.

I agree with i1afli's assessment about the demonizing of guns, but this is actually worse than that. I believe we're witnessing the effects of the average American's declining interest in intellectual engagement. There is simply no causative link between lawfully carrying a handgun - whether openly or concealed - while in a public place (like a grocery store) and mass shootings. By contrast, going unarmed actually results in suffering helplessly in situations where self-defense becomes necessary due to crime - the very type of crime that liberals are quick to label as a "growing and troubling trend". If most American adults were willing to do the relatively straightforward logic-driven reasoning that inescapably leads to these conclusions, then sizeable corporations like Kroger would not be able to risk losing revenue due to implementing the kind of absurd policies seen here, and liberty would better thrive. But if people are not willing to thoughtfully analyze cause and effect in this context, corporations will continue to lead consumers by the nose into a new status quo that: 1) reduces companies' insurance premiums, and 2) fosters a "don't think about problems, just buy more goods" consumer mentality.

I'm unimpressed. The General Assembly gets to say they made the world a safer place, the government gets a new revenue source, and there's a new basis for traffic stops. A generation from now, people won't manually drive cars anymore; they will be self-driving. In other words, in fairly short order the whole issue of distracted drivers will be passe (texting, drunk, fatigued, etc.). Hope the DUI lawyers have a new career planned out...

He's talented. I bet I've listened to "White House Road" 20 times - can't get enough. On a completely different note, I found Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox a few months ago, and I like their stuff a lot. They do a version of "Seven Nation Army" that'll make you feel like Al Capone.

For anyone interested in good maps with MGRS coordinates, there used to be a website called MyTopo where you could order them easily in 1:50,000 or 1:100,000 scale. It's probably still around. If things ever go seriously wrong, a good topographical map in a zip lock bag (or field acetate, if you're that guy) can make a big difference.

Robtattoo, do you already have a chest holster that you like that just doesn't fit the SBH? Instead of buying a new holster for a gun you already have... you could buy a new GUN for a holster you already have.

This. I bet they just said, "If we take equipment and materials that we already have and already use to produce .38s...and we bore .32" chambers instead, what is the hottest .32 cartridge the resulting cylinder could handle?" Frankly, my hat is off to them for acknowledging their limitations. Wish Ruger had done the same with their 7-round .357 GP100.

If you like movies with realistic firefights, check out The Town. Ronin also comes to mind. Even though it's not as "gritty" as some recent flicks, it's cool to see how the characters plan an ambush.

Has anybody heard of crimp jump in an ultra light .38 like these? It seems like I've only read about that in very light .44 mag and .45 LC revolvers. @Quavodus - FWIW, I had a Taurus .357 awhIle back and liked it. I wouldn't hesitate to carry a Taurus revolver.

This could make a great carry gun. I also like the looks of the 8-round Redhawk, though it would serve a different purpose. I'm pretty impressed with Ruger's effort to expand their lineup of revolvers. I just hope we don't see any other new models with problems like the 7-round GP100 had.

I agree. A similar bill has been introduced in Tennessee (SB 1010/HB 1427) - i.e., requiring all firearm transfers to go through FFL and involve a background check. Mailed letters yesterday to my state senator and state representative urging them to oppose it.

@ volshayes - Thank you. That's very helpful information.

Reagan gave us some words to live by. The video is well worth the four minutes of your life.

Yes. Reminds me of the Jarrod Reston video we discussed here several months ago. I think his words were "Do work first, then send radio traffic" or something to that effect.

I have not yet read Representative Dickerson's bill. Consequently, I do not have a concrete or meaningful opinion on it. However, I deeply distrust any individual who uses the phrase "gun violence". It is a cheap catchphrase often used by a segment of the American population that seeks at all costs to do two things: 1) convince us that individual responsibility is somehow inadequate; and 2) convince us that there is such a thing as perfect and constant safety. My starting point is a firm belief that grown folks should be left alone until their conduct puts others in immediate danger, and that when that happens, it is sufficient to hold the wrongdoing man responsible without looking beyond him. It would be unthinkable to enact a law allowing judicial circumscription of a man's freedom of religion because others believe he's off his rocker. Heller and McDonald are the law; the right is as much an individual right as the right to worship God as each man sees fit. There is no clear or persuasive reason why one constitutionally protected right is due less legal protection than another. Many in the State House are not attorneys and are not even well-read on legal issues. I hope Representative Dickerson is aware of the constitutional issues raised by any preemptive curtailment of a Tennessean's rights.