Timestepper

None taken. And it's not that I "feel the need to OC" so much as I don't really feel the need to CC. I don't have anything against it, but except under extreme circumstances I'm not going to go out of my way to do it. For those who know me, for me to suddenly start dressing differently (in order to facilitate CC) would be cause for alarm. FWIW, I'm 50. I'm the fifth of five sons. I'm originally from Western Kansas where open carry is not a big deal and I've been using and carrying guns safely literally since I was a kid. I've spent months at a time where I slept with a gun either on my immediate person or very close to hand. I'm not bragging, simply stating facts to help you understand my mindset. I don't intend to flaunt my carry weapon, never have, never will and don't understand those who do. But I'm not going to start un-tucking my shirt, wearing baggy jeans or wearing a jacket when it's 90 degrees just to conceal. Given the way I usually dress (in boots, jeans, cowboy hat and tucked in shirt), my guess is that the .357 mag on my hip or at the small of my back won't look out of place and indeed will more than likely go largely unnoticed by the general populace. Ever notice how some folks couldn't CC if they wore a tent and others are so comfortable with their weapons that you have look twice even when it's in plain sight? Given my personal experience, I'm guessing that I belong in the latter category. Again, I'm not going to flaunt the fact that I'm carrying, but neither am I going to make it obvious that I'm trying to hide the fact I'm carrying which is what would happen if I did. In short, I'd rather just wear it in plain sight where very few will see it, rather than hide it where everyone will notice it. (Or does that not make sense to anyone but me?) ...TS...

For me, it'll definitely be open carry most of the time when the weather is warm - never been one much for un-tucked shirts - and concealed carry will be mostly incidental and coinciding with weather. Having carried open in Kansas for years both before permits were required and as a living history docent, I don't expect it to be much of a deal. Seriously doubt that I'll do the HCP dance, but it's only because I have two left feet and would hate to incapacitate myself before I can actually use it. Congrats on the permit and the successful Wally walk! ...TS...

I've had an 1858 Remington Buffalo model (from Cabela's) since Christ was a corporal. It's got the 12 inch barrel and I've been accused more than once of taking a rifle to a pistol shoot, but dang, she's a tack driver! My favorite and most consistent load is 35 grains of FFFg Goex black powder followed by a pre-lubed felt "wonder wad" and topped with a .451 pure lead round ball. I've shot literally thousands of rounds at ranges from 5 feet to 300 yards and never had a lick of trouble out her. I've split playing cards, lit matches, shot golf balls and harvested more than one deer as well as couple of geese with ol "Yard and a half" (that how long she looks when you first see her) and all in all, she's been my favorite handgun of all time, modern, curio or otherwise. Back in my "gun fighting" days, (at a local tourist trap up home in Western Kansas) for a blank I'd load 25 grains of FFFg and top it with 2 wonder wads. DISCLAIMER: I don't advise shooting blanks, especially in the direction of another person, unless you are indeed a professional or semi-professional gun fighter performing for an audience - we knew what we were doing and while safety was first and foremost, accidents, though rare, did occasionally happen (usually no worse than a bruise and a smoldering shirt). ...TS...

My lovely better half shoots and my next modern hand gun will be with her in mind - a .357mag companion piece to my trusty Savage 24 in .357mag/20ga. Loaded with .38 special, it'll make an ideal "home defense" gun for her while I'm on the road, while .357 158gr hollow points will make it my carry of choice when I'm not in the truck. ...TS...

Thinking seriously about the Colt 386 XL Hunter in .357 mag as a companion piece for my trusty old Savage 24 in .357mag/20ga. ...TS...

My butt. If I manage to get that one thing out, then I'll be able to figure out what to do about everything I didn't get out. If I don't manage to get my butt out, then nothing else will matter. ...TS...

Provided I can find the time and opportunity, it'll be my trusty Savage 24 in .357 mag/20 ga, with open iron sights. She hasn't failed me yet! ...TS...

I can't see any sense in counting that kind of money - no matter WHO is in the car with you - in an automobile in a public parking lot without actually having a handgun in close and evident proximity. Sure, nobody should ever be robbed, and in a perfect world they wouldn't be, but gawdalmightydam! hasn't this guy ever heard of common freakin' sense? Sounds to me like he was asking for it. (That's my opinion - feel free to make it yours.) ...TS...

Which is exactly why I told my lovely and talented better half that the only thing I want for Christmas this year is a handgun carry class and the permit.

Lotta' good responses. FWIW, here's mine (please bear in mind that it's worth exactly what you're paying to read it). K.I.S.,S (Keep it simple, stupid.) In a true bugout situation - that is to say where it's wholly untenable to remain where you are - you're going to need to move fast and you're going to need to move quietly. If you've made preparations in advance, great. If you haven't, then don't spend valuable time considering every stinking little item you're going to take. Grab what you can carry and get the hell out. Planning on leaving via automobile? Great! Grab whatever you can fit in the back seat or trunk and get out - you can always trim it down later. If some of the stuff you grab happens to have multiple uses, so much the better. Always keep in the back of your mind that you'll eventually wind up on foot and with potential enemies all around you (that is to say, the rest of the population who is just as scared as you are) the most important rule of thumb is to never "own" anything that you can't carry on your back at a dead run. A good stout knife, your firearm of choice with as much ammunition as you can carry, 5 pounds of rice, 5 pounds of flour, a couple of reliable fire starting methods, something to carry water in, something to BOIL water in, a compass if you know how to use it - if you don't then throw it away, because it won't do you any good and you don't need the extra weight (this applies to EVERY item you take) - a pound of salt, a couple of blankets and/or a sleeping bag. Toss in a couple of extra spoons and DO NOT forget to take something to sharpen your knife and clean your firearm. Grab whatever you usually carry in your shaving kit and take it, but dump out all the "stink water" because you don't want a potential enemy smelling your sweet @$$ before you see him. Smelling good only matters for polite company. I'm not saying don't bathe, cleanliness is important, just don't powder and perfume yourself afterwards. Basic first aid needs can be kept simple and carried in your shaving kit - a box of bandaids, some duct tape and a tube of antibiotic ointment don't take up much room. If you have a back pack that you can fit everything into, great. If you don't, I suggest you learn how make and use a tumpline bedroll. If you've got room to take extra clothing and don't mind carrying the extra weight, great. Otherwise, pick one set of durable clothes and wear them - you'll still be carrying them, just not on your back. I've covered basic food items already. If you want to take extra, that's up to you. Coffee, tea and sugar are luxury items, but they can also be important items when it comes to maintaining mental health and a positive attitude. Your choice. When you have more time - after the initial "Holy bat*****, Robin, lets make like a shepherd and get the flock outta' here!" adrenalin rush is over - you can trim down and/or beef up your kit. If you want to prepare in advance, the best rule I've ever heard is this: Take everything you think you're going to need and pile it on the floor in the living room. Divide it in half. Take the remaining pile and divide it in half again. Pick through the pile you have left and discard anything you don't know how to use. Take what's left and that's your bugout kit. ...TS...

Let us weep for my little cat For he will prowl no more. What he thought was H2O Was H2SO4...

We can only hope that Mr. Greene lives long enough to die in prison. My condolences and deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Mr. Snellings.

10X Last I checked, Illinois was the only state to specifically prohibit the carrying of guns in a commercial motor vehicle. That said, I pity the individual who carries legally and whose company unexpectedly sends him into Canada. I've known many drivers over the years who carried despite company policy to the contrary and it almost always comes back to bite them. The only "gun" I've ever carried in a CMV was a .22 caliber match grade pellet pistol and even that would be considered against the rules by most Motor Carriers today. At the same time, as I mentioned earlier, I've been in a lot of rough areas in the past 2 1/2 million miles or so and never felt overly threatened. This probably is not due to being a bad-ass myself so much as just being too dumb to be scared. The times when I have been threatened I was able to take care of without the use of anything more than a winch bar (twice) an unexpected kick to the groin (once - funny how kicking someone in the crotch with pointy-toed cowboy boots makes 'em forget all about the radio they wanted to steal) and a couple of well thrown rocks (once - in an alley in Denver. Because I wasn't close enough to kick the son of a bitch.) All that aside, the rule of thumb for most Motor Carriers is, "If it ain't against the law, but your company forbids it, it's still against the law." ...TS...

Thanks, OS! Took a bit to wrap my tiny little brain around things enough to make it work but here it is:

My apologies in advance, but this reminds me of a story I heard a while back: A man checked into a hotel and went out for a walk. As he was wandering around, he saw a sign that read: PARANORMAL, SUPERNATURAL CONVENTION. Curious, he went inside and, seeing that the meeting had already begun, quickly took a seat. The speaker asked the audience, "How many of you believe in ghosts?" About 95% of the people raised their hands. The speaker went on to ask, "How many of you have seen a ghost?" Of that over half lowered their hands. Next, he asked, "Has anyone here ever touched a ghost?'' All but 2 or 3 hands were lowered. The speaker then asked, "Have any of you ever had sex with a ghost?" Only one hand, belonging to a man in the back, remained in the air. The speaker asked the man, "Where are you from, Sir?" The man answered, "Alabama." The speaker then asked, "And you say you have actually had sex with a ghost?" To which the man replied, "GHOST? Hell, I thought you said GOAT!"

For some reason unbeknownst to me, I am not allowed to post pictures or downloads so I put a couple of views of my favorite knife as my avatar. It's a custom built knife and sheath with stag horn handle. (Just in case you have trouble making it out.) Not sure about the blade blank, but I know it's hard tempered S.O.B. and takes forever to put an edge on - good thing it also holds an edge forever!

Thanks much! I'm feeling considerably better about things now. Not just my company, but in several of the states we run in (Ohio for instance) it's illegal to carry in a Commercial Motor Vehicle. Plus, pulling a flatbed means that I occasionally haul construction materials and/or vehicles onto/out of military bases and they generally kinda' frown upon it. ...TS... Come to think of it, I've never been employed by a trucking company that didn't have a policy against firearms in the truck, whether legal or otherwise. ...TS...

See, that's the thing, I don't even remember most of the "event." In a nutshell, I had taken an over-the-counter sleeping aid to help with a migraine, but instead of helping me sleep, it caused me to "brown-out." In other words, I wasn't asleep, but neither was I cognizant of what I was doing - kinda' like sleep walking. I doubt that I actually requested to be taken there, but during one of the few periods of lucidity, I remember signing something which might have been an admission form. I do know that once I regained my faculties and explained what had happened, they treated it as if it were no big deal and I left the next day when my wife arrived to pick me up (my eye glasses having been left in the truck, I couldn't see well enough to leave on my own). I do know that whatever forms there were to sign upon leaving, I signed myself so it's not as though I were released to her or anything. That's the other thing - having been a rather rabid muzzle loading enthusiast for many years, it's been years since I've purchased a modern firearm from anywhere other than a private citizen. I don't have many guns, but those I have generally have a lifetime home, if they prove to be of any quality at all. To tell the truth, the only real reason I'm interested in obtaining a HCP is so that I can legally carry when I'm fishing, camping or wondering in the woods. As a truck driver, I'm not allowed to carry while in the truck and I've been some pretty rough places in the past couple of decades and never had any trouble that a winch bar, a well thrown rock or an unexpected kick to the groin couldn't take care of. BUT it's nice to have something other than a stick or a rock when one unexpectedly encounters a snake (slithering or walking), bobcat, etc... In short, it'd be nice to do legally, with a modern handgun what I generally do now (maybe not so legally) with my old Remington Buffalo black powder revolver. ...TS...

I guess this thread raises a question for me: Roughly 20 years ago, while in a truck stop in Des Moines, Ia., I had a weird reaction to an over-the-counter sleeping aid. Long story short, I ended up for s short stay (less than 48 hours) in a local mental facility for observation as a "suspected attempted suicide." Is this going to disqualify me from obtaining a HCP?

When I lived in Lincoln County, Kansas we had a pair (unofficially, since officially they don't exist in Kansas) that I observed on several occasions who had an extensive range in the Eastern part of the county. They are indeed beautiful animals, my favorite of all the big cats. ...TS...

Nice slide show with accompanying article from the Denver Post: http://photos.denverpost.com/mediacenter/2011/10/mountain-lion-checks-out-cat/#name here

IF I have the chance to go (not looking promising right now), I'll load up my good ol' .54 Mowrey Plains rifle with a .530 roundball in front of a 10/1000ths spit-patch and (for these little East Tennessee deer) 80 grains of FFG Goex.

I read this last night and couldn't figure out, at first, why it bugged me. After thinking about it, I realize it's because it's not about rights so much as privileges. We, as American citizens, all possess the same and equal rights at birth. Privileges however are accorded to situation and position. Like driving a motor vehicle for instance: Driving is not a right, it's a privilege granted to the majority of the population based upon their ability to demonstrate, through written and driving tests, that they posses the requisite skills to safely operate a motor vehicle. In the case of us truck drivers, operating a big truck may be considered a further privilege based upon our willingness and ability to acquire the skills necessary to obtain and retain a Commercial Drivers License. Going back to the police having more rights thing, they actually only have more privileges. And those privileges are solely contingent upon their training and experience and position. That is not to say that police officers are not above abusing said privileges, but we hope that this remains the exception rather than the rule. My apologies for the hijack and to wcsc12 if I misconstrued his comment, but it just kinda' bugged me...

Yep, that would suck. lol Up home one of the events at 'rondyvoo' is a "post shoot." The basic idea is that you have teams consisting of 4 - 5 shooters all vying to be the first to shoot their assigned 4X4 post in two. I mention that because it's great practice at reloading as quickly as <safely> possible. Times of 20 seconds from aimed shot to aimed shot are not uncommon and using a speed loader (not allowed during the post shoot) it seems as though it could probably be trimmed down even more. Of course I realize that a deer can cover a huge distance in 20 seconds, but that doesn't mean they always will and knowing that a 2nd shot is potentially available can make all the difference. All it takes is practice and the willingness to make lots of noise and lots of smoke.

A two year supply in ONE closet? Not planning on entertaining any Liberals, are you?