Dennis1209

My closest neighbor is ¼ mile away in a rural setting. I know firsthand how a dog reacts to the screaming high pitch alarm; they go crazy whining. As you all know, you can become really attached to a dog (or any animal), and it deeply hurts when they die. I am hesitant to get another dog now. In retrospect thinking a bit more, it is best to have a plan developed in advance and stick to it. As I mentioned, there is a 30 second delay when the siren goes off, before it signals ADT, for accidental activation purposes (I’ve done that twice over the years). If you are like me, it takes a bit before your facilities and senses being suddenly awakened from a deep sleep. If there are too many false alarms, I understand there are penalties associated with them. That is why I am hesitant with potential false alarms. I considered getting outside cameras, but when the alarm goes off, they are already in the house. With a groggy mind, fumbling with your handgun, tinkering with your smart phone trying to find the app for your camera, listening to the wife’s frantic babbling, etc. At 70 years old, that is more than I am capable of. Oh, to be 40 years younger! So, God forbid, if it happens again, I will immediately silence the alarm, determine if I need to call 9-1-1 or not.

Real life scenario, decisions and the legal ramifications. History: In the past your burglar alarm went off at 3:00 A.M. Long story short, it took the county Sherrif deputy :40 minutes to arrive. You had to move from the bedroom to the kitchen to stop the screaming ear-piercing alarm on the control panel. You cannot hear the telephone when ADT calls, much less any conversation or anything else. The deputy finally arrives and it was a false alarm, shifting box, insect crawling over motion sensor, or something tripped the sensor in the basement. A few years afterward, you are awakened @ 2:00 A.M. to loud mechanical sounds and some banging, tapping. Half groggy you cannot tell where the noise was coming from, but it stopped when you got up and turned a light on. You do not call the cops because of suspicion. You stay up the rest of the night with your bed buddy in hand until dawn. At first light you inspect the exterior of your house, and discover, sure enough, someone was using a tool(s) to pry to door open to your basement. You do not call the cops because you do not want to waste your time making a useless report. You then harden your defenses to make entry into your home more difficult. You have your alarm panel moved into the bedroom so you do not need to leave, and can silence it from there. Finally, the question and best course of action: The ear-piercing alarm goes off at O-dark thirty again while in bed. After scraping yourself off the bedroom ceiling you have to think fast, 30 seconds to decide to turn off the screaming alarm to hear anything, before the call goes through to ADT. Or do I immediately turn it off so I can hear, and the alarm does not call it in? Is this another false alarm I am thinking? Do I go “investigate” not knowing if it is another false alarm, but possibly the real deal? When ADT calls and asks, “do you need any assistance,” how would I know without checking first? With the latter scenario, how will you react, and what steps would you take?

It has been a while since I have posted here, or even shot a match. Because of arthritis now in my hands, I had to downgrade to something I could rack with no problem, a M&P9 M2.0, EZ. I knocked out two stones with one bird. I traded in my Sig P320 I never sent back for the safety recall. I always worried it would go BANG all on its own. I have checked a bunch of sites including S&W, gunsprings.com, on and on, I cannot find anywhere to get a direct factory captured recoil guide rod & spring replacement, as a spare when it comes time. Any suggestions?

There's something about Mary. There's also something about the sound of a bullet hitting steel, the smell of gunpowder in the morning, friendly competition and a whole hog lunch. Henry County Gun Club is hosting a sanctioned Tier 2 Steel Challenge match: When: Saturday, March 27, 2021 (registration at 8:00 A.M. followed by safety briefing). Pre-registration is encouraged with www.practiscore.com (HCGC) Where: 1995 Goldston Springs Rd., Puryear, TN. (Close to Paris TN.) Match Director: Grant Laird; 731-336-9207; bbqlaird@yahoo.com

The NRA has become corrupt, compromising and self centered under Wayne LaPierre and his minions. I could write a book on it but would be wasting my time, just like they waste their membership money; so I'll let it go at that. If you enjoy shooting a pistol and the excitement of competition; you're going to like USPSA. Had the USPSA been around in 1776, Washington wouldn't have needed an entire Army. He would have called up the USPSA and said, "hey, I gots me a little problem with Englishmen; can you spare a handful of "C" and "B" class shooters. Keep your Grand Masters through "A" class, these turkey's are fighting in strait lines using no cover or concealment."

TGO David's prediction is about a month old now and we see the results. I'm going to drop an Edgar Cayce on you, you ain't seen nothing yet. Forget the hanging chad, forget the Florida count controversy, the mail ins and dead people and cats voting; this November's election is going to be the nastiest and most prolonged election in history, if Trump wins the electoral college. The democraps are going to do some nasty things never before done, and I can see Nancy Pelosi as interim and temporary president if Trump wins. They're not hiding their agenda's, intentions and plans. If the democraps take the presidency and control of Congress, it's all but over, period. From here on out, each day is going to get harder and harder to get anything gun and ammo related because of demand and other federal circuit court decisions. The SCOTUS John Roberts certainly did a 180, it almost appears someone has something on him? This election is going to be one wild ride. If you need it and don't have it, well, you'll be paying big bucks for it until it's outlawed under Uncle Joe and the liberals. Can I interest anyone for $10.00 a round of 9mm???

I agree. You never know what situation will find you and where you'll be. Looking at society today and the twelve people whom may be sitting judging you; what's their definition, morals and idea of what constitutes a "reasonable person"? Probably half of America disagrees with my life long belief of what 'reasonable' is. That one word "reasonable" is probably the biggest legal word if you're facing charges / prosecution. My idea of great bodily harm when I see it, will vary greatly from those who can view it frame by frame if it's videoed, studied or bias and lies involved. If the situation warrants and there's time; it's nice to have a second option that's more "reasonable" in my definition, the situation, surroundings and scope of the big picture. In the heat and chaos of the moment you're going to react; and have any doubt about whether deadly force is the only option... Pepper spray will reduce criminal - civil liabilities vis-à-vis a handgun, and most likely no long term or permanent injuries or death. Still potential felony assault charges but, a lot less worry and second guessing when you eventually ponder in your mind if you did the right thing? It's a second option when you can't just stand there watching and trying to be a good witness IMO.

I'm becoming a Walther fanboy myself. Bought a Walther PPQ, Q5, Pro steel frame, with that free money Uncle Sugar sent me a while back. Shoots and feels great with not a hiccup. Now it's an internal fight between another Walther or CZ for the next one?

That's why I had the wife measure me, and it's true to size. A long time ago I ordered my IDPA vest in XL and it's floppy. As long as I'm not active standing out in the summer sun, heat & humidity; it's not too hot to wear. Wore it to church this morning with my G-19 and spare mag OWB, worked and covered just fine. Now I can comfortably carry everything I may need and distribute the weight to where it's comfortable. Didn't have a good place for my large smartphone, little Surefire flashlight in my pants.

Morning there Cruel Hand Luke, I'm going to keep this secular as best I can. We've seen the past church violence and shootings in Tennessee and everywhere. We see the escalating violence and lawlessness going on presently. We see the fabric of our society breaking down, divisions and calling good evil and evil good. Our government [parts thereof], society and news media are associating 'Christians' as domestic terrorists, haters, homophobic, xenophobic, intolerant filled with hate speech, etc. Are we seeing any indications of Christian targeting and persecution beginning? I see things getting much worse, not better in today's world. It reminds me of how the Nazi's gained power and the history of the Jew's under Hitler. The way I see things heading, church attendees might need to be better armed given the climate and attitude we're facing?

Thank you for your excellent thoughts, advice and resources; it's much appreciated and sound practical advice. If and when the subject comes up again, I'll bring up some of the options you brought up for church consideration. A couple of problems are; the vast majority of our congregation is my age or older [>68 years old]. On a good morning pre covid-19, our Sunday morning worship service is about 40 in attendance. Of those in attendance, not all are members or attend every Sunday. We currently have our heads financially above water, but probably don't have the finances for an insurance rider for church security personnel. In addition, it's doubtful we could get all these 'old men' together for training and dedicated to stick with it? After some more though, considering our situation and means. Perhaps a better more viable solution might be; to hire an off duty local officer that might want a part time job to pick up a couple extra bucks, for a few hours during the week? With a police car on the lot, that should also be a deterrent? But then again, shift changes, vacations, appointments, etc. might make that option problematic also? Thanks again.

I wasn't either until I seen the light in 2016.

After looking around, this is what I ended up purchasing. I've tried it out a couple of times now and it suits my intended purpose; to conceal anything I have on my belt. I can now tuck my shirt in and look more presentable and comfortable. It hides my G-26, G-19 and Sig P320's very well for OWB carry [the most comfortable]. This vest is comfortable to wear and well made. It has a 'cheap' holster in the right pocket [I'm left handed]. I can squeeze in my Sig P320 sub-compact and G-26 but, it's tight and prints a bit. As you can see from the Amazon link, it doesn't look tactical at all, and an old man like me wearing it should not drawn any attention or suspicion? My IDPA / USPSA concealment vest screams "gun, gun" The vest also drapes nicely around my belly. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MP1DYSG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_image_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

"Better to have and not need, than need and not have" I'm now 68 years old [an old man], and I don't recognize the nation I grew up in. This will most likely turn into another long rant. We live in a dangerous world, and it's getting more dangerous by the day. Lawlessness, protests and rioting is breaking out in many places; some of our local, city, state governments, federal representatives and citizenry are supporting and condoning those organizations illegal actions and not being prosecuted. When the police arrest these criminals, the DA'S and prosecutor's are refusing to charge them. Jails are being emptied via this purported pandemic. Law enforcement officers are quitting and retiring by the groves in protest, as well as blue flu and refusing to do certain things. Major efforts are under way to de-fund a variety of police departments and services, on and on... I have never seen more hate, intolerance and division in my lifetime, it's everywhere and no one is exempt. All this in addition to the regular crimes of opportunity, home invasions, murders, drug cartels / addicts and the mentally ill we have contended with. We're all aware of the hate crimes committed nationally and in Tennessee, of churches, synagogues, mosques and places of worship in the recent past. I'm a member of a small country Baptist church. Attending last Sunday evening service, I noticed a picture on the bulletin board as I walked through the foyer; I wondered what that was all about? Before service began, our Pastor had that picture in hand and told us all about it. The Pastor had picked up some church material from our district office, and given the picture and what's happening. Some guy is making his rounds around our area, barging in to worship services and disrupting them; yelling everyone of you is going to Hell. This person was identified by the police and has a long history of mental illness and violent behavior. The police are currently trying to locate him. This in addition to all the previous mentions. With this covid-19 scare going on, church attendance has been drastically reduced as it is. With the few people their last Sunday evening; was a young lady with her two children, and she asked a question that was and has been on everyone's mind; she asked, "do we have any church security?" Well, our new Pastor fumbled around and hee hawed and sort of danced around the question. Our congregation has legitimate safety concerns. Our Pastor is relatively new, replacing our previous Pastor, and not knowing the history of this question brought up and acted upon several years ago. He basically said; before service begins the doors are locked and someone was at the door to monitor it, and let late arrivals in. Then a brief mention was made by me that there were a few folks in the congregation that had HCP'S and carried in church. I didn't mention I was one of them. In the past the pastors and congregation have encouraged and supported its members to be legally armed, and it's still the attitude and in force. During that string of church shootings in Tennessee, Texas and elsewhere, our member were very concerned and afraid, and rightfully so. We adopted the policy to lock and secure the doors when service began, and had a volunteer to monitor and open the door for late comers and monitor who entered if they were strangers. We installed eight Harbor Freight security camera's; of which four cameras have already failed, and the two people who knew how to operate the system and software are no longer with us. We invited at that time our county Sheriff, Monty Belew, who since just retired, to come and give us a security inspection and advice. Many churches in our area did the same thing. He came with several of his deputies and gave us some pointers to improve on, and we had a question and answer session [but he's not a lawyer]. I posed the question of "church security teams", his thoughts and the legalities thereof. He cautioned that if we formally adopted a "church security team" we could find ourselves in hot water, legality issues and lawsuit's as an organization, should this security team have to act in one way or another. Being a small church, we cannot afford too much, and loss of a civil suit would most likely close our doors. It was more or less realized that it was up to the individual alone, to decide what if anything they were going to do security wise. With a new Pastor, new members and attendees, and length of time its been since the preceding, we need to revisit and update everyone's security concerns. Schools and churches are soft targets for cowards as we all know. Security team training and qualifications, aside from legal matters: I'm a combat veteran with 20 years of military service. In my military tenure I qualified expert with rifle and pistol. I'm a lifelong hunter. I'm a member of the local county gun club and shoot frequent rifle and pistol matches and continually practice, a former IDPA Range officer and current USPSA Range Officer. I'm better than average in competition shoots and scores. All that to say; that my training, experience and background are perishable and doesn't translate to squat pertaining to qualifications, skill and ability, to participate in a security detail; especially with my age and associated physical restrictions. These other church members that CCW to church are about my age also. In the years I've lived in this area, I've never seen one of them at any of the ranges around here or at the local gun shops? I can't help but to wonder, if they even know the four rules for safe gun handling, do any practice or train at all? What would it be like if anything were to occur; what would they do and how? What would I do, and how? Which lead me back to, "better to have and not need, than need and not have". I attend church to worship my Lord and Savior and dress in a respectful and honoring manner. I won't go to church dressed and equipped like G.I. Joe, but I think in my case it might be prudent to make a couple of changes in my church and EDC gear. Past practice has been most of the time, but not all, going to town, church or short errands; just grabbing my selected EDC pistol and nothing else, maybe sticking it in the console because I'm lazy and in a hurry. I very seldom carry my smart phone anywhere, because it's a hassle and an inconvenience and I always leave it on the kitchen table and walk out. Our little country church does not have any phone at all. What if any emergency occurred and I needed to call someone? Am I lazy or what? I don't know how many times I wished I had a pen and little note pad to write down something so I wouldn't forget, a phone number or information to retrieve later. The last thing I ever want to do is have to draw my weapon, and worse yet use it. Is it as or more likely another option might be more suitable and prudent to use rather than a firearm? I can think of a number of scenario's where pepper spray might be more appropriate and lessen any criminal and civil liabilities. It at least gives another option to escape or gain control? So, the changes I'm going to make are: In addition to always remembering to take and have my firearm on me everywhere I go, and not leaving it home for short trips, to my mailbox 200 yards away, etc. [trouble finds you and it's fast and never expected]. To be prepared for a worst case scenario and have a spare magazine in my pocket, vest or mag carrier. I'm undecided about carrying a small backup weapon, unless or until society and lawlessness gets worse. Start to carry my cell phone everywhere I go for emergencies [would also be an excellent tool for video evidence and documentation]. And lastly a decent CCW vest that covers my IWB or OWB holster, looks nice and not tactical, that holds my phone, pen & small tablet and some gizmos. I'd like to hear your thoughts if your EDC has changed from last year, and why. For those of you who attend church; I'd like to know how you handle church security if any? Your thoughts, plans and actions with the aftermath of legal and civil proceedings resulting from any confrontations and actions taken in the event that force is used in your church?

This might turn out to be a bit lengthy but, this is the detailed process I used to select a provider. One of the things I had to keep in mind was; to compare apples with apples, because most of these companies have different levels of coverage for different things. I also had to keep in mind the likely civil aftermath and lawsuit of a self defense encounter. As far as recommendations, I really can't give any. The several I checked out seemed to be reputable and have good published programs. I watch a lot of Youtube gun videos and a number of the channels refer you to or recommend a certain CCW insurance. Some of them don't give full disclosure about if they are sponsored or supported by that company or if they have that insurance free, as part of their sponsorship. So I gave that little weight. For me, one of the biggest criteria was their performance, court defense record, satisfaction and timeliness of services rendered and provided. Problem is [a good thing]; as far as I could find out, only 'one' of these CCW insurance companies had a client [test case] and went through the entire process and were successful in getting their client vindicated. Perhaps someone will correct me if my research and thoughts are inaccurate. How I narrowed the field down: Naturally price was a first and major consideration. I found that between all the CCW insurance providers, there wasn't a huge disparity in pricing. So far I haven't eliminated anyone off my list. Then I mentally put myself in the position of; oh no, I just found myself in the wrong place at the wrong time, and had no other choice than to pull out my weapon to protect my wife and I. What city, county or state was I at when this occurred, is it a red or blue culture? In my made up scenario in a worst case event and I was charged with a felony crime; now what's important to me? What do I need to immediately do? How difficult is it going to be from behind bars to do what needs to be done? Who do I call first, I hadn't planned ahead for this unlikely event and have no lawyer. I don't even have the 10% readily available cash for the $250,000.00 bail levied against me. Of critical importance for my personal finances and situation would be; to have "one number" to call to get my defense rapidly going and get bailed out of jail ASAP. I hear jail food is not so good, and Bubba wants a new girlfriend? It's critical to me for the CCW insurance company to pay as much or all costs for bail, attorney retainer, etc. upfront. Some of these companies will reimburse you after the fact with exemptions and provisions. I can't stress enough for my personal situation, how important it is to have all costs associated with arrest and being charged paid up front. But anyway, I eventually narrowed it down to CCW Safe and USCCA as best meeting my needs, should I ever be unfortunate enough to need them. Down to two, now I'm making some progress, now what criteria do I use to select one? All things being relatively equal now with pricing, coverage and upfront cost of my defense and bail covered; I looked at the perks offered . By far USCCA offers its members a lot of video training and related written articles [of course it doesn't replace the real thing] and a wealth of information on their website. So that was the deciding factor. I selected the Platinum level membership for a year for $347.00 plus tax. I believe they offer monthly plans also. As I mentioned in another post; I never felt the need for this type of insurance because of the odds of ever needing it. I don't go to stupid places, at stupid times, with stupid people. Crime, victims and the odds of becoming a victim have exponentially increased; due to the lawlessness outbreak everywhere, even in small town USA. Governor's, Mayor's, politicians and prosecutor's [with a political agenda] siding with and supporting the organized and financed criminals and rioters; releasing them from jail and not prosecuting crimes. These groups are financed by the likes of Hollywood, George Soros, the elites, liberals, news media and anti-Americans. In addition to the "regular" crime by the mentally ill, drug addicts, gang-bangers, cartels, illegal aliens and common criminals; we now have another layer of criminality to contend with. In my opinion, the 'odds' of becoming a victim has dramatically increased. Disclaimer: Years ago I was a member of USCCA when they were introducing their insurance and many of us were not happy with their changes and President and founder Tim Schmidt and his vision for his company. I've since changed my mind and attitude. If you got this far, you're a better person than me; I fell asleep writing this half way through...