Dave Nowlin

I haven't handled a Nano and don't have plans to buy one. I really do love my.40 Shield though. It is surprising how little percieved recoil the Shield has.

It's really funny that people are always saying that the magazine capacity of this or that pistol isn't enough. They want or need 13 to 15 rounds. Please tell me where you pistoleros hang out that you need that many rounds to feel safe. As a civilian, you better have one heckuva excuse if you discharge that many rounds in a confrontation. Now if you were in combat in the sand box that would be a different deal altogether. Out of curosity, how many here have EVER been in a gunfight in civilian life? I'll be 70 in October and I've carried for years and still haven't been in a gunfight. If the Lord continues to bless me, things will stay that way!!!

#1 - Sig P238 #2 - M&P Shield 9 or 40 #3 - M&P 9C 0r 40C #4 - S&W J frame #5 - M&P 45C

My fullsize likes 200 grain swc just fine.

Yep, that's why I got rid of my Glocks and went to M&Ps. My M&P 45 FS is Dark Earth and Black to be less sinister but just as deadly. Stealth deadly.

Actually the firing range test is a joke. Several women in our class were attending the school and had purchased snub nose .38 and .357 revolvers. They admitted they had never shot them. The instructor had a .22 cal Ruger semi-automatic target pistol and he suggested they shoot it for qualifying. I purposely qualified with a S&W 642. To qualify with a .22 target pistol when carrying a snub nose revolver isn't very realistic.

You may not have figured it out yet but some of us old folks are trying to give you sound advice. We have been around long enough to remember the days when you couldn't get a permit in Tennessee. Many people worked long and hard to gain you that right. Behave yourself and maybe your children will also be accorded that right. Act up and you will be messing in all our messkits.

I have a Carry Permit and have had one since shortly after they became legal in Tennessee. If I and others lose that right it will likely be because of attitudes like some of you have expressed in this thread. As has been previously mentioned and ignored, the Constitution protects you from government bodies misstreating you. The Constitution doesn't give you any rights on my property or property of any private individual. I can ask anyone I chose to leave my property. I can ask for just cause, unjust cause or no cause at all. I have that right because it is my property. If you refuse to leave I can have you arrested for trespassing. I can ask you to leave because you are carrying a weapon, because you aren't carrying a weapon, because I don't like your religion, your skin color, your politics or because I'm having a bad day. The facts are that we who carry weapons are in the minority. The anti-gun folks are also in the minority. The majority are those folks who take a neutral position. If we behave ourselves, carry responsibly, and don't go around with a chip on our shoulder about gun rights, hopefully we will be able to keep these rights. If we act like bullies with guns, we won't. If someone sees you are carrying and says something about it simply tell them you have a legally issued permit to carry a gun. That will totally defuse the situation 99% of the time. The other 1% keep your head about you and act responsibly. If a business owner asks you to leave because he doesn't want people carrying on his property, then leave quietly without making a scene. Remember there are always people watching and some of them would love the opportunity to brand all gun owners as hot headed troublemakers. Don't give them fuel for the fire they are trying to start. Let them come across as the troublemakers. Those of you who think you have a right to carry a weapon on the property of others without their permission need to wake up. What if that person were to show up at your house without being invited and walk in your livingroom and pick up the controller to your TV and change the channel and sit down and watch whatever he wants to? Would you have a right to order him to leave? Of course you do. But what about his rights? He wanted to watch that show. That's fine, let him go home and watch it at his house. The only way we will ever have a civil society is for us to respect the rights of others. Carrying a gun doesn't trump the rights of the other person unless he is trying to harm you.

AMT Beretta Colt Diamondback Glock Kahr Kimber North American Arms Para-Ord Remington Ruger Sig Smith & Wesson Springfield Armory Taurus I'm sure there have been others that don't come to mind.

Those of us who are 1911 fans appreciate the safety. It only makes good sense to have the same manual of arms for all of your defensive carry weapons. The big boy is my Springfield Range Officer, The mid size is my S&W M&P 9C manual safety and the baby is the Sig P-238. Each of these pistols has a thumb safety. If a fella wants to he can leave the thumb safety in the down position on the 9C and the same is true of the 9mm Shield. I held a .40 S&W Shield in my hand Thursday at my LGS. Eat your hearts out!

I bought .45 Super brass made by Starline from Midway USA. I don't know if they still have it but you can check.

Does it seem strange that the military went from .45 Long Colt to .38 special to .45 a.c.p. to 9mm to that new 5.something in a bottle necked case as supposedly superior handgun cartridges? The answer which seems overlooked here is any handgun cartridge beats being unarmed. Carry what you are comfortable and shoot well with. If tha is a .22 long rifle it is still a deterent to a criminal who were prefer not to be shot.

You are forgetting something. A properly hardened cast bullet can be pushed harder than a jacketed one without raising chamber pressures as it has less friction passing down the barrel. About 15 years ago I had many conversations with John Linebaugh and Ross Seifried about these heavy loads. I have some load data I got from Linebaugh that I won't share that is safe in .45 long colt brass in certain guns. It is safe in a stock Ruger Bisley. John carefully built up loads of increasing strength and had them tested in a pressure barrel. He then literally fastened a single action Ruger in a way that allowed him to fire it while standing behind a shield and pulling a cord. He kept firing heavier and heavier loads to learn the strength of the gun. He finally cracked a cylinder at around 50,000 p.s.i. Now let's stop and consider the fact that when John builds a custom bisley for a customer, he replaces the stock 6 shot cylinder with an oversize 5 shot cylinder. Using .45 long colt brass from Federal or cut down .454 Cassull brass some very stout loads can be fired in a stock Ruger. This is best done on the bisley frame not the blackhawk frame. It is very easy to achieve 1,400 f.p.s. with Federal .45 long colt brass and 325 grain LBT bullets that have been properly hardened in a Colt Anaconda or Ruger Bisley. You can then also download using Keith semi-wadcutter bullets for plinking in these guns. I really wish I had kept that Anaconda. I actually traded it on a Raging Bull that I didn't keep long. It was simply too big. The Anaconda was just the right size and very strongly built.

I don't know as I haven't shot it through a chrono. I have loaded it with AA #9. The recoil is hard on wrists and elbows. This round isn't far below .454 Cassull. Then again I have loaded in .45 colt cases in the past using .45 caliber 325 grain LBT designed bullets in a Colt Anaconda in .45 long colt. Those rounds would punch a hole in a steel fence post that looked like they had been done with a punch press.

While insanity seems to be prevailing, why not try chambering a shortened .50 BMG in the platform? I doubt you would shoot it more than once. When I lived in Memphis, I had a friend who was a Vietnam vet. He went to the Colorado Gunsmith School on his G.I. Bill. He said that in order to graduate each student had to build a custom rifle from scratch. A guy in his class built a single shot bolt action rifle chambered for the .50 BMG. The guy then fired it one time from the prone position and it broke his shoulder.

I guess I'm confused. Springfield Armory made a version of their longslide which had a barrel with 12 ports in it that was actually called a .45 Super. Ace Custom also built some specially modified Glock G-20 pistols and some 1911 pistols that they modified that were rated for .45 Super. I believe he told me those guns had special recoil springs and ported barrels. Are you sure H&K rated their .45 for .45 Super? The problem with doing something like that is the liability. There are no SAAMI specs for the .45 Super, so exactly how do you know for sure a load is safe? I bought some .45 Super Starline brass but after a little investigation, I decided I will simply use it for .45 +P loads. There is very little load data that I have been able to find for this cartridge. If I need a bear round I will use my customized Stainless Super Blackhawk with Bisley hammer, trigger & gripframe loaded with LBT design cast bullets weighing 325 grains. These loads will penetrate 12 inches of seasoned oak. The .45 Super can't hold a candle to that.

Did Guns & Ammo quit carrying reloading supplies?

I'm 69 years old. If a good looking young woman asks for my I.D. she is due a hug.

Some folks aren't thinking. The antis would like to portray us all as a bunch of unwashed, illiterate, country bumpkins. Wouldn't swarming a Starbucks Open Carrying give credence to that line of thinking. Most of us are honest law abiding citizens who go about living our lives in an unobtrusive manner while armed against the dangers that might beset us. That's probably the image we should portray that day. Don't feed the antis. Starve them by refusing to take the bait.

Actually the officer that night told us the same 2 guys had been working that area of Memphis that night and they had answered 6 calls for vehicle break-ins. In one of the break-ins they had stolen the duty weapon and handcuffs of a Sheffifs Deputy. The officer was actually very friendly to us. The alcohol drinking part is not a problem for me. I haven't touched a drop since August 10th 1980. I am driving a 2011 Ford King Ranch Diesel. I still have family in Memphis but wouldn't live there again if you gave me a house there. We left Memphis in 1975 after 3 home break-ins in 12 months. I worked for Memphis Light, Gas & Water for 10 1/2 years. I walked away from that job and my retirement for the benefit of my family. I only wish I had left sooner.

A few years back we took my mother out to eat for Mother's Day. We went to Carrabas on Poplar in Memphis. We were actually going to be in Destin on Mother's Day so we took her a few weeks early. I had a Colt Mustang in my KIng Ranch Super Duty and left it in the console as alcohol is served at Carrabas. While in the restaurant my truck was broken into and my pistol stolen. I told the investigating officer I have a valid Carry Permit and that my pistol was stolen. He asked me why I didn't have it on me instead of in my truck. I told him that alcohol was served there and I was told I couldn't carry in a place that served alcohol. He told me, I don't care what the law says. Next time you come to Memphis with a pistol keep it on you. Now we will have to worry about someone using it to commit a crime. I know that there are restaurants that prohibit weapons on their premises. I've made up my mind if they refuse to honor my right to protect my self and family, then I need to eat somewhere else. The restaurant certainly won't protect us.

I suppose I have a question here. Would you really carry a gun to protect the life of yourself and family that you hadn't put 200 rounds through simply for peace of mind? I wouldn't!!! All gun manufacturers occasionally turn out a bad one. I don't want to discover that I bought that one when my life is on the line.

Kahr CM9 or G 27 depending on what I have on.

I had an XD9sc and replaced it with a G 27 and have never seen a reason to look back. I also had an XD45c and replaced it with a G 30SF. If you are looking for something smaller than that. Your best bet is the Kaht CM9. It is a really great deal for the money and high quality and very concealable. It is my" Florida Vacation Special".

The Kahr CM9 is a great little pistol that is also pretty accurate and a great deal for the price. It is my hot weather EDC period.