Buzz

I was called to Jury Duty once when I was living in another state. I got excused during jury selection a couple of times before I was seated on a drug case. Police did an undercover buy and the defendant was claiming a case of mistaken identity. Trial went for a couple of days. I was foreman of jury. I'll tell you one thing... after that experience, even if I were completely innocent of a crime, I would be very afraid to go before a jury for anything. Some of the jurors had some wacko ideas and absolutely could NOT focus ONLY on the facts presented to us. We all heard exactly the same testimony, but we still argued about who said what. Jury trials are unpredictable.

I just discovered this thread, so count me in. I might bring a guy from work also. I'd say 50/50 on his coming with me.

I went late on Sunday afternoon. I was looking for a pre-lock S&W 642, a good holster for a S&W model 60, and a box of self defense ammo in .38. I found none of the above. I was pretty disappointed overall. I've never been to the one in Smyrna that is coming up 7/25-27. Is it any better?

Sounds like you handled it very well. Nobody, including the dog, got hurt. That is a lot to be thankful for right there. You were completely and totally in the right, but I'm surprised that the owner didn't come unglued if he saw you draw down on his dog. Most dog owners wouldn't react well to that. The owner could have easily become a much more significant threat than the dog. With the luxury of having time to think through this... I would not risk shooting a dog in their own yard on the possibility that he was going to hurt us. Barking and growling is scary, but most of the time the dog will let it end there if you aren't being aggressive. I'd try to position myself between the dog and my wife & child. If the dog is going to eat my kid, he is coming through me first. While I'm yelling at the dog to stop, I'm going to draw, turn weak side to the dog, brace for a hit, and protect the gun. Hopefully, we can be backing out of there and getting some distance between us and Cujo. If the dog does not attack, then everybody gets to walk away. If this really is a vicious animal, I'm going to get hurt and the dog will be shot. Tactically- this plan stinks, but it is the only way I can see of being certain before pulling the trigger. While being bit is a MAJOR disadvantage, the good part is that the dog is a big target that close. If I get called into court, I'll tell my story as the simple truth: "The dog tried to kill me." I would give the dog less leeway if he came onto my property or if we were in neutral/common ground.

I have one from a company called Console Vault. It fits inside the center console on my Toyota truck, so there is nothing visible from the outside. They don't make a ton of customized models, but if they have on that fits your vehicle, it works very well. http://www.consolevault.com/auto_vault.html

I just turned in my paperwork today, 6/30/08. Guy at the DMV said that they are running behind right now and it might take even longer than 90 days. Not sure if that is a fact or he was just trying to set my expectations so I wouldn't be looking for it anytime soon. I've had previous permits in 2 other states and none of them ever took anywhere near that long. Oh well... the wait begins.