JAB

As I've never shot any deer, period - in spite of having hunted them (although, admittedly, not in a hard-core fashion) off and on for much of my 40 years - if I ever get a chance I'll take whatever I can get. Venison is my favorite meat, I don't really care about trophies and I can't eat antlers. Buck, doe, whatever - my idea of a 'trophy' is a nice piece of pan-fried backstrap or a slow-roasted hind quarter, etc. and based on my past success (i.e. failure) rate, I'm not likely to harvest enough of any type to have a real impact on overall 'herds'. Given my preference, I'd take a big doe because although I haven't killed one I have cleaned/butchered deer and find does to be a little easier to process (no musk glands to worry about, etc.)

I doubt I'll be visiting Washington state any time soon but it is nice to know that I could and legally carry. Thanks, Falllguy!

Experiments have shown that apes - especially chimps - can conceptualize and think abstractly, at least to an extent. It is estimated that real, non-Hollywood chimps have roughly the intelligence and thinking capacity of a mildly retarded, five-year old human child. Chimps are the only animal, other than humans, that are known to form war parties and attack enemies or even murder their own. Chimps not only eat meat but also form hunting parties to kill for meat - sometimes hunting things like small monkeys - and will sometimes even bring their kill back to the larger community to share. Chimps will use simple weapons such as clubs. According to what some of my Anthropology professors at UT said back when I was in college, even a small bonobo (sometimes called a pygmy chimp) is strong enough to grab a grown, human man by each arm, give a yank and rip his shoulders from the sockets (not saying they could rip the arms off but they could dislocate both his shoulders.) Gorillas often eat bamboo and I've seen nature shows showing silverbacks biting through bamboo stalks that were thicker than a man's forearms. However... There are a heck of a lot more humans in the world - and especially in Tennessee - than there are apes of any kind or probably even all kinds, combined. More humans = more potential zombies. Apes wouldn't necessarily require a head shot to stop. Apes feel pain and, because they are fairly intelligent, might choose to find another victim if the one they have chosen starts shooting at them or otherwise puts up too big a fight. Zombies would keep coming, regardless. Zombies would also mean the very real possibility that a close friend or loved one could contract the virus. To me, that is the worst part of zombies - thinking about being attacked by someone close to me. Thinking about the possibility that someone I love like my wife, my mom, my sister or my nieces and nephews would get bitten, etc. Being powerless to do anything as they succumb to the disease then having to either shoot them in the head or be the next victim would be horrible. Getting bitten, etc. myself and having to choose the moment to shoot myself in the head so I wouldn't become a zombie would also bite ass. No, thanks - if I have to choose, I'll take the apes.

I still like the good, old 12 gauge shotgun and wouldn't mind having another 12 gauge pump or two and maybe a few more break-action singles, eventually (if I could find some in good, working order for cheap.) I think that a few simple 12 gauge singles might be just the ticket for securing in the outbuildings, etc. just in case they are needed quickly. As I said, the only way I foresee going 'mobile' would be in a vehicle where weight of ammo/firearms would not be a major issue and most likely I'd be bugging in at home. There are very few 'clear line of sight' shots I could take around my house that would be too long even for a 12 gauge slug - maybe a Brenneke. 12 gauge loads with 7 1/2 shot would definitely not be the best defensive round. However, they would be okay for small game/bird subsistence hunting and might work okay at close range, in an extreme pinch, for defensive use (as I said, not the first choice but maybe as a last-ditch effort.) Such loads are available in 'bulk packs' and can be stocked in good quantities for relatively little expense. Honestly, I would think that in a long-term SHTF situation of a type that we would be most 'likely' to face (which still means not very likely), subsistence hunting would be a much more frequent role a firearm would need to play than fighting off hordes of Special Forces zombies. In such a case, the simple 12 gauge (or even 20 gauge) just might prove more useful than the most uber-tactical AR variant available (not that an AR couldn't be used for hunting, too.) In addition to the field/small game loads, heavier loads are pretty easy to come by, as well. Even Walmart sells some brands/types of 12 gauge buckshot and slugs for not a lot of money. My theory is that, when it comes to obliterating flesh and maybe even bone at close quarters, pretty much anything in 12 gauge buckshot or slug - including the relatively cheap Remington or Winchester stuff - is going to work just fine without breaking the bank - thereby increasing the ability to build a pretty good stockpile of 12 gauge ammo even if by just buying a box or two of buckshot/slugs at a time.

I have read on other sites where guys were talking about carrying their money, drivers license, carry permit and maybe one credit card in a small, true 'billfold' or money clip in their front pocket and carrying a 'throwaway' in the more traditional, back pocket carry. Apparently, they start off with a cheap, nylon wallet and might put three or four $1 bills in it along with one of those novelty 'driver's licenses' (one that has a picture of Elvis and gives your address as Graceland, for instance) and a few of those 'fake' credit cards that card companies send out when trying to get a person to accept a credit card (not the kind that may have your real name on it but the ones that just say 'John Q Public') or a couple of spent gift cards to promote the illusion it is your real wallet if the assailant simply glances at it as you hand it over. If the assailant takes it and runs, no great loss and that might be the best outcome. If handing it over distracts the assailant long enough to draw your firearm, that could give you a chance to turn the tables and, again, even if the assailant takes the throwaway and runs at that point, it is no great loss. Along the lines of what I posted, before, my one problem with that scenario is that I would have to assume that someone who threatens my life in order to steal my property is planning to shoot me, anyway. Still, a decoy wallet might not be a bad tool to have in the box and I must admit I like the idea of Mr. Scumbag getting some distance away and realizing that he's been had.

I need to put together such a bag, myself, so I will be interested in the responses to this thread. I have no real interest in a full-on 'bug out' bag but a get home/basic survival kit makes sense, to me. Because my mom has been driving down to Lookout Mountain every week to check on and help my grandfather, I put a kit together for her to keep in her car. My main concern was her becoming snow/ice bound somewhere on the mountain (during the winter, obviously) and possibly having to spend the night or even a couple of nights before help could get to her. She isn't physically capable of walking long distances but is plenty tough and tenacious when she needs to be (has a couple of artificial joints, etc.) so I was more concerned with putting together a 'survive in place' bag for her. I used a $10 small duffel bag and stocked it with supplies to address the following concerns - some redundancy of supplies was intentional: Staying warm (some apply as much or more to heating food, as well): A couple of space blankets A fleece throw (bright orange so that it could also be used to draw attention for rescue) Matches/striker in a waterproof container A couple of cans of 'sterno' type camp fuel A couple of packages of fire starters Folding camp saw To assist in catching rescuer's attention: A couple of road flares A can of florescent orange spray paint A roll of florescent orange duct tape (which, of course, has many other, potential uses) The aforementioned bright orange fleece throw A whistle Food/energy/emergency supplies to keep her blood sugar from getting too low (she has non-insulin dependent diabetes) A couple of boxes of meal/energy bars A few cans of Campbell's soup A couple of freeze-dried camping meal pouches A couple of multi-packs of PEZ candy, just in case Other items A flashlight One of those small, backpacker camping 'lanterns' that uses a small candle An inexpensive 'camping tool' which is sort of like a swiss army knife but comes apart into two halves and has a spoon and fork, etc. A metal 'camping' type cup that is big enough to heat soup, etc. A few bottles of water (on Lookout Mountain - especially as the possibility of her being stranded in snow was my major concern - finding water that can be boiled for use should be fairly easy.) That's what I remember putting in there just off the top of my head. What do you guys think of that supply list, along with one or two changes of clothes, some type of firearm/ammo and a small fishing rod/reel/tackle kit for a get home or survive in place kit? Obviously some of the heavier items would be left in the vehicle if getting home instead of surviving in place were the goal.

I'm not sure how much advantage there would be in having the same caliber as local LEO. After all, in a TEOTWAWKI, SHTF. crisis situation how likely is it that the LEO who already have those ammo stores are just going to allow you to go 'shopping' in the local cop shop vs. the likelihood that at least some of those LEO will either have already taken those supplies or banded together to fortify and protect them? Personally, I like having a variety of calibers to increase the chance that I will find ammo for something (more in case of another ammo shortage but I guess it would apply to SHTF, too.) Remember, in the last ammo shortage 9mm shelves cleared out pretty quickly because it is such a popular caliber. Same with .22LR. Eventually, .40 S&W shelves were empty - at about the same time that .38, .357 and .22WMR got scarce. The popular wisdom of 'choose what is popular so you can always find ammo' (which figured into my decision to go with 9mm Luger for centerfire, semiauto defensive handguns - after all, it is supposed to be the most widely used such caliber in the world) was dead wrong. In fact, at the height of the shortage just about the only handgun ammo that was widely available in large quantities was .25acp and .32acp (and close to the end of the shortage that started becoming a little more scarce, too.) I really don't see me going on a forced march/bugging out and living off the land for months. I also don't have a fortified compound to which I can retreat. If SHTF, I'll likely be riding it out at home or 'retreating' to stay with relatives in the area. Depending on the type of situation and how bad/long term the collapse is, I'm really not sure how long I'd make it without some of my meds. If I am going to croak, anyhow, I'll spend my last days at home or with family sleeping in a comfortable bed (and doing what I can to help ensure that at least some of them survive) while society collapses - not out running around, sleeping in the mud and living off of beetle and grub stew. For that reason, having consolidated and easy to carry ammo isn't as much of a concern for me. Just wanted to point out that your method of evaluation (basing popularity on the empties collected at the range) likely skews your results. If I take a .38 or .357 to the range, there will be no brass to collect as revolvers don't throw it far and wide. I extract the empties and put them back in the box in the hopes that I will start reloading one of these days. The lower cost of 9mm factory ammo makes it less likely that I will go to the trouble of reloading that caliber so I am not as concerned about recovering/keeping 9mm brass - especially since autoloaders do throw the empties out. Notice that - with the exception of .22LR (which chambering can be found in just about any action type but in which semiautos are a popular choice), all of the calibers on your list are mainly fired in semiauto platforms.

Maybe because the person doesn't want to get caught transporting the carcass of a legally protected species...oh, sorry...non-game nuisance species targeted for elimination which cannot be legally hunted or killed except under a very limited set of circumstances.

I also was confronted with a possum that had to die a few years back (it was in my chicken coop one night.) It took three shots to the head with Stingers from a 22A at about five yards to do it in. After the first shot, it fell over then sat right back up and looked at me as if to say, "What in the hell did you do that for?" After the second shot, it fell over, again then sat right back up, hacked some blood out of its throat/mouth and just continued to look at me. After the third Stinger to the brain, it fell over once more, spasmed a bit, hacked out some more blood, spasmed some more then finally died. As ticked as I was that it was in my chicken coop it still bothered me that it didn't die quickly and cleanly.

The problem comes in when you start thinking, "Do I really believe that some low-life who is willing to threaten deadly force in order to steal MY property - property to which he has no right - will really just let me go after I surrender such property? After all, I am standing next to my car. If I give him my money, is he also going to want my car? Is he going to try and force me to accompany him in my now stolen vehicle, figuring there is no need to leave witnesses behind?" If he has threatened me with deadly force in order to take my property then that threat - not the money in my wallet - would be the main issue to consider. Such a threat would make me believe that I would likely be better off taking my chances with outdrawing him when I might actually succeed (especially in a case where his gun is still in his waistband) rather than just handing my wallet over then waiting to see if he is going to try and kill me, anyway. I would take an armed threat to my life seriously. Further, I would assume that the person making the threat was serious. If I thought the threat was anything less than a threat of death/serious bodily injury then I'd tell the person to kiss my a** and drive away. If I did think the threat was serious (and the assailant having flashed a weapon would be the one and only criteria I would need to consider it a serious threat), I'd figure at that point the assailant has already shown a willingness to kill me over a few bucks. With an assailant who has no more regard for my life than that, my thought is that I have little to lose and should respond as best as I could to a serious threat to my life. In other words, I am going to assume the worst about an armed robber and err on the side of 'he's going to shoot me regardless'. Either way, if there were any chance of turning the tables, I wouldn't just turn over my wallet in the hopes that a scumbag wouldn't shoot me, anyway. By making the threat the assailant - and not my choice to try and defend myself - has already made it a case of my life against his. That doesn't mean I wouldn't try and use turning over the wallet as a distraction. For me, it isn't about being a wuss or a badass as I am about as far from being the latter as anyone I know. It is about assuming that someone who is threatening to kill me is a serious threat and defending myself from the threat.

I have an old Winchester 190 that I bought for $79 at a gun show a year or two ago. It looks well-used. It also needed a new inner mag tube assembly (ordered from Numrich) and now shoots just fine. A lot of folks seem to think they are junk but mine has worked as well as any other .22 semiauto rifle I have any experience with. I also have the Glenfield that belonged to my late father-in-law. Glenfields are Marlins with stocks made from less expensive wood so it is a Marlin 60 with a different name and wood - this one even has the same rabbit on one side of the stock and squirrel on the other than Marlins have. As a shooter, I'd say it is no better and no worse than the Winchester but it does seem a bit more prone to feeding problems when it is a little dirty. My nephew got a 10/22 for Christmas last year and I have shot it, as well. In fact, he, my brother in law and I took turns shooting empty 20 gauge hulls at somewhere between fifteen and twenty yards in near-freezing temperatures the day he got it, right out of the box. I have to be honest and say that I like the factory sights on his 10/22 a little better than the ones on the Winchester or the Glenfield. Beyond that, any one of the three shoots just as well as any other of the three. I do like the removable mags the 10/22 has but unless you are going to invest in several of them or buy a high-cap, it isn't that big a deal as the tube mags of the Winchester and Glenfield hold a few more than the standard 10/22 mags. Besides, when is there really going to be a need for fast reloads with a .22 rifle? I recently lucked across a used Henry .22LR (I was standing there at the LGS when the previous owner was negotiating the trade. When he finished his trade and walked away I asked the store owner to see the Henry. It never even made it to the shelf.) For me, it is a lot more fun to shoot than any semiauto .22 I've ever fired. I also have a Marlin 925M - a bolt .22 WMR (Magnum) that Marlin also makes in a .22LR version (the 925). Those are somehow 'updated' versions of the older Marlin 25 and 25M (as in the magazines are even the same.) I haven't fired it a whole lot but it is a good shooter with a bolt that operates smoothly. There are five and seven round magazines available for it and my 925M came NIB with one of each. As for 'classic', I have fired a couple of different Remington Nylon rifles and they were a lot of fun. One was more accurate than the other with the less accurate one being about as accurate as the aforementioned 10/22, Glenfield and Winchester and the more accurate of the two being more accurate than any of those other three. Probably not going to find a Nylon in good shape for less than $200 though, I'm guessing. I've also fired a Remington Viper (which I think is sort of their 'replacement' for the Nylon.) It shot fine and was accurate enough (it had a scope so I don't know how the iron sights are) but didn't have much 'soul' and something about it just didn't 'balance' right for me. My mom has a Norinco pump .22 and it is a lot of fun but is old (she bought it used a couple of years ago) and has some 'problems'. I suspect it needs a new inner mag tube assembly like my Winchester needed but she doesn't shoot it much and I haven't had the chance to fool with it a whole lot. It is fun to shoot, though, and about as accurate as my semiautos. I do have to admit that I would like to have a 10/22 because of some of the aftermarket options. Oh, not to build an AR look-alike. I don't even own a real AR and honestly have no real desire for one. Instead, I would be interested in the aftermarket kit that turns a 10/22 into an M1 carbine lookalike. I think that would be a lot of fun. Unless I am mistaken, there is also an aftermarket kit to convert a 10/22 into a Thompson SMG look-alike. As an aside, I have found that none of my .22LR guns like the Remington bulk pack ammo all that much. They usually fire and cycle but they are the worst of the bulk packs with regard to accuracy in all of mine - ranging from single action and double action revolvers to semiauto handguns to the Henry and the semiauto rifles. As far as bulk packs go, Federals seem to shoot most accurately from all of mine with Winchester being somewhere in the middle.

My take: yes, I suppose that any revolver can jam - but such failure isn't very likely unless you are carrying a beat up, junk gun. Further, I believe that all semiautos will jam (at some point) regardless of how 'quality' the gun is. Revolvers don't care if you have a less than optimal grip or are firing from a less than optimal angle and limpwrist them. Revolvers aren't going to go out of battery if you have to use them literally as a belly gun. Either can fail to go 'bang' due to an ammo problem but, to my mind, pulling the trigger again is a lot quicker than even the whole 'tap, rack, bang' scenario. How many thug assailants are likely to just stand there while you do a mag swap? I sometimes carry a semiauto as primary but like to have a revolver as a BUG - even if it is just my NAA - because I do not entirely trust semiautos. Inversely, if I carry a revolver as primary, I feel no need to carry a semiauto as a BUG. I'll be honest - I sometimes carry a semiauto due to the greater ammo capacity and/or ability to reload more quickly. To be truthful, though, how many of those same thug assailants are just going to stand there and let me empty my 10, 12 or even 15 round mag into them? In reality, the 'mob' would either overwhelm me (and end up with my gun with plenty of ammo left in it) or I'll fire a few shots (less than a revolver's worth) and either drive them off or create a break to get away. Of course, there were plenty of long-time cops who didn't want to make the swap. There were at least some of them who felt that their revolvers had always served them well and who preferred them to semiautos. In some cases, it was the bureaucrats running the departments and not the guys and gals who actually relied on their duty firearms who made the decision to change.

Funny, it used to be no big deal to see long guns and handguns for sale at local flea markets at pretty good prices. Heck, there used to be a guy at the Sweetwater Flea Market who had a permanent booth and didn't sell much else (I'm not sure their rules still allow vendors to sell guns there, anymore.) Those were the 'good old days', though. I'm not sure it is even worth looking for guns at flea markets any more. Just in general, the prices I have seen on firearms (which have been pretty much limited to long guns) are as bad as pawn shops. Why in the heck does everyone around here seem to think that their old, single-shot 12 gauge has a barrel lined in gold? I'm not talking about nice, collectible shotguns - I am talking about old Stevens single shot beaters that look like they probably spent more than a couple of years behind the seat of a pickup with asking prices of $125 and up. I can buy a brand new single for that. Heck, I can almost buy a new pump for that. You can imagine what the prices on guns that are kind of nice would be.

Of course the jackhole attempted robber and his lawyer might later come out with, "I wasn't threatenening nobody. I was jus' gonna ask him if he wanted to buy that gun so I could get gas money to go and visit my sick momma in the hospital." As concerned as I would be with what might happen later, at that exact moment I would be more worried about what was happening right then or what was about to happen - and if some lowlife is flashing a gun at me then what he is planning to be about to happen isn't going to be good. To me, flashing a gun in that manner is a threat with a deadly weapon, i.e. a threat of death or serious, bodily injury.

NAA has a selection of holsters for the little fellahs on their company website. Here is the link to the ones they have for the LR version LR Holsters This is the IWB they offer. I bought one for my 1 5/8 inch barreled WMR version across the counter at Randy's Guns and Knives in Knoxville. The leather is pretty thin but servicable and it did a pretty good job holding the gun in place. Reholstering with it lay somewhere between a PITA and impossible. Also, this was before I realized that I simply can't stand anything IWB other than in a belly band. I kept the holster, though, thinking it might clip inside a boot top but have never tried it for that. To be truthful, I don't even know where the heck that holster is at the moment. Anyhow, this is it: HIP-L BR INS PANT HOLS LR BROWN Another 'clip on' option is the folding grip/holster. I've read people raving about them and I've read people who said they were junk. I'm also not sure how fast presentation would be, if needed, with them. I have heard that they make the little beasts easier to hang on to and shoot because they give more to hang on to. GHG-LC LR HOLSTER GRIP COMPACT Hope that helps. Oh, just FYI, I ended up making both a 'belt slide' type OWB and a pocket holster with an integral spare ammo pouch for mine (I sometimes carry it but only as a BUG.) NAA offers versions of both of those types of holster, too. I know this was not the purpose of your post but I would hope that carrying the NAA will help your wife become accustom enough that she may consider an alternative. My wife also will not carry anything that is very large or heavy. She liked the size and weight of my NAA and shot it well enough at the range but I convinced her that a small, five-shot, single action revolver (regardless of caliber) probably wasn't the best choice of primary - especially for someone with little experience with handguns. She ended up choosing a Kel Tec P32 which, while still not exactly a hand cannon, is at least a centerfire, DA gun. It is a little larger than the mini revolvers but doesn't feel much (if any) heavier. I don't have them in front of me right now to compare but I'm thinking the P32 isn't any wider than the mini at the cylinder. The P32 would be even closer in size to the Black Widow which, unless I am mistaken, is a little more 'beefy' than the standard version and has a two-inch barrel. She went with the .32 because she couldn't handle the recoil of my P3AT all that well.

I have no first hand experience with a .357 Sig. nor with .40. The most first-hand info I have heard about it came from a LEO who also worked at Frontier Firearms in Kingston (maybe still works there, IDK - this was when they were still in the old building.) He was complaining about his department having switched to .357 Sig just because some other, larger agencies had switched. It was his opinion that the .40 is a 'better' round as well as being much more accurate (at least in the pistols he was shooting.) In fact, he said that while he would have to carry his issued .357 Sig he would also be keeping his own, personal .40 in his patrol car and would never really trust the .357 Sig. Of course, LEOs have personal biases, too, so who knows how much of that was subjective and how much was simply his opinion.

I wonder how many of the firearms that were sent to help the Brits out were later destroyed due to their current, draconian gun laws. Nah. As a people, they have allowed their politicians to strip them of the means to practice a basic, natural right - self defense. If anything good can come of these riots, it would be that the British people would say, "We want [at least some of] our rights back." Sending large quantities of guns to them would just be a quick fix. It might give the idea that, "Well, if we really need them we can just get guns from America," and I imagine things would go right back to the way they are when the crisis is over. All the guns we sent/sold to them would be rounded up and destroyed once the crisis ended. I'd hate to see the anti-gunners in this country have the pleasure of seeing large numbers of guns sent out of this country to eventually be destroyed in another. Besides, if our government got involved then you know we'd pretty quickly hear of them sending a bunch of 'obsolete' guns like those obsolete M1 Carbines, M1 Garands and so on.

I respectfully disagree. I didn't get my permit to 'police' anything. I got my permit to help me be equipped to better ensure that I and my loved ones go home safe at night not to willingly become involved in situations that could decrease the possibility of doing so. The majority of other adults in TN have that same option. I did not sign up to be a guardian of society. One problem is that I would have no way of knowing (to use your example) that the person being pulled out of their car by a 'thug' at gunpoint wasn't actually a drug dealer being arrested by an undercover cop. Even if that is not the case, I'm not risking my life to save someone else's car. Further, shooting someone - even if it a 'good' shoot - could mean years of legal and financial woes for me. Frankly, there aren't many strangers for whom I would deem the risk worth it. There may be situations where I would step in to defend a stranger but those would be very, very limited.

And to think that carrying loaded guns - even loaded long guns - was legal in California without a permit until the 1960s when Ronald Reagan (then governor) supported and signed into law the Mulford act. After that, the only legal way for Californians to carry was with a 'may issue' permit from law enforcement.

I recently (although I think it is gone, now) saw a Beretta Mynx that someone had traded in the case at my favorite LGS. Little, bitty pistol chambered for .22 short. Now that is a bunny fart. Sure would be fun, though, I think. My paternal side of the family and part of the maternal side are from the Lookout Mountain area in Georgia. Not the chic side, either. There were probably small .38 revolvers in some pants or jacket pockets but many of the older fellahs (my grandfather's age and older) around there used to carry little pistols in .22, .25 or .32 in the bib pocket of their overalls. More than a few women carried that type of gun, too, for that matter. Mostly, though, I think they had them for protection against snakes and other, non-human threats (there are rattlesnakes around there) - especially while working/walking in the woods or fishing. This was, of course, before there were .380s and even 9mm pistols in small packages and really the larger calibers might not have met their needs as well as those small calibers did, anyhow (those old guys all kept rifles and/or shotguns in gun racks in the back windows of their pickups to deal with larger threats.) My mom, being a bit of a tomboy when she was younger (her step-grandad used to get her to embarass groups of young men by shooting a .22 rifle better than they could) developed a bit of a fascination with really small semiautos. I guess I got a bit of the same affliction, both because of her influence and because of those who had influenced her. My first handgun, which she bought for me, was a Titan .25. It was a great little gun - reliable and accurate (although I hear they can be hit or miss.) It has apparently been stolen from my mom's house and I miss it. In fact, I bought another that wasn't in nearly as good a shape at a gun show last year but the frame cracked near the trigger guard (so I guess I do, technically, own another .25 but I can't shoot it.) I mostly wanted it for nostalgia, though.

I also think I remember reading that they were considering laws banning pointy blades, including kitchen knives.

On that we agree. Also I do think that even with a .380 ammo selection plays a very important role, more so than with a 9mm and up. I think .32 is about the lowest I would go (given a choice) for a carry caliber and I wouldn't be just thrilled with that. My wife and mom have each chosen the P32 for a carry gun because they like the size and weight of my P3AT but can't handle the recoil. I wish they would carry a larger caliber but if it is the difference between that or not carrying then the .32 is much better than nothing. They are both good shots with their P32s and so far I have advised them to stick with FMJ. I had a .25 until a couple of weeks ago. It was just a Phoenix and I got it to have something to shoot during the recent ammo shortage. It seemed that the local Walmart locations always had .25 ammo while the rest of the handgun ammo shelves were empty and even .22LR was hard to find. A couple of weeks ago I realized that I hadn't even shot it since the shortage ended. Also, even WWB .25 ammo at Wally has gone from ~$17 a box to ~$21 or $22 a box so the Phoenix got traded toward a 7.62 Nagant revolver I'd been wanting. I might not shoot the Nagant much, either, but it is a cooler gun just to own than the .25.

And whether that happens or not, how quickly will concerns about it lead to strict, new regulations regarding domestic pig enclosures? My family raised two hogs specifically for meat back when I was in high school. No matter how hard we tried to stay on top of making sure there were no gaps, etc. in their pen those things still got out on more than one occasion. We'd have to track them down and 'herd' them back home - and these were pigs who, being the only two we had, were very domesticated and accustomed to us. I can just imagine what a problem that could be for people raising several pigs that might not have as much contact with humans.

I remember seeing them dead along the roads in eastern Mississippi and even slightly into western Tennessee when I would go on trips with my dad (he was a long haul truck driver at the time) when I was in my early teens. That was nearly thirty years ago and I specifically remember seeing them because armadillos seemed so 'exotic' to me. More recently, we've also noticed them - again, dead along the roads - when driving to Florida or parts of Alabama down near the gulf for vacation. Just this last May, however, we noticed (to the point that my wife commented about it to me) that there seemed to be many more dead armadillos along the highways than we had ever noticed, before and that they seemed to be ranging much further north than we had noticed previously - almost to the northern Alabama line. I remember in my zooarchaeology class at UT back in the mid 1990s the professor used armadillos as an example of climate and physical adaptations limiting an animals range. He said that they had made it to West Tennessee and could survive there okay but that they still hadn't made it to East Tennessee because our general, overall climate - and possibly even more so the climate in the higher elevations they'd have to cross to get here - was still just a little too cold for too many weeks at a time for an animal with armored plates surrounding its body. Could it be that the armadillo is expanding its range in response to an overall warming trend?

Mostly I was saying that the same logic works when extended to calibers such as a .380. You won't hear me advocating a .22LR as a carry gun unless a person absolutely (and really) can't handle anything else and I don't care how many hogs someone's grandad slaughtered (or more probably stunned - the 'sticking' part lets the animal bleed out and does the actual killing) with a rifle so chambered. I sometimes carry a .22 WMR mini revolver as a BUG but would not consider it a candidate for a main carry gun, either. However, because of the negligible differences between - or even (as you suggested) the complete lack of - 'stopping power' or hydrostatic shock when discussing handgun calibers, I don't accept that a 9mm Parabellum is great for self defense while a 9mm Kurtz, with good shot placement and proper choice of ammo, might as well be a 'bunny fart'.