Usually we think of Black Friday shopping excesses in terms of deep discounts at Walmart, Best-Buy, and other similar stores. Few of us would think of Black Friday as being a special day to shop at one’s local gun store, and our own informal checking revealed little or nothing in the way of Black Friday special deals at local gun stores in Washington. But, special deals or not, the day after Thanksgiving this year (called […]
Why do we carry a concealed firearm? Note the question. We know why we carry a firearm in general – for self defense, to save our lives and the lives of those who rely on us for protection. But why do we carry it concealed? In Washington state, we are allowed open carry – indeed, we don’t even need any sort of permit for that. Anyone can carry openly, only those of us with concealed […]
So you own a handgun, and have it in a typical ‘by the bedside’ sort of location, reasonably available for defensive purposes in extreme situations. Let’s also say that you went along to a half day introductory type class at a local gun range that gave you a quick introduction to weapons safety, some principles of marksmanship, and an understanding of how your pistol operates and what to do if it malfunctions, along with a […]
Very good news on this topic. As you may know, for many years now there have been efforts to pass a national concealed carry reciprocity provision which would mean that if you have a concealed carry permit from one state, you could lawfully carry in all other states that allow for concealed carry (which presently is 49 of the 50 states). At present, there is a confusing and regularly changing mess of a situation where […]
Sometimes a pistol you’re thinking of purchasing is available with either fixed or adjustable sights. I was talking to a lady last week who was considering two guns in the case and who decided she’d prefer the one with adjustable sights, because it was ‘better’. Not so. For most of us, and for most of the time, fixed sights are very much better than adjustable sights. If you are choosing a pistol to use for […]
They say (whoever it is that ‘they’ are) you should check the batteries in your smoke detectors every time daylight saving switches on or off. That is probably a good idea, but don’t just stop with checking the batteries in the smoke detectors. We recommend you use these six monthly occurrences as a prompt to check some other things that, the same as smoke detectors, might make all the difference in an emergency between safely […]
Sometimes – if we are to believe the media reports – we may feel that we’re in a small and extremist minority because of our interest in firearms, and our personal ownership of them. It isn’t just the media – the chances are you probably know some friends, colleagues, and/or neighbors who are vociferously opposed to any sort of guns and any sort of gun ownership, under any sort of situation. The loudness of these […]
In stores, less often at ranges (but never in training classes), we regularly encounter a type of gun owner/buyer who is seeking a magical gun that will instantly transform him from an ordinary person into a gold medal world-class shooter. He is looking for the gun that will do this, rather than seeking the training to do it himself. We sometimes encounter gun owners who have progressed one step beyond the first type of gun […]
Those of us who love dogs sometimes partially justify our pleasure at owning a dog (or multiple dogs) by saying they not only provide us with pleasure and companionship, they are also an excellent burglar alarm and home defense system. And some of us not only say that, but sincerely believe it, too. The Value of a Dog When You’re Also at Home It is true that if we’re at home, we may respond to […]