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I always have one. Don't pull it unless you intend to use it, as in kill. Better to have it and not need it then the either way around. I travel some real sketch areas like the border. YOU are responsible for your own safety.
I read an article several years ago about a short barrel shotgun being the most popular self defense weapon for RVs. As long as it is not loaded while on the road driving, you should not have a problem carrying it across state lines.
When I go tent camping, I keep my hunting shotgun in the tent during the night.
Yes, there's that whole lethal vs non lethal or less lethal angle. Sometimes there are unintended consequences...better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6? Plus, some nonlethal consequences are stronger than intended. The po-po used rubber bullets and Dale Murphy's son was hit while protesting about a year ago...
If you do carry, what do you do when you cross state lines? What sorts of advice would you have, pro or con? Here in Texas I guess we just got "constitutional carry," which means no license and no training required...but I'm sure the state you're visiting has the prevailing statutes.
Constitutional carry won't help you in states that don't have it. In states that do have it you'll need to make sure it also applies to non-residents.
Then, whatever state you travel in, you will have to know that state's laws about possessing and transporting firearms.
Here's a site that purports to have the up-to-date laws in every state. There may be other sites that do.
.......I'd need a lot of training and practice, I'm sure. I probably would have lost my cool.
Absolutely no reason to lose your cool. The bikers were being azzhats, not being a threat. If they are actually endangering you, that is the time to pull out the gun and not before.
Myself, I would have pointed to the bike of the biggest meanest looking biker, smiled, nodded, and said, "beautiful bike" and given him a thumbs up. That would probably have been the end of it.
They are bullies and it is no fun to bully a person who isn't afraid of you. Pulling a gun on them is not how you show them that you aren't afraid of them.
The gun is for when you are backed into a corner and there is no other way out. It's much safer if you aren't the one to start it because if you don't start it yourself, it might not start.
I think there are people who are very comfortable with guns. Brothers-in-law, for instance, grew up hunting and have spent lots of time using them, getting comfortable with it, sharing what they learned as they went. People like me and my wife, however, would be complete novices and prone to erroneous thinking.
Part B of my concern is that it isn't enough just to buy gun and ammunition---you need practice. In fact, the friends who concealed carry gave us videos to watch. The guy on those videos counsels that you need to practice standing up, sitting down, right handed, left handed, and all sorts of variations---because who knows what the circumstances might be when you need to shoot? And "practice" to me implies ongoing repetition: just because your target practice was good last month, that doesn't mean you can stop practicing.
Part C: where do you store it? We know people who have guns in their cars and when they go to work, they leave them in the glove compartment. Seems to me that if someone steals their vehicle, they've just added to the problem of illegal guns circulating. But if they store them at home and they're burglarized while they're at work or something, it's no different. That said, those of you who have guns at home: if a burglar breaks in tonight, what happens? I've heard you're not supposed to have the gun in your night stand...how do you get to it quickly? If it's in your gun safe, do you have time to get it out? Etc.
When I mentioned "constitutional carry," I didn't mean to imply that I had any intention of going that route. Some people have tried to talk us into getting a gun but we keep resisting. It's kind of scary how easy it now is, but it was already scary. Imagine this...
On Christmas Eve in 2009, Ezekiel Gilbert paid an escort he found on Craigslist $150 for what he thought would be sex. Instead, according to the San Antonio Express-News, 23-year-old Lenora Frago left his apartment after about 20 minutes without consummating the act. Gilbert, now 30, followed her to a car with a gun and shot her in the neck through the passenger-side window. Frago became paralyzed, and died about seven months later. Gilbert admitted to shooting her but contended that he did not intend to kill.
Gilbert was tried for murder. Last Wednesday, a Texas jury ruled that his actions were legal. That’s because Texas penal code contains an unusual provision that grants citizens the right to use deadly force to prevent someone “who is fleeing immediately after committing burglary, robbery, aggravated robbery, or theft during the nighttime from escaping with the property.”
@GreenSoylent: Yeah, a shotgun is probably about our speed.
@heySkippy: We once owned a Chinook campervan. It actually had a smallish safe hidden in the cupboards...if you didn't know it was there, you probably would have missed it. I would guess it was big enough to hold a small handgun and some ammo, thought it may have been designed for other things.
Short barrel shotgun is the better choice. Hard to miss. Massive stopping power. Anyone can use it. You will not shoot through walls and kill your neighbor's children by mistake. More fun to practice with and rarely illegal to carry. Nothing says go away like the unmistakable sound of a wracking shotgun.
I think there are people who are very comfortable with guns. Brothers-in-law, for instance, grew up hunting and have spent lots of time using them, getting comfortable with it, sharing what they learned as they went. People like me and my wife, however, would be complete novices and prone to erroneous thinking.
Part B of my concern is that it isn't enough just to buy gun and ammunition---you need practice. In fact, the friends who concealed carry gave us videos to watch. The guy on those videos counsels that you need to practice standing up, sitting down, right handed, left handed, and all sorts of variations---because who knows what the circumstances might be when you need to shoot? And "practice" to me implies ongoing repetition: just because your target practice was good last month, that doesn't mean you can stop practicing.
Part C: where do you store it? We know people who have guns in their cars and when they go to work, they leave them in the glove compartment. Seems to me that if someone steals their vehicle, they've just added to the problem of illegal guns circulating. But if they store them at home and they're burglarized while they're at work or something, it's no different. That said, those of you who have guns at home: if a burglar breaks in tonight, what happens? I've heard you're not supposed to have the gun in your night stand...how do you get to it quickly? If it's in your gun safe, do you have time to get it out? Etc.
When I mentioned "constitutional carry," I didn't mean to imply that I had any intention of going that route. Some people have tried to talk us into getting a gun but we keep resisting. It's kind of scary how easy it now is, but it was already scary. Imagine this...
On Christmas Eve in 2009, Ezekiel Gilbert paid an escort he found on Craigslist $150 for what he thought would be sex. Instead, according to the San Antonio Express-News, 23-year-old Lenora Frago left his apartment after about 20 minutes without consummating the act. Gilbert, now 30, followed her to a car with a gun and shot her in the neck through the passenger-side window. Frago became paralyzed, and died about seven months later. Gilbert admitted to shooting her but contended that he did not intend to kill.
Gilbert was tried for murder. Last Wednesday, a Texas jury ruled that his actions were legal. That’s because Texas penal code contains an unusual provision that grants citizens the right to use deadly force to prevent someone “who is fleeing immediately after committing burglary, robbery, aggravated robbery, or theft during the nighttime from escaping with the property.”
@GreenSoylent: Yeah, a shotgun is probably about our speed.
@heySkippy: We once owned a Chinook campervan. It actually had a smallish safe hidden in the cupboards...if you didn't know it was there, you probably would have missed it. I would guess it was big enough to hold a small handgun and some ammo, thought it may have been designed for other things.
You have to be damned careful when you have a gun. Don’t point it at someone unless you intend on harming them. And things like “stand your ground” or castle doctrine vary by state.
However, the video of the bikers and that dust up. I have a hard time mustering any sympathy for the bikers. It looks like bar scene from A Bronx Tale.
If you do get a gun and decide to carry, go to a firearms course. Practice on the range. Get comfortable using. Then continue to practice and get some range time. Proficiency is a perishable skill.
You have to be damned careful when you have a gun. Don’t point it at someone unless you intend on harming them. And things like “stand your ground” or castle doctrine vary by state.
However, the video of the bikers and that dust up. I have a hard time mustering any sympathy for the bikers. It looks like bar scene from A Bronx Tale.
If you do get a gun and decide to carry, go to a firearms course. Practice on the range. Get comfortable using. Then continue to practice and get some range time. Proficiency is a perishable skill.
Again, we're not gun people and I suspect that we'd never become proficient. Target shooting does hold some appeal, but it's one more thing to maintain. A short barrel shotgun seems the way to go---maneuverable, more easily hidden, great deterrent value, and bound to hit something.
Sometimes my brother and I discuss whether this whole aging thing is a repeat. Maybe when you were a kid your old fogey neighbor yelled at you to get off his lawn, which was puzzling. But now we've become that old fogey and why kids insist on trampling the lawn is puzzling. That said, I don't mean to see danger where there is none, but I definitely know this isn't the country I grew up in.
I think there's a "Lord of the Flies" aspect here. People in very small groups are often not a big problem, but get a large group together and it can change quickly. In the NY video I posted, when that motorcycle stopped short and the guy bumped him, the other bikers didn't impartially verify who was at fault. They just stuck up for their guy. "We're bikers. We're tough. Don't mess with us. There are more of us than there are of you. Bow to us. We can make you stop. We deserve to use the road as much as you do." Etc.
The Mrs. and I feel like this is the direction our country has taken: people jump to conclusions, take action, and figure it out later. When his brother said that the driver of the NY SUV assumed he was going to be hurt and that was not the case at all (around 2:45)?
Another shutdown, with cars (I'm not picking on motorcycles---there are idiots of all stripes out there).
Lots of people lately want to assert their rights as cross a line into the rights of others. In other states, new campgrounds, it's a concern for sure.
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