Any of you guys carry?

[Riff Raff]

I believe it is more the ammo than the gun. It says something in the owners manual about using the correct ammo. Cheap out on the ammo and what do you expect. And I believe It says not to use reloads also . Another reason for guns jamming is not keeping them clean. And I did a search for the AMT Back-Up in .380 caliber And the forums talk about how much the jam. shawn

PSYCHOS2--- You are absolutely correct on two(2) points: Using only store bought "over-the-counter" factory ammo is key (no "reloads" of any kind), and the other point is to always keep your firearm clean.

You mentioned you saw in a blog/forum about the AMT .380 Back-Up jamming. Yes, the "feed-ramp" leading into the chamber as a new round is fed from the magazine is very finicky, and will catch the edge of a poorly crimped casing on a bullet. In addition, the AMT .380 Back-Up doesn't like long pointy bullets like the Winchester Silver-Tip, as they can get kinked on the feed-ramp due to the long pointy nose of the bullet.

There are three(3) cures to prevent the AMT .380 Back-Up from ever jamming, they are:

1. Have the feed-ramp professionally "polished" by a certified gunsmith.

2. Use only factory bullets that have a more "rounded blunt style" nose, as they feed a lot easier and don't have edges to catch on anything. Examples are: Black Talon, Hydra-Shock, Blue Glaser Safety.

3. Keep the AMT .380 Back-Up cleaned and well-oiled at all times, and test rack the slide many times while feeding bullets to insure proper function of the feed-ramp, magazine spring and slide action recoil. WD-40 is amazing stuff!!!

I have had my AMT .380 Back-Up feed-ramp "polished" by a professional gunsmith; I use only factory Black Talon ammo with one always in the chamber; and I clean/oil it with WD-40 and perform "test-rack" function daily while I drink my morning coffee. I clean it daily to catch any possible "little fuzzy's or pocket lint", since it is carried in my rear pants pocket.

Further, I take it to a gun range at least monthly to test fire it. While at the gun range; I also pretend & practice being robbed, so when I draw my weapon from my back pocket, I simultaneously flick the safe lever to "fire" as I'm pulling it out of my back pocket and immediately fire multiple live rounds down range. I have live-fired this scenario & practiced it so many times, that it is now common habit with me. I am fully confident if I am ever held-up by an armed robber, that there will be a very dead perp with several well placed rounds of wicked Black Talon in his chest. I sincerely hope that day never comes; however, I am well rehearsed for it should it happen. My AMT .380 Back-Up has never, ever, jammed in function-test or live-fire; but then again, I take very good care of my guns because my life literally depends upon it.

The other handgun's I own are:

Two(2) LAR Grizzly in .50AE caliber (1 is all-blue & 1 is two-tone chrome/blue).

Two(2) LAR Grizzly in .45 Win-Mag caliber; 1 is all-blue & 1 is a rare one-of-one State of Colorado Governor's Presentation handgun w/14K gold engraving & white pearl grips, mint, never fired, in original Cherry-wood case with beveled glass lid valued at over $3,500 per Gun Digest Bible.

One(1) C.O.P. 4-bbl derranger in .357 Magnum caliber.

One(1) S&W, Model 59 in 9mm caliber.

One(1) AMT Back-Up in .380 caliber (daily carry).

Next Gun: Para-Ordnance "Wart Hog" Sub-compact in .45 ACP and/or Para-Ordnance P-14 LDA "Limited" in .45 ACP.

WISDOM--- Regarding "home protection": The key to safeguarding yourself and your family in your own home is to have a very good Home Alarm System which will give you an "early warning" of intrusion (dogs work well also, providing the intruder doesn't throw him a steak to chew-on). It is the "early warning" sound of the alarm which will allow you to wake-up from your deep sleep and give you enough time to grab some sort of protection (Firearm, Kimber-Guardian Angel, Baseball Bat, dial 911, etc).

In reading the scenario you described; I think a good Home Alarm System would have prevented (or at least slowed) the perp from entering undetected with a knife to begin stabbing while someone is fast asleep. A gun would not have helped in this situation; too little, too late (you're hand-to-hand at this point). You've got to have some sort of advance early warning in order to respond properly. Hell; empty soup cans tied to a string works well, as long as your "ear" is trained to listen for that particular sound. Bottom Line--- Sure get a handgun if you like (Check out the "Para-Ordnance" brand, I like .45 ACP); but by all means, please also consider a quality Home Alarm System in order to give you some sort of an early advance warning to take action. If you have no warning, then you have no response. Riff Raff

[kodiak]

I sold my PPK a few years ago and was planning on replacing it with a Kahr PM9.
From what I’ve read it's one of the best carry guns for the money.
Here’s a video I found.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHqkQ3CP1HM

[VX KAT]

Read entire thread with great interest. Growing up in Pennsylvania, my grandfather taught my brother & I how to shot when we were young, he lived in a very small, rural town. But then some 2nd cousins had a mishap where the 6 y/o shot/killed 3 y/o brother playing cowboys & indians. Careless, reckless father left loaded gun on table. It made a BIG impact on me...I was terrified of guns, never touched one since.

BUT THEN........I lived in Los Angeles (Long Beach)...during the Rodney King riots. My hubby had just left on a mexican fishing trip and was unreachable by phone. We didn't have a gun. I was all alone. I listened to radio 24/7 and learned how to work hubby's police scanner. Heard random shootings getting closer & closer to my HOUSE. I was scared to death. Luckily nothing ever happened. But we had a Glock and a .22 w/in a week or so of hubby's return. (Can't recall if there was a waiting period or what).

I certainly wish we had low violence in this country but the reality is just plain different. I've always been very impressed by the UK stats on gun crime (lack thereof). What I saw on TV happening just blocks from my home (in a "decent" neighborhood I might add) changed my mind forever, and I NEVER thought that was possible. They had caught footage of young teen riding a bike and some random thug shooting him in the head, RANDOMLY!.....like 5 miles from my house. Then another teen sitting at a bus stop, bam, right to the head, again random, during the riots. I've never been the same.

Zoom forward 12 yrs to 2003........ to getting stuck in the Rio Grande river in our D90 (see my gallery pics). We were in one of the most remote places in the Country, on xmas day, stuck in the middle of the frikkin' Rio Grande, 10 feet from Mexican border. We'd been told by the Park Rangers that many drug deals and other illicit activity takes place along this portion of the R.G./ border, and to be very careful. So we were there in daylight, in 4" of water (we thought), then wham, we got stupid and got stuck. We ALWAYS carry a gun on any of our off road trips or driving vacations.....but the gun was in a compartment under the drivers seat...really difficult to get to in the best of circumstances. With us basically sinking further into the silt, trying to wrangle the seat to get to the gun caused the truck to sink uneven, and the water was JUST at the door level....any more movement and we would be flooded, and way above the D90's threshold w/o a snorkel.

Long story short, nothing happened, but our gun will never be "inaccessible" again. We've learned from our stupidity and believe we all have the right to bear arms.....doesn't mean I'm going to touch it, but I can if I want to. It might be a false sense of security, but it's better then being w/o.

[Ldub]

[QUOTE=kodiak;151220]Come on, Sal! The Tigers are playing...tonight! I never miss a game.”[QUOTE]

Gotta love it when someone whips out an obscure quote from "Robocop"...

WELL DONE!

[pbkid]

WISDOM--- Regarding "home protection": The key to safeguarding yourself and your family in your own home is to have a very good Home Alarm System which will give you an "early warning" of intrusion (dogs work well also, providing the intruder doesn't throw him a steak to chew-on). It is the "early warning" sound of the alarm which will allow you to wake-up from your deep sleep and give you enough time to grab some sort of protection (Firearm, Kimber-Guardian Angel, Baseball Bat, dial 911, etc).

In reading the scenario you described; I think a good Home Alarm System would have prevented (or at least slowed) the perp from entering undetected with a knife to begin stabbing while someone is fast asleep. A gun would not have helped in this situation; too little, too late (you're hand-to-hand at this point). You've got to have some sort of advance early warning in order to respond properly. Hell; empty soup cans tied to a string works well, as long as your "ear" is trained to listen for that particular sound. Bottom Line--- Sure get a handgun if you like (Check out the "Para-Ordnance" brand, I like .45 ACP); but by all means, please also consider a quality Home Alarm System in order to give you some sort of an early advance warning to take action. If you have no warning, then you have no response. Riff Raff

x2...similar to what i said but a much better suggestion...

its actually very very easy to hook sirens to all doors and windows in your home, one of my co-workers (another car audio/video installer) did this on his own home for around $100...

[VehiGAZ]

an obscure quote from "Robocop"...

THAT'S it!!! I knew the quote but couldn't place it. I was going to try to track that one down on imdb.com...

[ISCE]

Good discussion and I've been looking. Like some others I grew up mostly target shooting while in Scouts. Just a week ago went to the range with a group from church. We had around 30 guys who all brought their guns so we had a great variety to shoot ranging from .22 rifles and pistols, 9mm, 10mm, .40 glock 22 police revolver (Baltimore officer was there with us), a shotgun and a 44 magnum dirty harry :-)

I have to say, after shooting the 44 mag the others just seemed a bit weak. Probaby the glock 22 was my favorite overall while still remaining somewhat practical (ie the only reason the 44 mag was out). I was holding I felt a pretty good 6" diameter grouping at around 25 yards, note again not having shot many handguns and first time shooting this gun. The 44 mag was the only handgun I had better accuracy with, but it had the 8-3/8 barrel. Besides the size I'm thinking the ammo expense puts it off my list.

I gotta get my gun before the liberals take away my rights to do so :-)

[WormGod]

I had a 220 years ago. (similar to below)



When I moved my condo assoc. had an HOA clause that would not permit renters to have guns of any kind on the property. I sold it and have been weaponless since (2004). I would like to get another as using friend's handguns and renting at the range has become tiresome.

MD legal dictates you can NOT carry a weapon, but there are a few ways to get a permit to. It's actually isn't too difficult but it is a lengthy process.

When it comes to weapons and regulations, I follow the rules/laws to a "T" so's not to mess it up for everyone else. I wish more would do the same. Though, when you look at the broad picture, those that mes sit up for us tend to be committing crimes with weapons that aren't even registered to them.

[nfpgasmask]

One(1) C.O.P. 4-bbl derranger in .357 Magnum caliber.

Cool, I have one of these nifty little Blade Runner guns as well. Do you have any problems with your C.O.P.? I bought mine used and it sometimes fails to fire...actually more than sometimes. I pull, pull, pull, BAM! pull, pull, BAM!, BAM!, pull, pull, BAM!. Not exactly reliable, but then again, trying to aim with such a short barreled .357 is next to impossible anyhow. I bought the gun as a novelty item (being as it has a nice role in my favorite film) but I was a little disappointed with the performance. I think my particular COP must have had A LOT of ammo put through it, never cleaned and then left sitting for years. It performs a little better now that I have cleaned and properly lubed it, but still.

Let me know your experience. Maybe I should try to find a different one or have mine looked at by a professional gun smith.

Bart

[nfpgasmask]

THAT'S it!!! I knew the quote but couldn't place it. I was going to try to track that one down on imdb.com...

x2, another favorite movie. That film was SOOO ahead of it's time, and easily my favorite Verhoeven film. Talk about a great gun film, too! Gotta love the 50 cal action!

Bart

[TEN36VX]

I carry a Glock 19 off duty.
I'm with Kodiak... I intend to get a Kahr PM this year for a backup/off-duty gun.

FYI, most feed problems with the Glocks are due to the magazine spring, not the gun or the ammo. Especially if they bear a weapon mounted light. I have shot over 200 rounds through my 19 and had no failures, except when firing lead (which the manufacture expressly says not to do). High end, low end, reloads, didn't matter. I've shot innumerable rounds through duty Glocks over the last ten years and never had any problems.

[Scott Harness]

Beretta M9 (military version of F92) Only 2000 made avalable to public
Beretta 92 Sub Compact-very carryable,made in 82, real Italian Beretta
Winchester Defender 12 gauge assault/ tactical shotgun
TEXAS! Here the laws favor the good guys.
Castle law, now extends to auto also. You don't have to wait to be attacked either.If you fear for your safety SHOOT.
One guy, I thought got away with murder.He shot and killed a homeless dude going thru his trash. He was on the second floor of his house and just shot the guy. The judge let him off!

[TheGanzman]

Colt Commander/Lightweight Commander in .45 ACP, from 1979 back please! Oh look - I already HAVE four of 'em; never mind!:bgwg:

[Hotsauce]

I've held class 1 and 10 FFL for many years. My opinions on RIGHT to carry should come as no suprise.

I recently let them expire over the issue of implied consent to search my home at any time.

If you decide to carry never forget that you carry the means of your own destruction with you. Do not carry if you are not prepared to deal with every consequence of taking someone life. Be that bad dreams, lawsuits, or vengeful relatives of the deceased.

Certainly a revolver is the most reliable firearm you can carry. An automatic will show less through clothes though. Whichever you carry should be hammerless, and if you can afford to, get it melted.

Remember if you exercise the right to carry that you are a 2nd class citizen. You give up other rights.

You can not risk getting into a scuffle with someone, because it will lead to one of you getting shot. You have to shrug off things where you might have otherwise pushed someone back, or similar.

Keep it a secret if you carry. If your friends know, they will commonly act up when you go out expecting that you will back them up.

If you get pulled over while carrying keep your hands well in sight. As the officer approaches the car tell him that you are authorised to CCW, and are doing so. You don't want him to suddenly catch a glimpse of you wearing it unannounced.

John C.

[Spike]

I have been look at handguns lately. I have been looking at a few Sig Sauers; p220 .45, p226 .40, p239 .40 SAS. what do you guys think and what do you shot?

I love my Walther PPK .380 .. has enough snap to it to make it a fun shoot. Quite accurate. Yea it's not a 9mm or .40 or .45 ... but in a pinch im sure the CorBon or HydraShock will do their job

Just renewed my carry permit for PA ... but I rarely ever carry.. I have a pocket holster that fits inside my front jeans pocket nicely...