Firearms for Riders

  • October 4, 2012 3:23 PM PDT

    I am currious what other people carry.

    I have to carry a firearm frequently in my work. It took me a while and some cash to figure out what actually worked for me. I had to be able to do my job with out restricted movement and carrying a chunk of iron for 8-16 hours, concealed (I have a permit) so I had to work out what to carry and how to carry it. In the case of work it ended up that a Cold M1991A1 45 in a NYC style shoulder holster counter balanced with two clips was the solution. Only 7 shots, but with 45, you only have to land one round (a buddy who is an ER doc convinced me to dump my 15 round 9mm for 45 with only 7 rounds as he said"with 9 mm we get guys in the ER who been hit 5-8 times and are still a problem but when they have been shot with a 45 we just tag 'em and bag 'em"

    On two wheels its a different situation. I have yet to work out the best weapon or method. Right now its a Colt 380 SS Government Model in the chest pocket of my leather jacket. It doesn’t print thru and is not likely to be revealed by accident...showing a bit of leather with a shoulder holster is a common problem.
    The Taurus Judge seems promising for riding - but its got such a thick profile its hard to conceal. The heavy trigger pull of revolvers tends to make me shoot low and left, so even if I can conceal it effectively, its not the gun for me  I keep a round in the chamber with the hammer down with my Colts and have developed the habit of automatically thumbing back the hammer when I draw it. So trigger pull is not an issue. 380 may seem light, but shot placement is everything. I am still working it out and have not come to a final conclusion. My need on the road is far less pressing than my need for a firearm on the job, none the less, its worth working out the right solution.. 







     

    • 823 posts
    October 4, 2012 3:38 PM PDT
    I love my XD-9. It is small and has a 16 round clip. Also Caliber doesn't matter to me. I shoot enough and I think anyone who carrys should, that even with a .22 I am not going to wound someone. If I have to use my weapon I know how. With 16 rounds of 9mm I feel pretty secure. Those stories about people being wounded are no doubt true. If more people got a weapon they were comfortable with and trained with it, took a concealed carry course and continued to shoot we would not have that problem. Education and practice............go figure?
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    • 19007 posts
    October 4, 2012 8:00 PM PDT
    Two choices here for me. My Tomcat 32 w/spare clip when it needs to be small and light. My Ruger SP101 loaded with 357 when weight isn't much to worry about. The 101 is only 5 shot but they do have impact!.
    • Moderator
    • 16795 posts
    October 5, 2012 3:55 AM PDT
    With Critical Duty ammo from Hornady a 9mm is good for me.
  • October 5, 2012 4:13 AM PDT
    Well Reverend, I see that you walk quietly but carry a big stick.

    A great thing about hornadays, is that even though they are hollow point, they dont hang up on the ramp into the chamber.
    • 844 posts
    October 5, 2012 7:48 AM PDT
    Might just be the old cowboy in me, but when I carry I carny a Colt revolver! I like the fact if a round doesn't fire for whatever reason I can just pull the trigger again. No taking the gun of the target to eject the bad round with two hands and no chance of jamming.
    • 844 posts
    October 5, 2012 7:49 AM PDT
    Oh yeah YEEEE HA!
    • 1855 posts
    October 5, 2012 10:29 AM PDT
    9mm Ruger in a shoulder holster and a SW 32 revolver on my hip. I can say that I'll most likely NOT get into a fullblown firefight and that the SW would probably be all that's necessary. But ya just don't know.

    Peace
    • 2 posts
    October 5, 2012 1:03 PM PDT
    Am a tad jealous
    NY is really jerky on the subject of handguns. - Ownership permits difficult to obtain carry permits near impossible.
    + On longer rides frequently pass thru Canada where they are uptight about even long-guns.

    Plan routes to avoid big cities & when in bear country sleep with a gurkha while praying for the best.
  • October 5, 2012 1:40 PM PDT
    GoFur I hear you. Once in while when I travel I toss my Ruger Vaquero 45LC in my luggage. Theres something about a wheel gun. Single action works for me as I dont have the trigger pull issue..and I like the power of Long Colt rounds - not "cowboy action shooting" loads.

    Jimmyacorn - holy shit. Semper Paratus
    • 823 posts
    October 5, 2012 4:29 PM PDT
    I don't tell all my secrets but I also own a .44 blackhawk. It might be around somewhere too. Used to carry a, hmmm, really short I guess you could say, 12 gauge. Had to toss it awhile back.
  • October 5, 2012 11:36 PM PDT
    99 - funny how the places that youre most likely to need a firearm have the strictest rules. Doesnt make sense. Its funny how the Canadians will let in any terrorist that knocks on thier door, but they go nuts over an American with a 22 rifle in the back of his camper. Up on the lake, Homeland Security spends most of thier time trying to stop human trafficers running loads of slaves across the lake from Canada. They tell me the victims are usually young girls from Asia.

    • 2 posts
    October 6, 2012 1:01 PM PDT
    Back-in-the-day, way, way back-in-the-day, had to travel from Hancock, MI to north of Buffalo and do it quickly + cheap.
    Hooked my rock sample bags together for saddle bags then lashed my much loved Stevens 22-410 on one side of the Hawk & a 6mm Remington on the other.
    Crossing into Canada all that they were concerned about was that I not seek residence, had to show them my orders and they still remained skeptical. - Never said peep about the firearms in plain view.
    Coming back into the US they worried only that I was a Canadian seeking employment in the US not that I was a would be mass killer needing two firearms.

    Someone said "we must progress", doesn't mean we have to enjoy it

    p.s.: Was a great ride even if I did have to do it in just over a day & sleep on picnic tables
  • October 6, 2012 1:20 PM PDT
    Rock sample bags? Are you a geologist 99? You sound like one..sleeping on picnic tables, riding...geologists, unlike civil engineers tend to be grunts who eat road kill, drink bad beer and dont mind getting wet, muddy or frozen.
    • 2 posts
    October 6, 2012 1:46 PM PDT
    blondebiker57 wrote...
    Rock sample bags? Are you a geologist 99? You sound like one..sleeping on picnic tables, riding...geologists, unlike civil engineers tend to be grunts who eat road kill, drink bad beer and dont mind getting wet, muddy or frozen.

    Not a geologist but did attend a university that had been a mining college - We all carried rock sample bags
    HOWVER do plead guilty to all that follows.

    Wish I could still find my bags

    p.s.: For riding, note that I said "for riding" I would like a Tarus Judge or similar, think S&W makes similar now. - Why stay concealed? - Personally tend to ride the remote routes & worry at least as much about bears as other predators.  – One bb – one buck – three .45  - In NY not much problem w/ target side arms but anticipate a long wait to get a Judge, or similar, permitted.

    The only time had to carry a side arm for business went w/ a wheel gun. – Worry at least as much about an accidental discharge as a predator & it takes a long, slow squeeze to make a DA to “bang”

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    • 16795 posts
    October 6, 2012 6:49 PM PDT
    blondebiker57 wrote...
    Well Reverend, I see that you walk quietly but carry a big stick.

    A great thing about hornadays, is that even though they are hollow point, they dont hang up on the ramp into the chamber.






    Indeed.
    I have the mindset that if  "all hell breaks loose" no matter where I might be, what I have must get me through that situation and to where I might survive more comfortably.

    • 3006 posts
    October 7, 2012 6:16 AM PDT
    I live less than 10 miles from one of the most bullet ridden citys in the USA,5 murders in less than 24 hrs 2 weeks ago.Its the wild wild west, its too bad really.

    The only weapon I carry is myself,never have a drawn a gun in anger or with the intent to do harm.
    • 9 posts
    October 7, 2012 8:01 AM PDT
    I'd love to carry a .45. But they're a bit bulky on me, and I prefer the "feel" of my nine, in my hand. PLUS, I can squeeze off more than one round, and in rapid succession...SO, if buddy (or biddy) don't fall the first time, I can keep on, if'n I has to. That bein' said, Thank the Lord, I ain't never had to, yet. I say yet, cause I feel like, in this ever changing world, it's an inevitability. And I've gone the way of ccw, cause I have learned, if I DO need it, I won't always have time to reach far...

    Ride Free
    Tweek
    • 601 posts
    October 7, 2012 10:49 AM PDT
    over here it comes down to bare knuckle stuff, guns are illegal here. lucky enough the baddies have to depend on their fists too so its even match, except when they carry a knife, then you just got to teach them the error of their ways by shoving it up.............. guess the rest !

    I'm back by the way !!!!
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    • 16795 posts
    October 7, 2012 3:23 PM PDT
    Guns are illegal here too, in the most bullet ridden cities in the U.S.A.
    • 9 posts
    October 7, 2012 4:08 PM PDT
    WELCOME BACK RORY!!!

    Ride Free
    Tweek
  • October 7, 2012 7:19 PM PDT
    I wish we could all return to the days when we settled our disputes by beating on one another. Some of my best riding buddies I met in a fight outside of a bar somewhere. Those of you who are unfortunate enough to require a gun at work, unless your cops or some other type of security, I suggest you get a new job! life is to short to end up losing yours over an argument. Ride free and safe!!
    • 80 posts
    October 8, 2012 3:10 AM PDT
    Always carry a S&W 9MM semi-auto with three clips. Don't show it and try to walk away from trouble. But when you are not a large strong person or a martial arts specialists a bit of extra backup is good to have when you can't leave trouble behind.
  • October 8, 2012 11:46 PM PDT
    I dont consider fighting on the street a sport. Having some crack head or drunk scramble your brains for the rest of your life is a huge waste. There are too many good things waiting in the future to let it be taken away by some worthless shit head. The few times I have had serious problems (always on project sites), I have been quick to go to gun just to bring overwhelming force - I am not interested in a "fair fight". I plan to be around to dance at my kids weddings and to take my grandchildren camping and sailing. If an orc gets in the way of that, shooting him dead rather than duking it out is just fine with me. I got nothing left to prove in life - especially with some idiot drunk in a bar.
    • 823 posts
    October 9, 2012 2:38 AM PDT
    blondebiker57 wrote...
    I dont consider fighting on the street a sport. Having some crack head or drunk scramble your brains for the rest of your life is a huge waste. There are too many good things waiting in the future to let it be taken away by some worthless shit head. The few times I have had serious problems (always on project sites), I have been quick to go to gun just to bring overwhelming force - I am not interested in a "fair fight". I plan to be around to dance at my kids weddings and to take my grandchildren camping and sailing. If an orc gets in the way of that, shooting him dead rather than duking it out is just fine with me. I got nothing left to prove in life - especially with some idiot drunk in a bar.