As I stated in a previous post I was very dubious of the belly band for a carry option, thanks to GunDiva I had the opportunity to try one out. Like her, it is a bit too big for my gun so there would have to be alterations made but I do believe that my sewing machine will handle it, I'll have to get some really sturdy thread. I haven't carried with it yet but I tried it on and was really impressed with the comfort, the fact that I can put it into really comfortable positions and it hides the print of the gun. When I bend over the most that it looks like is maybe a back brace but in no way could I tell that there was a gun there. I also liked that I don't have to try to cram all this stuff into the waist of my pants which is a bit uncomfortable and causes a lot of pressure on my back, the belly band doesn't at all.
Thank you so much GunDiva for sending that to me, it was wonderful to be able to try something out, especially since I was pretty uncertain about it.
I'll post more once I go out into the world with the belly band. Tonight's event I'm wearing a dress so I'll be carrying with the thigh holster tonight. Today was also the first day I carried to work, I did have to leave my gun in the car though because we are not allowed to bring guns to work, there was a memo several years ago about that, only at my company would there be such a thing. We are all such gun lovers here; I love that about this company.
As I sat in the airport Sunday night awaiting my departure time to Albuquerque, NM. I watched people walk on by, noticed a mother and her daughter (the daughter looked to be in her early 50’s) sitting there, the daughter leaning on the mother. It was cute to see that they had what looked like a close relationship. What disturbed me a little and got me on my thoughts about the people I have met through shooting and my love of guns, either in person or via blogs was that the way the mother and daughter looked suspiciously at everyone, including me and how a lot of people seemed do that. Some of the people walking about I could tell they were at least into hunting or guns in some form; they didn’t seem to be suspicious or scared about other people.
I’ve noticed it seems through the gun loving community that the people seem to be the nicest people and maybe it’s because they don’t have to worry about weird people because they know they can protect themselves if need be. Who knows about the true mentality that goes on, this is only my own speculations and theories. I know for myself I don’t feel the need to be scared or leery of people, especially when I’m carrying. Granted I know there are some nuts who have gone on shooting rampages but I didn’t know those people, maybe they weren’t the type that respected guns the way the people I know personally do, I don’t really consider the mass shooters as a part of the gun community but that’s my opinion so because of this opinion I see that most the people in the gun community are just good natured people with good hearts.
Since starting this blog, it has introduced me to some really wonderful supportive people, they have encouraged me, offered advice, support and suggestions on this path of mine and I so greatly appreciate every single person who has taken the time to comment on my posts. (13.1)
I had a IWB holster that a friend gave me but I didn't like how the retention strap didn't cover where I wanted it to so I bought one that was specifically for my gun, granted it was made for having the laser but the maker said it would still be snug even if I don't have the laser on it. Well, the holster passes all the tests; holds snuggly, I can turn it over and shake it (no the gun isn't loaded) and it doesn't come out, it even sits nice and snuggly on my belt and pants. Sounds great right?
Tonight I realize that I will never be able to carry IWB unless I buy super baggy pants and even then I probably won't be able to. I really don't have a lot of carry options other than when I wear dresses. I can't do the bra holsters because I lack the real estate to properly hide it. I'm dubious of the bellybands so I don't want to spend out that kind of money and unless they make an ankle holster that is sized for a child, that one is out too. I will not ever purse carry, unless of course I can make my own purse that is to my style and liking, I have yet to see a carry purse that was even remotely attractive and not mention, I'm not a fan of off body carry.
I feel a tad disappointed, not giving up though, I'll just continue to wear dresses to carry until I can determine something that does work, even if I have to take leather classes and design my own. I would possibly consider a shoulder holster but I still think I'm just too thin to really hide; I would definitely need a vertical draw one.
On another note, I think going to the range at least once a month is healthy. I had my annual exam and the results was everything is perfect and in the words of my doctor, "Your cholesterol levels are brag-able."
I haven't had much to post about lately. Kathy Jackson is coming to Colorado again for a two day pistol class and also a gun retention class. Sadly, I won't be able to do it this time either, if only I was independently wealthy, didn't need a new driveway, A/C and a back fence. Maybe next time....
Well, Tuesday was a wonderful day, minus one little blimp at the beginning of it. The day finally came to take my sister to the range for the first time. She did great! I was proud of her, she was very conscientious of safety, made sure to keep the gun pointed down range at all time, minus once when she had it facing towards the ground (but it’s expected that this is going to happen at least once especially the first time), she kept her finger off the trigger until she was ready to fire and she always put the safety on when laying the gun down.
Unfortunately one of the .22’s (the 1911-22) that I had borrowed jammed up really badly, I couldn’t get it unjammed and went to ask the range guy to help and even he couldn’t get it unjammed so that just left the .22 revolver. My sister really liked the 1911-22 and wasn’t a big fan of my .380 or .45 but that’s understandable, I think over time she might grow to accept them.
I felt a bit disheartened at the end of the day and this is probably me being a bit hard on myself in regards to my ability to teach a new shooter. I know she did really well but I felt that maybe I didn’t do a good enough job, there were a lot of points I wanted to make to guide her along but communication was really hard. I am definitely going to need to invest in electronic muffs so I can communicate with her at the range; yes she is planning on going again so that’s a good sign.
My blimps were the day got delayed because I locked my keys in my car, which cost me $109, ouch. Then it turns out that Lady’s Day isn’t all day, only between certain hours, lol. I think they shouldn’t advertise it as Lady’s Day and advertise is as Lady’s Happy Hour on Tuesdays. Between, the key thing, range time and ammo, it was an expensive day that set me back a bit but well worth the memory and spending time and sharing this aspect of me that I love with my sister.
I’ll have to look into buying me a .22 so she can shoot that, I had it in the plans to get one eventually for plinking and doing Dot Torture target practice so it works. (10.7)
I think it's been about a month now that I've had my CCW. It's hasn't been too different being in public with a gun, the holster I have is very comfortable and so far I don't think anyone has noticed it.
I came across my first real thing to talk about in regards to conceal carrying and it's mishaps/what not's.
So Saturday I was out shopping with a friend of mine, we have been friends for over ten years. We decided to go out thrifting and it is always crowded on Saturdays because that's when all the 50% sales are and we get to the dressing rooms and it's quite a line. She asks me if I want to just share a dressing room. (Insert for a second, girls are just a bit more open about these things than men, it's nothing sexual).
My first thought was, I'm wearing a gun and she doesn't know it. So we get in the dressing room and before we start changing I stop her and tell her that I need to let her know that I am carrying a gun and if she's uncomfortable with that, I'll step out right now. She took it in stride, just asked if there was a chance of it going off and I said no and we carried on. I realized as we are going through the plethora of outfits that I probably could have gotten away with not saying anything because I had a slip on under the dress I was wearing and she wouldn't have even noticed it anyways.
I just thought it was a funny thing and I wondered what obstacles other people had when they concealed carried.
Later I will write out a post about yesterday's range time and taking my first time shooter out.
Last night I determined it was time to come out to my sister about owning guns. I asked her if she had some time because I wanted to talk to her so we sat down. I made a flippant remark about there comes a time in every parent’s life when they have to have "the" talk. She's my sister and I'm certainly not her parent so it's funny. Then I turned it serious, I started out letting her know if she doesn't want to go to the range on Tuesday that she didn't have to, I don't want to push her to do this and she said she still wanted to go. I asked her if we could go over some gun safety, range safety and functions of a gun.
I started out asking her if she remembered the four rules for guns that I had told her the other day, surprisingly she remember one so we went over that again. I then explained that ranges have rules and they are usually similar from one range to another but they do vary. I told her when we get to the range Tuesday and we are waiting for a lane; we will go over their range rules. I explained to her that most important of all was she absolutely has to remember the gun must always be pointed down range, not matter what, if she has to turn around to talk to me, she needs to set it down and then turn around. She said that's pretty logical and seems common sense but I explained that it does happen and it's easy enough to forget that.
I then brought out my .380, showed her it while it was still in the box, showed her all the functions, parts and the safety. Showed her how to check if a gun was clear, wracking the slide, putting safety on and off, etc. Then I asked her if she wanted to hold it, she was pretty reluctant but she knew she was eventually going to have to hold it. So I showed her the proper way to pass a gun to another person, first check the chamber is clear and the magazine compartment is clear and told her that the receiver should do the same despite your doing so. She was surprised how small it was and how it didn't really feel like a real gun and of course I had to take that moment to remind her (though obvious) it is definitely not a toy.
I explained breathing control, trigger control and siting and then brought out the laserlyte target so she can actually practice these things. She was really excited and thought the laserlyte was really fun, she asked me if I sit up here doing this a lot and I responded yes I do. She then asked me, "So this isn't your friend's gun?" I told her no that this was my gun and apologized that I never told her. She actually didn't seem as mad as I thought she would be for my lying to her about it. I also showed her the. .45, how it functions pretty much the same but was definitely a larger and heavier gun. She tried it out on the laserlyte as well, she did really well with it, hitting the target dead on, and unfortunately the batteries were dying so the laserlyte didn't register the shots.
I took the time to show her the gun she will be shooting on Tuesday, the borrowed .22 and I pulled out rounds from each caliber so she could see the difference in sizes, she liked the small .22's, which obviously aren't as effective as the other two would be.
Over all the conversation went really well, I asked her if she had any questions or comments and asked how she felt about all this. She said she actually felt a lot better because she now sees just how serious I am about gun safety and use and that they aren't just giddy toys of happiness. I explained to her that when it comes to guns everyone should be serious about them because it's when you are not that accidents happen. She does feel better about it all but is still a bit uncomfortable about having guns in the home, which I think over time that will change.
I doubt that she will get into guns as much as me, it would be totally awesome if she did, but I am so happy that we both feel better about the situation, that I no longer have to lie and I am so proud of her. Proud that she was open minded and willing to listen and learn. I am so happy that she made this so easy for me.
One of my greatest concerns about owning guns is that I've had to keep them secret from my sister, whom I share a home with. She knows of one shotgun but not any of the other guns. My concern is her complete lack of knowledge in them and never really handling one. Last night was a victory for my minimal insisting on just trying it once or at least letting me go over the safety and use of a gun.
Lately we've had some concerns about our neighborhood. The other night she was coming home from work and there was some guy taking a shit on the neighbors lawn diagonal from our house, on a corner under a street light no less. There have been other instances in the past in regards to our house getting broken into and the neighbor down the way firing off shots. Last night we were coming home from running around and there was a wrecked car that was abandoned half way on someone's lawn. I think the situation just sort of put us both on edge and we couldn't sleep so we were sitting around just talking, she mostly talking about some of her fears about coming home so late at night. I just blatantly told her that she should let me show her how to use the shotgun (since she knows of it), side note when it first came home she knew of it and refused to even look at it. She agreed that it would be a good idea but she didn't like that it would be difficult to get to in an emergency situation. I told her if she were feeling nervous that she would just have to uncase and keep it near, with rounds nearby but not loaded. Then she commented that I should just buy her a handgun, in my opinion, gladly! I told her though that she has to first learn how to use one with confidence and she asked if I would show her.
This morning I asked her if we could go up to Blucore next Tuesday, since it's lady's night and I promised I would go to session with her afterwards (a little treat to say thank you for doing this for me). She agreed. I asked my coworker if I could borrow her .22 if I can find some ammo by that time, she said that was fine and was just about as excited as me.
I am so excited about this that I had such a hard time falling asleep last night, going over what, how and in what order I was going to show her. This is also a good opportunity for me to convey to an other person what I have learned and to see how well I have learned it. I'm so hoping that she will be more open minded once she has done this and that I might be able to open up and share with her that I do have guns in the house and that I do carry a gun when I'm running around on the weekends. My heart is soaring!
