One has to have their priorities, eh? 2 flats of beer > my yearly consumption! Yeah, seriously. I know a couple of brothers who went out for a weekend of 4x4ing - just between the 2 of them they had 4 flats, and lo & behold, they ran out of them and had to break out the hard liquor.

I probably should just let this slide but since someone else mentioned it... You could substitute "seat belt" for gun and the meaning would be the same. Just as you're just as likely to need a seat belt on a short drive as a long one (per mile driven at least) and since you can get injured or killed during a short drive, I would submit it makes sense to consistently wear your seat belts- every time, no exceptions. I buckle up to move my car to the other side of the street. To me the same goes for a sidearm. If I knew for a fact when I would need the gun I'd simply stay home that day! But since robberies and assaults are seldom preceded by written invitation in advance, I tend to carry my sidearm everywhere it's legal and practical to do so.

Thanks, Roar! I'm going to check that out. Sootch has some great stuff on his channel

hahah! I hope they made it back ok!

I guess it's just a matter of having different perspectives on the world. Bygones.

One of the great things about ETS is the genteel discussion of controversial topics, like the need for firearms.

My personal perspective - I am a firearms owner, and I enjoy recreational shooting and reloading (just as much fun as shooting, IMHO) - in most situations, weapons and ammo are not necessary and their weight and bulk can be used for more useful items - this is especially true if hiking or backpacking.

There are two occasions in my adult life where I was really glad I had my 357 handy. The rest of the time it was just a nice recreational device.

Circumstances and environments vary and what works for one situation may not go in another.

In a recent newspaper, there was an article about "good guys with guns" and the assertion that their presence at a crime scene actually impeded detention of the bad guy. Google "good guys with guns" and there are many articles, some with interesting stats, that make thoughtful reading....

The good guys can pose a problem in many situations. About a year ago we had a news paper article were an older gentleman defended a poor girl from a person who was molesting her. Though luck for the gentleman: a plain clothes LEO was making an arrest on a criminal (the girl, resisting arrest). The gentleman got in trouble for assaulting the LEO, impeding the arrest and trying to help a criminal to escape.

I don't have hard statistics at hand but my understanding is that this sort of situation is much rarer than civilians with guns helping law enforcement, in the USA.

I do not have hard statistics either. I may not be a really common problem as the case is fairly old by now and it made it beyond local press. It´s just a reminder to carefully judge a situation before intervening.