Originally Posted By: KenK
I've been rummaging around in Chaosmagnet's trash at night looking for snacks.


Mrs. Magnet and Middle Offspring definitely thought that I was Wrong for laughing so loud at that one.

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I'd posted that my wife absolutely surprised me with an orange Ritter Mk1. She knows I like Doug's knives, and this one is a real looker.


Outstanding! Kudos to Mrs. K!

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I want to buy a handgun, but training/range facilities are mostly closed, and Chaosmagnet convinced me that without training I should wait. My 12g is fine for now.


I know a firearms trainer in Cascade, WI if that’s close to you. He’s very good.

Handguns can be hard to find right now in the US for all the obvious reasons. I did very well (with trophies to prove it) with a variety S&W M&P handguns. Relatively recently I moved to the Sig P320 platform, and I’m very happy with that. However, what works for me might not work as well for you, so get trained and find something that works well for you. You should be focused on striker-fired, polymer-framed semiautomatic pistols in 9mm while you’re looking. Springfield’s XD series, S&W’s M&P series, Sig’s P320 series, Glocks are great starting points. A few years ago, most of the serious shooters I knew were using Glocks. Now, most of them are running Sig.

Originally Posted By: Phaedrus
It's a decision that needs to be considered carefully. However, I think the odds of survival favor a guy with a gun and no training vs a guy with firearms training and no firearm! Training is important and a big asset but many untrained people have used handguns successfully for self defense. As Mark Moritz used to say the first rule of gunfighting is have a gun!


Agreed. Also, I’ve been doing FaceTime “this is how you don’t have a Negligent Discharge” training for new handgun owners virtually, and I’d be happy to do that for you without charge.