Brian's Opinions On...

Firearms

Here is what I am not...

1. I am NOT a member of the NRA.
2. I am NOT a gun 'NUT' - we all know who these folks are.
3. I am NOT a hunter.
4. I am NOT a killer.

Here is what I am...

1. I am a gun owner - proud of it.
2. I am licensed to carry a concealed firearm in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
3. I do enjoy shooting my guns.
4. I do carry my guns while in public.
5. I do practice shooting at a firearm range.

OK - enough of that little rant. Let me explain myself. My parents had their car stolen in December, 1999. In the car was the registration information with my family.s home address. Soon after this, calls to their home with dead-air or hang-ups were occurring on a regular basis. For those of us in the know, this is an easy way for a bad-guy to case a prospective job to see if anyone is home. It is much easier to rob a home when no one is in it. If someone picks up the phone, don't rob that house. With both my brother and myself no longer living at home, my father felt his safety would be best secured by purchasing a handgun for protection.

He called me one afternoon to tell me this as well as ask me if I wanted to attend a NRA Handgun Safety Course. We signed up for this course at a local shooting range, Classic Pistol. I have fired a weapon a few times. My good friend and next-door neighbor's father owned a few guns and he would often take my friend and I shooting at the local range. He always taught us to respect the gun and follow the rules, which I did without question.

I continue to do this today. To make a long story short, my father and I attended the Safety Course and found the sport to be quite enjoyable. Not only for the ability to a firearm to 'even-the-odds', so to speak, in regards to keeping your family safe, but also for the pure skill level it took to master the art of shooting. I understand and respect a firewall for its awesome ability to cause serious injury or death to myself or anyone around me.

My belief in the constitutional right to own and bear arms is not without questions. I'm not 100 percent sure our Founding Fathers truly understood the idea of assault weapons or sub-machine guns and I wonder if the NRA is truly on target with all of their ideologies, but that is for the politicians to debate for probably a long time.

What I do understand is that I feel more comfortable, more in control and safer when I'm carrying my gun. I have never used it. It has never left my person while not either at a shooting range or in my home. I hope I never have to use it. I would not use it in a robbery or a mugging. It is not worth someone's life over the $300.00 I carry in my wallet or the possession of my car. Let him take it. Just don't hurt me.

But, GOD help the guy who dares to attempt to injure or kill me or my family while I'm carrying.

The Hardware

Sig Sauer P239
I first purchased a new Sig Sauer P239 at Classic Pistol. I think I paid about $750.00 for it. I thought about buying the standard Glock that everyone seems to get, but I wanted the best and the Sig pretty much is the best. I bought the 9MM so I highlighted the 9MM Para section, which is what my gun is. I have run more then 3000 rounds through this gun, without ever having a jam or a problem. It's a great weapon.

funktion principle mechanically locked, recoil operated autoloader trigger Double Action / Single action safety system patented, automatic firing pin lock caliber .45 ACP total length/height/width 198/143/36 mm barrel length 112 mm rifling lead 400 mm number of rifling grooves 6 length of sight line 160 mm weight, excl. magazine 730 g weight, empty magazine 70 g trigger pull weight DA/DAO 45 N*, SA 20 N* muzzle energy 520 J magazine capacity (rounds) 7 conversion kit 9 mm Para