ooh, pick me! pick me!

Holy crap, where do I apply?

from around the gunblogs

A few of the guys on the somewhat controversial (who knew?) topic of "best gun for a woman":

Alan from Snarkybytes separates myth from fact.

SayUncle's comment section is always interesting...

TXGunGeek gives a perfect example of why a wheelgun might not be for everybody.

Anyone else?

best gun for a woman

Last week, I was flattered by this email from a reader:

Found your blog. Am retired (female). Looking for suitable sidearm for defense -- possible ccw.
DA .38+P revolver suggested; also .410 long gun. Am familiar with long guns, but not pistols.
Recommendation(s)? Thank you.

Imagine! Someone asking me for gun recommendations! Anyway, I gave it some thought and this was my response:

Hi, thanks for writing! Whenever anyone asks me for a gun recommendation, I always suggest you first try shooting a wide variety of guns before you decide on a purchase. Choosing a gun is the same as buying shoes - you have to try them on for size.

It's very common that someone suggests a .38 revolver for women - for some reason women are though to be too weak to rack the slide on a semi-automatic and that semi-auto pistols and all their parts are "too complicated" for us. It's insulting, really.

So go out to a range with a friend who has a lot of guns, or rent a few different types, and try them all. I carry a Bersa Thunder .380 (semi-auto) because it was a good compromise on size, concealability, and caliber.

I wish you the best of luck!

For the life of me, I've never understood the double action .38 +P revolver recommendation for a woman's first gun - probably because it was my first experience with a gun and I hated it. The trigger pull was heavy and hard to manage accurately, there was a good bit of smacky, stinging recoil, and a bright enough muzzle flash to scare the bejeezus out of a newbie. If it weren't for my sheer stubbornness, I might have set down that pistol, decided that shooting was awful and never gone to the range to try again.

But go to most gun shops or outdoor superstores and that's what they'll recommend, and very frequently in pink. They will tell you it's light and easy to shoot, a perfect purse gun. You know, because ladies like pink and only ever carry their guns in their handbags, right?

They'll also tell you that revolvers are so much simpler to clean and load than semi-automatics - heaven forbid you should worry your pretty little head about all those pesky moving parts. But haven't any of these men ever used a sewing machine? I can load and shoot a M1911 but Lord help me, don't ask me to thread the needle on a Singer. And that whole business with the bobbin? Don't get me started, I almost failed Home Ec.

So, in short, there is no best gun for a woman...but there is a gun for everyone.

meet Ronnie...

...the Bren Gun Girl.

puzzler

At this past NRA convention in Charlotte, I spent quite some time looking at the collections of antique firearms. I especially liked this delightful and deadly cabinet of curiosities.


Some of these pistols were ingenious, some were works of art, and some were just plain strange but it was fascinating to see the variety of concepts people dreamed up in their quest to simply be able to hurl small balls of lead at high velocities.

People have continued this quest in modern times, to either improve firearm design or just because they can...and this is one of the most interesting, and involved, examples I've ever seen.

follow the leader

This administration's foreign policy has been a total disaster - the global apology tour, the bowing to the Saudi king, the insults to allies like Israel and Great Britain, the appeasement of terrorist organizations, ignoring Iranians dying for democracy, getting bitchslapped by Russia over missile defense, supporting dictator Hugo Chavez, allowing a foreign leader to insult our country from the House floor, et cetera. And etc.

52% of voters chose a weakling to lead this country and now we have all been diminished by him.

I want a president who makes decisions based on principles, not poll numbers. I want a president who put the United States first. I want president who loves freedom enough to fight for it. I want a president who speaks plainly while telling us the truth. I want a president who will not flinch. I want utter fearlessness.

I want a president with big brass balls.



And you know what? I'm pretty sure that president is going to be a woman.

"Dude..."

...was my reaction when I first saw this :

JayG sure throws one heck of a party. Pics, recap and roundup - go read (and turn green with envy.)

what to wear

When you're a girl type person who wants to start carrying concealed on body, you're going to have to spend a bit of time thinking about your wardrobe. Try different poses in different outfits: reach forward, are you printing? Lift up your arms, is the muzzle revealed? Sit down then stand up again, how much do you have to readjust your clothing? There will be a lot experimentation with the things you already own and probably quite a few costume changes until you figure out what works.

I don't use the word "costume" lightly, either. You may have to purchase and wear things that aren't exactly your preferred style.

In my limited gunchick experience, I've learned that beyond the standard jeans and baggy tshirt, there are ways you can look cute and carry at the same time.*

1. A good stiff gun belt. (Or two. One black, one brown to match your shoes) Men's dress belts in a smaller waist size are a good choice if you would like something a bit more stylish.

2. Belt loops are essential, look for them when shopping. I've been known to carry even while wearing a denim skirt.

3. A selection of a-line, empire waist, and loose button up shirts. Dark colors and/or patterns are best to obscure any potential printing. Tank tops are handy too, to wear between your delicate skin and the grip of your pistol.

4. Shoes can be sensible and fashionable at the same time. There are plenty of options, especially when you shop online. (whenever I see a girl teetering down the street in her high heels I think, "Victim shoes.")

5. Accessories can be a distraction - who would ever expect that the lady with the dangly earrings and the purple glitter nailpolish is packing heat? Those scary guns are totally a guy thing anyway, right? This is one of the big advantages of being a chick who carries.

*Disclaimer: this is fashion advice from a nerdy librarian who still mostly wears goofy tshirts and Doc Martens, has been known to put her hair up in a scrunchie, frequently paints her fingernails blue, and still thinks that a Dr. Pepper flavored lipsmacker is an essential beauty item. Take it for what it's worth.

I want to win.

The Firearm Blog is hosting a contest along with Lucky Gunner and I could win 1000 - yes, ONE THOUSAND! - rounds of .380.

Now, everyone think happy "Breda needs .380" thoughts for me, ok? (Oh, and click the above links too, if you don't mind.)

UPDATE: How sweet!! New Jovian Thunderbolt is considering giving me the 1000 rounds of .380 from Lucky Gunner if he happens to win the contest - but one thing seems to be holding him back.

But not to worry, TBolt, you've described Mike all wrong. Let me reassure you - his fists aren't as big as the buckets on a front-end loader at all...they're more like coal shovels.

range report!

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of meeting up with fellow #gunblogger_conspirator THOTpd (Ugh, I look so sweaty. It was a million and five degrees on the range) for lunch and some shooting. I hadn't been to the range in...well...months and months but when I walked through the door, I got a big huggy hello from the guy who was working, along with a bit of good natured ribbing.

"What's up, Breda? You haven't been here in forever. Are you shooting somewhere else, don't you like us anymore?"

I mentioned how money had been a little tight lately. "Yay, economy," I said.

That got a sage nod in response - it seems everyone has been feeling it lately. Still, I was excited. All range trips are fun, but this one really felt like a treat somehow - eating cheeseburgers with a new friend and my first time shooting since getting hurt in the car accident.

After a frustrating period of fiddling around with the Ruger Mk II (failure to feed properly) I decided to put it away and shoot my Bersa. I didn't do too poorly, considering my recent lack of practice.

But, of course, there's always one that gets away...

(@ about 25 feet)

THOT brought his own Bersa, which he didn't shoot. (".380 is like gold!") But the two pistols sure look cute together, like kissing cousins. I just wonder why the trigger guards are different shapes.

I shot THOT's Springfield Champion that he brought along because he knows I'm a M1911 fan. (thank you!) It's a wonderful pistol.


I had to quit shooting before I really wanted to because my neck had started to hurt, but I had a great time anyway. I had missed shooting more than I realized.

bleg

Does anyone have just a few spare rounds of ammo for one of these? (.38 S&W, I think?)


I have a very special gun that I need to shoot. (& yes, there's a story to go along with it.)

I have paypal...let's make a deal.

vintage

Seems chicks with guns have been eye candy for a long time now. I wonder, though...what did pretty girls pose with before the invention of firearms?

sometimes a girl with a gun...

...is just a girl with a gun.

But it seems that sociology professor Jerry Lembcke disagrees. While guest blogging at the WaPo about a recent Rolling Stone issue, Jerry reveals the extent of his own personal issues by saying things like "Girls with guns, after all, have deeply Freudian implications."

Let's forget for the moment that the items attached to Lady Gaga's brassiere are not actually guns at all but are simply meaningless props - a worn out, usually liberal, trope of using gun or gun-shaped design elements in a pathetic attempt to appear edgy or risqué. (also? I'm not quite sure what all Gaga is trying to tell us here, other than she is a ridiculous poseur with questionable fashion sense and quite possibly the most photoshopped ass in history of magazine covers.)

Anyway, it seems in Professor Jerry's world, a woman with a gun is either a playful little sex kitten suggestively fondling her man's, ahem..."pistol" or a frustrated creature wishing that she could somehow have a "pistol" of her very own - either way, we are symbols. We cannot possibly be real. He even goes so far as to call women with guns "fantasies, women imagined to have the male capacity to project power, warrior women conjured out of men’s anxieties..."

(Me thinks the gentleman doth project too much.)

"You don't need a gun to protect your kids."

But it sure helps.

(Is Amber Alert telling mothers to, "Give abductors what they want"?)

not feelin' the love

First I wasn't allowed to carry in Charlotte...and then, in the course of one single day, I find out about this and this.

I'll be sending my next donation to an organization that actually fights for freedom. (Sorry, NRA - you can keep your free hat & press room cookies.)

p.s. bullshit like this just proves that the NRA could use a little competition.

as a bug's ear

Zooey Deschanel nails that new shooter grin in the film Yes, Man. Oh, and she can sing, too.



She makes me want to get a new haircut...with bangs. Cute, no?

Hope everyone's having a lovely weekend!

something to tide you over

We've just discovered Torchwood through the the magic and wonder of Netflix. Highly recommended - best entertainment money I've ever spent, really. But then again, I don't get out much. Anyway, I thought I'd share this scene. Guns and sexual tension, how can you go wrong?



Besides the teacup grip and the silly two-fisted shooting it's pretty great. Complete with brand new gunchick grin...and that wee gap between her teeth? Absolutely charming.

(We're in a frenzy of gardening and grilling this weekend because zOMG, finally! A weekend with sunshine! Hope you're having a good one too.)

Let the PSH begin

SB 239, which would allow Ohio's many CCWers to carry in establishments that serve alcohol, passed in the state Senate yesterday.

I've been much amused today by the near-hysterical reader commentary in the many news stories I've read on the issue. My favorite was this:

"I will just stop going to places where they allow firearms because I am not for the concealed carry!"

In that case, I'd suggest they make a point not to stand behind me in the checkout line at the grocery store.

Or Target.

Or Dunkin' Donuts.

Or PetSmart.

Or...

snakebite

Weer'd Beard has an excellent review of the Cobra firearms we handled at the NRA Annual Meeting.


I wasn't impressed.

(& what irritated me perhaps more than the crap triggers, the frighteningly bad engineering, and the cheesy pastel chrome finishes is that Cobra actively markets these guns for women. Sure, your little gun may be shiny, pink, and really affordable but it will hurt your hand when you try to shoot it. And if you get one of those cute little derringers? Expect to have to use two hands to use it. Not exactly the best way to encourage new female shooters.)

Get off my lawn.

A few summers ago, we had a little problem with our neighbors who insisted on alternately throwing loud, raucous parties and allowing their teenagers to throw loud, raucous parties that extended into the wee hours, sometimes during the middle of the week. Needless to say, the police department probably got sick of hearing from me.

Anyway, I was home alone on a Sunday night during yet another one of these parties. It was almost 11PM and the revelry next door was in full swing - loud music, red party cups, joints being passed around, and a bonfire. More than once I heard the lady of the house announce she was going to play lookout for the cops. I sighed, deciding to hold off calling the authorities since I was busy on the computer and wasn't yet being bothered by the noise.

A few minutes later, the fire department arrived.

And a few minutes after that my neighbor, lovely woman that she is, marched up to our property line and started hurling threats and cussing me out like a harridan fishwife on a meth bender. (which, come to think of it, might actually have been the case) Due to my history with late-night speed dial, she had assumed it was me who had ratted her out.

I went upstairs and sat on the edge of the bed. I made sure the S&W 642 was loaded and set it on the nightstand. I called Mike and said, "There is a lot of drunk, angry people next door and I'm alone. I have the gun. Please come home."

Nothing happened, of course, and the neighbors have since seen the error of their ways but honestly? to this day, if I saw hundreds of angry, yelling people approaching my doorstep, my last words would probably be,"Get me the rifle."