My newest SIG

[Rick Lee]

I decided I needed a small, summer carry gun and I came across a smoking deal on a near new SIG P239 in .40 with night sights last week for $475 delivered. Can't beat that one! So I took her to the NRA Range tonight for a little tough love. Once I rotate back to winter weather carry guns, I'll send this one out for a trigger job. But for now I think she's qualified as a carry piece.

Here's 15 rounds at 7 yards.



Another 15 at 5 yards.



Here she is.



And here she is with her big brothers.

[nostatic]

I'm pondering a p220, but my budget has to recover a bit.

Nice deal. How does the .40 feel in that small of a frame?

[red-beard]

I just picked up an all Stainless Colt Defender for $699! Arrives monday!

[azasadny]

Here's my P239 in 9mm. I love it! My Beretta 92FS is nice, but the Sig is nicer!!

[red-beard]

[speeder]

Those Sigs are nice, and I'm guessing that it feels fine to shoot based on my experience w/ my Glock 23s. I liked shooting the 23 better than the 21 for some reason.

[Rick Lee]

Nostatic, I also had a .40 barrel in my P229 in the other photo. Obviously, .40 is a little more stable in the P229, but it ain't bad at all in the P239. When you're used to .357SIG, .40 feels like a BB gun. I just ordered a stainless steel guide rod for the P239 to balance it out a tad.

[targa911S]

That's sweet Red. Are we the only Colt guys on the board? I'm thinking of selling my .380 Govt model...Nickel and ivory........tempted?

[red-beard]

I like Sigs, but I have a fondness for 1911's. I expect I'll purchase another sig someday.

Get the .357sig barrel for the P-239. It is much more accurate with the .357sig barrel. For carry, I would use the 40 S&W. .357sig is designed to penetrate (cars, etc).

[twobone]

Hi guys,

Just curious,

Am I hearing that you guys carry these around pretty much all the time?

How common is it for folks to be walking around with a concealed weapon?

Is it more prevelant in any given states?

Up here in Canada its pretty much unheard of.

I'm not judging, just curious in a kind of social-science kind of way.

P.S. I like handguns...I just bought a high quality german air pistol for shooting in my basement target range.

Of course, my stopping power is only effective against angry coke cans

[red-beard]

In most states you have to get a permit. 48 have provisions, 38 it is pretty easy. 2 have no provisions.

You don't carry a pistol because you think you are going to be in a bad situation. You carry in case something unusual happens.

If you know you are going somewhere where you will need a firearm. Bring a rifle and bring friends with rifles.

[red-beard]

Oh yes, the percent that carry in right to carry states is usually around 5%

[Rick Lee]

Twobone, about 40 of our 50 state have what's called "shall-issue" carry laws. That means the state cannot deny someone a concealed carry permit if they meet certain guidelines, which are pretty much those you have to meet to buy a handgun. It used to be very political and vary widely from county to county even in the same state. Now it's getting pretty uniform. Problem is, a lot of states don't recognize other states' carry permits. I have a non-resident New Hampshire permit in addition to my Virginia resident permit. I'll get a Florida one soon. Then I'll be able to carry just about anywhere that has a shall-issue law. Anyway, there are probably millions of permit holders. I carry just about everywhere in Virginia, but cannot carry in Maryland or DC, where all guns are banned, but crime is still horrendous. So I try to stay out of DC as much as possible.

[red-beard]

You need a Utah permit for the Western States.

[twobone]

Very foreign to us up here in Canada, but I think if you ask me in 15 years, I'll probably tell you that I've moved to the country and I own some kind of defensive firearm

I live in Toronto and while violent crime is stable, gun crimes are goin up and its creeping into the more upscale areas.

I occassionally worry about home invasion or car jacking.

For now that is offset by concerns over the dangers of a gun in the home....but one day that balance of risks may change.

It really sucks that it has to be that way

[pwd72s]

Kinda funny how the rate of violent crime against individuals dropped as each state adopted concealed carry laws, isn't it?

[twobone]

How do you guys self-regulate interpersonal conflict?

This is going to sound very "liberal".....so bear with me, I'm just trying to learn how US society "really" works from no-B.S. guys


I'd worry about flippin a guy the bird who cut me off on the highway for fear of it escalating.

I mean the guy could have just lost his job or his wife just left him and I'm the guy he decides to take it out on.

Does the fear of someone else carrying a handgun keep people from blowing their top at each other?

[red-beard]

Take a look at this:

http://www.unicri.it/wwd/analysis/icvs/index.php

http://www.unicri.it/wwd/analysis/icvs/pdf_files/key2000i/app4.pdf

So, using the stats around the top 23 industrialized countries, the US has per capita below average crime and is in the lower 3rd section. Canada just missed out of being in the Top 3rd, but has above average crime, per capita.

Out of 23, Canada is ranked 9th and the US is ranked 16th. Lower is better. We have 300 million people in the US, compared with 33 million for Canada.

[red-beard]

Originally posted by twobone
How do you guys self-regulate interpersonal conflict?

This is going to sound very "liberal".....so bear with me, I'm just trying to learn how US society "really" works from no-B.S. guys


I'd worry about flippin a guy the bird who cut me off on the highway for fear of it escalating.

I mean the guy could have just lost his job or his wife just left him and I'm the guy he decides to take it out on.

Does the fear of someone else carrying a handgun keep people from blowing their top at each other?

Part of the training I went through was de-escalation and understanding the consequences of shooting. For those of us who legally carry, we think through these things before hand. You have far more to worry about from the person who is not carrying legally.

[Jeff Higgins]

"An armed society is a polite society."