So JetBlue has FlyFi now - allows you to surf the web for free on your tablet or smartphone. Great feature, I think - only drawback is they have lots of prohibited sites - porn and guns, but not NES.
Anyone who knows me knows I HATE flying - I had 2 Knob Creek Manhattans with breakfast at Logan before flying out to FT Meyers last week. When I was finally comfortably in my seat, I broke out Guns and Ammo and another gun rag I can't recall because it had a 1911 shootout feature.
The woman sitting next to me was polite, older and curious. "Not to be nosy, but can I ask you a question?" Again, Im happy with the effects of the Creek at this point, so I say certainly.
"Why on EARTH would anyone WANT one of those?" pointing to an ad for an LMT AR-15 in all its tacti-cool, killy marketing goodness.
Sensing this could go either way, I decided that its a 3 hour (turned into 4!!) flight and that she'd be a hell of a lot worse to fly with if I did the usual sarcastic reply, I explained that its a great choice for a lot of reasons like precision target shooting, varmint hunting and self defense.
"Self defense? Seriously? How can you justify that for self defense? My husband has a shotgun he uses for hunting and he told me it more than does the job for self defense without it having the capacity to murder a hundred people."
I reasoned that yes, a shotgun has great effect when used in self defense, but have you shot your husband's shotgun?
"well, yes, he took me to the range once."
Did you like it?
"No! It hurt my shoulder and I found that [working the action] was kind of tough."
Im going to guess you weigh below the 120 lb mark (trying to be complimentary) - a shotgun, and Im going to guess his is a 12 GA, isn't a pleasant experience for most people who don't have a lot of size to them or don't know to get different loadings for the shells.
"It is a 12 GA."
Right. and have you practiced with it since?
"No, it actually scared me."
So if your home is under threat, do you think you could honestly use it to defend yourself?
"Well, maybe, I think so."
Yeah, see that's not what you want in a self defense firearm. You want no doubt whatsoever that if you are going to use it, its going to work and that you're ready to use it with no hesitation, no fear of the mechanism or the recoil.
"what does that have to do with having an assault rifle?"
Everything and everything. This rifle (pointing to the ad), while it really isn't my favorite, is IDEAL for self defense with the right ammunition. Its quick to aim, likely of lighter weight than your husband's shotgun (may have been exaggerating), and recoil-wise, the AR is like shooting a pellet gun compared to firing a 12GA. Whats more - its an autoloader, meaning you aren't racking a slide after taking the first LOUD, jarring shot. That means you'll be able to engage with a follow up shot and more, if you need to.
One of the reasons the AR/M-16 platform is so widely used is because the armed forces is made up of men and especially women of ALL sizes. The .556 round itself is very forgiving to the shooter, not so much to the guy at the other end of the barrel. That's why they switched over from the bigger, more powerful 7.62 NATO round (she glazed a bit here, but did light up when I noted women carry it)
"But do you need that many rounds?"
They make magazines with smaller capacities, sure, but if you're facing the unknown, isn't it better to have more at your disposal? Think of it this way - you made the dreadful decision to have to shoot someone in your home - he or she may have fired back or has the ability to keep fighting....do you want to have 5, 10 shots or 20-30?
"I hadn't thought of it that way."
She actually thanked me and said she'd had conversations with gun people before, but it usually devolved into shouting matches and people over-asserting the second amendment. I thanked her for listening and gave her the 2 magazines and encouraged her to get back on the range and ask someone with an AR to let her give it a whirl.
So I think I did my good 2A deed for this month.
Anyone who knows me knows I HATE flying - I had 2 Knob Creek Manhattans with breakfast at Logan before flying out to FT Meyers last week. When I was finally comfortably in my seat, I broke out Guns and Ammo and another gun rag I can't recall because it had a 1911 shootout feature.
The woman sitting next to me was polite, older and curious. "Not to be nosy, but can I ask you a question?" Again, Im happy with the effects of the Creek at this point, so I say certainly.
"Why on EARTH would anyone WANT one of those?" pointing to an ad for an LMT AR-15 in all its tacti-cool, killy marketing goodness.
Sensing this could go either way, I decided that its a 3 hour (turned into 4!!) flight and that she'd be a hell of a lot worse to fly with if I did the usual sarcastic reply, I explained that its a great choice for a lot of reasons like precision target shooting, varmint hunting and self defense.
"Self defense? Seriously? How can you justify that for self defense? My husband has a shotgun he uses for hunting and he told me it more than does the job for self defense without it having the capacity to murder a hundred people."
I reasoned that yes, a shotgun has great effect when used in self defense, but have you shot your husband's shotgun?
"well, yes, he took me to the range once."
Did you like it?
"No! It hurt my shoulder and I found that [working the action] was kind of tough."
Im going to guess you weigh below the 120 lb mark (trying to be complimentary) - a shotgun, and Im going to guess his is a 12 GA, isn't a pleasant experience for most people who don't have a lot of size to them or don't know to get different loadings for the shells.
"It is a 12 GA."
Right. and have you practiced with it since?
"No, it actually scared me."
So if your home is under threat, do you think you could honestly use it to defend yourself?
"Well, maybe, I think so."
Yeah, see that's not what you want in a self defense firearm. You want no doubt whatsoever that if you are going to use it, its going to work and that you're ready to use it with no hesitation, no fear of the mechanism or the recoil.
"what does that have to do with having an assault rifle?"
Everything and everything. This rifle (pointing to the ad), while it really isn't my favorite, is IDEAL for self defense with the right ammunition. Its quick to aim, likely of lighter weight than your husband's shotgun (may have been exaggerating), and recoil-wise, the AR is like shooting a pellet gun compared to firing a 12GA. Whats more - its an autoloader, meaning you aren't racking a slide after taking the first LOUD, jarring shot. That means you'll be able to engage with a follow up shot and more, if you need to.
One of the reasons the AR/M-16 platform is so widely used is because the armed forces is made up of men and especially women of ALL sizes. The .556 round itself is very forgiving to the shooter, not so much to the guy at the other end of the barrel. That's why they switched over from the bigger, more powerful 7.62 NATO round (she glazed a bit here, but did light up when I noted women carry it)
"But do you need that many rounds?"
They make magazines with smaller capacities, sure, but if you're facing the unknown, isn't it better to have more at your disposal? Think of it this way - you made the dreadful decision to have to shoot someone in your home - he or she may have fired back or has the ability to keep fighting....do you want to have 5, 10 shots or 20-30?
"I hadn't thought of it that way."
She actually thanked me and said she'd had conversations with gun people before, but it usually devolved into shouting matches and people over-asserting the second amendment. I thanked her for listening and gave her the 2 magazines and encouraged her to get back on the range and ask someone with an AR to let her give it a whirl.
So I think I did my good 2A deed for this month.