I'm of mixed opinion. I was great friends with a French photographer named Jean Guy Jules (passed away). He was with the Katanga white mercenaries when they abandoned their fiefdom E.Zaire (Congo) in 1967, tossed their weapons into the Zambezi River, exchanged passports - many wound up in Brussels. He was later for 2 years in Biafra. I met him in Pakistan - he visited in Brussels, DC, and Brazzaville. He never carried a gun. His smile and personality got him out of all sorts of difficulty.
I've carried a gun in Vietnam, Africa, Greece, Afghanistan; and unlike others I had 10 - 15 formal sessions 1 week at a time every 18 months over the last 30 years shooting maybe 3000 rounds through a Glock each time simulating combat conditions (jam - sweep, tap, rack etc.) so I pretty much can use the gun efficiently. It is a skill which is perishable.
The first question is "Can you deploy/draw your gun in an emergency?" Most couldn't find it let alone put off the safety (safety is not a problem with a Glock). And under stress most couldn't hit a target the size of a door at 8 feet with a handgun. (unless highly and continually trained - "you do not rise to the occasion, you sink to the level of your training.")
But I've never carried in the USA. Never will (except if I'm hiking in Alaska and that would be with a Remington 870 Marine Magnum with deep penetrating slug that I'm not even sure I could get off in the 3 seconds I have facing a grizzly charge). Really it's sort of like my Jeep. It's a stock Willys JL. No upgrades. If I can't climb what's in front of me with it, I don't need to be there.
Last edited by Argo44; 11/14/23 10:57 PM.
