Whos packing heat in the field?

[Bureau Chief]

No specifics please, we dont want to get anyone fired of course but a few recent incidents have me thinking about carrying a tazer or some other type of non-lethal weapon while out on the job. Thoughts? Anybody else suiting up for defense? My employer officially does not allow this but my special status allows me some leeway in this area.

[News Is Broken]

Here's all you need:

http://www.saveonpromotionalproducts.com/catalogpics/Compass/2Clg.jpg

Flash it in their face to blind 'em first, then wallop 'em upside their head and run like hell. They literally won't know what hit 'em.

[Hard_reign2004]

if you whack them in the head with a mag light you won't need to run. You may however need to call 911... for max impact just remember keep your hands back and swing through impact!

[east coast producer]

...but my special status allows me some leeway in this area.

I've always suspected you were special. Here's a great big :hug: for doing such a super job!

[News Is Broken]

if you whack them in the head with a mag light you won't need to run. You may however need to call 911... for max impact just remember keep your hands back and swing through impact!

Hmmm I dunno. If the guys big enough/doped out enough the whack in the head won't do much except give you an opportunity to disappear. If you swing hard enough, you'll probably kill the guy. Either way I wouldn't want to be the guy standing there with a maglite in his hand when either his buddies or the cops show up.

[wx or not]

Pop 'em in the kneecaps, hard. Works every time. Even worked for Capt. Kirk in Star Trek VI, although those weren't necessarily kneecaps...;)

[Clever Login Name]

Let me check my "Pro's Guide to Self Defense" and I'll get back to you.

Oh, wait, here it is. It's a small piece of paper that says "run".

[News Is Broken]

Let me check my "Pro's Guide to Self Defense" and I'll get back to you.

Oh, wait, here it is. It's a small piece of paper that says "run".

Yeah. I made up the maglite part myself.

[Consider This]

thinking about carrying a tazer or some other type of non-lethal weapon while out on the job. Thoughts?

I carry the knowledge that this is only television (and now Internet). It is not worth risking my life over.

I was on a story once where it wasn't quite a riot but there was a large angry mob. Police believed their presence was exacerbating rather than alleviating the problem. Cops told us they were packing up and leaving and recommended we do the same.

We did. And our last report from the scene was done as a phoner from inside the live truck as we departed. No one at the station questioned us. If they had, they would have gotten a healthy, hearty invitation to go screw off.

Again: It's only TV. It's only TV. It's only TV.

[Gil]

Wisconsin does not yet allow concealed carry, but I did have a permit when I lived in Michigan. I rarely carried on my person, however... prefered to have something with me in the car and also while camping.

If you have not taken the course, you may not fully understand the consequences of using a gun against another person. If your state allows concealed carry, it is a good course to take even if you do not plan to carry. The legal ramifications are very interesting, as are the attitudes of LEOs toward concealed weapons. Quite enlightening, regardless of your personal feelings about guns.

[Roy Hobbs]

As always, Gil is the civil alternative, even in camping.
http://www.bajataco.com/camper13.jpg

[Diggin' Bear]

Let me check my "Pro's Guide to Self Defense" and I'll get back to you.

Oh, wait, here it is. It's a small piece of paper that says "run".

Or, wait. That way, the attacker won't breathe so hard on you while knocking your butt all over the place! (Wouldn't want to get a cold!)

[The Thrill]

Let me check my "Pro's Guide to Self Defense" and I'll get back to you.

Oh, wait, here it is. It's a small piece of paper that says "run".

Ol' "Diamond" David Lee Roth called that "Nike ju-jitsu." :D

[MyracleMan]

Wisconsin does not yet allow concealed carry, but I did have a permit when I lived in Michigan. I rarely carried on my person, however... prefered to have something with me in the car and also while camping.

If you have not taken the course, you may not fully understand the consequences of using a gun against another person. If your state allows concealed carry, it is a good course to take even if you do not plan to carry. The legal ramifications are very interesting, as are the attitudes of LEOs toward concealed weapons. Quite enlightening, regardless of your personal feelings about guns.

Do share, Gil. What exactly are the legal ramifications from CC, with a permit, and the attitudes of LEO's towards those who do. I am curious to know.

[Spike]

My employer officially does not allow this but my special status allows me some leeway in this area.

Good for you, Geraldo.

[Gil]

Do share, Gil. What exactly are the legal ramifications from CC, with a permit, and the attitudes of LEO's towards those who do. I am curious to know.


Too much information to try to summarize it here. That's why I recommend taking a course. But the LEOs who taught the course I took in Michigan were supporters of concealed carry because of the required education that comes with it. They assume just about anyone they stop for a traffic bust may have a weapon, and they like the idea of having folks trained in safety and registered. They are not so worried about folks who pass a background check and take a course as they are about the bad guys who have been carrying all along.

[Produce man]

I'm always packing heat...:whistle:

[Mighty Dyckerson]

I'm always packing heat...:whistle:

And blowing hot air.

[Produce man]

Slow day in the basement?:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[Mighty Dyckerson]

Slow day in the basement?:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

I'm not the one who has posted 100 times today.

[Produce man]

I'm not the one who has posted 100 times today.You're keeping count?

It IS a slow day in the basement.


Really, MD, why do you keep doing this to yourself?


:confused: :confused: :confused: :confused:

[Mighty Dyckerson]

You're keeping count?

No, I was just bluffing. But the fact that you believe you posted 100 times today is "very telling," as a certain ProDouche Boy is fond of saying.

[Produce man]

Again, why do you keep doing this to yourself?

You just keep making us laugh at you. It's fun!:cheers: :rockon:

[s'news]

Hey folks, please don't feel the village idiot trolls. Leave them be.

[Diplomat]

No specifics please, we dont want to get anyone fired of course but a few recent incidents have me thinking about carrying a tazer or some other type of non-lethal weapon while out on the job. Thoughts? Anybody else suiting up for defense? My employer officially does not allow this but my special status allows me some leeway in this area.

There have been a few times I was tempted but I don't even own a gun and figure someone would get hurt and it would probably be me. So I just went the Andy Griffith route.

All I would tell you is to give it a lot of thought, as I believe you have, and trust your instincts about situations, company policy and the like.

[Bureau Chief]

I wish there was such a thing as the "glow rods" they used in the movie Demolition Man. That would be about all the defense I would need. Give em a shock and make them back off. Of course then they produce a hand gun and shoot me in the head.

[Old Shooter]

I have a carry permit and probably carry 10% of the time and maybe another 10% in the personal car.
The company has strict rules about carrying in a company car so I don't.

My advice is that for civilians a Tazer or stun gun is just going to piss somebody off. You will never have to take anyone into custody like the PD. You have the option to get the heck out of Dodge and I advise taking it.

My belief is that if you need to use a weapon the only one worth having is a large firearm. (.357 is my choice but I like revolvers.) A wise cop once told me "you can't miss fast enough to win a gunfight."

If I need to hit some punk with the maglight I'm probably in fear enough for my life to "10" ring him twice in the chest. (Same guy told me "if you ever shoot anyone leave only your story.)

I've carried 12 years now and only touched the gun once and never un-holsered it except on the range

[ISTHISTHINGON?]

There have been a few times I was tempted but I don't even own a gun and figure someone would get hurt and it would probably be me.

I think that's the bottom line. I don't mind people carrying a small handgun for protection as long as they REALLY know how to use it. This includes knowing when NOT to use it....because sometimes walking/running away will end an altercation. Bottomline...you never know how you'll TRULY react to a situation until you are put in it. :(
Back when I bartended in college a guy ran in my dive bar and put a shotgun in my face. I had a gun in my pocket...but based on the 10 or so customers and the fact I couldn't guarantee I'd win without some kind of loss....the gun stayed in my pocket even when the robber turned his back.

[Sultanosurf]

A certain LA reporter, let's call him PD, was renowned for carrying. During the riot, I was attached to the guy like velcro.

Then again, PD was later the victim of a home robbery where they stole all his guns. So how much good did they do?

From experience, the best weapon to have -- is a rolling camera...

[ewink]

I remember back when I was in MC late one Sunday before we were on air 24/7 I was off air and bored so I read the company handbook and saw that Clear Channel made it very clear that they frowned upon people carrying handguns on their property and in their vehicles.

I found that interesting for a San Antonio based company.

[Spike]

I remember back when I was in MC late one Sunday before we were on air 24/7 I was off air and bored so I read the company handbook and saw that Clear Channel made it very clear that they frowned upon people carrying handguns on their property and in their vehicles.

That's an attempt to mitigate liability. If someone goes nuts and shoots somebody, a plaintiff will have a harder time blaming the company if the company expressly made it against the rules to shoot people on its property.

[TAFKA wacowx]

I remember back when I was in MC late one Sunday before we were on air 24/7 I was off air and bored so I read the company handbook and saw that Clear Channel made it very clear that they frowned upon people carrying handguns on their property and in their vehicles.

I found that interesting for a San Antonio based company.

Well, in my Waco, TX station, there were large signs on the back door strictly prohibiting firearms in the workplace, written both in English and Spanish.

And I am sure I have seen those same signs in other places too. They looked like official goverment-issued workplace signs, like the minimum wage ones.

[csusandman]

...of packing "heat" (http://www.warmers.com/ItemDetails.aspx?offsetp=1&strtp=1&itemid=BIGPACKx4&utm_source=homepage&utm_medium=panel&utm_campaign=BigPackHome)!

Hey... it's cold here in SLC right now. Who wouldn't?!

[Sigonfile]

I just purchased a semi-auto handgun. I was amazed at how fast the transaction went. In and out of the gun store in less time than it takes to pick up a presciption at the drug store. I thought there was a wait after a purchase for a background check, but I walked out with the firearm and two boxes of ammo.

[MyracleMan]

Sig, it depends on what state you're in. The NICS background check system, run by the FBI, is a database of people who are prohibited from owning a firearm. If your name doesn't produce a 'hit' in the FBI database, the firearms sale is approved. This replaced the national five-day wait under the Brady Act. Now, provisions vary from state to state. In my home state, if you have a concealed carry permit, you can walk out of the store that day with either a handgun, rifle, or shotgun. If you don not have a permit, you can still get a rifle or shotgun, but there's a 3-day wait for handguns. It just depends on what state you live in as to whether you have to have a permit or be subject to a waiting period.

[Obewon]

I'm not in the field any more, but I've carried a Colt Detective Special with hollow-point +P for over 20 years.

Never leave home without it