Never again, indeed!

[9mmfan]

So I come home from work, wearing a "relaxed fit" style of jeans. I need to take out the trash. This is on a fairly major street just east of downtown Dallas, mind you. It will be a quick trip, but still, it is about 3:30 in the morning. Gotta get to the side of the duplex, can the trash, then move said can to the curb. Mexi-carry the 4" .38 SOB. No problem. 'til I make the walk back to the front door. Feel something slip. Continue walking, with a style that I could only describe as Modern Interpretive Dance. Next thing I hear is the "thonk" of my lovely fifty-odd year old crown hitting cement. Manage to grab it fairly quickly, no visible damage, and despite the abundance of other service industry neighbors, nobody seemed to notice. Red face notwithstanding. Which reminds me of another story, shy of couple years ago, when, 'round 5, A.M. mind you, phone rings. Alarm company. In haste, dress, grab the 9 from the nightstand, and mid-walkway to the car, rack the slide. Not realizing that it is shortly after 5 in the morn', and that some of my neighbors might be up to commute, I hear a "oooooooooh!" Didn't have time to stop and explain, but will, in the future, remember to conceal. Keep the two close to the bed w/ one in the pipe now anyways. Sorry for the ramble, sleep is 'bout upon me, and am looking forward to posting the requisite number of posts to be taken seriously. Not like that Gecko45 cat. :)

[CompVest]

Good story! It does make realize how blessed I am in to live in a single family dwelling so I don't have to conceal when I take the cans to the end of the drive.

[9mmfan]

In response, I was perfectly legal all times, given that I was in my yard, yard of a duplex. The first story simply concerned that the crown of my .38 might have been damaged, due to lack of proper retention. The second tale, which I realize was somewhat lacking in crucial details, the alarm in question was not car or home, but rather the alarm @ the bar I manage. The timeline given to me by the police, based on the couple phone calls involved; the alarm company, followed by my on-the-scene 911 call, timed my arrival @ just shy of three minutes. Intruders still managed to be away, good for them and good for my psychic well being. Sorry, digression. The "never again" of the latter half is simply responding to necessity visibly armed, thereby causing alarm in the neighborhood. "That quiet guy that keeps to himself came running out of his house at 5 A.M. with a pistol, what do you think he is up to?" kind of thing. Along the lines of "always carry, never tell." On the subject, anyone having difficulty attempting to get friends who live alone, particularly women, involved in self-protection? I try to quote the photos of Oleg Volk, but to no avail. If this leads to a new thread in another sub-forum, would welcome that sort of thing. Just am quite fond of my friends,want to keep them healthy, and am looking for advice on how to make them more situationally aware. Know about corneredcat.com and the Fallacy of Breda blog. Both of which I admire greatly. Any advice would be appreciated.

[WarHawk-AVG]

Well that sound at 5am might be a pretty intimidating sound don't you think

An uncharged weapon when being charged is about as useful as a hammer...remember that!

Do you own a holster or was your 38 tucked in the pants like a ganstah? How did it slip and fall out???
I have a all steel 1991A1, 3 o'clock in a Crossbreed Supertuck holster..I changed the oil in my wifes van (rolling around pulling the oil pan plug, the filter, getting back up to get the filter, putting it and the plug back on), then realized (oh..I forgot to take my condition 1 pistol off), I have ridden 70 miles all over Houston on my motorcycle and have NEVER feared loosing the 32oz+ chunk of steel.

Loose pants aren't an excuse chief!! Get a good holster..and a good belt and you will be good to go bud...you should be 100% concealed the instant your hand touches the front door....both coming and going..it prevents you from becoming that scary gun nut guy next door.

[9mmfan]

In response to your questions, you seemed to have missed a couple key points. I should point out these were all previous to my obtaining my CHL. Yes, the racking of a slide is noise unlike any other. Fact of the matter is, I was trying to get to my being-burglarized place of business, as I can beat the police there by eighteen minutes or so. This was earlier in my life as a gun owner. Was not yet comfortable with the idea of full magazine, one in the chamber. Followed up by adrenaline and all. We had been broken into twice before in the space of two and a half months, so we were all aching to catch these cats. Not really thinking about the neighbors. The Taking-The-Trash-Out-Situation was indeed my fault. On the subject of holsters, the one for the .38 is an OWB full flap job. The only time I would normally carry the Smith is when camping on private property. Insofar as the "gansta" question, I covered the fact that I was Mexi-carrying SOB. I really don't know if that is how your average street thug carries whilst taking out the trash at untoward hours. You would have to ask them. At the time the only gun I owned a holster for was my PPK/S, and it was sitting in my range bag, dirty, along with my much beloved Beretta, also dirty. This I will take fault for. Had been to the range the day before, and got distracted, and then lazy, a'fore I cleaned my irons. On that note, it did not fall out so much as down. That is correct. The grip slipped free of my belt, and my revolver slid down my right pant leg. I will reiterate that all of this occurred on property under my control, which is to say that I rent, and therefore none of it was illegal. Much like your full-size 1911 when you are changing the oil in your wife's car, or driving in your own vehicle. I will state further that I have since become more educated, licensed, and properly equipped. Which is to say a holster for the gun that I ultimately chose to carry (the ppk/s being sold towards this). I will also point out that this topic is titled "Never Again." It would therefore seem to follow that all incidents that are included within would indicate cognizance of what was done wrong, followed an understanding of how to do right in the future. I'm just saying. On a final note, mayhaps you should think about switching, post-haste, to decaf, Sparky. :) Again, I'm just saying.