A Versacarry Issue

A brief note for those using, or interested in the Versacarry holster. I had an occurrence wearing this holster with my Ruger LCP, which, to be fair, could have happened with most clip on holsters. I was wearing it at the 3:30 o'clock position, and had been much of the day. I sat on my sofa which has substantial but smooth leather arms. The arm was toward my gun side. When I stood up, the grip somehow hit the arm of the sofa and the LCP popped out of the holster and onto the sofa. Quite a surprise.

I am currently wearing the LCP in the same Versacarry but in the appendix position. I normally carry at appendix or cross draw with the Versacarry and was experimenting with the 3:30 position. I expect this not to be a problem at the front positions. But, anyone carrying so that the grips could come into contact with something, like furniture, should take proper precautions.

The Elsie Pea Forum is no more

Change. It's inevitable.

A few weeks ago the great Else Pea Forum changed hands, and changed names. It is now the Ruger Pistols Forum and under new ownership and management. The EPF (Elsie Pea Forum) was started after the release of the Ruger LCP by a few dedicated individuals who wanted to have a place for those who owned or were interested in the new Light Compact Pistol from Ruger to communicate and exchange information. It quickly grew to ten thousand members, and about ten times that number of regular visitors who did not sign up to be members. It became noteworthy because the team of moderators and the owner kept the forum focused on gun ownership, information, assistance and discussion and did not allow ranting, obscenity, political, racial or religious discussions (which normally turn ugly immediately on most forums). These 'rules' were strictly inforced and, as a direct consequence, attracted and kept people interested in intelligent and civil discourse concerning Ruger firearms, primarily, gun safety, concealed carry topics, etc. Last year I was invited to become a moderator on the forum and I quickly agreed. It was a wonderful experience. I learned from the outstanding team of moderators and the owner how a forum should be managed, and I learned from the members that by and large, people appreciate being treated with respect and politeness even when disagreement is inevitable.

However, since the new owners have assumed control, it became apparent to most of the moderator team that their philosophy of forum management and certain topics like gun safety and communciation with members differ significantly from ours. Consequently, most of the old moderators have resigned those duties, and I expect all will eventually resign. No need to get into details. Those are available on the forum itself. I hope that the same attitudes of polite and respectful communication, attention to gun rights and the safety of gun owners and those around them and the intolertance of invective, obscenity, ranting and prejudice will not be tolerated. Most of the other gun forums I have looked at suffer from all or some of those characteristics and I do not have time to engage in that kind of activity, nor would I if I had time.

Among some of the things I learned from moderating the Elsie Pea Forum:

• If treated with respect, most people will respond in kind.
• Disagreements can be handled with intelligence and passion, but don't have to degenerate into rants and screaming matches.
• You can't satisfy everyone.
• There are many more people who know a lot more about guns than I ever will.
• It is possible to make real friends on the internet.
• Everyone's got an opinion. At least one...
• Having a gun when you need one is more important than the reverse - regardless of the caliber.
• The right to protect yourself and others is a natural, inalienable right and must be supported.
• There are a lot of handguns available out there, but I like Rugers the best.

Many of us have moved over to the www.380forum.com for community and communication.

Perhaps a new Ruger-focused forum will arise with the same values as the old Elsie Pea Forum. If it ever does, I'll be back like a shot.

Versacarry Update and Promotion Offer

I have sent two of the Versacarry holsters to a couple of members of the old Elsie Pea Forum (now Ruger Pistols Forum) to keep, use and provide me with some real-world feedback. They are husband and wife, both carry and are smart, curious and safe. I should be able to report back with the male and female perspectives on these holsters in a few weeks. So, in addition to my opinion, we will get a broader look at these holsters and how they work as everyday carry hosters.

I didn't ask the folks at Versacarry if I could do this. I informed them that I'd be getting more input on their gear and they are fine with that. In fact, they have provided me with a promotion code for your use should you decide you want to try out a Versacarry for yourself. I believe it applies to free shipping with your order. The code is:

FRE3SHP-sdcarry

If you use a Versacarry and care to comment, send me an email and I'll include your thoughts on this blog.

Back from the road trip

We recently returned from an almost two week road trip from Colorado to Iowa. Fortunately, all of the states we traveled to and through have reciprocal concealed carry agreements with Colorado. That was good, but unraveling the different carry restrictions for each state was not quite so easy. There is a site I like about US Hangun laws that helped tremendously: www.handgunlaw.us

All of the relevant factors are listed by state, including which states have reciprocity agreements with others. Passage of the national reciprocity act would make that point moot, like drivers' licenses. They are ALL recognized by ALL states. No questions asked. Why not the same for concealed carry permits you might ask? Well, the fact that most non-gun owners are uneducated in gun ownership, civil rights and the fact that regardless of the desire on many people's part that guns just disappear or be banned outright, criminals and bad people will get, carry and use guns. Like it is somehow morally superior to be found dead - shot, strangled, stabbed, bludgeoned, etc. - rather than to have to explain to the police how that person who attacked you got those bullet holes in his chest.

So, with that in mind, I put my road carry package together, suitable for many hours in the car, and for many hours in the company of hundreds, and in some cases, thousands of people who mostly do not carry guns, mostly don't like or understand guns, and who would likely freak out if they saw or suspected that someone amongst them were actually carrying a gun. Sort of like normal life, but on an amplified scale for a couple of weeks.

Being a person who understands risk analyis and is often a fan of redundant systems, I elected to take two Rugers: an LCP and an LC9. This would provide me another weapon should one become unuseable for any reason, like a malfunction of me leaving it behind somewhere (not very likely, but, hey, I've done stupid things before...) This would also permit me to balance firepower with conditions, like around the hotel room it's more comfortable to carry the little LCP than the bigger, heavier nine. With Hornady Critical Defense ammo, the LCP would be effective, especially within the confines of a hotel room, and worse case, would possibly buy me some time to get to the nine of things really went to hell in a hurry. At least that was the theory.

For holsters, I took two Versacarry rigs. Either would fit either gun and provide varying levels of deep carry. I also took a standard Remora for the LCP and two Remoras for the LC9, one tuckable, the other not.  Lastly, I took the Uncle George back pocket holster for the LCP.

I used a combination of them all at one time or another. Except for the Uncle George, most of my carry positions were either appendix or cross-draw. When in situations where one is sitting, moving about, sitting, etc. throughout the day, I favor the cross-draw position. Good concealment and easy to get to, even when wearing a seat belt. You have to get a suitable holster though, since the end of the grip may tend to protrude under your shirt. I found that the Remora or the Versacarry worked fine in this position too.

When all was over and we were back home, I got an unintended compliment from my wife. She looked at me (I was carrying the LC9 in a Remora at the time) and asked, "Did you carry your gun while we were at the reunion?"
"What do you think?" I said.
"I don't know," she said, "did you?"

I haven't answered that question yet.