Okay. I bought a stupid .45

[stephen]

I hate you guys. I keep buying guns and its all your fault.

I had a nice PPK/S but NO! It wasn't good enough, was it? So I buy a way-cool James Bond-like P99 but NO! Still not good enough!

In a desperate effort to gain social acceptance, I have arranged for purchase of a compact Glock .45. I don't want to buy it and I don't want to like it. If I like it by accident I'm going to be really mad.

I'm only buying it because its brand new and I can get it for 300 bucks. And if it turns out to be a good gun I will never, ever admit it.

And if I ever turn into one of these .45-caliber-only fanatics, I'll use it to shoot myself.

I hope you're happy.

[Billy_Bishop]

I hope for your sake you don't turn into one of those ".45 only" fanatics. That would be very bad.

I like .45's, I really do. But I've also got a thing for 9mm, .38 specials, .357 magnums, .44 magnums, and a host of other calibers.

Unlike some, I do believe there are some decent self-defense loads for the 9mm. And when you carry concealed, well, I've just not found a .45 that was small enough and controlable enough, and concealable enough to make it worth it.

On the other hand, I've seen some .25's that you could, well, let's just say it would be difficult to find.

VBR,

Al Lowe

[Brad]

My "significant other" is scared of handguns... so my last toy (a little high standard plinker) is gone!

I really want a 1911. Not a great weapon really, but has nostalgic significance.

I also would love to have another WWI era Mauser. I don't regret getting rid of the last one I had, as it was in pretty poor condition- I bought it on a whim, and when I disassembled it to give it a good cleaning I found a LOT of pitting where the barrel rested in the stock. Oh well... I'll get a nice one later.

Brad

I really want a 1911. * *Not a great weapon really, but has nostalgic significance. *

I'm gonna pretend I didn't read that.

Seriously though, check out this site: www.cdnninvestments.com they don't list them on the site, but download their PDF catalog and you'll find 1927 Colt Sistema 1911A1 .45's for $299.00. They pre-war Colt quality 1911A1's manufactured under license in Argentina. These are solid shooters, and all parts are interchangeable with other 1911's.

[mike_baram]

Stephen,
Don't you dare use the .45 to shoot yourself. 9mm ammo is a lot cheaper. But if you do, can I be your heir?
If you have a chance, try to rent a Kimber Ultra Carry (3" barrel). I have the Pro Carry (4" barrel) and I find it very concealable. The balance is perfect, and Kimbers are accurate as hell.

Brad,
I'm lucky to be with a woman who not only likes guns, but has a CCW permit.
I suggest you get your S/O to at least agree to visit a range and try a .22 before she makes a final decision. Most fears about guns stem from ignorance. Additionally, the NRA has a "Refuse to be a victim" program that could be an easy transition for her.
Try to get her to meet you halfway on this. It's a pity that you have to give up something you like just because she doesn't have the knowledge.
VBR,
Mike
(Certified NRA instructor)

[Michael]

My rifles were gone before I started dating my wife. She has no use for things military, but tolerates the medals and badges.

When all is said and done, you do what you have to. For the right person, I think that most of us would give up almost anything.

Kipling had a different view:

THE BETROTHED


OPEN the old cigar-box, get me a Cuba stout,
For things are running crossways, and Maggie and I are out.
We quarrelled about Havanas — we fought o'er a good cheroot,
And I knew she is exacting, and she says I am a brute.

Open the old cigar-box — let me consider a space;
In the soft blue veil of the vapour musing on Maggie's face.

Maggie is pretty to look at — Maggie's a loving lass,
But the prettiest cheeks must wrinkle, the truest of loves must pass.

There's peace in a Larranaga, there's calm in a Henry Clay;
But the best cigar in an hour is finished and thrown away —

Thrown away for another as perfect and ripe and brown —
But I could not throw away Maggie for fear o' the talk o' the town!

Maggie, my wife at fifty — grey and dour and old —
With never another Maggie to purchase for love or gold!

And the light of Days that have Been the dark of the Days that Are,
And Love's torch stinking and stale, like the butt of a dead cigar —

The butt of a dead cigar you are bound to keep in your pocket —
With never a new one to light tho' it's charred and black to the socket!

Open the old cigar-box — let me consider a while.
Here is a mild Manila — there is a wifely smile.

Which is the better portion — bondage bought with a ring,
Or a harem of dusky beauties, fifty tied in a string?

Counsellors cunning and silent — comforters true and tried,
And never a one of the fifty to sneer at a rival bride?

Thought in the early morning, solace in time of woes,
Peace in the hush of the twilight, balm ere my eyelids close,

This will the fifty give me, asking nought in return,
With only a Suttee's passion — to do their duty and burn.

This will the fifty give me. When they are spent and dead,
Five times other fifties shall be my servants instead.

The furrows of far-off Java, the isles of the Spanish Main,
When they hear my harem is empty will send me my brides again.

I will take no heed to their raiment, nor food for their mouths withal,
So long as the gulls are nesting, so long as the showers fall.

I will scent 'em with best vanilla, with tea will I temper their hides,
And the Moor and the Mormon shall envy who read of the tale of my brides.

For Maggie has written a letter to give me my choice between
The wee little whimpering Love and the great god Nick o' Teen.

And I have been servant of Love for barely a twelvemonth clear,
But I have been Priest of Cabanas a matter of seven year;

And the gloom of my bachelor days is flecked with the cheery light
Of stumps that I burned to Friendship and Pleasure and Work and Fight.

And I turn my eyes to the future that Maggie and I must prove,
But the only light on the marshes is the Will-o'-the-Wisp of Love.

Will it see me safe through my journey or leave me bogged in the mire?
Since a puff of tobacco can cloud it, shall I follow the fitful fire?

Open the old cigar-box — let me consider anew —
Old friends, and who is Maggie that I should abandon you?

A million surplus Maggies are willing to bear the yoke;
And a woman is only a woman, but a good Cigar is a Smoke.

Light me another Cuba — I hold to my first-sworn vows.
If Maggie will have no rival, I'll have no Maggie for Spouse!

[stephen]

Stephen,
Don't you dare use the .45 to shoot yourself. 9mm ammo is a lot cheaper.

From what the .45 guys tell me, I couldn't hurt myself with a 9mm anyway.

[Kirby]

Stephen

They got to me too. I set out to buy a good Argentine Mauser and ended up with a P90. What the heck; it was priced so low I couldn't pass it up. I refuse to meet the requirements for the rebate, though. >

VBR
Kirby

[Kirby]

Michael

Who was it that said, "A woman's only a woman but a cigar is a smoke."?

[Michael]

Kipling in the poem I just posted.

Which is why I posted it!

"A million surplus Maggies are willing to bear the yoke;
And a woman is only a woman, but a good Cigar is a Smoke.