Wednesday, April 12, 2006

CCW

Oralia and I are taking classes for concealed carry permits. In Ohio, that's 12 hours of training, including 2 hours of live-fire range time. Oralia is nervous about some of the neighborhoods she has to work in. I'm getting mine partly to keep her company, partly for political reasons--I want the CCW law to succeed. Oralia plans to carry, don't know that I will want to enough to get a second gun.

Our gun is a Springfield Armory XD-40 subcompact. .40 caliber, polymer (nice word for plastic) frame-Similar to a Glock, with an added grip safety, and many say a more natural pointing angle. Only problem so far is that Oralia has a hard time locking the slide open. She can chamber a round, check for an empty chamber, and if necessary she can use an empty magazine to lock the slide open.

Our instructor is a trip--Came to the door in Khaki hat and shirt with NRA patches, and with a holstered pistol exposed. Part of the class is identifying the 6 major types of handgun (Auto or revolver, Single action, double action or DA only). He had examples of each, including a .480--Big enough that a .44 magnum cartridge will fit inside a .480 shell. Also carried a knife that appeared to open like a switchblade. Missing a front tooth. On the other hand, he's charging the two of us a total of $175, and loaning us another Springfield XD 40 so we don't have to share.