The press is making a big deal out of the Indiana mall shooting and how one first victim shot was carrying a gun that he never got to use. They are, of course, claiming that this is proof that carrying a gun won’t do you any good, because a mass shooter will just shoot you before you can use it.
We all know that this is bullshit. The fact that the first victim was carrying a firearm was just happenstance. After all, it was concealed to the point that police didn’t know the decedent was armed until they moved the body.
The guy who took the shooter down made a hit with a handgun from 40 yards. If I were that guy, I would be cutting a deal with the maker of my firearm to do some paid advertising: “When I have to hit a mass shooter in a crowded shopping mall from 40 yards away without hitting a bystander, the only gun I trust is my Blastomatic M6.”
All fun aside, this shooting and the Texas school shooting where the CCW holder made a headshot across a crowded church have given me pause. In both cases, the first person shot by the killer was armed. The guy who wound up taking the killer out did so at distance using some pretty good marksmanship.
In Florida during the summer months, I frequently have to wear clothes that make concealing a large handgun very difficult. For that reason, I usually carry a Smith and Wesson 642. Taking an accurate shot at distance with a snub nosed revolver just isn’t practical.
So I need to be able to make rapid, accurate hits from distance. That means carrying one of the pistols that I have that is equipped with a microdot. Now one of those two is an M&P 9c. The 9c is still a little bit too large for carrying in clothing that is comfortable in Florida’s July and August heat.
My other option is to carry my performance center Shield Plus. The only problem is finding comfortable leather for it. The only holster I have that will fit is my custom Milt Sparks. I am going to have to work on some more holster options.



