Difficult decision

[rhonnin]

I have this old derringer in .38 special that my step father bought years ago, he passed away 11 or so years ago and it's been my primary carry piece ever since. At some point he had taken the stock maple grips off and replaced them with faux ivory, today a friend gave me a couple thin slabs of ebony and I'm thinking of making a new set of grips from it.
The original blued finish has darkened with age and looks almost black, the contrast with the ivory looks nice but I am thinking it would look sharp with polished ebony.
Opinions?

[Gunther]

I think both would look bad ass. Sounds a lot like do you choose White walls or black for your '54 Corvette?

[redwarrior666]

I have this old derringer in .38 special that my step father bought years ago

I love my M1911 it's just a sexy pistol... a design that has withstood the test of time.

[rhonnin]

I have a 1911 also, a Ruger super blackhawk in .44 mag, A smith and Wesson S model in .357 mag, a new england firearms .32 H&R mag, a TC in .357 max, and a variety of antique pieces.
My taste tends towards wheel guns because they are just more classy.
The 1911, and all but the derringer and .32mag really are not practical for general carry, the chances of being in a firefight where I need a combat handgun anywhere in NH are pretty slim, I used to carry the .32, or my old .38 snub nose (before I sold it) but over the past few years I've put on a lot of weight so a heavier gun pulls my pants down.

[Anger]

This is the kind of conversation that does 2 things to me -
1) Remind me without a doubt that America is different from the UK (or even Japan)
2) Scare me a little.

Guns are things in moves for me. No-one has or carries a gun in any of the places I have stayed, and if they did so, I would not want to be near them. It is hard to explain exactly how alien a concept it is to see/hear some guys having a casual conversation about their guns.

[rhonnin]

Hehe, and those are just the handguns, I have a number of rifles and shotguns as well.
In NH it's very common for someone to carry a handgun, most everyone I know owns guns for hunting, sporting, protection, etc...
We have one of the lowest violent crime rates in the country too.

[Gunther]

I have been involved in a conversation on the MHA boards that actually comes from the perspective Anger mentions. Many of the MHAers live in England. One of them, who apparently is 6'3" tall was mugged by a group of youths known as "Chavs". He was complaining about the downward spiral out world is heading. The conversation took many turns, including one young American telling him he should carry a gun. Then the aspect that guns are illegal in UK came out. Although many of them wish they could to protect themselves against these criminals.

In a nation where guns are illegal, only the criminals will carry them.

Personnally, I have an AR-15 Assault Rifle and a M10 .38 Cal, S&W revolver. I also prefer the revolver. They are more accurate than a semi. The only bad part is they have inferior ammo capacity. "Carry speed loaders!"

[Damaen]

i am canadian. so you can pretty much tell what my position is going to be before i type.

i'm not against guns per se. I just dont really want one. I dont want to shoot people. i am very happy leaving that to our capable law enforcement departments.

i have never been the victim of a violent crime. also i can run REALLY fast. if everyone i knew carried a gun for "protection" i would probably move.

that being said, if someone ever broke into my house in the middle of the night, i have always had a fascination with knives.

[rhonnin]

Personnally, I have an AR-15 Assault Rifle and a M10 .38 Cal, S&W revolver. I also prefer the revolver. They are more accurate than a semi. The only bad part is they have inferior ammo capacity. "Carry speed loaders!"

Like I said previously, you just don't need to carry that much fire power unless you are in a war zone, a criminal or law enforcement. When I carried my .45 I usually had a spare magazine but really for every day use who wants the extra weight and bulk.
I've had my eye on another derringer in .410/.45 long colt, I also would love to pick up another revolver in .40 S&W, excellent round that comes in a wide variety of configurations.

[rhonnin]

i am canadian. so you can pretty much tell what my position is going to be before i type.

i'm not against guns per se. I just dont really want one. I dont want to shoot people. i am very happy leaving that to our capable law enforcement departments.

I don't want to shoot people either, well at least not in real life. Just because someone carries doesn't mean they will shoot someone though.
I used to shoot competitively years ago, both pistol and archery, and the human silhouettes used in the pistol shoots is as close as I've ever come to shooting a person.