Dilemma ???

I'm not a police officer - and like tardis I live in Manchester - not the most peaceful place in Britain.

I C knives nearly ED.
All, with the exception of my Swiss Army Champ, lock.

I carry Leatherman PST II (non locking but serrated blade) - some LEOs confiscate these if they've a mind to.
Spydercard - I reckon would instantly get me in bother if I was pulled.

I carry a Camillus CUDA EDC - locks but looks very unthreatening.
Occasionally Buck Crosslock Solitaire, locks but very disceetly.
BM710 slim and discreet lock

Knives I rarely carry
Endura (bigger than Delica but semi serrated so looks a bit "iffy"
Kershaw Boa Multicolour - looks nice but opening screams "flickknife"

Nearly Never Carry
Cuda MAXX 5.5 - you're kidding, right?

All of these get used for utility, and I doubt I'd ever get a pull for them. I'm a respectable looking, nicely spoken balding 44 year old. I also make very sure I don't carry any of them into the pub.
I don't want to put the LEO in a position where he has to make a decision on whose fault it is. I tend not to drink in pubs that attract trouble in any case...

The only thing I have carried for self defense - and I stopped that after a while as I figured I would need to get some decent training - was a 21"ASP baton. I figured rapping a BG on the arm/leg with that would give me space to leg it, and if necessary I'd grid it on the way home.

My best SD "weapon" was a 6P loaded with a P61 assembly, and my 2 terriers. They let me know someone was creeping up in the dark in the park. The 2 young teenagers were a bit surprised to be lit up and asked if I could help... the P61 is *very* bright.
 
Soa,

ASP = offensive weapon.

If you were glib enough, you could come up with a convincing reason for most of your EDCs.

If I find you out on the cobbles with an ASP, you are going to the Kingy Georgey Hotel with me to speak to a tape recorder.....

;)

maximus otter
 
Originally posted by maximus otter
Soa,

ASP = offensive weapon.
...
If I find you out on the cobbles with an ASP, you are going to the Kingy Georgey Hotel with me to speak to a tape recorder.....
Click to expand...

... as I said - now my "weapons" are 2 terriers to say who's there an a very bright light to dissuade them.

I doubt very much whether I'd have got a pull from you anyway (I'm a pocket emptier when going out) - I would still have gridded the ASP if I'd rapped someone with it...

But I do have a trick knee; and I sometimes need a cane...
 
I've got a pug.

Trouble is she's far more deadly than any of my gear. Rip your arm off in a blink !

Nice to make your acquaintances guys ;)

Tardis
 
Man, I feel sorry for you guys. :( Must really suck to have no freedoms like that. Guess you gotta work around them whenever possible, though. :(

Ash
 
Originally posted by Asha'man
Man, I feel sorry for you guys. :( Must really suck to have no freedoms like that. Guess you gotta work around them whenever possible, though.
Click to expand...

Don't feel *too* sorry for us.

I can no longer have a handgun in Britain; I only *ever* in 44 years met one individual that did have a handgun - and he was an ex-Para.

You can still have shotguns and rifles here. Just don't use them to shoot people. We do have many more killings here than we used to, but my perception is that most of the gun crime here is BG on BG. Maybe maximus otter can give us his perspective.

I feel I'm most likely to be hurt in a pub fight, and don't fear street crime much (again, my understanding is most of that is young man on young man).

I certainly don't feel emasculated by my lack of weapons; I feel somewhat of a dick because I don't regularly do some MA training, though.
 
Soa,

The UK police don't keep figures relating to the previous convictions of the losers in gunfights, unfortunately :rolleyes:

From anecdotal evidence, a "between-the-lines" reading of newspapers and a healthy dose of cynicism, I get the impression that most gun deaths are "Blue on blues", though......... You've seen the reports:" This unexpected tragedy occurred behind the "Bucket of Blood" shebeen in Toxteth/Peckham/Blackbird Leys at 0200hrs on Saturday. The 600 people in the drinker were all in the toilet at the time of the shooting and saw nothing....."

I was a major loser when the government decided to punish 57,000 innocent shooters for the Dunblane outrage. More people owned handguns than you might think.

maximus otter
 
Originally posted by maximus otter
Click to expand...
...I get the impression that most gun deaths are "Blue on blues", though......... You've seen the reports:" This unexpected tragedy occurred behind the "Bucket of Blood" shebeen in Toxteth/Peckham/Blackbird Leys at 0200hrs on Saturday. The 600 people in the drinker were all in the toilet at the time of the shooting and saw nothing....."

Yes, pretty much as I suspected. Not a major concern to non-shebeen drinkers like moi..

I was a major loser when the government decided to punish 57,000 innocent shooters for the Dunblane outrage. More people owned handguns than you might think.


Sorry to hear that, mo. It was one of the crassest pieces of legislation enacted by a government that should have known better. Ryan in Hungerford wasn't a handgun type, and the bad guys get guns anyway.

AFAICR handgun owners weren't the major source of illegal arms that was often alleged (didn't you have to have gun safes and so on?).

I am, incidentally, an enthusiastic supporter of firearms when licenced, and don't necessarily see how you not having a gun makes me safer when Mr M.A. Lefactor at the Dog and Duck can get a Glock in 45 minutes.

I used to shoot competitive .22 and .303 (shows my age?) and enjoyed my personal weapon training in the TA.

I despair of the way people in this country react to things like that; when I said I've killed animals to eat them (only fish and fowl, to be honest) they react in alarm. (How does beef arrive in Safeway's FFS?)

Colleagues who know me well have laughed at the horror shown by new guys when I cut strapping etc with my BM710 that appears out of my suit pocket. It's a tool; do I look like a mugger? [Actually, in my dark clothing with a watch cap on, possibly - assume the suit.]

Many Americans, however, seem to believe that you can't own firearms in this country. Last I checked you could still get shotguns and rifles if you jumped the right hoops.

The big problem is that even in extremis it's a lottery what you can do to defend your self. If I used an ASP in the house - even with a knife/screwdriver wielder - I'd worry. I'd be better whapping a malefactor with the iron, and saying he must have tripped over the board when he was attempting to kill me with the 12" Sabatier... he unfortunately cut his throat with.

Having said that... I still don't feel hugely at risk in my house. But then I'm not old, am relatively fit, big, and have two dogs in the house.

I'm not an old guy living in an isolated farmhouse who has been repeatedly targetted by bad people.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top