Right in the middle of the short commercials advertising movies about cunning detectives and robots that people use to live their lives, was something altogether different. It was instructions on how to get out if there is an emergency. As well as I can remember, it went something like this....

"Make your way to the exits with the lit white signs. The exits marked by the white signs are the quickest way to leave the theater. As soon as you exit the building, get as far away from the theater as you can."

That sounds like good advice.

Just as an aside, I have been going to movies for 40 years and have never seen anything like this before. Even back during the Cold War, when we were all convinced that the Russians were going to drop the sky down on us some bright and sunny day, they didn't show "How To Run Away" instructions before the feature rolled.

I first saw this message played during the trailers a few months ago, but nothing since. I talked to the manager back then, asking why they were suddenly interested in making sure their customers knew how to flee if something bad happens. She reacted with extreme puzzlement, said that she knew nothing about it, and that she hadn't seen the reel herself.

Another conversation with her today elicited no more info. A number of people have approached her and asked about the message, which means a few more than just me has noticed. But she has heard nothing from the home office, and the preview reel is prepackaged from corporate. Not only does the individual theater staff have no say in the content, but they also know jack all about it unless they sit down and watch it with the customers.

I've tried to contact the main office, but so far no go. They are only interested in speaking to reporters employed by mainstream media outlets. Bloggers and customers should save the effort.

Oddly enough, there was a copyright mark down in the lower right corner of the screen during the warning reel. The content was copyrighted AMC Theaters, not the dept. of Homeland Security or any other government agency. This is something that the theater chain wants to make sure that their customers know how to do.

There is this phrase from the warning reel that keeps running through my head. "Once you exit the building, get as far away from the theater as you can." Have movie theaters in the US been exploding without me hearing about it?

My home state of Ohio can't be characterized as being the most restrictive when it comes to CCW, but the legislature here has seen fit to throw in a few odd rules that has self defense advocates scratching their heads. One of the most puzzling has to be the ban on carrying firearms inside businesses that serve alcohol for consumption on the premises.

The reason why this is so difficult to understand is that there is already a 35-year-old law on the books that makes it a crime to even possess a firearm if you are drunk. What justification would there be in prohibiting people from carrying their guns into places that serve liquor, just as long as they don't drink themselves?

The only thing that springs to mind is that someone, somewhere, figures that the booze will just jump off the table and worm itself down the nearest throat. If there is alcohol to be had, then people must abuse! Sort of like the old Temperance Movement never died out.

I'm discussing this because fellow Ohio dweller Huey has posted a thoughtful essay. Although being very clear that he will always follow the law, Huey also points out that not every CCW license holder is as concerned with the niceties as he is. There might just be a few that decide to quietly flaunt the law since self defense is such an important issue. Better to be armed in case something happens, they think, instead of standing helplessly by while good people are killed in front of you because you aren't armed.

What is my opinion on this? When faced with a quandry like this, I think of starving children.

The point here is that you really don't need to go to a business that serves alcohol to get food to your family. There are plenty of other places that will let you give them money in exchange for a meal. You don't even need to go to one of those places to get a drink, since you can buy whatever you want at the store and take it home for consumption. If your friends want to meet at the sports bar to have a few and watch the game, invite them over to your house for a barbecue. BYOB!

If someone wants to argue that the law is silly and it treats law abiding adults like empty headed children, then I won't even try to gainsay them. But I reject the notion that the law has to be disobeyed, since there are so many alternatives out there just waiting to be tapped. (Pun intended.) The main reason why someone would violate this law would be due to self-centeredness. (Is that even a word?) Someone wants to go into a place that serves alcohol, and they don't want to go to the trouble of figuring out their options.

What I really hope for is that the law will eventually be changed to something more reasonable. But that will be some time in the future. Right now, when armed I stick to places that have soft drinks for sale and nothing but.

Case in point is this post. He is going to go to the range to compare the noise level coming from a revolver and an autoloader, and he has generated some really spiffy forms to record the data.

What would I have done in Dan's place? Scrawl the numbers down on a fast food wrapper I would have dug out of my car, with a crayon from the kid's meal I got because one of my students gave me a coupon for a freebie. Lucky thing I'm not involved in any scientific field or else we'd all still be living in huts made out of sticks and cow dung.

Click on over and give the forms a gander. If you have any minor suggestions to make, then you had better get cracking. The test is just two days away!

I might not be directly discussing the article, but both Kevin and Firehand aren't shy about voicing their own opinions.

My first impulse was to dismiss this news out of hand. Their methodology must be wrong! There is no way that my unworthy scribblings garner more than a fraction of the attention that other, more insightful blogs enjoy.

But it seems that I'm wrong about that.

Few of the other gunblogs will put up a link to my content, which is certainly reasonable and proper. I discuss the bare bones basics, issues that the authors of the other blogs have long since mastered. No reason to bring attention to something that most shooting enthusiasts would consider to be boring. If the only criteria was popularity based on how many people talk about my posts on their own blogs, then I would be extremely obscure.

But this blog rises above most of the rest in unique monthly visitors, and the number of RSS feeds from readers who want to have updates to my posts. There are a lot of people coming on by to see what is new, and a lot of people want to have the new stuff delivered to their Email trays every day.

So I know why this blog rates one of the top slots. It is because of my readers! You guys are to blame!

I don't know what I'm doing to keep you happy, but I'll try my best to keep it up. My thinking has always been that I'd attract the new shooters and those interested in self defense, people just starting out, and then they'd leave for authors that covered the subject in more depth. For some unknown reason, it appears that a lot of you keep coming back for more.

I just hope that you don't come to your senses. If that happens, then Hell in a Handbasket is doomed for the obscurity that it no doubt deserves.

Thank you! I value each and every one of my readers.

Well, no duh. Makes people into flakes who won't shut up about how morally superior they are to boot.

UPDATE
Milo added a visual aid to the lesson.

I said that I couldn't say for sure one way or another, because I didn't own a revolver that could use ammo for an autoloader, and none of my autoloaders would work with the ammo from my revolvers. Since I couldn't compare one specific caliber fired from both a revolver and auto, there was no way to tell.

So Dan decided to go all scientifical on us. He borrowed some equipment from work to measure the noise produced when a gun is fired, and he owns both a revolver and an autoloader that will fire the .44 Magnum cartridge.

It looks to me that he has it set up to produce a fair test without going overboard on time or money. Click on that last link and take a look. I'm sure an will listen if you have an idea for a minor tweak, but keep in mind that .44 Magnum ammo is expensive! The sample size might be small, but it should provide a pretty good idea of what we need to know.

One of the reasons why the players have so much fun is that I set up a mystery that they can not only solve, but also take part in. The villains of the story always have an agenda of some kind, usually a magical ritual that will cause untold destruction and misery. The bad guys need to collect special materials for the spell, they need a place to perform their unholy mass, and they have a timetable that they must follow to ensure success.

The players are inserted in the story when they become aware that something is up. This usually comes about when the villains start collecting their special materials, such as kidnapping children that were only born during a lunar eclipse. Clues left at the crime scene, maybe even a captured cultist that can be interrogated, leads to a string of information that eventually reveals what the villains are up to.

At this point the players must decide what they want to do to disrupt the plans of the bad guys. Maybe they will kidnap the last of the lunar eclipse children in the city themselves, and hold them safe until after the ritual's deadline. Or they could figure out where the ritual needs to take place, on a high place with an unobstructed view of the horizon say, and ambush the cultists.

Or they could just find out where the kidnapped children are being held, and notify the police. But that wouldn't be any fun.

The main point is that I set up the scenario, and then let the players explore and make decisions on their own. As long as they don't do anything too outrageous, like get involved in gunfights with the cultists in front of the local SWAT HQ, then they should be able to get away with it.

You do need to put obstacles in their way, of course. The villains are desperate to keep on course, and they will do what they can to kill the meddling fools that want to stop the ritual. The GM wins if the bad guys manage to pull off their vile task in the face of the opposition. If the players drop their names too many times, the cultists might just end up ambushing them!

My favorite is Call of Cthulhu, where magical creatures that are so powerful they can destroy humanity without even noticing lie dreaming in ancient prisons. The players desperately try to keep crazed cultists and horrible monsters from bursting the bonds that keep our world sane. It is a dark and grim task, with death and madness waiting at the end of days.

Notice that telling stories about battling unkillable monsters is what I do to relax!

With my interest in history, I have enjoyed some great success in running the game set during the 1920's. The players really enjoy the detail I can bring to the table, and more than one has said that it helps bring the era alive for them.

Just about everyone who runs a character from that time period wants to have a Thompson submachine gun, equipped with 100 round drum magazines. After all, what would you like as your sidearm when the dead claw their way from the earth?

It has been pointed out by more than one person that Thompsons were available via mail order through the Sears catalogue in the 1920's, but they usually don't bother to mention the problems of ownership. They weighed about 18 pounds fully loaded, for example. They were very finely crafted, but this translated into a cost of $200 in 1920's money, which is about $5,000 in today's cash. ("You can buy a Model T and get around quicker than walking, or two of your party can have Thompsons for when you find the bad guys.") Most of the weight was in the back, which caused the guns to have an alarming muzzle climb. They were a real pain to reload, requiring a special tool to lock the bolt to the rear. And did I mention that they weighed 18 freakin' pounds fully loaded?

I came across this webpage, which discusses the joys and heartaches that come with owning one of these guns. Worth a read.

Let me say right now: The subject of this post isn't what you think.

As far as my regular readers are concerned, Dan left a very insightful comment on a previous post...

"Just a curiousity, but it seems to me that my revolvers...are louder than my autoloaders. First, does the same seem true to you?"

I can't really say for sure, since all of my handguns use dedicated ammo.

What I mean by the previous cryptic sentence is that almost all of my autoloaders use ammo designed specifically for autoloaders, and my revolvers use ammo specifically designed for revolvers. Unless I can load up some 9mm Parabellum in an autloader, listen to the sound, and then do the same in a revolver, I can't really make a judgement call. (Since James has a revolver that is chambered for the 9mm Parabellum cartridge, maybe he can tell us.)

I can tell the difference between cartridges based on the sound alone, though. A 9mm will have a harsher, flatter crack than the deeper bang of a .38, but that just comes from wasting all those years at the range. Anyone can do it if they spend enough money punching holes in targets.

"...where/how does the noise of discharge rank in the "what you should buy first conversation"? My experiences (limited that they be) with new shooters, especially those who are sitting on the firearms fence wearing their ears, are much more effected --and therefore worried about-- by the noise than the recoil or, actually, any other aspect of shooting."

I have noticed the same thing! And it seems to effect just about everyone. We naturally flinch if there is a loud noise.

While it might be true that we all flinch, some people are just better at controlling it than others. So far as a new student is concerned, I will start them off with a .22 Long Rifle and work our way up from there. A gradual increase in the noise of the report, until we determine what their individual comfort level happens to be. Sometimes the sky is the limit!

If it isn't possible for me to coach them, then I will suggest something non-Magnum.

Some of my students, if they had the money, would insist on buying guns for their own defense simply because they saw their favorite Hollywood action hero using one in a movie. After many long years, I have learned that it is best to simply praise their decision. ("Good choice! That is a fine gun you have there!") Just as long as it is a reliable firearm that is chambered for a suitably effective defensive cartridge, that is.

Matthew discusses this particular phenom in a recent post.

My first handgun was a 1911 Government Model that broke before I could fire off the 500th round of the "breaking in" period. (The front of the slide came completely free, sending the front sights, the barrel bushing, and the recoil spring flying downrange.) I had tried to educate myself on the ins and outs of handguns to avoid wasting time and money, and all the gun magazines pretty much said that the 1911 was the only real choice for defense.

Why was I buying a handgun? It was a long time ago, and I'm not sure I remember. (coughjealoushusbandcough)

Did anyone else make a purchase based on some form of celebrity endorsement?

There were some conditions. The gun had to be suitable for home defense, but concealed carry was not in the cards. He wanted it to be something that his wife, who was very leery around guns, would find easy to use in case she came around to the shooting sports. And it had to be a gun that his teenage daughter could handle for when he introduced her to shooting.

I didn't hesitate. It seems that a medium frame revolver chambered for the .38 Special cartridge was just the thing.

There are more potent choices available for self defense, and I made mention of the fact. It is also best to first take a safety class, and then try out several different designs, manufacturers, and calibers of guns before making a final choice. But that is something his wife and daughter won't be able to take part in before the gun is purchased. I think the full sized .38 is the best choice in his circumstances.

Why do I think it is best in this situation? Ammo is widely available. Just about every gun manufacturer offers several different models to choose from. Revolvers are simple to operate and clean. The .38 Special cartridge has a proven track record for defensive use, yet isn't as intimidating as other calibers.

All of this means that the .38 is probably the best starter gun for the greatest number of people.

Craig Henry wrote a post that goes over the advantages of the .38 Special cartridge some years back. He is a fan of small 5-shot snub nosed revolvers that use this caliber, but I don't think those are suitable for a starting gun. Other than that, I agree with everything he says.

UPDATE
There has been some questions raised in the comments, wondering why I didn't suggest a .357 Magnum as a first gun. After all, they will still chamber and fire the venerable .38 Special, while having the capability to use the more potent Magnum cartridges. That way the gun is more versatile, and a better buy for the price. It is like getting two guns in one!

This is a really great suggestion, and it is one that I make to all of my students. But, in this case, my reader lived far enough away from me that I couldn't give them some personal instruction. Instead, the best I could do was exchange Emails. In a follow up message, I did explain how the .357 can still use the .38 ammo, but I wouldn't have mentioned it at all if my reader didn't write back. How come?

Mainly for the sake of simplicity.

It is extremely difficult for experienced shooters to appreciate just how bewildering our hobby is for someone looking in from the outside. Take the 9mm caliber as an example. How many different 9mm cartridges are there, anyway? 9mm Parabellum, 9mm Kurz, and the 9mm Makarov are very popular, and they are the only nines I am interested in because I use them all in my class. Three different nine millimeter cartridges, and none of them can be used in a gun that is chambered for one of the others. That's confusing right there.

But are there any more?

9mm Steyr, 9mm Largo, 9mm Ultra, just off the top of my head. I'm sure my readers can come up with a few others.

If I can, I'll have someone meet me at the range and they'd have a short safety/familiarity course. If we live too far apart, then I just do my best to keep it simple.

And, as Huey points out in the comments, there is the price factor to consider....

It was tough to get an image on my cell phone camera. Even with the flash, things were still blurry and indistinct. And, worse of all, the flash dispelled shadows so what you see in the pics looks different from what I was seeing with my unaided eye. So bear with me on this.

Yep, still looked like a naked guy.

Hmmm. Now he was starting to look distinctly un-guy-like. Rather mineral, in fact.

Yep, just a big rock with some bugs crawling on it. It was interesting how the shadows created such a compelling illusion.

Of course, since I was paying attention to the rock, that meant my dogs had to scope it out to try and discover the appeal.

See that stain on the right hand side of the boulder? I think you can guess where that came from.