Namelus….We have Grma’s [antique] .32 with squeeze safety. It’s small. …I need to do some practice…soon. Been too long.
My options on the farm are heavy revolver or my semi-auto. With that I never have safety on…but never have one in chamber. I can pull that back faster than trying for the safety and I feel way more safe from accidental discharge that way. In my situation, I have more chance of shooting myself in the butt than having a super-fast encounter.
In the fall….BEAR season….I attempt to always carry a big ole SW610 revolver with 10m. That’s my ‘cannon’. It IS a bit of a trigger reach for my small hands. As mentioned….I would be trying REALLY VERY HARD NOT to ever shoot at bear….especially bear, or anything else. BUT….. I’d feel real stupid throwing rocks if I had a bad encounter. I try to carry centered on my spine in back. Least chance of pulling spine/muscles out of alignment to R or L. [I’m old, small, and have disability issues.] I’m outside to do PM chores so I need the front of me clear for hefting hay flakes, etc. Have to have any gun covered completely cuz of hay debris. Don’t want to get that in any mechanisms. I usually have a long gun back-up waiting in the vehicle…ALWAYS with both doors unlocked for jumping in fast if I’m close enough. I also carry a potent bear spray as back-up.
Did have a wolf come in on me one late evening. DH was in hay barn and our previous XL dog went off. Saw it run across field and clear fence…across road and gone up ridge. Was that a wolf?????? Not really supposed to be here but there are a few. Then later, dog [my early warning] went nuts. That thing was coming down ridge and crossing road AT me. Without dog, I honestly would not have seen it. It ran off….why come back?
Is it someone’s hybrid pet? {I hate those unless someone is an expert} Did not look like it. It was crossing road so I fired one shot into the ground…… which fortunately gave it second thots and it disappeared. My dog is tied and about to turn herself inside-out cuz I had moved away from her…to get out of the yard light to see into dusk.
Anyway, after the warning shot…. the semi-auto jammed. DH put one too many in….it just doesn’t take a full load in the magazine. So I’m backing up to return into dog’s range for protection….AND clearing gun and chamber a round again…..and wolf is gone. ….ok, that works for me! I was quite pleased that I did that maneuver under pressure and had it ready again in a few seconds. ‘Course, that’s my favorite gun. Checked the size of tracks in the snow the next morning. Definitely wolf. Big. Coyote is small.
Well, that’s the kind of “experience” I’ve had. Nothing shooting back….just bite and slash potential.
OldMtWoman…and why I don’t like a round in the chamber