The Ghost

Well done. The more you do it the better you will get and the more comfortable you will be with it. I’ll pop you her details in a PM so as not to create any advertising issues on the forum.

Yeah, never in the handbag. Also it would be good to chat to that lady I mentioned before as she can give you all manner lady friendly advice that comes from years of her own and her customers experiences. I worked with her a lot and I know what she’d tell you, but it would be nice for you to hear from her.

Yup the biggest one you can that also compliments your needs [emoji1303]

Those Girsan blasters are one of many cheaper options that are coming out of Turkey and some of their models don’t look too bad, however.... if it’s something that you’re going to put your and your loved ones lives in the hands of it’s just not worth the few grand saved.I’m sorry it’s not what you want to hear given the budget, but it’s worth saving for a few months more, it really is. Also just because they look the same as other big name models they’re often slightly different and you may well struggle to get a holster etc that actually works properly.

Great job [emoji1319]

ALWAYS stick to the 4 rules of safe gun handling and you will be fine [emoji1303] I’ll chat to someone and come back to you.

Firstly well done on your attitude to being competent and responsible [emoji1319] I think that would be outstanding and something I highly recommend. The shooting sports have very strict rules that are usually well enforced and those safe practices are excellent and the repetitions of good handling will only serve you well. It’s also a good place to learn (just know who is talking crap and who is worth sticking with) from others. The two biggest disciplines of their kind in SA are IDPA (International Defensive Pistol Association) and IPSC (International Practical Shooting Confederation). They both share similar safety standards and are great in their own way but I typically suggest a year of IDPA as a start as it can be shot completely with your everyday kit and the pace tends to be a bit slower so it’s a nice way to ease into the sports. Which area of SA are you in? Ah, Klerksdorp. I don’t have any contacts there for you but I can enquire for you if you like.

Here’s a link to one article I wrote a little while back for this website, and I think its well worth reading and remembering. I’m afraid that while I’m a bloody good instructor I’m pretty bad at writing things in an interesting way but it’s not too long a piece [emoji12] https://paratus.info/2017/08/25/what-is-the-difference-between-training-and-practice/

[emoji1] I hear you. My wife used to just shake her head at the idea of double action/ single action or if there were levers like decockers or heaven forbid a safety she would be completely disinterested in figuring it out - I say that because I’m sure she is smart enough if she really wanted to. That’s one of the reasons she loved her Glock, slide release and mag release are all the buttons on there. Of course training is key with whatever tool one chooses and she can clear double feeds, stovepipes etc no problem after a little training and work at the range. She didn’t enjoy it much so I used to take her with me every 3 months or so to make sure that her skills hadn’t perished too much. Safe handling and operating is absolutely key with these things and the skill is perishable.

Yeah I don’t think gender has anything to do with guns, and everyone should have the gun with the highest capacity and longest sight radius that they can make work for their situation regardless of gender. By “make work” I mean for whatever purpose they intend using it and the circumstances around that, and it’s not uncommon for people to have different options depending on what they’re doing that day or what they are wearing etc - but that’s a different story [emoji1] On the gun safe I’m probably going to give you an answer that you’re not going to like, but it’s my view based on a lot of real world information. I’ll start with this, many people have died on their knees while trying to get their gun out of the safe and others never even get the opportunity to get to the safe; many attacks are over in such a short space of time that it’s not possible and if you’re unfortunate enough to be in a long detention situation then your windows of opportunity or chances of creating any are seriously reduced if not completely gone. What I would recommend to you is this. A defensive gun belongs on your person at all times. People who carry and practice good disciplines with them regularly are more familiar and safer with them than someone who hasn’t seen it in months and can’t remember how it works or how to practice good safe handling. I understand though that this isn’t for everyone and so then what I would suggest is this, decide which is your perceived time of greatest threat (like 18:00 to 07:00 for example) and take it out and return it at those times, always remembering to practice safe handling. On safe handling I would have a trusted someone watch you do it every day for a while to ensure that you keep a safe direction etc until it becomes a habit, it can be quite unnatural and it’s only through many repetitions of good practice that you will get there.

Spot on, they’re the best agent by miles. I’ve known Terrick for many years and he’s a great contact to have in that game.

On the matter of size it’s like most things in life, a trade off, between capacity and conceal ability and you have to decide which is more important to you and your environment. Personally I didn’t ever want to be without less than 15 rounds because as someone mentioned it takes more to stop a human than most people understand (most also shoot worse than they think too especially under extreme stress and with a moving target) and the SA crime situation is a lot different to the areas in the world where just showing a gun can change your attackers mind. But on the other hand my wife needed a pistol that was ultra concealable or it would simply live in the safe and that’s useless. Another thing to consider is that the smaller the pistol the worse it will handle and the more you should practice with it. Longer slides allow for better recoil springs and a longer sight radius makes it easier to aim. A lady friend of mine couldn’t shoot the 43 because of wrist operations but was good with a 26 for example. Also the new 43x has greater capacity than the original 43 and the 48 is nice too if you like slimline pistols.

This was a bit of a giggle amongst the newer generation of us in the trade [emoji1] With many older generation men in particular thinking that women are somehow less capable they often try and push women in that direction which made our eyes roll. The only time I would suggest a revolver would be for people who are physically unable to operate a pistol usually die to strength issues. It is also worth mentioning that I had some older women come to me claiming that they couldn’t rack a slide on a pistol due to lack of strength but when I showed them a better technique they were able to and over the moon. Outside of sport or passion for the blasters I wouldn’t recommend them particularly for self defence, the limited number of rounds and time it takes to reload them being the biggest downsides. Yes, they malfunction less but when they do you typically need a gunsmith to resolve it, with most pistol malfunctions you can resolve them yourself in seconds if you know how.

Oh I forgot to mention that access to spares, parts and accessories etc is also really important. I once waited 8 months for a S&W recoil spring before giving up and selling the pistol because that kind of turn around wasn’t good for me. Likewise when I left I had a customer who had been waiting for CZ sights from the agent for around the same amount of time and they had still not arrived. Sadly when the Cz agent changed their handguns sparing went to pieces in SA. The Glock agent however is outstanding and I could typically get any parts within the time it took for the courier to get to me, and they’re easy to install. Also many customers who went Sig, Walther and various other brands struggled to find things like holsters etc which is rather important. The industry in SA is not like the US and you are not spoiled for choice with hoards of options available in abundance. I wrote a general article on selecting a handgun a while ago, but since my website doesn’t exist anymore I’ll see if I have a copy on my laptop.

*this post assumes things like an average sort of hand size and some level of function and strength, specifics would need to be supplied if not and before final recommendation* Hey Gen, I’m sure that this will get some folks all excited and hot under the collar as this usually does, but I would seriously suggest a 9mm Glock over any other. Now I know that there are people that have concerns about an external safety but really if you take the time and make the effort to get proper training and then stick to the rules for safe gun handling (both of which I suggest every gun owner should do) and buy a proper holster you will be in a better position than a safety lever can provide. Many people argue different reasons for a safety being better but the reality is that the best safety is the person holding the gun and not a lever, and yes even a 4yr old can disengage a safety in seconds without any instruction on how to. Just to give you some idea of where I’m coming from, before we left SA just under a year ago I was working full time in the trade, I was (still am) an advanced level certified firearms instructor and have top 3 finishes at national level for some sports shooting disciplines and some top 10 finishes for other disciplines at national level; with handguns being my favourite. Whilst I think the competency process there is a start I believe in training and improving and proper understanding of the defensive process and personal trauma etc that it all entails so I set out and created training courses that went well beyond just the basics in the books. I also spent hundreds of hours doing analysis from crime scenes using CCTV footage of crimes committed in SA as I realised quite early on that crime there didn’t match that happening in the US which is where most people were getting their information and hence tactics etc from. I studied trauma, profiling, involuntary body responses, etc etc I was very passionate about personal protection and helping others. I could go on, but I think you get the idea. When I got my first pistol I just didn’t want to get a Glock as most people had suggested and I got something else, and it didn’t take long for me to realise the error of my ways and changing your section 13 is a pain in the butt, but eventually I did. Although I had quite a few handguns many of which I was more passionate about and cost even 3 and 4 times what the Glock cost it was still a Glock 19 to which I trusted my life and that of my family when I strapped it on every day. Why? Because of all the guns I ever owned they were hands down the most reliable, as a bonus they were also the most user friendly to operate and maintain and still worked extremely well even if not cleaned etc regularly. By the time we left SA we had more Glocks in the house than any other handguns and they were all worked pretty hard and the only failure I ever had was on a rough 12 hour training course where after hand to hand combat on beach sand it had a ton of sand in it and the slide was not reciprocating well so not feeding properly, I stripped the slide off, wiped in the rails with my shirt and seconds later the gun was running like a dream. That gun had 10 000 rounds through it when I sold it and that was the only trouble I ever had, it’s still in use with a friend back in SA to this day. My wife also carried a Glock and come to think of it so do about 90% of our friends. Anyway I could go on but this could get very long. If you have any other questions you can just shout. I also have a friend who is a lady who owns a gun shop in SA that I can put you in touch with if you’d like a woman’s perspective too, she’d be very happy to help you out.

Some people will see the beauty, frailty and impermanence of life, others will see the emotional attachment and development whilst others will see a privileged white guy. Funny species we are.

It took me for my furthest and fastest road ride and past Kilkenny Castle, Rothe house, an old mill, Kells priory and Jerpoint Abbey. To say it was an epic collection of sights would be an understatement.

Yeah, 4 degrees when I went for my ride today, 1 degree when the wife went for her run yesterday; at least the sun was out.

It’s a smart trainer

That’s just poor behaviour, sorry to hear, hope you feel better soon

So I did an FTP test on Zwift today and I see that Zwift has given me an FTP watt number but the one that I see in Garmin Connect from the same activity is about 60w higher, what am I not understanding?

Co.Carlow, the River Barrow, a castle, a passage tomb, an old mill and a cat 3 climb that nearly had the better of me. The weather was great and this country cycling is amazing stuff.

Well that sucks big time, sorry. I’m glad the box was apprehended, I hope he gets what’s coming.

Along some canal and country roads. I came across a guy at a bridge taking photos, had a bit of a chat and it turns out he is one of the now many Saffas here. I also learned that the odd colour in the middle of the road (especially under the trees) is moss and should be avoided as it’s slippery as hell

Strength to you. Hopefully this is one of those things that won’t take too long to get past and will be worth it when you compare to the benefits later. Good luck.