AKM, I am unsure what Buzz proved, if anything.
Buzz, can you bring to light a case, criminal or civil in which legitimate handloads were a key factor? I respect your opinion and could not agree more, but carrying a Barrett .50 into the high country with you because of rumors of Bigfoot in the area is not typically considered rational behavior.
AKM, my point is not to attack someone elses choice. It is to show my disdain for those who claim their choice is based on some court case(s) that they can point to or some elusive knowledge that only they possess. "Don't carry handloaded ammunition because you will get sued" is no more than a mantra evoked by far too many people with no basis in fact.
Your decision is your decision. Mine is mine That is a given.
But touting a personal choice as the only way to go because the "boogey-man" will get them if they don't rings more of a religion than a rational choice. I am not saying that is your platform. Merely, that it is the platform of the larger number who profess such unsubstantiated claims.
Finally, JP. I have confronted burglars twice attempting to gain entry into my home. I have had a gun pointed at me on the freeway (road rage, my road, their rage). I was accosted in a convenience store parking lot by three assailants. Had a guy in a 4WD try to run me off the road on my motorcycle, not once, but three times. I prevented a rape by two assailants on a poor single mother of two. I was the target of a failed carjacking attempt. Over a dozen times in my life I have been forced to either display a firearm or draw down on another human being to prevent a felony or counter deadly force. As many or more times I have done so without the fortune of being armed. Accosted at an ATM by three youths while unarmed taught me a lesson. It was the first time in my life I did not have a firearm with me and bingo! Luckily a cop appeared and they fled. Since they were not apprehended, they are likely still out there. All of these occurred over several states, not one locale.
And I am not a cop, nor am I a criminal. I do not drink, use drugs, and I live by the creed of doing what is right and fair. As hard as that is to distinguish anymore, sometimes it has to be demonstrated to people.
I wish it was not a likelihood, but in the few years I have been graced to reside in this world, it has been demonstrated to me, at least, that humanity has a great propensity for violence against their own kind.
Like yourself, I will tend to keep a trusty sidearm within reach, a smoothbore at the bedside and a high powered rifle in remote locations. It all boils down to personal choices, hopefully based on fact and experience.
I no longer go to ATM's at night, even when armed. I am more conscious of my surroundings at traffic lights. I own a quicker and faster car and the other that doesn't makes it's own roads. I vigorously watch my rear view mirror for agitated drivers. I do not exit my vehicle without a thorough scan of the area.
I learned these things by living through them and by possessing some forethought and a lot of providence.
Yes, lawyers worry me. They should worry all of us. But having one go for my jugular over the use of a properly manufactured handload used in a justifiable self-defense shooting is simply not one of them.
