The Wandering Minstrel

As of Friday, July 01, 2011, the Silver State will allow Arizona and Kentucky CCW permits to their somewhat limited list of recognized permits. This is good news for Arizona (and Kentucky) CCW permit holders that want to attend the September Gun Blogger Rendezvous to be held in Reno, Nevada on September 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th.

According to the Nevada Department of Public Safety, Arizona and Kentucky will become reciprocal on Friday:

Out of State Carry Concealed Weapon Permit Recognition

*Effective July 1, 2011

In accordance with NRS 202.3689 (effective October 1, 2007) the State of Nevada will recognize the following States CCW permit holders:

Alaska
Arizona*
Arkansas
Kansas
Kentucky*
Louisiana
Michigan
Missouri
Nebraska
New Mexico
North Carolina
Ohio
Tennessee
Rhode Island
West Virginia

This law allows holders of valid permits from these states to carry a concealed weapon while in the State of Nevada. The permit must be in the possession of the issue at all times while carrying a firearm.

CCW Prohibited Locations defined by NRS 202.3673

Even though Arizona is a Constitutional Carry state, The Better Half and I will be taking Arizona CCW training so we can carry in the 32 other states that recognize Arizona CCW permits. This will come in very handy as we will begin our tour of the Southwest.

Clickable Image: Arizona Reciprocity

Several new Arizona firearms laws have been signed into law. Excerpt from The
Tuscon Citizen (emphasis mine):

Since July 29, 2010, people 21 and older have been able to carry a concealed weapon without a permit in Arizona except in bars and restaurants that sell alcohol. Although the law does not require permits in most cases, some people still apply for them. A new law tweaks the permitting process by reducing some of the requirements for instructors and permit-holders.

The number of new concealed-carry permits issued has dropped by more than half since the change in 2010, according to the Department of Public Safety. From August 2010 through May 2011, the DPS issued 9,485 new permits. In those same months in the previous fiscal year, the DPS issued 20,208 new permits.

Bill sponsor Rep. David Burnell Smith, R-Carefree, said a permit is still an advantage because it gives residents privileges in 32 other states.

House Bill 2146 removes the requirement that instructors – who must be authorized by either the DPS or the National Rifle Association – submit fingerprints and a fee to undergo background checks.

Charles Heller, spokesman for the Arizona Citizens Defense League, said instructors already undergo background checks when they apply for their concealed-carry permits.

The law also allows permit seekers to apply with an older training certificate, rather than one obtained in the past five years.

Last October, I posted about the Town and Country magazine loads for my 9mm Glock 26, “Little Boy.” Since then I have a different formula for the carry gun depending on whether we are in Wickenburg or down in the valley.

Clickable image: Fat Man and Little Boy in their Don Hume IWB holsters.

After rethinking the potential for personal crimes in both areas, I now prefer to carry “Fat Man,” my Glock 30 with .45 caliber JHP rounds when we’re in the Phoenix Metro area and when in our small town, to carry Little Boy with one round of shot and the other ten rounds to be 9mm +P hollow points. A quick look at the data on personal crimes in Maricopa County will reveal my reasons for wanting the .45 stopping power.

The first 9mm shot shell round is for rattlesnakes or whatever dangerous critters we encounter in town and the rest of the rounds (if the first shot does not discourage an attack) are reserved for two-legged varmints.

It’s nice to see that Wyoming may soon be joining Vermont, Alaska and Arizona where Constitutional Carry laws restore our second amendment right to carry our loaded firearms. After the Wyoming House and Governor Mead (R) approve the measure, it will go into effect. Kudos to the Wyoming Senate for finally passing the bill.

Clickable image “Town and Country Magazines” courtesy of The Better Half

Speaking of Constitutional Carry, The Better Half and I usually carry our guns when we go outside of our home. We live in a low-crime area but carry around the house because of snakes, coyotes and javelina, all of which frequent our semi-rural neighborhood.

Her revolver is always loaded with .38 special +P ammo while I change the magazine depending on where we plan to be. If we’re at home, I insert the shot shell magazine in my 9mm Glock. If we’re heading to the Phoenix Metro area, I load the magazine with 9mm +P HP ammo. You might say four-legged and two-legged varmint ammo, respectively.

We tend to layer up with outer garments when winter weather sets in rather than crank up the heat. We also generally have our carry guns inside the waistbands.

The Better Half took “Rosie” out of her holster and took this picture last Sunday. I also took “Little Boy” out of my holster and it had a similar amount of furry stuff.

We immediately unloaded our guns, got out the cleaning kit and commenced cleaning them. We now have set a reminder on the computer that pops up every few days to clean the carry guns. Don’t forget to brush out the holsters too.

Clickable image.

The IWB holster came in the mail today for “Little Boy,” my Glock 26 9mm pistol. I have a matching holster for “Fat Man,” with the exception of leather color.

Clickable image - Little Boy in the new Don Hume H715-M leather holster for Glock 26

I originally ordered both in saddle brown but Don Hume Customer Service advised they would be back ordered and would take 4-6 weeks to get here. Customer service also advised that they had black leather in stock for only the Glock 30. I changed the order to black so I could get delivery in time for the next excursion to our new town in Arizona. It arrived in plenty of time to get the holster broken in and ready for the trip early this month.

Now that the holster for Little Boy is here, I have plenty of time to get the leather and spring clip broken in and can consider using either the Glock 26 or the Glock 30 on the next trip. Or both.

I sent the CCW holster I was using with my 9mm Glock 26, “Little Boy,” back to the factory to fix the broken plastic belt clip. Since I still want to be able to CCW in Arizona, I needed an alternate carry holster. I decided to order IWB holsters with metal belt clips for both Glocks.

Clickable image - Fat Man in the new Don Hume H715-M leather holster for Glock 30

The holster for “Fat Man,” the Glock 30, .45 caliber pistol, came in the mail on Monday. I have been breaking it in since then. Break-in seemed easier this time. I guess that could be due to the holster not having a strap over the butt of the gun. Insertion and removal from the holster now seem nominal. The gun is snug in the holster but can be withdrawn with a smooth pull.

I’m also surprised at how little a difference there is carrying Fat Man compared to Little Boy. Both guns feel the same in the waistband and the latter has the advantage of extra stopping power by virtue of the 230 grain Hornady +P hollow-point ammo in the 10 round magazine.

Unsurprisingly, gun sales and shooting range activity are on the rise in the wake of Arizona’s new Constitutional Carry Law. Arizonans who wish to carry concealed are now allowed to, providing they are 21 years of age and have no felony criminal record. Shooting, guns and ammo remain as booming businesses in spite of the Obamination’s double-dipping recession.

Via NRA-ILA:

From the Daily News Sun:

Gun sales rise following new weapons law

Firearms have been a hot topic in Arizona in recent months as several laws loosening gun regulations were recently enacted.

And while it is too early to discern whether those laws, particularly SB 1108, which makes it legal for citizens 21 and older to carry a concealed weapon without a permit, will make things more difficult or dangerous from a law enforcement standpoint, Arizona Game and Fish officials said shooting training is on the rise.

Ben Avery Shooting Range, which is on the border of north Peoria and Phoenix and is the largest outdoor range in the Valley and one of the largest in the country. It had perhaps its best statistical year ever in the 2009-2010 fiscal year, said Doug Burt, a public information officer for Arizona Game and Fish.

The range experienced more “shooting days,” which measure the number of individual visits to the range, not the number of different visitors, last fiscal year than any previous year. About 200,000 shooting days were recorded, marking a 5-10 percent increase from the previous fiscal year.

[more]

The article is pretty good except for a minor undertone about law enforcement having ‘concerns’ about citizens carrying. The last three paragraphs are attributed to a police information officer whining about not performing background checks for CCW and ‘officer safety.’ What about citizen safety?