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I seem to be having a few of these lately...
Maybe it's just luck, or maybe I'm just noticing more because I'm paying attention to things like this more...

So, I'm sure everyone's heard about the Mayor of Sugarland being robbed in his own driveway. Most people don't know, however, that that was not an isolated incident. Robberies in your own driveway here in Houston have been getting more popular recently. That's the 3rd or 4th incident that I know of, I'm sure there's probably more.

Today, after getting home from work, The wife opened the garage door, and started doing some stuff in there (moving garbage bins, starting laundry, etc) while I went to go get the mail, which is around the corner of the block. As I am coming back from getting the mail, this truck slowly drives past me on the road, and stops in front of the curb in front of my house, partially blocking my driveway, and sat there.

Now, I had gone straight from my truck, to the mailbox. I should mention that my company has a 'no weapons' policy (as I'm sure some of you know due to my earlier posts) that I've been considering violating. I have generally not been violating it on a daily basis, rather, only choosing to willingly violate it when I am working after-hours, and not under direct supervision from management. (Eg, Field Work). So, at this very moment that the truck pulled in front of my house, my wife was working in the open garage, by herself, and I was about 75 feet away, completely unarmed, due to the company policy.

It took about 15 seconds from when the truck stopped at the curb, partially blocking my driveway, for me to reach the house. I made a beeline past my wife, into the house, and grabbed my carry Kimber. Threw it in my pocket (no time for a holster), kept my hand around the grip, thumb on the safety, finger off the trigger, and went back outside to the garage with my wife. In case you're wondering why I didn't tell her anything when I passed her, to me, obviously the guys in the truck were still 'deciding' whether it was worth it or not. I did NOT want to give them any indication that I was afraid of them, aware of their presence or possible intentions, or unarmed. They had been sitting there for the 15 seconds it took me to get back to the house at this point, I figure they'd sit there for another 5 it took me to get my gun and come back out, especially since they just saw me join the wife (now 2 on however many they had instead of just 1)

At this point, hand around grip, in pocket, ready to go if needed, I stood at the garage door and stared them down. After about 10 seconds, they took off in a hurry.

Sure, Maybe they were just lost, and were hoping one of us would come to their window and offer to give them directions...
Then again, they may have been deciding whether they were going to rob us at gunpoint or not....

Lessons learned:
I need a Mousegun for pocket carry every day at work _Now_. Then I will never be unarmed if something like this happens again.
Would like some recommendations. I know about the LCP, and I read the thread on that new Diamondback one. My big thing is I do not like DAO Triggers to be the only saftey. Call me paranoid, but I'm very murphy prone. I like the 1911 because of it's multiple safeties. Any reliable recommendable mouseguns out there with a manual slide safety or grip safety?

I recommend to everyone in the Houston area to NEVER go anywhere unarmed. Period.

dicion wrote: I need a Mousegun for pocket carry every day at work _Now_. Then I will never be unarmed if something like this happens again.

Exactly why I always carry a pocket pistol...Things happen when you least expect .

Checkout the Micro Desert Eagle. I didn't have the pleasure to hold it yet though the reviews are good and it comes from a good family :-)

http://www.magnumresearch.com/Micro_Eagle.asp

I have no recommendation on the mousegun really but....

I was thinking of hiding a shotty in the garage for times such as these.

Maybe worth considering?

One can never have too many guns!

I have no problems carrying my LCP. The DAO trigger and no safety aren't an issue. The trigger pull is long and hard enough to not worry about it getting snagged and going off. Plus, I carry it in a pocket holster that covers the trigger anyways.

If you really like the 1911 design, the Sig P238 is a "mini 1911" in .380 similar to defunct Colt Mustang. SAO with thumb safety on slide but no grip safety. Also Taurus Slim has a slide safety.


Best pocket gun comparison available http://www.mouseguns.com/PocketAutoComparison.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Sorry to hear about your day dicion. I am in Cypress as well and since obtaining my plastic have been much more aware of folks just "cruising" through the neighborhood. My everyday carry is a Glock 30, but when I need something smaller I throw a Bersa .380 in my pocket.

About the Bersa -- I don't think I have ever read a negative comment about them, really, people who have them rave about them. The drawbacks that I see is that being essentially a Walther PPK-style pistol, the manual safety on the slide works backwards, as compared to a 1911 -- you have to push it UP to fire. Since you are a 1911 shooter and presumably have trained yourself to do otherwise, I would think this is a significant drawback...

I see above that Austinrealtor says the Sig P238 is a mini-1911, which I presume means the safety operates the "right" way. That would seem to be a much better choice given your existing arsenal.

If you have the bucks, the Rohrbaugh 9mm would be a great pocket pistol. Last time I looked, tho, they were well over $1000. Ouch. (Oh, and no manual safety).

Good luck.

BTW, you mentioned this type of thing happening periodically in Houston. It reminded me of this thread over at warriortalk.com about a similar attack, also in Houston. It is rather grim reading...
http://warriortalk.com/showthread.php?t=54378" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

ELB wrote:About the Bersa -- I don't think I have ever read a negative comment about them, really, people who have them rave about them.

Bersa's are pretty good pistols overall, but they do have some problems/weaknesses with the .380 line. I own a BT380 and 380cc and have had problems with each that had to be resolved. I wound up spending almost as much shipping the guns, several times, to an authorized repair site as I did for the guns. But, both pistols do work reliably now.

mactex wrote:

ELB wrote:About the Bersa -- I don't think I have ever read a negative comment about them, really, people who have them rave about them.

Bersa's are pretty good pistols overall, but they do have some problems/weaknesses with the .380 line. I own a BT380 and 380cc and have had problems with each that had to be resolved. I wound up spending almost as much shipping the guns, several times, to an authorized repair site as I did for the guns. But, both pistols do work reliably now.

That's literally the first problem I've read of, but more to the point, the folks I know who have them don't just like them, the sing their praises. Unfortunate it didn't go as well for you. Iv'e always thought I would like to get one, but then I figure if I am going to get a .380 instead of a 9, I might as well maximize the .380's advantage, which is you can build a very small pistol around it. So I have a P3AT instead.

mactex wrote:

ELB wrote:About the Bersa -- I don't think I have ever read a negative comment about them, really, people who have them rave about them.

Bersa's are pretty good pistols overall, but they do have some problems/weaknesses with the .380 line. I own a BT380 and 380cc and have had problems with each that had to be resolved. I wound up spending almost as much shipping the guns, several times, to an authorized repair site as I did for the guns. But, both pistols do work reliably now.

Mactex : Was it propensity to fail to feed on the Bersa? If so, what did they do to fix it?

For a truly small, back-up gun, I like the NAA mini mags or the charter arms dixi derringers. To my way of thinking, some of these 380's, like the Rugers and Walthers are good enough to primary carry guns. I think someone could just carry two LCPs if they needed a primary and back-up, so my notion of a "pocket pistol" shrinks beyond that. I think that the NAA mini revolvers are an excellent back-up. They are small enough to hid practically anywhere. They are revolvers so the small and light ammunition is not constantly under pressure from the magazine, (I have had issues with leaving .22 ammo loaded under pressure for long periods of time), they are safe to carry as the hammer does not rest on the shell, and they make one heck of a loud report if you crack a shot off, especially in a garage!. On top of that they are pretty cheap, so carrying one around in a lint filled pocket 24/7 is not as unnerving as it would be with a more expensive piece. Just a different point of view for you to consider.

I have several pocket pistols. I've carried the P3At and a LCP.
I'd suggest the P238. It's a mini-1911, actually a Colt design that Sig bought. I also like the safety, which you can engage with the hammer down.
I'll 2nd the NAA. A Black widow in .22 mag is significantly smaller than any of the pocket autos. While the round is a bit weaker, the flash and report is something to behold. Anyone on the other end of that, at close range, is going to be deaf and blind for a few seconds at least.
The next thing up is a P32 Keltec, which is also worth considering. It is the smallest auto, period. It's enough smaller than the P3AT that I can hide it in places the .380 won't go, such as a manicure case.

Rex B wrote:It's enough smaller than the P3AT that I can hide it in places the .380 won't go, such as a manicure case.

-25 man points for even HAVING a manicure case.

:)