I think I’ve mentioned in the past the pitfalls of having a gun in New York State, and people getting arrested for illegal possession when they checked in at an airport counter and didn’t have NY state issued paper for it. This story comes from my friend John, a retired cop in California:
Some years back my wife and I flew to NYC to be the last guests of the WALDORF—ASTORIA before the wrecking ball turned it into Tapioca.
While packing, I noticed some issues with my Compact .45 and immediately sent it out for repair. The only other suitable firearm I owned was my old Detective Special—that I owned since the early 1980’s. (And when I mean suitable: I had fresh ammo and a suitable holster.)
Thankfully, we encountered no issues while in NYC, and we headed to JFK to fly home. At the ticket counter I declared an unloaded firearm in my luggage. And as you well know, that is proper and legal.
Ticket agent asks for a NYS Pistol Permit, which I don’t have. “So you’re law enforcement?” I told him I’m retired and authorized in all 50-states.
“Wait here—the police have been notified!”
A few minutes later, a pair of young Port Authority cops arrive. I show my retired ID—which passes muster. Then they want to examine the gun.
Bottom line: Those two young cops did not know how to open the cylinder on a Colt revolver.
Seems like firearms training needs to add a little extra to the course. Those Detective Specials are a reliable sidearm. Some of these new recruits need to know that there are good firearms between a muzzleloader and a Glock…
Chances are they can’t operate a flintlock either. Gun things be hard….
Unbelievable.
Probably couldn’t dial out on a rotary phone either…
Or drive a stick shift. Or since it is NYC, drive at all. I knew a guy from there that flew jets in combat before he learned to drive.
Probably didn’t know how to use a dial phone either.
Ha, ha, ha.
I regularly shoot a ‘qual’ with my .38 Agent at Staccato Ranch. You’d think I should wear overalls and a straw hat for some of the looks I get from the youngsters.
Meh, ‘fuds’ are what studs grow into – if they’re lucky.
Back when it was still Front Sight, I did a class with an SP101. They weren’t so stuffy in those days. There was a guy who was a triple amputee and the remaining arm was damaged running a revolver. Got hit by something big in Vietnam. Everyone cheered when he qualified. Qual was much harder than POST. Guy had a wonderful, sunny attitude. I gave a thought to the medic who got him back.
HaHa
perhaps they don’t know what the yellow pages are or how to operate a rotary phone
If John was not a cop, he would have spent at least three days in jail.
A recent video shows officers relieving a crazy woman of a small derringer as they placed her under arrest. His body cam showed one officer farting around with the gun and flagging everybody for several minutes while repeatedly saying “I don’t know how to open this thing.” I kept waiting for a bang.
What… SIRI could not explain to them how to open that cylinder⁉️
The irony here being the fact that for many, many years the NYPD issued Colt Detective Specials as a choice for an officer’s off duty gun.
Sort of know the feeling. Went into Old Tucson Studios, in 1880 attire, with a holstered pistol. “Wait here for security to check your weapon.” I don’t believe the youngster had ever seen a cap and ball revolver in his life. (1860 Army Colt – modern replica.) I was let in.
I wonder what would happen if every high schooler were required to know how to clear a revolver, a semi, a shotgun, & a long rifle. It’s only a hunch, but I suspect there would be great value in eliminating the romanticism of the unknown and replacing it with responsible knowledge.
I shot my first CCW qualification in 1994 with a snub revolver. The only one of 8 shooters. Everyone stared.
Several years ago, I worked at a large gun store which bought & sold used firearms as well as new ones. One of the perks we firearms salesmen had was that we got the first look at all the used firearms that we purchased from customers as we acquired them & we were allowed to claim whichever ones we wanted to purchase for ourselves by tagging them with our names & our intent to purchase them when we put them back in the gun vault. Our volume of business was large enough that we acquired some used guns virtually every day.
I was the “old guy” there as most of my coworkers were in their 20’s & 30’s & as such they had no interest whatsoever in revolvers or any old semi-autos at all. They were only interested in tactical rifles, shotguns, & handguns (primarily 1911’s). This meant that I had my choice of whichever “old guns” I wanted & as they noticed my interest in them, they would let me know whenever we acquired something they thought I might like. The result was that while I was employed there, I bought myself several used Colt revolvers including Detective Specials, Cobras, Agents, Diamondbacks, a 1972 Python in near mint condition, & a Single Action Army. I also bought several “old” Smith & Wesson revolvers, Winchester lever actions, & various semi-autos too numerous to mention. The fact that they were “used” guns & that I could also use my employee discount to buy them meant that I almost always got them for less than half of what they were really worth. I still have all of them & I enjoy shooting them whenever I can. I even carry some of them concealed from time to time for fun. My preference is for guns in perfect mechanical condition with a little bit of holster wear on the finish so I don’t have to keep them looking perfect. I’m very grateful to have been able to buy so many guns that I wanted, but couldn’t afford to buy when I was young & they were new.
Doubt they could drive a stick shift, either.
That’s almost as bad as the young clerks at McDonald’s refusing a silver dollar or a $2.00 bill which they believe to be counterfeit.