Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

I *really* need to investigate a ‘politically correct” and relatively disposable set of firearms for air travel. Travelling with a 9mm and an AR-15 draws way too much attention. Additionally, an AR is $750 and a good pistol is another $600. Thats alot to tie up if some idiot at the ticket check-in doesnt know the proper procedure for firearms check-in and airport security has seen “Die Hard II” too many times. A used .357 is $200 and a Marlin .357 is another $250. Not an unrecoverable loss.

I’m thinking Im going to pick up a nice Smith .357 and couple it with a Marlin carbine in the same caliber. I can get ammo (.38/.357) anywhere and the guns are about as non-threatening as you can get.

“Why would you need these guns when you travel, Zero?”
Personal safety, of course. Take, for example, the recent blackout on the east coast. If the power is out for a few days and I’m grounded until power is restored I dont want to have to stay up all night fearing that looters and other opportunists are going to be prowling the hallways with reckless disregard of the police who are going to be a) way to busy to care and b) probably calling in sick to take care of their own families.

The other alternative is a Ruger autopistol and a Ruger P9 carbine, a 1911 and a Marlin carbine, or a Glock and a Kel-Tec carbine. However, I’m really preferring the .357 for its ammo availability and the Marlin’s harmless looks.

In other news, I am going to have Rancho Ballistica up and running by 2005 if I have to sell a kidney and work 36 hour days to do it. A nice quiet extremely private paradise that I can live on and be left alone on. Sovereignty, thy name is property.