So I bought a self-defense gun....

It might be a good idea for us to have a gun in our Prius. Just looking out for my Priuschat family who has been especially kind, knowledgeable and extremely helpful over many years and many Gen 2 Prius. Especially a few of you, who are walking PriusAI as far as I am concerned.

Well as you all may have noticed things in the US seem extremely unstable (primarily due to Biden but again this isn't a political post). I got a gun but wasn't sure where to keep it. Plus although Prius don't attract attention like Ford Raptor trucks for carrying guns (thus the constant break-ins in many truck models; demographic as gun-owner)... I wanted to get some type of protection that wasn't expensive in case I should lose it.

Found a good Glock clone called 9mm Stoeger STR9SubCompact and with the fifty-dollar rebate it's around $170 til the end of the month. I bought it blindly thinking I might need to cut a hole in the seat or find some weird way to keep it in my car but lo and behold as luck would have it...it fits PERFECTLY (within millimeters each side) in the secret-compartment in middle-console for Gen 2s.

Pardon the dog hair in the picture but oh yeah...big dogs like my German Shepherds can stand in the back with seats down. Always amazed at the cargo-space in Gen2s which seems to get overlooked and is underrated.

https://stoegerindustries.com/pistols/str-9sc-sub-compact-semi-auto-pistol

https://stoegerindustries.com/STR-rebate

 

thanks for the advice.

tbh I've only shot it once but plan on shooting it more. i don't really have the time to train that much but I might sign up for a shooting class for CCW. Not sure if I want to carry because I can barely stand carrying my phone everywhere let alone something heavier.

I'm pretty risk-averse so hopefully I don't get in a sticky situation but due to lack of laws being enforced (teens stealing/carjacking, general crime, roadrage, etc.) I thought it might be a good idea to have a gun in my car (where I presume most bad interactions might happen).

 

Whatever my sincerity level is re: politics, things seem to have gotten worse the past 4 years, thus the gun.

In fact, in my city, Columbus, there have been around 70 cars crashing into buildings events in the past 6 months...226 incidents last year. Not to mention many go unnoticed because a police report isn't filed. There are VERY specific reasons for this that are directly correlated to the past 4 years under Biden (and no its not people having heart attacks, seizures, phone-use, etc. which might account for few of those accidents).

LOL. the news story below are blaming "distracted driving" or "mechanical issues" . LOL!!!!!! Sure for about maybe 15% of those accidents. If you simply assess the facts of the accidents and coincidentally many Prius-type cars and have a functional brain its obvious the primary reason for the increased frequency now.

I never heard of cars crashing into buildings all my life with such wrecked abandon. Now I hear about it every few days. But as I said, until someone's kid dies by getting run over and killed.... many people in Columbus find it funny and make memes about it. Coincidentally, some positive news... in the past FIVE months, mysteriously fentanyl drug deaths across the country are down by as much as 60% in some states!!! Thats amazing so many lives are being saved....OH WHATEVER could that reason be???? Alas! Here I go again with being political and then evading it! Sigh.



Unfortunately for many people, they simply are incapable to learn UNTIL they become a victim. All that crime you read about and respond without it affecting you is simply a way to give your meaningless thoughts and prayers, virtue signal, etc. I get it though. Until you become a victim yourself its very profitable for your self-image. It feels good to be that way when you have nothing at stake...in fact its a winning proposition, you get something (goodwill) for doing nothing.

 

LOL x infinity.

Please don't take offense but I said ...well tbh I guess I was wrong...you don't just need a functioning brain you need one thats adept at analyzing fact patterns and such.

- 43 yo male
- no license
- newly registered car based on license plate dealer sticker (curious fact)
- no intoxication
- no insurance
- cheaper car (typically used in delivery jobs)
- no mention of his name, race, etc.

who demographic could this be? what circumstances led to this very curious accident? how often do you see sober 43yos crashing into buildings esp prior to the past 5 years?

I kinda didn't intentionally post glaringly obvious pictures but if you search, its very apparent when you look at the post-accident pictures of many of these car/building crashes. yes some are teen carjackers but the MAJORITY ARE NOT!

Maybe. Here in the midwest it is NOT criminals (unless you consider breaking a certain law a crime). Hopefully that battering ram business doesn't come here. Here, its mostly into restaurants or residences. What does that tell you?

 

you better be if you are driving a stereotype Prius.

I like the fact that people think that Prius drivers are slow and drive like granola-eating leftist boomer F-ELON grandmas....because I DO! Transportation related deaths are in the top 5 of causes and the one issue that is almost an overriding factor is speeding. Whenever people blazingly speed by me in annoyance I wonder if they know that fact. All it takes is a split second moment to lose control. I was in an accident that I posted about here that my Prius got hit from the rear, rolled-over 1.5 times, landed upside down and I crawled out without any injuries. the shape of a Prius is a natural roll-cage so thats another benefit.

Read a great book on all things traffic years ago and the likelihood of serious injury going 35 vs 25mph isn't 30% but rather 500% greater; partially due to greater velocity but also due to less driver-control at that greater velocity. Also speeding means more likely to not keep safe distance, hit a kid running into the street, etc.

 

Not true re: vigilantism. My biggest concern is I'll forget that it's in the secret drawer when I actually need it. I guess this is a good reason to actually carry a gun on your person. Thats' why I recommended and posted the links...for people like me who don't want to get too much into gun culture or have the time to train. That's mainly why I didn't buy a $600 Glock or other more known model. That said. You don't have to look for crime anymore...it finds you. In fact, they're actively looking for you right now.

Regarding training, I'd like to commit to more but there are only so many hours in the day and I need to prioritize them. If I planned on shooting a gun daily then maybe I'd be more inclined to train more. Honestly, hopefully I never have to use my Prius gun. As long as it works when needed though...i'm good.

btw: the main reason I made this thread (knowing I'd get some blowback) is to help people out. I guess the upside of getting carjacked, shot & killed, etc. is that at least "I have a red triangle on my Prius dashboard? What does Code P4302 mean?" won't concern you anymore.

FUN FACT: I talked to a cop friend about using this Prius gun in self-defense. he told me that IF I do use it in self-defense its not like the in movies whereby your life returns back to normal the next day. He said ON AVERAGE you will be spending 6mos of your life going over details with law enforcement and if a trial ensues that can be as much as 2 years away. Not to mention getting convicted.

Ummm...no thanks. I'd rather be enjoying my time golfing.

 

typical leftcoast mentality..."if you leave them alone they'll leave you alone....live an let live....maaaan!"

at least if you pull a gun on someone in self-defense there is a ???%% chance they will leave you alone and avoid getting shot (even if not very high though as confrontational people don't have this self-preservation mentality).

BUT if you drive someone over with a 3000lb car. Kinda can't take that back or give the criminal the opportunity to retreat. Good luck explaining that to a prosecutor (esp a Cali prosecutor MEGALULZ!!!)

It's not the 1960's anymore where the worst thing that might happen to you is being accosted by a Hare Krishna recruiter. coincidentally I'm watching a Cali video right now (nice youtuber)...LOL...youtuber says it can "happen anywhere ...in Venice Beach...in Germany"...LOL. I wonder what the common denominators are? But I get it. You kinda have to add "the anyone/anywhere disclaimer" anytime you say anything controversial.

apparently a bunch of "teens" (gee...I wonder whom?) attacked some old hippy type guy and he retaliated by stabbing them. doubtful he gets exonerated LOL.


EDIT: to close out this thread...at least I'm not gonna reply anymore.

SOME PEOPLE HAVE TO LEARN THE HARD WAY!!!

As I previously stated, it FEELS GREAT! to virtue-signal, mention anomolies, outliers, vigilantism, some x-factor so the issue doesn't apply to you, etc. UNTIL they are the victim. All those horrible stories you read about everyday are likely random people just like YOU!