Sunday: I've went to Bill Goodman's Gun & Knife Show in Nashville last weekend with my cousin and we looked around. Not really worth the $6 in my mind, but that's another thing. The people were nice enough, but it seemed that every time I informed someone that I was (am) pretty ignorant about guns and was just trying to get an idea of what's out there and what's good for what, that people would just nod. No one really tried to educate me, they just wanted me to buy their product. Which is fine I guess had they told me what made model X any better than model Y. Ok, there was one guy who was very helpful and answered a lot of questions. He has a training school and gun range called The Range. By far the most helpful "gun person" I've met... apart from my step-father-in-law. So, I had gone to the gun show specifically to see a Springfield Armory XD-9. I saw it and handled it. I didn't like it. Didn't feel right. I decided I want something a little smaller. One woman had several Colt Mark IV 380's. These guns had a nice feel to them, but seem a bit smallish. I made a mental note to look into them after the show.

Tuesday. So I crossed the XD-9 off my list and made a new one. Now I was looking at a Sig P239, a Beretta 9000S, and a Kahr K9. On the basis of price and aesthetics, the Beretta rose to the top of the list. And I decided I wanted to see and handle one personally.

There is a little gun shop in La Vergne called Specialty Arms II and I decided to stop by after work and see if they had one. They did. $499 though! Eventually, a "salesman" came over and asked if he could show me anything. I asked about the Beretta and he removed it from the case without saying anything. Holding this weapon wasn't anything like the XD-9. This felt really comfortable, and solid. I tried to engage the salesman in some conversation by again explaining that I'm a newbie, etc. No dice. Still, I like the gun, and went home and brought back Susie to show her. Sue really liked it too, and though the salesman seemed more interested, she didn't much like him either. For example, I asked the guy for the pros and cons of a 9mm versus .40 S&W. His verbose explanation. "If you're using this for defense, go with .40S&W. More stopping power". Well, there you go. The whole 9mm vesrsus .40 calibre debate in a dozen words.

OK, so later that night, I went to Gallery of Guns on the net. This is an interesting site. You put in your zip code, select a gun and local dealers will respond with their offer on that model. I selected the Beretta 9000S .40S&W model and within an hour or so I had a response from The Saddle Shop in Triune. This was actually the second time I had used this service and both times, Triune Saddle Shop had an offer right away. So I was encouraged.

Wednesday:I thought that I would respond to The Saddle Shop's offer by emailing them with some questions and explaining that I'm new at all this an would appreciate some answers to some questions and so forth.

Thursday: I haven't heard a peep out of them. What is the deal? Am I forgetting the secret handshake or something? Are there any local gun dealerships that are actually interested in promoting gun ownership? Perhaps I'll just have to keep my pointed stick for self defense.