I tend to switch gears among my interests, so it shouldn’t come to me as a surprise that I’ve come back to the issue of firearms.

Currently, the Commonwealth of Virginia is changing hands in its political leadership. The Democrats will control every component of the legislature for the next couple of years, and they have made no secret of the fact that they intend to impose some drastic new measures on the citizenry.

This does not please me, as I have seen the results of this in other areas of the country, and they do not sit well with me. For starters, I believe there is a lot of unconstitutional action being contemplated, and I am well aware of the “law of unintended consequences.” One thing of which I am sure is that a lot of lawyers are going to be making a lot of money.

So, I’m using this as the excuse for my last two purchases, although if I want to be honest, I bought them because I wanted to!

Almost two weeks before Christmas, 2019, I bought a Ruger LCP II pistol. I have a carry permit, and it occurred to me that I might want a smaller handgun than that which I normally carry. The LCP II is chambered in .380 ACP (short for Automatic Colt Pistol, or “Auto”), a caliber which I have not used or owned before. In Europe, this load is also known as a “9mm kurz,” or 9mm short, given that it’s just a bit smaller than a 9mm round. I did a lot of research before settling on the LCP II, and deciding between the different versions was tough. Until I spotted the “Chattanooga Shooters Supply Distributor Exclusive” model. I knew that was the one I wanted!

Of course, the next challenge was finding a seller who resells from CSS, as one can’t buy from them directly. After a bit of searching and inquiring, I found one on the Sportsman’s Outdoor Superstore. Followed the usual procedure: order, have the gun sent to my local FFL (Federal Firearms License holder), go and fill out the Form 4473, and bring it home. Done.

But why stop there? Somehow, I came across the name Seecamp. Once again, using Google-fu, I learned a lot of history, and found that this company, founded in 1973, produced what many refer to as the “Rolex” of pocket guns. There’s a lot of interesting (to me) history behind the gun and its company, but I leave it to you to read on their web site.

These are not easy guns to find, even though the company still produces them. Many gun shops don’t carry them, some don’t know about them, and I had one fellow tell me he thought they’d gone out of business.

Well, I know their web site is active, but one can’t buy from them directly, so I started searching online again. I found a few on places like GunBroker, ARMSLIST and GunsAmerica. Some of them older models, which many people deem collectors’ items, but I finally decided I wanted a brand new one. Since they are known to be very finicky guns, I wanted a warranty to cover any first year problems, should they arise.

As fate would have it, I stumbled across a web forum owned by the Seecamp company, and registered to learn more. I found a terrific group of very helpful, knowledgeable people. One of them, Doug Childers, owner of Bear Creek Holsters was extremely helpful in steering me in the right direction, and to make a long story short, I was able to get my local gun shop (Herndon Arms) to obtain one from Seecamp. At a good price, too!

So, as I type this, I’m in California on business. But thanks to the Internet, I was able to get the order in, and my new Seecamp LWS32 should be waiting at Herndon Arms for me when I return. This isn’t the actual gun, but some stock photos to show the size.

Now THAT is a pocket gun!