Really excellent discussion on another forum...

[HeroHog]

Rogers Combat grips on Dad's (RIP) Model 10-8 S&W that he put on it

[Firethorn]

OK, no Punisher skull . . . how about this treatment?

Enables the Cochrane defense due to sheer cognitive dissonance in the jury.

[HeroHog]

What happens if ya use this?

NSFW!

http://herohog.com/images/guns/wtfgun.jpg 

[just Warren]

In San Francisco you'd get off.

[MechAg94]

I opened this up at home and was able to see the link this time.  IMO, if you have a self defense incident, it will go through stages (investigation, grand jury, trial, etc) and you hope it goes no further each time as it could cost you more money and time and stress.  Even if you know you will be found not guilty, if something like this means the difference between getting no-billed by the grand jury and going to trial, it is certainly worth it to avoid the bling.  

All that said, the odds of getting into a self defense shoot are slim.  The odds of this stuff making a difference may also be slim (depends on where you live and maybe luck of the draw).  The potential consequences are pretty bad.  Sounds a lot like buying lottery tickets.

[just Warren]

On the serious nature of this discussion, I've been impressed by what people have done to their guns but when it comes to mine I've never had the desire to do anything except a re-blue or change the grips or sights.

So this sort of question would not come up. I do agree with one of the posters over there that while there's a chance that, say, a skull won't hurt you in court there is no chance it will help.

[cordex]

In San Francisco you'd get off.

He was talking about dealing with legal consequences, sicko.

[HeroHog]

I have the answer for mods that will HELP ya in court!

[K Frame]

Virtually all of my guns wear Hogue rubber grips of one form or another.

A few still factory grips on them (S&W 4506, HK P7), because they're a pain to replace otherwise.

[230RN]

I've changed most of my grips, too.  I even had an M1917 I had to put a grip filler on.  Can't understand why they put such awkward grips on DA guns.

Warren noted:
"I do agree with one of the posters over there that while there's a chance that, say, a skull won't hurt you in court there is no chance it will help."

I agree there, too, and I wonder about some of the aggressive stuff put on the inside of some AR dust covers and added to safety switches.

Terry 

[cordex]

I have the answer for mods that will HELP ya in court!

"... which clearly shows that the shooting was a religiously motivated hate crime."

[Hawkmoon]

I have the answer for mods that will HELP ya in court!

"A CRUSADER!"

[Pb]

If you read the study I posted, Jurors are also biased against WOMEN who shoot someone in self-defense.  It's appalling.   

[RevDisk]

If you read the study I posted, Jurors are also biased against WOMEN who shoot someone in self-defense.  It's appalling.  

Wait, WHAT?

I read it, and honestly, I was shocked. I shouldn't be, but I am. The studies confirm gender stereotype/discrimination in self-defense, but I fail to understand why. The vast majority of females are at a normal disadvantage in a physical confrontation. Why would people want to literally punish a woman for defending herself even harsher?

[Perd Hapley]

Wait, WHAT?

I read it, and honestly, I was shocked. I shouldn't be, but I am. The studies confirm gender stereotype/discrimination in self-defense, but I fail to understand why. The vast majority of females are at a normal disadvantage in a physical confrontation. Why would people want to literally punish a woman for defending herself even harsher?

They're women. They get all excitable-like. Can't be trusted, you see. They get all hysterical.

I wonder when the surveys were done, given that killer chick chic is all the rage in entertainment recently.

[230RN]

Plucked from the above:

They're going to have a hard time making the case that my "fabulously purple" kentucky pistol is indicative of violent tendencies.

...but I wouldn't want to be on the wrong side of the odds and have to sit there while my lawyer tries to explain to a jury that I'm not really a homicidal vigilante...

At $350 / hr.

Accusations are cheap, defense is expensive.

And I had a set of nice hand-filling for my big hands stag grips for my 1911, but I put the laser grips on it instead.

Come to think of it.... laser grips.... obviously more efficient death-dealing device.

... Oh, drat....

Terry

REF (For the record, Jack Lord's gift from Elvis Presley):



See also:
http://www.juliensauctions.com/auctions/2007/Summer-Sale/lot-288.html

[Hawkmoon]

Wait, WHAT?

I read it, and honestly, I was shocked. I shouldn't be, but I am. The studies confirm gender stereotype/discrimination in self-defense, but I fail to understand why. The vast majority of females are at a normal disadvantage in a physical confrontation. Why would people want to literally punish a woman for defending herself even harsher?

Because many women (and there are often a lot of women on juries) are secretly afraid of empowered women, and a woman who has taken charge of her own personal security to the point of buying a [GASP!] gun and learning to use it forces them to confront their inner weakness and inability/unwillingness to take responsibility for their own security.

And some males are also consciously or subconsciously challenged by the notion of an empowered female. I doubt that applies to most of us here on APS (I doubt I'm the only one of us who teaches women to use guns), but they're out there.

[T.O.M.]

Time for the lawyer to chime in...

A friend of mine went through a home invasion.  She was home alone when the bad guys kicked in the door.  She fired on them.  Smith Model 15, blued, with Hogue rubber grips,aftermarket sights, a reshaped hammer, and a trigger shoe, loaded with .38 Special +P 158 grain LSWHP ammo.  All six shots, then she reloaded.  It was one of three ready firearms in the safe.  The other two were a Glock 17 and a Bushmaster AR.  She grabbed it because she was comfortable with the revolver.  The cops didn't seize all of the guns from the house, though that revolver was taken as evidence.  It was returned about a month later.  Of the six shots she fired, four bullets were recovered from the door and door frame.  One hit the windshield of their car, and one was not recovered, but blood was found in the driveway and in the car.  No arrests.  Nothing presented to grand jury.  It's all done.  The firearm used was never an issue, nor were the modifications. 
If she had pulled out a pink AR with the kitty painted on the stock, nothing would have changed.  Why?  The circumstances of the shoot were that clear.  A mother home alone when the door is kicked in and five guys run into the house?  Hell, she could have used a select fire SBR and likely had the same results.  Security camera footage backed her version of events.  It was completely justified.

If you want to modify a purely range gun, knock yourself out.  Want to paint the Punisher skull on it?  Have at it.  But don't use this as a defensive firearm.  Keep it locked up.  Want to modify your defensive firearms to make them more accurate, or rather to make you a better shot with that firearm?  Go right ahead.  Just don't bother with the cute saying engraved on it.  I figure it this way...it might not hurt you in court, but it surely isn't going to help you.