Today I bought a Glock 19 handgun for personal use but this gun could be used for 'business purposes'. Whenever I am in a Class D or F neighborhood, having a gun with two 17 round clips could come in real handy.

Based on the above information, I am wondering if I could deduct the cost of this gun ($629.00) as a business expense?

Call it a tool of the trade. Good choice.

Hammer -check. Self defense-check.

Also, just like having to learn how to use any tool, same applies. Any training or safety stuff, ammo,etc.

LTD can likely give you more expert advice.

If you're going to carry concealed, you likely will need a course and permit.

Richard,

I wish I had LTD to teach me how to use this gun. There is no safety switch/button on this gun,...once the clip goes in, it is ready to fire. I will have to read the instructions on this gun very carefully. This is my first handgun.

Here in California, we are not allowed to have a magazine with more than 10 rounds, Felony outside of our residence. Los Angeles police refuse to issue or renew CCW permits.

So when I go to a lease signing, I have to defend myself using the lease to inflict paper cuts or drop a Section 8 manual on the persons head of foot to knock them out.

Roy, I'm not going to say congratulations, because frankly I'm sorry you or anyone still has to live in a world where good people may have to employ lethal force against barbarians.

Anyway, here's the short course. Feel free to call me if you need any advice.

I carry a Glock 19. You will never go wrong with a Glock. :)

A "clip" is used to load a magazine.

Glocks don't need a safety "Keep your finger off the trigger until ready to fire." I teach keeping your finger up along the slide, not perched on the trigger guard.

Please avoid those one size fits all nylon holsters. Avoid paddle holsters, the cheap ones break off or pull off your belt.

Get a hard sided (kydex or molded) holster made for your gun, that COMPLETELY covers the trigger and guard. I mostly use a Foxx, inside the waistband holster (get the suede upgrade). Google it. I also use a "K-Round" belt holster for concealment under a jacket. I really like these as they keep the gun in snug to your body with very little footprint. There is a friction adjustment to keep the gun in the holster. You generally have to order online to get a good holster.

Another holster I like is my "Safariland ALS," level 2 retention. There is a switch you release to draw the gun. I carry this hiking. I'd hate to be running from a bear and have my gun fall off! ;)

Buy more mags. I suggest at least 5 per gun. That's one in the gun, two spare, and two extra for training or if one breaks or is lost.

Next please get some hands on training. The NRA Basic and "Personal Protection Outside the Home" courses are a good start, and in some states qualifies for a ccw permit. You can find classes at nrainstructors.org.

More important, be sure to thoroughly know the LAW. A good place to start is handgunlaw.us.

Stay safe, carry smart, avoid trouble and know the law.

LTD,

Thanks for the information. I do not plan on carrying this gun strapped to my waist belt. I was thinking about keeping it inside my F-150 near the front bucket seat. At this writing, it would be out of my comfort zone to have any gun strapped to my body.

LTD,

Can I deduct this ?

Only if ya use model 19 as a hammer. (29.98 oz. loaded)

Please please PLEASE Do not leave it in your truck!

If you can deduct your phone as a business expense, you should be able to deduct your firearm as a security expense for business. You should also deduct any training expenses associated with such security.

Blue,

Crime happens in all neighborhoods, Class A - F which explains why many homeowners in Class A & B hoods have elaborate security systems attached to their homes. Even though most of my rentals are in C hoods, the D & F hoods can be just 2 blocks away. My town has a historic district where all of the antebellum houses on 2 parallel streets have been restored to Class A standards. Walk just 2 blocks over and you are in a Class D slum.

I never thought of writing off my training or weapon purchases, dang it!

Don't try to be a hero. Don't run toward danger. It's not your job. Sometimes I think I would run outside and shoot a pitbull that was attacking a small dog. That attack actually happened on the sidewalk in front of my home. Thankfully I had no idea it was going on. Restraint is important. If you get to a skill level that is high, then maybe you could do something but best left to the professionals.

Nothing wrong with owning and learning to properly use and care for a fine handgun. Does it automatically make you safer?

"In all of the 13 years I have been a LL, there has only been one time I felt the need for a gun. 3 years ago, I fired a day laborer for doing something stupid. He got pissed and threaten to go to his car and get his gun if I did not pay him more than what he was worth. This guy threaten to shoot me over $20.00."

That's a nice gun - good choice. I used to use one at work.

Do what LTD says and get training -and lots of practice, regularly. And a good, secure holster. Many folks are shot with their own weapons when the bad guy gets it away from them. Don't let that happen. I personally love my Blackhawk Serpa holster.

It does you no good in the truck, unless you are also in the truck. And it is not secure. If you secure it in a locked, mounted box in your truck, then it's even less useful to you. Takes too long to get it.

Add training on how to draw quickly from a holster, and aim accurately & quickly, after drawing.

Lastly, be careful. If you're going to do it, do it right.

BTW: I can relate to feeling like I want to carry protection in certain places/around certain people. However, all sorts of "normal" places have been shot up by crazy people. So....when are you really ever safe...unless you have a way to defend yourself? - as a last resort of course.

DJ - I would encourage you to look at the holsters I recommended. The Blackhawk has resulted in a number of people shooting themselves in the leg while drawing.

The finger lock button tends to direct your finger onto the trigger under stress, and bang!

Also there have been issues with the locking spring breaking and trapping the gun in the holster. NO professionals ues them anymore. Most schools won't allow their use.

Mickie OH said “I do want to get a golden retriever but doubt I'd be able to write that off as a security system”.

But you CAN use your dog as a security system.

I went to a landlord convention a few years back in Savana GA with main speaker being a big time lawyer who lived there. (I forget his name at the moment).

I remember Gevans, and Mike MO were there. They may chime in and let us know his name.

Anyway IRS came to lawyers office and grilled him on his deductions. They came to his dog. Nope, we don’t think you can use the dog lying on the floor as a security system.

So he tells them. The dog’s credentials are in the office where he is. Just go in and get the paperwork out of the desk. But be very careful. Remember, the dog is in the office.

Needless to say, they allowed the dog’s deductions.

I am careful to never knowingly do anything to draw the IRS's attention.

Roy -- see even LTD says 2 clips aren't enough. 5 min.

Here in GA if you conceal you need a conceal permit.

To be honest I hate carrying in my brief bag. WHY? cause I never want the day to come where I have to pull it out.

When working on a rental-- I'm thinking it would be better to wear it-- to be seen with it. More as a deterrent. If that makes sense. That's uncomfortable also that you have to wear a gun.....

I have heard that you can deduct anything you want to right up until you get audited! Any business expense has to be reasonable and necessary.

Roy - AWESOME range! Our range is a CMP affiliate. You are lucky to have such a facility so close. They are more recreationally directed but they will have good instruction.

I looked up Alabama, there is no class requirement for a ccw permit. I would encourage you to obtain one as it also reciprocates in most of the midwest and SE and makes a police encounter or traffic stop go much smoother. A permit doesn't mean you must carry, but gives you more options.

As DJ and others said, if things go bad they often go bad fast, hence the recommendation of on body carry. Several made the valid point that a truck gun can be a theft issue. I keep a "truck gun" myself. Currently a 12 ga pump shotgun behind the back seat. It's for the highly unlikely circumstance where a Glock is not enough. Like a Grizzly bear! Seriously, we had FIVE close grizzly encounters this summer on our month trip to MT and WY. Even though we had bear spray, twice we were within 150 ft and wishing I hadn't left the shotgun in the truck.

A legal point: If you have to retrieve a gun from your vehicle, then engage a threat - why did you not just get in the vehicle and leave? This can become a sticky point in a self defense case if you return to an engagement after retreating.

I'm ok with someone who doesn't feel comfortable carrying a gun constantly. There is no rush. Learn about your gun and if at some future point you wish to carry you will be qualified.

What all this means Roy, is congratulations, you are now in the "Pringles" can of guns trap. "You can't have just one!"

Your Glock 19 is perhaps the best handgun ever, whether carried or staged nearby. But it won't help you when it's in the truck and you aren't. Many people also get a small pocket pistol like the Smith Bodyguard or Ruger LCP .380's. Easy to carry, adequate and accurate enough up close.

Realistically for most people, there is an infitesimal chance of needing a gun. And truthfully most people are not going to be victims of violent crime at a deadly force level, unless they are...

So Roy, you made a good choice, you have good training available. Your brother clearly has some knowledge and is wise enough to point you toward a good gun. You will do fine. Take your time. Enjoy shooting and learning about your new gun.

Now I'm off to a RE seminar. :D

Thanks again LTD. 'Retreating and then returning to a threat'.

What makes me uneasy about any firearm used for self-defense, is not knowing what my legal rights are 'in every possible situation' in which I may feel threaten by someone else. When I fired the day laborer, he did not stick a gun in my face but he definitely threaten to if I did not pay him for the 2 hours that he had worked doing a sloppy interior paint job.

JKJ,

Are you saying I have to wait until the day laborer shoots me first, before I can shoot back at him? He literally told me he had a gun in his car and would go and get it if I did not pay him an additional $20.00.

That being said, there is the possibility that if I had a Glock strapped to my waist in plain view, he may not have even made the threat to begin with,...but who knows?

I think LTD should get the final word on this situation. How does an armed person deal with someone making threats towards you?

Roy, I think you will like it, the FDE color is nice and quite popular. Mine are Gen 4 in basic black. :(

JKJ, I discussed training in one of my earlier posts. My basics of legal aspects is a 16 hr course so I didn't get too deep into it here or I'd end up writing a book. LOL

Regarding the worker scenario. These are tough because such altercations are very fluid. There is zero room for a legal error with self defense. A guy in our town just got 5-15 for firing a round into the air to "scare" some people who he was in an altercation with.

In this case the right of defense switches sides depending upon action. YOU have the right to self defense when he said he would harm you. If you follow when he goes to his car, YOU become the agressor, now HE has the justification. Or if you try to leave and he follows then again YOU are still the victim. However, until his gun is in hand and intent is clear, you probably don't have grounds for lethal force. Up to that point we are generally constrained to non lethal means.

Most state laws are similar. Basically you cannot use lethal force unless you are under "immediate" threat of death or great bodily harm. A jury is going to look at four things, ability, opportunity, jeopardy, and reasonableness.

The guy threatened to go get a gun and hurt you, he had the opportunity to get one and it is reasonable to assume he had the ability to use it. It certainly put you in jeopardy.

But, would it be reasonable TO A JURY to use your sidearm to stop him, and at what point? Shooting him in the back while unarmed going to his car to get a gun would probably not be reasonable. Shooting as he turned with gun in hand to harm you, most people would probably consider reasonable. You don't have to give him a "free shot" to prove his deadly intent. A jury is also going to look at whether you could have left while he was getting a gun? If so, why did you stay? Even stand your ground laws are not absolutes.

And of course we have to look at the fact of whether $20 is worth spending $10,000 to a million to defend your actions.

It is quite complicated, and I encourage having a complete understanding of the law. Read all you can. If you get a chance take a legal aspects class by someone reputable. Carrying a firearm does open you to liability and mistakes. Knowledge and training mitigate errors.

Roy it's the what if's that will get you killed. If you've never killed someone you will never know the mental anguish that will cause.

Your life must be in imminent danger. You must have no other way out. (Another words) He went to go get his gun-- did you leave? You could have escaped.

Finally when you pull your weapon-- it is shoot to kill-- no not to shoot him in the leg but to kill because as stated earlier-- your life was in imminent danger.

Roy I just purchased a half trac to drive to the rentals.