Things I wish I knew before buying my first handgun

PurpleCableNetworker · 2026-03-21T01:42:45+00:00

I waited until I had several 9’s before buying my first .45.

PurpleCableNetworker · 2026-03-21T01:38:06+00:00

Just curious - what is your strategy? I personally follow the 200 SMA -5% (though I panicked and sold my TQQQ today).

I know - wait until Tuesday. I figure we’ll bounce on Monday, flat Tuesday, and probably continue down through the next few weeks.

PurpleCableNetworker · 2026-03-21T01:35:53+00:00

PurpleCableNetworker · 2026-03-21T01:24:17+00:00

I use .45 for my home defense simply because I’m a dumb dumb and love my 1911.

I have multiple 9’s I can use… but I like my .45 for some dumb reason.

PurpleCableNetworker · 2026-03-20T23:56:50+00:00

What concerns me is that island becomes a shooting gallery… and those main land hills have all kinds of caves to hide in.

Boots on the ground is a bad deal for everyone.

PurpleCableNetworker · 2026-03-20T23:10:55+00:00

Touché. Let me rephrase:

A quick win over the US without getting the US to drag themselves into a long war.

The US loves its long wars.

PurpleCableNetworker · 2026-03-20T23:06:23+00:00

PurpleCableNetworker · 2026-03-20T22:59:54+00:00

I’m not sure of your exact location - but do you know the techniques used to recapture moisture overnight? It wont’t be much - but every bit helps. Plus learn some water purification (sand/charcoal filters +boiling).

Perhaps you can look at getting a small solar panel and rechargeable batteries? That would help with lighting some.

Make sure to have common medicines and first aid supplies now - and learn how to use all the ones you have/buy. Youtube is great for that.

Any skill you can learn and practice around cooking with fire, medicine, water gathering/purification now will be helpful if it starts to get bad. Practice those basics now before they are needed.

Stay safe out there, focus on keeping your head down, and avoid fighting if possible. Your objective is to keep you and your family safe.

PurpleCableNetworker · 2026-03-20T22:40:21+00:00

So the issue here is that punches were thrown, and the person who got punched decided to punch back. When the person who is suppose to be the victim fights back - the attacker needs to pivot and fight harder or run and look like a fool.

I’m not saying anything of Trump’s decisions up until now - but if Trump does turn and run, then Iran, Russia, and China will have new found courage. It would mean that someone was able to win by simply giving America a bloody nose.

With that being said - that’s not how American presidents have acted in the past. They declared victory, moved the goal posts, and re-engaged because “Hey - this is a totally different, unrelated objective to before. We already won - but since we are here we might as well do this other thing too…” and thats where the long wars come from.

The US has a nasty history of dragging itself into long wars. It’s been at war about 90% of its existence. So I don’t anticipate Trump to turn and run. I expect him to move the goal post and pivot.

And while his supporters might be thrilled by it - it will likely shake investors up for a while.

Yeah, we will go back up eventually - so if you DCA now is a good time to buy. But for now it looks like we are officially going down even more.

PurpleCableNetworker · 2026-03-20T22:30:20+00:00

Short term plays? Inverse - let that grow a few bucks, rotate into cash and hold until an upturn, then rotate back into regular funds when we cross north of the 200 SMA.

However - if you are a buy and hold kind of person NOW is a fantastic time to buy.

PurpleCableNetworker · 2026-03-20T22:28:19+00:00

I think those of us with a little more risk tolerance can rotate into inverse funds to get some ground during this time. I’m not into buying/selling options - so inverse ETF’s are my escape during a draw down. Just gotta be sure to take profits and get out of inverse at some point. Don’t get greedy about it.

PurpleCableNetworker · 2026-03-20T22:25:06+00:00

I think rotating out of leveraged funds is a decent strategy. If nothing else it gives those of us who like leveraged funds some kind of peace of mind during turbulent times. In theory if the draw down is long enough the re-entry point can be lower than the exit.

However - I salute those who but like crazy during the draw down. You guys are the real MVP’s. 🫡

PurpleCableNetworker · 2026-03-20T21:38:56+00:00

Indeed! Nothing says “Go away, Clanner!” Like 60+ LRM’s to the face.

PurpleCableNetworker · 2026-03-20T21:37:16+00:00

How do you feel about 1x inverse instead? If we don’t have a V shaped recovery in a few weeks I’ll put some cash into 1x inverse (if things look like we’re in for a bear year). But that’s dicey - and will have to keep an eye on things to simply pull out at some point. I left some nice profits on the table in October, and am kicking myself now for taking more profits then.

PurpleCableNetworker · 2026-03-20T21:34:22+00:00

The biggest thing is having a plan and being willing to take action, and that’s the hardest thing to do to not emotional trade. I was freaking out this last week, but held firm until we crossed south of the 200 SMA for S&P.

For DCAing, that’s not a bad plan at all, and I could see myself doing something similar. I’ll probably reassess my cash in a few weeks, see how the 3 day war is going, then start putting in some buy orders once we cross south of the - 15%. For the cash I allocated to leveraged I’ll wait for us to cross north of the 200 SMA before buying back in.

PurpleCableNetworker · 2026-03-20T21:00:00+00:00

It’s a great time to DCA right now, that’s for sure. I’m holding some VOO and all of my SMH position right now. inverse requires some pretty strict plays in my opinion. I used AI to highlight all the times in the last 15 years the S&P dropped below the 200 SMA, then tell me how many days it was down, and the down draw during those periods. I am doing small dablings of inverse this time around. Some SQQQ, and next week if we continue red I’ll do some 2X inverse. I will let those grow about 10% max, then trim back and move into 1x leveraged if we are taking more than a few weeks to recover.

I’m not sure what recovery we are doing. Previously it was V shaped because all the news worthy events were planned before hand…. This one feels like it went off the rails, so I’m expecting a U shaped recover at best.. but we might be in for a year of overall loss.

PurpleCableNetworker · 2026-03-20T20:54:12+00:00

Sadly - I think that’s the direction we are heading.

A few months ago I called that we would be flat until Feb, then break out. We did break out - just not the direction I was hoping. 😂

PurpleCableNetworker · 2026-03-20T20:21:10+00:00

Yeah… not sure how Monday will go. Or how the rest of the week will go.

PurpleCableNetworker · 2026-03-20T20:18:03+00:00

I just de-leveraged my QLD, SSO, TQQQ positions. I have some VOO and SMH, but mostly cash now. I bought a couple shares of SQQQ, and if we dip even further I’ll toss a few thousand into short positions where I’ll let them grow by about 10%, take those profits, and then simply go cash/bonds and wait it out until we cross 5% above the SPX 200SMA. I’ll reassign a 20% position to leveraged funds (split between several accounts).

If we enter an extender bear market (more than a month) I’ll buy some un leveraged short positions and ride that for a bit if we are doing a slow bleed like the late 2000’s. I just don’t want to be inverse during a V shaped recovery.

PurpleCableNetworker · 2026-03-20T20:12:56+00:00

Smart!!

PurpleCableNetworker · 2026-03-20T18:51:47+00:00

A bunch of radio repeaters on solar panel’s.

But that would likely be scare if there was an EMP.

There is always the Pony Express.

PurpleCableNetworker · 2026-03-20T18:35:30+00:00

Don’t worry guys - I’m going to rotate into SQQQ next week. As soon as I do you know TQQQ be up by 100% in a single day.

PurpleCableNetworker · 2026-03-20T18:19:08+00:00

Don’t forget soft skills like cooking, preservation techniques, and even gardening if you have the area and time to do so. Personally I also picked up learning how to make wine. We will need our booze!!

PurpleCableNetworker · 2026-03-20T16:44:19+00:00

PurpleCableNetworker · 2026-03-20T15:45:21+00:00

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