If you came late to guns and carry, what brought you over?

[JoJoGunn]

My family have been gun owners for years so I have been accustomed to firearms. I have recieved both a .22 bolt action rifle and a Springfield 20ga shotgun many years ago as Christmas gifts.

The first purchase of a firearm on my own was the S&W 39-2 9mm that is shown in my avatar. Since then I have added a few handguns and rifles to the "collection."

I got my Concealed Pistol/Revolver License in November 2009 just because I had wanted to do so for a few years but just never went through the process. One of my co-workers already had his and another co-worker wanted to get one and I went with him to the class and then the range. After I got my permit, my wife who hails from the Land of Lincoln got her permit as well.

Nothing really spurred me to get the permit, I just wanted the ability to carry concealed and be all legal with it.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[soonershoote]

I grew up in a very liberal family (both sides), with the exception of my own immediate family...dad was ex-Army 63-69, my brother ex-USMC and now a probation officer, and me retired military. I had owned only one handgun from 1988-2008, a S&W .22 cal semi automatic pistol.

However, I have always been pro-2A, NRA member since late 90's, etc. So when his majesty (Barry)was about 5 months out from being sworn in, I decided to get my CCW & some newer firearms, too.....oh, and today I got Meprolight night sights for my Kahr PM-9 !!!

Now, with a wife & kid (we started really late on the kid thing), I 'm busy catching up on firearms, CCW laws, CCW gear, etc. Wife recently took her CCW class, too.

[soonershoote]

Sorry, don't think I can edit, but the S&W .22 that I had from 1998-2008 was a model 422 (TBTxxxx)...I used it to help finance the S&W M&P 9c.

[Cold Warrior]

Instead of buying good guns, I bought and kept a few good-enough guns, 40 or 30 or so years ago, and then did not buy or try or shoot anymore...until a fellow retiree and I decided to try a CCW class, after picking up the literature at a local [Hara Arena] Bill Goodman's Gun and Knife Show. We started having fun with guns, and started buying new ones, even shooting them too. We started reading these gun magazines and studying them. I started wasting my working and writing time online, sitting here on my as...uh,...this chair, instead of mowing my grass, learning some good gun stuff instead of dumb stuff. People who used to [and still do] carry concealed, without a license or a permit, thought and still think that it was and is no big legal deal...unless or until they get caught or taught otherwise by those police guys.

[peckman28]

I could go into exhaustive detail, as others have. However, the simplest answer is: I grew up.

-JT

That about sums it up for me as well.

[RKM]

I'll be 24 on Thursday. I didn't buy my first gun until this past Janurary. A Glock 30 .45ACP. I was like any little kid and loved water guns and such. Parents never had any guns around. They were not against guns by any means. Just didn't have any.

When I turned 21, I always thought about buying one but it was an idea that came and went. I started a new job and became friends with a bunch of guys who have guns and it was what finanlly convinced me to finally get one. It's just one more hobby to add to the list.

As for carrying, I've never felt the need to in the past. Nothing have ever happened to me where I thought a gun would have helped me. I'm not very confrontational. But knowing that the LTCF was fairly easy to get being a law abiding citizen, I decided why not? It's only $30. I still don't feel the need to carry all the time. I really only carry when I wear clothing that allows me to easily conceal, or when I feel like it just because I can leaglly. Open carry is legal, but I don't feel like dealing with the hassle of the general public.

My two good friends of mine are now interested. One of them grew up with long guns but never really delt with pistols until shooting mine. He wants a Sig P250 compact or XD .45 and to apply for an LTCF. My other friend recently bought his own house and is asking me about guns. I told him "I'm certainly far from being an expert, but I think I might be able to help" :) He originally wanted a shotgun after checking out my Mossberg, but wants something he could carry if he wanted to do so.

Now my parents have finally bought their own gun for the house. My dad liked my Glock and it's simplicity so he got a used G19. He's even thinking about getting an LTCF.

Again, as for wanting the LTCF, none of us want them because we feel threatened. I certainly don't. We all want (in my case HAVE) one for the sake of it being our right, and just because we can, and that alone I think is a good enough reason. Plus, it makes range trips more hassle free.

[GettingOld2]

A while back, I had an incident hiking with my wife. Long story short - we ended up back to back fending off two Dobermans and a Pittbull with our wooden staffs while they circled, snarled, snapped, and lunged for the 30 seconds it took for the owners to catch up and physically pull them off. That was an epiphany for me and I decided that it would never happen again.

Since then I've become a student of the obvious:

----------

Dogs don't read.

Gun-free not only isn't, it's not even desirable.

Ignorance is not bliss, it can get you killed!

[Thanis]

I've have wanted to own one since 21, just keep putting it off because of $. Had a rifle by 25, for home SD, but it was just something I did not put a lot of thought into.

I started to get older and questioned how well I could take care of myself.

Then crime just became a little more agressive, and I was no longer worried about $, or protecting $, I did not want to get beat, have my wife (or I) raped, stabbed, etc. without a fight.

Had a real bad case of the flu same time as my wife at about age 30. Door bell rang, family member. I was so weak, and maybe with fever, I had a thought. How would we ever defend ourself in such a condition.

It was time to get armed, practice, and grandfathered (it might help if things changed with the law) the cc permit.

That is the short version.

[WvHiker]

I've always kept guns around. From the time I moved out of my parents house I've always had at least one shotgun for HD. By the time I was in my mid 30s I had a few shotguns and rifles in the house, as well as a few .22 pistols. I've always enjoyed shooting, especially handguns, and one day I dropped my daughter off at school and promptly decided to go buy a handgun in a larger centerfire caliber. I came back with a G19, cleaned it, put it away and went to work.

A few days later I made it down to the lgs and indoor range. I'd been there before, but never for shooting. While I was there I noticed an upcoming class, so I decided to take it. And the next thing I knew I was in the Sheriff's office about two months later picking up my permit. Since then I've carried every day.

Nothing happened that made me carry, except that as a kid I always just assumed I would carry a gun as an adult. It was often presented to me as a common-sense thing to do while I was growing up (I have a lot of uncles and cousins that are big believers in having a j frame in your pocket all the time.) Now that I've been carrying for a while I can't imagine going back.

[AzB]

Zombies.



When I was young, the world was a different place. People helped each other, watched out for each other, and we didn't lock our doors... at least not during the day. Neighbors would come and go and we would do the same in their houses. I felt very safe as a child.

My dad was never a gun nut, but he did own a couple of guns. He had a couple of Nazi souvenir weapons that we would take out and go plinking at cans in the woods with. When I was 11, he bought me and my older brother .22 rifles to plink with. At Boy Scout summer camp, we had a rifle range. Every year we were required to take a firearm safety course and shoot at the range at least a couple of times.

As I grew up and became more responsible for myself, and ultimately my wife as well, my dad gave me one of those old Nazi pistols, just to have. I kept it around the house, loaded, just in case. I had experienced a bit of the evil that man is capable of, and wanted to be prepared. I also worked some odd hours alone in a retail environment, so I carried to work sometimes. (I have previously posted a story where I came very close to being robbed, and had all but pulled the trigger)

Years passed, and we've moved to a more urban environment because the long commutes were taking way too much time and money. We enjoy living where we do, but the crime rate is much higher. As the decades have passed, more and more people are selfish and addicted to really harmful drugs. (I've had some experience with drug users over the years, and the proliferation of crack and meth are serious problems. They are nothing like the pot and heroin users of yesteryear) You can not count on your neighbor for anything substantial any more, and in many cases you have to be suspicious of them. Also, I'm getting older and with medical problems of one kind or another, I'm less willing and able to get into a fight... fair or not.

Long story short, over the years I've carried more and more. I've had my permit for a while, but for several years, never really carried. Now I carry every day, from sunup to sundown. It's kind of a shame, but it is reality.

[GunGeezer]

I was born and raised in Chicago, one block north of a rapid transit ell train station. It was one stop before the end of the line. Lots of undesirable types would fall asleep (drug or alcohol induced) then get off at the last few stops and walk the neighborhoods looking for handouts or opportunities.
My father had a few handguns but got rid of them when my brother found them and showed interest in fondling them at an early age.
At about the time I started driving, I purchased a Ruger .22 and have had one or more guns ever since. I used to shoot competitively (trap & skeet) once or twice a week and pistols at several ranges.
During my productive years I was an avid camper and enjoyed National Parks and Forest Service campgrounds because of their primitive beauty. I always packed either a .357 mag. revolver or a short barrelled Ruger Super Redhawk .44 mag. to protect myself and my family against 2 and 4 legged preditors.
I retired to Florida in 1998 and have had a CCW permit ever since. I'm too young to die, too crippled to run, too old to fight and too mean to take any *hit!

[mfcmb]

My folks weren't anti-gun but I grew up without guns in the house.

As a younger man studied martial arts and over time became a second degree black belt in Aikido. But I haven't trained for years, and I've gotten into a somewhat sedentary lifestyle, so my stamina has decreased and I tend to pull muscles if I exert myself quickly without warming up (as I would in a self defense incident).

I work out of a home office, and a couple of years ago I decided I needed to get out more. I thought that taking up target shooting would be fun. Then I got interested in the whole self defense and concealed carry angles, and decided to let handgunning take over where my martial arts have left off.

So I took the concealed carry class, got my license, and have been practicing defensive shooting skills ever since.

[sniper58]

I grew up as a rifleman as Dad didn't believe in handgun ownership (...divided we fall). It was 1982 in an apartment complex in Tampa, Florida and I was in a very committed relationship (turned out to become the mother of my two boys). One night around dinner time, we hear a call for help. Neighbors across the street came home from vacation, dropped their bags & went out for dinner. They came home to find a "misguided youth" rummaging through their apartment. We both bought handguns the next day, received extensive training and I've been armed ever since.

[vietnamvet66]

I have had guns since I was 14. Rifle, shotgun. Bought my first handgun at 21.
Over the years I've had many. Got my carry permit about 20+ years ago (although I was known to carry befor that) Joined here about a month ago after being refered here by a friend on a military site.

[onetuza]

I had a 22 rifle when I was 14. Haven't owned anything until Barry Soetoro, oops, I'm sorry, Barack Hussein Obama announced his candidacy. I now support the second amendment several times over, if you catch my drift.