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Your carry decision

7K views 78 replies 73 participants last post by  disko 
#1 ·
Not very original - I mean heck we have discussed ''carry evolution'' - risk factors - all sorts of stuff already.

But wonder if you can remember that actual decision time and why. The day you decided - ''Yes, I will carry a concealed firearm". Was it ''Because I can"? ''Because I feel the need"? Some actual traumatic event?

I have for more years than I care to remember felt the need to excercise my innate human right to self defence and to carry - but back in UK days it was never legal ..... <cough!!>. I certainly was always armed at home.

Once I got here and married it was with some pleasure that I began to rebuild my shooting interests, although for some while I could not get handguns or carry. Once I was ''legal'' and had permanent residency I got things under way. Many folks say when asked why they carry - ''because I can''. Well that is my 2º reason. My 1º reason is because I choose too not easily become a victim, and the fact that I can (legally) is a bonus.

Now I am a U.S. citizen I am finally on a totally level playing field with everyone and that feels good. Folks know I am dedicated to carry - and I try my best to encourage others as well as teach what I can.

What kicked you off then, older folks starting, in particular?
 
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#2 ·
Not sure. I've wanted a pistol of my own since I was about 10. Guess I just don't like the idea of being a victim either.
 
#5 ·
My decision came before I was 14 (and subscribing to Guns & Ammo magazine thanks to my parents) and living in the projects of NYC. The NYPD and every other LE agency could not protect my family or me from the bad guys on the streets. Even then, I though that responsibility primarily lie with oneself. Unfortunately, the "enlightened" City of New York opined differently, ensuring through their ineffectual Sullivan Law that firearms be inaccessible for most residents.

Living some other places, like Puerto Rico (with gun laws as bad as NYC) and worker's paradise of New Jersey made the situation no better for those of us wanting (if not demanding) to be our own first line of defense.

Becoming an LEO at the very least allowed me the chance to carry a weapon, but that wasn't the same as exercising my rights as a citizen of the U.S. to bear arms. Carrying a firearm as a private citizen is a right enshrined in the Bill of Rights, carrying a weapon as an LEO is a privilege.

So upon moving to the free state of Florida...I decided to exercise my right as a citizen (something that should have been afforded all of us years ago), applied for a CCW permit and carry a weapon under that permit.
 
#6 ·
I was living in California and getting a permit, was like pulling you own teeth. Then I came to Idaho got into the cowboy shooting and found single action too slow for me. Traded in guns and got my 1911, big difference. So I decided it was my right to carry and went down and got my license. Now I'm coming up on my renewal.
 
#7 ·
Just because I finally could and waited long enough for CCW in Missouri to become a reality. I also felt I owed it to not only myself and family but to all that fought for our right in the forefront in Missouri for years. I wanted to set the example that we are not crazy as they said we would be, that the wild west would not come true as they had hope and to disprove all of the anti's BS that they said would happen that never did and never will happen.

I also agree that it improves your life in many ways, this forum being one of them. I am not sure I would be writing this today on CC if I hadn't gotten my CCW permit. Also CCW mellows a person out, it did me anyway. I find I am an even nicer person than before CCW, I think about what I say and how I say things better and just feel I am much smarter than ever before as well as more prepared than ever to defend myself or family if I ever have to.

I love everything about it and it's our right for Christ sake.


Ti.
 
#8 ·
I was gonna get one in Cali but in combination of finding a weekend to go to a 2 day class on CCW (state requirement), all costs and paperwork. I just never got around to it.
But....being back in Georgia changed my outlook immediately. The included bonuses were only $40 fee, no stupid gov't required class, and I didn't have to give a reason why I wanted to conceal. Most importantly is its a gun friendly state.
 
#9 ·
I've had some type of handgun for over 40 years now. I always felt that having it in the home and in the car was adequate, so I didn't worry much about concealed carry. I did have a permit years ago in Georgia, and carried open there when camping. When I moved to Florida, I didn't bother once I learned that I could keep a pistol in the car. I went for CCW last year when I felt that age and increased drug related crime probably made my wife and me easier targets. That's when I decided to carry. Now I don't leave the house without being armed.
 
#10 ·
I grew up in L.A. as a kid with out a gun surrounded by gang members with guns. I always felt they were in controll of my life. And if i did the wrong thing or ended up outside the saftey of my fermillior home and neighborhood. I was dead meat. That never happend. I moved away to Oregon , where my father taught me to shoot, and be safe with a pistol. The day i turned 21 i took my measley 90 bucks and got a Hipoint .380. BIG BULKY. That thing cant really be a carry gun very easily. So i kept it for shooting out in the woods. Then 2 months ago my father passed away suddenly. I felt Alone, and knew that i was the "man" of the house now for not only just my family but for my widowed mother too. I guess i wanted to feel more in controll of my life and theirs. So i took my class and got on the waiting list for the appointments. and I should be carrying by march 1st. ( LONG waiting list). I know that I can carry, I know that i want to carry, so i guess thats enough said.
 
#11 ·
Sounds funny, but graduating college and finally getting a good paying job is what 'kicked me off' to getting my fist pistol and to getting my CCW.

One of the local sheriffs trained at the gym I worked at back then. We became friends, and one day I asked him about getting my CCW. He told me jus tto go to the court house and he could have it for me with a simple phone call. So I did, and drove to the gun store and bought my Bersa Thunder .45 ACP the same day.
 
#12 ·
I blundered into Law Enforcement as a young man (believe it or not it was for the better pay ) and My Chief mandated that I was on call 24/7 ( small dept ) been carrying either professionaly or privately every since it seems LOL
 
#14 ·
Well, I always liked shooting, but was linited to BB guns. I shot the first time in the Air Force. Loved the real thing.
I've had rifles, pistols and wheelers sine 1978. I decided to start carrying 9/11. I decided that is something happened, I would not be a :sheep:. Better to go down fighting.
Now, it's 24x7
 
#15 ·
As soon as I turned 21 I got my CCW in Georgia. I have always been a strong believer that if you don't exercise your rights then someone will try to take them away.
 
#16 ·
I didnt really feel the need to tote and never gave it much thought till I became a Deputy and actually got to see first hand how some of the riff-raff choose to live and prey upon society. These people have no morals, no real skills, no respect for anything and they usually only come out at night.

After dealing with several very violent crimes as a Deputy, I became a CCW instructor. The CCW law had just gone into effect, and it was new enough that many people simply didnt know how to get one or even where to start.

The gunclub which I was a member of, was one of the first in the state to certify instructors and offer concealed carry classes. Several of us went though the NRA course, and then continued on to get the state certification that instructors must have here.

I cant tell you the number of people that were at wits end with a particular situation that after realizing the cops really couldnt protect them until after the factexpressed a desire to arm themselves.
After becoming an instructor and becoming familiar with the "law" now instead of just telling them to arm themselves, I could at least point them in the right direction and keep them on the right side of the law by offering them a time and a date and a place to go to where they didnt have to be dependent on the cops for their protection.

As the other LEO's have stated,once you arrest some of the scum out there, some of them have a tendency to blame all of thier problems in life on the arresting officer. Some of them are egotisical enough to try something stupid. :argue: :Slip: :pokey:


To make a long story short...

I beleive that its better to have your gun and not need it than it is to need it and not have it.
 
#17 ·
Because it became legal in Minnesota and someone I respect got his permit. Hadn't really thought about it much until then.

Six months latter I can hardly imagine not carrying and it seems as though the "carry culture" has just "grown on me". Don't know where it came from, maybe just laying dorment. Brother's an undercover LEO. Biggest influence may well have been the fact that the idea of my "packing" wasn't immediately dismissed or frowned upon by my wife. She's not carrying yet, but every day she seems to take another step in the that direction.
 
#18 ·
I've been interested in shooting ever since I was a kid. My father was an avid shooter, and competed successfully in bullseye shooting competition before I came along. He taught myself and my brothers firearm safety and marksmanship at an early age.

Up until about a year ago, carrying wasn't a legal option in MO for civilians. Because of this, I hadn't even bothered to purchase a handgun. I relied on a level head, martial arts training, and OC for my personal security. When the law was passed, I committed myself to obtaining a license and carrying whenever legal. A right not exercised is too easily taken away.

I have to agree with Ti Carry - although I've always sought to steer clear of trouble, and have been quite successful in this endeavor up to this point - I am even more careful with a gun at my side.
 
#19 ·
Hunting big game is a strong tradition in my famly. I moved to Syracuse N.Y. when I was a teen. Going from the wilderness, to the urban jungle was a big culture shock to my famly. Thats when my father started to carry on a daly basis. Even though he had a CCW for many years before. For me geting a CCW was as normal, as a 16yr old geting a drivers license.
 
#20 ·
For me it started after I got married. I realized that I didn't have any way to protect my wife & myself from an intruder in the house except for a 3-D cell Maglite. I decided to buy a pistol for home defense.

I wanted to have my carry permit before I bought a pistol, as it would make trips to the range easier. I began carrying concealed a few months later, after some training & lots of practice. Now, my wife has her CCW permit, and will begin carrying after some training.
 
#21 ·
I think 9/11 was the turning point for me. I made the decision, to never be a victim if at all possible and to protect my family at all costs. I watched hours of tv about 9/11 as most other did. I think that time really changed alot of people. I carry everyday, and can't think of a life without it. I will never live in a state that it is unlawful nor will I travel to one of those states. If they don't trust me with my 1911 then they don't need my money. I think it does "calm" you down and keep you thinking level headed. I recently went on a snowmobile trip to MI upper pennisula and did not carry while riding. Man that was hard, but couldn't carry safely in my opinion. I felt on edge most of the weekend, and was glad to have the shoulder rig back on.
 
#22 ·
Mainly because I can. When CO became shall-issue, we decided to get ur CCWs as a statement. If you want to keep your rights, you need to exercise them.

I've carried at work and at home and in my truck for quite some time. Now I don''t have to dis-arm to go next door to the 7-11 ( at work) or to go have coffee at the convenience store in the morning. The Carhartt crowd that I have coffee with always assumed I carried anyway, so I haven't said anything to them.

Road rage and home invasions are on the increase here, so that helped the decision along even more.
 
#25 ·
I think 9/11 was a wakeup for lots of people.
I agree. My anti-gun sister and brother in law, who moved to New York 30 years ago and went anti because it was fashionable at the time, changed their minds.

Last Christmas, they were out visiting and asked my son and I if we would familiarize their boys with firearms. We took them to the range and had a great time shooting, after the safety lecture and training.

My brother in law had never fired a handgun before and he ended up preferring the 1911. :biggrin2: After everyone was done, my son gave a little demo of his IPSC skills (he is amazingly fast).

Three new shooters were born. :biggrin2:
 
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