Swamp Rat

is funny but i find that i am a nicer person while armed.

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Deer huntin' is a hole in the swamp where i spend my wife's money....

vernonator

I got my CCH on the urging from my LE friends. In Iowa the individual county sheriff sets the standards for who gets approved. My counties current sheriff is very open - if you pass the class and the background check you are in. He is planning on retiring shortly and you never know who will get elected.

I had a recent encounter on the way to work with a tire iron wielding road-rager that resulted in a cracked rib (trapped the iron between my side and arm as he swung it at me) and a sprained wrist (sharp palm strike to his nose). So to be better prepared in a similar situation I am going to start carrying on a regular basis.

pgrass101

I started carrying when I was working by myself at a Mom & Pop video store in college. I started carrying all the time after I got married and my wife got pregant. I could not live with myself if something happened to my family and I didn't do everything in my power to protect them. I have a CCL and the training I might as well use them

Ron

I owned and shot a revolver at ranges for many years, both while living in Michigan and now in Florida for the last 5 years. However, the idea of getting a carry permit never occured to me because while we lived in Michigan it was next to impossible to get one, unless you were a judge, prosecutor, etc. And even after we moved to Florida I didn't feel the need to carry until I read about the attack and shooting deaths at the Jewish Federation in Seattle. That event somehow caused an awakening in me to the fact we are living in an increasingly dangerous world. A world where for far too many individuals life has little value. I realized, at that point, that my family, including our two young grandchildren who are with us frequently, were increasingly at risk of a random act of violence, and that it was my responsibility to try to protect them. I immediately apllied for my carry permit and purchased the revolver which I now carry at all times.

Ron

rotorhead

I want to be the determiner of my fate as much as possible. I feel I have a sacred obligation to protect my family and it extends, to some extent, to my fellowman. I will not be a sheep waiting to be acted upon. If I have to arm myself with deadly force to do it, then I will.

nuff said

gotammo

I watched the news and figured my life was worth more to than to them.

YooperInCO

It just seemed like the natural thing to do. When I was younger (12-13) I'd carry a shotgun or a .22 with me while I was in the woods (where I spent a lot of my time), when I turned 18, I bought a handgun, which I carried with me everytime I went into the woods, or for walks / hikes, fishing ect. Then when I aged a bit more, I got my CCW. It nevered bothered me to throw a shirt over my gun and go into town. I never got the "Oh my God, someone might see it" fears, what's someone gonna do? Call the cops?

SixBravo

I found a .22 in my Dad's closet when I was about 7 or 8. I followed what I had been told in school by the NRA Eagle. I ran away and told an adult - my Dad. He laughed, congratulated me, and said he thought I was old enough to learn how to shoot. So we went downstairs to the family room and did some dry-fire training and he did some very basic stuff with me about never pointing a weapon at our doggie or my brother (no matter how mad he had made me).

After that I got involved with Boy Scouts and we did our bi-annual shoots. Nailed an M1 Garand, .22, and M14 by the time I was 12. Turned out I was a damned good shot. I kept shooting with them, getting into shotguns and 9mm pistols as I got older. I would also go shooting with some of my father's work friends (Dad was working for the FBI at the time). I would listen to some of their stories and it made me think.

After I got into high school I never got to do much shooting anymore after my freshman year. This was around the time that school shootings started and people were afraid to let their teenage kids touch a firearm. Once I had graduated, though, one of my friends was dating a Marine when she and I were both 21. He would take her shooting every once in awhile and eventually I was invited along. It seemed I hadn't lost my knack for shooting and my love was rekindled.

I bought my first gun, my H&K USPc .40 the day the Brady Bill expired as a birthday present to myself. I usually used it for target shooting and I started doing some OC when a buddy of mine got out of the USAF as Security Forces. He told me a lot of stories about defusing situations verbally with a few well-placed phrases and that having the firearm was always a nice backup if you ever needed it. This continued for awhile.

I ran shifts at a Starbucks in Vienna, VA for a few years. One of my employees and I would always but heads. One night, a rather odd individual started staring at her (she was quite attractive) and then began taking photos of her when she was turned around. I called the Vienna PD (good friends of mine by this point) and they had a response time of, no kidding, under 90 seconds. They went in and talked to the guy and he became rather beligerant when he was preminantly removed from my store. After this incident, her and I developed a much better relationship - but it made me think about what might have happened if the cops hadn't shown up for 15 minutes... then: what about an hour?!

I left Starbucks and went to school out here in AZ. Nine months later, on September 5th, 2005, she was kidnapped by a stalker. He did things to her that I won't mention here. This was someone that I had come to care about and protected like my sister.

After some thought about what had happened, I asked myself why hadn't somebody done something when she was taken off the street. What if I had been there? What could I have done? What if another CCW'er had been there? Could something else have been done? I vowed that I would never stand idly by and watch something so awful happen to someone else. There are truely evil people in this world and to think that bad things always happen to someone else is just ludicrious. Needless to say, my USP travels everywhere with me. Now and Forever. Molon Labe.

To find out more information about my friend's case:
Her Wiki Site

Not looking for your pity, guys. Just wanted to share the experience. And I can assure you all, I'm not a revenge-minded carrier, either and I've never seen a Charles Bronson movie. ;) As well, I should also add this: I do my best to encourage all of my friends to shoot with me. I've turned two anti's since then and changed quite a few views about "sheep, sheepdogs, and wolves." 5 people that one year ago had never considered personal protection now have their permits for AZ - three guys and two gals. Not bragging, just trying to show my dedication to the mindset.

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gwhall57

I learned to shoot in the Army, and I used to be pretty good with my issue M16 and then an M1911. After my discharge, I didn't think much about shooting or weapons.

When I was 6, my family survived a break-in during the riots in Birmingham, AL in the early 60's. My Mom put my brother and me in their bedroom, and then stood ready to clobber the guys ransacking our basement with a frying pan at the top of the basement stairs. Luckily, the crooks just stole a few things and left without trying to get into the main living area. My Dad (who, as a National Guard officer, was busy putting down the riots) bought my Mom a .38 Special revolver the next week.

When I was 16, a friend and I were threatened by 5 guys. They were driving toward my parked car, waving a couple of baseball bats out the windows and saying they were going to kick out butts. I had an empty black-powder replica .36 Colt in the back floor of my car (we had gone shooting earlier in the day), and I pulled it out and pointed it at the car, and tracked them with it as they zoomed past my car. If I hadn't had that empty pistol, I would have gotten my face re-arranged for sure.

I now live in the Richmond, VA area. There have been a rash of home invasions in my county, and 2 psychos murdered two different families at the first of the year (one received the death penalty, the other life without parole).

I'm am near 50, have diabetes, am out of shape, and have other health problems, so I decided to get something that would enable me to protect myself and my family. I bought a Taurus PT111 at a gun show, took it to the range, and got my CHP.

A few months later, I purchased an XD SC 9mm, which is my carry weapon. I hope I never have to use it to defend myself or my family, but I feel that it's better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.

__________________
"Bad spellers of the world - untie!"

DAV Life member, NRA Life member

Springfield XD 9mm Sub-Compact
Taurus PT111 Millennium Pro 9mm

ruertar

I started as a staunch anti. About 10 years ago, my girlfriend (now fiancee) lived alone and was interested in getting a gun. I took her to a pawn shop with the intention of showing her how complicated and frightening guns were. Instead, we left feeling more comfortable about firearms -- not the intended outcome.

About 7 years later, I was considering living in Virginia Beach for a contract position, leaving my fiancee in Florida for a few months. I figured that would be a good time to get a firearm. We both took a firearms safety and familiarization course, researched then purchased a firearm, and later completed a conceal and carry course together.

I waited a couple of years to actually apply for my CCW -- for some reason I didn't like the idea of being fingerprinted -- but I now have my permit and I carry as often as I can within the limits of the law.

The important lessons I learned while transitioning from an anti to a CWP holder are: 1) It is important to take responsibility for personal safety. 2) Firearms are tools -- not implements of evil.

I'm always polite and I've been pretty good at staying out of trouble. I carry for the circumstances I can't control.