[Tom Givens]

Carry Your Gun

I have been teaching firearms use for 29 years now, the last eight years full time. I have trained around 1,000 military personnel, a few hundred police officers, and thousands of private citizens. In 2005, Rangemaster will graduate the 20,000th basic course student, plus I have taught another 1,000 students in road classes all over the United States.
A lot of my military and police students have been involved in shootings over the years, as that is in the nature of their jobs. When considering only the private citizen students, however, I know of almost forty who have been involved in shoot-outs with criminals. The students have won in every single case I am aware of. I may not know about every instance when a student defends himself, but I’m sure I know about most of them. Usually, one of the first things a student does after a confrontation is report back to the school that trained him.
To the best of my knowledge, I have had two private citizen students who were killed by armed criminals after their training, in separate incidents. Both had one thing in common- they were not armed when they were killed. For whatever reason, both decided NOT to carry a gun on the fateful day, and both paid with their lives. I don’t care how highly trained you are, a one-sided gunfight is a good way to lose if the other side is the one that’s armed. One thing you will NEVER get to decide is which days you will need your gun. Someone else makes that decision, and you will only be informed at the last minute. That’s OK, as long as you have your gear.

www.rangemaster.com

 

[armoredman]

Every day, all day, excpet inside the walls...lots backup there if needed. Very good post, as I lost count of the people I knew who would carry thier guns whenever, and not worry when they left home without it.

 

[Betty]

Maybe your students did carry, but were not legally able to carry where they were at, and were shot en route or coming from?

I remember the one time I absolutely felt I desperately needed to carry was the one time I could not: to the courthouse to face my psycho ex-boyfriend.

My uncle went through the carry permit process and does not carry at all. He says he likes knowing he legally can, but what good is that if you don\'t exercise it? That little credit card sized piece of plastic might give a wee bit of assurance, but it\'s a worthless token without the hardware to back it up.

 

[nighthawk]

Amen Betty. I was hesitatn and first with the responsibility of carrying all the time. Now I would not think of going out without hardware.

 

[KC135]

Thank you Tom.

A friend said \'if I knew when I needed to carry, I would move to Vagas\'.

 

[Trader]

In some ways I\'m like Betty\'s uncle. I\'m legal to carry and a combat Marine vet. Should my or my familys life be in danger , I would not have the slightest hesitation to shoot. However, a big concern I do have is our legal system. I don\'t know about other states, but in Florida if you pull the trigger (unless the bg is in your home) the legal system, PA\'s, and judges, appears to be here to protect the bg\'s. A person I knew did pull the trigger several years ago. He lost all the money he had and ever will have in the future to our legal system. The bg walked with a slap on the hand and my friend went to jail for the use of the gun. As I was told, the bg had pulled a gun on him but of course when the bg checked himself in a local ER he claimed not to have one. The first mistake here was the bg was still living to tell his story. So my question to you guys and ladies, what is your thought on pulling the trigger vs the legal system when the smoke clears? :eureka:

 

[FortyFive]

Hi Trader, you have a very good subject for a whole new post, maybe it could be moved to its own place. I bet it would generate some interest on the pulling the trigger issue.

 

[Bumper]

Originally posted by FortyFive
Hi Trader, you have a very good subject for a whole new post, maybe it could be moved to its own place. I bet it would generate some interest on the pulling the trigger issue.

Unfortunately I can\'t move an individual post to another forum, I have to move the whole thread. I am really hoping that the new release of XMB will have that ability. There are several cases where I would have done that already. Feel free to open up another thread, it is a good one.

 

[KC135]

Rules

If one is to play the game, one must know the rules.

If you are going to carry a gun, you must understand the responsibility that goes with that action. If you use the gun, you must know and understand the rules that govern that use.

Remember, avoidance is number 1.

If you are going to carry a gun, you MUST have thick skin.

 

[Bobcat1]

My gun is the last resort. But if I pull down, then the decision has already been made to pull the trigger. By then I will be absoluteyl sure I am in the right. Of course I will shoot stop. Multiple rounds tend to do that to a person.....:yes:

 

[Trader]

Hey guys thanks for the response. I agree with all of you regarding the responsibility to carry. As an attorney once said to me while sharing a cold beer, \"Why have a permit. All the bg don\'t have them and many are carring MAC 10\'s. Having the permit might indicate you are the one creating the problem. Most of the general public frown on those who carry.\" I would hate to be paying this guy $120.00 or more per hours to represent me in the system. Now saying that, to any of you attorney who may read this, I\'m sure your are very professional and excellent in what you do - hey has anyone heard a good attorney joke of late.

Bumper, maybe may be a new topic,which I\'m sure, would general interesting response.

To all I wish you an excellent year in 2005.

Trader

 

[Gary Brommeland]

Originally posted by Trader
As an attorney once said to me while sharing a cold beer, \"Why have a permit. All the bg don\'t have them and many are carring MAC 10\'s. Having the permit might indicate you are the one creating the problem. Most of the general public frown on those who carry.\" I would hate to be paying this guy $120.00 or more per hours to represent me in the system.
Trader

Hey guys!

First, I am not an attorney. I\'ve had to ask GOD to forgive me for enough stuff already!:lol: Having said that, I agree with you entirely. I would not want this guy representing me if he was doing it for FREE! One of the things that will go a long way in defending your position in a \"my word vs their word\" kind of scenario is your ccw \"track record\". If you\'ve had a permit for a dozen years and have never been involved in any type of altercation or suspect situation, that will go a long way in proving that you are the \"good guy\". All other facts being equal, having a permit adds a high degree of legitimacy in the eyes of a prosecutor and a jury.

The trainers that taught me made it VERY clear that if you are awake, you should be armed. Not because you have any desire to get involved in something like this, but because you can never anticipate when you\'ll be forced to defend your life or that of a family member. It\'s a lot like wearing a seat belt - nobody wants to get in a car wreck, but one can happen instantly and without warning. In either case, you have to prepare for it in advance.

 

[Bud White]

I Carry when i can heres just someplaces ya cant would love to say i carry 100% of the time but more likely 90-95%.. Cant always be packing and thats a shame.

 

[SGeringer]

Preach on! My sidearm is VERY seldom separated from me.....I believe in carrying it whenever legal, without exception.

 

[APachon]

huh???

Originally posted by KC135
Thank you Tom.

A friend said \'if I knew when I needed to carry, I would move to Vagas\'.

 

[clubsoda22]

Tom, not sure if you know james yeager, but he had a similar story that was relayed to us in his tactical pistol class.

http://www.warriormindset.com/Articles/article-murdered.htm

 

[KC135]

Originally posted by APachon
huh???

Originally posted by KC135
Thank you Tom.

A friend said \'if I knew when I needed to carry, I would move to Vagas\'.

Simple......if I could predict the roll of the dice, I would move to Vagas.:kay: If I could predict when I would need a gun:saint:, I could leave mine at home nearly all of the time.