Open up a subscription to Handguns Magazine. J/K

 

My gun is not compensation for low self esteem or self doubt. My gun is not compensation for a non-virile manhood. My gun is not compensation for serious charachter flaws. My gun is compensating for my life, my health, my family and those in harms way.

I do not negotiate if faced with a deadly threat, therefore my gun is not compensation for lack of the will to fight to save my life. My attacker may just physically superior so my gun is compensating for what I cannot change.

SWAT teams negotiate, but not without being heavily armed with AR15's, pistols, tear gas, flash bangs, and lots of extra ammo. I cannot negotiate from an armored vehicle two blocks down the road or from the street corner therefore my gun compensates for what I cannot control.

My gun gives me inner resolve. It removes me from the timid or weak of the world. My gun provides me safety, a better chance to survive, and the willingness to be not afraid nor fear what the common man fears.

My gun gives me a sense of responsibility. A greater sense than those without the exercise of caution. I am more humble. I am more calm. I am more considerate. I am more cautionary.

What once where youthful adventures are now seen as high risk activities. What once where seen as normal are now seen as mundane or silly. What once where considered to be fun are now sometimes seen as an invitation to trouble. And, what once was seen as responisible is now seen sometimes as moronic.

On a personal note I d not spend countless hours in bars drinking alcohol and praying for the dancing queen to notice me. I am mature, I am more attune to my personal limitations, and I do not go where many men better than me would not go either.

Gun ownership has instilled a huge mature responisbility that at one time in my life did not exist. I am a more responisble American Citizen, a more loving father and a more loving son.

Oh yeah, someone said that keeping a 1911 in a plastic holster is like running your Corvette in mud. Very true if your sporting a semi custom Wilson, Nighthawk, or Kimber. Not so true if it's reliable and at the ready.

 

I have a few, for instance, if I am carrying my gun, I have a good flashlight on me day or night.
I always carry a reload for the gun I am carrying, sometimes two.
I always have a good folding knife on me, sometimes two.
I always have my cell phone on me.
I carry every day, all the time unless doing so would break the law.

I wrote a post to a thread a long while back in answer to a question asked by someone who was just getting started carrying. They were looking for advice for someone new to carry. Most of these things I talked about apply here as well. The post is in the reference section now and can be found HERE.

I will repost it for those who have not seen it before and may find it useful.
BTW, this goes back a while, back when I was known as PT-111.

As always, carrying a concealed handgun is a huge responsibility and one that should not be taken lightly. Learn and know your states laws that govern ccw so you won't make a minor mistake that could become a major problem.

Stay alert. I have found that while walking across a parking lot at the mall or a department store (at night or during the day) I can keep a better level of awareness of my surroundings by actually counting the people that are also walking to or from the store / mall. I make it a point to make eye contact with people in my daily travels. This has the effect of letting the ones who may be up to no good know that I have seen them. I know they are there, I know what they look like. I have seen people who looked to me like they were sizing me up for one reason or another actually look away and shift their direction of travel after I made eye contact with them.

Be aware of what you do with your hands. I have seen guys I know are carrying in Wal-Mart and Target. I know they are carrying because I watched them subconsciously touch their gun, or I caught a glimpse of the gun when they raised their outer cover garment while reaching for their wallet. I watched one fellow get out of his car then pull his pants up by placing his hand on the bottom of his OWB holster and what I assume was his spare mag(s) on the opposite side of his belt, through his cover garment, and pull his whole belt/holster/mags rig up in the same manner I have seen LEO's do with their duty rig. To me, that was a dead give away. Maybe he was an off duty LEO, maybe not. Either way, I knew he had a gun on and if any half way street smart bad guy saw it, they would too. Don't give yourself away, surprise is your biggest asset.

Avoid using the urinal at a public restroom. Standing there at the urinal puts you in a perfect position for a disarming attempt. If the bad guy saw you do something that gave away the fact that you were carrying, he might just follow you to the restroom and wait 20 or 30 seconds and then come in after you. If you are at the urinal, you are trapped, most times on 3 sides. Standing there, you are the perfect mark to be disarmed.

Carry a cell phone with you. These things can be a pain because everyone can get in contact with you but, it also means you can contact the police, EMT, who ever needs contacting when things go south. Also, think about keeping it on vibrate only. If for some reason you are hiding from a bad guy or a group of them, this is when you phone will ring the loudest. Murphy is still alive and well.

Carry a flashlight. I carry a small high output white L.E.D. light with me at all times. It is made by Coast Cuttlery and it’s the Tachtorch model. So what if it is day time hours? Ever been in a big store or mall and the power went out? A tunnel with no power? An underground parking garage? Who of us knows every day exactly where we are going to be called on to go in our daily lives? It might save your life.

Don't feel bad if you realize in the next few months that the gun you bought for your first ccw is way to large or heavy for comfortable daily carry. Most of us went through the same thing. My first ccw was a full size Taurus PT-92. I still have it. I look at it now and I wonder how the heck I ever carried that big, heavy thing every day. It's huge. What was I thinking? Who knows but I now carry a MUCH smaller gun.

Don't get into arguments over stupid things with morons. No road rage. No arguments over a parking space or other trivial matter. It is your duty to not escalate any situation. Remember, in any confrontation between you any anyone else, there is at least one gun present, yours. Don't get into a fist fight while armed. This increases the chance your gun will be knocked out of its holster and into the hands of your possible murderer. If you get knocked out you are now susceptible to having your gun taken away from you and used on you or someone else. Walk away from idiots who want to fight.
As a side note to the no fighting, don't hang out with people who like to fight or cause trouble. They will drag you into their fights and you may be held legally responsible and loose your ccw rights or worse. Not only that but if they know you carry, it might actually embolden the fools to mouth off to larger fools because they will figure you have their back since you have a gun. Don’t hang out with people you wouldn’t feel comfortable having watch your children.

Avoid large crowds with drunks or rowdy people. This kind of goes along with the above advice. Mobs and crowds often make collectively bad decisions and you can be dragged along into the stupidity. Don't let that happen to you.

Lastly (this is long enough I think...sorry) Don't save your money to buy your dream gun and then carry it in a $14.99 nylon holster. Would you spend $40,000 on a car and then put $20.00 Wal-Mart tires on it? Buy a good quality holster such as a Don Hume, Galco, FIST, CompTac, Blackhawk or others. Blackhawk makes some very good holsters.

 

Only carry while awake! It's uncomfortable to sleep wearing a holster and it irritates the wife.

Of course always carry while awake.

 

if you happen to forget your wallet,you may not be able to buy that cheeseberger..if you forget your gun,you may be dead.
Anyone worth shooting is worth shooting twice.
Shot placement beats caliber.
Don't assume the bad guy doesn't know how to shoot..keep moving.
Practice w/ your ccw,not just your fancy range gun.
Dont' make fun of the other guys choice of ccw,he may actually know how to use that cheap POS,better than you can use your $1000 uber -pistol.

 

Dont leave home without it.----American Express

 

Great thread.

Now I've got so many rules to follow I feel like I have a FFL.

 

Couple of mine.

Carry in good heath. Avoid trouble when you can.

Just because I'm Open carrying does not mean I'm not carrying concealed. :wink:

A good belt is more important for carrying a gun then the holster.

I'll think of a couple more... :duh:

 

Anytime you go out into the wilderness, make sure you have a reliable gun and plenty of ammo.

 

You've got to remember to load your gun with ammo.

 

These are all great responses, just what I was hoping for.

How about another one borrowed from aviation that can easily apply to us; There are old pilots and bold pilots, but there are no old and bold pilots.

 

Very true in both activities. I'm the most chicken pilot you'll probably ever meet. Flying scares me, but I love it anyway.

RE: Sixtos' Location: They seem to be smarter than me. I still go out, but instead of hunting I call it "gun-hiking." To call it hunting would indicate that I ever got to shoot at something, but I can't find 'em.

 

If you have to draw your weapon, make sure you have the will to use it.

"The fastest draw doesn't always win the gun fight, but the best shot does." (with thanks to Louis Lamour.)

Also while not mine but it gives you pause to think..."Make friends with everyone you meet, but have a plan to kill them."

 

"The fastest draw doesn't always win the gun fight, but the best shot does." (with thanks to Louis Lamour.)

That goes hand in hand with, "You can't MISS fast enough to win."

 

To help stay out of trouble and safe, remember to leave your ego inside your front door as you leave your house whenever you are going out armed.

Ron

 

Use your brain before your weapon.

fast is smooth.

be the first to call 911

 

always carry a reload.
always carry your cellphone.
always use common sense.

not necessarily in that order!

 

You probably are not as tough, fast, smart or mean as you think you are, and pray someone does not prove it to you.
Murphy resides in all things at all times. Prepare to head him off as well as you can.
Luck sometimes is the only difference between winning and losing.

 

Always keep my spray handy, as it may allow me to neutralize a threat without firing my weapon.

While driving, have a gun immediately accessible. A drive can go from normal to carjacking in 1 second.

Never assume my next trip out of the house will be one in which I won't need a gun.

If the occassion is important enough for me to carry 1, it's important enough for me to carry 2.

Always carry at least 1 spare mag.

Forget about convenience--focus on survival.

Realize bad things happen to good people, and try to be prepared.

Realize of all the people who will be victimized today, few if any expected it to happen.

And one of my favorites, which I lifted from a member here but I cannot remember who it was (my apologies for not giving credit): If I have a gunfight forced upon me, I intend to win it.

 

Everyone has given some really great advice.

My unwritten law is to control my actions. For me, this means not reacting in anger to situations such as aggressive drivers. Having manners, such as holding doors for people. Common courteousy seems to be a lost art. The list goes on and on, but the bottom line is to maintain control of my actions. My actions are the only actions that I can control.

We who carry handguns are under a magnifying glass. Nothing would make the media happier than to publicize the shortfall of a legally carrying citizen.

Be the standard for conduct and leave the media completely disappointed.

 

I read this long time ago and I use it as my "mantra" when I carry:

I live a lifelong commitment to avoidance, deterrence and de-escalation.

 

Some of the thing that I was told before I started carrying and I live by are:

When Carrying Butter better not melt in your mouth. (Temper check)

Don't carry unless you are willing to break leather;
Don't break leather unless you are justified and willing to shoot;
Don't shoot unless you are justified and willing to kill.

Shoot enough to stop the threat and no more.

 

Murphy was an optimist.

 

I have a couple.

1) A gun is not a talisman.

2) A round costs a quarter. Firing it can cost $30000

 

- Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.

- Brains before bullets. But always listen to your puckering b#@@hole before your vacillating brain.

- (See my signature below).

 

Mother told me

My mother said "Never go anywhere half cocked", that's why I carry a 1911 fully loaded with one in the chamber and fully cocked and locked.:banana:

 

How 'bout one from Teddy (no, not Kennedy. I know that's what you were all thinking):
"Don't hit at all if it is honorably possible to avoid hitting; but never hit soft!"