How often do CCW holders draw guns?

Status
Not open for further replies.
In 26 years I have had my hand on my pistol to protect myself 2 times but never had to clear the holster.
I've had to clear twice in less than a year. One a guy tried to rob me in broad day light with a knife. The other time a guy and girl team were trying to rob me. She was going to blindside me with a tire iron.

I've never had to fire though. Most people react like the pit bulls in this thread.

Those kind of stats are going to be nearly impossible to find. If you did it really wouldn't be very accurate.
 
Last edited:
Interestingly, Phil commented that the most valuable thing about carrying a gun was that it gives you the confidence to send a message to the bear -- "I don't want to hurt you, but if you mess with me I'll hurt you bad."

So apparently that phenominon is not restricted to dogs.

Makes sense. If aggression is based on prey drive, animals (as well as humans) normally make an assessment before giving it a go. The animals that live to pass on their genes are the ones that can make good assessments about whether or not potential prey has the capability to injure them bad enough that even if they win that one they won't be able to hunt for some time in the future and so starve.
 
I've never had to fire though. Most people react like the pit bulls in this thread.
I'm fairly sure that will be the typical response.
Your average oppurtunistic predator isn't looking for a fight, they're looking for an easy score.
 
I would say the average person who carries never has to draw. However people don't carry based on averages.
 
As an LEO I drew my pistol many times.

However as a private citizen who's CCW'd continuously since 1984 I've never felt the need to even put my hand on my pistol.
 
I think it would be hard to find any statistics that are accurate on this particular area. For my own exeriences, I've only been carrying a few years but knock on wood never had to draw or even come close.

It's still nice to have though, like a condom I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it :)
 
Tape-

It's possible that the Pit Bull may have had some exposure to guns before, and recognized it as a threat. I presently have some cats in my life- one that I adopted as an adult, the other taken in as an older kitten. The former gets terribly afraid of the sight of my guns, the other does not. As I do not know the adult adoptee's full background, she may have had a bad experience in her life somewhere with someone who had guns. I try not to have them out when she's around. The other pays no heed whatsoever.
OTOH, I have had some unarmed encounters with dogs before, and yes, simple strong body language and a sharp tone of voice was enough to back them off- I believe it's a dominance thing for dogs.
 
Tape-

It's possible that the Pit Bull may have had some exposure to guns before, and recognized it as a threat. I presently have some cats in my life- one that I adopted as an adult, the other taken in as an older kitten. The former gets terribly afraid of the sight of my guns, the other does not. As I do not know the adult adoptee's full background, she may have had a bad experience in her life somewhere with someone who had guns. I try not to have them out when she's around. The other pays no heed whatsoever.
OTOH, I have had some unarmed encounters with dogs before, and yes, simple strong body language and a sharp tone of voice was enough to back them off- I believe it's a dominance thing for dogs.
yes, I completely agree
 
Never had to draw my gun but i'm real fast with my flashlight.I have only had one white knuckle experience but as soon as the light came out the guy turned and went the other way.guess he didn't want to see what was coming out of its holster next.
 
Hunting Lease - not mine

I was invited to hunt during bow season at a small ranch a few years ago. Just before Thanksgiving, I went to load up my equipment and head back, season was over for me there. When my boy and I pulled up, a group of guys (owners kinfolk I presume) were there and I quickly found out the person who invited me was not welcome in the family...he was an ex-in-law!:what: One of the guys, a younger one, came up to me and told me (with AK-47 in hand) that I was lucky my young son was with me...Not carrying anything except a bow, I quickly got back into the truck and turned around. Learned a few lessons that day...Trust, but verify your invitations and always, always, always carry a weapon to protect yourself. That's why I have my CCW today.
 
From what I can gather, 99.999% of CCW holders and open carriers hope they will never have to draw. It'll always be open to speculation what percentage have ever actually done so.

To put that in perspective, about the same percentage of drivers who carry collision insurance hope they are never in a crash. But when they are...
 
In nearly 3 years of legally carrying I haven't been in a situation where it has even crossed my mind. In the 70's, when I wasn't so concerned about legalities, it only breifly crossed my mind once. I didn't and took the beating instead. I healed quickly and there was no harm done. (except maybe to my pride) And to be clear, I was positive my life was not in danger.
 
A couple times on animals. Never had to do more than think about my pistol in regards to human interactions. That has happened many times though.
 
I don't think you will find stats on that.

I can only tell you that I draw every weekend and sometimes during the week at night...while practicing.

I drew on a snake Sunday, but he wasn't poisonous, so I let him go. :)

Other than dispatching rodent type yard invaders, I've never had to draw (thankfully).

MikeNice said:
I've had to clear twice in less than a year. One a guy tried to rob me in broad day light with a knife. The other time a guy and girl team were trying to rob me. She was going to blindside me with a tire iron.

Just goes to show you that you never know what will happen, which is why I like to carry. I'm willing to bet that my area of NC has a higher crime rate than MikeNice's area yet he's apparently been a victim of a crime of opportunity twice. I'm glad he came through, but I'm also glad my opportunity has never come up and hopefully never will.
 
One time in over 40 years of OC and cc, and my weapon never cleared the holster. As soon as the guy that wanted to do me bodily harm (road rage)saw that I was armed, he decided he had better things to do.
 
I practice my draw stroke daily, with both of my carry guns. I've only been forced to draw twice. Once in public (at a gas station) and once at home. I'm 29 yrs old and have been carrying for 10 of those years.
 
You are never going to get those numbers, as they don't exist.

No one reports crimes that didn't happen (ie, crime prevented by a CCW draw)

Hell, they have enough trouble just getting a correct murder count.
 
It's possible that the Pit Bull may have had some exposure to guns before, and recognized it as a threat.
Or more likely, a confident aggressive stance by the CCW holder confused the dog and warned it off.

I carried when I was out jogging in rural central CA. A pack of three farm dogs came running across the street at me with teeth bared. I drew and got ready to start shooting dogs.

As soon as I took a shooter's stance, they shied off and returned to their yard.

The farmer saw it all and got all pissed off, said he was going to call the Sheriff. I was a reserve deputy at the time and said fine, we would discuss the fact his loose dogs were in violation of a county ordinance that said dogs had to be fenced, on a leash, or under the owner's control.

He never called the Sheriff.

Pilgrim
 
My little two year old Boston Terrier goes nuts when you have a gun in your hands. She's never been shot at by anything, she just will run towards you and start jumping up trying to bite the gun. Doesn't matter if its a silver cap gun, my glock-replica airsoft, or a real gun. If she sees it in my hands pointed out and slightly down at all she tries to go for it.

Hopefully if somebody breaks in she will see the BG's gun first providing the distraction I need (and hopefully she jumps around enough to dodge bullets).
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top