Why do you carry a gun in the first place

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I carry for several reason:
1. I can
2. I want to
3. Why Not?
I have carried since I was in High School, but in those days it was a carbine to shoot coyotes among other things.
By the time I was 18 or 19 I had started carrying a pistol in addition to the carbine which was only carried occasionally.
Have had occasion to use (or threaten to use) the pistol four times. Once to kill a nice buck that a guy had hit with his car. I had a Walther 32 and found it to be a bit light for serious work so traded it off and got a 9mmk(380). A couple of times by only showing it I stopped a problem that had arisen. The 4. was in Viet Nam where I carried daily and in one case used it to clear a bunker.
IF I'm lucky that will be all I ever have a need for it, BUT ---!!!
Sarge
 
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I refuse to be a victim, and at the mercy of who knows what. There is a lot of evil out there. I was once cornered outside a convenience store in a small city here. It wasn't particularly a bad part of town, but four guys probably late teens, early twenties tried to get money from me. I was unarmed, but was able to talk my way out of it without giving them anything. Shortly after that, I got my license to carry.
 
MedWheeler said:
I carry for a couple of reasons. First and foremost is the obvious, that I am responsible for the safety of myself, my mate, and my offspring...
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^^^This. I also keep a first aid kid, basic tools and emergency supplies on hand (i.e. in my rig, in my field pack, etc.). It's part of an overall philosophy of self reliance.
 
Being in the same stadium , playing the same game and kicking the same ball as the elusive "bad guy" makes me feel better .:evil: :) :evil:
 
Hammer059 writes:

You're ~8 times more likely to be killed by a cop than a terrorist. With over 500 Americans killed by police this year alone, I'd feel a lot safer handling a situation without law enforcement.
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As would many criminals..


Can you break this MSM-provided statistic down for us some, please? For example, how many of those were killed by police they themselves had summoned for assistance?

How many were killed while engaging in criminal activity that put the lives of others at risk?

How many were killed while acting aggressively while actively resisting the orders of an LEO?

Now, how many are left over, to be counted as people "unlawfully murdered by police", such as when just walking down the street headed home from the local store? (Something tells me it's going to be a bit less than 500.)

What is it about your lifestyle that you feel puts you at increased risk of being killed by being shot by a police officer?
 
I was just at the park yesterday with my kids.
I got home and checked my email, saw an email from the sheriff's office with a mugshot of a guy who is on parole, I'm guessing.
Happens that I saw the same guy at the park looking sketchy, like he was up to something. You know the look of guilt when you see it.
Anyway, this is why.
 
.^ You're ~8 times more likely to be killed by a cop than a terrorist. With over 500 Americans killed by police this year alone, I'd feel a lot safer handling a situation without law enforcement.
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Statistics like that are absurd.

An armed bank robbery suspect is statistically 1000 times more likely to be killed by a cop than a terrorist.

A foreign news reporter is 1000 times more likely to be killed by a terrorost than a cop.

Hell, I'm a cop and I have a higher chance of being shot by another cop than most people do. Cops don't roll around looking for people to shoot, but cops are consistently present at violent dynamic situations. By virtue of consistently being involved in those situations, the odds are higher for me.

Next time the cops have a machete weilding crackhead at gunpoint, please grab some cover... versus standing downrange holding your iPhone.
 
Because people are unpredictable.

And because I like guns.

And because the cops are minutes away, despite me feeling favorably about them.
 
Among others, there are 2 'cheesy' maxims about gun ownership to which I adhere.

A - It is better to have a gun and not need it, than to need a gun and not have it.

B - When seconds count the police are only minutes away.

I learned the hard way about the absolute, simple truth of these statements, so I carry.
 
My response to the same question in http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=782670:

GBExpat said:
In the Winter of '75 I was working the graveyard shift at a beachfront resort hotel that we had opened a few months earlier. I was accosted by 2 fellows as I was walking across the main lobby at ~2:30am and relieved of all of the monies in my cash drawer.

This event starkly highlighted 2 Truths for me: (1) those fellows had taken complete_control_of_my_very_existence during a time and, (2) my 2-year-old 4" 150-model .357 Ruger Security Six did not do me any damn good while it was in the trunk of my MGB parked out front.

By April I had my first VA license to legally carry a concealed weapon ...

... and the ability to legally carry actually came in quite handy on a few of occasions during my remaining ~4½ years at that hotel.

EDIT:
At about the time of the robbery, I learned that an early childhood same-age friend of mine (for several years Danny's family had lived 2 houses away from ours) had been murdered.

He was working (solo) evenings in a Mom&Pop country store in the shadow of the Blue Ridge. One morning when they arrived to open the store, the door was unlocked and the money was gone. Danny's body was found in a ditch miles from the store.

The folks that owned the store kept a handgun under the counter that they had pointed out to Danny ... but ... Danny was a sweet, trusting, pacifist who wouldn't even touch a firearm, so ...
Click to expand...
 
Because it's a big bad world out there, and the statistics could catch up with you.

If I was scared, I would stay home. :)
 
Started with necessity (feral and/or rabid dogs in a small town, thankfully i never had an issue) and turned into a habit.

I'm definitely a "rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it" kind of guy.

Though it annoys me to all ends that I can't seem to find a job that allows me to carry while working.
 
1. I have never had to draw or point a gun at anyone, for any reason.
2. better to have it & not need it, than need it & not have it.
3. See jefferson quote below. :)
 
Bad luck and misfortune follow me like a plague. I'm one of those people that trouble just finds me, no matter how much I keep to myself. In 5 years of carrying I've had the misfortune of drawing my weapon twice. Both situations I was minding my own damn business, and both times (I thank god every day) the sight of my handgun stopped the situation immediately.

This is why I carry a handgun. I'm an important person. Not important to you, or the general public, but I have two children who want me around and depend on me. I am not going anywhere because some punk wants my wallet.

I don't feel like a tough guy when telling this story. It makes me want to throw up every time I tell it. But I feel great that I'm alive to watch my children grow up
 
I sometimes carry. But not often.
When I travel long distances by car, when I have expensive stuff on the car.... but never had an issue.
Just think I might need the gun in an eventual situation. Good thimg is, my country is very safe. A sutuation where a gun might be needed is allmost impossible.
 
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