rainbowbob
Member
Well folks, the day I have been waiting for finally arrived! And I owe a debt of gratitude to you good people here at THR.
A little background: My wife of 32 years has a real visceral aversion to firearms. For most of our marriage I did not own or operate them, and had sublimated any interest I had. However, I recently came to the conclusion, as most all of us here have, that CCW just makes sense in this wild and crazy world we live in. We all have our own stories, and suffice it to say that my reasons are as good as any.
I started out making holes in paper with a .22 Remington rifle; because I figured she wouldn't object too much to that. Deep down, I knew it was just a "gateway" gun that would lead to the harder stuff.
On a trip down to the courthouse one afternoon, I noticed a sign that said “Apply here for concealed pistol license.” So, on a whim, I took the sign’s advice. I didn’t know how I was going to justify to my wife buying a concealable handgun on our tight budget – much less justify carrying one.
By chance, two weeks later I was helping my brother and sister-in-law clean out our uncle’s apartment who we had recently moved into a care facility because of his worsening Alzheimer’s. Suddenly I heard my brother’s wife shout out in an almost hysterical voice, “I found it!” My brother replied, “Found what?” “IT!” she hollered, “I found IT!”
We went to investigate and found her pointing into a cabinet at the most beautiful little .38 snubby I’d ever seen. My brother was almost as freaked out as his wife. Unbeknownst to me, our Mother had alerted them to look for it and get rid of it. They were afraid to touch the evil looking thing, so I quickly and decisively picked it up, confirmed it was not loaded, replaced it in its holster, and locked it in my Jeep. I assured them I had a license application pending and would be willing to dispose of this nasty little weapon for them (heh, heh). My brother asked that I register it in my name so it would not be traced back to my uncle if it was stolen and used in a crime - and I agreed. Giving it back to my uncle was out of the question because of his dementia.
I had no idea what a Smith & Wesson Chief’s Special was until I started doing some research which, by more good fortune, led me to THR. I have learned so much since stumbling on to this forum, and I owe that all to you here at THR:
• I have learned just exactly what I inherited from my uncle - and its rich history.
• I have learned about the care and feeding of my little jewel.
• I have learned about all of the various carry options.
• I have learned about my long ignored, constitutionally protected, right to self defense.
• I have learned about the ethics of being an armed, responsible, law-abiding, gentleman.
• I have learned about tactical considerations in a wide variety of possible scenarios, giving me the opportunity to consider in advance what a reasonable response would look like.
• I have learned to look around me with a condition yellow awareness of my surroundings.
• I have learned about the objections of the gun-fearing, and how to counter those objections with calm reasoning.
• I have learned so much more than I can list here – but most importantly – I have learned that the majority of people who CCW are thoughtful, reasonable, honorable, respectful, and self-reliant. Thank you!
I soon received my CPL and began carrying much of the time. I practice as much as I can and I shoot pretty good COM and head-shot groups, rapid-fire, DA, strong side and weak side out to 10 yards or so. I’ll never stop practicing and improving. Next week I will take an all-day course taught by a LE instructor on Personal Protection and the Use of Force.
When I started, I promised my wife that I would respect her feelings and would not CCW in her presence without her knowledge and consent. I wanted her to be confident that I had not lost my mind, that this was not some strange obsession, and that my intent was for her to feel MORE safe – not less safe. If she did not feel safe with me carrying, I would respect those feelings and not force this new thing on her.
Of course my hope was, in time, she would come to see that I was acting responsibly and that her safety and that of other innocents was foremost in my mind. I must admit that I did not miss many opportunities to point out those incidents in the news that would probably have had a better outcome if the victim(s) had been armed. Some of these were very close to home. There have been several incidents at our home that did not turn out badly, but would have been more comfortable had I been armed. Last week, with our grandson at the house, a couple of very hinky ex-inmate looking guys drove up our secluded driveway with a fishy story and even fishier attitudes. I was not armed but convinced them (with the help of our wolf-dog) that they should move on.
To celebrate our 32nd anniversary this weekend, we decided to go to one of our favorite little water-front towns and rent a motel room. As we were getting ready to go, she said, “I suppose you’ll want to take your gun.” To which I replied, “Well – let’s talk about it.”
And then came the magic words I’d been waiting for: “I would feel safer with my guy armed.”
Man! I was floating off the ground and grinning ear-to-ear…but I had to be cool!
I just told her I was glad to hear it and thought it would make sense to have some protection. That was it. It had taken several months, but she had come around! For the first time, I was ably to comfortably and confidently CCW with her on my left arm and my right hand free. At one point I accidentally left my jacket behind on a restaurant chair and she nervously wondered if I had left my “thing” in it (which would not have been good). It was sitting IWB at the time and I told her, "It doesn’t work like that.” To which she replied, with a smile, “I don’t really want to know how it works.”
One step at a time, folks, but I would like her to know how it works. My next milestone will be to get her to go to the range or out in the woods and shoot my .22 mag revolver. I would really like her to learn how to protect herself when I am not around - and that would at least be a start.
After much reading and discussion here, as well as my own trial and error, I have recently concluded that the simplicity, comfort, and easy accessibility of the snubby in the front pocket just can’t be beat for the well-dressed gentleman. My Mika pocket holster will ship any day.
Thanks again to all you good people at THR!
A little background: My wife of 32 years has a real visceral aversion to firearms. For most of our marriage I did not own or operate them, and had sublimated any interest I had. However, I recently came to the conclusion, as most all of us here have, that CCW just makes sense in this wild and crazy world we live in. We all have our own stories, and suffice it to say that my reasons are as good as any.
I started out making holes in paper with a .22 Remington rifle; because I figured she wouldn't object too much to that. Deep down, I knew it was just a "gateway" gun that would lead to the harder stuff.
On a trip down to the courthouse one afternoon, I noticed a sign that said “Apply here for concealed pistol license.” So, on a whim, I took the sign’s advice. I didn’t know how I was going to justify to my wife buying a concealable handgun on our tight budget – much less justify carrying one.
By chance, two weeks later I was helping my brother and sister-in-law clean out our uncle’s apartment who we had recently moved into a care facility because of his worsening Alzheimer’s. Suddenly I heard my brother’s wife shout out in an almost hysterical voice, “I found it!” My brother replied, “Found what?” “IT!” she hollered, “I found IT!”
We went to investigate and found her pointing into a cabinet at the most beautiful little .38 snubby I’d ever seen. My brother was almost as freaked out as his wife. Unbeknownst to me, our Mother had alerted them to look for it and get rid of it. They were afraid to touch the evil looking thing, so I quickly and decisively picked it up, confirmed it was not loaded, replaced it in its holster, and locked it in my Jeep. I assured them I had a license application pending and would be willing to dispose of this nasty little weapon for them (heh, heh). My brother asked that I register it in my name so it would not be traced back to my uncle if it was stolen and used in a crime - and I agreed. Giving it back to my uncle was out of the question because of his dementia.
I had no idea what a Smith & Wesson Chief’s Special was until I started doing some research which, by more good fortune, led me to THR. I have learned so much since stumbling on to this forum, and I owe that all to you here at THR:
• I have learned just exactly what I inherited from my uncle - and its rich history.
• I have learned about the care and feeding of my little jewel.
• I have learned about all of the various carry options.
• I have learned about my long ignored, constitutionally protected, right to self defense.
• I have learned about the ethics of being an armed, responsible, law-abiding, gentleman.
• I have learned about tactical considerations in a wide variety of possible scenarios, giving me the opportunity to consider in advance what a reasonable response would look like.
• I have learned to look around me with a condition yellow awareness of my surroundings.
• I have learned about the objections of the gun-fearing, and how to counter those objections with calm reasoning.
• I have learned so much more than I can list here – but most importantly – I have learned that the majority of people who CCW are thoughtful, reasonable, honorable, respectful, and self-reliant. Thank you!
I soon received my CPL and began carrying much of the time. I practice as much as I can and I shoot pretty good COM and head-shot groups, rapid-fire, DA, strong side and weak side out to 10 yards or so. I’ll never stop practicing and improving. Next week I will take an all-day course taught by a LE instructor on Personal Protection and the Use of Force.
When I started, I promised my wife that I would respect her feelings and would not CCW in her presence without her knowledge and consent. I wanted her to be confident that I had not lost my mind, that this was not some strange obsession, and that my intent was for her to feel MORE safe – not less safe. If she did not feel safe with me carrying, I would respect those feelings and not force this new thing on her.
Of course my hope was, in time, she would come to see that I was acting responsibly and that her safety and that of other innocents was foremost in my mind. I must admit that I did not miss many opportunities to point out those incidents in the news that would probably have had a better outcome if the victim(s) had been armed. Some of these were very close to home. There have been several incidents at our home that did not turn out badly, but would have been more comfortable had I been armed. Last week, with our grandson at the house, a couple of very hinky ex-inmate looking guys drove up our secluded driveway with a fishy story and even fishier attitudes. I was not armed but convinced them (with the help of our wolf-dog) that they should move on.
To celebrate our 32nd anniversary this weekend, we decided to go to one of our favorite little water-front towns and rent a motel room. As we were getting ready to go, she said, “I suppose you’ll want to take your gun.” To which I replied, “Well – let’s talk about it.”
And then came the magic words I’d been waiting for: “I would feel safer with my guy armed.”
Man! I was floating off the ground and grinning ear-to-ear…but I had to be cool!
I just told her I was glad to hear it and thought it would make sense to have some protection. That was it. It had taken several months, but she had come around! For the first time, I was ably to comfortably and confidently CCW with her on my left arm and my right hand free. At one point I accidentally left my jacket behind on a restaurant chair and she nervously wondered if I had left my “thing” in it (which would not have been good). It was sitting IWB at the time and I told her, "It doesn’t work like that.” To which she replied, with a smile, “I don’t really want to know how it works.”
One step at a time, folks, but I would like her to know how it works. My next milestone will be to get her to go to the range or out in the woods and shoot my .22 mag revolver. I would really like her to learn how to protect herself when I am not around - and that would at least be a start.
After much reading and discussion here, as well as my own trial and error, I have recently concluded that the simplicity, comfort, and easy accessibility of the snubby in the front pocket just can’t be beat for the well-dressed gentleman. My Mika pocket holster will ship any day.
Thanks again to all you good people at THR!
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