To carry or not

[Armored farmer]

I agree that you should carry, but you're not a cop. You're not a superhero. You're not a judge and jury. Your life had better be in serious danger before you clear leather.
We're living in strange times. The tables have been turned. Good is called evil, evil is called good...

 

[tubeshooter]

Carry is a very personal choice, and it's not for everyone.

It's not about how long you've been on some board, either. There are people with more guns than you can shake a stick at who choose not to carry, and they have their reasons. And it is perfectly fine.


If you are not fully mentally prepared to defend yourself, or you are not ready to handle a "suicide easy button" in your life, then maybe carry isn't for you. Or any other host of reasons. I know the world is a dangerous place and this is the ST&T subforum; I just feel this needs to be said.

 

[starnbar]

In this day the best course of action is to disengage if at all possible without drawing unless you are under direct attack which could result in serious body injury or death.

 

[theotherwaldo]

I carry like I wear shoes - because it's silly not to... .

 

[Speedo66]

If I leave the house I'm carrying. I have been doing it quite a while now and it has become so ingrained in me to carry that I never forget my pistol but frequently forget my cell phone. As far as getting involved in stopping a robbery, I don't know. Look at what happened to the bodega owner in New York. Defending himself from an assault and robbery, ending up getting jailed without bail and charged with murder. If I thought that the thug was going to kill someone then I probably would get involved hoping and praying that I didn't get charged with shooting someone.

The bodega case is a strange one. The aggressor tried to pay for some chips with plastic. When the card was refused, the store owner retrieved a bag of chips back from a child. The aggressor came behind the counter to try and get the store owner to apologize, but with force.

The owner responded with a knife, he was also stabbed in the arm by the perp's girlfriend. The perp had done prison time for a previous assault, getting sent to prison in NY meant it had to be a pretty serious assault.

The store owner initially had bail set at $500K, the NYC mayor got involved and talked to the Manhattan DA, and suddenly the bail was dropped to $50K, and the store owner walked that night.

The perp's relatives gave the usual story, "he was turning his life around, he said his previous jail time would be his last". Well, obviously he didn't remember that when he used force. Although in NY you have a duty to retreat, there was no place behind the crowded counter to retreat to.

Be interesting to see if a grand jury will indict the store owner.

As for me, I try and carry every time I'm out. I know I'd feel stupid if the one time I didn't carry, something happened. That is, if I survived the incident.

 

[WrongHanded]

Many people seem to think it won't/can't happen to them, or in their neighborhood, or at their grocery store, etc, etc. And then they are shocked when it does.

Wishful thinking and denial don't stop violent acts happening to regular people. That's why I carry (and practice with) a gun. You just never know.

 

[herrwalther]

My wife has started feeling the same way lately. Unlike myself, I have been carrying every day since I was legal to do so (minus a little legal trouble that went away). My wife has been noticing upticks in crime and has started carrying her 38Spc Charter that I got her in a purse holster. I prefer her to carry on body but it is a start with her.

With the way the country is going lately, there is no reason not to carry if you are able to.

 

[Hangingrock]

Avoidance of stupid people, places and things is a life style. The backup to that life style is concealed carry which I do. Each to their own applies.

 

[crstrode]

Lucky me. I live in a small midwest town that anyone can go out for a walk in the middle of the night and safely return home to an unlocked house and car. If a stranger knocks on your door or sits in front of your house too long, three or four neighbors call you up to see if you knew about it and give you his license #. Crime has happened here but violent crime is usually a family disturbance involving booze in some way.

Bonnie and Clyde's favorite hunting grounds were small midwest towns . . .

 

[Good Ol' Boy]

Seriously, no insult intended, but what kind of question is this on a gun forum?

Add to that the OP is telling us of a situation in which carrying would have been ideal.

Always carry, of course.

 

[Fooey]

Bonnie and Clyde's favorite hunting grounds were small midwest towns . . .

Right you are, I have heard stories when I was a kid that they shot up my town a bit. But have never seen any newspaper clippings of it.

 

[The Night Rider]

We're living in strange times. The tables have been turned. Good is called evil, evil is called good...

I can't remember the name but I seem to remember a book that talks about that exact thing happening

 

[HighRoadRover]

Three days later (after original post) a morning robbery at the local Home Depot [added: down the road from my gas station that was just robbed], another example of low-level crime that is becoming more dangerous as the criminals become bolder and more violent thanks to Soros-funded DA who goes easy on them.

It is possible to avoid the ATM at night and stay away from sketchy parts of town, but it is not possible to avoid the gas station and local Home Depot during the day. Probably time to turn more attention to specific tactics to detect threats, avoid confrontation, and respond appropriately if drawn into the situation.

 

[Sarge7402]

Carry if and when you can. Crime and it's attendant outcomes strike anywhere at anytime. Also carry the most you can comfortably conceal. There's nothing like being rousted by an honest policeman for having your piece show

 

[Kleanbore]

Three days later (after original post) a morning robbery at the local Home Depot, another example of low-level crime is becoming more dangerous as the criminals become bolder and more violent thanks to Soros-funded DA who goes easy on them.

I do not see the connection.

 

[HighRoadRover]

Sorry -- the connection is -- Three days after someone tried a strong-arm robbery at my local gas station, someone else attempted a robbery at my local Home Depot just down the road. So as the original point of departure for the thread, its another example of the incursion of bolder criminals and violent crime in my peaceful little corner of the world. It just provides further justification for the idea of adopting continuous concealed carry.

 

[gwpercle]

Just remember ... if you do carry don't expect "the Gun" to scare the bad guy off .
If you take the "the gun" out of your pocket you must be resolved ... be willing and able to kill a man .
It sounds easy and you think ...yes I can shoot and kill the robber .
But it's a heavy burden to bear ... not every man has the sand to kill and not let it affect their life .
If you are going to carry ... be resolved to the fact that a gunfight usually means someone will die that day ...
You can't panic , you can't hesitate and you must make the first shot count ... then you get to spend the rest of your life thinking about killing a human being .
It's a big responsibility .
I've been there ... I've done it ... I had to , the man had shot at me 4 times as I stood there trapped in my office kitchen ...no place to run , no place to hide ., the 5th shot hit me ... I just wanted him to stop shooting so I drew my 38 special and returned one round of fire .
He dropped dead and I survived my bullet wound .
I think about killing that young man every day ... I wish it didn't happen but it did and ...you think about it .
I told the DA I felt sorry for the guy ... He said "Gary ... he was trying to kill you ... he killed himself by the decisions he made that day to try to rob and kill you . The guy was out on parole for ... an Armed Robbery conviction ...
I still feel sad about it , it's not easy to live with ... and that was in 2004 .

I felt I had to write this because this fact ... living with a killing ... isn't touched on too much but if you going to carry ... be aware of the outcome and what goes along with defensive shooting .
Gary

 

[1976B.L.Johns.]

I felt I had to write this because this fact ... living with a killing ... isn't touched on too much but if you going to carry ... be aware of the outcome and what goes along with defensive shooting .
Gary

Thanks for the post!

 

[HighRoadRover]

Just remember ... if you do carry don't expect "the Gun" to scare the bad guy off .
If you take the "the gun" out of your pocket you must be resolved ... be willing and able to kill a man .
It sounds easy and you think ...yes I can shoot and kill the robber .
But it's a heavy burden to bear ... not every man has the sand to kill and not let it affect their life .
If you are going to carry ... be resolved to the fact that a gunfight usually means someone will die that day ...
You can't panic , you can't hesitate and you must make the first shot count ... then you get to spend the rest of your life thinking about killing a human being .
It's a big responsibility .
I've been there ... I've done it ... I had to , the man had shot at me 4 times as I stood there trapped in my office kitchen ...no place to run , no place to hide ., the 5th shot hit me ... I just wanted him to stop shooting so I drew my 38 special and returned one round of fire .
He dropped dead and I survived my bullet wound .
I think about killing that young man every day ... I wish it didn't happen but it did and ...you think about it .
I told the DA I felt sorry for the guy ... He said "Gary ... he was trying to kill you ... he killed himself by the decisions he made that day to try to rob and kill you . The guy was out on parole for ... an Armed Robbery conviction ...
I still feel sad about it , it's not easy to live with ... and that was in 2004 .

I felt I had to write this because this fact ... living with a killing ... isn't touched on too much but if you going to carry ... be aware of the outcome and what goes along with defensive shooting .
Gary

Good post, thanks.

 

[Corpral_Agarn]

The firearm is just another set of options should you be facing the worst.

Why limit yourself unnecessarily?

 

[murf]

I can't remember the name but I seem to remember a book that talks about that exact thing happening

"1984" by george orwell

i carry concealed everywhere i can and in arizona, that is most places. i practice staying "yellow" ( https://modernsurvivalblog.com/security/coopers-color-code-definition/ ) all the time.

luck,

murf

 

[film495]

sounds like you know what you want to do. my only advice is, sometimes when you get that feeling - whatever it is, decide to be somewhere else.

 

[The Night Rider]

"1984" by george orwell

The Book I'm thinking of is several centuries older.

 

[Ethan Verity]

Been carrying almost every single day since I got my permit 6 years ago. The only reason it's almost is because sometimes I need to go somewhere that thinks my life is so worthless, that I shouldn't be allowed to defend it effectively... such as the entire state of New York. Though, I purposely try to avoid traveling to places like this when possible.

 

[trekker73]

Situational awareness is Plan A for me, then whatever else is needed