Experience
Almost 10 years ago I emigrated from Canada to the US - Texas to be exact.
Well, things were pretty low key until one Saturday night a bunch of drunken morons started banging on my door, intimating they were going to do some major remodeling on myself and my apt. I had no idea who they were (likely a case of mistaken identity) so I grabbed a kitchen knife, yelled back through the door I was armed (which was sorta true
) and surprisingly, things got real quiet as they decided they had better things to do.
That got me thinking - I was at a disadvantage as far as personal defense goes so I started cruising around the gun boards and bought a S&W 617, .22LR calibre revolver, 6 shots. In a dim light (heck, maybe in ANY light) it would pass for a pretty business like piece, and if push came to shove I figured loaded with Stingers, it might buy me some time. I figured it was a good place to start.
I wasn't your average gun-phobic left-wing munchkin loving Canadian dedicated to tip-toing thru the tulips and singing Kumbaya. I had owned 2 shotguns and two rifles in Canada so I was comfortable with firearms and certainly the concept of using them for self-defense.
Well, after about 3 mos (and 5000+ rds of .22 expended) I got kinda bored, went back to my original gunshop and bought a police trade in S&W Model 915 9mm. Kinda big, but at least it fired REAL bullets. Since I had been in Texas for about 9 mos, I also filled out the paperwork to get my CHL.
Now I'm on my second renewal of a CHL, a US Citizen and 8 handguns (and 1 AK-47) later. All because some guys banged on my door one night (yeah, any old excuse will do). I also still have my original 617, I guess for sentimental value.
As well, now that I'm so well armed, in 10 years nobody else has banged on my door or confronted me in public. But I wouldn't do anything differently.