Why did you start carrying a gun?

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I've always been into guns, as where I grew up the local high school emptied out for the start of deer season. I've been into martial arts and self defense since I was teenager. When I finally moved to a state where it was legal, I got a permit and started carrying a handgun. That was 11 years ago, and haven't stopped since.

I guess I carry for self defense, because I can, and because it would cause the heads of the statist control freaks to explode (metaphorically speaking, of course).
 
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Well, I like guns. Wanted to carry for a while simply because I'm an American and it's my right to do so. Then ISIS became a thing. I recently got out of the military so I'm at home with my mother while I wait to go to college next year. Since we aren't the sort to hide who we are, I decided to get my CCL as soon as possible. Day I got home I went to the sheriffs office and put in my paper work. Then I picked up my licence this past Monday. Been carrying every second I wasn't sleeping or nude since.
 
Well I grew up hunting ,fishing and hiking. Always had a gun on me and never knew you were supposed to have a permit. I mean I had a hunting license what more should I need lol. This was before the (internet). I was even around cops and rangers while wearing my old 357 mag blackhawk and all they ever said was "nice gun kid".
Anyway I carry because I always have and its a part of who I am.
 
Because I heard a gunshot so close to my house that I could tell it was a .22 LR pistol. Verified with police the next day: yes, someone got shot that night.

I get sick of the whole "our town is so peaceful, nothing like this could happen here." Really? Then why do you have cops? And even then, this person being shot trumps all that.
 
Why did I start carrying? Two reasons:
1. Because I can
2. I believe the environment is becoming more violent
I won't let my wife go shopping to any malls without me and I don't like her to go to big box stores at night without me either. She also has a concealed carry permit and carries most of the time.
-mike
 
I have been around guns and hunting since I was born, literally. I was shooting dinner with my grandfather by age six so guns have always been a part of my life but I rarely, if ever, dealt with handguns on a regular basis. I got my first handgun from a relative in probably 1977 and got my first carry permit in 1980 because I could but I didn't carry on my person then.

Right out of college I took a job working in Birmingham, AL as a salesman selling items to retail stores and restaurants. I watched a wino break a bottle and cut another wino's throat during an argument outside a grocery store in North Birmingham and decided at that point to start carrying my pistol in my briefcase or in a shoulder holster at that point.
Since that time I am rarely without a handgun on my person or at least in my truck. I have NEVER needed that gun in all those years but I still keep one with me unless I am travelling by air.
 
I am a young at heart but older in age lady. Been around weapons since a teen.
Went in the Army at 26 and spent 8 years there, 5 as a DI. In terms of firing, that was fun! Out of service, retired, moved to Miami. Need I say more? Had a drunken gentleman show up at 3am pounding on door demanding entrance. Went and got my Glock 17, yelled at him to stop cursing, and asked him to listen to the next sound. Racked the weapon and told him to get off my ------ porch. Went to get CCW permit following week. Now in Ky, safer, happier and have added a few more hand guns.

My first post, new to this technology but will be doing more of this b/c I am learning so much by reading all the different threads.:)
 
When I was 16 I had a buddy who was a little older than me. We used to drink a lot of beer together :). Anyhow, the day he turned 18 we were hanging around and it dawned on me. "Dude! You can buy a gun now!" Well, suffice it to say, that was not true in the least as we were both residents of Massachusetts at the time, and its not that simple. But we settled for pellet guns after the man at the store provided us with some education. To me, this is where my firearm training began. The empty beer cans and bottles always gave us something to do in his backyard.

Fast forward like 7 years or so and I moved to the great state of Texas on a whim with nothing but what i could fit in my Durango (still have that truck!) One more year ahead I purchased my first home. It was at that point I decided that I needed a gun. So I bought my first, a Ruger 10/22 which I traded for the safe all my guns sit in today. After buying the Ruger I fell in love. I was bit. Since then I've owned many firearms, and that love for shooting, owning, collecting, smithing, and trading is what lead me to ultimately get my CHL and start carrying. I started with a Ruger sr9c (which is still one of my favorites) but nowadays I either carry my CZ75 compact, or my little J-frame, maybe both if I'm up to it.

Now I carry for comfort. Its not that I'm uncomfortable without a gun, I'm just MORE comfortable with one.

Keep shootin fellas :)
 
rcmodel said:
I have carried off & on for at least 55 years.

Depending on what I was doing, and where I was doing it, and how late I would be doing it.


I was never paranoid enough to carry 24/7 all the time.
And I live a peaceful law abiding life.

But I sleep with a SIG under my pillow.

And travel with a pistol, or a rifle, or both.
Depending on where I'm going through, and where I will be when I get there.

If that makes sense??

rc
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what RC said applie s to me too

usually the xmas time make s me carry mor eo ften. I am at work early(it is dark out) go home late( again dark out) and lots of crazies are out too-- a lot of road rage shooting happen at that time as well as dui.....
 
Greek gal said:
I am a young at heart but older in age lady. Been around weapons since a teen.
Went in the Army at 26 and spent 8 years there, 5 as a DI. In terms of firing, that was fun! Out of service, retired, moved to Miami. Need I say more? Had a drunken gentleman show up at 3am pounding on door demanding entrance. Went and got my Glock 17, yelled at him to stop cursing, and asked him to listen to the next sound. Racked the weapon and told him to get off my ------ porch. Went to get CCW permit following week. Now in Ky, safer, happier and have added a few more hand guns.

My first post, new to this technology but will be doing more of this b/c I am learning so much by reading all the different threads.:)
Click to expand...
great post and welcome

at least you protected yourself-- you are NOT a SHEEPLE BE GLAD FOR THAT TOO
 
I started packing because there are Trayvon's, Brown's, and other pieces of trash in society that have no regard for my well being and won't hesitate to harm me. WE won't let that happen.
 
Like many here, I grew up around guns. Nearly every man in my family hunted, my father included. I have always been fascinated with guns.

When I was married to my first wife back in the late '80s, one year she decided to add a part time job at a national retailer to get a little extra Xmas money that year. The store where she worked was in an older mall in what had been becoming a less-than-safe part of town over in North St. Louis County (we lived in Illinois). One night, as I waited in the parking lot at the end of her shift, I noticed a group of guys standing along the far edge of the parking lot. They seemed to be staring at me. After a minute or so, I looked the other direction, only to see a similar sight. It seemed that I'd found myself smack-dab in the middle of two rival gangs peacocking over that territory. My wife later told me that the store manager would take any remaining employees to the local police station before leaving, as it was just too unsafe to leave them there waiting for a ride.

I started carrying my 686 in a shoulder rig the next night.

One night, as I was on my way to pick her up, I rolled through a stop sign, and was promptly pulled over by an Illinois State Police Trooper. As I sat in his car while he ran my information, he casually engaged me in conversation about my driving. he then casually asked me what I was carrying. I hesitated at answering, until he told me he'd seen the bottom of the holster when my coat lifted as I entered his car. I told him it was a 6" 686. He grunted and said, "Nice. I don't suppose you have a permit to carry that do you?" This was Illinois in 1989. I said, "Of course I don't." I then explained the above story to him. He continued to write as if he was only mildly listening to me. He finally handed me the ticket and said he completely understood the necessity of being armed going over there, and to be careful. When I got back to my car, not only had I not lost my favorite revolver, but also found that he'd only given me a warning for the stop sign.

I have, over the course of my life, been shot at twice and had a gun pointed at my head once in an attempted robbery. I feel fortunate to not have any extra holes in my person, and hope to keep it that way.

Once Illinois finally passed Concealed Carry, it was a no-brainer that I would get a license and finally be legal. My new wife did, too. We both carry every day.
 
I also grew up around guns and my uncle had a carry permit in 1957.

When I graduated from college in '68 my permit was waiting for me when I arrived back home from a big city.

I had always trapped,hunted and fished and felt a pistol would be better to carry when engaged in outdoor activities.

When hunting or fishing miles from any road what if I broke my leg, etc. that convinced me to carry I could signal.

When we started wintering in Florida and all the crime issues there my wife and I secured out CC permits for that state also. I carry most of the time there and in the woods in way up northern NY.

I still compete in any type of pistol competition I can find.
 
rooter said:
I started packing because there are Trayvon's, Brown's, and other pieces of trash in society that have no regard for my well being and won't hesitate to harm me. WE won't let that happen.
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In my commute from my home in southern Illinois to my job in St. Charles, MO, I have to drive through East St. Louis, North St. Louis City, and North St. Louis County (which includes Ferguson). If you're not familiar with the St. Louis area, ... well, let's just say that none of those areas are in any danger of winning All-American City any time soon. St. Louis is just a dangerous place these days, and getting worse every day. If you have to go into St. Louis, I do not recommend doing so unarmed.
 
I plan on buying an IWB holster and carrying when I feel it is necessary. I currently only carry open when in the woods. Very low crime rate in my area but things are changing rapidly with the expanding drug problem.
 
rooter said:
I started packing because there are Trayvon's, Brown's, and other pieces of trash in society that have no regard for my well being and won't hesitate to harm me. WE won't let that happen.
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*Sigh*...Who do you mean by "WE"? Care to elaborate?
 
sherman123 said:
*Sigh*...Who do you mean by "WE"? Care to elaborate?
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Sherman, I understand why that comment made you clinch up a bit, because it did the same to me, and I really wished I didn't see names used in it.

I'm not a mod, but I am the OP of this thread. It's been a good one too, running for a few pages with some interesting stories posted. So I am politely asking that it not get derailed by any political or racial debates. If you guys want to discuss exactly what was meant in the aforementioned post, please pm each other or start a different thread.
 
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I moved out of NJ to FL and bought a license.
Why? Because I was finally in a state that trusts it's citizens to not only buy but carry.
 
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