I don’t carry a gun anymore.

[Duke]

Feel free to shit on me and tell me how wrong I am. You’re probably right.

I don’t envision my self ever wearing a gun again daily on my person. For a variety of reasons. Truthfully I care almost nothing about weapons at this point.

it’s just not that big a deal security wise.

Alertness, avoidance and de-escalated aggression is better than shooting.

This one of a long list of belief system challenges I set to disprove.


At one point I was the most fervent of believers - all the gear all the time. Never unarmed, weekly training. Several classes each year.

Then I found myself on a rushed family vacation to then ocean. No time to plan the extra baggage to fly with the gun etc.

So we went. Had fun and didn’t think about it again.

I didn’t die. No one needed to be shot etc. That’s been over a year ago.

What’s my point ? Well I’m not sure. This won’t be a popular life style adaption here. But if you’re in a place where you aren’t willing to risk the legal fall out of carrying in a no carry zone - I bet you’re still going to be safer than you’d be in the rest of the world.

[shane45]

Its not the odds, its the stakes.

I cant carry right now because I mangled my hand. I recognize this is a small portion of time. I will resume carrying the second I can even if nothing bad happens to me in this small cross section of time.

[JRB]

Not sure why anyone would 'shit on you' about an intensely personal decision that you've weighed against a lot of other variables in life.

I'm in an ironic situation of being able to be armed just about everywhere I want to be *except* for when I'm at work in a joint military facility on an Air Force base. Well, I *can* be armed because I'm authorized to draw a weapon if I want to, but it's a massive pain in the ass and again, being on an Air Force base makes that pretty silly unless there's a compelling or regulatory reason to arm. So I leave that shit in the arms room.

If I carry my own gun, it takes some time to de-gear and secure my own weapon in my vehicle to meet base regulations, and then re-arm once I'm back in my vehicle to drive home, and my drive home is only ~10mins from the base gate.. So I typically just leave that stuff at home. If I go anywhere else in town I'll usually be packing, but it's not all the time either. I like to have a drink or two at restaurants when I'm out for dinner and laws preclude me carrying a gun if I've been drinking.

I guess I just mean to say that we all assess our own risk factors and pros/cons to being armed and we make our decisions from there. I'm glad you enjoyed your vacation and are enjoying life without carrying a firearm and all the additional considerations, discomfort, and stress that sometimes entails. It's not a bad thing at all. It's just your take on your risk factors and your priorities and your math added up that way. That's quite literally your decision to make, not ours.

I hope it's all smooth sailing and good days for you from here on out. I mean that sincerely!

[feudist]

Sorry. Hadda do it...

I believe the realization that ATGATT is tiresome and verging on ...obsessive, is gaining some traction in the community.

And you are spot on about avoidance and disengagement/de-escalation strategies.

But

Those strategies don't provide for the situations that do arise millions of times per year wherein untrained and marginally armed citizens drive away violent offenders, whether

by presentation, firing a missed shot or enrolling him in the room temperature challenge.

You can throw out the bathwater and keep the baby, IE one of a dozen tiny pocket pistols.

Because a kind word and a gun...

[Clusterfrack]

I agree with @JRB. This is a personal decision. Also a good discussion topic.

The most dangerous person I know does not always carry a gun. But he often does. I’ve never seen him without a folding knife unless he’s on the mat or in an airport.

I can’t always carry, but would if I could. I’m never without a knife if I can help it. Being armed is simply part of who I am.

[Robinson]

@Duke - i think in another post you also brought up the argument that other factors (disease, age, luck, etc...) are far more likely to be causes of death/impairment that being attacked by someone/something.

I try to take care of myself, get regular exercise, maintain a reasonable diet, blah blah blah to somewhat mitigate those other factors. Still I agree that they will be more likely to cause my death than a violent encounter.

But the big thing for me is that when it comes to a violent encounter, that means another person is trying force his or her will upon me or mine in a way that may lead to death or grave injury -- and I am just not willing to allow that to happen without putting up one hell of a fight. I don't want my demise to be the result of some asshat deciding I don't need to live anymore if I can help it. If unarmed and I am forced to go hands on, then so be it -- but in today's world fistfights are extremely dangerous because of the presence of multiple potential assailants, weapons of various types, etc...

[TOTS]

I have no issues with your decision. Weapons of all kinds are just one circle of preparation in a system of concentric circles. In fact, I’d almost list a gun as the last circle you should get to and the least beneficial/critical to have. You should have a host of other safety, medical, awareness, fitness, etc, skills that get utilized muuuch more often and are vastly more important to master.

Unfortunately, firearms are cool and become the focus of our time and effort. I feel our community loves gear and hardware so the tangible gets prioritized.

Nothing wrong with any of this, and at the same time, there’s also truth to the common sentiment here that having a firearm gives your vote more weight (of course, situation dependent) in an outcome. If a bad guy has a gun, I want one too! It’s definitely another option. I get the dissenting opinion as well. So I guess I’m just saying I don’t feel there is any reason your choice isn’t valid.

[BWT]

Not even one rock has been thrown. Soft. The lot of you.

Having seen a picture of you in other threads I’d say you’re probably low risk for being attacked given your in great physical shape. Like your wife would probably be targeted before you, etc. as that’s a more normal practice.

However, it’s the stakes not the odds as others have said.

I did Jiu Jitsu for a few years and thought “Man… if you guys pursued additional work credentials, additional education, etc. and applied yourselves professionally like you did for Jiu Jitsu you could just move to a nicer side of town”.

That being said - I’ve always looked at carrying a gun as giving me an option. I’ve had a few encounters personally where things could’ve gone bad but didn’t.

[jh9]

I believe the realization that ATGATT is tiresome and verging on ...obsessive, is gaining some traction in the community.

I think it was Jeff Cooper that said something to the effect of "you can't be in condition orange your whole life". You can't keep the dial turned up to 11 all the time. I wouldn't call it burnout but I'm not sure what I *would* call it, either.

ATGATT isn't sustainable. At least barring some really strong motivator like it being your job. Even then most retirees seem to downshift after the fact. "The J-frame Lifestyle" has been a thing for a long, long time.

[Duelist]

Millions of people in this country don’t carry a gun, and may not even own one. It is an interesting choice for someone as skilled as you are, but it is a personal choice and one that ultimately only you need to worry about.