Page 5 of 24 FirstFirst ... 3456715 ... LastLast
Results 41 to 50 of 237

Thread: I don’t carry a gun anymore.

  1. #41
    Site Supporter
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    Reno NV area
    I’ve thought about this a LOT recently. For the past 10 years I lived in a place where I could not legally carry, but that once a eeek or more I wished I had a firearm. I never actually NEEDED one but I had to cross the street, or communicate appropriately with someone to avoid a quite risky situation pretty much every week. Then I moved to where I *could.* carry, but felt like I didn’t need to do much, and was mainly carrying to exercise my right similar to how I feel about voting. But then just last week my wife and I were lifting weights in my garage with the garage door open due to 100 degree temps, and we had a really sketchy dude come up to us. I was super glad I was armed. That just reinforced to me I will always be armed when legal with at least a pocket gun. (And generally something more when away from the house)

    At the same time, we travel probably 14 weeks a year and I am completely comfortable being armed with whatever is legal during that time. I avoid traveling to places I view as dangerous, but I do not let the lack of ability to carry a pistol deter me from any vacation.

  2. #42
    Four String Fumbler Joe in PNG's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Papua New Guinea; formerly Florida
    As Robert Heinlein noted in "Starship Troopers": 'There are no dangerous weapons; there are only dangerous men.'
    "You win 100% of the fights you avoid. If you're not there when it happens, you don't lose." - William Aprill
    "I've owned a guitar for 31 years and that sure hasn't made me a musician, let alone an expert. It's made me a guy who owns a guitar."- BBI

  3. #43
    Personal experience..... you never know when you'll need it. Good area, bad area, whatever. Everyone has to assess their own situation and there's no right answer but there is one chance. No do overs.

    I know for me carrying 20oz +/- isn't exactly a burden. No different then keys, wallet, phone, etc... Outside of that I don't really care who thinks what about gear or training.

    Sent from my moto z4 using Tapatalk

  4. #44
    Quote Originally Posted by 03RN View Post
    If I fail my family out of being lazy I won't be able to live with myself.
    Yep. I grew up in a largely safe area and still live in it. Guns were for hunting and the "what if" happenings that we almost never heard of happening. All these years later the family, by and large, still don't think it can happen to them, that it always happens to "others". We are working class and busy with work, school functions, etc. There's not much time in the day for them to take in the news and most of them distance themselves from it anyway due to its content. They choose to ignore the fact as to why they do so and justify it by being too busy. Go figure. IOW, they just don't know what they don't know.

    I on the other hand now work out of the house and largely set my own hours. I have the luxury of watching several forms of media all day every day and see all too well how things are going downhill. I also pay attention the a literal army of homeless druggie vagrants that roam the streets constantly that we never saw as kids. I grew up with a guy, our mom's were best friends and went to high school together. Just today a Deputy Sheriff's officer was shot and killed and another wounded. I'm pretty sure it was at the house next door to his when we were growing up. These deputies getting shot today were the first in over 100 years for this department. They haven't released the name of the wounded officer and I'm praying that it wasn't a friend of mine on the department. This was a nice neighborhood in the '70s and '80s.

    I always carry when I leave the house, mostly for family when I'm in their presence because they just don't bother.

  5. #45
    We all choose our own salvation (or damnation). The newest home (of many moves over the years) is in a quiet suburban, borderline rural neighborhood but with a large homeless population near by. The wife has had to yell at folks to leave our property a couple times since getting here but the neighbor showing up unexpected, uninvited (but with good reason) at the back door has reminded me just how vulnerable to ill intent even, or especially, remote life can be.
    no one sees what's written on the spine of his own autobiography.

  6. #46
    Quote Originally Posted by Noah View Post
    I think a lot of people are burned out on the ATGATT lifestyle. If you didn't carry a double stack with an optic and WML every day and shoot an AR with a plate carrier every weekend, the attitude for the last decade was you may as well not own a gun. That was me. Carried a pistol with a WML and optic the last 4 years and had my AR and plate carrier and classes and more gear. All of us enjoyed shooting and believed in being armed, sure, but life was a little too centered around being geared up for the end of the world. More skill focused places like Pistol Forum rather than gear focused places have helped me. But like Duke even said in some other threads, even here is still gear focused. Gear is fun.

    Then the end of the world came... and believe it or not, we didnt die. The pandemic, lock downs, riots, political instability... and for 99.999% of us, all the "warfighting" gear the "shooting community" had focused on meant nothing. I'd spent my late teens and early 20s before marriage focusing on gear for mid range infantry warfare when the reality of life now is going to the grocery with my wife and baby and helping them sleep soundly at night.

    I was done with the gear race. I deleted social media, and since then, I've moved away from feeling unprepared if I don't have all the latest and greatest gear. I stopped carrying a WML, and what do you know, it was a lot more comfortable. Back to DA/SA pistols for every day living with the gun safely and mental comfort. I even got rid of the red dots, less printing. I sold my plate carrier. These are all very personal choices, but I'm spending more time rolling around on the ground with my baby daughter and less time worrying about things not worth worrying about.
    I completely agree with this assessment.
    The ATGATT line of thinking is what burns you out, I hear a lot of (younger) guys swear up and down that carrying an WML-equipped RDS gun with a sidecar reload at 12:00 appendix is not at all uncomfortable but I have a hard time believing it. I regularly carry a fullsize with no WML at 2:00 with a wedge and after a few hours it is definitely noticeable. I would never go as far as to not carry a gun because of my line of work but realistically, you can carry a small J frame or a Glock 42 and not even notice it's there most of the time.

  7. #47
    Quote Originally Posted by Duke View Post
    Alertness, avoidance and de-escalated aggression is better than shooting.

    This one of a long list of belief system challenges I set to disprove.
    When people write something like that, it seems that you are suggesting that that alertness, avoidance and de-escalation is somehow exclusive from carrying a gun, when in fact it isn't. All of those are blatantly important when carrying for obvious reasons.

    Regarding having to defend yourself, @Tom Givens has said, "‘You don’t get to choose when you’re going to have to defend yourself, the criminal does. And they are only going to notify you at the last possible moment." He is also a big proponent of awareness and avoidance, as is anyone who is sensible.

    In the end it is your choice.

  8. #48
    Site Supporter
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Location
    Texarkana, Texas
    Can't speak for anybody else. I'm 66-years old. After most of my life in IT, I became a corrections officer in 2019 when the company shut down my department. Workin for a liberal newspaper, I had a very "innocent" view of the world My Next Job was as a Correction Officer at a county jail. I quickly developed a different, and much less innocent, view of the world exposed to those elements in jail. I later moved to Security where I had to deal with a significant portion of the "Homeless" populations. Oh yeah, if you look long enough you can find some sad stories. But in my experience, 8o to 90 percent of them are using the system. I had to throw their asses out of the public library where mothers were trying to educate their children. In fact, the only reason the liberal library board hired security was after a "homeless" man assaulted a child in the library public restroom. That was what it took for those liberal morons to finally hire security at the cities insentience.
    Even then, they only offered security to a Level II (Unarmed) officer. As they accepted Texas Tax money, they could not legally post. (No guns) That means the ONLY person who could not be legally armed was ... their SecuritY Officer! (A Security Officer must have his weapon visible as deterrent). Carrying under your Level II license you can't carry under your CHL license. Only one license applies at time.
    I was surprised at how many of the "Homeless" folks that came in remembered me from my previous job in Corrections. "Hey Boss! I wondered where you went."
    I carry to work at my new job under license as a Level III Security Officer. The thing is, I feel irresponsible if I don't carry (concealed) when off duty. In my short career in Corrections and Security, I've seen what is out there. I know what is roaming the streets. Most people don't.
    I'm not sure how anybody with a half-assed realistic view of what is roaming the streets could not be prepared to protect his loved ones and innocents.
    YMMV
    Last edited by Bigguy; 08-23-2022 at 05:03 AM.

  9. #49
    Site Supporter
    Join Date
    Sep 2017
    Location
    South Louisiana
    I'm a pretty fit 70-year-old, but I'm still a 70-year-old. Going hands-on with a young guy is a losing proposition. I'm armed where I legally can be, maintain awareness and adhere to the Rule of the Three Stupids. Where I live, the geezer uniform tends to be cargo pants and an untucked shirt, so it's not that difficult even with a full-size gun. If I go somewhere I can't be legally armed, I just live with it.

  10. #50
    Quote Originally Posted by breakingtime91 View Post
    I don't carry at work and sometimes when doing a quick run to the gas station i force myself too. I don't carry at work because at the very least I would get fired but more likely arrested and made into a felon. Whenever I'm not at work and not home, I have a gun and blade. But I get the urge to not care anymore. This life style, especially at the skill level most here are at can be obsessive and expensive. I balance it out with focusing on working out my diet. Helps balance out the two obsessions.
    Focusing on the other aspects of self defense (or just a healthy lifestyle in general) have helped me greatly. I had lost about 80lbs then gained some back after I became a dad (excuse I know). Down about 10lbs since late July now.
    Weight loss and fitness have got to be the single best thing you can do for yourself.


    BJJ has been great and I feel the benefits of training. Also transitioning to a smaller gun has made the carry process less intrusive.
    “Archer not arrow. No such thing as a perfect pistol. Until you commit to being a better archer, you’ll keep hunting for a better arrow.”

    -JCN

User Tag List

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •