I've been concealed carrying for a little over a year now...

[sourceninja]

Maybe they just dont want people like you turning a bar fight into a gun fight....maybe?

I can't say I've ever been in a bar fight....

 

[Mxylplyx]

really?
I don't think it would have made it any worse.
I'm sure the victims would like their chances had they been armed.

So dark, confusing, chaotic situation.....10 people in the crowd pull out their firearms....which means 11 people in the crowd now have drawn firearms with the intent to kill. How likely do you think those 10 armed bystanders are to shoot each other in such a situation?

 

[Mxylplyx]

I can't say I've ever been in a bar fight....

So why do you feel the need to carry a gun into BWW?

 

[JM Aggie08]

I can hardly see most of you waaaay up there on that horse/soapbox.

 

[onza]

I think you mean more deaths, crowded theater, in the dark, gas in the theater, the guy wearing body armor. Some idiot pulling their gun sounds like a great idea in that situation...

If I was in that theater and someone was C&C'ing. I hope they would pull it out and kill the bastid, at the risk of others to save 5, or 10, or 11.

 

[sourceninja]

So why do you feel the need to carry a gun into BWW?

BWW isn't a bar. But this is a pointless question. You don't carry a gun because something happened to you.

I carry a gun EVERYWHERE because I don't want to be helpless if someone is trying to harm myself or my family. The odds are really really high that I will never ever need my gun. Just like the first aid kit in my car, my home owners insurance, the 'call for emergency' bracelet I wear when running.

 

[sixone]

So those are the main things I can think of at the moment. Please feel free to add your thoughts and questions. Let's keep this civil please.

Very interesting reactions. I'm going to get my CC license at the end of this year/first of next, which should be very interesting.

My state is open-carry, which is good.

 

[onza]

Just a FYI - police response time will never be in the seconds, it will be in the minutes. The only person that will be able to protect yourself is yourself.

 

[edro]

Just like the first aid kit in my car, my home owners insurance, the 'call for emergency' bracelet I wear when running.

Except first aid kits, insurance and bracelets can't harm you or your family accidentally.

(I'm still pro gun)

 

[zinfamous]

wow. just...wow OP. Now you see this as a license to be a d-bag, and "defend your freedom" for it?

don't get me wrong, OP--I like you as a poster and as a father and all that--but wtf, man?

 

[Oyeve]

Bring back swords. Guns are for pussies. You cant hide a sword.

 

[Todd33]

So you laughed like a jackass at a guy having a bad day, then smiled like a smartass at him until he took a few steps towards you before you reached for your gun.

Bravo.

Seriously. What a coward. Pull a gun on a guy walking towards you? Was his life threatened? OP was a reminder how bad these laws are, people grow big balls when they have weapon superiority over others.

 

[endlessmike]

I'm not anti-gun or anti-CC, but when pro-gun people claim that we'd all be safer if more people carried, it's stories like this that make me doubtful of that.

I would hope that someone carrying would consider pulling a gun as their absolute last resort under immediate threat. Without the gun, this situation might have merited that you walked away, or blocked/thrown a punch if necessary. But with a gun, one of your first instincts was to begin to reach for it, which would have escalated the situation drastically.

You say you try to avoid conflict more now, but you are the one that should be in control of the situation, and you are the one that should be able to restrain yourself from pulling a gun unneccessarily regardless of the situation.

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

OP:
First, good job on not having to use it. Interesting that you find it to make you more docile. I am open to people concealing.

but seriously,
The gun should be the LAST RESORT. Your first reaction to a guy confronting you was to thumb your shirt?! Thats ridiculous. You could have done/said any number of other things to quell the situation and avoid having to ever even think about reaching.
1. Raise hands with palm open and step back in non threatening manner.
2. Stop laughing.
3. Leave the room.

If the guy decided to start coming at you continuously - and he threatens to lay a hand on you, or follows you as you leave, then you can start to THINK about reaching. First you should announce "Im carrying, back off." and that should immediately shock and calm him down.

To be honest, it scares me that someone with your aggressive nature carries a weapon. Maybe if you became less of a shit disturber and were better at avoiding these situations you wouldnt need the gun?

 

[Poulsonator]

I'm looking to buy either a Glock 17 or Glock 19, thoughts?

The 19 will conceal better, if that's something that interests you. If not, can't go wrong with either. Just depends on what you want - a full-sized 9 mm or one that's slightly smaller.

Go to a gun store and hold one of each; better yet, try to rent one of each to shoot at a range.

 

[skyking]

Edro, thank you for the common sense posts here. I really don't like to quote and thumbs up a post, but you said it perfectly. To each his own, and I respect people's right to carry if they wish. I view it as a huge extra responsibility for me, one that is not justified.

 

[Raduque]

Takes a pretty special person to Conceal Carry today.

They pretty much swear off women, drink, drugs, etc.

Their todays new "Priests."

Self inflicted, of course.

-John

Drugs should be sworn off anyway, as they're illegal(IMO, only reason to not do them). Drinking is fine; I don't CC, but were I going to drink, my weapon would be secured in my truck, or left at home (if I were going out specifically to drink).

As for women, just find the right one. A girl I was involved with recently, owns more guns than I do, has her CCW permit as well, and carries on a daily basis.

 

[Vdubchaos]

Drugs should be sworn off anyway, as they're illegal(IMO, only reason to not do them). Drinking is fine; I don't CC, but were I going to drink, my weapon would be secured in my truck, or left at home (if I were going out specifically to drink).

Not because they are illegal but because they will bring misery to your life and distance you from your loved ones (amongst MANY MANY other things).

Alcohol is a drug too and probably more harmful to our society than MANY street drugs.

What I'm trying to say is legal/illegal does not = right or wrong

Do NOT let the government decide FOR YOU what you should be doing/shouldn't be doing.

 

[ViperXX]

Pulling your gun without having a just reason to have it out is called brandishing a weapon. Don't you remember anything from your CC class? Just because some dude is approaching you all upset is no reason to pull a gun.

 

[brandonb]

I had a permit to carry, and did everytime I went anywhere until it expired after 4-5 years a year ago.

I never had any issues as well during that time. I also never had the need to think about using it. Nobody was angry with me, never thought about having to unholster it, I never put myself in a position where I had to think of using it.

I kept it in my car most of all in case of carjackers (someone attempted it with me previously when I was joy riding in the Minneapolis area around the lakes once). But as time went on, I started bringing the gun inside my house and stopped carrying it with me, as I wanted to leave it home for protection more than I felt I needed protection outside, and wanted it available to the GF in case I was gone. Then the permit expired and I did not renew it.

It does give you a sense of security. I like to be the one who is responsible for my own safety. I do not trust cops to ever get somewhere ontime as they are reactive, not proactive. I've had a near riot living in the Minneapolis area due to a house party gone strange a few doors down once, and called the cops and they finally showed up after 20-30 minutes and a few calls. Granted I was right there looking out the window with my gun the entire time and never needed to use it, and I was inside my own place, but I know cops are not responsive. And being out on the road and not knowing what street I may be on, etc, I know cops might not ever get there in time if something did come up.

Would I renew it again? Yes someday, but its not a high priority for me.

 

[Jeffg010]

You people need to learn to read HE DID NOT PULL THE GUN OUT! So all you guys saying he did are making shit up. Go read it again he moved his hand not pull the gun out. Now you guys are trying to make him sound like some kind of gun nut that is looking to kill some one. When you are making shit up.

The real problem was the guy you know wanted to start a fight in the store. You guys for get about that? If someone is a threat you should have the right to stop it. Laughing at the guy in the store does not give the guy the right to go after ya.

 

[Jeffg010]

I own 8 hunting rifles so I am not anti guns. I think that somebody who doesn't know enough not to laugh at upset people doesn't have what it take to CCW responsively.

My brother killed himself with his motorcycle. When I arrived at the scene, I fell in the water trying to identify the motorcycle. Some bystander laughed and thought it was funny. We almost got in a fist fight. Good thing most Canadians don't CCW, I could have been shot.

Then maybe the OP thought it was OK to laugh at the person knowing the person could do nothing about it.

So your way of dealing with things is wanting to start fights? You more of a concern then OP is.

 

[brandonb]

Pulling your gun without having a just reason to have it out is called brandishing a weapon. Don't you remember anything from your CC class? Just because some dude is approaching you all upset is no reason to pull a gun.

My friend who convinced me to get my conceal carry had an incident in a gas station where he had to pull his gun. Because some guys were acting all crazy in their vehicle, then started making faces and other bullshit with my friend (he explained it to me as they were acting like monkeys. They probably watched too much JackAss.) They were probably drunk and trying to act stupid/pick a fight or something. My friend just looked at them back strangely and I believe said "What are you doing?".... Then they both got out of their vehicle, one walked up in front of my friend, and one coming from around the back of the car and approached from the rear.

My friend pulled his gun because he thought he was going to get jumped. They were suprised "Holy crap! You pulled a gun on me?" They jumped in their vehicle and drove off. My friend called the cops (told them he had a CCW) and pursued and the cops came and pulled both parties over. My friend was giving his side of the story to one cop while another cop was talking to the other guys. During my friends explanation, the other cop picked one of the dudes up and slammed him onto the hood of his cop car. Apparently the cop didn't like his story or he was getting all pissy or beligerant with the cop. Then let my friend leave while they took care of the jokers.

The cops apparently thought pulling a gun on someone all upset who was approaching was a perfectly good reason to pull your gun, as he never heard from the cops again about the incident. (That was his only time he had to draw it while he had his permit).

 

[Bacstar]

One summer up here in Anchorage, AK, we had several bear maulings in the local parks where I usually hike or mtn bike. So I decided to buy my first handgun for just in case. After asking around, I ended up getting a Glock 29SF (10mm). Compact and pretty high power when loaded with some Buffalo Bore hot loads, hopefully enough to stop a bear if I ever encounter one assuming I have the time as well. So far, never had to use it. (knock on wood)

Doing more research on the local laws, an Alaskan resident doesn't require a permit to purchase a gun as well as CCW or open-carry as long as they're a non-felon or been restricted for some reason or other. So, I tried carrying for a few weeks to see how it would feel. Maybe I should have tried for a bit longer, but I was never comfortable when I was carrying. Even more uncomfortable if I had a round in the chamber, so I only carry now when I have to when I go out into the woods.

Several questions would always be going through my mind when I did CCW - Do people notice? Would someone say anything if they did? Would it just make me a target? Do I want to take on the responsibility of doing the right thing if something went down? - which led me to always act out scenarios in my head. I just decided that maybe right now, I'm not ready and just leave the gun at home.

In the meantime, I've gotten a few more guns: a Kimber 1911, a Browning Buckmark .22 for practice, a AR-15 .22LR for fun, and my next one will be 9mm, not sure what brand or model yet. At least, going to the range is lots of fun.

 

[Jeffg010]

My friend who convinced me to get my conceal carry had an incident in a gas station where he had to pull his gun. Because some guys were acting all crazy in their vehicle, then started making faces and other bullshit with my friend. They were probably drunk and trying to act stupid/pick a fight or something. My friend just looked at them back strangely and I believe said "What are you doing?".... Then they both got out of their vehicle, one walked up in front of my friend, and one coming from around the back of the car and approached from the rear.

My friend pulled his gun because he thought he was going to get jumped. They were suprised "Holy crap! You pulled a gun on me?" They jumped in their vehicle. My friend called the cops (told them he had a CCW) and the cops came and pulled them both parties over. My friend was giving his side of the story to one cop while another cop was talking to the other guys. During my friends explanation, the other cop picked one of the dudes up and slammed him onto the hood of his cop car. Apparently the cop didn't like his story or he was getting all pissy or beligerant with the cop. Then let my friend leave while they took care of the jokers.

The cops apparently thought pulling a gun on someone all upset who was approaching was a perfectly good reason to pull your gun, as he never heard from the cops again about the incident. (That was his only time he had to draw it while he had his permit).

I'm sure people in this thread think your friend is the bad guy in all of this and will say cops don't know shit.