I grew up in a small town in Delaware. Guns were never a part of my family's culture, so I wasn't exposed to them at all, with the small exception of long guns that a friend of my Mom's used for hunting, which I only saw twice. He let me shoot his .22lr rifle once.
My dad lived here in Seattle; after I graduated from high school, I moved out here to live with him. One of the first things he showed me was where he kept his HD guns. He told me to get my concealed pistol license as soon as I turned 21. I thought about it, but didn't act on it until 1999.
By that time, I owned a rifle, because I had started hunting with a friend I made. Then I made another friend who had been a Sheriff's deputy in Texas; the things I learned from these two guys are priceless, and they changed my whole life. I got my first carry permit in 1999, and bought a Ruger P94 in .40S&W. I haven't been without a license since.
Knowledge is essential to living freely and fully; understanding gives knowledge purpose and strength; wisdom is combining the two and applying them appropriately in words and actions.
Unfortunately I reside in Kommifornia. Citizens are constantly under a barrage of "making us safer" with restrictive gun laws. In essence, the State is determined to make the entire populace a "soft zone" and I suspect that it will succeed. Then when the next terrorist attack occurs they will again point to the NRA as being the source of evil weapons. My next door neighbor is LEO, SWAT sniper/medic, and says his buddies on the force have declared come January 2017 they will not enforce the new draconian gun laws. Time will tell. Until then, my brothers and sisters in Free America, keep praying for us and the over 2 million illegal voting aliens in Kommiefornia.
WORD.
-Zorba, "The Veiled Male"
"If you get it and didn't work for it, someone else worked for it and didn't get it..."
outside of the military I've thankfully never had anything happen to me personally or anyone close to me. I've been watching crime steadily climb in my area over the past few years though including some armed robberies where people were shot in a gas station that I'm in a lot and was just in the day before. I've had a few meth heads approach me in the parking lot but I'm not a small guy so every time I've told them I don't have anything for them they didn't push the issue, but that doesn't mean they won't ever especially in light of the recent bump in violent crimes. Also, while I doubt any aloha snack bar crap will be happening in MT, I'm the type to prepare for anything.
That said, I also carry a fully stocked trauma kit / med bag in my truck and have about every cert you can get without becoming a full EMT. There's plenty of medical peoples around here though so if somethin crazy went down I'd hand the bag off to someone who can use it better than I can, it's just nice to have the stuff available if needed cause emergency service responce time is grabage. I notice the common trend when things happen is the violence is over so fast most people don't even realize what happened, but the aftermath requires a lot of attention
Had a big honkin' knife pulled on me once in my teens. Bought my first handgun when I was 18, and got my concealed carry permit in '86 or '87 (about age 22-23) when "shall issue" was first passed here in FL.
Been packin' ever since, mostly just 'cause.
NOW.... that I've had nearly 10 yrs dealing with the dregs of society I am convinced that my instincts were dead on.
Luis
Wielding the Hammer of Thor first requires you to lift and carry the Hammer of Thor. - Bigslug
In my 20s and 30s there were few people on the planet that I would not have stood toe to toe with but as I got a bit older I started to realize I was not that guy anymore.
I'm much to slow and fat to try and defend myself by physical force anymore.
If a bad guy gets me off my feet then I'm at his mercy and I'm just not ok with that.
No one thing made me decide to carry but the reality that humans do bad things to each other every day and I do not want to be a victim.
Even in my small town we had a tripple murder not to long ago........some guy wandered up on a community 15 miles outside of town and killed the folks he found there........they caught him in Phx.
In my 20s and 30s there were few people on the planet that I would not have stood toe to toe with but as I got a bit older I started to realize I was not that guy anymore.
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SONG
I'm not as good as I once was,
But I'm as good once as I ever was
Applies to a lot of us.
JAY
THE DEFINITION OF GUN CONTROL IS HITTING THE TARGET WITH YOUR FIRST SHOT
"Come to Jesus" is a somewhat descriptive phrase that led to me getting my CCW license. There was no particular event, but rather a set of circumstances.
I had already given thought to getting my license, but didn't care for having my name in yet another government database. But, the church my wife and I attended at the time formed a security committee, and I was asked to join. I joined, and the pastor urged all members to get their CCW license. That's why I got mine.
Jerry
Gun control laws make about as much sense as taking ex-lax to cure a cough.
"Come to Jesus" is a somewhat descriptive phrase that led to me getting my CCW license. There was no particular event, but rather a set of circumstances.
I had already given thought to getting my license, but didn't care for having my name in yet another government database. But, the church my wife and I attended at the time formed a security committee, and I was asked to join. I joined, and the pastor urged all members to get their CCW license. That's why I got mine.
I have not attended church services in nearly 50 years, but my wife and daughters have always been church-goers. My wife attends a small rural church and they invite me to all their social events, just as though I were a member, and we all like and respect each other. After the lady in Colorado defended her congregation a few years ago, my wife jokingly suggested to the preacher that she could probably get me to sit at the back and watch for bad guys.
The preacher remarked that he was tempted, just to get me to come to church, but that in all honesty, it wasn't necessary because he and at least three other men were armed and knew how to shoot.
Replies
My dad lived here in Seattle; after I graduated from high school, I moved out here to live with him. One of the first things he showed me was where he kept his HD guns. He told me to get my concealed pistol license as soon as I turned 21. I thought about it, but didn't act on it until 1999.
By that time, I owned a rifle, because I had started hunting with a friend I made. Then I made another friend who had been a Sheriff's deputy in Texas; the things I learned from these two guys are priceless, and they changed my whole life. I got my first carry permit in 1999, and bought a Ruger P94 in .40S&W. I haven't been without a license since.
WORD.
That said, I also carry a fully stocked trauma kit / med bag in my truck and have about every cert you can get without becoming a full EMT. There's plenty of medical peoples around here though so if somethin crazy went down I'd hand the bag off to someone who can use it better than I can, it's just nice to have the stuff available if needed cause emergency service responce time is grabage. I notice the common trend when things happen is the violence is over so fast most people don't even realize what happened, but the aftermath requires a lot of attention
Been packin' ever since, mostly just 'cause.
NOW.... that I've had nearly 10 yrs dealing with the dregs of society I am convinced that my instincts were dead on.
Luis
I'm much to slow and fat to try and defend myself by physical force anymore.
If a bad guy gets me off my feet then I'm at his mercy and I'm just not ok with that.
No one thing made me decide to carry but the reality that humans do bad things to each other every day and I do not want to be a victim.
Even in my small town we had a tripple murder not to long ago........some guy wandered up on a community 15 miles outside of town and killed the folks he found there........they caught him in Phx.
Sent from my SM-T530NU using Tapatalk
-96 lbs
SONG
I'm not as good as I once was,
But I'm as good once as I ever was
Applies to a lot of us.
JAY
I had already given thought to getting my license, but didn't care for having my name in yet another government database. But, the church my wife and I attended at the time formed a security committee, and I was asked to join. I joined, and the pastor urged all members to get their CCW license. That's why I got mine.
Gun control laws make about as much sense as taking ex-lax to cure a cough.
I have not attended church services in nearly 50 years, but my wife and daughters have always been church-goers. My wife attends a small rural church and they invite me to all their social events, just as though I were a member, and we all like and respect each other. After the lady in Colorado defended her congregation a few years ago, my wife jokingly suggested to the preacher that she could probably get me to sit at the back and watch for bad guys.
The preacher remarked that he was tempted, just to get me to come to church, but that in all honesty, it wasn't necessary because he and at least three other men were armed and knew how to shoot.