Do you legally conceal carry?

Yes, every day and every place that the law will let me.
Total votes: 215 (42%)
Yes, only when I know I am going to someplace with increased risk
Total votes: 71 (14%)
Yes, sometimes, if I think about it.
Total votes: 41 (8%)
Not really, but I have a permit regardless.
Total votes: 64 (13%)
No, and I don't have a permit.
Total votes: 119 (23%)
Total votes: 510

Re: Do You Carry

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I keep a .45 Colt Commander in the map slot on the driver's side door of my Dodge Durango. I guess that could be called "carrying." I also take a Ruger Redhawk 4" SS .44 Mag in a little bag that hangs over my saddle horn when I ride my horses in country that has a lot of bears and mountain lions. I've been carrying some .44 Mag that way for 25 years when I ride and I've seen a lot of bears and lions but I've never had to use the gun. Other than that, I don't ever carry a gun on my person even though I have the permit and I teach the concealed carry course and I have half a dozen handguns that are ideal for concealed carry. We old indians don't mind carrying a rifle in our hands but we don't much like the weight of any handgun hanging off our bodies. :lol:

Re: Do You Carry

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I'm waiting for my permit. I don't have the need to strut or know that I'm an Army of One or anything but you never know when it might be handy to have. I feel its 50/50 of needing one vs getting busted for having it w/o a permit.
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Puffing up is no substitute for smarts but it's a common home remedy

Re: Do You Carry

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You forgot the. "I live in Liberal hell and it is not even considered" option.

I would have a permit but probably not carry. I work in a bad area but it is at a grade school so it would be verboten anyways.
An intellectual is someone that can change their mind after being given enough evidence.

“ I nearly murdered somebody, and it made me realise that you can't face violence with violence. It doesn't work. ”

—Joe Strummer

Re: Do You Carry

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Paladin wrote:You forgot the. "I live in Liberal hell and it is not even considered" option.

I would have a permit but probably not carry. I work in a bad area but it is at a grade school so it would be verboten anyways.
Yup.

If carrying was legal here I would carry some of the time, but like Paladin, couldn't carry to work...the Big U would have a problem with that.

Re: Do You Carry

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Well, Pax and Palidin can probably identify with what I'm about to say.....being from Illinois myself, I partially carry just because I can. Yeah, growing up in Illinois had a fetishizing effect on me. Don't stick your tongue to the cold, metal pipe....
I don't like to think of my self as an artist so much as someone who stares at empty spaces and imagines s--t.

Re: Do You Carry

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Simmer down wrote:I'm waiting for my permit. I don't have the need to strut or know that I'm an Army of One or anything but you never know when it might be handy to have. I feel its 50/50 of needing one vs getting busted for having it w/o a permit.
Texas is one of the worse states in the union for taking a long time to do the background checks and issue the licenses. I had to wait five months before i got mine. If you visit the "Waiting Room" on that Texas CHL forum you will read some painful horror stories by people frustrated at the long wait time. I hope you don't have to wait too long.

Re: Do You Carry

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When I was an active duty peace officer, I always carried a concealed weapon when I was off duty. After I retired I stopped carrying for several years. Texas passed the concealed carry law in 1995. Still I did nothing about it for several years after that. Then my older brother got his license and I suppose that started me thinking about getting mine too. Now I live in an apartment complex that is primarily senior citizens. It's safe enough inside the fence line, but the neighborhood around us is considered to be a high crime area. I carry now whenever I leave the complex. Generally I carry my Guardian .380 in a pocket holster, or my Taurus 9mm Slim inside the waist band on a belt clip. I have a Taurus 1911 that I use mainly on the range. I keep a Taurus model 605 .357 snubby on the bedside table. I also have a Taurus PT745 .45cal, but rarely carry that one because of it's bulk.

Re: Do You Carry

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I am not surprised. I would have guessed half and half, or weighted more towards the non-carry given what I know of our group. Its hardly a statistically signifnicant sample yet, however.

A more interesting poll might be "why do you carry" rather than "do you carry" I would wonder how may people who do carry, carry because they are LE, private security, or otherwise "not your average paranoid."

We, as a group, seem to do things for reasons other than "its my God given right" or "coloured skin scares me."

That fits in with "guns are tools" and "guns ownership should be subject to some regulation."

At least in my mind.

Re: Do You Carry

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EdGardner wrote:I am not surprised. I would have guessed half and half, or weighted more towards the non-carry given what I know of our group. Its hardly a statistically signifnicant sample yet, however.

A more interesting poll might be "why do you carry" rather than "do you carry" I would wonder how may people who do carry, carry because they are LE, private security, or otherwise "not your average paranoid."

We, as a group, seem to do things for reasons other than "its my God given right" or "coloured skin scares me."

That fits in with "guns are tools" and "guns ownership should be subject to some regulation."

At least in my mind.
Agreed, when you remove the chest thumping "IT'S MY GOTDANG RIGHT TO CARRY" you end up with us, sensible folks who enjoy owning and shooting guns.

If I could carry legally, I'd carry on the occasions when I was out and about in an area, or at time of day when carrying would enhance my safety.

Re: Do You Carry

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"Do you carry" and "Why do you carry" are both good questions. I've answered the first, now I'll try to answer the second question. My answer to "Why do you carry" is a very personal one. Many years ago I was a victim. I was held up at gun point and could have died very easily on the spot. I was running a service station at the time and one evening about 7pm a young black man walked into my office and stuck a .38 snub nosed revolver in my chest and cocked it. He demanded my wallet and the money in the register. With every demand he shoved that revolver a little harder into my chest. Now you all know how easy it is to set off a cocked revolver. I was stone cold calm. I guess I had subconsciously resigned myself to dying and I was just waiting for the bang. He took my wallet and the money from the register and fled. Needless to say the cops never caught him. I have relived that scene hundreds of times in my mind since. I'm convinced that there was absolutely nothing I could have done to prevent what happened. Even if I had been carrying a weapon myself, it would have done me no good. Once the bad guy's gun is shoved against your chest, it's too late to reach for yours. This does not mean, however, that I am resigned to being a victim again if I can help it. A lot of things have changed since that incident. I'm 68yrs old now, badly over weight, a heart patient with a stent in my chest, and i have arthritis in my knees and hips. All this means I can't run and I can't fight off an attacker. It's not a sure thing - as the incident I've have just described shows = but I want the option to do something if I can to defend myself if I should ever need to again. Carrying a gun gives you "relative" security - not "absolute" security. So my approach to personal security is this - as any police officer will tell you - be alert, be aware of the people around me, evaluate as best I can the security risk of any situation, and have the option to defend myself should I ever have to. With the gun I "may" be able to defend myself and save my life or the life of someone close to me. Not having the gun practically guarantees you will be a victim when the bad guy walks up.

Re: Do You Carry

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Always late to the party! If you see my location then you will know my answer, but just in case, I do not live in the interior of California. I live on the coast in what is considered a "rural" county by the Census. Carry permits here are "May Issue" which in much of the state means, if you are connected or famous then you have a right to defend yourself, if not, tough luck. I don't see myself carrying everywhere, even if I was able by some miracle to get a permit. I have a healthy fear/respect for the power of a handgun and I would want to get a heck of a lot more training than I have before I felt okay carrying one around on me. I don't live in a bad area, and feel pretty safe in my community. I was down in East Los Angeles yesterday though and there were some parts where I was thinking, "I would sure be nice to have my pistol in the center console rather than in the back seat in a lock box."
Anyone who uses the terms 'irregardless', 'all of the sudden', or 'a whole nother' shall be sentenced to a work camp - Stewie Griffith

The American People will take Socialism, but they won't take the label. - Upton Sinclair

Re: Do You Carry

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goosekiller wrote:I never really felt the need.
goosekiller, if you live in an area where crime is not a problem and you have been lucky enough to never to have come face to face with deadly force then you are indeed fortunate and I envy you. According to the newspaper here two men were shot to death last night in my part of town - and not very far from my apartment. Wouldn't it be nice not to have to read that kind of stuff in your local paper each day.

Re: Do You Carry

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Carried one when I had to and it was here in Illinois. Now I don't have to. I think back when I first left LE I felt strange without a sidearm but as the years have gone by I don't think about it anymore. At the same time, I wouldn't be without one in my home - and, readily available. I keep a little two shot .357 Derringer on my night stand, loaded with .38 wadcutters (I don't need any more tinnitus than I already have). My 9mm PX4, which is close at hand, is loaded with frangible air combat rounds so if an all out war jumps off I won't kill my neighbors. I have to rely on the sheriff's office since we live in the county and they may have to come from the far side of the moon.
I pledge allegiance to the Constitution of the United States of America, and to the Republic that it established: one Nation out of many Peoples with Liberty and Justice for all.

Re: Do You Carry

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A wadcutter will really mess someone up.
An intellectual is someone that can change their mind after being given enough evidence.

“ I nearly murdered somebody, and it made me realise that you can't face violence with violence. It doesn't work. ”

—Joe Strummer

Re: Do You Carry

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Yabu, I must sympathize with you. TV gives a strange impression of people held at gun point being completely unscathed when the matter is resolved. As a former LEO and a retired therapist I can say without equivocation, people who have had guns pointed at them by strangers are damaged by the experience, this includes cops. I did a great deal of PTSD treatment using hypnotherapy. Very often our bifurcated brains make a dual assessment of dangerous situations. The left brain, which has a clock and loves numbers and symmetry - the very practical side - is done with a situation when it's over. The right brain doesn't work that way. In doing treatment with traumatized patients I learned that the right brain may have thought that death was inescapable and is simply in a grotesque fog because it is unable to assimilate that its life didn't end. Using hypnotherapy I was able to help people resolve this and end what may have been years of anxiety disorder in all of its manifestations. It is a terrible thing to do to a person, to put them in imminent fear of death. I've seen the happy little tellers on a TV show being questioned after a bank robbery. I've also seen the real ones and they are shattered people.
I pledge allegiance to the Constitution of the United States of America, and to the Republic that it established: one Nation out of many Peoples with Liberty and Justice for all.

Re: Do You Carry

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Paladin wrote:A wadcutter will really mess someone up.

I have heard this argued back and forth. I know when my dad did his own handloading (late 70s/early 80s) all his 38spls were semi-wadcutters. Isn't that one of Elmer Kieth's things? Anyone know any definitive (or even anecdotal) proof one way or the other?
"The waves which dash on the shore are, one by one, broken; but yet the ocean conquers nevertheless."
- Lord Byron

Re: Do You Carry

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richudson wrote:Yabu, I must sympathize with you. TV gives a strange impression of people held at gun point being completely unscathed when the matter is resolved. As a former LEO and a retired therapist I can say without equivocation, people who have had guns pointed at them by strangers are damaged by the experience, this includes cops. I did a great deal of PTSD treatment using hypnotherapy. Very often our bifurcated brains make a dual assessment of dangerous situations. The left brain, which has a clock and loves numbers and symmetry - the very practical side - is done with a situation when it's over. The right brain doesn't work that way. In doing treatment with traumatized patients I learned that the right brain may have thought that death was inescapable and is simply in a grotesque fog because it is unable to assimilate that its life didn't end. Using hypnotherapy I was able to help people resolve this and end what may have been years of anxiety disorder in all of its manifestations. It is a terrible thing to do to a person, to put them in imminent fear of death. I've seen the happy little tellers on a TV show being questioned after a bank robbery. I've also seen the real ones and they are shattered people.

I have known a couple of people who had guns pulled on them and they were pretty traumatized. I had a gun pulled on me once but it was a very different situation. I was 16 years old and unaware of many things - including that anyone would ever reach under their seat to get a gun when a cop stopped them. When I got pulled over I got out of my car and knelt down next to my car to get my wallet from under the bench seat of my 72 Gran Torino. I hated having a wallet in my back pocket when I was sitting and it slipped all over the vinyl bench seat. In my mind, I was just trying to get my wallet. Obviously other thoughts were going through his mind. He pulled his 9mm and started screaming. I had no idea wtf was going on but I threw my hands up and then proceeded to 'back slowly away from the car'. After all settled down we were both very relieved at the outcome. Obviously this is very different - I directly caused this and I knew what to do so that it wouldn't happen again. So, I really didn't have any long term issues from it - but I sure as hell was shaking at that moment. I can tell you that having a loaded gun pointed at you is a frightening experience. And my experience was, by comparison, very very very mild.
"The waves which dash on the shore are, one by one, broken; but yet the ocean conquers nevertheless."
- Lord Byron

Re: Do You Carry

23
YabuUS wrote:"Do you carry" and "Why do you carry" are both good questions. I've answered the first, now I'll try to answer the second question. My answer to "Why do you carry" is a very personal one. Many years ago I was a victim. I was held up at gun point and could have died very easily on the spot. I was running a service station at the time and one evening about 7pm a young black man walked into my office and stuck a .38 snub nosed revolver in my chest and cocked it. He demanded my wallet and the money in the register. With every demand he shoved that revolver a little harder into my chest. Now you all know how easy it is to set off a cocked revolver. I was stone cold calm. I guess I had subconsciously resigned myself to dying and I was just waiting for the bang. He took my wallet and the money from the register and fled. Needless to say the cops never caught him. I have relived that scene hundreds of times in my mind since. I'm convinced that there was absolutely nothing I could have done to prevent what happened. Even if I had been carrying a weapon myself, it would have done me no good. Once the bad guy's gun is shoved against your chest, it's too late to reach for yours. This does not mean, however, that I am resigned to being a victim again if I can help it. A lot of things have changed since that incident. I'm 68yrs old now, badly over weight, a heart patient with a stent in my chest, and i have arthritis in my knees and hips. All this means I can't run and I can't fight off an attacker. It's not a sure thing - as the incident I've have just described shows = but I want the option to do something if I can to defend myself if I should ever need to again. Carrying a gun gives you "relative" security - not "absolute" security. So my approach to personal security is this - as any police officer will tell you - be alert, be aware of the people around me, evaluate as best I can the security risk of any situation, and have the option to defend myself should I ever have to. With the gun I "may" be able to defend myself and save my life or the life of someone close to me. Not having the gun practically guarantees you will be a victim when the bad guy walks up.

Man, I am sorry to hear that. Glad it turned out as it did.

I have always said that firearms are 'the great equalizer'. My father had a great line towards this end in his last months. He was suffering greatly from prostate cancer - it had spread to his bones. But none of us knew anything because he never complained. We found out about his prostate cancer when we had to take him to the hospital. For anyone that knows anything about prostate cancer you will recognize that as being ridiculous. He never went to the doctor from the time I was born until the day he died. And that cost him his life. Anyway..... he hurt when he walked and was terribly weak. He was not frail by any stretch - still a relatively beefy man - but just felt weak. His bones were like swiss cheese and any movement hurt. But it didn't stop him from going out and trying to lead a normal life as long as he could. On one of his last outings he had gone shopping and was walking back to his car in the parking lot. He started feeling weak and took a break by leaning up against a pickup truck in the lot. From behind him he heard "Hey old man, get off my truck".... he immediately responded, without turning around, "I may be an old man, but I've got a new .357". Turns out the harasser was actually a friend of his just giving him hell. The point is..... an old frail man felt he could equal an attacker because of his gun - the equalizing effect.

In other words, I am with you - I would rather have one and at least have a chance at defending myself even if I know that 90% of the time it will be useless. Having said that, I don't carry. Like goose, I never really felt the need. The only time I have wanted to 'carry' is near my home because there are frequently packs of feral dogs (basically packs of small wolfs) and they are known to attack. When I go out walking around with my kids I bring my Mak.

/long winded BS :p
"The waves which dash on the shore are, one by one, broken; but yet the ocean conquers nevertheless."
- Lord Byron

Re: Do You Carry

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mark wrote:
Paladin wrote:A wadcutter will really mess someone up.

I have heard this argued back and forth. I know when my dad did his own handloading (late 70s/early 80s) all his 38spls were semi-wadcutters. Isn't that one of Elmer Kieth's things? Anyone know any definitive (or even anecdotal) proof one way or the other?
I've never seen a body or post mortem of someone shot with a wadcutter. I imagine that, up close, it would be quite destructive - say at or near point blank range. One seldom gets an opportunity to see the results of LTL (less than lethal) wounds because medics, rightfully, treat immediately. The alternative visualization would come from a medic or LE photographing a wound at the scene. I tried to find something on Google, but to no avail.
I pledge allegiance to the Constitution of the United States of America, and to the Republic that it established: one Nation out of many Peoples with Liberty and Justice for all.

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