Why did you decide to carry

[loknload]

Why did you decide to carry and what was your first CCW.?
Of course I started the minute I turned 21 for concealed carry, at 18 I could open carry for hunting.
But I really started CCW because of my job at the time, which took me out on night service calls into parts of the city I did not like to go. I also became the Treasurer for a community organization in which I was making night bank deposits. I would do a lot of my book work at night and then take the bank bag to the night drop.
Never had any issues and never had the need to pull a weapon.
My very first CCW was a S&W #37 3" it was a great first handgun and I still have it yet today.

 

[BAM-BAM]

Got my Pa licence in 1978 just out of Law School..... my Dad was a Police Capt. and I though a licence "might come in handy".

But my primary purpose was to carry a handgun concealed (2 1/2" Model 19) while roaming around Penn's Woods on my time off.......open carry was legal but IMO seemed ill advised...... for a young looking 24 year old.

Didn't carry concealed in urban life until I moved into the City of Harrisburg in 1985 and my house got broken into..... also had a 30 man armed security dept reporting to me and I up their training and trained/qualified with them for 7 years...... as the only unmarried Administrator on Call seemed like the ER needed me to come in late at night... 3 or 4 times a month. Suit gun was a Walther PPK (later a 3913) and a 3" Model 65 nights and weekends.

Today......just seems like common sense.......over a million concealed carry licences in Pa.

 

[federali]

Concealed Carry

My first concealed carry was a government owned S&W Model 36, followed a few years later by a Colt Detective Special, also government issued.

My private concealed carry started in 1995 when I retired. Initially I carried an S&W Model 37 but switched to a Glock 19. For a time I also carried an S&W 99.

Today I mostly carry a Kahr Arms Model P9 but I always carry a full frame, high capacity handgun when visiting malls or any other place that terrorists and wackos tend to strike. Having a gun does not guaranty survival in a confrontation but it sure beats that helpless feeling of being at someone else's mercy. I would like to add that as long as I keep my mindset, judgment and tactics at a razor edge, it will likely help me win the best possible gun battle: The one that can be avoided.

 

[robertrwalsh]

I am too old to carry a cop around with me.

 

[jbtrucker]

I decided after the movie theater shooting Aurora, Co. 2012 .First CCW was a Taurus .38 spl sub. sold it and bought Shield 9 my EDC now.

 

[Rustyt1953]

In April of '04 when Ohio gave the OK to CC. It was a Bersa Thunder .380.

 

[snubbyfan]

It was shortly after my life was threatened for being born the "wrong" color.

 

[prplbkrr]

In '98 I rode my bicycle from Madison, Wi. to Chattanooga. Straightest route took me through the south side of Chicago.

Not a place for a man like me!! I was, and felt like a minority. Called every racist slur in the book for 3 hrs. Cracker, whitey, get your white a** outta the hood, etc. You get the point.

I realized, that day, that the world really was dangerous place. I was truely concerned about my safety and had no way to defend myself.

I prayed that I would not get a flat tire.

Bought my 1st handgun 5 mos later. Had to save up some cash. Colt Officers 1911 .45 acp.

No way in hell will I ever go to S. Chicago ever again.

 

[keith44spl]

Peer pressure........

All the other ranch hands were doing it.

Colt SAA 44 Spl.

.

 

[dwh]

I started to carry as soon as I was eligible. I also started training and competing in the same time frame. I carry because bad things happen to good people at the most inconvenient times.

 

[Coot47]

Got my CCW back around 2014 when it seemed like open season on old white guys. Picked up a police trade in model 10 from Bud's and haven't looked back. Added a 1911 A1 since.

 

[bigwheelzip]

After three events combined , it just seemed logical to CC.

1. Retired to the free state of South Carolina.
2. Friends hubby, Colonel Richard, took me shooting for the first time and I loved it.
3. A new friend in SC who managed a local gun range, offered to help get me started with firearms training, and gave me private lessons.


Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

 

[ContinentalOp]

It wasn't any one thing for me. I've seen and experienced violence firsthand, so I knew how dangerous the world could be.

The state I grew up in allowed concealed carry, but in my county the only people who could get CCW permits were the wealthy and/or politically well-connected.

Then I moved to a state where, technically, people could get carry permits, but the process seemed onerous to me at the time, since I was a broke college student.

I finally made it to a genuine shall-issue state, but put off getting a permit for several years because I couldn't carry at work or school, and I didn't go out much so I didn't see the cost as being worth it. I made some pretty dramatic life changes in early 2011 and decided to go ahead and get my carry permit. My first CCW was a 642-1, which I pocket carried because the only holster I had at the time was a DeSantis Nemesis. Eventually I would end up carrying a 3" 65, a 2" 64, and a Glock 23 (but not all at the same time... ), and adopted IWB as my primary form of carry after much experimentation. Shortly before leaving I started carrying my Beretta PX4 Compact, a 642-1, or both.

Now I live in a Constitutional Carry state where I don't need a permit within the state, though I will be getting a permit so I can carry in reciprocal states if/when I travel.

 

[Old cop]

I started my LEO career in 1968 when we were required to carry off-duty. During the next 30 years I went through a lot of stuff that taught me it's better of have a gun and not need it than the other way around.

 

[Murphy's Law]

I carry because of all the crazies out there.

 

[Sayoc01]

REASON?? I live in Miami Fl.& drive thru Miami Gardens....frequently!

 

[garddogg56]

Too many flatlanders moving to my state and bringing there out of state ways here

 

[bigwheelzip]

Too many flatlanders moving to my state and bringing there out of state ways here

Ayuh, spoken like a true Mainah.

 

[pharmer]

I had been carrying junk .22's and .25's until the law changed here in Florida in '87 or '88. I have had my permit since May of '88 for the same reason as before, to keep my hide intact. Joe

 

[AZretired]

Since the day I graduated the Police Academy in 1978. It's become a habit. My backup/off-duty/CCW has always been some sort of J-frame (M60, M49, M640, and most recently a M638 and/or a M642). I wish I still had my M60.

 

[bigggbbruce]

I started driving trucks in the early '80s. Spent the night in questionable places more than once. BDA 380

 

[armorer951]

Seemed like a good idea (required) after I was sworn in......1974. My closest mechanical "off duty" friend over the years was a model 36. I couldn't afford a model 60.

Since we're on the subject, if you don't currently have your permit to be armed, please consider applying. Carry a gun.....it's a much lighter burden than regret.

 

[Rocket3]

Honestly, I've had my license to carry for many years but I only started to carry regularly for a few years. I spend a lot of time at the range feel I can handle my side arm with a good deal of competency. I'm not really that concerned about myself, had a great life and have been blessed way beyond what I deserve.

I woke up one day and thought how could I live with myself If I were in a situation where some piece of garbage walked into wherever (fill in the blank) to kill his girl friend or whatever and decided to shoot a bunch of other innocent folks and I couldn't do anything to stop it.

 

[jimmyj]

I was so good looking, sexy, and charming that it was necessary to protect myself from young Hollywood type starlets

 

[BC38]

I started concealed carrying in 1987 when I was an insurance agent, working nights, in the Hilltop area of Tacoma. One night a new client gave me nearly 900 bucks in cash as a full year payment on a new policy. As I walked back to my car I was very conscious of a few different groups of two or three rough looking "yutes" hanging around as I walked past. I picked up a Colt Government Model 380 just a few days later and got myself a CPL. Pretty much been carrying ever since. Nowadays if I have my pants on I have a gun on me. Usually my LC9.

 

[CB3]

Great thread idea. I can see this going on a long time. I hope we don't see any negative comments about others' experiences/choices.

When I turned 21 in 1971 I got my concealed carry permit in Connecticut. I carried a Browning Hi-Power in a shoulder holster under a jacket.

Reason? I liked guns and shooting and thought the idea of carrying one on my person all the time was cool. I wasn't worried much about defending myself as there were no real threats, and I was not proficient (confident) with pistols anyway.

That attitude changed through the years, and by the early 90's I evolved through many different pistols but with greater interest and confidence in the concept of self defense. Always as a civilian.

 

[mmb617]

I had a carry license when I was a young man back in the 70's but let it lapse as it didn't really seem necessary. Recently I decided to get a license again if only because I see the laws becoming more restrictive and I wanted to exercise my rights while I still have them.

After I got the license I took a good look at the world we live in today and decided I should start carrying again. I'm too old to fight and too slow to run so I need an equalizer. I figure 16 rounds of 9mm could shift the odds back to my favor.

 

[Ranger514]

While a student in the '80s, a summer job at a remote tourist attraction required me to count out tills and move receipts to the owner's office. There had been a break in of his office when I worked there. I bought a used 4-inch used Mod. 15 and got my CCP. I've had one ever since, although the Mod. 15 is long gone. Today, a pocket carry 642 or a single stack 9mm is all I feel necessary for my daily needs.

 

[Mule Packer]

Actually, it wasn't my decision. It was the police chief's. Yep. It was around 40 years ago. I was a professor at a university in Northern California, up in the redwoods. Our university sponsored some freshman orientation trips for the new students to get acquainted with the area. We were pretty remote, not too far from the Oregon border.

Anyway, one of the trips was a weekend canoe trip down the Klamath River. Having guided on the Snake River before, the university asked if I would be willing to guide this particular trip. No problem.

The local police chief and I happened to be good friends. When he heard that I was guiding a canoe trip down the Klamath, he said, "Swing by my office and pick up a concealed carry permit. I don't want you going out there without a handgun." I was fairly new to the area, so I asked why. His reply was, "Anyone in law enforcement knows that the Klamath River, especially when you're going through reservation land, means two things...gill netters and pot growers. And both can cause real trouble."

He then added, "And I don't want you carrying a .22 either. You need to carry something with authority."

Well, the only gun I had that would fit into the category at that time was an Interarms Virginia Dragoon with a 7½-inch barrel and chambered in .45 Colt. How was I going to conceal that? I mean, that was like trying to conceal the Queen Mary. He said that was okay because I could keep it concealed in my canoe box, which I did.

I found out from that experience, and several others since then, that it just made common sense to carry while living in that area.

Now, over forty years later, it's just standard operating procedure, even though I now live 800 miles away from where I first started carrying concealed. I'll always be grateful to that chief of police for helping me "see the light."

 

[bmcgilvray]

I began carrying because prudence dictated it and because I would have been vexed with myself if an incident had manifested itself and I had all those guns ... back at home.

Early on I was carrying the Smith & Wesson Model 10 Heavy Barrel I still tote, a 1918 vintage Colt 1911, or a Beretta Model 1919 .25 ACP carried behind the wallet.