When asked why I carry...

[cavscout09]

So I have been carrying for the last three years since I turned 21. I have Oc'ed for about a year. In that time I have had a couple people ask me why I carry. Some of them are family that has never been around guns and are scared of them. When asked this question I tell them the following story.

When I was 19 I was at Bull Ride mania at the Harrisburg farm show with my ex gf. While inside there was a guy that tried starting a fight with me. I didnt know who the guy was but he smelled like he'd taken a bath in whiskey. I walked away adn eventually he left. The rest of the night I kept an eye for him but didnt see him. After the show was over me and my ex left an was walking through the parking lot. I saw a nice truck and was watching it. All of the sudden the driver drove straight at me and stopped in front of me. The driver and the passenger jumped out and again started yelling and trying to start a fight. I stepped in front of my gf and tried talking the guy down. For a few minutes I thought I was gonna get my ass beat. After about 2 minutes a third guy jumped out of the truck. They got in a circle around us and one of took a step forward. Before a could do anything my gf kicked him in the balls with her cowboy boots. After that they all jumped in the truck and took off. We walked to the car and I started shaking like crazy. Almost as soon as we got back to the truck the assholes came back... I guess they had watched us walk to the car. They drove at our car 4 or 5 times before leaving. I called the cops as soons as I knew they knew where we where parked. Thankfully nothing happened because it took Harrisburg PD over 20 minutes to get there!! When they showed up I gave them the description of the truck, a license plate number and a description of two of the guys. They proceeded to tell me they couldnt do anything and to call them if the guys showed up again.

After that night I began thinking a lot about the incident and what I could've/should've done. It also started me thinking about carrying a gun. I knew I couldnt carry yet so I felt SOL for a little while. After that I did get some tips from a few police officers I knew but didnt feel comfortable. I honed my SA though. I was way more carefull about where I went and tried to avoid empty parking lots. As soon as I turned 21 I got my ltcf and an xdm 45. I spent close to two hours a week at the range shooting and again got some tips from some cops and other people that I knew shot a lot. I have carried about %90 of the time since turning 21. Now that I have a family Im even more determined to never be in a situation where I feel helpless again.

Even though I can no longer shoot as much as I used to it is still a priority to shoot at leat once a month for a few hours and practice drawing and sight picture at home (with a unloaded gun of course). I will never forget that night and hope I never have another one like it.

[Shisno]

You have a good story to tell fence sitters. But the hard core antis won't be swayed. I guess you already know that. When I was under 21 I felt SOL as well. What I did was I put a knife in my pocket, tried to keep my SA up as much as possible, and hope and prey I wouldn't get into any trouble.

[GeneralWashington]

You have a good story to tell fence sitters. But the hard core antis won't be swayed. I guess you already know that. When I was under 21 I felt SOL as well. What I did was I put a knife in my pocket, tried to keep my SA up as much as possible, and hope and prey I wouldn't get into any trouble.

Hardcore Anti's aren't going to be swayed period, with the possible exception of a personal life-changing experience (losing someone they could have prevented if they were armed).

Good story though; always nice to get some insight on reasons people carry.

[Pistol Packin Preacher]

Your best answer was in there but a little too much added.

Tell people you were in an incident where it appeared three heavily drunk men were going to assault you - or worse.

Leave it at that.

By your story people will recommend you buy cowboy boots, not a firearm (Or at the least not leave home w/o the ex.)

Unless you are in an incident like that you have no idea how frightening it can be so they will not understand.

So just a condensed and specific version and explain it is for protection since people are assaulted and murdered everyday.

Just a thought ...

God bless!!

PPP

[cavscout09]

I dont normally go into all the specifics when i tell people that story. I went into detail here because people always ask for more info. An i agree unless you go through it you dont know the feeling.

[red dog]

thanks for the read. cowboy boots and balls, oooouch! i think most of us here will tell you that somewhere, sometime the possibility that you will be in a position where it may be necessary to protect yourself or loved one,s will present itself. what we do or can do at these times will vary as much as the situation,s do. all we can control is how we are prepared and how we react. this is why we do carry and think pro gun. better to have and not need than need and not have.

[tlnzz1]

"Re: When asked why I carry..."

My stock answer has always been, "Because I can". I feel no need to explain to anyone.

[Swarner793]

After nearly 25 years of carrying, everyday, my pat response when asked is " in case I need to shoot something" with the most deadpan expression I can muster. I then move on, not caring for their opinion.

My Wife says in the beginning of our relationship, she often found my interactions with her Family curt, even rude, at times regarding firearms. It is just something I never cared to debate.

Be safe (and shoot it of you must).

Scott

[Jon Doe]

I dont normally go into all the specifics when i tell people that story. I went into detail here because people always ask for more info. An i agree unless you go through it you dont know the feeling.

Thank you for sharing that great story. You are lucky to come away from that unscathed. Three men circling a man and his girlfriend typically results in someone getting assaulted with an injury or two.

[afdcomposer]

...I will never forget that night and hope I never have another one like it. But if I do, I'll be ready.

Many of us on this forum have had experiences that caused us to assess our readiness to handle possible repeat performances.

The key is to be truly ready, not just armed, and you addressed that in your story, as well.

I also like the answer "In case I need to shoot something," but for those of us who don't mind the extra work of being tactful, that response is not quite sufficient in many cases.

Cheers,
afd