Your Conversion Experience?

[AV8R]

Growing up in a hunting family in West Texas, guns were always around the house, in gun racks on the wall, not in a safe. Guns were just more furniture in a room. I was cleaning guns before I was old enough to shoot them, and I started shooting and hunting rabbits and prairie dogs with Dad before I started school. It was perfectly natural to have guns around. But I never thought that it was particularly necessary to carry one around with me.

Fast forward to about 1995, when my youngest daughter was about four years old (she's now a college sophomore). We were at the soccer fields watching her sister play, when my wife sent her to get drinks at the concession stand, about 100 yds. away. I didn't know she had left my side until I looked around us, and could not see her in the immediate area. I went into the "extreme clarity" mode, and automatically reached down to my waist to check for my sidearm. When I realized that it wasn't there, I got another adrenaline spike, a big one. Not exactly a typical soccer-dad reaction, of course, but I had just returned from out of the country, where I had been carrying 24/7, and letting a kid out of your sight really was a legitimate reason to panic. I just had not had time to adjust to being in the states again. My wife explained where my daughter had gone, I walked over to be with her, and all was well again.

Since then, I've been much better about remembering to dress up when I go out. And I think it's more important now, 12 years later, because things are not like they were then.

[O6nop]

I don't think I was ever "anti-gun", but I'm sure I would have been considered a "sheep".
I hunted or went hunting with friends or relatives every so often as a youngster in Nebraska. I moved to Texas a while ago, but never knew or cared anything about concealed carry.
I got a job a couple years back and worked with a couple guys (and a girl) who liked to talk guns, I knew the basic difference in calibers and such but not real interested. The more I talked to them the more I got interested. Then Katrina hit and the influx of 'refugees' and lots of talk about potentially increased crime. So, I started with a shotgun, then a Glock then Mil-surp, then... well you know. Since then, I have been most concerned about being a safe shooter and study everything I can about it. Got into these forums, saw how dedicated people were about the subject and have been going full bore ever since.
I have my CHL, learning to reload, shopping gun shows, training classes, IDPA and so on.

[govnor]

I like the idea of a "conversion" since I have a lot of liberal anti-gun friends (yeah, who'd have thought!). I'd like to convert a few of them, and I take my time with them and don't try to force anything.

I've always been pro gun, because I grew up that way. I was a shrimp in school, so I was picked on a lot and had to fight whether I wanted to or not. I even won my fair share of them. I think it was that, that put me on edge ever since I was a child. I've ALWAYS been aware of my surroundings and of any potential threat. Luckily, I've avoided a few dangerous situations because of this awareness.

One of my friends was robbed at gunpoint in front of his apartment in Dallas last year. He always thought I was paranoid but has since changed his mind. I'd say having that happen to you would be a conversion worthy thing. The world is a bad place and it sucks that something bad has to happen to most people to get them to come around. I'd say being aware of your surroundings is more valuable than a CHL in most instances.

[amcit]

I like the idea of a "conversion" since I have a lot of liberal anti-gun friends (yeah, who'd have thought!). I'd like to convert a few of them, and I take my time with them and don't try to force anything.

You could always wait until they meet their first serious Bad Guy. That's life-changing, if you're lucky. (Remember, a liberal is someone who hasn't been robbed yet. Of course, a conservative is just someone who hasn't been wrongfully arrested yet. )

Just gently remind your friendly liberals that bearing arms is a civil right, and that they should consider the NRA to be the militant wing of the ACLU.
Oh, and you might try directing them to Oleg Volk's site:
http://www.a-human-right.com/
He makes his arguments pretty forcefully, but I can't say I blame him--my understanding is he immigrated to the U.S. from the former Soviet Union, and he appreciates the change. That and he lost family to the Nazis.

I'm betting I'm the most left-leaning person on this board, and I find Mr. Volk to be pretty shrewd in his public relations, even if his views are, with some reason, more extreme than my own. He does some great graphics (as well as some that make me wince a little). He is generous about granting permission to use his images.

[govnor]

I'm betting I'm the most left-leaning person on this board

It's always nice to see a left leaning person that's on board with defending themselves.

[XDandy]

Mine wasn't exactly a single conversion experience, but a weekend of conversion experiences.
I grew up around guns and starting shooting my grandpa's .22 when I was 5 or 6. I definitely wasn't anti by any means, just had never thought of needing to purchase a gun for myself.
Last year around this time me and my wife left for oklahoma for the weekend to meet my parents for a family camping trip. Experience number one happened about 15 minutes after we left my house. We were on 30 in Arlington and traffic slowed to a stop right in front of us. We could see that traffic a few cars in front of us was still moving fine but couldn't tell what had stopped traffic. So the cars start moving slowly and we get up there and turns out a guy was crossing interstate-30 on foot at 5:30 on a friday and using a pistol to do it. He pointed it right at the car in front of us to get them to stop and moved in front of them. He was past us and did it to the car right next to us to pass in front of them. The rest of the three hour drive I spent thinking about the fact that the guy could have easily shot me or my wife and I had no way to protect us. It was devistating to me to realize how helpless we were.
Experience two: We get to the campsite, get set-up and are having a great time and go to bed around mid-night. Around 2:30am I sat straight up in bed. There was a guy probably 4 or 5 campsites down screaming at the top of his lungs. We couldn't tell what he was saying, but he was screaming at someone who he was apparently extremely upset with. So I got out of the tent to go use the bathroom and my parents were standing outside their tent also listening and just keeping an eye on things I guess. So we're standing out there kinda talking, trying to figure out what is going on and look down the road and see two guys running full speed down the road. So my dad goes in his tent and comes back out and is kinda standing at the entrance to our campsite but still by our tents watching them and sure enough, one of the guys for some reason leaves the road and starts heading straight for our campsite. I guess he couldn't see us standing there and was just planning on running through our campsite and into the woods. He gets maybe 5 yards from us and my dad steps out in front of him with his handgun pointed at the ground and just says "wrong campsite." The guy throws on the brakes and just heads off into the woods.
Both of those experiences were the turning point for me. Both made me realize that there are crazy people around and crazy things do happen when you least expect it. I realized that if either one of those situations had gotten out of control that I couldn't have done anything to protect anyone of my family members. So I purchased my xd40 two weeks later and am currently in the waiting room for my chl. I hope to never again be so helpless.

[govnor]

So I purchased my xd40 two weeks later and am currently in the waiting room for my chl. I hope to never again be so helpless.

Good for you. The reason I finally took the CHL class is because of neighbor problems. After having my last next door neighbor threaten to kill me for calling the police on their loud tejano music, and currently have some that blast hip hop so loud that I have to call the cops on them, I feel safer packing heat.

[KBCraig]

I had a conversion experience today.

We had to drop our daughter at DFW for a flight to Atlanta. We got a late start, got slowed down by the thunderstorms, got held up by terrible service at the Rockwall TGI-Friday's (we finally left without our food), and then fought the 635 traffic. Screeched in to the curb at the last minute, got her checked in, too late for baggage check (some frantic re-packing to eliminate her cosmetics in carry-on), got her through TSA, and she called to let us know she was getting on the plane, so we finally breathed a sigh of relief and headed out.

By this point, my wife was sick, almost to the point of throwing up, from the stress of it all, plus the fact that for the first time in 17+ years, Baby Girl is spending more than two nights away from home.

So, I told her I had a surprise for her. I headed down 114 to Irving, and took her to see the Mustangs at Las Colinas. She had seen them once before, when Baby Girl was a toddler, and has always wanted to go back. It was worth the little detour.

So... this puts us going down 114/183 (Carpenter/Stemmons) to get to I-30, right at 4:30 in the afternoon.

Yeah.

So, my "conversion experience" has nothing to do with handguns, since I was carrying the entire time. No, I'm a new convert: next time I'm forced to drive in D/FW rush hour traffic, I will insist on an M1A1 Abrams. Or at the very least, a HMMWV with a turret gunner!

[govnor]

So, my "conversion experience" has nothing to do with handguns, since I was carrying the entire time. No, I'm a new convert: next time I'm forced to drive in D/FW rush hour traffic, I will insist on an M1A1 Abrams. Or at the very least, a HMMWV with a turret gunner!

I drive in this traffic every day. Usually 100 miles a day or so. I hate it, but you almost get used to people being idiots. I generally narrowly avoid at least two accidents a day. Sometimes more.

[KBCraig]

So, my "conversion experience" has nothing to do with handguns, since I was carrying the entire time. No, I'm a new convert: next time I'm forced to drive in D/FW rush hour traffic, I will insist on an M1A1 Abrams. Or at the very least, a HMMWV with a turret gunner!

I drive in this traffic every day. Usually 100 miles a day or so. I hate it, but you almost get used to people being idiots. I generally narrowly avoid at least two accidents a day. Sometimes more.

It used to not bother me when I would visit Dallas. Fifteen years ago, I was there monthly, if not more. Back then, I could stop in that quiet rural town of Rockwall for a cold drink, before putting on my "Dallas face" and heading across Ray Hubbard. The really bad traffic didn't start until 635, and inside that loop.

Today, Rockwall is just "East Dallas", and the 'burbs extend all the way to Greenville.

It's insane. I don't see how anyone puts up with it on a daily basis. The cost/benefit analysis has to be screaming in your ear to "Move! ANYWHERE ELSE!"

The daily stress has to take years off your life. Seriously: get out!

Kevin

[jbenat]

We are planning to move to East Texas as soon as possible because of the traffic in and around Frisco. My wife is still tied to a very good job here, and that's the only reason we are still here.
When you live in the northern part of Frisco you just don't plan to go anywhere during the rush hour traffic unless you plan on sitting in a lot of traffic to get there. Growing up in Dallas, I remember when the evening rush hour was just one hour. It started at about 5PM and lasted until about 6PM, now it starts about 4PM and lasts until about 7PM.
It seems that law enforcement is mostly interested in seat belt violators when drivers are constantly tail gating ( my pet peave), speeding ( I don't poke but some people think they are in a race), running stop signs ( I don't think anyone ever stops anymore), and running red lights (the amber light only means 4 or 5 cars can still go through). If they don't see a cop car they ignore nearly all traffic rules. A fleet of unmarked police cars would pay for themselves in about a month.
I haven't even gotten around to the extreme rudeness but that would take too much hunting and pecking! All I hear in the advertized public announcements is to buckle up. If they are to stupid to buckle up in this traffic let nature take it's course!

[govnor]

So, my "conversion experience" has nothing to do with handguns, since I was carrying the entire time. No, I'm a new convert: next time I'm forced to drive in D/FW rush hour traffic, I will insist on an M1A1 Abrams. Or at the very least, a HMMWV with a turret gunner!

I drive in this traffic every day. Usually 100 miles a day or so. I hate it, but you almost get used to people being idiots. I generally narrowly avoid at least two accidents a day. Sometimes more.

It used to not bother me when I would visit Dallas. Fifteen years ago, I was there monthly, if not more. Back then, I could stop in that quiet rural town of Rockwall for a cold drink, before putting on my "Dallas face" and heading across Ray Hubbard. The really bad traffic didn't start until 635, and inside that loop.

Today, Rockwall is just "East Dallas", and the 'burbs extend all the way to Greenville.

It's insane. I don't see how anyone puts up with it on a daily basis. The cost/benefit analysis has to be screaming in your ear to "Move! ANYWHERE ELSE!"

The daily stress has to take years off your life. Seriously: get out!

Kevin

Man, I am so with you on this. I own a business here that cannot be moved, though. So I'm pretty much stuck. I'd love to get out into the country, but then I hear about all the meth labs and stuff. I don't know where to go to get away. My family has country land that I can escape to from time to time, however. We have a parcel on lake Whitney and a farm in NW Texas.

One thing about traffic...I generally can avoid most of it. I don't leave the house until rush hour is over and most of the time stay out until it's over or come home before it. I have to sit in traffic sometimes, but not as much as you might think. Plus, I know ever side street and back alley in the DFW area. If it weren't for the airport, I'd never have to get on the freeway. I also stick to the tollways a lot.

Rockwall, the small town! Ha! I would like to have seen that. When I grew up in Mansfield, south of Arlington, we had a wal-mart and a whataburger. I remember when they put in the Mcdonalds! Now it's just a suburb of Fort Worth/Arlington and is quickly turning into a ghetto from what I hear. It's a shame. I remember people riding horses to school sometimes when I was in High school. That was the 80's too, so not all that long ago.

[govnor]

We are planning to move to East Texas as soon as possible because of the traffic in and around Frisco. My wife is still tied to a very good job here, and that's the only reason we are still here.
When you live in the northern part of Frisco you just don't plan to go anywhere during the rush hour traffic unless you plan on sitting in a lot of traffic to get there. Growing up in Dallas, I remember when the evening rush hour was just one hour. It started at about 5PM and lasted until about 6PM, now it starts about 4PM and lasts until about 7PM.
It seems that law enforcement is mostly interested in seat belt violators when drivers are constantly tail gating ( my pet peave), speeding ( I don't poke but some people think they are in a race), running stop signs ( I don't think anyone ever stops anymore), and running red lights (the amber light only means 4 or 5 cars can still go through). If they don't see a cop car they ignore nearly all traffic rules. A fleet of unmarked police cars would pay for themselves in about a month.
I haven't even gotten around to the extreme rudeness but that would take too much hunting and pecking! All I hear in the advertized public announcements is to buckle up. If they are to stupid to buckle up in this traffic let nature take it's course!

I've been to Frisco during rush hour. GEEZ. The only place as bad in the metroplex would be Flower Mound. I think they've finally gotten better since expanding their roads. These small towns develop so quickly that the roads can't take all of the cars and it's worse than living in downtown Dallas. I know from experience! Believe it or not, I rarely dealt with traffic when I lived on the M streets because the traffic is usually going the opposite way during the rush hours.

The trap we're in is that we have to stay in the city to make money. You'll never make as much in the country. Country land is also getting expensive now because a lot of baby boomer types are moving back out of the cities. I can't think of an answer other than saving up money and waiting until you retire. A friend of mine's parents did that recently. They bought 25 acres somewhere around the Lindale area. They moved from Desoto after watching it crumble into a ghetto right before their eyes. They love it out there. His mom still commutes to Dallas every day too...

[pbandjelly]

It's insane. I don't see how anyone puts up with it on a daily basis.

I carry, that's how!

I don't know where to go to get away.

you could move to Canada...

[NcongruNt]

I wouldn't call my experience a "conversion", but rather a series of realizations.

I've never been anti-gun, and have relatives who are avid hunters. I myself did some bird hunting on family farmland when I was in my teens. I always maintained that people had the right to own guns, but it was never really for me. I did want a shotgun, so I could have my own when hunting with family.

Sometime in late 2006, I started planning a summer wilderness trip across Gates Of The Arctic National Park in Alaska. This area is as wilderness as you can get, with no one for over a hundred miles in any direction in parts of my planned trip. I started researching, and found the pressing need to have a gun on my trip, in case of bear attack. In my research, I was gravitating towards an ultralight Taurus .44 revolver. I happened to meet a person who has now become a good friend. He used to own a gun shop and range and helped me in my search for an appropriate weapon. He immediately recommended a rifle in favor of a handgun, especially for an open environment like the arctic against an animal as ferocious and hardy as a bear. My trip was being planned 2 years in advance, and I decided that if I was ever going to need a gun, I had better know how to shoot, and shoot well.

My friend took me to the range, and we fired a selection of handguns, and then some rifles. I shot his K31 and was immediately hooked. I looked online for a good reliable rifle, and happened upon the Mosin-Nagant rifles on the AIM Surplus website. They were such a good deal, that I went ahead and bought two - an M44 and a 91/30. I was now a gun owner, something I would never have predicted a few months prior. I got a pistol the following month - an FEG PA63 in 9mm Makarov. While my true shooting passion is for rifles, I had lots of fun with this little gun. This is about the time I joined this forum, after having been recommended that I join by Greybeard over on THR, when I started asking CHL questions.

I have various reasons for my decision to get my CHL, but the biggest one relates to events that transpired when I was young. My mother was abducted at gunpoint on her way home from work when I was 5 years old. She was taken out to the desert, raped, beaten, strangled, and then shot in the head multiple times by her attacker. Knowing that carrying a handgun can make the difference between life and death in such a situation was the ultimate decision-maker for me. While I hope to never face such a situation, I wanted to prepare myself so that I can be prepared to prevent the same horrific loss to my family that transpired when my mother was murdered.

Beyond the more serious reasons for becoming a shooter, the realization that shooting is really a fun and even therapeutic activity is what keeps me shooting. Exposure to what shooting is really like is what got me into this in the first place. Since I started shooting, I've seen people who had an aversion to guns simply because they're "scary" and "dangerous" turn around and really enjoy going to the range, simply from exposure to what shooting is really like. Even though I had no explicit prejudice against guns before I started shooting, I see I carried the same prejudice of ignorance that I see in those around me who have never shot, and then see it disappear when faced with the realization of what a fun activity shooting actually is.

I took my CHL class in early March, and got my license in early May. I now carry whenever possible, and my pistol has become as much a part of my attire as my normal clothing.