Defining moments - what made you decide to carry?

[BShook]

I grew up around guns and have always known that as soon as I hit 21 I would carry... that desire grew much stronger since I am going to be married before long - I want to have the ability to protect her from anything that comes our way!

[LedJedi]

really really good topic here man.

I've had several moments where I've wished I had the security of a firearm handy over the last few years especially.

1) wife has an attempted mugging episode
2) Rita mass evacuation
3) Death threats from neighbors
4) Friend had to draw down on a few punks in his neighborhood - this is really when i decided to get a CHL. If my buddy can get put in that situation then so can I. Thankfully he didn't have to pull the trigger.
5) Friends deciding to carry - this really isn't a defining moment but when 3 of my most highly respected friends started to carry I began to take notice that it's something I should evaluate for myself.

[Rokyudai]

When I lived in Western NY, a friend and I were heading toward the Wally World parking lot after picking up apartment supplies when we looked out toward the end of the lot where we heard dogs barking and people screaming. We witnessed 2 females exiting from a exercise trail approaching the WalMart (probably to get a drink) who passed by a truck that contained 3 dogs in the cab. Somehow through the dog's agitation and commotion, they freed themselves from the cab (till this day I can figure out how) and proceeded to attack these women. One woman was knocked to the ground and was mauled/bitten by 2 dogs. The other woman was doing her best to fight off another who also bit her multiple times. These dogs were circling them in a way that can only be described as primal pack mentality. I told my buddy to call 911 to get police and EMS on scene while I ran to my car to find something to use to break them up. I remember a doberman pinscher, a bull-like terrier, and a mutt.

To my absolute horror (and fault) I had nothing...no tire irons, bats, knives etc...I had a glass bottle which I broke off (like you see in those damn bar room fight type movies). I ran over to them and found the dogs starting to break up and wander. One got too close and I yelled at him...thankfully some of their domestication was coming back as they lurched away. I chucked the bottle at another which seemed to be the only way to get them out of the area. Seeing/hearing those 2 women sob and moan in pain made me absolutely livid to think of how ill prepared I was to assist another in need. I also thought of my actions afterwards and couldn't believe I chucked my only means of defense (the bottle) and played the "what if" game of course. The police eventually arrived and the owners came out of the store. They were immediately asking about who let them out and "what did they do to them"...I can say I was a little less impressed by their attitudes. While I was making a statement to the officer for record...one had the nerve to come up and challenge my observations....I directed them away (forgot my place) and the officer soon did the same. I feel bad because I suspect that these people really didn't intend to hurt anyone. No one can really anticipate what animals are going to do much less guarantee they are in the best, secure place.

I carry for many reasons, but this was quite vivid to me.

[Shootstir]

For me it was the morning I left early for work, before sun up, and decided to head to my local ATM machine.
I was driving the wife's car, a Honda Civic, which sits very low to the ground. I was pulling my cash from the
machine when a deep voice behind my left ear asked if I had any spare change. This HUGE guy appeared out
of nowhere, at my car window, and was within easy punching distance of my face- I never saw or heard him
until he was standing next to me! While it worked OK, I nearly had to return to the house and change my
shorts before heading into work. I was shaking for hours- I knew it could have been much worse. It also taught
me a lesson about situational awareness. NEVER TURN IT OFF!

After that, I signed up for the very next class that one of my clients offered. He asked everyone in the class
why they decided to take the class. Every one of us had had an "incident" that was similar to the one I relay
here. All of us refused to be victims...I've never looked back. What a wonderful feeling of comfort when things
look "weird" or feel "weird" or that internal radar starts ticking...

-TMS

[Moonpie]

Used to do a lot of traveling/camping/etc.
I was often times out in the middle of nowhere.
Had a particularly hairy incident during a campout one long ago night.
A friend, his girl, My girl and I were camping out at Canyon Lake.
We are sitting around the camp just kicking back when this HUGE drunk/stoned guy walks into our space. Unknown to us he had been watching the girls from the distance and decided he was going to come into camp and "get some". I was inside the tent so he didn't see me I guess. My friend was off to the side. The big guy just saw the women and headed on in. I walked out when I heard a strange voice. The girls were terrified! This guy was really scary. I was dwarfed by this guy. He was at least 6'6" tall and 250+pounds. I'm 5'5" and 140lb.
When he saw me, he got angry. He picked up a piece of firewood and threatened me. Friend was coming in from behind the guy with a shovel.
He saw friend and moved back still holding the club and making noises about "teaching us city boys a thing or two".
After a few tense moments he turned and walked off cursing at us.
To this day I believe if it weren't for the fact that two of us men were there it would of been a lot worse the girls.
Ever since that incident I carried.

[WildBill]

Used to do a lot of traveling/camping/etc.
I was often times out in the middle of nowhere. To this day I believe if it weren't for the fact that two of us men were there it would of been a lot worse the girls. Ever since that incident I carried.

This is truly scary. There is no better reason to carry than this.

[Stupid]

My mom keeps telling me to leave my gun at home. she said if i didn't do nothing in a 211 robbery, the robber would just let me go. I quit arguing with her after a few tries. How in the world could I stand/lie still so that he would have a perfect shot? No Way! Mom said he wouldn't shoot me. Well, I guess some people just don't understand there are sub-human out there.

another time i was talking to an antigun coworker about camping about how much he loved camping. I said, when you went camping, what were you going to bring with you? without a firearm, how would expect to protect your pretty wife? he went silent for a long time.

[DCS]

My wife had a gun put to her head!

Actually, this was before we were married. Her and her girl friends were at a popular spot on Richmond street in Houston celebrating a friends birthday. After it was over, my wife headed for her car which is a Z-28 Camero, T-tops, etc and proceeded to drive home. While driving home she noticed someone tailgating her which was very agravating. She remembered thinking "they have the whole road and they are right behind me." Well, she made a turn and they made a turn. She made another turn and they made a turn. It was then she started putting two and two together and figured out she was being targeted. She eventually turned into her mothers driveway which is very small and has a deep ditch on each side. Instead of just getting out of the car, she waited a few moments to see what these guys were going to do. She kept the motor running, windows up and the doors locked. Sure enough they pull up in front of the house and one guy jumps out and tries to open the door. After she refused to open the door, he pulled a gun out and stuck it up to the window at head level. She turned her head away and layed down across the seat. While he was beating on the window and trying to get the door open, she put the car in reverse and left him standing in the dust. She finally made it to a police station.

I told her, she made the correct decision by not getting out of the car, however what if they would have blocked you in?

Both of us got our CHL.

She now has a CHL and carries .38 cal Smith and Wesson Ladysmith!

[frreed]

My final decision came after returning from a tour of duty in Iraq. Over many years I had been in situations where I should have been carrying. The worst of these was when my wife and I were kidnapped by two thugs who took as back to the retail store where I worked so they could rob it. This was before the days of Texas CHL. I currentky work at a church in a less than gentle part of town. My predecessor had two occasions where the church offices were broken into while he was present. I am at the church at least two evenings a week. I have owned, shot and enjoyed pistols for years. On occasion I would carry to the church if I was there late at night.

After returning from Iraq, it struck me as odd that I was less secure here than I was in a combat zone. I am a chaplain which means I cannot carry a weapon. I always had a body guard with me outside the wire. I shoot with the Marines whenever they are at the range and they were more than happy to tuck an extra M-4 into the vehicle if we were traveling by convoy. Even in such a hostile environment I was protected and, if needed, had the means to defend myself. I did not have that same sense of security when I got home. Ultimately that was the driving force behind getting my CHL. (It also didn't hurt that the fees were waived for active military. As a reservist I qualified and that made the process even easier.)

So now I carry habitually. I pray that all I will ever have to do is carry.

[Shootstir]

My final decision came after returning from a tour of duty in Iraq. Over many years I had been in situations where I should have been carrying...
After returning from Iraq, it struck me as odd that I was less secure here than I was in a combat zone. I am a chaplain which means I cannot carry a weapon. I always had a body guard with me outside the wire.

Seriously...a chaplain in a combat zone is not allowed to carry a weapon when in the field? I've never heard of this and, in fact, believe this is criminal!
For God's sake (sorry, Chaplain), you are risking life and limb here/there. That good book won't stop a bullet or a BG from trying to take you out...

Wowser...

[frreed]

Shootsir,

Yes that is the U.S. Military policy. I agree with you on this, but that decision is way above my payrgrade. The Marines always took good care of me.

[LarryH]

Like medics, chaplains are considered to be non-combatants.

It's a nice theory, but bullets can't see either the Red Cross device or the chaplain "badge" on the uniform. Besides, an enemy that is not a party to the Geneva Convention cares even less.

[Shootstir]

Shootsir,

Yes that is the U.S. Military policy. I agree with you on this, but that decision is way above my payrgrade. The Marines always took good care of me.

Man, but you are in a combat zone- with actual combatants! Has it always been policy for chaplains? Shame....and yes, I'm quite certain
the Marines will cover your six- of that there is NO doubt. LOL!

[KBCraig]

Has it always been policy for chaplains?

Yes. Chaplains, medics, and doctors are non-combatants and cannot bear arms. My armored cavalry squadron's chief doc (actually a PA) was actually a conscientious objector, but one of the finest soldiers I ever knew. Even though he was a PA instead of an MD, I'd have trusted him to perform major surgery on me.

In the Bureau of Prisons, chaplains, psychologists, and MDs are prohibited from carrying weapons, which irritates quite a few of them. They were never required to qualify with firearms, but most did anyway. A few years back they actually stopped letting them shoot at qualification.

Of course, that eliminated their authority to carry under LEOSA, so it was an extra aggravation.

[frreed]

For clarity, the non-combatant status does not mean that chaplains and medical personnel cannot carry weapons. All of our doctors and corpsmen carried rifles and most pistols as well during our deployment. The Geneva Conventions allow for self defense.

The unarmed chaplain is U.S. Military policy. It came about as late as the Civil War. Certain countries do allow their chaplains to carry defensive weapons.