Carrying ALL the time

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I am the wife of a regular on this forum, and I read the posts on here a lot. (Even if he doesn't think I do.) There are a lot of descriptions of experiences, and questions of why carry all the time. I have been conceal carrying for close to a year now and have become quite comfortable with it. I carry all the time. I strap on my gun almost as soon as I get out of bed. It has become part of my wardrobe. Initially I started carrying all the time so that my children grew accustomed to it and always assume I am carrying(I don't' need them blurting it out in public).
There have been a few times that I was suspicious of individuals walking through parking lots, but nothing came of that. Tonight was a different experience. I was standing in my drive talking to a friend who was leaving our home at 12:30am when my dog, a boxer/staffordshire, started going nuts. I realized why he was barking. A man appeared from nowhere across from our property and continued around the corner in front of the house. I had to restrain my dog, he wanted to go after him. As I was doing this, the man came back from around the corner and started talking to me. He came toward me and stopped in the center of the road, keeping his distance because of the dog. He was asking me if I could give him a ride to the highway since he was walking barefoot. I flat out told him no(my goodness it was the middle of the night). Then he asked if my friend could give him a ride. No,again. He said, but I'm barefoot and he needed to get to the highway. I told him, the highway is two blocks that way(north). He threw up his hands turned and started walking. He wasn't walking straight, it could have been because he was barefoot, but my inkling was he was drunk due to the fact of his loud boisterous speech and inability to walk straight. My friend asked me what was going on, when I told her she started to panic and said to hurry up and get into the house. I told her, It's ok I have my gun. Just at that moment, the guy started walking faster and in a straight line(I think he heard me).
I am much calmer when i carry. I also pay better attention to what is around me, and to details. It's not that I'm looking for trouble. I have six kids and a quadriplegic to protect. My husband can't be there at all times.

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I know you read here because you asked me about the posting of sexy waitresses.

Yes, I do think it is sexy when you OC.

Cores I like the fact that you carry. You just never know when or where you might need protection.

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PPMama,

I agree with you in that having the pistol allows me to consider options that may not be viable without the security of being able to protect myself if ultimately things go bad in a bad way.

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I'm a big believer in being armed as much as possible. I don't believe in "at all times".

The problem is that such a mindset can cause you to forego opportunities just because those opportunities require you to not carry your gun.

I compare carrying to wearing a seat belt. Will I forego the seatbelt for a trip to the gas station? Sometimes, but not often. Too much of a chance that someone is going to hit me. 75% of car accidents happen within 2 miles of your home. Contrast that with pulling my car from the front of the house into the garage.

Do I wear my seatbelt? No. Is it possible that I'll be the victim of "unintended acceleration" and crash THROUGH the garage uncontrollably? Yes. But the risk isn't high enough in my book to put the belt on for the trip to the garage.

So a good comparison would be when you go swimming. I know there are people that put their J-Frame or Kel-Tec in some type of water-tight container and bring it in the water with them. Me? I'm not doing that. I don't go to beaches where I think it's unsafe. I've never had a bad incident at the beach and I don't know of anyone else who has either and I'm not going to google it to find out that every now and then someone is accosted at the beach. If the chances are less than getting struck by lightning, I don't sweat it. I don't sweat the lightning either.

Also, you can't carry when you do things like, go to other countries. If you lock yourself in a mindset that "I won't go anywhere unless I can carry" then you can't go to India...not even if the pastor of your church asked you to go on a mission trip there and help the missionary you support build a new section of the orphanage.

I believe in carrying as much as possible, but balancing it with common sense.

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The Expert wrote:

I'm a big believer in being armed as much as possible.  I don't believe in "at all times".

The problem is that such a mindset can cause you to forego opportunities just because those opportunities require you to not carry your gun.

I compare carrying to wearing a seat belt.  Will I forego the seatbelt for a trip to the gas station?  Sometimes, but not often.  Too much of a chance that someone is going to hit me.  75% of car accidents happen within 2 miles of your home.  Contrast that with pulling my car from the front of the house into the garage. 

Do I wear my seatbelt?  No.  Is it possible that I'll be the victim of "unintended acceleration" and crash THROUGH the garage uncontrollably?  Yes.  But the risk isn't high enough in my book to put the belt on for the trip to the garage.

So a good comparison would be when you go swimming.  I know there are people that put their J-Frame or Kel-Tec in some type of water-tight container and bring it in the water with them.  Me?  I'm not doing that.  I don't go to beaches where I think it's unsafe.  I've never had a bad incident at the beach and I don't know of anyone else who has either and I'm not going to google it to find out that every now and then someone is accosted at the beach.  If the chances are less than getting struck by lightning, I don't sweat it.  I don't sweat the lightning either.

Also, you can't carry when you do things like, go to other countries.  If you lock yourself in a mindset that "I won't go anywhere unless I can carry" then you can't go to India...not even if the pastor of your church asked you to go on a mission trip there and help the missionary you support build a new section of the orphanage.

I believe in carrying as much as possible, but balancing it with common sense. 

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Isn't the main reason Fl passed their CC laws is because there were people being killed on the beach?

I do carry where lawful and if God called me to India and I could not carry there I wont carry, but God does expect us to use commonsense and use protective weapons if need be. See Jesus telling His disciples to get swords, Nehemiah, David etc.

I had pastored a church in Canada and could not bring any of my guns, including lung guns into Canada and so I sold them. I go where God calls but if afforded to carry I'll carry.

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Expert, are you making assumptions of why I carry? You come across as saying that I am an emotional woman who goes to extremes because of paranoia. Did I know that man was going to come out of nowhere? Did I know if his fear of my boxer would keep him at a safe distance? One reason I carry, because when I do I focus more. I am calmer. I am more in control of the situation.
I grew up in Detroit. I spent many days taking precautions out of fear, that I had no way to protect myself. I avoided places more then than I do now. I have the confidence that I can do something now. If I could have carried when I was young...............you get the picture, I hope.
You associate carrying like wearing a seatbelt. As do I. The only difference? I can wear this safety mechanism pretty much wherever I go.

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PackingMomma, I wasn't making a judgement call on the carry habits of your or anyone else in any way. Each to his own I say.

My point is only that there are times and places where you have to choose between carrying and an activity. I believe some people choose to forgo participation in things they would otherwise have done because they made a decision to "carry always".

I just feel that people should be willing to consider the fact that when everything is weighed on the scales it might be best to choose to disarm for a time.

An example would be an amusement park. You may have grown up going to Cedar Point (the greatest roller coaster park in the world) and love going there. Have lots of good memories there.

Sometime later you figure out that walking around as a moving target all the time might not be the best idea. So you get training and start carrying.

You then decide you want to share your childhood experiences at Cedar Point with your kids. Build memories together while they are at home and all that. You then find out that firearms are not allowed at the park.

Now you have a decision to make. Are you going to go to the park or not?

A lot of people feel that they will ALWAYS vote with their wallets and NEVER go to a place that prohibits firearms. They take this stance, not in an informed way, but in a stubborn, pig-headed, "my way or the highway" manner.

The fact that the chances of getting in any type of altercation (much less a life-threatening one) at Cedar Point is less than getting struck by lightning doesn't matter to them. "If I'm not packing then I'm not going." They say.

So they sacrifice a good family experience because they didn't want to take a risk that had less chance of happening than winning the lottery. I feel that such choices are unwise in the overall scheme of things.

...on the flip side, I kinda support the guy who is taking a stand and has a reason for not going to places the prohibit firearms. Unfortunately, most who would skip the Cedar Point trip on the principle of the thing would never write Cedar Fairs management to tell them, thus their "activism" proved nothing to no one and they, again, cost themselves a good experience in a day when good family times are hard to come by.

You personally, PackingMomma, may not fall into either of these categories. Which is why I'm just talking about "folks" in general.

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Cedar Point is ******* sweet. Who, in their right mind, would be comfortable squeezed between steel bars, plastic seats, fiberglass carts, and rubber foam while carrying? I have enough discomfort strapping my seat belt in the car with my pistol holstered....

I'm about 110 percent certain that being tightly secured to the Raptor with a pistol butt forced 5 inches deep into my abdomen would Not be comfortable nor tolerable.

Same with swimming.. Who the **** goes swimming with their firearm holstered? No one.. So what- you'll never enjoy a swim again?

Go to Cedar Point.. go to the beach and have a swim.. go to the water park Splash City or whatever...

No need for a firearm literally Literally All the time... but when you can- Do. When you can't- wish you could, but get over it. Try and change things for the better but don't deprive yourself of such luxury due to firearm carry restrictions...

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Expert, I overreacted

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I had a situation not unlike this once. A kind of disheveled kid asked me if I could give him a ride home.

I hate the idea of being so wary of strangers that I won't show a stranger this simple kindness. And I hate the idea, quite obviously, of being a victim.

I said this:

"I don't know you, kid. You seem like an alright guy, but it's not a normal thing to be asked to give a stranger a ride. So you'll forgive me if I'm a little concerned. I'd like to give you a ride. Tell you what I'll do. I'll call you a cab and pay your fare."

He said:

"Oh that's alright man, no need to pay money. I just thought you might be going that way is all, but I understand. It is kind of weird. I guess I'll just hoof it."

He started walking away.

I gave him the ride.

It was cool.

I suppose it could have been some elaborate con job to put me at ease but I can't go through life expecting that every unusual situation has hostile intent, because generally it doesn't. But it might help to explain your reticence to someone like that if you really don't feel good about it.

If I needed a ride and someone explained that to me, that they'd like to be kind but really don't feel good about it because they don't know me, I'd understand, and walk on.

Obviously when you have kids around, that's going to turn the thermometer up a bit on your suspicion and that's normal.

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I use the seatbelt comparision as I do wear my seatbelt every time I
I am in an automobile. I buckle up before I crank my automobile and I put a gun in my holster before I leave my house. Actually, I carry in the house - usually a small caliber but I will have something as I move towards one of my guns placed around the house.

There have been many times that I'm thankful that I'm carrying. The peace of mind while walking through a parking lot, is comforting.

There is a line that I don't cross. Carrying can give one such security that you might take risks that you wouldn't do if you weren't carrying. I believe that crossing that line, can lead to trouble. However, if someone's life is at risk, I have to help - if I believe I can without there being two victim's.

I used to teach SCUBA diving. I stressed in all courses, but more so in the Rescue Diving Course, that you first need to realistically consider the risks and your level of training. The first pool skill is having a student trying to rescue a panicked diver - me. I stopped before drowning them, but the point was made.

Then, I gave them some payback. They would be the panicked diver and I would be the rescurer. I told them to resist my efforts as hard as they could. They were amazed at how easily and quickly I was in control and was towing them to 'shore.'. Then I taught them how to do the same.

There have been so many episodes of dual drownings. One is drowning and someone comes to their rescue, but a drowning person doesn't think rationally. They want out of the water and climbing on top of you is what they do. Where there one person that was going to die, it can become two, or more, as it is in most people's nature to try and help rather than watch someone die. Sometimes, the right thing to do, is nothing.

I think this can be applied to our carrying. Yes, we have a firearm on us, but do we have training for the situation at hand? Are we carrying extra magazines and a BUG?

If you want to make a post that will get no replies, ask what firearm courses do people recommend from personal experience? I made such a post, years ago, and there were no replies.

Yes, it should be a right, to all of us, to carry a firearm without permits or courses. But, does wearing a firearm make us experts? Would the President trust you with his life? It is fine if we trust our life with our skills, but are we really trained to assist in all situations?

When my Dad taught me to fly airplanes, he would tell me to always have a landing spot picked out. He would often cut power back to idle; This meant that the airplane turned into a heavy glider. There were times that he didn't idle up until we were feet from landing.

That training, along with diving and instructor courses taught me to always be alert, but even more important - play out scenarios in your head and decide how you would react. I apply this to carrying. I would rather have thought through a possible scenario and think as to how I would react; Than having the situation suddenly occur and my having no idea what I should do.

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The Expert wrote:

I'm a big believer in being armed as much as possible.  I don't believe in "at all times".

The problem is that such a mindset can cause you to forego opportunities just because those opportunities require you to not carry your gun.

I compare carrying to wearing a seat belt.  Will I forego the seatbelt for a trip to the gas station?  Sometimes, but not often.  Too much of a chance that someone is going to hit me.  75% of car accidents happen within 2 miles of your home.  Contrast that with pulling my car from the front of the house into the garage. 

Do I wear my seatbelt?  No.  Is it possible that I'll be the victim of
"unintended acceleration" and crash THROUGH the garage uncontrollably?  Yes.  But the risk isn't high enough in my book to put the belt on for the trip to the garage.

So a good comparison would be when you go swimming.  I know there are people that put their J-Frame or Kel-Tec in some type of water-tight container and bring it in the water with them.  Me?  I'm not doing that.  I don't go to beaches where I think it's unsafe.  I've never had a bad incident at the beach and I don't know of anyone else who has either
and I'm not going to google it to find out that every now and then someone is accosted at the beach.  If the chances are less than getting struck by lightning, I don't sweat it.  I don't sweat the lightning either.

Also, you can't carry when you do things like, go to other countries.  If you lock yourself in a mindset that "I won't go anywhere unless I can carry" then you can't go to India...not even if the pastor of your church
asked you to go on a mission trip there and help the missionary you support build a new section of the orphanage.

I believe in carrying as much as possible, but balancing it with common sense. 

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I have to disagree with a few things you said, such as your not going to beaches that you think are unsafe. How does one know if a beach is safe or unsafe?

I suppose you could look through all police reports to see if any crime has ever occurred, since records were kept, at that beach. If so, how do you know that the beach will be safe when you are there? You can't know and that is why I carry everywhere I'm legally allowed to do so.

As for wearing a seatbelt to move your car into the garage, the odds are in your favor, but you aren't guaranteed safety. I ALWAYS wear my seatbelt. It has become such a habit that I buckle up before cranking the engine. I've seen the results of not wearing a seatbelt too many times. Have you held dying people in your arms? I once administered first aid to a woman who had bleed out. I had never seen so much blood in my life. It was a half inch to an inch deep, covering an area of 10 feet and it had become jello like.

I couldn't find the source of the bleeding, so I asked bystanders if they saw where she had bleed from. I was told that blood was spurting from her left wrist. I found the cut but there was no blood coming out as her blood pressure had dropped too low.

I do wear a gun at the beach, concealed under my shorts in a Thunderwear holster. When I go into the water, I Ieave it with family.

Sure, common sense is needed, but not for deciding what is going to be safe or not. Common sense tells me that it is impossible to
predict when a seatbelt or a firearm will be needed. So, I always wear my seatbelt and I always carry a gun.

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The Expert wrote:

PackingMomma, I wasn't making a judgement call on the carry habits of your or anyone else in any way.  Each to his own I say.

My point is only that there are times and places where you have to choose between carrying and an activity.  I believe some people choose to forgo participation in things they would otherwise have done because they made a decision to "carry always". 

I just feel that people should be willing to consider the fact that when everything is weighed on the scales it might be best to choose to disarm for a time.

An example would be an amusement park.  You may have grown up going to Cedar Point (the greatest roller coaster park in the world) and
love going there.  Have lots of good memories there.

Sometime later you figure out that walking around as a moving target all the time might not be the best idea.  So you get training and start
carrying.

You then decide you want to share your childhood experiences at Cedar Point with your kids.  Build memories together while they are at home and all that.  You then find out that firearms are not allowed at the park.

Now you have a decision to make.  Are you going to go to the park or
not?

A lot of people feel that they will ALWAYS vote with their wallets and NEVER go to a place that prohibits firearms.  They take this stance, not in an informed way, but in a stubborn, pig-headed, "my way or the highway" manner.

The fact that the chances of getting in any type of altercation (much less
a life-threatening one) at Cedar Point is less than getting struck by lightning doesn't matter to them.  "If I'm not packing then I'm not going." They say.

So they sacrifice a good family experience because they didn't want to take a risk that had less chance of happening than winning the lottery.  I feel that such choices are unwise in the overall scheme of things

...on the flip side, I kinda support the guy who is taking a stand and has a reason for not going to places the prohibit firearms.  Unfortunately, most who would skip the Cedar Point trip on the principle of the thing would never write Cedar Fairs management to tell them, thus their "activism" proved nothing to no one and they, again, cost themselves a good experience in a day when good family times are hard to come by.

You personally, PackingMomma, may not fall into either of these categories.  Which is why I'm just talking about "folks" in general.

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I see why you call yourself "Expert.". You have the ability to know when a firearm is needed and when it isn't. Or, at least, you can figure the odds as being equal to being hit by lightning. The odds of being struck
by lightning are low, but I wouldn't stand in an open field holding a metal pole, during a thunderstorm.

I don't have a family, but I have carried (concealed) at an amusement park. It was a first date and my first time to the park. After walking a very long distance from where we parked, to the gate, I saw a LEO standing at the gate. I also saw a sign stating that firearms were prohibited.

I also didn't see a metal detector. Knowing that criminals don't pay attention to such signs, neither did I. Later, as we were eating, my date stated that she was glad that guns weren't allowed as some nut might carry one into the park. (She brought this up out of the blue.)

I told her I was carrying a gun on my left ankle. It was our first, and last date. I haven't been to the park since and I never will. I normally don't enter places armed where firearms are prohibited. But sometimes I weigh the odds of being dead to being arrested and I choose to carry. But, as a general rule, I boycott such places. Do I write letters? No, but I plan on doing so. But, a message was still sent as I don't spend money in their place of business.

I don't fault you for where you carry and where you don't, but you have implied that we all should be an "Expert" like you; Therefore, I felt the need to express my non-expert opinion - again.

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I just want to add a few facts that I now know happened that night.

This man and wife had been at the hospital all day begging people for food a money. The security guards had kicked them out several times. One woman there was going to buy the wife of the couple a meal because she felt sorry for her, the wife was alone at the time. As the good Samaritan was going to pay the Clinical Coordinator warned her not to buy and she (the Coordinator) called security. After being kicked out yet again the couple later that night confronted the Good Samaritan and told her she had no right to call security.They may have turned violent until security walked around the corner yet again. So, I believe that this man walking past the house at 12:30 AM would have been a threat had Pistolepackingmoma not had the dog or the gun.

The couple had been kicked out of the hospital several times that day and night.

So I say Expert, if you don't feel the need to carry then don't but I say carry everywhere you can. If a person misses out on an amusement park, and I have personally seen people attacked at amusement parks, that is their choice. If you can't build family memories at home then I'm sorry.

I can live with never going to the beach and I can live with never going to the amusement park.

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It's like that credit card commercial, to me anyhow. "Don't leave home without it" But that's just me sayin' it

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I applaud you PPM and make sure you buy the puppy a chew-toy.
I carry every where and if it is not legal then I do not go there, in fact I have driven several hundred miles out of my way because I just prefer to have my sidearm compared to the hassle of cellphone 911 calls having to be relayed to the correct department with jurisdiction. (Cell phone 911 bashing is not to be taken as bashing on the fine law enforcement professionals. The cell phone-911 system is a freaking joke)

The last person I ever expected to tell me I was silly for carry inside my house was the owner and his employee of a nearby gun store.

It is like that old expression of "X" percent of vehicle accidents happen within "Y" miles of your home. Yeah funny how that works considering most people live within "Y" miles of their job location. I can not recall the actual values used but it might have been 90 percent in 8 miles or there about.

I check the crime section of the paper two or three times a week and it is rare that I do not read about a robbery, break in, attempted mugging, attempted rape, rape, etc (relating to a persons house).
Will be a cold day in hell before I disarm even in my own house even if it is only a .05percent chance I would ever need to defend myself or my family. The day I need to, I want the action to be reflexive.

Besides I believe it has made a few people (Gave off a bad vibe and I just did not like the way they looked) think twice about acting stupid in my neighborhood. Knock on my door soliciting yawn care services, tree removal and roof repair. Soon as they notice my sidearm they quickly excuse them selves get in their vehicles and leave the area.

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PPM, I'm with you. I carry everywhere I can, legally. Out and about. In restaurants. In the home. Mowing the lawn. Dozing in the easy chair watching TV. At night, its in a small safe bolted to the bed frame. Bad things don't happen when its convenient and you happen to be ready, so I take my old Boy Scout motto to heart: Be Prepared.

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I find that when I got my permit and finally was able to carry in all areas of my state..

well I don't really use a holster as often as I used to use one. Now I have my subcompact .45acp in my back pocket most of the time. Doesn't flop around in the back pocket- stays 99% concealed. I only use a holster, now, when I am target shooting.

This is.. until I get a new Small of back holster. The only holster I have now is a cheap nylon hip holster that flops around.

Carrying ALL the time is great. What a stress reliever. Really takes the worrying about being stabbed away from the daily grind.

I think your a courageous lady

PistolPackingMama said:

I am the wife of a regular on this forum, and I read the posts on here a lot. (Even if he doesn't think I do.) There are a lot of descriptions of experiences, and questions of why carry all the time. I have been conceal carrying for close to a year now and have become quite comfortable with it. I carry all the time. I strap on my gun almost as soon as I get out of bed. It has become part of my wardrobe. Initially I started carrying all the time so that my children grew accustomed to it and always assume I am carrying(I don't' need them blurting it out in public).
There have been a few times that I was suspicious of individuals walking through parking lots, but nothing came of that. Tonight was a different experience. I was standing in my drive talking to a friend who was leaving our home at 12:30am when my dog, a boxer/staffordshire, started going nuts. I realized why he was barking. A man appeared from nowhere across from our property and continued around the corner in front of the house. I had to restrain my dog, he wanted to go after him. As I was doing this, the man came back from around the corner and started talking to me. He came toward me and stopped in the center of the road, keeping his distance because of the dog. He was asking me if I could give him a ride to the highway since he was walking barefoot. I flat out told him no(my goodness it was the middle of the night). Then he asked if my friend could give him a ride. No,again. He said, but I'm barefoot and he needed to get to the highway. I told him, the highway is two blocks that way(north). He threw up his hands turned and started walking. He wasn't walking straight, it could have been because he was barefoot, but my inkling was he was drunk due to the fact of his loud boisterous speech and inability to walk straight. My friend asked me what was going on, when I told her she started to panic and said to hurry up and get into the house. I told her, It's ok I have my gun. Just at that moment, the guy started walking faster and in a straight line(I think he heard me).
I am much calmer when i carry. I also pay better attention to what is around me, and to details. It's not that I'm looking for trouble. I have six kids and a quadriplegic to protect. My husband can't be there at all times.

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I think you are a courageous lady. I don't open carry all the time but I conceal carry most of the time. I wish more women would carry one way or the other.
I get this from a lot of women....I am afraid of guns, I don't like guns, guns scare me, keep them away from the children...

You know what, children are not afraid of guns. The only way they are going to be afraid is by people telling them that they are bad. It is time for them to be taught how to handle guns...the right way...

I admire you...you are a great lady. Keep up the good work. Women have to take care of themselves..what better way then to carry a gun.

you have a nice evening....:banana:
Yooperlady

Made a Mistake

OK, OK, I should have known better, but a couple of weeks ago I was finishing watering my lawn at 1:30am. I walked out of my house (porch light on) and the renters in the house across the street had their dogs out as they had been gone all day. The female pit bull charged me barking. This is the same dog that has ignored me countless times before (during the daylight.) I kept walking, thinking she would stop at the curb because the woman was yelling at her. She didn't, and came across the street. I thought the woman might yet gain control of the animal. It wasn't until that dog was within 5' of me before I could actually react and turn and run back up onto my porch. I don't know what I would have done if the man hadn't run outside and called the dog off.

And no, I wasn't armed at the time <slaps forehead> and would have suffered a major mauling ... and the idjits didn't even apologize to me.

Moral of the story ... even in PJs, if I open the front door, I have a gun in my hand! Do not get complacent while on your property!

Now, the renters got a ticket from Animal Control the next day, they were evicted, and the new neighbors don't have a dog!