rogrrr
New member
I posted this in another thread but but feel that it warrants its own thread so anyone who carries can have more justification and support for carrying a gun, whether OPEN or concealed.
This might help some of you who are still searching for an answer; I'm not sure if this is a good one, but it is at least another train of thought.
I carry much of the time. Sometimes concealed and other times discretely in an IWB holster at my 4 O’clock. By discretely, I mean in the IWB with the grip forward, it doesn't stand out as it would in an OWB holster. Also, the shields on the holster covers/hides the hammer so only the grip shows. The IWB offers enough modesty so that with a shirt that is not firmly tucked into my waistband it partially covers the grip of the gun so that most people won’t notice it. As was stated elsewhere, many people tend not to notice something they aren't expecting to see. Call them 'condition white'.
I also try to be more aware of people around me so that someone will not sneak up on me and attempt to wrestle my gun from me. I tend to turn so that the piece is away from them. My leather, double-sided-shield holster is not the retention-type, since the IWB gives me the closeness I feel necessary.
=
I’ve been asked a few times about carrying my gun by people who do not understand why more and more people are now carrying and have come up with a good discussion to help the people understand what it is for. I immediately ask them if they have car insurance and they tell me that it is the law that they have to have it. I then ask them if they have insurance on their house. They tell me that it is a good idea to have that, too. So then I ask "ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT YOU REALLY LOOK FORWARD TO USING YOUR INSURANCE/FILING A CLAIM ?"
They think for a moment and tell me that they never want to have use it.
At that point, I tell them that THIS, pointing to my gun, is insurance and I, like you, hope to NEVER have to use it, either.
The light goes on and they begin to understand why I carry. I tell them that is what insurance is for – better to have it and never use it than to need it and not have it. I then explain that violence and terror DO NOT MAKE APPOINTMENTS and can show up/happen anywhere, anytime or anyplace to ANYONE. Your insurance comes into play AFTER some type of incident happens. Mine can prevent an incident FROM happening. Yours is REactive, mine is PROactive.
Sometimes someone sees my gun and asks if I'm a LEO. I tell them NO. I'm retired.
Both statements are true. I'm not a LEO. I'm also retired. It's all in how YOU interpret what I have just said. So far nobody has asked which department I retired from. If someone does ask, I'll tell them that I retired from the Department of Defense. That should satisfy them, if leaving them a bit confused.
=
If I have a few minutes, I then explain the sheepdog, sheep and wolf, (a short story LTC Dave Grossman tells in his seminars) and how the sheepdog is there to protect the sheep when the wolf shows up. And the dog doesn’t know who the sheep are, nor does he care. He just PROTECTS them with no hesitation. That is what I practice/train for, too.
I hope that I have given them some good feelings about the ever increasing number of us who carry our guns in their presence.
This might help some of you who are still searching for an answer; I'm not sure if this is a good one, but it is at least another train of thought.
I carry much of the time. Sometimes concealed and other times discretely in an IWB holster at my 4 O’clock. By discretely, I mean in the IWB with the grip forward, it doesn't stand out as it would in an OWB holster. Also, the shields on the holster covers/hides the hammer so only the grip shows. The IWB offers enough modesty so that with a shirt that is not firmly tucked into my waistband it partially covers the grip of the gun so that most people won’t notice it. As was stated elsewhere, many people tend not to notice something they aren't expecting to see. Call them 'condition white'.
I also try to be more aware of people around me so that someone will not sneak up on me and attempt to wrestle my gun from me. I tend to turn so that the piece is away from them. My leather, double-sided-shield holster is not the retention-type, since the IWB gives me the closeness I feel necessary.
=
I’ve been asked a few times about carrying my gun by people who do not understand why more and more people are now carrying and have come up with a good discussion to help the people understand what it is for. I immediately ask them if they have car insurance and they tell me that it is the law that they have to have it. I then ask them if they have insurance on their house. They tell me that it is a good idea to have that, too. So then I ask "ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT YOU REALLY LOOK FORWARD TO USING YOUR INSURANCE/FILING A CLAIM ?"
They think for a moment and tell me that they never want to have use it.
At that point, I tell them that THIS, pointing to my gun, is insurance and I, like you, hope to NEVER have to use it, either.
The light goes on and they begin to understand why I carry. I tell them that is what insurance is for – better to have it and never use it than to need it and not have it. I then explain that violence and terror DO NOT MAKE APPOINTMENTS and can show up/happen anywhere, anytime or anyplace to ANYONE. Your insurance comes into play AFTER some type of incident happens. Mine can prevent an incident FROM happening. Yours is REactive, mine is PROactive.
Sometimes someone sees my gun and asks if I'm a LEO. I tell them NO. I'm retired.
Both statements are true. I'm not a LEO. I'm also retired. It's all in how YOU interpret what I have just said. So far nobody has asked which department I retired from. If someone does ask, I'll tell them that I retired from the Department of Defense. That should satisfy them, if leaving them a bit confused.
=
If I have a few minutes, I then explain the sheepdog, sheep and wolf, (a short story LTC Dave Grossman tells in his seminars) and how the sheepdog is there to protect the sheep when the wolf shows up. And the dog doesn’t know who the sheep are, nor does he care. He just PROTECTS them with no hesitation. That is what I practice/train for, too.
I hope that I have given them some good feelings about the ever increasing number of us who carry our guns in their presence.
