Researching the Pros and Cons of Concealed Carry

[demi]

Student at Lincoln High doing a little research on concealed carry while actually caring about it.

Background info:

I am enlisted in the USMC. I ship out July 11. I do vigorous amount of hunting ranging from all varmint to big game. In my future I do plan on applying for a CCW. I live in California and I would like to know some of the pros and cons of concealed carry.

 

[eaccents]

Ccw

student at lincoln high.doing a little research on the CCW while actually caring about it.background info:i am elisted in the USMC i ship out july11 i do a a vigorous amount of hunting ranging from all varmint to big game. in my future i do plan on applying for a CCW i live in california and i would like to know some of the pros and cons to this topic

From what I read in the forums, getting a CCW in CA is not all that easy. But, that is only based on what I know from the forums--best to get it from the horse's mouth (i.e. goto the State of CA and inquire about what you need to do to get a CCW permit).

The PROs of carrying concealed
For me, I think it is easily summed up in this statement: "When seconds count, the police are only minutes away." This is not to slam the LEOs, only to point out that the police cannot be by your side to protect you all of the time--you may have to protect yourself someday, and you will want to arm yourself to the best of your ability to give yourself options (and a fighting chance).

A humorous version of this is:
Question "Why do you carry a firearm?"
CCW person's answer "Because carrying a police officer isn't an option."

CONs of carrying concealed
The biggest hurdle for most will be that you have to be mentally ready to take a life if you are forced into a position where there are no other options.

Less of a hurdle are things like finding a gun that you can successfully conceal, planning your wardrobe around what gun you are wearing, finding a comfortable holster, and committing to carrying every day.

Yes, I said every day. Some people carry when they perceive danger, but as someone once said, "When the bad guys start making appointments with their victims, then I'll carry only when there is danger." Truly, you never know when criminals will strike so how do you know when to carry? The answer is to always be prepared.

Yes, some of us on this forum sound like crazies (and some of us may truly be crazy [grin]), but most of us are just committed to being prepared for the unexpected.

Congrats on the USMC. Military experience is one of the great lessons in life that many miss out on, so learn as much as you can with them.

I hope others weigh in on this topic to give you more perspectives.

Best of luck in future endeavors,

 

[demi]

thank you for the input and the bit about the officer it's pretty funny, we're not crazy we just like guns and shooting stuff and when i was a child that was one of the very few lessons i learned from my father other than wearing a jimmy hat was to always expect the unexpected.thank you again

 

[S&W645]

In California it all depends on location, location, location. CA is a may issue state so it isn't forced on the local gov't that they must issue. Some areas are pro-guns and some are rabidly anti-gun.

 

[NavyLCDR]

I would like to know some of the pros and cons of concealed carry.

May I ask, "versus what?" Pros and cons of concealed carry versus not carrying at all? versus open carry? Legally carrying concealed with a permit versus carrying illegally with no permit?

I would suggest you wait and see where your first permanent duty station is going to be. It may become much, much easier for you to get a permit and carry a gun when you aren't stationed in California. Also, you can buy guns outside of California that you could not buy easily in California if you are permanently stationed in another state, then if you return to California (after you have tasted freedom), you could bring that gun back with you, except for the +10 round magazines.

 

[demi]

my original thought was just the actual pros v. con of carrying concealed ,but the more i think about it i sway more to the thought why is it that the state is trying to rid citizens of the right to carry open and permitting us whether we can carry concealed.
the reason why i ask this is because i still dont quite understand the logic of state assembly and senate passing bills to prevent us from doing so.from the general looks of it, in california, seems like officials are worried people will bcome irresposible with firearms but the truth is that if they are irresponsible in the first place why would they care about law.
im all for guns,i guess what im saying is why are the states limiting us as the first question and second question would be how can concealed help me and how could it harm me.
there was an incident late december two, houses down from mine where some gangbangers were driving down the street burning out and doing brohdis and when a neighbor asked them to slow down they pulled up to him and pulled out a gun on a man.he was unarmed working on his truck.all he did was ask them to slow down because it was around the holidays and his granddaughters were playing outside. luckily the son came out warned them the police were on the way and had a handgun on him.the 5 criminals left but threatened to come back[if you would like to know the whole story and further details move to calguns.net and look up chriso]but it took the police over an hour to arrive thats that.
my point being if we did not need permits to carry concealed im 110% the older male would have had his .357 on him thats just who he is and i know that possibly would have escalated the problem but his life was in danger and because of law hed taken the chance.thank sweet baby jesus hes fine but its a shitty situation to be in when you cant CC on your person without the permit(california) and im trying to outweigh the pros and cons of CC and unloaded open carry