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Emotional Beginnings of Everyday Pistol Carry-Get over It

Keystone19250 said:
I feel strange when I’m NOT carrying, when I walk out the door without a gun on my hip I feel naked. 😬
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Likewise. I've been carrying concealed since about 1999 when I first got my license. The only place I'm not armed is at work. If I'm out in public and not at work, I'm armed, always. I like that my home state of Arkansas has very 2nd amendment friendly gun laws and most people in this state seem to be pretty pro-gun for the most part. We have constitutional carry in the county I live in which is nice, but I still prefer to carry concealed. I liked the article it had the four golden rules of carrying a firearm, always good to have those in the back of your mind at all times.
 
ghosttwofive said:
Likewise. I've been carrying concealed since about 1999 when I first got my license. The only place I'm not armed is at work. If I'm out in public and not at work, I'm armed, always. I like that my home state of Arkansas has very 2nd amendment friendly gun laws and most people in this state seem to be pretty pro-gun for the most part. We have constitutional carry in the county I live in which is nice, but I still prefer to carry concealed. I liked the article it had the four golden rules of carrying a firearm, always good to have those in the back of your mind at all times.
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I agree with concealed carry, I open carried twice and it felt like I put a target on my back.
 
Plan and act accordingly, and above all remain dangerous.
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Or, in the words of Mad Dog Mattis - "be polite, be respectful...and have a plan to kill everyone in the room".

I remember thinking when I started carrying, "my God, nobody here knows that I have a gun on me..." I was always paranoid about printing. My main reason for getting my permit (I live in the People's Republik of Maryland, where we need a "good and substantial" reason) is my pro sound company - concerts. Bar gigs. County fairs. Nightclubs. I do a lot of lift/twist/reach. One of my bass players was one of my references on the permit application. He caught me after a gig, about 3 months after I started carrying, and asked me "man, you went through the whole process to get your permit...how come you aren't carrying?"

I grabbed his hand, made it into a fist, and knocked it on my right hip at the 3:30 position, right into the grip of my XDs.

He never knew. My company shirt is a black dry-fit golf shirt...and he never knew.

Cops I know, and my range instructor for the course (retired MD State Police), told me over and over "normal people don't look for guns. Normal people don't even recognize a gun when they do see it under a shirt. Relax."

I didn't buy it...until my bass player and I had that conversation.

I work primarily with two bands. Nine musicians total. Wives. Regular friends and fans. At least one gig a weekend (when we're not locked down...grrr...). That one bass player - and his ex-Army girlfriend who comes shooting with us sometimes - are the ONLY ones, to this day, who know. The rest...are clueless. I love 'em all like family...but I prefer it this way.

Something goes down at a concert, and the LAST thing I need is:

"Hide behind him, he's got us"
"yo man, you don't want to mess with our sound guy..."
"dude, this guy is messing with my wife, go take care of it"
"this guy is messing with my wife, I'm gonna go take care of it and the sound guy has my back"
Or, from a business perspective..."don't book that company, that dude carries a gun"

yea...don't need any of that. Gray Man here. MD, it's a "wear and carry" permit - not "concealed" carry. No distinction. I have my permit, I can carry open or concealed.

Concealed.

Always.

ESPECIALLY an hour from DC, and an hour from Baltimore.

Right after I started carrying, I was at a 7-11, squatting to get a soda off the bottom shelf. Sheriff next to me. I squatted, reached, stood. He looked at me. "Permit?" "Yes, sir". He reached over, pulled my shirt down over the grip, and said "have a good night".

Ever since then, I look for shirts that have longer tails. I'm 6'4", and it's hard to get "long" shirts for me to start with, especially since I'm only about 200# (anything THAT long, is like a XXXL and I wear it like a tent)...but I've managed to restock pretty well. "Untucked" shirts work great for work - button-ups that are designed with flat tails so they don't get tucked in but still look good and cover not only the firearm, but also the holster belt clips. Tees, I look for shirts with some spandex content that will stretch as needed to keep covered. I cycle daily, in cargo shorts, cycle shorts underneath, and a tank top. Decommissioned Army base, people all over the place this time of year jogging, cycling, walking...and nobody sees anything (or, they just don't say anything when they wave and we smile through our sweat at each other).

Now? Like many others here, my XDs is like a pair of boxers. I feel naked when I leave the house without it. And I only notice it when it's not there.

When you start carrying, the only giveaway....is YOU. Don't ACT like you're carrying a gun...and people won't KNOW you're carrying a gun.
 
Peglegjoe said:
When you start carrying, the only giveaway....is YOU. Don't ACT like you're carrying a gun...and people won't KNOW you're carrying a gun.
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This was the hardest lesson I had to learn when I started carrying. My father told it to me many times but it never sank in until I had someone come up to me and tell me to calm down. I thought I was calm but he told me that the way I acted and carried myself everyone knew I had a gun. He was a firearms instructor for the game and fish department. It was after that moment I took a step back and watched the ways I acted different between carrying and not. That was also the last time anyone knew I was carrying that I didn’t want to know.
 
KLGunner said:
This was the hardest lesson I had to learn when I started carrying. My father told it to me many times but it never sank in until I had someone come up to me and tell me to calm down. I thought I was calm but he told me that the way I acted and carried myself everyone knew I had a gun. He was a firearms instructor for the game and fish department. It was after that moment I took a step back and watched the ways I acted different between carrying and not. That was also the last time anyone knew I was carrying that I didn’t want to know.
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Great point, I think it’s all about how comfortable you feel carrying
(as well as)
how comfortable your gun feels on you.
If you can strap on a gun and not have it remind you every time you move that it’s there then you won’t present by your actions that your carrying.
I’ll admit sometimes I find myself fidgeting with my shirt to ensure my holster/gun is not showing.
Like poker players say, that’s the “Tell”
I will say I have been carrying my Mod2 40 cal for so long it’s never on my mind,
Carrying my 1911 RO is another story.
I’m still working on feeling “comfortable”
With that heavy full size gun.
I know I’ll get to that point the more it’s hanging off my belt.
 
Peglegjoe said:
Or, in the words of Mad Dog Mattis - "be polite, be respectful...and have a plan to kill everyone in the room".

I remember thinking when I started carrying, "my God, nobody here knows that I have a gun on me..." I was always paranoid about printing. My main reason for getting my permit (I live in the People's Republik of Maryland, where we need a "good and substantial" reason) is my pro sound company - concerts. Bar gigs. County fairs. Nightclubs. I do a lot of lift/twist/reach. One of my bass players was one of my references on the permit application. He caught me after a gig, about 3 months after I started carrying, and asked me "man, you went through the whole process to get your permit...how come you aren't carrying?"

I grabbed his hand, made it into a fist, and knocked it on my right hip at the 3:30 position, right into the grip of my XDs.

He never knew. My company shirt is a black dry-fit golf shirt...and he never knew.

Cops I know, and my range instructor for the course (retired MD State Police), told me over and over "normal people don't look for guns. Normal people don't even recognize a gun when they do see it under a shirt. Relax."

I didn't buy it...until my bass player and I had that conversation.

I work primarily with two bands. Nine musicians total. Wives. Regular friends and fans. At least one gig a weekend (when we're not locked down...grrr...). That one bass player - and his ex-Army girlfriend who comes shooting with us sometimes - are the ONLY ones, to this day, who know. The rest...are clueless. I love 'em all like family...but I prefer it this way.

Something goes down at a concert, and the LAST thing I need is:

"Hide behind him, he's got us"
"yo man, you don't want to mess with our sound guy..."
"dude, this guy is messing with my wife, go take care of it"
"this guy is messing with my wife, I'm gonna go take care of it and the sound guy has my back"
Or, from a business perspective..."don't book that company, that dude carries a gun"

yea...don't need any of that. Gray Man here. MD, it's a "wear and carry" permit - not "concealed" carry. No distinction. I have my permit, I can carry open or concealed.

Concealed.

Always.

ESPECIALLY an hour from DC, and an hour from Baltimore.

Right after I started carrying, I was at a 7-11, squatting to get a soda off the bottom shelf. Sheriff next to me. I squatted, reached, stood. He looked at me. "Permit?" "Yes, sir". He reached over, pulled my shirt down over the grip, and said "have a good night".

Ever since then, I look for shirts that have longer tails. I'm 6'4", and it's hard to get "long" shirts for me to start with, especially since I'm only about 200# (anything THAT long, is like a XXXL and I wear it like a tent)...but I've managed to restock pretty well. "Untucked" shirts work great for work - button-ups that are designed with flat tails so they don't get tucked in but still look good and cover not only the firearm, but also the holster belt clips. Tees, I look for shirts with some spandex content that will stretch as needed to keep covered. I cycle daily, in cargo shorts, cycle shorts underneath, and a tank top. Decommissioned Army base, people all over the place this time of year jogging, cycling, walking...and nobody sees anything (or, they just don't say anything when they wave and we smile through our sweat at each other).

Now? Like many others here, my XDs is like a pair of boxers. I feel naked when I leave the house without it. And I only notice it when it's not there.

When you start carrying, the only giveaway....is YOU. Don't ACT like you're carrying a gun...and people won't KNOW you're carrying a gun.
Click to expand...

A few weeks ago I attended a class to get my enhanced concealed carry permit in Arkansas. I carry concealed just about everywhere I go so the class wasn't any different. For any of you that practice often with your firearm, get to know it, get to know the recoil, the feel of the weapon, you would have been as irritated as I was in the class. So, here were are, about ten of us in an ENHANCED CONCEALED WEAPONS CLASS, the instructor asks first thing who brought a weapon with them....two of us raised our hands. I was just blown away that 80% of the participants in an enhanced carry class would not bring a firearm...anyway, that's a whole other ball of wax...lol It was an all day class and we shot at the end of the day. The instructor took us out to the firing line, I grabbed my range back out of my truck and took it with me, it has my extra mags in it. You had to shoot a total of 50 rounds, so I brought 8 mags fully loaded...yeah I'm OCD, I know......When we got to the firing line, the instructor wanted to check my weapon, I raised up my shirt, unholstered my Taurus G3 9mm, cleared it and gave it to him. He looked at me and said "You been carrying this all day in class?" "Yes sir." He said "I was a county deputy for 25 years, I got good at spotting a gun mostly by someone's attitude. I had no idea you were carrying. You're not going to have any problems on this shooting part of the class, I can already see that." That is the attitude and demeanor I've been working a long time to establish, that I don't have a gun on me, I'm just like most people walking around out here. I don't want anyone that I encounter to know I have a weapon, it gives you a slight advantage in a worst case scenario where you actually have to use it. I used to be very nervous the first few years I was carrying as the laws in Arkansas were pretty strict in the early 2000's. I never had anyone call me out or notice my weapon but I'm not very sociable in the first place. As the laws in Arkansas became more and more concealed carry friendly, it became easier to relax even though I was carrying all the time. Nowadays, with holster technology being so much better and the CCW choices so vast, you can customize a set up where you just about can't even feel what you're carrying. The S&W Shield 45 I carry now all the time has become just part of my wardrobe, I feel weird if I don't have it on me.
 
Started carrying everyday after receiving my LTC..So glad we made the move from the liberal hellhole of California to the Great state of Texas.. Have lock box in car so store weapon when at work or when there is a business that does not allow..My wife has finally realized I am carrying everyday.. with the right clothes on no-one can tell.. Always concealed..
 
but I'm not very sociable in the first place.
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I'm typically reserved as well. Don't get me wrong, I work in Sales and I'm good with people, but I prefer my dogs, and my solitude (only kid syndrome), so I generally stay quiet unless someone engages me in conversation.

However.

When I started carrying? I noticed myself being even MORE well-mannered and courteous than usual. I was raised by a southern belle, and a Navy Commander - so manners and courtesy are ingrained in me anyway ("yes ma'am, yes sir, thank you, no thank you", hold open doors - all the stuff that's frowned upon today). But carrying a weapon, I find myself being MORE outgoing, MORE polite, MORE engaging, and with MORE smiles. I don't think it's an arrogance, or a power thing, because I don't ever have the thought "I could take 'em...". More than anything, I suspect it's my inner politician wanting to put the best face possible on what the press, media, and society at large today consider to be a "bad person" because I own and carry a gun. We need to defeat that image, and it starts...with the individual.
 
Peglegjoe said:
I'm typically reserved as well. Don't get me wrong, I work in Sales and I'm good with people, but I prefer my dogs, and my solitude (only kid syndrome), so I generally stay quiet unless someone engages me in conversation.

However.

When I started carrying? I noticed myself being even MORE well-mannered and courteous than usual. I was raised by a southern belle, and a Navy Commander - so manners and courtesy are ingrained in me anyway ("yes ma'am, yes sir, thank you, no thank you", hold open doors - all the stuff that's frowned upon today). But carrying a weapon, I find myself being MORE outgoing, MORE polite, MORE engaging, and with MORE smiles. I don't think it's an arrogance, or a power thing, because I don't ever have the thought "I could take 'em...". More than anything, I suspect it's my inner politician wanting to put the best face possible on what the press, media, and society at large today consider to be a "bad person" because I own and carry a gun. We need to defeat that image, and it starts...with the individual.
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Very well said. So much of carrying a weapon for self defense is attitude.
When I took my CCDW course in Texas after the shooting part and passing, the small group that passed had a chance to spend some time with a retired FBI Agent who talked a lot about having the proper attitude about carrying a deadly weapon on a daily basis. He also talked about stance, weapon presentation and trigger discipline. Not surprisingly he talked at length about when to fight and when to flee. Again attitude that we are not invincible just because we carry a gun.
 
I was raised in the same manner, that politeness breeds favor. I was taught to take half a step in with the left foot when shaking a hand because it is more personable (the same when taking an item from someone). Always open a door for others regardless of sex. If it’s a push through, go first and hold from the outside. Etc etc
Little did I know I was being taught to rotate my strong side hip away from someone when entering their bubble. Or that holding a door gives you not only the opportunity to observe your surrounds more directly but also provides a positional barrier and means of escape. My grandfather was, as a bystander, involved in multiple robberies. He wasn’t a bad***, nor the type to ever look for a fight and taught me that having to resort to violence was always a last resort. He insists that each time his interactions with the bad guys contributed to being overlooked as a threat. He drew down on two of the three. One ran, the other gave up, all three were armed. He lived in a different era but I’ll never forget that politeness breeds favor, and instills complacency.
 
I must admit that I never bought into the carry permit since it was so limiting on where you could carry. I always had a gun in the truck and if i was at the lease or ranch typically wearing one. Then a few years ago something (don't know what) happened and I told the wife I'm getting my permit which I did. Then after having my permit for a short time I started carrying all the time except at work and Federal Buildings. I can't explain why it happened other than it just did and I too feel odd if I'm not in my everyday life.
 
You likely realized, on some subconscious level, that simply pointing a finger at the sky and saying "hold that thought" to the bad actor wasn't going to buy you the time you needed, to retrieve your gun from your truck.

Good for you. Stay safe.

"Discretion is the better part of valor" is very true...and the more-elegant way to say "you can't put the bullet back in the gun after you decide to fire it". It's a BIG decision, and not to be taken lightly. Once you pull the trigger...there is no going back.
 
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