Concealed Carry General

[AdAstra2009]

Originally Posted by Yournamehere

Call this rhetoric but this is what has always made sense to me. If it's ever worth carrying a gun, then it's worth carrying the biggest gun you can with the most rounds you can carry as long as it doesn't compromise concealment. The whole reason one carries is because they want to be prepared for any sort of attack they may come across, and attacks come in all shapes and sizes with any number of assailants or weapons, and it's not something you can predict. If you believe in preparedness as an extension of concealed carry, you shouldn't opt for under-preparedness in favor of preparedness. This is the same logic people use to justify not carrying a gun at all. At the end of the day, if you value your life and subscribe to the philosophical aspects of carry, you should not find arbitrary reasons to minimize your shooting capabilities. You will not be pulling out gunfight statistics when you are accosted by one man with a knife or 5 thugs with guns, you will be pulling out your gun. Make sure your gun is the right one. Or that your conveyance of your statistical analysis is damn convincing.

There are plenty of reasons that people of certain body types, medical conditions or job/dress requirements can cite to justify them carrying really small guns, but full grown men of sound mind and body don't have an excuse for not carrying a fighting sized gun and two reloads in my opinion.

Granted, this comes from a guy who carries a J Frame .38 90 percent of the time hehe. I always have it, but then again I always feel undergunned. I can't wait until I get something that combines capacity with rust resistance so I don't have to worry about my P228 rotting or my Model 60 running out of ammo.

Average gun fight is over in about 2 to 3 rounds. Carrying a gun as a citizen your only real advantage over anyone who tries to attack you is because they don't know you have a gun and that is the only real advantage and the only real reason that armed citizens win gun fights is because of the element of surprise. The reason why I don't carry a full size heavy high capacity gun is I see it as unnecessary and Id probably end up leaving it at home or locked in the glove box half the time whereas a smaller handgun I have no excuse to not be armed as I barely notice that I'm carrying it. Only real reason to carry that is if you are expecting a gun fight somethings gone wrong in your life and you need to move or call the police. Oh and if 5 guys attack me with guns I don't think a Beretta 9mm is gonna save me and your probably good as dead to put it realistically because If that many people are after your and want you dead and they'll get you eventually. Yeah of course its better to have a full size handgun but realistically I'm not going to carry that everywhere. 8 rounds is enough to do the job and if its not I probably made some bad life choices somewhere.

[Excalibur]

Originally Posted by AdAstra2009

Average gun fight is over in about 2 to 3 rounds. Carrying a gun as a citizen your only real advantage over anyone who tries to attack you is because they don't know you have a gun and that is the only real advantage and the only real reason that armed citizens win gun fights is because of the element of surprise. The reason why I don't carry a full size heavy high capacity gun is I see it as unnecessary and Id probably end up leaving it at home or locked in the glove box half the time whereas a smaller handgun I have no excuse to not be armed as I barely notice that I'm carrying it. Only real reason to carry that is if you are expecting a gun fight somethings gone wrong in your life and you need to move or call the police. Oh and if 5 guys attack me with guns I don't think a Beretta 9mm is gonna save me and your probably good as dead to put it realistically because If that many people are after your and want you dead and they'll get you eventually. Yeah of course its better to have a full size handgun but realistically I'm not going to carry that everywhere. 8 rounds is enough to do the job and if its not I probably made some bad life choices somewhere.

Again you can't use the term "Average gun fight" or "statistics show". It means that yes the odds of your gun fight lasting X amount time, encounter Y amount of foes and expend Z amount of ammo shows good favor but you can't let that decide your options. It's like rolling a dice. You might land good or you might suck.

I wear pretty good jeans even during the summer when the heat bothers most people and a good belt that holds my Glock and my spare constantly and it doesn't bother me. There's also the saying that a gun show be comforting, not comfortable, but there's a happy medium with that logic.

Some would call my Glock 19 a full size gun but with my body type, I see it as skirting the edge of a full size and compact. It's a pretty perfect size for me. Some want a bit smaller, so they'd get the Glock 26, sure and it's still a capable gun.

And no, it isn't that you carry a gun because you "expect a fight". It's "you're prepared for a fight".

Also the "call the cops" mentality is the opposite of carry mentality. Most anti gun people would go "why carry a gun at all when you can call the cops?" Well we know why. Cops take too long to help you and are not around every corner. We carry guns to protect ourselves, to put or lives in our hands, not let it hang while cops come to save us or most likely to report about us being victims.

Forget about the right gun or ammo or even training, you first need the mindset of a fighter. The warrior mindset. You go about your day doing whatever but when SHTF, you are ready for it. It most likely will be when you least expect it and will surprise you, but your mindset will kick in and you will fight for your life regardless.

[AdAstra2009]

I'll give you 1 maybe 2 guys coming after you in a mugging maybe, but realistically if your being ganged up by posses armed to the teeth its because your into some shady sh*t ie criminal...just saying.

[Yournamehere]

If you want to count on those statistics and beliefs then we won't stop you, and I respect your right to think and carry how you choose to do so, and I can't fault you for making the decision to carry that way if you do it consistently and it works for you. However, I still think that a limiting notion like the one you have adopted is philosophically against the mentality of carry and preparedness in general, though, and that is why I personally opt for bigger guns and more ammo if I can get it without compromising concealment. I want to be prepared for worst case scenarios up to and including multiple assailants, like with a gang attack, or assailants with bigger guns than mine, like mass shooters. I also want to account for gun and magazine malfunctions, misses and the need for multiple hits if it comes down to it, which is not something that a subcompact or micro gun with one lone magazine will cover. I reiterate, I think it's great that you and probably millions of others have found those guns and have found a way to carry them consistently, but I still think that carry is philosophically about preparedness and that one should maximize their preparedness with their choice of gun and loadout, not minimize it based on arbitrary statistics or assumptions of the threats they may face. All due respect, we are carry brothers and I support that you carry 100 percent, but I implore you to reconsider your mentality and philosophy of your carry method for your own sake. Do with that what you will and whatever you do, keep carrying and stay safe.

[Excalibur]

I will always keep advocating different techniques and an open mind.

That being said, keep up a warrior mindset, practice practice practices and whenever you can, pay for top quality training.

[Yournamehere]

At the risk of sounding pedantic or PC, I do want to say that the term "warrior mindset" implies a lot of things that don't fall in line with the traditional concealed carrier or the overall philosophy of a concealed carrier/gun owner in a civilized society. "Warrior" implies one who wages war in offensive capacities, and this is not really the case with a CCer. Not to mention it sounds very blowhard, macho and a bit pretentious considering the civil society in which we live. I believe in being conscious of your surroundings and proactive in your movements and the like, as well as using the appropriate amount of force in violent encounters where it is necessary, but I and other CCers are not "warriors" just because we carry guns to protect ourselves and/or the people around us. I'm sure there's a better term for what you call the "warrior mindset" that doesn't have the overtly brash masculine and offensive tinge to it, though I can't put it into words myself at this very moment. I appreciate the thought you are referring to, but I think the term you use to refer to said thought is a poor choice of words for the mentality and its ultimate intentions as it applies to civilian CCers.

[Excalibur]

Well the mindset applies to not just males but females. It's not about being macho. It's about being able to fight. You can't just own a weapon and that alone comforts you. You need to be able to use it when the time comes. I could also call it the fighter mindset. I simply meant that once you have a gun and get training on how to use it, you need to keep in mind the power behind it and the responsibility of having one.