Do you feel naked when unarmed?

[GLOCK.Perfection]

I dont carry nearly as much as I thought I would when I got my LTC.

When Im filling ATM's and the like I enjoy the added security though.

 

[GSG]

I dont carry nearly as much as I thought I would when I got my LTC.

I'm the opposite. I figured I'd carry some of the time, just when I felt like it and it was convenient.

I carry all day, every day, everywhere I'm legally able to, whether or not it's convenient.

 

[JRyan]

re: Greg's comment - To be clear, it's not a question of not feeling safe, it's a matter of being used to the firearm on my hip. There are very, very few times I've ever felt unsafe.

 

[darkstorm]

After having a LTC since I was 18 and I'm 44,I have only carried about 6-8 times.It's just a choice we all make. There is no right or wrong.If you feel better with a sidearm and can do so,then by all means carry.

 

[dagwag77]

Yes, I feel like I forgot something at home when I'm not carrying (And I even get that feeling to a slight degree when I don't carry my usual gun, it just feel "off"), but by no means do I feel unsafe or vulnerable if I dont have it. I also wouldn't put myself into a situation where I would have a higher chance of needing to protect myself. First step to not getting into a sight is situational awareness.... but we all know that. I always carry a knife, whether I'm carrying my gun or not, and depending on where I am and what I'm doing my radio. I've always got 2 cells, both because i need both (on call), and just in case, work cell and personal cell... Sometimes OC, sometimes my surefire E2D, sometimes I'll lace in my KaBar TDK last ditch knife... if I know I'm going to the 'hood I'll carry a little extra...

 

[drgrant]

I don't feel unsafe or naked.

I agree with Massmark, though... it's like "leaving your cell phone home on purpose" so it just seems weird. I'd just assume carry all the time if it wasn't for my work being inside a "school".

-Mike

 

[Zappa]

Well the only time I'm unarmed is when I'm in the shower... So Yes, I feel naked when I'm unarmed.

There's no reason for you to suffer like this anymore, with all the plastic and stainless steel guns out there nowadays, you can bring one right in the shower with you. Glock even makes a version that fires under water, just the ticket for those relaxing hours in the Jacuzzi.

 

[GSG]

Believe it or not,I don't need a gun to feel safe when interacting with people or going places.

So when you do carry a gun, what drives the decision?

 

[FalArAk]

So when you do carry a gun, what drives the decision?

Hard question,I really don't know.

Sometimes I just say to myself " I'll carry my .45 today".

I have a great holster(Milt Sparks) so it's not the comfort factor.I do carry if I go to gunshows though.

 

[NH40VE]

I get the heebie-jeebies when I go unarmed.
Whenever I have to go down to Ma. all I have is harsh language and my surefire.

same here but without the surefire.(all i have is a cheaper ($40) Home Depot version).no offence to those here that live there,but i'm glad i only have to go into MA 1-2 times a yr.

for the short while in between the Beretta and the S&W..(yes i only own 1 gun) i did feel out of balance with it..

 

[Ray Ninness]

A little strange???

A little strange, that is how I felt when I had to go back to Michigan for a few months last year. When I lived in Michigan I carried 90% of the time for the porevious twenty years. Then I live in New hampshire, nice and peacefully and unarmed daily for four years. And when I went back last year I realy felt naked, especially when I had to wander around in the city of Detroit :-(

Typically when I lived in Michigan I had to jump thru hops, especially back in the 1980's to get a CCW, and you needed one in Detroit. I now live in New Hampshire, where it's, "Shall Issue" but I haven't felt the need to carry since I moved here..

And now I want to be able to shoot matches in Mass. so it's back to hand springs, and back flips, I guess????

 

[TomD]

Well the only time I'm unarmed is when I'm in the shower... So Yes, I feel naked when I'm unarmed. When I was going to UMASS it used to be awful when I was forced to leave my gun at home and have to go straight to work. My job is a big reason why I carry day in and out. It is a shitty feeling to be forced to leave your gun at home. I'm sure this will resound through this thread.

I duct tape a 1911 to my thigh when I'm in the shower...........

 

[dagwag77]

I duct tape a 1911 to my thigh when I'm in the shower...........

at least put it in a ziplock?

 

[Lynne]

I duct tape a 1911 to my thigh when I'm in the shower...........

I truely hope you don't have hairy legs.

 

[NH40VE]

I duct tape a 1911 to my thigh when I'm in the shower...........

I truely hope you don't have hairy legs.

Not anymore...

 

[oilburner]

I don't carry a gun, never have, I'm just lazy I guess to what it takes to get a carry licence and never had cash to purchase one anyhow. But this kind of relates. I always carry a knife. Always have, always will. Not a swiss army knife, but some type of locking fast opening tactical folder. One night I was in the passenger seat of my buddies truck, things happended with a couple pedestrians outside the drivers door, they tried to pull him out, and one set of hands tried to grab the keys out of the ignition. I grabbed the hand trying for the keys, reached for my knife with the other... sombitch, it wasn't there. The thing I had always relied on to protect me failed. It wasn't there. I broke a couple fingers imediatly and the hands withdrew, my buddy still struggling with another assailaint just hit the gas and dragged the guy for a few feet before they fell away, and I found the knife on the seat. (I carry one with a much stonger clip now so they don't ever fall out). My point is this. Every one should be able to rely on THEMSELVES first before a weapon. Yes agun is diff than a knife, the sight of it from 5 feet away or 100ft away changes things, but it comes down to you, whether the thing fires or not, whether you chose to fire it or not. The weapon is only as good as the mind that controls it. Sorry for the knife thing on a gun thread, but I think it relates. And yes, if I do not have a knife on me, I feel naked.

 

[Pilgrim]

Every one should be able to rely on THEMSELVES first before a weapon.

That gets harder and harder as you approach and enter geezerhood.

At my age, someone getting close enough so I have to use a knife is inviting problems I don't want.

 

[oilburner]

Knowing where your gun is and that it IS ready for use/that it will work is part of relying on yourself. Just figuring on "it's there when I want" it isn't. Guess that was my point. I would have rather slit his arm up to his elbo than broken a finger. He would have a scar to remind him to be polite

 

[Zombieoutfitters]

Shower guy

There's no reason for you to suffer like this anymore, with all the plastic and stainless steel guns out there nowadays, you can bring one right in the shower with you. Glock even makes a version that fires under water, just the ticket for those relaxing hours in the Jacuzzi.

A little clear nail polish around the bullet at the casing neck and primer will keep 'em sealed up I've been told. Shower on good buddy!

 

[Zombieoutfitters]

None taken

same here but without the surefire.(all i have is a cheaper ($40) Home Depot version).no offence to those here that live there,but i'm glad i only have to go into MA 1-2 times a yr.

for the short while in between the Beretta and the S&W..(yes i only own 1 gun) i did feel out of balance with it..

None taken man - I live here and I have to navigate around flaming lib's all day and can only imagine how a NH ME native would feel. Fortunately I have a place in ME on the NH border and have since 1980 - so I get the best of all worlds - and enough NH and ME in me growing up to prevent me from becoming "one of them" Ma**h***s we all speak of so fondly. Though I guess technically I'm guilty by residency.

I can tell you one thing though. When I am in NH/ME I feel 100% safer just being there, and so much more comfortable carrying - like it's almost expected and I'm not a freak. Up there if they are being a dick its probably in response to YOU being a dick, in MA people are a dick to you just because THEY are dicks. It's not that they are bad people - it's just the pervasive culture / attitude. Shit, you go out to Colorado and folks nearly break their necks just trying to say hello as you pass them on the street. But I digress.

 

[Zombieoutfitters]

Walmart hovercart

That is a completely kick ass statement !

Hate to see the damage you could do with a spork.


I didn't carry my .45 at all last weekend,I didn't even think about it.I even went to Walmart to clean them out of .22 ammo and the only hazard I faced was the obese women going down the aisles in their WalMart hovercrafts completely oblivious to their surroundings.

Hey man, I hope you can take out one of those tires at 15' with a spork b/c you'd be fukked if she turned and charged!

 

[Zombieoutfitters]

Safe

re: Greg's comment - To be clear, it's not a question of not feeling safe, it's a matter of being used to the firearm on my hip. There are very, very few times I've ever felt unsafe.

It's not really a matter of feeling safe or not. It's not like a firearm is a cure for agoraphobia or anything like that. Hell for at least 18 years most all of us lived without a gun on our waist and live perfectly adventurous well-adjusted lives. Besides, I'm sure most of us have if not the skills than the will to live through most of what hell can dish-out.

For me it's about that ONE freakin' time you shit your pants because you hear gun shots and people start screaming...you might need that little insurance policy in a size 9...

Every time I hear about shootings in offices and the like I'm so glad I carry as often as I do.

 

[K-DUB]

That gets harder and harder as you approach and enter geezerhood.

At my age, someone getting close enough so I have to use a knife is inviting problems I don't want.

Agreed Dennis, & if I may add to your response to oilburner's post, us girls are at an obvious disadvantage when confronted by a (usually) larger male adversary. Obviously, training & situational awareness are a must, & it's good to be physically fit & make the most of your ability. Guns make it a tad bit easier to defend ourselves though.

 

[GSG]

Hard question,I really don't know.

Sometimes I just say to myself " I'll carry my .45 today".

I have a great holster(Milt Sparks) so it's not the comfort factor.I do carry if I go to gunshows though.

Fair enough. I have a few friends who carry like that, just when the mood strikes them. If it works for you it doesn't bother me.

For me it's about that ONE freakin' time you shit your pants because you hear gun shots and people start screaming...you might need that little insurance policy in a size 9...

Every time I hear about shootings in offices and the like I'm so glad I carry as often as I do.

Yup. There have been very few times in my life when I wished I didn't have a gun with me, but the few times I've come close to needing it, it's a beautiful feeling knowing it's there.

 

[dagwag77]

Yup. There have been very few times in my life when I wished I didn't have a gun with me, but the few times I've come close to needing it, it's a beautiful feeling knowing it's there.

I've always been glad that I have it - better to have and not need than the opposite - but I still try and have that "remember when I didnt carry" common sense about it - just because I've got it doesn't mean I want to use it, so if I see a sketchball or tweaker, I just cross the street. First step in the fight is avoiding the confrontation.... But SHTF, its coming out to play...

 

[The Goose]

I feel naked when I am in the shower!

 

[Herrminator]

If God wants to take us he will take us, with or without a firearm...

 

[GSG]

If God wants to take us he will take us, with or without a firearm...

So the question is, are you going to the Pearly Gates by yourself, or with company?

 

[K-DUB]

I feel naked when I am in the shower!

You don't pack heat in the shower?

 

[Lynne]

Agreed Dennis, & if I may add to your response to oilburner's post, us girls are at an obvious disadvantage when confronted by a (usually) larger male adversary. Obviously, training & situational awareness are a must, & it's good to be physically fit & make the most of your ability. Guns make it a tad bit easier to defend ourselves though.

I'll second that.