Remember when you first started carrying?

S

SIMP

New member
I was having a discussion with a friend the other day who just got his conceal carry permit. He was asking questions about how I felt when I first carried. It got me to thinking about how far I've really come in the two years I've been carrying concealed. It seems the first hurdle was finding a setup that was comfortable for all day carry. I would wear it around the house and give it a good test run there. Then I remember having to get over that paranoid feeling of folks staring at me....although they had no idea I was carrying because it was concealed. Now, it's just part of my life. I never walk out the door without a pistol on me.

Feel free to share your experiences when you first began carrying. Were you also paranoid about the public seeing you carrying?
 
YEP. When I was sixteen years old and my Daddy gave me a new Colt Huntsman for that birthday. No one ever knew; THAT's the whole idea.
Been fiftyfour years as we speak.
And so it goes...
 
When I was about 10 dad would send me out with a colt detective if I went berry picking with my mother. When I was 12 I bought a 51 navy copy in 36 that I carried everywhere in the woods till my summer job paid for my first S&W M10, then every summer it seemed like I kept trading up. I received my first carry permit on my 16th birthday, We had a real pro gun Sheriff back then.
 
Started about 13 years ago with the Kahr PM9 and an IWB leather holster. So compact and easy to conceal. Still part of my CCW rotation.

Yg
 
Almost a year now exactly.
I haven't really worried much about concealment as people just don't really notice things and heck some phones print more than a good rig.

I did spend a bit getting slightly longer shirts and good belts.

Leather holsters with two clips for IWB has been my preference, like AlienGear or Shepherd. The simpler the better.

Bigger learning curves came with things like using the restroom at the office, figuring out which position I prefer to carry, and which of my guns are best to carry for various outings.

I have three guns I carry, small, medium and large basically. I had two I off loaded for various reasons.

Wally walk is a good tradition.
 
I remember when I first started carrying. I just kept waiting from someone to start shrieking about a MWAG. It's been almost 5 years now, and I've long since passed the point where you shift from: (a) feeling a little strange carrying a gun; to (b) feeling a little strange not carrying a gun.

I started with IWB and a full-sized steel pistol, then had to get a pocket pistol for when that wasn't feasible, then tried an OWB, then had to try out a polymer pistol . . . In the end, I've gone through several variations, have the proverbial box full of holsters, and complete CC setups for just about every occasion, outfit and weather that I'm likely to encounter here.

Life is good.
 
Yes, when CHL first started in Texas. I was so paranoid I'd be spotted I used a S&W J Centennial .38. I still have and carry that gun often (but I also pack a Glock 26 in the winter.)

Deaf
 
I lived in Alaska for 35 years, starting in 1973 in the USAF, which was then the Alaska Air Command (which we fondly called it the Amateur Air Command). There were never any vehicle searches coming into base if you had the required bumper sticker. Routinely had a Smith 19 .357 and a Rem 870 12 ga. in the truck. Could have had an RPG and no one would have been the wiser.

Enter me, as a civilian in 1974, and every pickup truck had an Easy Rider rifle rack sporting at least one firearm. I know that isn't concealed, but it illustrates (hopefully) the firearm mentality present back then. We also didn't lock our doors until the 80's.

Didn't have to get an Alaska CHP (Concealed Handgun Permit) until 1995. Before that, Alaska law was good to go with any type of carry until the State Dems decided all hell would break loose if we average lowlifes that had been carrying all the while would suddenly become murderers without provocation.

Fast forward to the new millenium and the legislature decided they did not want to fuss with the paperwork and government money expended for the CHP's and allowed everyone to carry concealed or open.

I still have my CHP that expired on 4/26/2005 just for nostalgia. Man, I looked young then!

I live in rural WA State, retired, don't go out much, and don't see the need to get a CPL (Concealed Pistol License). If the crap gets much worse than the miniscule amount in these parts, I'm not going to worry whether or not I have a "license" to exercise my Constitutional rights. Simple as that.

Have a good day!

Jim
 
I've been carrying concealed for a little over 7 years now. I started with my first gun, a ruger p95 in a uncle mikes holster, worn appendix. That was a brick but it was a rock solid gun. Now after all this time I prefer single stack semi's owb or iwb, and a lcp or 642 for pocket carry. With the pocket guns, I usually forget they're there. Wearing owb or iwb I'm a bit more alert to my surrounding and where my shirt dangles.
 
I started carrying on 9/12; didn't know where, when, or in what form additional terror attacks might take place.
Since then, terror has been lower on my list of potential threats, but the world is still a dangerous place.
 
I started carrying almost eight years ago. I stuck a 642 in my pocket and never thought another thing about it. I still have a 642 in my pocket. I can't seem to get a way from the little bugger.
 
I'm approaching my 10th year and really I remember just getting comfortable with it was my biggest hurdle. Like most everyone, it always seemed that someone would see the outline and panic would ensue.

After a few months you soon realize that most people are oblivious and printing and other concerns soon evaporate. Now it's second nature and I carry often. Not all the time, but most of the time.
 
Being an old fart my first carry gun was a model 36 S&W. The only real problem I remember having was getting use to carrying something in a IWB holster. When I changed to a 1911 it felt normal to carry but had to adjust to the new weight.
 
Only carrying about 2 years. The first time I carried in public, I went to a meeting in the town where I work and used to live where state reps and councilmembers were discussing proposed anti gun legislation. The meeting was held in a conference room at a newly built animal shelter. The crowd was evenly pro and anti gun. I was pocket carrying an LC9 and although you think it sticks out like a sore thumb, nobody had a clue. After the meeting, I even helped an anti-gun lady who parked on the lawn and got stuck in the mud. Pulled her out with my 4x4.
 
Timely question. I've been shooting and reloading for 35 years. Finally got my CHP a few months ago, and just picked up a Ruger LC9s the other day with an IWB leather holster. Have never carried before. Understand need to use commercial ammo. But I still have misgivings.

I've never felt unsafe or at risk in my daily routines. But I imagine that's probably true of most of us. What made you decide to start carrying? Do you do this because your work/routine takes you into risky situations? Just trying to understand the rationale. What advice would you have for me?
 
Big brother took away your right to carry then sold it back to you at a profit. Now you feel like you're getting away with doing something mischievous, even "wrong". Don't feel like that. This is your right. If someone spots it, gets a flash... so be it. It's none of their business. Until they make it. Most will take concealed over a bozo OC'ing in Taco Bell. If you carry concealed legally you have the upper hand. What the eye does not see the heart does not grieve.

What made me start carrying was when I made the decision that I wasn't going to be a victim of the ever increasing number of punks out there. Think it won't happen to you? Some say it's paranoia, I say it's no different to having a fire extinguisher in your home. Apparently home insurance companies agree with me.
-SS-
 
If I felt unsafe or at risk in my daily routines, I would either change those routines or carry a SWAT team with me.

You or your loved ones can be assaulted at any time, and at any place. The local gas station, your favorite restaurant, or in your own home. Its very rare that a victim was planning on being a victim that day.

I live in a white collar suburban neighborhood. It never occurred to me that there might be a crime problem in my area, until scum bags were trying to get into my house in the middle of night a few years ago. We had another incident about a year later. One of my work buddies has had two home burglaries. Another co-worker has had one. We all live in the "nice" part of town, where such things aren't supposed to happen.

I now carry 24/7, in the home and when I'm away.
 
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