When did you realize you needed self defense ?

[gemini]

Several events made me start thinking about concealed carry. But none scared me enough to do anything about it until 3 years ago. I often carried a .45 in the console and figured I'd take my chances if caught. I traveled some and wasn't really too worried about a conviction on a UCW charge. Anyway, one afternoon I stopped into a Racetrack to get gas, while pumping I was casually just looking around, and happen to make momentary eye contact with a B/M, gangster attire, ghetto shuffle, walking across the property about 10yd in front of me. I was not staring, when I heard him shout at me "what are you looking at you W-M-F, I ought to put a cap in your A-". Of course I looked away but kept watch out the corner of my eye. I did have the .45 inside the truck, in the console, in a holster..... which would have done me absolutely no good had he followed through with the threat. He did keep walking. I collected my charge slip from the pump, grabbed my cell phone, called my brothers, 1 Uncle a nephew and 3 other friends, found a CHL instructor on the web, reserved spots for all of us (in fact he ran the class with just our group) and the rest my friends is history! We all had come from shooting backgrounds so passing the CHL test & shooting was not a problem. Turns out all of us had talked about it in the past but it took that incident in order for anyone to take action (getting a CHL class booked). Now the wives are wanting to take the class. We're having to teach 2 or 3 how to shoot. Starting with .22's, moving to .380's. Really kinda fun. Sorry this got so long winded.

[A-R]

First realized I needed to learn self defense when I kept getting picked on in middle school. You'd never know it from my 275-pound-plus frame now, but I was a pipsqueak in school - didn't even top 200 pounds until college. So tae kwon do had to suffice at the time.

Some early stories/encounters shaped my beliefs that a gun for self defense was a good idea. My grandma once deterred a would-be mugger by pulling a double-barrel 12 gauge out of her trunk while loading groceries. My grandpa once deterred some bad-lookin-dudes by casually revealing his chrome-plated .45 while sitting at a stoplight with thousands of dollars in cash on his way to the bank. My dad missed being shot by the UT Tower sniper because dumb luck had him walking home a different way that day. I frequented the same Belton Chevron station every morning as George Kennard - the Killeen Luby's killer. A good friend in college was car jacked at 11 pm at a Burger King drive-thru on OST @ 288 in Houston by a 13-year-old with a chrome-plated .357. Once, while holding a baseball bat, I threatened a guy who was slapping around his girlfriend in the parking lot of a night club; only to find out from a friend later that the guy came back with a gun after I'd left. My future wife and I were "stalked" by a car load of drunks outside a bar in College Station - they were irritated because we had the audacity to cross the street in front of them. When they threatened to "beat me up" I grabbed for my folding knife, which only aggravated the situation. I had a gun in my truck, which was worthless to me.

I bought my first handgun while living near and working in the northern end of Pasadena - near the refineries, across the street from a corner frequented by hookers/pimps/pushers. I used to have to cross that street to my truck about midnight or 1 am 5 nights a week. But didn't get my license right away. Just practiced at the Pasadena Gun Club and occasionally carried in my truck.

So no single event led me to get my license in 1998. As with many of us, it was a culmination of "experience". But getting my CHL was one of the best and most empowering things I've ever done. Not only did I gain a new sense of confidence, but a sobering sense of responsibility. I stopped hanging out so much in bars, started watching what I said and how I reacted to different people. If someone ever attacks me, it's not going to be because I "started it".

[bryang]

I was raised around guns from the time I was born. My dad taught me to shoot and hunt, and we hunted many times together. He bought me a shotgun when I was around 10 yrs. old. Guns have always been a major part of my life and I have own many through out the years. However, I had a massive heart attack several years ago and my health continued to go down hill until I had to have a heart transplant.

I lived a couple of miles from town and very seldom did anyone come up to my door. This young man came to my door one afternoon. He had to have walked because there was no car to be seen. He asked if I could give him some money to get a prescription for his sick daughter. By the way, he was sweating profusely. I told him I did not have any money. He continued to pressure me for some money. Finally, he said well could I have a glass of water and I said, sure why not.

He was standing in my kitchen with a glass of water and I was standing about three feet from him and he started asking for money again. He began to look around and it hit me like a ton of bricks...I am in trouble and I am not able to defend myself. I was totally helpless and it was the worst feeling I have ever felt. Before all of the heart problems I always felt like I could take of myself and for the first time in my life I felt helpless. Anyway, I stayed as calm as I could and managed to talk him back to the door and I shut it and locked it and then went and got my gun that was put away in my bedroom...a lot of good it would have done me if the circumstance turned bad. That was when I realized I needed an equalizer with me at all times and that was when I decided to get my CHL. I carry a .45 at all times and every where I go. The only time it comes off is when I put it on my night stand when going to bed... I don't feel helpless to defend myself anymore.

-geo

[tfrazier]

My father carried either a loaded handgun, rifle, or shotgun in his truck from the earliest time I can remember. He taught me how to shoot when I was 9 or 10, can't remember exactly.

He always told me that bad folks were going to have guns whether the law said they could or not and I believed him. He believed in protecting your home and family and he believed the best tools for that were guns and dogs.

I agree.

Later in life, becoming a police officer really opened my eyes regarding the reality of how many people are walking around in our society who would just as soon kill a stranger as look at them (if they thought they could get away with it). The only thing I truly missed after leaving law enforcement was the ability to carry 24x7. Like others here have said, you feel really naked.

I'm praying those parking lot bills pass...

[USA1]

i want to thank all of you for opening up a little and sharing your stories.when i posted this question, i didnt know i would get so many so many replies so quickly. we all have our own personal reasons, this forum allows us to express them in some detail.
i think we can all learn from each others experiences .
keep em comin

[bonehead1185]

I have always wanted to get my CHL but money was always tight so I kept putting it off. Last May I bought my first handgun and had planned to get my CHL soon.

Well one month later in June I was involved in a road rage accident where the guy rear ended me and then got in front of my truck and slammed his truck into mine backwards. The whole time he kept making hand gestures at me along with lots of cussing and telling me to get out and fight with him on the left shoulder of the highway in the middle of the day! Just so you know, I have had my fair share of fights growing up resulting in me winning because I was always bigger for my age, but that day I felt a little outmatched because the guy was a little bigger around than me but shorter so I knew he could take me down pretty easy. The main reason I didn't get out to fight was because my girlfriend was in the truck with me and there was no way I was going to put her in jeopardy with this guy. The only defense I had on me at the time was my 3" blade leatherman pocket knife, which was out and ready for when he broke through my window to attack me.

Luckily the police arrived in time to stop him but on that day I decided to hurry and get my CHL so I would never be completely defenseless again when it came to protecting my girlfriend and I. I now have my weapon within arms reach at all times, except for when I'm at school.

[Crossfire]

For me it was a single event. I didn't grow up around guns, and never felt a reason to learn anything about them.

I lived in the blissful world of my own ignorance. Nice house, good neighborhood, nothing to fear, and the police were there to protect me. And then, one night, I got my education.

I found out a little too late that I WAS responsible for my own protection and for my family. Now I do all I can to educate others BEFORE they find out for themselves, the hard way.

[ClarkLZeuss]

But getting my CHL was one of the best and most empowering things I've ever done. Not only did I gain a new sense of confidence, but a sobering sense of responsibility. I stopped hanging out so much in bars, started watching what I said and how I reacted to different people. If someone ever attacks me, it's not going to be because I "started it".

Amen to that. CHL has really brought me in check with regards to how (or if) I respond to crazy or rude drivers in Houston. And I would only add to your last statement, "...and it's not going to happen without me trying to de-escalate the conflict."

[Rayden]

When I had a gun pointed in my face when I was only 12 yrs old during a robbery at my family business, watching my dad got pushed around trying to hand over our hard earned money to a bunch of armed robbers.

[surprise_i'm_armed]

I used to carry pepper spray but occasionally when it got closer to its expiration
date, I would spray it on mice or rats to get rid of it. The weakness of the spray,
and the fact that it was usually sitting in my console instead of on me were indica-
tions that this was about as good as nothing.

1. I like to stop and help people who are stranded on the highway, but had started
to limit myself to just doing it during the daytime when I better could size up the
people before deciding to pull over. If it was night I would call 911 to send someone
with a gun on his/her hip to check it out.

2. The only place in my life that I was ever seeing "problem children" (potential
stickup guys) was when I would get gas. The QT gas station in Lewisville on Bus.
121 was the one I was using. But Lewisville PD seems to hang around there often,
and I think it's because there's potential 'action" there, not because QT has the
best donuts.
These guys that I was leery of were the ones with tattoos on their necks and
foreheads. I don't know what rock they live under, but they seemed to like cheap
gas just like I do.

3. My job brings me to people's residences. One night I approached a customer's
apartment and I did not bring my Maglite since the apartment hallways are well lit.
Well, the customer was a nice, pleasant suburban white girl, but she had a seriously-
from-the-hood gangster boyfriend who was belittling her with intense profanity and
mean attitude. I thought "Great - if he decides to come out here to rob me or get
physical, the Maglite's in the truck." Nothing happened but it was quite a serious
wakeup call.

The whole world of self-defense and CHL was unknown to me. CHL knowledge
was just totally off my radar. Then my Hawaiian friend who moved to Texas filled
me in on the straightforward process to get a CHL.

Shortly after we chatted I took my CHL class, got my plastic, bought my starter
gun, and I now carry 24/7. Now I pull over at night to help people on the highway,
knowing that I am the one with a gun on me. No calls to 911 needed.

It's a reassuring feeling to know that I have my pistol and can defend myself,
but on the other hand it's an awesome responsibility to make sure it is used
correctly if need be, and that I will probably face some legal bills.

But after you carry, you never want to be without your piece.

[dewayneward]

But after you carry, you never want to be without your piece.

Can I get an AMEN!!!!!!!!!!

[The Annoyed Man]

The only firearms in my home when I was growing up were my dad's .22LR rifle from his childhood, and his 1943 Ithaca 1911A1 which had been his sidearm in WW2. Both were stored in locker in the attic of our garage. When my dad died in 1990, I inherited the .45, and my youngest brother got the .22. Since my total firearms experience to that point was having once fired a friend's .22, I asked a couple of friends of mine who were in the California National Guard to take me to a range and teach me how to safely handle, shoot, and clean the .45. As soon as I shot the pistol, I was hooked. After that, I began the slow accumulation of a collection.

However, my sense of really needing self-defense began with the 1992 Los Angeles riots in the wake of the Rodney King verdict. Prior to that, the only time I considered a gun for self-protection outside of the home was whenever I had to make a late night visit to an ATM, or something like that, and then I would (illegally) put a pistol under the front seat of my vehicle. At the time of the rioting, I worked for a newspaper publisher in downtown L.A., on First Street, just on the west side of the First Street Bridge, which connected the Aliso Village housing projects to Downtown. On the morning after "opening night" of the rioting, I witnessed a large mob of thousands of mostly hispanics sweeping past my office building, headed for city hall a few blocks away (where they ultimately broke into offices there and trashed the place). I thought, "this is not good!" The rioting intensified that day throughout the day. The next day, as I went out to get some lunch at a restaurant around the corner from my office, I came around the corner and nearly bumped into a military patrol of roughly squad size in full battle rattle. I thought, "this is REALLY not good! What in blazes am I doing at work in this kind of environment?" I left work thinking "I REALLY wish I had a gun with me." The Los Angeles basin was covered with a pall of smoke for days as rioters burned and looted buildings all over the county. It even happened near where I lived at the time in Altadena (Rodney King's home town). For quite a while after that, I frequently carried a gun in my car, and occasionally in a fanny-pack, although I did so illegally.

During the next 14 years, I had other occasions to wish that I had a gun in my possession - including once about a year before I moved here, when I was threatened with a gun by a tattoo covered vato during a road-rage incident.

After I moved to Texas in mid 2006, my gun collection grew more rapidly, and I began to carry a pistol in my vehicle fairly often. It was a huge relief to know that I was doing so lawfully. I admit that I had some early misunderstandings about what Texas CHL law permitted, but the idea of being able to carry a firearm legally virtually any time I wanted to without getting hassled for it had great appeal to me. I applied online in November of 2007, and sent in my completed paperwork in December. In a discussion on a hunting forum, Flintknapper convinced me to check this forum out in January of 2009 while I was still waiting for my plastic. I got the card in late February of 2008.

Originally, I hadn't necessarily intended to carry every single day. I just thought it would be nice to be able to carry whenever I wanted to. Well, it turns out that I wanted to carry all the time, and I've never left the house without a gun on my person since then. There was a time when I was in very good physical condition, young, spry, and on top of my game. That is no longer the case, and I now feel like my gun is the great equalizer in any possible circumstance in which my personal safety is threatened.

The icing on the cake is that my wife's plastic arrived in the mail the other day, and so between whatever gun I'm carrying and my wife's Glock 19, we make a pretty well-armed couple. I'm not sure how to explain why, but it has made us closer as a couple.

[A-R]

However, my sense of really needing self-defense began with the 1992 Los Angeles riots in the wake of the Rodney King verdict. Prior to that, the only time I considered a gun for self-protection outside of the home was whenever I had to make a late night visit to an ATM, or something like that, and then I would (illegally) put a pistol under the front seat of my vehicle. At the time of the rioting, I worked for a newspaper publisher in downtown L.A., on First Street, just on the west side of the First Street Bridge, which connected the Aliso Village housing projects to Downtown. On the morning after "opening night" of the rioting, I witnessed a large mob of thousands of mostly hispanics sweeping past my office building, headed for city hall a few blocks away (where they ultimately broke into offices there and trashed the place). I thought, "this is not good!" The rioting intensified that day throughout the day. The next day, as I went out to get some lunch at a restaurant around the corner from my office, I came around the corner and nearly bumped into a military patrol of roughly squad size in full battle rattle. I thought, "this is REALLY not good! What in blazes am I doing at work in this kind of environment?" I left work thinking "I REALLY wish I had a gun with me." The Los Angeles basin was covered with a pall of smoke for days as rioters burned and looted buildings all over the county. It even happened near where I lived at the time in Altadena (Rodney King's home town). For quite a while after that, I frequently carried a gun in my car, and occasionally in a fanny-pack, although I did so illegally.

Horror stories I've heard of this event are what led me to believe I needed something more than a pistol for home defense - a 12 gauge and a .223 semi-auto rifle should do the trick. Ironic (and sad) how only two years after this event - in which even private citizens NEEDED "assault weapons" to defend their homes and businesses from violent street mobs - our brilliant leaders decided we were not to be trusted with any weapon that could hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition or looked too scary. A "scary-looking" AR-15 with a full 30-round mag is EXACTLY what you need to drive away an irrational mob without firing a shot - if the moronic mobs think your EBR actually is fully automatic, all the better to scare them away. I doubt a 50-person mob scares away as easily with a single-shot .22.

[tfrazier]

You never know. That single shot .22 might be endowed with plus 20 hit points and backed by a level seven chaotic evil druid's spell of dismemberment...
Ooops, lost touch with reality again. Almost morphed into a congressman.

[casingpoint]

A business acquaintance arrived at his remote ranch house near Palestine some few years ago and was strung up in the barn with a rope by three escaped Mississippi convicts who had jumped a train on the nearby railroad tracks. He was bludgeoned with a hammer, then shot to death with is own gun.