Brandishing?

[jimisbell]

I ALWAYS carry. I didnt get the CWP so that I could leave it at home. There is no knowing when you will need it and if I was ever without it in a situation where I needed it, I would never forgive myself for allowing harm come to others because I was not armed and could have done something about it.

Now, that is not to say that every situation in which I might be threatened would call for my drawing my weapon. I think of the AZ situation and realise that unless I was right ON the guy, I would not draw. If you have a weapon in your hands in an active shooting scene and the law shows up, you may be one of the first people they shoot!!

Mostly, unless it is me that is being threatened or there is no chance that anyone else might arrive to quell the situation, I dont think I will draw. But each situation requires a decision peculiar to that situation so one should think ahead, before the need, and be prepared for the future.

[i_carry_a_9mm_24_7]

Originally Posted by Tom Goodrick

Thanks, Tremain, for a good explanation. This is why I normally leave my gun home.

Tom,

My father always told me with guns it is better to have one on you and not need it, as to need one and not have it. Just a thought.

[Tom Goodrick]

Times when I should be carrying these days are pretty hard to figure out. I seldom leave the house and then only in the middle of a weekday. My wife gets the cash we need when she shops at one of the local supermarkets using a debit card. All our "pay" is electronically deposited. We never use ATMs. About all I get out and drive for is medical appointments or visit to the shooting range.

I used to envision cases where carrying a gun would be handy but even those cases would be marginal. In one case, there were several times in my youth when I had to carry my expensive musical instruments to a bus station to get home after a job when my car was not working (generally when it was very cold in Minneapolis). I worked regularly at a downtown ballroom. But that would just be protecting property - not a very good condition for carrying a gun. These days I just record music for the Internet in my "home studio" (master bedroom).

I also did a lot of landscape photography using a large back-pack bag holding two expensive camera systems - Nikon 35 mm and Pentax 6x7. I met some interesting characters out in the woods a long way from other people. But now I just carry a small digital camera that does everything that other equipment did at 3% the cost of the other stuff. If someone wants that camera I'd just hand it to them. I don't even do much photography any more.

Travelling long distances in a car is the only time it seems carrying a gun might be worth while. Things often get interesting at rest stops. I have to visit a lot of them!