Some Wont Carry past 6 months

[ZirconJohn]

I tend to agree with the OP. My father, brother, and myself all have our LTCs and yet they rarely carry. Admittedly, I haven't carried every single day since I got my LTC. The 3 weeks I spent in Europe and about 7 days or so in between for various other reasons. However I've made a conscious effort to carry as often as legally possible. Personally I don't want to be "that guy" who chose not to carry on the day the SHTF.

I used to go on my runs without my carry. I figured; middle of day, not much clothing (Running shorts, Dri-FIT run shirt)... so... one day...,

One day I'm running along minding my own business and out of nowhere from behind a yard fence... this big-ole muscular pit-bull comes tearing from behind ME...!!!

I'm like W... T... Freak......!!!!!!!! - Instantly, the hair on my back, I could feel ware-wolf instinct take over. Gonna get your leg chewed of at the thigh anyhow... so... the BEAST was about 20 feet from behind me as I went past his territory. So, I had time (about a second) to enact the BEST bluff of my LIFE...!

I went at that dawg like I'm gonna chew his daggum leg off...!!!

Well... didn't work...!

He stood me OFF...!!!

I stood him OFF...!!!

See... I was running past... going away... and to the dawg, I was running prey.

Dawg standing there, muscles BULGING... teeth snarling... was like a high noon 'go for your gun' wild wild west stand-off.

I made my intellectual move... I went TEARING at him like a freaking banshee on a killing rampage... hhahahhahaaaaa... the dawg TOOK OFF running away and looking at me like... W... T... FREAKING HUMAN...!

Good thing I know what I'm doing when comes to dawgs... I love them to death... but I'll put one down in an instant if I have to.

I carry now when I run. but... I will do the same bluff and save the gun for if I have absolutely NO choice.

But... boy was I scared... just absolutely scared [period].

Found out later... the dawg... he was a she. Just had puppies... the owner came out to get her. Dear Jesus, I said thank you in my prayers after.

Difference about dawgs; If this had been a ankle biting terrier, or even a lab... the GUN is a NO GO...! - NEVER...! I know they psych out easy... HUGE difference. Pit Bulls... OMG... killing machines...! - Even a well trained domestic... they don't know their own killing ability strength. They change on you in an instant... instinctive power.

[IVC]

^^^ So do we ban jogging, pit bulls or guns? We have to do something for the children, no?

[meaty-btz]

Now who is twisting words and putting things in that I never mentioned nor brought up.
The best defense is one's mind. But you didn't couch your argument in those terms.
Anyone with a brain (mind you, that is something more and more american's lack these days) would know this instantly.
But a mind without tools can do little.
A gun is a tool
A knife is a tool
Understanding, is perhaps one of the most powerful tools.

I've lived my life and gotten out of more than I care to remember. Luck, understanding, awareness. There are times when you need the final option and when you do, there is no other substitute.
I carried a folder every day, not even for defense, it was a tool, but I know how to deploy it as a weapon as much as it spends most of it's life being a letter opener, box opener, and impromptu screw-driver.
I carry tools, every day, and as many as I can, because I am not a god. I don't know what will happen even one minute from now. I can guess, but that is all it is. So instead I equip my monkey butt with as many tools as might aid this over-grown ape in getting his day done.
But recently changes have been forced on me. Most significant is a loss of physical strength, physical agility, mental acuity, and general whit. More than ever the gun is a vital part of my tool set. No longer can I run, use my physical abilities to intimidate or my mind to out-whit and disarm a situation before it starts. If someone has it in for me, it is pretty much their ball game now. On defense is never a place to play your life but.. sometimes it's all you have.

TBH a knife is a better tool at contact distance than a concealed firearm.. which is why the laws are generally more severe on blade carry. But these days I don't have the coordination to deploy a knife.

So back to gun. Surprisingly, my least preferred tool for day to day danger avoidance and least useful of all my tools.

meaty-btz "He is bay area, that tends to affect the mind and perceptions heavily. Even for those on our side. One can only resist so much of the general social trends and pressures in an area before one either leaves or acculturates. That is just how things work in humans."


I think you are getting it a bit twisted. I'm speaking more on the safety blanket aspects of carrying vs. practical application of carrying.

Some may feel more secure with a gun but the fact of the matter is that it is a last defense. While you may "feel" safe with a gun, just the the anti's "feel" safe without them around, there are many more considerations that must be considered/contemplated.

I was just trying to touch on some of those aspects (element of surprise/responsibility/not getting complacent or too reliant on a firearm as your main strategy/legal ect, the fight over carry vs. not carry is pretty much over and doesn't really need debating. To imply that is simply false.

If people are extra sensitive that aint my problem. Twisting words to make a claim that isn't there is ridiculous.

[ZirconJohn]

^^^ So do we ban jogging, pit bulls or guns? We have to do something for the children, no?

Well... this is why you carry a spare tire on your car with every day...

Why you have fire extinguishers everywhere... fire drills, escape maps and practice fire escape scenarios...

Seat belts are mandatory... fire alarms in homes mandatory... it's LAW...!!!

NO we don't ban jogging, no we don't ban pit bulls, and for sure we don't ban guns, nor do we ban carrying guns for those that so desire to exercise their God given Constitutional Right to protect themselves and loved ones.

Keys to your car are like bullets to your gun... operator knowledge is individual.

Automobiles are ubiquitous;
Everybody learns how to operate a vehicle; keys, how to start, put in gear, brakes, accelerator, turn indicator, what brake lights are for etc.

Guns are ubiquitous;
Everyone should learn how to operate one, even if they CHOOSE not to own one. And especially if one chooses to own one (or many)... same with conceal carry. Learn the laws. Practice scenario's to mind-muscle-memory, like you do a motor vehicle.

If you choose to carry - great.

If you choose NOT to carry - great.

I don't infringe on your Right to not carry.

Don't infringe on my Right TO carry.

Your curiosity on why I carry is the same curiosity I have for your decision not to carry... even if you have a License to do so.

[stix213]

Its going to be a lot less that carry than 1.5 million. Even in very gun friendly states with long standing shall issue policies, the percent that just have the permit (doesn't mean they ever use it), is generally in the 1-3% range of the total population (states with higher gun ownership percentages too). It will take many years before CA approaches that high of a percentage. Probably 0.5% of the population will have a permit within 3-5 years by my guess, and probably less than 10% of that 0.5% (so 0.05% of the population, so about 20,000 total people ) will carry regularly.

[WASR10]

OP may very well be correct in his prediction about the number of people who will actually carry. The important thing is that they have the option to excerise that right.

How you carry, why you carry, and where you carry is your business.

Personally, I always wear a seat belt when I drive, I always wear a helmet when I ride, and I always carry a gun when I'm awake.

[Nick Adams]

It was more than twenty years ago that I saw one of my best friends gunned down. I will not give a lot of details. I will say the shooter waived t the gun around and made a lot of threats, before the actual killing. If I, or any of the other friends who were there, had been armed we could have stopped it. If CCW becomes a reality in my county I will carry legally every day.

[othersmightlive]

Its going to be a lot less that carry than 1.5 million. Even in very gun friendly states with long standing shall issue policies, the percent that just have the permit (doesn't mean they ever use it), is generally in the 1-3% range of the total population (states with higher gun ownership percentages too). It will take many years before CA approaches that high of a percentage. Probably 0.5% of the population will have a permit within 3-5 years by my guess, and probably less than 10% of that 0.5% (so 0.05% of the population, so about 20,000 total people ) will carry regularly.

Thank you for the time you took to answer this. A couple of guys were just spouting off about what they would do, and while it is nice to see what they personally will do or are doing, you really understood what I was asking. You stopped, thought, did calculations and speculations, and came up with an opinionated number based on those thoughts and calculations. Well done sir.

[Roering]

I'm really not concerned about whether people actually choose to carry.

I myself will most likely not carry all of the time.

The important thing here is that people have the choice to do so.

[ConcealedKalifornia]

Someone mentioned that in a lot of bad scenarios you can't use your gun anyway because of CA law and all that. Im not sure how that translates to "theres no point carrying your gun often"????

you are right in the sense that you can't always use your gun. Hell, even in "Bad Guy" scenarios (which obviously don't happen that often to begin with) you still may not be allowed/want to go lethal.

But personally, I would always want the option. I dont NEED to go 0-60 in 2.4 seconds on my motorcycle, but last week when a SUV merged all the way into my lane without once looking, It was sure nice to have! It gave me the ability to roll on the throttle and fly forward, out of the way of the SUV and probably saved me from getting a nice taste of road rash, let alone saved my life.

[othersmightlive]

Someone mentioned that in a lot of bad scenarios you can't use your gun anyway because of CA law and all that.

http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/149674/its-coming-right-for-us

[joker713]

I carry. Everyday. 24/7 no matter where I am.

Received my LTC on Christmas of last year. Just a few months ago. When I first received it, it took me probably 3 weeks before I started carrying. The first 2 weeks of carrying it were very stressful for me. I was constantly worried that someone would notice it and the such. I've since became very comfortable with it and feel weird not having it.

My opinion on the OPs original questions is this; You're right, most won't carry after 6 months. I'd say roughly 10% of the gun owners in California will get a permit and then maybe 10% of those will carry daily. So very few. I think the above posted number of 22,000 is reasonably accurate.

My question to those of you that say you would get your license but not carry everyday, only when you felt it was "needed" is this...

If you ever use your firearm in self defense

How are you going to answer the prosecutor who asks you if you carry everyday, and when you respond no I only carry sometimes, why you decided to carry THAT day?

You really think "oh well I thought maybe I might need it that day" is a sufficient answer? You don't think it could be made out to be suspicious that you don't carry everyday but you happened to be carrying that day?

[djbooya]

...snip...
If you ever use your firearm in self defense

How are you going to answer the prosecutor who asks you if you carry everyday, and when you respond no I only carry sometimes, why you decided to carry THAT day?

You really think "oh well I thought maybe I might need it that day" is a sufficient answer? You don't think it could be made out to be suspicious that you don't carry everyday but you happened to be carrying that day?

Irrelevant.., plead the 5th and make sure you have a good lawyer..why does the decision you made to save your life matter if you carried every day or not..

now if it was a "bad" shoot that may open the door..

if it was "good" where there was iminent threat, and all the legal issues of when to use force are warranted I'm not sure "how often do you carry" is a relevant question.

[zWade]

I doubt I will carry "religiously" if approved and I wont be able to carry at work ...so there will be plenty of time I don't carry. "Religious" carry is not really the point for me.

[MudCamper]

When I can get a permit I will carry everywhere I can legally carry, everyday.

Ditto that! Actually, I already carry whenever I legally can, which just means in my house mostly. It's a real pain to have to lock up my gun whenever I go somewhere.

I like to think of myself as a porcupine and not a sheepdog (that's what cop's get paid for) just want to be left alone.

I like that analogy.

As to all those who say they can't be bothered to carry all the time, the solution to that is, get a smaller carry gun. My KelTec 380 is so small and light that I forget it's there.