Defining Moment that led to your decision to CCW?

[HAP1978]

I can't say the exact moment that I decided to start carrying. I can probably pin it on the fact that I grew up hunting a lot and always being around guns. I got my first Daisy air rifle at the tender age of 8, one of the most defining moments in my life I might add. My father always had handguns and rifles in the house, so natuarally I liked them as well. I can say that I knew once I hit the age of 21 which is the legal age in Utah to get a CCW permit that I was going to get my CCW permit and start carrying a pistol. And I did just that.

I'm just curious what other people have to say about this topic. I've never been robbed or threatened and the last fight I got in was back in junior high, many many moons ago.

My philosophy is that it's better to have it and not need it then need it and not have it so that's why I always carry.

[b4uqzme]

I can't say the exact moment that I decided to start carrying....

You mean with a permit?

[HAP1978]

Yes, with a permit.

[Bob T]

I am still waiting for that moment...

[ltxi]

You mean with a permit?

Yeah, me too.

[berettabone]

As soon as I took off that nasty pair of rose colored glasses........................................... .......

[muggsy]

A life threatening encounter with an A-hole at a local gas station. He lost.

[pinehtr]

BB Gun at 7 yo. shotgun at 12. I started carrying a 22 cal. pistol in my car at 16. when I turned 21 I purchased a 38 cal. snub nose
Don't really really remember at what age I got a carry permit, To many moons ago.

[89grand]

You mean with a permit?

Permits???? We don't need no stinking permits. Well not in Arizona anyway.

I started CCW much more often when they did away with the need for a permit a few years back.

[ScottM]

I grew up with guns and shot targets since I was a pre-teen, but I bought a .38 revolver in '94 while living in a dangerous part of town. Without a permit, I left it at home each day. Then 28 years later I went with a friend to do something new, and came out the other side with a CHL. I thought, what the heck, why not have the option to carry when I feel the need to. These days I don't carry every day but sometimes. When I ride my motorcycle longer distances I tend to carry, especially if I'm going to be in very rural or urban areas.

[Barth]

???

No defining moment.
Being armed just seems like common sense.

[marcinstl]

usually carry a CM9 or CW9 IWB at 1 o'clock. replaced the cigs and lighter in my shirt pocket with a Kel-Tec P-32. when Mo. offered the CCW permit, it seemed like a good idea to get legal.
had bb gun, .22, .410 when I was a kid. M14 in the army. always have had some collection of house, truck, toolbox guns. wife knows how to ride and shoot. one of the problems with getting old is that you can be mistaken for a victim, hope nobody makes that mistake.
(in 7th and 8th grade I'd take the .22 to school on Wed. for after school target practice with the gun club. range was in the basement of the police station. guess schools don't have gun clubs anymore).

[doublebarrel]

Started carrying when I got old enough to buy a handgun(1976). Started carrying legally the first year they passed the law in Texas.

[yqtszhj]

A life threatening encounter with an A-hole at a local gas station. He lost.

You know, that exact situation was the only place I almost had to present mine. It was July 2012. I was required to be out after midnight and an urban dweller was getting serious about wanting me to pull money from an ATM. He didn't get any and I don't use ATM's anyway. You know whats interesting is I never got nervous during the entire occurance. I guess because i knew I wasn't helpless and defenseless.

This post made me recall when I started carrying again all the time. I always had HD guns around but when a certain person was elected to office in 2008 things in my region took a turn for the worse and I bought my first pocket pistol. Now i never leave home without one.

[Hawkeye911]

I was a relatively new father when the terrible Brown's Chicken Massacre happened back in 1993. The murderer went from booth to booth, coldly executing people who were cowering and trying to hide under the tables. No one fought back. I told my wife, "If the day ever comes where we end up in a situation like that... goodby. I intend to stop it."

Our corrupt, liberal state had no provision for self defense with concealed carry. I was a strong ol' farm boy who had chosen never to get into a fight, but I intended to go for the guy in such a situation and remove his head from his body. I realized I would likely be killed in the process, but had no intention of curling into a ball while my family was injured. It was good to have thought it through and decided on an intended course of action, then hope it would never come to pass. Fortunately, it never did.

10 years later, I got sick and was diagnosed with MS. As the disease took its toll, I had to realize I could no longer fight, could no longer run, and had very few options for defending my family aside from the carbon fiber cane I carried.

Then finally last year, Illinois became the 50th state to pass some sort of concealed carry legislation. Forced into action by a case in Federal Court, they enacted it with weeping and gnashing of teeth. As soon as it was possible, I applied, tested, and passed the requirements. I have carried every day, everywhere I legally can, ever since.

It is my hope that I never, never, NEVER have the opportunity or need to use my firearm to protect myself, my family, or others. BUT, I finally once again have options open to me. That part is a very good feeling.

THAT'S why I carry.

Daryl