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Wednesday, February 20, 2013

First Post - My Gun History/Experience Thus Far

I made the decision to have a dedicated journal for my interest in guns, I want it separate from my livejournal account, which most people there don't understand the passion I feel for guns.

I didn't grow up in a family that revered guns, my dad had a couple of shotguns, which my mother wouldn't allow him to keep in the house.  There was a  time in my life when I was 19, where a guy I worked with had told me he thought about getting me a revolver for my birthday.  I politely declined and told him that I would probably end up using it on myself.  I was a teenager who hadn't mastered or had a good understanding of my emotions, very reactionary but what teen isn't?

I'm fairly new to guns and my experience starts just four years ago.  The company that I've worked for twelve years now, sponsors an Easter Seal's clay shoot each year.  I didn't go for the first few years because I just didn't have much of an interest in guns due to my mother's beliefs.

The year I decided to go was the biggest change of my life, I began down a path that changed my thinking about myself and life in general.  The day before the shoot, I had some serious depression going on, not sure what was going on, it was probably more hormonal than anything.  I went home early that day because I just felt so sad, work even offered me the next week off but I knew that was a bad idea because sitting around the house wasn't going to do me any good.

The next day I headed out to shoot clays (I can't remember the name of the place because we now go to Colorado Clays instead).  After a brief instruction on the use of a shotgun, safety, etc I was at my first station, poised and ready to try to shoot my first clay, BAM! and it was a hit.  The feeling inside of such power.  Long story short, I've not felt depressed since that day and I go with my company every year to the shoot with the intentions of doing better than the year before and I do.

A funny note on that day, after I got home; sore, tired but ecstatic I immediately posted to my facebook account about how much I loved guns, than proceeded to read my friend's posts only to come across a post from my mom that was anti-gun.  I found this humorous.

I think a year or two later my coworker took me to a gun range to shoot handguns, this was my first experience with a handgun.  After firing one I realized that  there was no way I could ever use such a weapon on myself.  I didn't take to handguns as quickly as I did to shotguns until the mid part of 2012 when I met a guy who is a gun nut and owns a lot of guns.  He took me out shooting regularly and I found that I really enjoyed it, I have shot so many different calibers but my truest love is the .45, mmmm purrr.  It was nice to get such a broad range of calibers and really decide what I liked best.

Getting my CCW was an idea I started to play with but honestly probably wouldn't have followed through if it were not for an ex boyfriend going scary and my feeling threatened.  So in December I took the step of signing up for a CCW class to get my certificate.  Side note: I was not impressed with the class and the trainer, he seemed to want to share stories more than information but honestly I was just happy to get my certificate.

Once I got my certificate, I called the Denver Sheriff's department to register, turns out it takes two months to get an appointment just to register, do fingerprints and pictures and another ninety days to actually get the permit.  Fortunately in January someone cancelled and I got bumped up and I currently have sixty more days to wait.  I can't wait for the day I get my approval letter and get my permit.

I have already purchased a thigh holster and I've been practicing carrying around my house.  I chose a thigh holster because I wear dresses mostly.











10 comments:

  1. Congrats on your decision to get a permit. A little unsolicited advice: don't give up on it and leave your him at the house (seen many people do that because it was uncomfortable to carry, or too hot, or my personal favorite, "I won't need a gun here"). Find what works best for you, hopefully in a decent caliber, and stick with it. And be sure to practice drawing as well as shooting.

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    1. Thank you for the encouragement. I definitely can't wait to conceal carry in public and I hope you are right that I don't give it up. I've been practicing at home to get more comfortable with it. The under the belt holster is really comfortable, the thigh holster is a bit awkward at times. I got a .380 for conceal carry but after my friend got one as well, their Ruger is a lot lighter than my sig so I might later on consider getting a different carry gun.

      I've also spent time watching videos on suggestions of conceal carry and clothing styles that work best and have been working on making my wardrobe up to par. :)

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    2. I definitely do practice drawing and firing from my conceal position, I haven't tried with live fire (I'll wait until I can go to an outdoor location) but at home I use my laserlyte target to practice, doing okay with it but it is a bit smaller than the actual kill zone on a person.

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  2. Should say gun, not him. Doing this from a phone that has a mind of it's own sometimes ;)

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    1. I hear you, I hate typing on my phone, I make so many mistakes too and it's so cumbersome, thank you for taking the time to write, I really appreciate it. :)

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    2. It's no problem. I'm just glad to see more people taking responsibility for their own safety.

      If you are a reader you might want to check out the concealed carry handbook if it's still in print. I found it very informative when I decided to start down this path myself. And if you have any questions feel free to ask, my knowledge isn't all encompassing but I try to help where I can

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    3. I can use all the help that I can. I am a reader and I couldn't believe that the public library didn't have any books on conceal carry. lol.

      You wouldn't happen to know the author of the one you are speaking of? I did a search on amazon and there were quite a few.

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  3. Massad Ayoob. I've read a quite a few of his articles in various magazines and a couple books, he knows his stuff

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    1. I've seen that name on a lot of blogs so I checked him out and I've added him to the varying blogs that I read. Thank you for the suggestion. :)

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