I have been carrying for a few weeks now. I have, both, cc'd and oc'd. Obviously, oc was physically more comfortable, but I'm still feeling uneasy about carrying at all. I know I'm perfectly legal, but for some reason I feel like I'm doing something I shouldn't. Anyone else have this issue? Will it pass? I know I should be proud of exercising my 2 a right, but again, I just feel uneasy.
-
Be sure to read this post! Beware of scammers. https://www.indianagunowners.com/threads/classifieds-new-online-payment-guidelines-rules-paypal-venmo-zelle-etc.511734/
Still feel a bit uncomfortable.
- Thread starter PlinKing2392
- Start date
The #1 community for Gun Owners in Indiana
Member Benefits:
Fewer Ads! Discuss all aspects of firearm ownership Discuss anti-gun legislation Buy, sell, and trade in the classified section Chat with Local gun shops, ranges, trainers & other businesses Discover free outdoor shooting areas View up to date on firearm-related events Share photos & video with other members ...and so much more!
Member Benefits:
I too am getting used to carrying. I have only oc'd once but have cc'd many times. Just for curiosity, what do you call it when you wear a belt holster that sticks out below your shirt or jacket and is noticeably visible? OC, CC or PCC (poorly concealed carry).
eldirector
Grandmaster
You'll get over it.
I felt like I had the word GUN in neon over my head for a while! After a bit, I learned that a) if you CC, no one knows, and b) if you OC, no one cares. Heck, even OC, hardly anyone even notices!
My only advice, just as another gun guy:
- make sure you are comfortable. Constantly checking and adjusting your holster draws attention and makes you look nervous.
- practice drawing (unloaded) and re-holstering, so you have a level of comfort there as well.
- Rehearse for both positive and negative encounters, so you can come off smooth and confident.
When I first started carrying, I was less concerned with people's reactions, and more just plain uneasy with carrying "hot". So, I carried with an empty chamber for a few weeks. That let me get passed the "bumping into everything with a loaded gun" feeling. When I finally carried +1, I already knew I was safe.
But yeah, like anything new, you will get used to it in time.
I felt like I had the word GUN in neon over my head for a while! After a bit, I learned that a) if you CC, no one knows, and b) if you OC, no one cares. Heck, even OC, hardly anyone even notices!
My only advice, just as another gun guy:
- make sure you are comfortable. Constantly checking and adjusting your holster draws attention and makes you look nervous.
- practice drawing (unloaded) and re-holstering, so you have a level of comfort there as well.
- Rehearse for both positive and negative encounters, so you can come off smooth and confident.
When I first started carrying, I was less concerned with people's reactions, and more just plain uneasy with carrying "hot". So, I carried with an empty chamber for a few weeks. That let me get passed the "bumping into everything with a loaded gun" feeling. When I finally carried +1, I already knew I was safe.
But yeah, like anything new, you will get used to it in time.
I felt the same way at first...like it was wrong and I was hiding something. Watching constantly to see if people noticed. The feeling passes with time.
After a while you will feel more uncomfortable whenever you DON'T have a gun.
After a while you will feel more uncomfortable whenever you DON'T have a gun.
its true, after getting used to it youl feel naked if u dont have it....one of my buddies always asks me if im carrying, and when i say no he says "man the one time u dont bring it, your gonna need it" which is followed by me getting out of the car and back inside to retrieve my gun.. superstitious maybe...
More than will ever care to admit it. I suspect it is quite common.
For most, that feeling passes. Probably more of a social issue than a lack of pride in your rights.
The uneasiness is nothing to be ashamed of, but nothing to harbor or embrace, either.
I'm just glad you decided to accept the responsibility of carrying.
i did at first....but I even started carrying when around the house...while watching TV.
Now I feel naked when I am at work NOT carrying.
I guess I'm one of the weird people that found I'm physically more comfortable with CC. It might be due to me finally buying a high quality CC holster a few months ago. I do find myself checking every mirror I pass to make sure I'm not printing bad.
IMHO, there is a certain feeling that doesn't ever go away, at least not for me. I'm absolutely "comfortable" carrying, in the sense that I know I blend in (I CC 99% of the time, or more). But, the sense of preparedness, kinda. Or, maybe it is just the situational awareness remains heightened. You always know that you're carrying, and be aware of where people are, who might bump into you, things like that.
Get ready for another feeling, though. Once you get used to carrying, when you go someplace without carrying, it'll feel VERY strange. You'll kinda have to remind yourself on occasion that you AREN'T armed.
Get ready for another feeling, though. Once you get used to carrying, when you go someplace without carrying, it'll feel VERY strange. You'll kinda have to remind yourself on occasion that you AREN'T armed.
Thanks for all the good advice. I actually have been oc ing around the house. My wife thinks I'm nuts, but I did knock it on a door frame the other day, and I would like to get used to it being there. I think I need to invest in a good iwb holster for the sumner, but as it is almost Octo-burrr, I will probably oc with a jacket. I'm carrying a kel tec pf9, so concealing it isn't an issue.
It's all from the lack of experience with doing either of the two. You obviously are either new to firearms, or new to carrying. Either way, all issues like this pass in time. Keep it up man, you're doing only what you've been given right to do.
I remember the first time I carried into Walmart I thought everyone was looking at me, even though it was just a tiny 380 in a Minituck on my hip. Now I usually carry a Glock 26 in a Supertuck to church, in front of everyone, and no one notices....and I know no one notices because I've been asked by gun-friendly members of the congregation if I carry. So obviously they didn't already know the answer to their question!
Ive carried every day for about a year now and Ive become used to the feeling but am very aware that its there. I have only CC. I also am aware of wether it is printing and who is looking if it is. I think this awareness and situation awareness is a good thing to have. I just cant get over the OC thought of "someones gonna call 911 on me" and I dont need that mess!
jkfletcher
Master
The more you do it the more comfortable you'll be. I had that problem the first couple of weeks, very conscious about it and afraid everyone knew I had it(when CC'd) and afraid someone was going to call in a MWAG on me. I got over it. Just do it more...eventually you'll feel "naked" without it
AndersonIN
Master
PCC (poorly concealed carry) NO! I would say POC and I wasn't going to use the word "poorly" but it did start and end with the same letters...... OPEN CARRY!!! LOL
Just kidding you'll get used to it. The main thing is CARRY.........any time all the time!
As for "My wife thinks I'm nuts".......must be newly weds! Mine knows!
Good job and keep it up!!!!
Just kidding you'll get used to it. The main thing is CARRY.........any time all the time!
As for "My wife thinks I'm nuts".......must be newly weds! Mine knows!
Good job and keep it up!!!!
Concerned Citizen
Sharpshooter
I've been carrying for years, & still get 'a feeling' when I'm carrying. I defintiely feel different when I'm carrying. What is it? It's knowing that (1.) I have a responsibility now, that is pretty important. That responsibilty is that I have the power to defend myself & my family & take somone's life in exchange for the safety of my family's lives. That is not a little thing. And (2.) It's a feeling of relief that if 6 drunk guys come up & want to mug me or hurt me for any reason, it's not going to happen, and if some crack addict feels I might have the $50.00 he needs for his next high, that's not going to happen either.
This explains it better:
"The Gun Is Civilization"
By Maj. L. Caudill USMC (Ret)
Human beings only have two ways to deal with one another: reason and force. If you want me to do something for you, you have a choice of either convincing me via argument, or force me to do your bidding under threat of force. Every human interaction falls into one of those two categories, without exception. Reason or force, that's it.
In a truly moral and civilized society, people exclusively interact through persuasion. Force has no place as a valid method of social interaction, and the only thing that removes force from the menu is the personal firearm, as paradoxical as it may sound to some.
When I carry a gun, you cannot deal with me by force. You have to use reason and try to persuade me, because I have a way to negate your threat or employment of force.
The gun is the only personal weapon that puts a 100-pound woman on equal footing with a 220-pound mugger, a 75-year old retiree on equal footing with a 19-year old gang banger, and a single guy on equal footing with a carload of drunk guys with baseball bats. The gun removes the disparity in physical strength, size, or numbers between a potential attacker and a defender.
There are plenty of people who consider the gun as the source of bad force equations. These are the people who think that we'd be more civilized if all guns were removed from society, because a firearm makes it easier for a [armed] mugger to do his job. That, of course, is only true if the mugger's potential victims are mostly disarmed either by choice or by legislative fiat - it has no validity when most of a mugger's potential marks are armed.
People who argue for the banning of arms ask for automatic rule by the young, the strong, and the many, and that's the exact opposite of a civilized society. A mugger, even an armed one, can only make a successful living in a society where the state has granted him a force monopoly.
Then there's the argument that the gun makes confrontations lethal that otherwise would only result in injury. This argument is fallacious in several ways. Without guns involved, confrontations are won by the physically superior party inflicting overwhelming injury on the loser.
People who think that fists, bats, sticks, or stones don't constitute lethal forcewatch too much TV, where people take beatings and come out of it with a bloody lip at worst. The fact that the gun makes lethal force easier works solely in favor of the weaker defender, not the stronger attacker. If both are armed, the field is level.
The gun is the only weapon that's as lethal in the hands of an octogenarian as it is in the hands of a weight lifter. It simply wouldn't work as well as a force equalizer if it wasn't both lethal and easily employable.
When I carry a gun, I don't do so because I am looking for a fight, but because I'm looking to be left alone. The gun at my side means that I cannot be forced, only persuaded. I don't carry it because I'm afraid, but because it enables me to be unafraid. It doesn't limit the actions of those who would interact with me through reason, only the actions of those who would do so by force. It removes force from the equation... And that's why carrying a gun is a civilized act.
This explains it better:
"The Gun Is Civilization"
By Maj. L. Caudill USMC (Ret)
Human beings only have two ways to deal with one another: reason and force. If you want me to do something for you, you have a choice of either convincing me via argument, or force me to do your bidding under threat of force. Every human interaction falls into one of those two categories, without exception. Reason or force, that's it.
In a truly moral and civilized society, people exclusively interact through persuasion. Force has no place as a valid method of social interaction, and the only thing that removes force from the menu is the personal firearm, as paradoxical as it may sound to some.
When I carry a gun, you cannot deal with me by force. You have to use reason and try to persuade me, because I have a way to negate your threat or employment of force.
The gun is the only personal weapon that puts a 100-pound woman on equal footing with a 220-pound mugger, a 75-year old retiree on equal footing with a 19-year old gang banger, and a single guy on equal footing with a carload of drunk guys with baseball bats. The gun removes the disparity in physical strength, size, or numbers between a potential attacker and a defender.
There are plenty of people who consider the gun as the source of bad force equations. These are the people who think that we'd be more civilized if all guns were removed from society, because a firearm makes it easier for a [armed] mugger to do his job. That, of course, is only true if the mugger's potential victims are mostly disarmed either by choice or by legislative fiat - it has no validity when most of a mugger's potential marks are armed.
People who argue for the banning of arms ask for automatic rule by the young, the strong, and the many, and that's the exact opposite of a civilized society. A mugger, even an armed one, can only make a successful living in a society where the state has granted him a force monopoly.
Then there's the argument that the gun makes confrontations lethal that otherwise would only result in injury. This argument is fallacious in several ways. Without guns involved, confrontations are won by the physically superior party inflicting overwhelming injury on the loser.
People who think that fists, bats, sticks, or stones don't constitute lethal forcewatch too much TV, where people take beatings and come out of it with a bloody lip at worst. The fact that the gun makes lethal force easier works solely in favor of the weaker defender, not the stronger attacker. If both are armed, the field is level.
The gun is the only weapon that's as lethal in the hands of an octogenarian as it is in the hands of a weight lifter. It simply wouldn't work as well as a force equalizer if it wasn't both lethal and easily employable.
When I carry a gun, I don't do so because I am looking for a fight, but because I'm looking to be left alone. The gun at my side means that I cannot be forced, only persuaded. I don't carry it because I'm afraid, but because it enables me to be unafraid. It doesn't limit the actions of those who would interact with me through reason, only the actions of those who would do so by force. It removes force from the equation... And that's why carrying a gun is a civilized act.
Site Supporter
Staff online
-
Cameramonkeywww.thechosen.tv
Members online
- jbombelli
- ZachJ03
- loudgroove
- wildcatfan
- 15kiserc
- maceace
- Leo
- mike8170
- JoeSig
- ancjr
- markiemark
- squeals99
- ditcherman
- morve80
- snorko
- TwoWheelsGonzo
- Gunmetalgray
- piper
- cedarhillfarms11
- indyartisan
- Mauser Fanatic
- X3r0h0uR
- Glock Fan
- Lee9
- ranger391xt
- PowderApe
- Creedmoor
- 2tonic
- AlienRayGun
- bulldogs42
- cbhausen
- bwframe
- Cameramonkey
- jocro
- TR1032
- pokersamurai
- OutdoorDad
- darend505
- MAG58
- DDadams
- fullmetaljesus
- Phil502
- asquinton
- edporch