Do you carry....protection?

[Slaphead]

God I must live in eutopia compared to you lot - I never feel threatend at all - Hell even a mugging makes front page news here. Sure I carry a knife but it's packed in the bottom of my camera bag, used only as a tool, and would never be useful as a weapon as it would take too long to get out.

I do carry a monopod occaisionally but I would never think to smack somebody around the head with it.

My Kung fu teacher always said to me that whenever I was threatened that I should employ the "rapid shifting weight stance" - translated to "run like hell" and to only fight when there was no other available option.

 

[KD5NRH]

But carrying a large camera with a huge lens which has little street value, and most importantly is heavy and hard to run away with is an entirely different story.

Huh? Just a minute ago people were advocating running away carrying the gigantic huge 24x36 mahogany and steel view camera that we've now somehow barely managed to lug to the location with a furniture dolly and six helpers.

When I'm walking around shooting, I generally use the lightest body I own with an 18-70. Total weight with batteries is not much more than a couple cans of soda. Even if I put a longer lens on there it's still not going to be too heavy, or I would have picked a location I could drive right up to.

 

[panocho]

Hitting a mugger with your camera is going to make the situation worse- You are going to piss him off. What was only a transaction in his mind is now personal. Instead of losing your money, you are now going to get hurt or killed. People that rob and mug are generally addicts who are desperate for their next fix.

I seriously doubt that anyone here goes out looking for trouble, but some of the places we can find ourselves in are also places where we could be easily become a victim, and are already marked as such because we are out of place.

I was speaking of a last resort. Notice that before I wrote use your brain and your feet. So if none of these work, then instead of carrying a dangerous weapon, why not the camera itself, so that you can activate option one, i.e., your feet.

But of course, when I say first use your brain it basically means: let the camera go. To me, carrying any weapon only means seriously increasing the possibilities of things ending much worse.

 

[pez]

God I must live in eutopia compared to you lot - I never feel threatend at all - Hell even a mugging makes front page news here. Sure I carry a knife but it's packed in the bottom of my camera bag, used only as a tool, and would never be useful as a weapon as it would take too long to get out.

I do carry a monopod occaisionally but I would never think to smack somebody around the head with it.

My Kung fu teacher always said to me that whenever I was threatened that I should employ the "rapid shifting weight stance" - translated to "run like hell" and to only fight when there was no other available option.

I've studied and practiced TaiChi and Shaolin for almost 30 years, and I totally agree with the "run like hell" advice. Few things are worth a fight other than the safety of you or your loved ones (including pets). One of the many benefits of martial arts training is the art and wisdom of avoiding a fight. Diplomats would be well served to study a martial art discipline.
That said, stuff happens- just read the headlines. Almost anything can serve as an effective weapon to some degree- you might practice using a camera (er, perhaps an old junk camera, lol) that way, like practicing a fighting form. However, I live where a CCW can be had so I have retained a carry license for decades. I see no reason not to take advantage of what is arguably the most effective type of weapon legally available to me, if and when I feel it is warranted. It is my choice and also my responsibility, and never something one should do without commensurate thought and training. Odds are very much in my favor that I'll never need any weapon, although once long ago- 1978, I think- I was robbed of a SLR at gunpoint in downtown Atlanta early on a Sunday morning. I look at it like fire insurance for your home- you don't plan to have your home burn to the ground, and you do everything in your power to ensure that it never happens. But you bloody well buy that fire insurance.

 

[panocho]

I wish the world was truly that simple...

Sure sometimes it's not, but I really can't see how in the world carrying a weapon makes things "simpler".

Some here are confessing they carry guns and are willing to use them. "As a last resort", and so, but willing to, anyway. That scares me. It is very easy that in the heat of the moment that willingness arises as a not-really-last resort. Experience proves so. And so you shoot. And someone gets shot -might as well be yourself. Someone might be dead by now -but you keep your camera! Mmmmm... that sounds clever... :er:

 

[panocho]

It is my choice and also my responsibility, and never something one should do without commensurate thought and training.

And you do the thinking in the few seconds that take for you to use or not to use the gun, right?

 

[Garbz]

God I must live in eutopia compared to you lot

Americans, what did you expect.

<runs and hides before they come with their guns >

 

[Phelan]

Yes, but deadly force with a knife is still just as deadly, and much harder to do. I carry pepper spray and a kubotan for those who can be persuaded, and a .357 snub for those who can't. I've had some practice with knives, but I don't see the reason to add in another step that has no legal or tactical advantage over the firearm.

Wasn't meaning to imply that a knife was less lethal (or even that one should be used for defense, IMO if you're close enough to use a knife you've already screwed up) than a gun. I carry a knife for utilitarian reasons, opening things, breaking down boxes, cutting wiring, etc.

 

[Kegger]

Sure sometimes it's not, but I really can't see how in the world carrying a weapon makes things "simpler".

Some here are confessing they carry guns and are willing to use them. "As a last resort", and so, but willing to, anyway. That scares me. It is very easy that in the heat of the moment that willingness arises as a not-really-last resort. Experience proves so. And so you shoot. And someone gets shot -might as well be yourself. Someone might be dead by now -but you keep your camera! Mmmmm... that sounds clever... :er:

I carry my weapon because it does make things simpler. If I end up in a confrontation with someone who is willing to take my life for whatever reason, why should I have to rely on my feet. If he has a gun he'll just shoot me in the back.

As a soldier, I stand and fight in my job. And that carries over to my regular life. If my life or the life of anyone else in my immediate vicinity, is threatened; I'm going to use my gun. Whether it be to stand someone down, or put two in their chest. As long as I go home alive, and everyone else does as well, then I succeeded in making it through another day.

"I'd rather be judged by 12, than carried by six" is the truest statement to my reasoning.

 

[SrBiscuit]

CCW holder here.

Glock19.
it's never come out and likely never will, but it's there.

and just to add a comment to panocho's statement above...
those of us who do carry legally MUST understand the laws and ramifications of our actions. you cant shoot to protect property. those who would shouldnt be carrying (though i agree many who shouldnt still do)

well stated kegger.

 

[inTempus]

I carry a Ruger LCP in my pocket everywhere I go. When I'm out with my family I always have a 1911 concealed. It's far better to have and not need vs. need and not have. ([ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1u0Byq5Qis]Perfect Example[/ame])

Chances are I'll never have to use a firearm in a fight. I've been in several situations where someone got in my face and acted as though they wanted to fight, and I've tactfully backed them down without ever disclosing I was armed. Just because you have a weapon doesn't mean you must use it.

 

[SpeedTrap]

I could not carry any sort of weapon, I just won't. I have been in places all over the world and I can't think of one time in my life having a knife or gun or any sort of weapon would have helped.

It is just gear, if someone really wants it that bad and wants to mug me, I will give it to them without a fight, that is what insurance is for (I have been mugged twice).

But I can imagine if I had pulled a weapon things could have ended much worse than a police report and $100 taken (I have never had my gear on me when mugged).

Does it suck, yes!,
Do you feel horible after, Yup!,
Would I feel better if I injured myself or took someones life, Not a chance!

I figure you never know what drives someone to agression and you never know how far someone else is willing to go, so why even chance it.

The only time I carry a knife is when back packing, and that has nothing to do with protection.

 

[inTempus]

I figure you never know what drives someone to agression and you never know how far someone else is willing to go, so why even chance it.

Ironically, that's exactly why I carry a weapon. You may be willing to forfeit your life on principal, I however will fight to the death to my it home to my family at night.

Also, God help the poor soul that threatens the life of my child or wife.

You got lucky in that when you were mugged the mugger didn't decide to leave no witnesses. If you crack open a newspaper (in the US) you will see countless stories of people who weren't so lucky.

I will never put my life or the lives of my family in the hands of some street thug and trust they will be pacified by my surrendering my property to them. If they have a weapon and they threaten me, I will respond with deadly force.

As another poster mentioned in here, he's a Soldier. I'm a former 0311 Infantry Marine and I will not back down when threatened. If you threaten me, you damn well better be ready for the consequences.

 

[Jklersy]

My very close friend is a police officer and I have trained in fire arms with him for over 2 years. I do not carry a gun because I have never felt comfortable knowing that I might have to make a choice to take someones life. I can draw and fire all shots in the torso of my paper target from 10 yards and know all the police tactics, stances and "rules of engagement". I enjoy shooting for the skill and raw power that is pulling the trigger. I have thought about getting into competition shooting and am very comfortable around firearms.

I have carried a knife and have been trained in self defence against bladed and blunt weapons. I have also been trained in hand to hand combat, not to kill but to subdue. I am a relatively small person, 5'9" 150lbs, and have found that if I stand "tough" and make eye contact that my confidence has been my best defence.

I have gone into N Mpls, which can be a pretty rough place, with nothing more than my rebel XT and nifty fifty. I was bothered a little by some "locals", to be polite, and I just respectfully held my own and walked away.

Short of the long of it, if you are nervouse or scared, it shows. Community colleges teach self defence courses. You can get weapons training in any major city in the US. You have learned how to use your camera to the best of your ability, maybe you should consider learning what your body can do as well. It will better your life, I promise.

 

[Phranquey]

God help the poor soul that threatens the life of my child or wife.

I will never put my life or the lives of my family in the hands of some street thug and trust they will be pacified by my surrendering my property to them. If they have a weapon and they threaten me, I will respond with deadly force.

:thumbup: Could not have said it better myself

I have thought about getting into competition shooting and am very comfortable around firearms.

Be careful with this......If you thought photography was addictive & expensive...

I shot competition for almost 15 years, and quickly got into reloading to get that last little bit of accuracy, and it wound up saving me a boat-load of $$ on my high volume pistol ammo as well. Now I have big buck in the reloading equipment, which has turned into an evil hobby all it's own.