How many here carry ?
 

While parking my car next to several parked gold carts in the shopping center near Brownwood, I observed an older Villager stumble out of his parked golf cart and I naturally offered my assistance. He appeared fine but I noticed that he dropped his Glock 17 onto the parking lot floor. He asked me to help him recover his firearm from the floor as he had difficulty with his gait.

I immediately realized that based on his behavior, he was unfamiliar with handguns and I told him that I would help him and make his gun safe. The firearm had an empty chamber but the clip was full. After securing his firearm, I strongly suggested that he take up some classes at the local Shooters World.

Just wondering, how many “unfamiliar” soles here carry?

Sounds like maybe more than one person needs to take a firearms class.. :1rotfl:

I don't own a firearm. I do, however, own a baseball bat and I'm not afraid to use it. Darned thing doesn't fit in my purse though, and it clashes with most of my outfits, so I don't take it out of the house. I wouldn't recommend trying to rob my house though. I'm a lefty. Don't test me.

My wife has a small 600 lumen led flashlight that she carries. Shine that in someone's eyes, even in daylight and you can do all kinds of things to them while they are blind. Or you can simply get out of the danger zone and they can't see where you went. It's much lighter and easier to conceal than a bat.. lol

Oooh I have one of those too! It doubles as a phone charger. I keep forgetting that I have it. Thanks for the reminder!

BTW I did have to threaten someone with the bat once. I was working at a gas station when I first got married. A junkie came in and started stuffing his pockets with packs of cigarettes right off the counter while I was standing there in front of him. I told him to put them down, he insisted he wasn't doing anything, so I grabbed the bat that we kept behind the counter, and told him if he didn't put the cigarettes down and get out RIGHT NOW the police wouldn't have anything left of him to identify. I kind of scared him a bit. He ran for the door. I locked him (and everyone else) out, called the police and my boss, and my boss bought me a pizza for lunch an hour later. Good times.

For me it’s not so much how many, but more WHO carry? People who were retired police etc make me feel safe, people who used to be on the wrong side of the law, on the other hand. I prefer to stay away from people and areas that make me feel unsafe in the first place.

Based upon your avatar, I assume that you served in the military, and for that I thank you for your service.

To suggest to carry a semi-auto for protection without one in the chamber is irresponsible. A law abiding citizen will not get to decide when they will need their firearm to defend themselves....

I agree, if I carry I carry in Condition One.

What I was referring to was your reference to that little thingy that holds the bullets as a clip. lol Most of us refer to them as magazines.

A clip is something that can hold the rounds until they are inserted into a magazine.

I have always had this nightmare of a shot being fired during a robbery in Wallmarts, and suddenly 50 or so geriatric guns slingers start blasting at all and sundry! :shocked:

Giggle, snort!:bigbow::bigbow::bigbow:

I don't think you'll get a good number of how many carry in TV. I have personally conducted over 100 Basic Pistol Classes. 12 students to a class. There is, however, a gun club in The Villages. The Straight Shooters hold BASIC Gun Classes every month. The next one is September 11th. This class will not only teach you Basic Gun Skills, you will get a certificate so you can get your CWFL. You can join the club at The Villages Straight Shooters Gun Safety, Education, Marksmanship - Home. Then you can register for the class. Be safe!

Would that be just the Villages residents?
I would imagine the number of CCW's rises exponentially with the onslaught of snowbirds, seeing how Florida has reciprocity with so many other states.
Many more people CCW in the Villages than anyone can imagine. I personally know of seven.
Steve

Whether I carry or not is nobody's business.

However, the more law-abiding citizens that legally carry the better I feel.

Matter of fact, I believe that all legally-qualified citizens be required to obtain a concealed-carry permit. Whether they carry or not is up to them. However, they will learn a little more about guns and gun laws, and that will be a good thing, too.

A lot of people ,especially older persons with arthritic hands, IMHO should not carry an auto-loader, they may not be able to clear a malfunction--they should stick with a wheel gun in a comfortable caliber--I was taught how to combat shoot by a former Mossad member-they carry with an empty chamber and the safety off-- with todays DA only pistols without a safety its totally ok to carry with a round chambered--best advice is equip your carry weapon with a laser sight-takes out a lot of the adrenal rush and guarantees you are on target--remember you are responsible once the weapon is exposed fired or not

In Florida it's a "Concealed Weapon and Firearm License" (CWFL) It covers concealed Weapons as well as Firearms. The Straight Shooters has 3,000 members. Almost all have a CWFL.

Mine has a cylinder.

A M1-Garand used an 8 rd enbloc-clip--A M1-Carbine used a magazine

1% - 2%
 

OP, an accurate number that carry or have a permit to carry would be difficult. Several I know have the ability to carry but rarely do. Their choice. Somewhere around 1% of population would just be a guess. And like you mention, there are some that do but one could question if they should. As we age, there are several “things” we likely should evaluate i.e. carry, climbing and driving. Just saying...

I've fired the M1. It fires 30:06 rounds and when the eight round is fired the clip pops out. A very sturdy weapon of war.

Eyesight, manual dexterity, hearing (if you are aiming for someone at another row of seats in a crowded town square because you heard them yell "I have a gun!" but what he actually said was "I had fun!"). Discipline - knowing that if you draw your weapon, you had BETTER be prepared to shoot.

I don't know of that many seniors who possess all of the above traits. I don't know of that many *people* who possess all of the above traits.

There is no need to know who does carry and most of us don't care if anybody else carries or not!

A lot of people new to Fl, may not realize--you do not need a permit to keep a firearm in your vehicle as long as its not readily accessible, which means the weapon must be in a glove box or console , encased in a holster or the equivalent, also when stopped by LEO in Fl you are not obligated to inform the officer that there is a firearm in your vehicle

If the gentlemen was licensed to carry, he should not be unaware or unfamiliar at all as he should have had to complete a training program to get the license in the first place. It's just a good thing it didn't jump up, run away, and go shoot someone since, apparently, that's how it works these days.

No training in Fl if you possess a DD-214, I personally think this is wrong -when I lived in NC--the qual test was much tougher

Good point.......
Now a question......
Is a golf cart driven off road ( as in The Villages ) considered a motor vehicle and how many locations inside a golf cart can one "legally" & " safely " conceal a firearm ?

If you are going to carry a handgun buy a quality holster that will retain the gun and prevent an occurrence such as this. Too many people will skimp on a holster because they just spent a bunch of money on a handgun. Wrong place to go cheap.

If you carry make sure you have the Pistachios to use it

I don't have one but tossing around discriptors like "geriatric" and "old arthritic hands" may make me want to get one.

Here is an interesting article about gun ownership.

My guess is about half the people who live in The Villages own guns. It is true of MY Village.

A Look at Gun Ownership by State

I don't care who has them as long as they are law abiding and pay their bills. OH and don't plant vegetable gardens and pink flamingo statues in their front yards.

I would advise anyone who buys a gun in Florida to get a concealed carry license, even if you intend to keep the gun in your house. It is easy to get and provides good training. You never know when you may want to take the gun outside of your house, and, if you do, you will be legal.

:agree:

All guns are different--a gun for house defense, like one you would keep near your bed night table, is different from one you would keep in your car, while a concealed carry gun is still different --men have pockets where they can carry & keep additional magazines or speed loaders for a revolver--women have much more difficulty for concealed carry

Most of us are told old to flee, fight--a firearm may be your last resort to survive

People on the wrong side of the law would never qualify to legally carry. There is an extensive background check done when you apply for a CCW in Florida.

The first thing I was taught 20 years ago when I took a ccw course is never to tell anyone that you are carrying. If you did then you would be giving up a huge tactical advantage.

You are correct most would not qualify. However,
I do not imagine there is anyone the other side of the law that ever gave it a nano seconds worth of concern.

9 mm double stack magazine...17 rounds...no need to carry anymore rounds than that....same gun house/car/carry...

From wikipedia, with references:

109. Benner, Katie; Mazzei, Patricia; Goldman, Adam (February 16, 2018). "F.B.I. Was Warned of Florida Suspect's Desire to Kill but Did Not Act". The New York Times. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
110. "FBI Statement on the Shooting in Parkland, Florida". Federal Bureau of Investigation. February 16, 2018. Archived from the original on February 17, 2018.
111. Wilber, Del Quentin; Viswanatha, Aruna (February 20, 2018). "FBI Probes Tip-Line Operations After Missed Florida-Shooting Warning". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved February 22, 2018

Background check my left buttcheek. If they had done an ACTUAL check, including following up on tips naming him as a person of concern, Cruz never would have been able to bring a weapon to Parkland School that day.

I recently saw an analysis of the number of rounds fired in gun fights (several hundred analyzed if I recall correctly). I believe the average number was less than 3. I think you have it covered.

Know your target and what's behind it.
A crowded town square is not the place to draw your weapon.

Methinks the subject just might be a tad over intellectualized.

Well then there's no need to carry into a crowded town square at all, is there?