have you ever needed your hcp?

[Guest db99wj]

I like the insurance and flat tire analogies. I was going to use the insurance one.

[china coaster]

Now may be a good time to get or renew your HCP. I wrote my 50.00 check and sent it to TDS with my renewal form on 29 nov. and received my new HCP yesterday. Mine didn't expire until April.

[robbiev]

The news is filled with the obituaries of people who never needed a gun until the day they died. Some were younger than you, and some older. I'd be willing to bet not a single one of them woke up that morning thinking they'd need a gun that day.

Unfortunately, a friend of mine was killed in a home invasion just a couple of months ago. He was not a gun person and to the best of my knowledge didn't own a gun. Someone broke into his home during the night and decided he didn't need to live and killed him before they left.

[mcurrier]

i have had my doughts about getting my hcp because well i am 37 lived in both washington d.c. and baltimore for 20+ years and tampa fl for 3 years i now live here in east tennessee. i have never been in a situation where i felt that i wish i had a gun with me. the only time i can for see me really needing a gun while out might be if i was camping and need to defend my self aginsit a wild animal.

No one can tell you what to do as everyone's reasons are different. But the first time that something happens that might make you consider that a good reason to have had one, that might also be your last time to consider it.

Put another way, you don't wait until microseconds before your car is about to slam into another car or be hit by another car before you put your seatbelt on do you? Or until you can see the tornado before you buy homeowners insurance... So why wait until you need a gun to have one on you? It may be too late. As they said in the movie Contact, it's mainly for the reasons that you can't think of that you want to be prepared. If you know everything that's going to happen for the rest of your life, let me give you a dollar so you can buy me a lottery ticket.

[daddyo]

Pretty simple. If you don't want to carry a gun, then don't. It's a personal decision that only you can make for yourself.

[Guest Wildogre]

Never had to since I got my HCP, but 30 years ago... I was living in a trailer court outside of Sierra Vista AZ. One night I woke up and noticed the trailer wall moving and the door knob to the back door turning. I was living alone so I knew no one was locked out. I grabbed my Beretta and racked the slide back. In a loud voice I announced "Come in........ and stay." The next thing I heard was three motorcycles starting up. I never had another issue in that place.

I have another story but that one is not politically correct and there were three of us so it may not fit the topic of this thread.

[Guest ArmaDeFuego]

I've never had to use mine & I hope I never have to.

[Guest lostpass]

Been following this thread with interest. As I suspected no one has copped to actually needing their HCP. I wonder how true that actually is.

I suspect most people confuse "need" with "shot someone" or "brandished a weapon"

I don't have an HCP (mostly lazy, eight freaking hours?) but there are lots of times I would've felt more comfortable if I was carrying. I can think of more than a few times I would've felt better if I had a gun on me. I can also think of a few times I've decided not to go somewhere because it made me feel a little uncomfortable (even if that discomfort isn't rationally justified).

I'd feel better going to the range if I had a HCP. I'd feel better about hitting some places in Knoxville if I had an HCP.

I suspect a lot of people actually use their HCP a lot. They feel safer and go places they wouldn't otherwise go thanks to the security the feel when armed.

In short, I suspect, that lots of people actually need their HCP even if they have never needed to actually pull their weapon.

[Guest bkelm18]

Been following this thread with interest. As I suspected no one has copped to actually needing their HCP. I wonder how true that actually is.

I suspect most people confuse "need" with "shot someone" or "brandished a weapon"

I don't have an HCP (mostly lazy, eight freaking hours?) but there are lots of times I would've felt more comfortable if I was carrying. I can think of more than a few times I would've felt better if I had a gun on me. I can also think of a few times I've decided not to go somewhere because it made me feel a little uncomfortable (even if that discomfort isn't rationally justified).

I'd feel better going to the range if I had a HCP. I'd feel better about hitting some places in Knoxville if I had an HCP.

I suspect a lot of people actually use their HCP a lot. They feel safer and go places they wouldn't otherwise go thanks to the security the feel when armed.

In short, I suspect, that lots of people actually need their HCP even if they have never needed to actually pull their weapon.

I wouldn't say that. I don't need an HCP. I've never been glad I had it. I've never had any instance where I was glad to be carrying if things got dicey. Transporting guns to the range is really a non-issue if you don't have an HCP. Besides, having a gun on you shouldn't make you braver or more brazen. Just because you're packing heat doesn't mean that you're ok to go into areas that you wouldn't otherwise. There are many, many places that I would never have gone before I could carry, and as it turns out, I still never go to those places.

[creeky]

Be aware of your surroundings and don't go to problem areas if you can avoid it. Should keep you safe 99.99% of the time.

Twice... about 12 years ago, then again about ten years ago.

No shots fired.

Both experiences changed the way I look at a lot of things.

Biggest lessons I took away from it...

• Things happen incredibly quickly, crazy quick, sometimes there just aren't indicators (anger, clinched fists, etc.)

• Don't think you'll have time to grab that spare mag from a cup holder, rack a slide, etc.

After everything was said and done and i got back to work, I felt like I had been in a car accident. I sat in my car

and thought my heart was about to explode it was beating so hard, my hands were literally shaking and

I immediately felt physically drained.

Your mileage may vary.

[Guest pfries]

Well just to lighten the load a bit. No I have not Needed it in the sense that the OP presented.

I will use it when I go to vote....

[Guest Baron]

Living in some areas in Memphis could make a hot zone in the Middle East seem peaceful. I can not even go into all the horrors I have witnessed or endured without starting to sound like a lier. Thankfully, I no longer live in that area.

I have drawn a weapon twice and fired once (4 shots). I will tell you about one.

First time I was only 14. I was home alone with my little brother while my mother worked the night shift. About 2 am, a large man kicked in the door. I was paralyzed with fear. I could hear the guy rummaging through the house and eventually he stepped in the hot pan of water outside the bedroom door. We all slept in the same room in the winter because it was easier to heat and we placed a pan of water on the floor furnace because the air would get so dry.

When he stepped in the hot water, it must of shocked him and he yelled. I ran over to the night stand, grabbed my fathers old 38 and jumped back in the bed and hid with my eyes peeping out the top of the blanket. He must of heard me because I watched him slowly peek around the corner. He then entered the room and started to move towards me and my brother (who for some reason didn't wake up). This is when I unfroze.

Honestly, I am not 100% sure exactly what happened, but this is how it is believed to have gone...The first 2 shots were fired through the blanket. He turned to run out and I fired twice more. I have no idea why the 5th shot wasn't fired. No shots connected and the man escaped unharmed. I dialed 911 (I couldn't get to the phone before), the cops arrived soon after. They basically secured the area till my mother got home. They asked me basic questions and talked to my mother outside.

A few days later a lady who I believe wasn't an officer arrived with a uniformed officer. She must have been a child shrink and asked me a lot of child-shrink questions. Afterwards, they asked if I could pick out the man from 5-6 photos. Unfortunately, I could not. Nothing else came out of it.

[hornett22]

Living in some areas in Memphis could make a hot zone in the Middle East seem peaceful. I can not even go into all the horrors I have witnessed or endured without starting to sound like a lier. Thankfully, I no longer live in that area.

I have drawn a weapon twice and fired once (4 shots). I will tell you about one.

First time I was only 14. I was home alone with my little brother while my mother worked the night shift. About 2 am, a large man kicked in the door. I was paralyzed with fear. I could hear the guy rummaging through the house and eventually he stepped in the hot pan of water outside the bedroom door. We all slept in the same room in the winter because it was easier to heat and we placed a pan of water on the floor furnace because the air would get so dry.

When he stepped in the hot water, it must of shocked him and he yelled. I ran over to the night stand, grabbed my fathers old 38 and jumped back in the bed and hid with my eyes peeping out the top of the blanket. He must of heard me because I watched him slowly peek around the corner. He then entered the room and started to move towards me and my brother (who for some reason didn't wake up). This is when I unfroze.

Honestly, I am not 100% sure exactly what happened, but this is how it is believed to have gone...The first 2 shots were fired through the blanket. He turned to run out and I fired twice more. I have no idea why the 5th shot wasn't fired. No shots connected and the man escaped unharmed. I dialed 911 (I couldn't get to the phone before), the cops arrived soon after. They basically secured the area till my mother got home. They asked me basic questions and talked to my mother outside.

A few days later a lady who I believe wasn't an officer arrived with a uniformed officer. She must have been a child shrink and asked me a lot of child-shrink questions. Afterwards, they asked if I could pick out the man from 5-6 photos. Unfortunately, I could not. Nothing else came out of it.

That's unreal! Good shooting! Glad you guys made it through that.

[Guest Sgt. Joe]

Reading through this thread I have come to the conclusion that I DO indeed need my HCP. I need it for the piece of mind that it gives me. I dont need it so that I can become some super-hero and save the world from evil, I need it so I can feel like I have a fair chance to defend myself and my own.

I spent most of my life as a martial artist, took classes in several styles, never finished any of them and developed my own. I have twice taken knives from those who wanted my hard earned money and once kicked a pointed handgun away from a fool who wanted the same. I didnt walk this world with chip on my shoulder but rather a confidence that was unshakable. I protected myself and even helped others in need with only my hands and feet. Not a Billy Bad Butt type, simply proficient and confident.

Then I suffered a neck/nerve injury and I could no longer on some days walk very well much less do any of those things that I once could do. One morning I caught myself in the mirror leaving the restroom after a morning visit, I noticed how weak I looked and on that day it started to bother me. I started to wonder what I would do if some of the things that had happened to me in the past were to happen again. I wondered what I would do if some bad things were to happen to a member of my family and I realized that all I would be doing was standing by watching it happen or getting myself paralyzed because I could no longer do what I once could. For the first time in my life I did not walk this world with confidence, I walked with wonder and even fear and I did not like that feeling.

I was not raised around guns but did spend my youth in the Army and a good part of my life after that in the National Guard of whatever state that I lived in at the time. But the only thing that I was familiar with was gun safety and the M-16. I knew that was not going to be enough to give me back the confidence that I once had. Walking around with a long gun at the low-ready was not going to be the answer, doing so was just fine in Iraq but it sure wasnt going to work here in the US.

Still I did not really want to carry a gun, not out of fear of firearms but because of the responsibility of such an action, I also have three children that had to be considered. I simply did not want anymore stress or responsibility in my life. Over the course of a year or so while the VA determined just how messed up my neck, back, shoulder and legs were and came to the conclusion that they could not fix me and that I would only likely get worse, I also came to the conclusion that carrying a gun was all that I could ever do to regain my confidence in defending myself.

The military had taught me pretty much nothing about handguns so I started reading and I read and I read and I started to teach my kids. I bought a 380 and applied for my permit. I carried an empty (no mag) gun for several weeks just to get use to the idea of having one around all the time. Then I carried without a round chambered for a couple of more weeks and I continued to read and learn and started going to the range. I carried the 380 until I realized that my neck and shoulder could tolerate a 9mm and I moved up to that. I learned that I could not tolerate a 45 and that a 40cal was OK but ammo was expensive...I learned as I went. Gathering that confidence all along the way.

The marksmanship skills that I had learned with an M-16 carried over and I was a much better shot with a pistol than I thought that I would be. It was at that point that my confidence started to come back and I realized that carrying did not add stress to my life it added confidence and a whole lot more responsibility, but it was a comforting responsibility.

I have traded that extra responsibility for the renewed confidence and today putting on the loaded and chambered weapon is as natural as putting on my socks, though each time I do I feel that extra responsibility...but I also feel that confidence that should some bad things happen that day that I will be the one coming home afterward.

In the few years that it has been, it was just a couple weeks ago that I came very close to pulling that weapon, in the parking lot of the Kroger store no less. I was already on the phone with 911 as were several other people as a drunk man was beating a little lady. He was beating her pretty bad and my hand for the first time ever had moved without me even noticing to my weapon but the gun stayed put, one hand on the phone and one hand on the gun.

The police arrived in what seemed to be less than a minute and it was all over just as fast as it started. The lady was hurt pretty bad but the last I heard was that she was going to be fine and should be out of the hospital by now. She really could not have stood much more. I also do not think that I was the only one that was at the ready with a weapon.

It turned out that the fool who was beating on her had several felony assault warrants out for him. If the police had been a few minutes longer and her head had hit that pavement a few more times I know in my heart that I would have shot that man....it would have been the right thing to do. I dont know how I would have felt afterward had the situation gone that far but I do know that it would have been the right thing to do. I hope and Pray that I never ever have to even draw my weapon but I did feel good in knowing that I could have saved that lady's life if I had needed to and I feel good in knowing that I can save my own if the need arises.

I am not in any way happy that the lady was hurt but I gained a lot of experience and learned a lot about myself that day. I learned that I could remain calm and while doing so that I could still survey the entire situation, thus the reason that I really feel that the man wearing jeans and a light brown coat and cap with his right hand on his hip was likely carrying. His stature changed and his hand left his hip at the same time mine did when the police arrived. And I pretty much know that the lady who was sitting in her car screaming at 911 was probably related to the lady being hurt, she was simply far more upset than the rest of those watching whom I could still describe in detail. The whole situation helped to raise my confidence that I can carry responsibly a bit higher.

So while I agree with Lostpass in that I indeed do "NEED" my HCP, I dont agree at all that it makes me want to go places that I wouldnt otherwise go. As for the going to the range part, I dont feel better in going because I have my HCP, I go to the range "because I have my HCP" and I consider it to be part of the responsibility of of having an HCP to stay proficient with my weapons.

An added bonus to my "need" is that I now have a new hobby of collecting and shooting which is a blast, but best of all I have met many many good people, some still just on forums but also several that I have met in person whom I have become very close friends with. Everyone needs friends and some of the best ones I have today, I have because I "needed" to carry a gun.

So....YEP... I NEED mine....I guess I could have just said that.

[Fallguy]

After I think about it....because the way the laws are in TN...I need my "HCP" everytime I leave the house with my handgun so that I'm not violating the law.

Now on if I have ever needed that handgun...No, but there have been a couple of times I was glad that I could put my hand on it.

[1pointofview]

All i know is I just got my HCP last week and picked up a new carry pistol yesterday. I carried for the first time yesterday and can not really describe the piece of mind. I guess if I had to explain the need the carry it would be this. If you need someone to explain the need to carry then more than likely you don't need to carry. When i went through my permit class there were people who wanted to know how to correctly handle a firearm, there were people who I hope to Gawd never carry a firearm.

Owning a firearm is a responsibility and the more responsible carrying gun owners there are the better off society will be IMO.

[sigbrown1297]

I need my HCP/CCW every time i carry. If I am carrying and i have to draw, then i am shooting. I won't be drawing just to point it at someone. For me, my pistol is not a deterrent. If you draw, you better be ready to shoot and accept all of the the consequences, good and bad

Edited December 25, 2011 by sigbrown1297

[LDRider]

I have my HCP not because I have thought I needed it at some point but because I hope I don't need it at some point.

Jeff

[Guest Lowbuster]

We have a fire pit out back of all our houses in neighborhood. I carry fire extuingsher in truck. Well it was pretty old so I put fire out with it. I went to hardware store the. Ext day and sure enough there was a car on fire on my way. Hcp didn't help but extuingsher would have. Better to have and not need than need and not have.

[maddog909]

I haven't been in a situation where I had to unholster a gun but I have had two instances where I wish I had. The first instance happened years ago when myself and a friend were beat up by a gang of about 30. Ended up with a fractured skull that time. The second episode happened years later when an apparently buzzed meth-head pulled me off the sidewalk into an alley and showed me his knife with the intent of removing me of my cash. During that period there weren't any handgun carry laws, in Minnesota that is. After moving here I obtained my HCP and use it. So many people I talk to have never been in these types of situations and usually say it will never happen to them........ but their wrong. It can happen to anyone at anytime. I wasn't expecting it when it happened to me but I know better now. There's some real nasty people out there.

[LawVol]

Back in the 80's, the DOJ did a 10 year study that found that 83% of Americans will be the victim of a violent crime at some point in their life. That's probably gone down some, but I don't know if the study has been updated. When your time comes, and there's a good chance that it will, will you be prepared to defend yourself? If you have your permit, will you have your gun? Or will it be sitting in your drawer because you thought you were going somewhere safe?

It drives me crazy when my wife asks me why I carry to certain "safe" places. I tell her I'm not good enough of a gambler to guess the moment in my life when I will need to defend myself or my family, so the best bet is to carry my gun as often as possible.

Point is, get your permit and carry your gun.

[QuietDan]

If you have an umbrella, chances are it won't rain.

I need my HCP so that I do not need it.

And, the longer I don't need it, the more I need it.

[Guest JHansonLPN]

Easter sunday 6 years ago, there was a 2 car accident in front of my house, I grab my jump bag and a fire extinguisher and approach the vehicles thinking about triage and start noticing some things that set off alarms. Come to find out, it was a woman trying to run away from her abusive husband and he had run her down and ran her off the road. I'm pretty sure my gun (and prompt arrival of the fire dept) saved her life that morning. Fast forward a couple of years, My wife, 6 month old daughter, and I are walking back from my sons school after a parent teacher conference. We hear glass breaking, and men shouting. I send my wife home around the block and go to investigate. I find three goblins trying to break into a house of an elderly gentleman on the corner. I shout at them and hit 911 on the cell phone, announcing the location, their descriptions, vehicle description, and license plate number loudly, and yell at them to get away from the house. Neighbors are coming out and thes guys run across the old mans yard jump in their car and squall out all the way down the road. 3 minutes later my wife drives up, hands my my piece through her truck window and hauls butt back home. A few minutes later, the car comes back cruising very slowly, I take cover behind a tree, yell at all the neighbors to get down and draw a bead on the drivers side of the windshield, the car once again squalls tires down the block. 27 minutes after my 911 call a police car pulls up and the officer asks me "sooo whats up".

[Caster]

After I think about it....because the way the laws are in TN...I need my "HCP" everytime I leave the house with my handgun so that I'm not violating the law.

Now on if I have ever needed that handgun...No, but there have been a couple of times I was glad that I could put my hand on it.

This was my thought exactly. I need my permit everyday. No telling what might happen to me if I were ever confronted by LEO's and I didn't have it. Carrying a loaded pistol is illegal if you don't have one!