Conceal Carry Argument with Girlfriend

[jontheturboguy]

.....any advice?

A. Educate said girl that all the bull÷&##€÷£!+×$! She sees in the movies about gun just "going off" is exactly that. BS.
B. Get a new girl friend.

 

[Jenny B]

A point of view from the Gf's side of the fence...
In the not so distant past, I had a very similar argument with my ex. I was about 22y/o, him older'ish'. Although I had been raised with firearms as the step daughter of a long time Hendricks Co officer, I'd never done more than plinked cans off the fence with my great uncle and his old bb gun.

Needless to say, I knew next to nothing, and a gun without a manual safety, to me, was just wrong. Your whole life you hear people talk about the safety and make sure it's on, you don't hear 'oh that, no safety on it'.

Aside from a little time, and a lot of empty handling, the biggest helper for me was reading the manual. Something about the manufacturer explanation and simplification really chilled out my inner spaz.

The ability to step back, open my mind, and see the big picture, did me a world of good.

Maybe it will her too.

 

[bobn911]

I would keep carrying with one in the pipe and if she asks, just say yes and drop the subject. Personally, until I find the correct rock that fits my holster, I will carry one in the pipe. Later, Bob

 

[Jenny B]

A. Educate said girl that all the bull÷&##€÷£!+×$! She sees in the movies about gun just "going off" is exactly that. BS.
B. Get a new girl friend.

I'm sorry, B. made me giggle a lot.

Hopefully she comes around for ya :-)

 

[Mackey]

Go back and reread what Liertarian01 wrote. Solid advice.
I didn't like to hear you say that you wouldn't trust yourself with a gun with a safety. That doesn't inspire much confidence. I know you were just trying to bolster your argument. ... but I would drop that one.

There have been many ND with Glocks. God help you if you have one now.

Sounds like you have a great gf. I also thing you're doing her right by trying to get some advice here. Hope it all works out.

 

[Bushido Devil Dog]

Get a 1911......end of conflict.....

This.

Because while her lips were saying this:

She then got teary and said she just wished there was a more safety then just pulling the trigger and it going boom.

...what she meant was:

"...she just wished that I would realize the genius of John Moses Browning when he perfected the fighting pistol with the development of his Model of 1911 design and that I would lose the tacticool Tupperware and carry a pistol meant for use by men(!), because she doesn't want to have to be the one to rush me to the hospital when I inevitably Glock-leg myself because...

=================

Kidding aside, this sounds like a good idea to help calm her fears...

A point of view from the Gf's side of the fence...

Aside from a little time, and a lot of empty handling, the biggest helper for me was reading the manual. Something about the manufacturer explanation and simplification really chilled out my inner spaz.

The ability to step back, open my mind, and see the big picture, did me a world of good.

Maybe it will her too.

 

[04FXSTS]

NRA Basic Pistol, a great way to get uneducated people familar and comfortable around handguns. I am an NRA certified instructor and have had several people in my classes that not only had never touched a gun but were totaly afraid of them. So far I have had a very good sucess rate and once they learned how they work and how to handle them safely they lose the fear and replace that with respect. Trying to teach your wife/girlfriend to shoot or drive is not a good idea, find a good instructor for either. Jim.

 

[jwh20]

Have you considered getting a new GF?

 

[aaron580]

This.

Because while her lips were saying this:



...what she meant was:

=================

Kidding aside, this sounds like a good idea to help calm her fears...

Thats pretty much what I was thinking.

I actually have been debating with my best buddies father, who is a huge gun guy, about chamber carry. He refuses to carry one in the chamber because of all the horror stories of people shooting themselves. He carries one of the dinky sig 9mm (938?) Im not sure which model, as I am not caught up on my mini sigs. He wont listen to reason and says he doesn't need training because he knows how to handle a firearm. Oh the joys of mental block!

 

[churchmouse]

Thats pretty much what I was thinking.

I actually have been debating with my best buddies father, who is a huge gun guy, about chamber carry. He refuses to carry one in the chamber because of all the horror stories of people shooting themselves. He carries one of the dinky sig 9mm (938?) Im not sure which model, as I am not caught up on my mini sigs. He wont listen to reason and says he doesn't need training because he knows how to handle a firearm. Oh the joys of mental block!

Dads will never admit they could be wrong on something as important as this. Stubborn and opinionated.....Oh wait, that was my dad.......

 

[gjclark]

Thats pretty much what I was thinking.

I actually have been debating with my best buddies father, who is a huge gun guy, about chamber carry. He refuses to carry one in the chamber because of all the horror stories of people shooting themselves. He carries one of the dinky sig 9mm (938?) Im not sure which model, as I am not caught up on my mini sigs. He wont listen to reason and says he doesn't need training because he knows how to handle a firearm. Oh the joys of mental block!

Are you saying you do carry in the chamber or don't? I am honestly not worried about "Glock-legging" myself because of this... I know it is a serious matter and I really do believe that my finger is my safety. You treat the gun with respect and pay the utmost attention when you are handling it no matter what. It doesn't matter if one is the chamber or not. If it is hot with a loaf in the oven (do people use this? If not I claim it.) there should be no reason for it to go off in a proper holster. And the only reason it should come out of that holster is when I plan to clear that chamber by either pulling the boom switch or pulling back and locking the slide.

She doesn't want me too... And I am new to carrying. I am thinking of appeasing her for the time being as this might be a lot to dump on her.

I am also thinking of carrying with one in the pipe and not telling her or bringing it up. Let it be the elephant in the room.

I am not thinking of getting a new girlfriend currently.

 

[churchmouse]

To gjclark,

There is a lot here that is purely emotional. Logic does not always apply to a discussion. There are positives and negatives on both sides of the fence. It is only our perception that skews the balance one way or the other.

I say this because to my knowledge there have been zero (0) studies done showing the good or bad of carrying one in the chamber. There will only be anectdotal stories that while they cannot be totally ignored neither are they a sign of anything resembling the "truth."

What you need to ask yourself is: is there some really, really reasonable foundation for your carrying a Glock over another pistol that has an active safety switch? I am going to guess that while you have your reason(s) they are not prohibitive to carrying another model that may make you happy (you are armed and defended) while also making her happy (she gets to see a safety.) Her desire for a safety is not entirely unreasonable. You have shown her Glocks safety features but we are talking comfort.

Some battles are we fight to win, others simply to not loose. She does not sound like she has been at all unreasonable up until this point, and she is not being 100% unreasonable regarding the desire for an active safety. That isn't a bad thing. Even though Glock has many passive safety's I would say that if it is really important to her let her be wrong and do it her way anyway. She isn't asking you to disarm. Probably given enough time and familiarity with firearms knowledge she will change her position and grow comfortable with the Glock.

I have carried a semiauto without one in the chamber. While there might maybe somehow be a one in a million chance that I don't have time to chamber a round, I am not going to worry about that longshot freak statistic. I have also carried with one in the chamber. For me it depended upon the pistol at the time.

In the end regarding such a thing no one is 100% right or wrong. It is all a matter of personal opinion or comfort level.

Do not forget, if this is the worst argument you have had in a while - you and she are dong just fine.

Regards,

Doug

+1 as always my friend......

 

[Tnichols00]

Use this as an excuse to get another gun... One with a safety

I can hear you now, "Honey I respect your opinion and that is why we are going to go to the gun store and get a gun with a manual safety, I want you to feel as comfortable as possible"

Then leave your glock at home so she doesnt get any ideas while at the store.

 

[88GT]

Rational arguments will get you nowhere. Her response is irrational emotions. Continue your current path of using logic to bring her around and you will fail.

I would suggest you continue to carry what you want as you want. And do not engage her in emotional arguments. Don't defend your choice. If you argue, she will think there is room for changing your mind. Trust me on this. Words are the weapons for a woman's battlefield. If you don't want to ignore her when she brings up the subject, calmly tell her that you have made your choice. It is non-negotiable. And stop there!

She may or may not get over it. If she doesn't, you have saved yourself some future grief.

 

[cosermann]

Ask her to point out the "safety" on a revolver.

 

[cbhausen]

Simple... Get a good retention holster and LEAVE THE DAMN THING IN IT UNTIL YOU NEED TO USE IT.


/endthread

 

[femurphy77]

Man this has a potential for double fail; "Conceal Carry Argument", and "Argument With Girlfriend". Good Luck!!!!

 

[Bapak2ja]

A suggestion: Purchase a Tauraus 24/7 or 709. I, too, became uncomfortable carrying a Glock. I saw an account of a poor quality holster causing an unintended discharge. I discussed it with my son. We identified what I liked about the Glock—the ease of operation, reliability, grip, size, sights, etc. We also identified what I did not like—no manual safety, the angle of the grip (I had to cock my wrist to an unnatural angle).

My son thought about it and suggested I look at the Taurus 24/7 Pro. It is basically a Glock (as opposed to a 1911-style) and had a manual external safety. An added benefit was that i could sell my Glock for almost twice what I needed to purchase the Taurus 24/7.

You can carry the Taurus 24/7 with one in the chamber. Practice using it and releasing the safety becomes second nature, just a flick of the thumb. No problem. GF happy. OP happy.

FYI, many will denigrate the Taurus quality. I purchased two from INGO members. The first one needed some attention by Taurus Customer Service, at Taurus' expense. Since then both weapons have been flawless.

 

[ATM]

I'm not sure why making irrational concessions seems such popular advice here.

If it is truly important to you to "win over" someone who's objections lack realistic merit, by all means involve them in the educational process required to overcome those objections.

But... don't be swayed to make changes that aren't right for you based simply upon another's (even a significant other's) lack of understanding or emotional biases.

 

[Mr. Habib]

It appears that she is more likely to go off than the Glock. Perhaps she is the one that should have been equipped with a manual safety.



Read the above in the color that you feel is most appropriate.