USCCA REVIEWS AND USCCA MEMBER TRUE STORIES

I have owned guns for most of my adult life. I travel quite a bit, and have come to the conclusion that I was not safe without it when traveling. At my age (67), these times are just not safe without it. I now have the support I need in case I may have to use it to defend myself and my wife.

I’m a little disheartened by some of the firearm defense funds that have not been paid recently. Also, the Expo was a big plus to my USCCA membership. Your decision to drop that is not popular for me. I have a few more of your online training videos to watch, and then I will probably cancel my membership. I do love you magazine, and I will miss receiving that.

My family has always had guns and my parents and I had bought a gun that I was comfortable training with when I was a teen. I decided to start conceal carry and bought a second gun for home defense when I saw crime in my city continue to climb and not even my former college campus was safe from violent crime anymore. I knew as a woman who would be living alone in this city, even in the “safe neighborhoods”, I would need to protect myself. I bought a USCCA membership because I know I need the training and the resources to make sure that if the worst ever happens, I am prepared.

I’ve been gun owner for many years and I always wanted to be able to protect and defend myself and my family from any type violent threat

Worked as a deputy at one time and saw the total disregard some people had for human life,I carried off and on before,and after seeing how violent some are now I carry everywhere I go. Have attended classes when they are in my area and found them helpful

We live way out in the country, the city people in hoodlums and drug dealers are getting closer to our area. Always had hunting area around our place but now we’re getting squeezed by the bigger cities.

In 2007 I went to the range with weapon enthusiasts and learned about guns and safety. Soon after I bought a Ruger 38 Special. Easy to load , easy to use, easy to clean. As the 2008 election approached, and the 2A was continually attacked I thought it best to become prepared to defend myself, my family and property. After training with my weapon, I adopted a healthy fear of the power I held in my hand. The self - defense laws are ambiguous and alter from state to state. Shooting an attacker is frightening and the aftermath regarding law and order is even more terrifying. I opted to join USCCA for the support it provides as a conceal carry individual.

When I joined the US. Navy in 1997 is when I was first introduced to firearms. I then became an instructor in the military and civilian side. I'm now the owner with my wife of a security company TRT Defense and we also own a TI shooting simulator in Las Vegas, NV.

There are five life experiences that have conspired to render me absolutely prepared to join the USCCA the very first time I heard of Tim Schmidt’s new organization. The first experience occurred at age 18. I was driving home along west Good Hope Road from my job as a budding auto mechanic shortly after dark. At that time, west Good Hope Road was a lonely, isolated two-lane country road. A car stopped on the shoulder about an eight of a mile ahead of me. My headlights picked up a shadow of a man in a trench coat exiting the passenger side and jumping into the roadway. There he laid down across the right lane. As I approached, I pulled onto the right shoulder about fifty yards from his position. My intention was to approach him and see what was wrong. Suddenly, he stood up and began to stagger along the road shoulder toward me, his coat unbuttoned and flapping, his arms spread wide. He was yelling something unintelligible as he approached. In total puzzlement I watched him stagger towards me. With my eyes fixated upon him, I became aware that the car from which he had emerged had made a rapid, grinding, screeching double U-turn and was soon moving up the shoulder of the road behind me. In an effort to gain space between us, I began to back up slowly. That soon became impossible as the other car moved in behind me. It was at that moment that my staggering adversary approached my left front fender and began to reach for my door handle that I saw a slim escape route. I shifted into first gear and ground past him on the gravel shoulder, tearing his hand from my door handle. I sped onto the pavement. I didn’t look back until I’d reached the 40mph speed limit. I said a prayer of thanksgiving. Was it luck? I don’t think so! I’d been saying my rosary, as was my habit, when this episode began. I’d been blessed! The second episode occurred as I sat in my TR3 at a stoplight in downtown Milwaukee. The driver of the car in front of me took umbrage upon me for some unknown reason. He exited his pick-up truck and approached my car from the right side. He violently thrust his fist past the canvas and plexiglass right curtain into the car. He shouted angry, unintelligible curses and reached toward me with his left arm, trying to grab some part of me as I cowered against the left curtain side. In first gear, I began to inch forward. He began to think the better of it and withdrew his arm from its narrow access point. Before he could approach me from any other angle, I utilized my TR3’s tight turning radius to cut behind his vehicle into the left lane and escaped. Again, everything had happened so rapidly that I could not think rationally. I had simply reacted. Once again, in retrospect, I considered myself blessed! The next episode occurred as I stopped my AMC Gremlin at a red light on the south side of Chicago, a short distance from the U of C where I was serving my residency. A middle-aged street person opened the passenger door of my Gremlin and, with surprising agility, swung into the passenger seat, just as the light turned green. Before I could react or comment he stated matter-of-factly, “You’re gonna take me to the bus stop two blocks ahead. Goaded by several impatient honks from behind, without comment or resistance, I started driving forward. In Chicago traffic things happen quickly, giving a person little time to think. Less than a minute later I was stopped at the next red light when my new passenger opened the door, saying, “This is my stop!” and exited. I reached across the passenger seat to close the door and continued on my way. It was well after that episode that I began to consider the many horrible things that could just as well have happened. Needless to say, I saw to it that the Gremlin’s passenger door was always locked thereafter. The fourth episode also occurred in Chicago, this time on the north side. We drove down from Wisconsin to visit our daughter whose apartment was in a less than desirable neighborhood where the streets were perpetually parked up day and night. We had found that a bar near her apartment provided off-site parking available for a fee. I knew in advance that I would be walking some dangerous streets to and from the parking lot. This time I armed myself with my S&W Chief Special snub nose. I was quite aware that I was illegal, but, weighing the odds, I determined that I would rather be alive and arrested than mugged. I dropped my wife off at the bar and drove to the parking lot which was an isolated patch of dirt behind a group of closed businesses and homes. It was a scary situation, but, fortunately uneventful. After parking, I walked back to the bar, picked up my wife and walked to the apartment. I must admit that I felt a sense of security in being armed. Although I had been shooting guns since I was in grade school, at that time I was truly ignorant regarding concealed carry. I simply didn’t know what I didn’t know! The fifth episode that truly primed me for the concealed carry life occurred shortly after we decided to winter in Arizona. I applied for an Arizona Concealed Carry license. At that time Arizona required a shooting test at the range, and a day of lectures. Those lectures were priceless. There I began to really comprehend what I didn’t know. Shortly thereafter, I became aware of the fledgling organization formed by Tim Schmidt, USCCA. I was ready! I jumped at the chance and joined. I have been an enthusiastic member since. In the ensuing twelve years, I have been learning continuously. It has become more evident, as time passes, how essential my membership is to the concealed carry lifestyle. I felt truly privileged to meet Tim Schmidt in person at the USCCA Expo in Milwaukee last year. I was grateful to be able to congratulate him on a class operation, and to express my eternal gratitude for the education and comfort he and his organization have provided to us concealed carriers throughout the country.

I would like to protect myself and my family if need should arise. In protecting myself I do not want to loose my house or way of living because of someone else making bad decisions.