Welcome to the Community! Please Introduce Yourself

Hey everyone, I’m Mike. I’ve just begun my fourth year as a USCCA member and avid supporter.
I purchased my first firearm back in the 80’s. I then worked at a Nuclear facility where we received our firearms training from a State Police instructor from that state.
I’m a firm believer in our God given right to defend ourselves and the Constitution the defends that right by saying it will not be infringed. The more the government wants to infringe on our right to own and bear arms the more we need to, and be proficient with it.
My usual EDC is a 9mm with Black Hills Honey Badger ammo, which I recently discovered.
The best self-defense advice I have every received is, be aware of your surroundings, keep your mouth shut and don’t look for trouble. If trouble finds you, take care of business.
I’ve gone on long enough for the first time. Be happy, be careful, and be safe my friends.

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Welcome @bilan.hockers and @Mike!

I’m excited to have you both here! Any time you want to go to the range, Bilan - let me know! That goes for everyone here! If you’re close enough or I’m traveling and get close to where you are and you want to go to the range, let me know! :smiley:

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First time on the new USCCA Community. It has been lots of hard work, but I think we have the foundation of something really special. Thank you all for being involved. This should be a great place to share ideas, both old and new. I look forward to being a part of this. For those of you who don’t know, I am the Executive Editor of a little publication called Concealed Carry Magazine and I make some online videos, on occasion. I’ll be around.

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Welcome @KevinM! Glad to have you here - can’t wait to see the great interactions with you here!

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Army Vet, multiple formal weapons training and qualifications. Hunting since 5. Never felt the urgency for CC due to martial arts and self defense training. My son getting LTC motivated me to pull the trigger on getting my first owned pistol. Already have firearms and sidearm training.

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Welcome, I am a USMC Veteran and also a first responder. I handle Emergency Communications and Management for a Police Department. I am also a proud, unapologetic 2nd Amendment supporter. While I am not at the USCCA, I am proud to be a USCCA Gold member and helping to build the Community here. @Dawn invited me to the community and I have already helped to facilitate a few conversations in the couple of days that I have been on board.

You said that your training left you “a little shaky.” No worries, we all were a little shaky at first. My first experience with a firearm was a shot gun. I did not have my foot posture correct and that shotgun put me on my backside. But I learned and got better. Now some 2 1/2 decades later, I can shoot a 50Cal over 500 meters dead center. (Roughly about 1/2 mile)

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Welcome to the Community @KillJoy! Thank you for your service, Mdstanzel and @Deril! We are proud to have veterans like you in the USCCA family and in the USCCA Community!

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My name is Luke and I am just an average citizen.

  • I’ve always been interested in martial arts but I’ve never truly thought about self defense until I moved to Al year and a half ago. That’s when I saw their CCW permit age was 18. So when my mother bought her gun (we knew some folks who worked for Ruger and got discounts) I asked if I could get one too.
    I’ve only been training for self defense for a year and a half.
    I have taken a 9 hour concealed defensive handgun course that’s actually taught by a USCCA instructor.
    The best advice for self defense… I would have to say that really it’s just the 4 basic tenets to make sure you’re in the right in a self defense incident.
    Ah… My favorite gun. Right now I regularly carry a compact Ruger Security 9 but I’m trying to get better with my XDS so I can have a more concealable carry gun.
    Unfortunately I don’t train all that much. I work, I’m finishing up the last couple months of HS (I’m homeschooled and fell a bit behind). And I help on the small farm we have. So basically I train with my gun when I can go to a friend’s range.
    Like I said my mother carries (though she doesn’t have all the proper gear). As far as friends, well I only have one friend at the moment in AL. He knows I carry. And obviously the rest of my immediate family do too.
    I hope to learn from others and their experience. I know that there’s many many people out there who have been carrying longer and would know stuff that I wouldn’t or might not think of.
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My name is Chet, and as my username implies, I carry a .45. An M&P 45c to be exact. I decided to carry a firearm because we live in a world where unfortunate things happen all the time, and I refuse to have myself or my loved ones be victims. I like to hunt, and be outdoors. My carry gun does change when out in the woods from my 45 to a 6 inch barrel .357 magnum Ruger. I’ve had the Illinois required training to have a ccw license. During the range portion of that training, the instructor also had us do some different drill to work on shooting while moving, and point shooting. He also had us work on reloading while engaging a target. When time allows, I would like to do some action pistol shooting.

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Welcome @luke_ouellette and @45IPAC!

I’m excited to have you both here!

Luke, have you tried dryfire training at home? No live ammo in the room at all, but you can do drawing drills, shooting drills and more! Be sure to check out our YouTube Channel for training ideas: https://www.youtube.com/user/USCCAtraining

Chet, we’re your neighbor to the North! You should stop by the headquarters sometime for a tour!

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@Dawn I have not tried dry firing. Though it’s been mentioned to me before. I’ll give it a try but the trouble is finding the time to do so. I hear it’ll improve accuracy or something like that.

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If I’m ever that way, that would be cool. I met several of the more visible staff members at the expo last year in Louisville.

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That’s awesome, @45IPAC! Did you see that Kevin Michalowski has joined the USCCA community? He won’t be on much over the next week due to the Shot Show, but he’s dropping by from time to time.

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I finally got this account created but I had to use a different link.

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Hi, I’m a Former Soldier with 8 years Army and I’m currently trying to rejoin the Military. I’m what they refer to as a BRAT… My dad was also a soldier. But I learned to shoot on a Stevens Favorite .22 rolling block 1915 which I’m redoing to make sure it last so my grandkids someday can learn on it too. I did 6 years MMA, also assisted in teaching life guards how to deal with combative victims. I build some rifles and I also do upgrades to weapons when I can. Married with 2 wee ones right now??? Oh I also am a gamer in my spare time and do some woodworking and general construction project all in my spare time… anything else?? :clown_face::clown_face:

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It’s great to see so many new faces here, welcome to all of you. Our world of shooting is so misunderstood by so many, don’t ever get discouraged, we are here to support each other and help to keep everyone informed and educated. Never be afraid to ask questions, the only stupid question is the one that isn’t asked, all others are relevant.
God Bless to all. :sunglasses:

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Hi Kevin, I am curious to know if USCCA has any videos for folks considering travel abroad? I am a Federal employee and have suggested a few points for folks to consider, I am just looking into whether you or @Dawn have any thoughts to add to to the discussion?

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Hi @Deril, check out video I posted on this thread: Traveling abroad in another country - #5 by Dawn

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Hello!
I am from Missouri. I have been carrying and training for about a year and half. My younger son has type 1 diabetes and one of biggest fears was being car jacked or him being abducted and with no insulin, well, the thought makes me sick. I am a huge of advocate of training with your weapon. I am a huge Sig Sauer fan and carry the P938 although it seems to be malfunctioning now that the P938 legion has come out :slight_smile: I homeschool my youngest and just joined an outdoor rifle range so that we can shoot together during the day . I am very glad to be here and hope to get more women involved in self defense as the crime rate keeps rising and the laws are getting more lenient.

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Welcome to the USCCA Community @TWeinzerl! I’m so excited to see you here!

Sounds like you’ve got the need (or desire (?)) to get a new gun! We’ve got a great conversation going about getting a new gun here: New Concealed Carry Gun - What do you suggest? - #22 by Dawn

Can’t wait to have more discussions with you!

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