Thunderbirds?
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@Jeff333 Welcome. Oh, and I love jets. Thank you for your service.
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Hello everyone I was advised to introduce myself. I started shooting at 7 years old. At 14 years old I started shooting competitive NRA 4 position small bore. I did that for about 3 years. At 21 years old I went into Federal Law Enforcement and had a 33 year career. My last 9 years I was a Fire Arms Instructor, ClassRoom Instructor and Range Supervisor. For about 2 years, during that time, I was the agencies shooting team manager. A few years ago I retired and shortly after DHS requested I come back to work in a different sub compartment of DHS. I did that for a short while. I have religiously carried a CCW handgun daily since 21 years old and will until I no longer can. I currently am a firearms sales person at a local gun store and shoot regularly on my property at my little range I built. Well that’s me and I’m glad to be here.
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Good day, to you, Jay. Thank you for joining this community and for your service to law enforcement.
Take care & be well
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Welcome, thank you for your service 
and for taking the time to introduce yourself, we appreciate it
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Hey all, names David. I strongly believe being prepared to defend yourself, family, and loved ones and never having to is preferable to not being prepared and needing to. Carrying and training give me the tools to defend myself and those I love, just as important it helps me to assess situations and know what the proper action is.
I’ve been training since the age of 18 (41now) starting with two years of law enforcement training, then joining the USMC (short time, two injuries on the same knee), private armed security, and of course concealed carry training and plenty of range time.
some of the best advice I’ve gotten is a tactical retreat is much better than getting stabbed. For cc I carry a 9mm Springfield Hellcat it’s compact, has great sights, reliable, good capacity, and is easy to operate. I’ve gotten my wife on board with getting cc training and love to share range time with friends. I have my own range so I train as often as I can.
Hoping to draw from others experiences to be better prepared.
Great to be here!
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Welcome, thank you for your service , and for taking the time to introduce yourself, we appreciate it.
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Welcome to the community, David. We’re glad to have you and thank you for your service!
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Thank you.
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Hey: I was trained to safely handle a side arm by the Buena Park P.D. In class sessions for understanding how a firearm works and the different types. Then we went to the firing range and used different types of sidearms.
I prefer the Sig.
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Greetings and welcome, Steven. Thank you for joining the community!
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YOU ARE NOT IGNORANT (IN ANYTHING) Especially Self Defense Protection ! Words have meaning and Negativity clings onto you after the verbiage is out of a persons mouth. You are already way ahead of most folk’s as you’ve taken the initiative in joining this Merry Band of Brothers N Sisters.
DIVE IN MY GOOD SIR! THE WATER’S FINE!
As some of the ‘Regular’s’ say here: Find an LGS/Shooting Range near you (If available) If they have ‘Rentals’ try on a couple for size see the differences in Recoil, Action and ease of use (Availability for extra equipment such as Extra Mag’s, Holsters, Gun Belts, Lock Boxes (If you are into that —and have Kids), Suppressor’s etc.)
At that Gunshop/Range talk up the help. Try and find a Mentor or Class to jump start your Training. Never hurts to have a Range Buddy–especially if you are new and starting from scratch (or near it). RANGE ETTIQUETTE IS A FICKLE BEAST. You don’t need to start off on the wrong foot by having a violation right from the get. READ THE (4) RULES (Take them to heart)
The Second one is (Paraphrasing) ’ DON’T POINT YOUR FIREARM @ ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DESTROY’ (self explanatory actually—but the short version for safety is always point your gun DOWN RANGE).
None of this is meant to SCARE YOU!. Guns in the hands of a TRAINED UP INDIVIDUAL is a beautiful thing. In an un-Trained hand it is a recipe for disaster. BE THAT TRAINED UP GUY.
Others here (and older topics help educate the Newbie also)
*Situational Awareness
*Getting off the ‘X’
*Dry Firing
etc
Welcome to the Fold
WWG1WGA
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Thank you for taking the time to introduce yourself
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I’m sorry for you’re Lose(s) Bud.
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Chupacabra 
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I’m so glad there was a photo, otherwise that could have been a completely different mind picture.. Demolition Man and seashells…
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Hi All - my name is Todd - Long time USCCA member 1st time posting so hopefully I am doing this correctly. While I grew up shooting casually, I have only been carrying daily for ~3.5 years. I started my carry experience initially attending all the pre-req courses required in the state of Wisconsin where I live. Currently I am licensed to carry in 3 states - WI, FL, MN. I caught the “bug” early on by joining my local range and began shooting weekly. Early on, I also took advantage of the terrific USCCA training offered both online & in person in my local area. This soon accelerated and a couple years ago I began to train with a professional trainer who is a 2x Division Grand Master competitive shooter and ranked in the top 20 USPSA shooters in my state. Next, I registered and began training for USPSA competitions via classes offered through my local range and have been fortunate to train with some amazing and well qualified shooters. I train formally 1-2x weekly and also practice at my range a few times each week in addition to dry fire training at home. I take the privilege of carrying seriously for protection and strive to be a well trained and educated protector.
While I have a sizable collection of various makes & models I am somewhat of a Stacatto fan shooting a model P for training and HD and soon will be changing my EDC set up to a smaller Stacatto, likely the C2 model.
I am grateful for the resources and support offered through USCCA and welcome the opportunity to continue to learn, engage, and collaborate with others here on the platform.
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Welcome to the community, Todd. We’re thankful you’ve chosen to join us!
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Welcome to the Staccato Family 
… I mean…to the Community 
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