Woman With Her Gun-Chriss Adams

 I grew up with guns. It was part of Southern Living. You hunt, you fish, you carry gun in your truck! I always knew the guns in the gun cabinet (can't call it a safe because it was never locked) were real and that they were loaded. The long guns, rifles, shotguns were always in their racks and the pistols laid on the floor of the cabinet.
 
As a kid I never really paid attention to them. On occasion I would go on a bird hunt with the family but mostly I don't remember thinking much of anything about them.
 
Then the TV show "Young Riders" came out in the late 80's. They were young adults riding for the pony express. That peaked my interest in the handguns (revolvers at that time) that my parents had. So one of my brothers and I started target shooting with them - not much just really playing around. We would also shoot skeet now and then.
 
Through my late teens and college years I never really thought much more about guns at all. Just went on with my life. I got married in 2000, and even though my husband was former military - we really didn't think a lot about guns. I at that time, had a small .22 caliber pistol that my parents gave me. It normally sat next to the box of ammo that came with it in the kitchen drawer.
 
In 2006 we moved well outside the city limits and out in the middle of no-where. My husband purchased a rifle and a revolver for "house defense" not necessarily from "bad guys" but more from snakes, skunks, wild hogs and the like. I shot them both a few times - but again didn't really think a lot of them.
 
In 2007 - we started "waking up" so to speak about the real going-ons in the world. I guess we had kinda been living in the land of the Left vs Right (politically speaking) and that everything was really OK.
 
It Isn't.
 
So.... that lead to us taking concealed carry classes (in TX only concealed carry is allowed). For starter guns we purchased small .380's. I toted it dutifully (in my bag never on my person) for about 2 years.
Then we started re-thinking the whole carrying issue - not is this what we want to do - but is this gun big enough to defend not only ourselves but also that two boys that we now have? The answer was emphatically "NO".
 
My dear husband did all the research and narrowed down several caliber options for us. He also spent thousands (no joking!) hours researching makes/models in regards to reliability, easy of carry, etc...
 
Then he sent me on a mission - go to a local outdoor sports retailer (the big one with the big fish on the sign out front) and go to the gun counter and hold/handle as many .45 caliber, .40 caliber, and 9 mm pistols I could get my hands on. Lay them out side by side (if possible) and compare them, make notes and report my likes/dislikes back.
 
I was resistant. I admit it, I didn't want to go. I just wanted him to tell me what we were going to carry. End of Story. No, I had to go.
 
So I did.
 
And
 
I liked it!!
 
I made my notes and reported back. We then made a appointment at a local range to rent as many pistols as possible one afternoon. We had to take the kids with us - dragging a 2 1/2 year old and a new born to the gun range is not necessarily the best plan. So one of us stayed outside with the kids and the other went in to shoot.  We then compared notes - surprisingly we both liked and disliked the same guns! So - we then purchased four 9mm semi-automatics. A primary and a back up for both of us.
 
 I now carry on my person (except when at work) daily. I have become much more aware of my surroundings (for example I won't take the boys to one certain playground because there is no clear line of vision).  I pay more attention to the people around me. I go practice at the range as often as possible and I am working on my dry firing and holstering/unholstering (safety first, with a unloaded gun as often as I can- but not as much as I need to).
 
So what made me change my mind? My boys. As a Christian I believe that God is ultimately in charge. If it is your time it is your time. But nothing is going to happen to my boys on my watch! Not without a fight!
 
 
Psalms 127:3 Behold, children are a gift of the LORD....