Anyone carry 'protection' when out shooting?

DreamState wrote in post #11006179
LOl. Totally know where you're coming from with this one....
Something happened at the Red Bull Flugtag event in Miami in July.

It was sooo packed...and soooo hard to move around. I had my cam on a monopod and lifted it up in the air at one point trying to slowly move out of the crowd to a new spot and while I was doing that, someone yanked on my camera bag. I had my wide angle 16-35 mk2 in there at the time and wasnt exactly fond of having that stolen right out, especially during an event where I would most likely use it. While the monopod in the air with cam on it and a 70-200 attached on it, I quickly turned around to focus my eyes on the bag, only to discover a little kid pulling on it, as he was pushing it out of the way, but in the process, my swift turn, knocked someone right in the nose..>>>I Felttttt so damn bad,because immediately you can hear the person yelling "F**** my nose,my noseee" and then as I turned back around I see this guy whose face just turned super red and blood, not a whole lot blood coming from his hands as he was covering up his nose and mouth at the same time. I said to myself 'oh $h!t' considering he had a nice little gang of people around him there, that I were all of his friends, I immediately started apologizing and said 'omg are you okay ? I'm so sorry'. He started to move out of the crowd quite rapidly towards an open area still holding his nose. I was a bit embarrassed, that was totally accidental and unprovoked. When he sat down on the grass, three of his LARGER friends accompanied him plus a countless amount of family members, and saying things man you really 'f*cked up dude'......'wtf are you doing'. I explained what happened and sincerely apologized. He took off his shirt and was using it as a way stop the blood coming from his nose,after he wetted it with water from the water bottle. His face got redder and surely you can see it wasnt a good sight with blood all over that shirt. And of course as always out of nowhere you see two cops coming out....asking whats going on, and a mob of people looking on as the situation was unfolding....Long story made shorter....I explained to the cops what took place, and I even offered the guy to pay for his hospital visit if he had to go, offered my biz card and said I was really sorry (sincerely I truly was,cause that was my fault).....His reply to me was simply "Dude, I dont want anything, just f*ck off,go away you ruined my day". I didnt want to have anymore issues and simply said "Fair enough,I will leave". The cops never took a report and no one pursued me. As I found a new spot,and refocused my mind on the event, part of me thought damnnn that $h!t must have hurt a lot. I felt bad.... Lesson learned....Aim for the nose, when you're getting into an altercation and they dont have a knife or a gun to use against you..... if they do....then you say here you go sir, new camera for you...and then contact the police for the report you can take to the insurance company.

yikes.. id feel terrible too if i accidently broke someones face.. people dont realize the damage one can do with such a benign and expensive looking contraption..
Any professional or semi professional magnesium alloy camera/tripod/monopod/​strap combination could very easily kill a person or animal in the right circumstance and do so without even taking much damage to the camera itself.

And I think that it is a tiny bit more convienent to access than that knife or AK-47 I might have in my back pocket.

A lot of talk about me carrying to 'protect my gear' and that's not the issue... I'm also insured. It's not losing my gear to a thief, but it's what that thief will do to get it. As I said, my friend was beat pretty good, which was unnecessary for the perp to do - Adrian was no match for this guy one on one, and there was no need to bang him around just to get his gear, but he did. There are 'bad' people out there - and there's no sense in being a victim.

I'm 64, and a former Special Forces Sgt. (Viet Nam era) I dont' fear 'most' people, but having the opportunity to save my life as well as the lives of others if needed is a simple thing. Carrying is a fairly normal feeling for myself, and in this case, it saved me some serious injury - those dogs announced their intentions from quite a distance, and offering to give them my camera equipment without any violence certainly would have had no effect.

I don't propose having a sidearm on your hip while you're shooting a wedding by any means, but when you're out there in an isolated area by yourself (which is how I mostly go out) anything can happen.

Brennan.M wrote in post #11005991
Walking through downtown areas of Nashville and other big cities like I enjoy doing would require it. Not only do I fear for my gear but how do you know that the mugger or "strong arm" won't just stab you on the spot. I live in TN but am under age, I do however have a special surprise (Colt .38 Gold Cup) that I plan on carrying once my 21st birthday comes around (May 18th).

I have lived in Nashville for 13 years now. I have never once felt the need to carry a gun in downtown Nashville. Sure there are some bad areas around the outskirts of downtown, but my advice is to stay away from those areas.

At night I have run across some shady people but maybe thats just my luck hahaha

I have been carrying a small Beretta .22 for 20 plus years (not the same one) I don't leave home with out it. the current model is the 21A

You do know this debate will most likely get heated and end badly?

I am sitting here wondering if it would go smoother if it was about should you carry or not carry condoms

Jim

I too have a carry permit and do not travel without my .40 Sig P226.

egraphdesign wrote in post #11007031
I have been carrying a small Beretta .22 for 20 plus years (not the same one) I don't leave home with out it. the current model is the 21A

You do know this debate will most likely get heated and end badly?

I am sitting here wondering if it would go smoother if it was about should you carry or not carry condoms

Jim

A thread like this was recently closed just a few days ago (by Jon, if I remember correctly) that had NOT yet developed into an argument. It was closed on the premise that this subject always turns into a pro/anti gun argument.

It's up to you POTN users. Debate and be able to discuss intelligently or argue and have the door slammed shut.

Sometimes. All depends on my mood to be honest.

ottor wrote in post #11006847
A lot of talk about me carrying to 'protect my gear' and that's not the issue... I'm also insured.

Somewhat my feeling. I have never and will never carry to protect my inanimate objects that can be replaced with insurance. When I do carry, it to protect myself and others I'm with because my gear makes me/us an appealing target to the bad guys.

fotoworx wrote in post #11006793
If I carried a gun it would have to be a L with a red ring......does Canon make pistols?

No, but Nikon makes scopes. Pretty mediocre ones to be honest.

I don't have a gun, or a permit, and I can't get arrested again doing urbex, but if I was to start going into abandoned buildings again, I'd want a gun. I know a couple of guys that had to fight off a couple of thugs with knives, with a tripod, but honestly I haven't heard of too many people getting robbed in them.

egraphdesign wrote in post #11007031
I have been carrying a small Beretta .22 for 20 plus years (not the same one) I don't leave home with out it. the current model is the 21A

Jim

I'm thinking, what kind of world do you live in if you won't go out armed

CannedHeat wrote in post #11007235
A thread like this was recently closed just a few days ago (by Jon, if I remember correctly) that had NOT yet developed into an argument. It was closed on the premise that this subject always turns into a pro/anti gun argument.

It's up to you POTN users. Debate and be able to discuss intelligently or argue and have the door slammed shut.

I think you are right about discussing things in an adult manner... However whole heartedly fail to see it's relevance in a forum concerning photography!!!

yogestee wrote in post #11007500
I'm thinking, what kind of world do you live in if you won't go out armed

It's not nearly as dangerous a world as they make it sound.

I remember when my son was about six years old he developed a sudden dread of going outdoors, especially the three-block walk to his school and the playground. We couldn't figure out why he was so suddenly frightened until we finally learned that he had internallized all the news on CNN about murders and death collected from all around the world and funnelled into a 5-minute newscast. (I hadn't considered that with modern production values, television news these days is as attention-grabbing to children as cartoons...a far cry from Huntley and Brinkley in black and white.)

The extent of his entire world was the three blocks from our house to his school, and he'd gotten the idea that all the world's mayhem was concentrated within those three blocks. I think there are some adults with the same frame of mind.

When I'm shooting, my mind is far too engaged in the image to be watching my back as closely as necessary in a truly dodgy area. If for some reason I need to shoot in such areas, I'd bring someone to watch my back for me. I've been an avid centerfire target shooter for years, even being in a combat pistolcraft club. But when I've lived in states that permitted carry (both concealed and unconcealed), I've asked myself, "Do I really need to go to places where I might have to kill someone?" Except for some of the time I was in SEA and didn't have a choice, that answer has generally been, "No."

Threads like this tend to go sour pretty fast, and when they do, we close them. The OP had a frightening experience to share and in his case he's probably lucky to have been armed, though perhaps there were alternatives he could have pursued. I don't know since I wasn't there.

I have a CCP and if I'm going to be in an area that's isolated, may contain wild animals or when I'm far from help from other people, I will carry a weapon. Not to protect my gear, but for personal protection. Like others have said, my gear is insured. That's not to say I'm just going to give it up if someone demands it from me, that's just stupidly enables the criminal thought process. But, really, these types of discussions may seem to have merit when they begin, but quickly devolve into arguments over "gun rights" and other political issues - and POTN is not a place for that.

I have my permit and I carry mine when I go to shady places. S&W .9mm

I have a similar story regarding large dogs and irresponsible owners. I also have a ccc and realise the chances are far greater that it would be used on an animal than even brandished at a human.

people just don't realise that they are responsible for the actions of their dogs in public places, and some breeds are just plain too capable of killing people. I see loose rots and pits, and if given the chance, explain the situation to the owners like this: If your dog hurts someone and they require medical attention, their health insurer will sue you. If the dog causes permanent damage, you can expect more litigation. By the time this all goes away, you will have spent AT LEAST enough to buy the dog 5 acres of farmland to romp on in complete safety and security.
Off leash just isn't worth the risk. In fact, it is really very ignorant and irresponsible.

Yes I carry protection, but it is a last resort. the best protection is common sense and bright colored clothing and making some noise now and then while out in the wild or anywhere there may be loose dogs.