I am going to resurrect this post. If everyone will humor me for a few minutes I have another question.
I did not get my conceal carry permit. We moved away from the problem to a better location and while I still wanted to do it, the cost of owning two homes (mine has become un sellable, leads to the initial request...) and time spent moving and updating shelved the topic for a while.
Until yesterday.
I was in with my wife and two small children looking around a property we gained access to hunt. We were unarmed, and separated at one point. We found ourselves surrounded buy a number of intoxicated locals that wished to trespass on the property in which we are guests. They appeared armed, mobile and unhappy that access was recently gated off. They found my wife and daughter before me. I rushed to the scene, but was helpless.
Holy crap, was that real. At one point, our exit by vehicle was blocked by theirs. I had no cell service and honestly couldn't have told authorities where we were. We were unprepared.
In the end, they turned out to be friendly, good natured and polite. But there was a few scary moments while figuring that out. They simply wanted to ride the property that they had access to for years. Still need to go untuck my shorts though.
What if they hadn't been? There were too many of them if they wanted a fight. There is no doubt in that. But I should not have been unarmed. It was stupid and wreckless to go there without something that could help me in a more serious situation with less people.
My wife now sees the value of me getting my ccw. I am not looking for a deep concealment piece now. I need to be able to conceal it but it will be for when I am bowhunting and will likely be fall, winter and spring when I use it. A holster that I cover with a jacket will be fine. I can carry open where I will be by law, but still don't want to walk around showing. That changes the tough conversation in the beginning.
So if there is such thing as a medium concealment gun, what would I look for? By sizing up a bit I am guessing that I can up the caliber and capacity a fair amount. I need something that won't blind me or burst my eardrums when fired.
I value and appreciate the input I find on this forum. Thanks for reading. Thank you God for watching over us yesterday. You sent the message, and I listened.