Never. But I’ve been fortunate in avoiding violence in my life.
The times I have been mugged I have wished I had a firearm.
Also when I saw a puppy get ran over and it’s back broken I really wished I had had a firearm to humanely put it down.
edit: Oh and I saw a huge young guy beating the crap out of an old man who needed a walking cane in the middle of the street on the south side of Chicago once, if I had a gun I probably could’ve gotten him to stop.
Not really. I’ve often wished I had a jet pack, or X ray vision.
but with the possible exception of missed hunting opportunities, I don’t believe I’ve ever been in a situation that I felt would be improved by the addition of a deadly weapon.
Never in my 50 years have I been in any kind of situation where I wished for a weapon.
I personally have never wished that I had a gun concealed on my person, but I’ve been glad that someone else was carrying. Just this past Saturday, my husband and I stopped at a c-store for a soda. When I went inside, the owner was closely and worriedly watching another customer, so I bought one drink, and sent hubby in for his own. (Quickly explaining that Mrs. P might need some help.) It was much better for Tony to be the armed one, because he is the one with lots of training on how to avoid using his weapon, and how to use it properly if necessary. I would just be a menace to innocent bystanders and to myself.
I have had one instance where I hit a deer, wounding it horribly, but I had a gun in the truck. No CCP required for a hunting rifle. (I don’t hunt, but we were moving, so I had the contents of the safe in the vehicle)
[soapbox/on] I appreciate the fact that everyone is keeping this civil and not hijacking it into an argument over whether or not people should be allowed blahblahblah. Just so nobody thinks I’m a closet hater: I grew up with guns in the house, and hunted and went target shooting. I was taught their proper use and to respect their power. I carried a weapon in the military, of course, and when working as a volunteer with a police department. And it was only common sense (and self-preservation) to carry a shotgun with slugs when picking blueberries or fishing for salmon in Alaska. It is now the law for properly permitted people to carry concealed weapons, and while I have questioned the wisdom of this in the past, it is the law of the land and I respect that aspect of things. [soapbox/off]
Can’t say I ever have. I’ve lived in sketchy neighborhoods all my life, but I can’t recall a situation where I thought, “Damn, a gun would come in handy right now.”
Nah, never wished I had a gun. Done many a walk through sketchy parts of the Metro Line/DC at terrible hours (Columbia Heights [although is this still considered a bad part? seems like its on the up and up], Anacostia, New Carrollton, West Hyattsville, etc), same with Baltimore. Mostly, these time go off without a hitch. Sometimes, my spidey-sense acts up a bit and I do feel scared, but for me a gun wouldn’t be the answer. Like many have said here, all I can see coming from that is me being killed or me killing someone - neither of which my psyche could handle (particularly the former!).
Not wanting to turn this into a debate, but ISTM that some of the scenarios above are not those where a gun is supposed to help. I thought it was generally the case that the gun comes out when you’ve reached the point that deadly force seems inevitable, not just to underline your sincerity in a confrontation.
The OP asked for times when you wished you had a weapon on you, not that you’d actually use it or that it’d help. Those can be times where some crackhead threatens you with a knife or if you’re a small woman in a sketchy part of town.
For me there was that time I was just stopping for gas in some podunk redneck town, and a huge fight involving a bunch of hoodlums started right there in the lot! I sat in the car until they decided to stop fighting, thankfully I was doing pay-at-pump so when the pump stopped I drove outta there. Sure they weren’t after me, but who knows what happens when fights break out.
There was also last 4th of July, me and the kiddoes were walking back to the car from the park where we watched fireworks, and there was two angry drunken bitches screaming profanities at each other, with their large drunk families in tow. That was a bit nerve wracking as well. They just kept walkin’ after we decided to stop and wait for that mess to pass.
Then there was the time a guy jumped in the passenger seat of the car when I was about to drop the kids off at the babysitters. If I’d had a gun on me then I’d have poked him full of bullet holes easily.
A neighbor of ours was attacked by a dog right in front of our house. If I had a gun on my rather than having to run for it I could have helped her sooner.
I don’t routinely carry.
It would be nice to pistol-whip someone every now and then.
I live in redneck country. I spend nearly every weekend recreating out in the boonies. When the weather is decent you know what rednecks do? They hang out, party, and get drunk. Rednecks are often rather territorial and don’t like outsiders. When they are drunk it just gets worse.
Now, don’t get me wrong, most rednecks are basically okay folks, even when drunk. But, there is a small but not insignificant percentage that are just looking for an excuse to fight, harrass, or bully somebody. An outsider with his fancy gear doing silly things is probably enough of an excuse for some of em.
I don’t carry but there have been a few times I was wishing I had been. If I NEED to shot at somebodies ass I’ll do it. I might regret the legal ramifications but I sure won’t regret protecting myself or some other innocent person. I know a couple folks that have been threatened by said rednecks. One guy had a gun pulled on him. I know someone else who was STABBED with a knife. And, of course, out in the woods there have been the occasional scary as shit dog that if it actually attacked a gun would be rather handy.
Oh, and once I WAS conceal carrying. Once the asshole crossed a line he shouldn’t have one time too many times out came the gun and I made it clear I was tired of his shit and he needed to leave. He decide that maybe that was the prudent course of action but made the mistake of saying something like “you’d never USE that gun”. After a bullet or two flew in his general direction I convinced him otherwise. I wasn’t TRYING to hit him but I was aiming close enough there was a chance I might get “lucky”. For all he knew I WAS trying and was just a bad shot. Funny part is it was his gun 
No; I’ve been in some mildly scary situations, but I’ve never thought that having a gun would improve things.
No I’m very pro-gun, but I can’t think of any situation I’ve been in that would have been improved by having a concealed weapon. My worst situations have been with crazy women and a gun would have only made it worse.
If I lived in a urban and/or high-crime area I may have had more experiences that would have benefited from a gun.
In Copan, Honduras, I was leaving a bar at about 1AM and 3 teenagers attacked me and tried to rob me (I was in my late 20s, 6’, >200 lbs). They were unarmed, but threw bottles and rocks at me. I fought them off with minor injuries. I’m sure I could have scared them off with a gun, but I really wish I had just had a knife or (even better) an extendable baton. I was in the Navy and am comfortable with guns, but considering that I probably would not have been willing to shoot an unarmed teenager, I would worry that it might increase the chance of serious injury to myself if I had had one with me at the time.
:dubious: I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall when you returned his gun to him. Or did you send it UPS?
No, I had the FTD florist deliver it to him with a boquet of poison ivy.
Why the smirk? You don’t think it happened? It doesn’t exactly take mission impossible level planing to think “hmmm, crazy violent asshole is coming home in a few hours in crazy violent asshole mode…maybe I need a plan and should gather up his guns and ammo (if for nothing else so he can’t use em because this blowout feels like its going to be a dozy)”.
I must say the look on his face when he realized he had been “set up” and I could have shot his ass numerous times over about a half hour period and probably “gotten away” with it legally was priceless. Remembering this event used to stress me the fuck out. Now, years later, every few months something will remind me of it and I chuckle to myself. It warms my heart a bit everytime.
Some people just need killing. A larger number need their asses shot at every now and then.
No. I can’t say that “I wish I had a gun” has ever crossed my mind.
You guessed it, the raised eyebrow was meant to convey some skepticism. Probably just evidence of my sheltered existence.