Are there Americans that go their whole lives together without ever seeing a gun in person
100% there are many who do. But there are many in rural areas or with certain jobs (and I don’t just mean law enforcement) who consider bringing their gun every day as routine as bringing their wallet and phone.
The US is a huge place, and the average day for someone working as a farm hand in the midwest could hardly be more different than the average person working an office job in NYC.
Depends how you define “without ever seeing a gun in person” though. Anyone who has seen a cop has seen one.
I had many family members with guns growing up. I’ve put holes in a lot of tin cans. Then I was in the military for awhile. If we don’t count seeing one strapped to a soldier or cop, I probably haven’t seen a gun in person more than two times in the past several decades, and both of those were the same relative showing me the same gun. OTOH I know with certainty that many of my neighbors own guns, even if I haven’t seen them.
I haven’t spent much time in NYC, but I’m sure there are lots and lots of people there who don’t see a gun often in any non-cop context, and many others who see or carry one every day.
It’s not RDR2, but I also don’t think there’s anything resembling a universal answer, even within a single city.
Regardless of what you may have heard, cities like NYC are not just full of gangs brandishing firearms on all street corners. In fact, firearm violence is higher, per capita, in rural areas.
So yes, there are millions of people who live in NYC that will never see a gun in their lives. The gun laws there are very strict, so people aren’t just carrying them around in the open for the most part.
Regardless of what you may have heard, cities like NYC are not just full of gangs brandishing firearms on all street corners. In fact, firearm violence is higher, per capita, in rural areas.
I’m not sure if you might have replied to the wrong comment, but this isn’t something I believe about NYC in the first place, nor something I implied.
I’ve lived in Kansas City for about 15 years, and I’ve seen a gun get pulled on someone once. SUV almost clipped a motorcyclist while making a left turn into the lane a little ways in front of us. Motorcyclist did a quick u-turn, caught up to the SUV, and pulled a gun on the driver. The driver quickly and frantically apologized, the biker shook his head and reholstered his gun, and got back on his bike and both drove off in different directions.
I started slowing down to increase distance when I saw the motorcycle do its initial u-turn, but I was pretty much trapped in the lane. I had my whole family in the car with me - I’d have been willing to testify after, but no way I’d be willing to put them all at risk to intervene. I was looking for ways to get us to safety, and was pretty much down to popping us up on the sidewalk to get around and get away if things got bad (it was rush hour, there was no room in the other lanes for us).
What I see of the drivers in the video is a) It’s early morning, and they’re paying just enough attention not to hit each other in a rush hour crawl; and b) they’re trapped by everyone else in the rush hour crawl. Not getting shot at this point (because you can’t tell he’s just targeting a CEO) means not getting noticed, because you don’t have good options for getting away.
You never see guns except on cops, and this was at 6:45 in the morning in cold weather with a suppressed pistol. This whole scene took a few seconds as you just saw.
This chain of events would look the exact same in any corner of the world. Nothing about this is exceptionally insane, except for the whole murder part.
Yeah, as someone who has driven in US cities before, I can 100% see myself half asleep, driving by at 6:45am on my way to work, and completely missing this scene unfold as I drive by.
just driving down the street while some dude is getting shot to pieces next to them.
I mean, unless you can get to your own gun quick enough to save him (which in NYC is doubtful, they’re almost illegal there), you have a better plan than “get yourself to safety?” If you’re in a car driving down a street getting to safety typically means “don’t stop to chat with the gunman.”
To answer your second question (which I already alluded to), “depends.” In my area I see guns all the time, I carry one myself as a matter of fact and see at least one other person carrying a week (definitely more, most carry concealed like me, but then you don’t know about it.) In NYC, no guns aren’t a common sight, they’re seriously almost illegal in the city, you can’t get a permit don’t even try basically. Upstate it’s a little easier depending on the county, but still more rare than say my area.
I would say most people don’t see guns in scary situations(used for robberies or any illegal act) I’m in my 40s and have a gun, have friends with guns.only my family or friends that grew up in rougher situations ever saw one used illegally (including brandishing illegally)
The person shooting has a silencer on their pistol. Illegal I think in NY. Contrary to media, it makes it more quiet, but not completely silent. Your ears will definitely hurt (and you may even dmg your ears) if you’re nearby, but people in cars may not think it’s a gun shot.
There are states that allow people to walk around with a firearm completely visible(can’t have a long coat that may cover it) but, to my understanding, people don’t like to carry in that way usually because it’s frowned upon.
My more liberal and diverse of a state allows open carry but the last time someone did it with a rifle the police followed them around until they stopped.
Regardless of what you may have heard, cities like NYC are not just full of gangs brandishing firearms on all street corners. In fact, firearm violence is higher, per capita, in rural areas.
So yes, there are millions of people who live in NYC that will never see a gun in their lives. The gun laws there are very strict, so people aren’t just carrying them around in the open for the most part.
Other people have answered, but it really varies from state to state and honestly place to place. There are plenty of people who could go their whole lives here without ever seeing a real gun. Meanwhile, I remember when they used to sell shotguns in Walmart out of locked cages.
And as to people not noticing, there’s a lot that goes into that. The guy is using a silencer and subsonic rounds as well according to other people, which are both meant to help slow a bullet down to a speed below Mach 1 so it doesn’t make a sonic boom as the bullet flies. A regular shot can be easily mistaken for fireworks going off (so easily in fact that in order to tell the two apart, you have to listen for whether or not the sound echoes), so a round like that could probably be mistaken for a truck backfiring or something a street over, if they can even hear it clearly at all inside their car. I live close to a firing range and can hear gun shots from my house most days, and they don’t sound that different from something like a nailgun going off at a construction project on a house on the same street.
Our cops carry guns on their waist and sometimes pull them for traffic stops so no, you don’t go through your life without seeing a gun. As far as carrying goes, many places outlaw open carry and require concealed.
It can get wilder. The state where I live (in the deep south), recently amended the law so that you no longer require a permit to carry a concealed handgun. And they reduced the age for concealed carry from 21+ to 18+, as well as including non-residents visiting from other states. And I don’t live in Texas btw
It definitely made me more nervous after it passed. I mean, almost anyone can carry a concealed handgun now‽ Not even have to take a few-hour class, even simply to know the laws around concealed carrying? Not a fan knowing damn near anyone could be holding and I can’t tell who. It doesn’t help that I live in a high-crime city
Open-carry is one thing, I can see the damn thing. Now it really does feel like wild-west shit. Granted, I haven’t noticed an uptick in craziness, anymore than usual… but fuck, I don’t need Jim Bob feeling anymore emboldened to be a “hero”, while knowing jack shit about the actual law
With a suppressor and someone’s radio on, more than likely, they couldn’t hear it in a vehicle.
Can’t vouch for NYC but in Texas, where it’s fucking legal to carry without a license, it’s not uncommon, but I can go weeks without seeing someone openly carry. Concealed is way more popular, so hard to say how many actually daily carry.
It’s legal in most states to carry without a license. As of 2024, 29 states have adopted “Constitutional Carry”. Only 8 states actually have a restrictive license. The remaining 13 grant licenses to anyone who is not otherwise prohibited from carrying. It’s more of a concealed carry registration than a license.
I’ve worked with a couple of New Yorkers and this particular area is usually (unauthorised) gun free. A shooting in Brixton is less of a story than a shooting in Westminster. That’s the best comparison I can think of. Manhattan versus the Bronx is probably similar. Also the gun has a silencer/suppresor on it. Above the sound of the city, your vehicle and the radio it would be possible to miss.
They probably just didn’t notice, thought it wasn’t real, or just kept driving to not endanger themselves.
Open and conceal carry are legal where I live (in Texas, permit not needed anymore), and notice it fairly often. I’ve lived in bad neighborhoods where I’d hear gunshots about once a week sometimes (guessing gang shit). I’ve had a bullet come through my bedroom wall while I was sleeping once. I’ve also lived in rural US, where you’d commonly hear gunshots from hunters or people target practicing. I’ve known several people who’ve been shot (some survived, others have not).
I’m guessing it’s not very common to see guns in NYC though. I think carrying and gun sales are banned.
Depends…22lr with sub rounds. Sure. .45? No. Suppressors help with noise reduction but do not eliminate it to were you can not use ear pro. Caliber matters greatly, but %100 the pistol used in this being a 9mm was not as quiet as someone clapping their hands.
I didn’t say it was as quiet as someone clapping their hands, just that it sounds like that.
If you don’t have experience with guns, you probably won’t identify the sound as a gunshot.
Ah, fair enough, and yes you’re correct. Most people wouldn’t be able to tell it apart when at a distance and not seeing an actual firearm produce the sound.
It’s pretty rare in California and NYC outside of law enforcement. Some states have open carry, and even there, it’s rare, but the fringe folk have them.
I’ve got to be honest, if I saw that anywhere I’d likely drive on past. It’s none of my business, and don’t want anybody with a gun to make it so. Phone the police? Sure. Stop? Fuck no.
I always think of the scene from Last Action Hero where Charles Dance guns a man down just to test his theory.
“Hello? I’ve just shot somebody, I did it on purpose!”
SEEING a gun? Uh, no. I think it would be hard to do that. Every cop has them strapped to their waist.
Now I personally haven’t ever seen a gun get FIRED, but every 4th of July I always wonder if I’m actually hearing gunshots in the distance. People would just assume it’s fireworks. You could go on a shooting spree. As long as there’s no visual witnesses, what’s gonna happen? Even if you know the difference in sound for fact, the cops won’t take that call seriously on the 4th. They’ll just assume you’re wrong.
Supposedly you can tell the difference between fireworks and gunshots by the echo; fireworks will be more of an echoey boom because they are up in the air.
When I grew up in a neighborhood on a downhill slide, I learned the difference was a firework will be a single pop with a very long (hour+) delay until the next one (fireworks were illegal in the city I lived in) but if you hear more than one pop its probably a gun.
People really don’t have that good of reaction time and should be paying more attention to the road in front of them then what’s happening on the sidewalks.
edit: Actually, I just remember an instance a few years ago in Times Square. A moped backfired and everyone though it was a gunshot and freaked out. So, no, these things aren’t really normalized and desensitized in NYC.
I live in liberal hipster paradise, Portland, Oregon (I say that completely unironically and lovingly). I don’t think I have seen a gun or heard a gunshot in town (except police as others have covered). There is definitely gun violence around, I just haven’t encountered it. I definitely have friends who have never handled a gun.
Get out of town, though, into a state forest or something, and you are bound to hear people out target shooting. Most folks do it safe places like quarries so they can shoot into a wall, but once and a while I come across a spot where there is nothing to stop a bullet but trees. As a person who does a lot of off trail mushroom hunting I think this is the most likely way that I get shot. I really wish there was some sort of training required to own a firearm.
A lot of people like to carry when they hike and camp too, which I think is as silly as keeping a gun under your pillow. Like, that is just asking for a terrible accident. In fact someone I know was shot and killed while out hiking and I can only imagine it was some kind of stupid accident or over reaction or something.
Sorry for rambling, this is my kind of everyday interaction with guns. PS, my partner and I own several handguns, an AK 47, a shot gun, and some rifles. Many of them were inherited and we never really shoot them anymore. It’s weird.
I hunt, fish, kayak, and camp. I also conceal carry when I’m not inside my house due to a few reasosns.
Moved recently, but my kayaking was in the deep South, often in swamps. I open carried a .22 single action revolver with ratshot when kayaking, strapped it to the milk crate on the back. There were water moccasins as thick as my forearm and I’ve heard of them climbing in a kayak.
Only time I’ve ever drawn my concealed handgun was when a mountain lion got curious after dark. It wasn’t afraid of me. I growled and hissed at it and it went away. It was wild.
When I’m in the woods I also carry a medical kit including epi pen and tourniquet, bug spray, a fire source, and water.
The thing I’m most afraid of in the woods are ticks, Lyme disease or alpha gal would be horrible. I treat my clothes with permethrin. There are bears, and I think there are mountain lions in my new home. Two legged predators in the woods is also always a risk, but a minor one.
I do agree that we need mandatory training and better gun control.
What would you expect the drivers to do? Stop and film? Stop and risk their lives to engage in an altercation with an armed assailant over a situation they know nothing about? The smartest thing they can do is floor it.
You never see guns in NYC unless you’re a cop or a gangster. They don’t even allow people to carry pocketknives there if any part of the knife is visible, including the clip.
Yes, the vast majority of people who don’t own guns will go their entire life without seeing a gun, except maybe on a cop’s hip, or at a sporting goods store. Despite what the media would have you think, shootings are a rarity. There are 346 million people here, spread out over 3,796,742 square miles (9,833,520 square kilometers).
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100% there are many who do. But there are many in rural areas or with certain jobs (and I don’t just mean law enforcement) who consider bringing their gun every day as routine as bringing their wallet and phone.
The US is a huge place, and the average day for someone working as a farm hand in the midwest could hardly be more different than the average person working an office job in NYC.
Depends how you define “without ever seeing a gun in person” though. Anyone who has seen a cop has seen one.
I had many family members with guns growing up. I’ve put holes in a lot of tin cans. Then I was in the military for awhile. If we don’t count seeing one strapped to a soldier or cop, I probably haven’t seen a gun in person more than two times in the past several decades, and both of those were the same relative showing me the same gun. OTOH I know with certainty that many of my neighbors own guns, even if I haven’t seen them.
I haven’t spent much time in NYC, but I’m sure there are lots and lots of people there who don’t see a gun often in any non-cop context, and many others who see or carry one every day.
It’s not RDR2, but I also don’t think there’s anything resembling a universal answer, even within a single city.
Regardless of what you may have heard, cities like NYC are not just full of gangs brandishing firearms on all street corners. In fact, firearm violence is higher, per capita, in rural areas.
So yes, there are millions of people who live in NYC that will never see a gun in their lives. The gun laws there are very strict, so people aren’t just carrying them around in the open for the most part.
I’m not sure if you might have replied to the wrong comment, but this isn’t something I believe about NYC in the first place, nor something I implied.
Ah yeah I might have replied to the wrong comment.
I’ve lived in Kansas City for about 15 years, and I’ve seen a gun get pulled on someone once. SUV almost clipped a motorcyclist while making a left turn into the lane a little ways in front of us. Motorcyclist did a quick u-turn, caught up to the SUV, and pulled a gun on the driver. The driver quickly and frantically apologized, the biker shook his head and reholstered his gun, and got back on his bike and both drove off in different directions.
I started slowing down to increase distance when I saw the motorcycle do its initial u-turn, but I was pretty much trapped in the lane. I had my whole family in the car with me - I’d have been willing to testify after, but no way I’d be willing to put them all at risk to intervene. I was looking for ways to get us to safety, and was pretty much down to popping us up on the sidewalk to get around and get away if things got bad (it was rush hour, there was no room in the other lanes for us).
What I see of the drivers in the video is a) It’s early morning, and they’re paying just enough attention not to hit each other in a rush hour crawl; and b) they’re trapped by everyone else in the rush hour crawl. Not getting shot at this point (because you can’t tell he’s just targeting a CEO) means not getting noticed, because you don’t have good options for getting away.
You never see guns except on cops, and this was at 6:45 in the morning in cold weather with a suppressed pistol. This whole scene took a few seconds as you just saw. This chain of events would look the exact same in any corner of the world. Nothing about this is exceptionally insane, except for the whole murder part.
Yeah, as someone who has driven in US cities before, I can 100% see myself half asleep, driving by at 6:45am on my way to work, and completely missing this scene unfold as I drive by.
I think you’re wildly overestimating how aware drivers are in the USA.
I mean, unless you can get to your own gun quick enough to save him (which in NYC is doubtful, they’re almost illegal there), you have a better plan than “get yourself to safety?” If you’re in a car driving down a street getting to safety typically means “don’t stop to chat with the gunman.”
To answer your second question (which I already alluded to), “depends.” In my area I see guns all the time, I carry one myself as a matter of fact and see at least one other person carrying a week (definitely more, most carry concealed like me, but then you don’t know about it.) In NYC, no guns aren’t a common sight, they’re seriously almost illegal in the city, you can’t get a permit don’t even try basically. Upstate it’s a little easier depending on the county, but still more rare than say my area.
I would say most people don’t see guns in scary situations(used for robberies or any illegal act) I’m in my 40s and have a gun, have friends with guns.only my family or friends that grew up in rougher situations ever saw one used illegally (including brandishing illegally) The person shooting has a silencer on their pistol. Illegal I think in NY. Contrary to media, it makes it more quiet, but not completely silent. Your ears will definitely hurt (and you may even dmg your ears) if you’re nearby, but people in cars may not think it’s a gun shot.
There are states that allow people to walk around with a firearm completely visible(can’t have a long coat that may cover it) but, to my understanding, people don’t like to carry in that way usually because it’s frowned upon.
The more conservative and rural the area the more you will see open carry. I’ve never seen my nextdoor neighbor without a gun on his hip.
My more liberal and diverse of a state allows open carry but the last time someone did it with a rifle the police followed them around until they stopped.
In NYC, guns are banned and unless you’re trying to find one, you won’t.
Edit: Except cops. Cops open carry everywhere.
Regardless of what you may have heard, cities like NYC are not just full of gangs brandishing firearms on all street corners. In fact, firearm violence is higher, per capita, in rural areas.
So yes, there are millions of people who live in NYC that will never see a gun in their lives. The gun laws there are very strict, so people aren’t just carrying them around in the open for the most part.
Other people have answered, but it really varies from state to state and honestly place to place. There are plenty of people who could go their whole lives here without ever seeing a real gun. Meanwhile, I remember when they used to sell shotguns in Walmart out of locked cages.
And as to people not noticing, there’s a lot that goes into that. The guy is using a silencer and subsonic rounds as well according to other people, which are both meant to help slow a bullet down to a speed below Mach 1 so it doesn’t make a sonic boom as the bullet flies. A regular shot can be easily mistaken for fireworks going off (so easily in fact that in order to tell the two apart, you have to listen for whether or not the sound echoes), so a round like that could probably be mistaken for a truck backfiring or something a street over, if they can even hear it clearly at all inside their car. I live close to a firing range and can hear gun shots from my house most days, and they don’t sound that different from something like a nailgun going off at a construction project on a house on the same street.
Our cops carry guns on their waist and sometimes pull them for traffic stops so no, you don’t go through your life without seeing a gun. As far as carrying goes, many places outlaw open carry and require concealed.
That’s wild. I’d rather have concealed carry made outlawed. At least I would know which dangerous whackjob I should steer clear of.
It can get wilder. The state where I live (in the deep south), recently amended the law so that you no longer require a permit to carry a concealed handgun. And they reduced the age for concealed carry from 21+ to 18+, as well as including non-residents visiting from other states. And I don’t live in Texas btw
It definitely made me more nervous after it passed. I mean, almost anyone can carry a concealed handgun now‽ Not even have to take a few-hour class, even simply to know the laws around concealed carrying? Not a fan knowing damn near anyone could be holding and I can’t tell who. It doesn’t help that I live in a high-crime city
Open-carry is one thing, I can see the damn thing. Now it really does feel like wild-west shit. Granted, I haven’t noticed an uptick in craziness, anymore than usual… but fuck, I don’t need Jim Bob feeling anymore emboldened to be a “hero”, while knowing jack shit about the actual law
Most places require a permit to carry concealed, and criminals don’t follow the laws anyways, so this is the best we have come up with apparently.
It’s America. You should be steering clear of ALL the wackjobs! You know how you know which ones are wackjobs? They’re the ones breathing oxygen!
…we don’t have great mental health care over here.
With a suppressor and someone’s radio on, more than likely, they couldn’t hear it in a vehicle.
Can’t vouch for NYC but in Texas, where it’s fucking legal to carry without a license, it’s not uncommon, but I can go weeks without seeing someone openly carry. Concealed is way more popular, so hard to say how many actually daily carry.
It’s legal in most states to carry without a license. As of 2024, 29 states have adopted “Constitutional Carry”. Only 8 states actually have a restrictive license. The remaining 13 grant licenses to anyone who is not otherwise prohibited from carrying. It’s more of a concealed carry registration than a license.
I meant to clarify conceal carry without license
Suppressed shots are still loud, just not deafening. Most people would think they’re fireworks.
Definitely not like the mouse-farts that silenced guns in movies make, though.
Kinda like in L.A. knowing just how many guys are wearing chastity belts. Maybe none. But you don’t know.
I’ve worked with a couple of New Yorkers and this particular area is usually (unauthorised) gun free. A shooting in Brixton is less of a story than a shooting in Westminster. That’s the best comparison I can think of. Manhattan versus the Bronx is probably similar. Also the gun has a silencer/suppresor on it. Above the sound of the city, your vehicle and the radio it would be possible to miss.
They probably just didn’t notice, thought it wasn’t real, or just kept driving to not endanger themselves.
Open and conceal carry are legal where I live (in Texas, permit not needed anymore), and notice it fairly often. I’ve lived in bad neighborhoods where I’d hear gunshots about once a week sometimes (guessing gang shit). I’ve had a bullet come through my bedroom wall while I was sleeping once. I’ve also lived in rural US, where you’d commonly hear gunshots from hunters or people target practicing. I’ve known several people who’ve been shot (some survived, others have not).
I’m guessing it’s not very common to see guns in NYC though. I think carrying and gun sales are banned.
Imagine that… almost as if gun laws can make a difference.
A silenced gun just sounds like someone clapping their hands.
Depends…22lr with sub rounds. Sure. .45? No. Suppressors help with noise reduction but do not eliminate it to were you can not use ear pro. Caliber matters greatly, but %100 the pistol used in this being a 9mm was not as quiet as someone clapping their hands.
NYC is very loud just by default.
That too. Plus if someone is in their car, windows up, radio on. They’re not hearing that shit.
I didn’t say it was as quiet as someone clapping their hands, just that it sounds like that.
If you don’t have experience with guns, you probably won’t identify the sound as a gunshot.
Ah, fair enough, and yes you’re correct. Most people wouldn’t be able to tell it apart when at a distance and not seeing an actual firearm produce the sound.
It’s pretty rare in California and NYC outside of law enforcement. Some states have open carry, and even there, it’s rare, but the fringe folk have them.
What are you going to do if you see a guy with a gun shoot at people? Get out and tell him to not be such a bloomin’ rotter?
Oi! You got a license for that shooter ‘ere, gov’?
You can’t murder there, mate.
I’ve got to be honest, if I saw that anywhere I’d likely drive on past. It’s none of my business, and don’t want anybody with a gun to make it so. Phone the police? Sure. Stop? Fuck no.
I always think of the scene from Last Action Hero where Charles Dance guns a man down just to test his theory.
“Hello? I’ve just shot somebody, I did it on purpose!”
SEEING a gun? Uh, no. I think it would be hard to do that. Every cop has them strapped to their waist.
Now I personally haven’t ever seen a gun get FIRED, but every 4th of July I always wonder if I’m actually hearing gunshots in the distance. People would just assume it’s fireworks. You could go on a shooting spree. As long as there’s no visual witnesses, what’s gonna happen? Even if you know the difference in sound for fact, the cops won’t take that call seriously on the 4th. They’ll just assume you’re wrong.
Supposedly you can tell the difference between fireworks and gunshots by the echo; fireworks will be more of an echoey boom because they are up in the air.
Not all, quite a lot of fireworks stay on the ground. The big mortars usually go in the air though like you said, usually.
When I grew up in a neighborhood on a downhill slide, I learned the difference was a firework will be a single pop with a very long (hour+) delay until the next one (fireworks were illegal in the city I lived in) but if you hear more than one pop its probably a gun.
People really don’t have that good of reaction time and should be paying more attention to the road in front of them then what’s happening on the sidewalks.
edit: Actually, I just remember an instance a few years ago in Times Square. A moped backfired and everyone though it was a gunshot and freaked out. So, no, these things aren’t really normalized and desensitized in NYC.
I live in liberal hipster paradise, Portland, Oregon (I say that completely unironically and lovingly). I don’t think I have seen a gun or heard a gunshot in town (except police as others have covered). There is definitely gun violence around, I just haven’t encountered it. I definitely have friends who have never handled a gun.
Get out of town, though, into a state forest or something, and you are bound to hear people out target shooting. Most folks do it safe places like quarries so they can shoot into a wall, but once and a while I come across a spot where there is nothing to stop a bullet but trees. As a person who does a lot of off trail mushroom hunting I think this is the most likely way that I get shot. I really wish there was some sort of training required to own a firearm.
A lot of people like to carry when they hike and camp too, which I think is as silly as keeping a gun under your pillow. Like, that is just asking for a terrible accident. In fact someone I know was shot and killed while out hiking and I can only imagine it was some kind of stupid accident or over reaction or something.
Sorry for rambling, this is my kind of everyday interaction with guns. PS, my partner and I own several handguns, an AK 47, a shot gun, and some rifles. Many of them were inherited and we never really shoot them anymore. It’s weird.
I hunt, fish, kayak, and camp. I also conceal carry when I’m not inside my house due to a few reasosns.
Moved recently, but my kayaking was in the deep South, often in swamps. I open carried a .22 single action revolver with ratshot when kayaking, strapped it to the milk crate on the back. There were water moccasins as thick as my forearm and I’ve heard of them climbing in a kayak.
Only time I’ve ever drawn my concealed handgun was when a mountain lion got curious after dark. It wasn’t afraid of me. I growled and hissed at it and it went away. It was wild.
When I’m in the woods I also carry a medical kit including epi pen and tourniquet, bug spray, a fire source, and water.
The thing I’m most afraid of in the woods are ticks, Lyme disease or alpha gal would be horrible. I treat my clothes with permethrin. There are bears, and I think there are mountain lions in my new home. Two legged predators in the woods is also always a risk, but a minor one.
I do agree that we need mandatory training and better gun control.
What would you expect the drivers to do? Stop and film? Stop and risk their lives to engage in an altercation with an armed assailant over a situation they know nothing about? The smartest thing they can do is floor it.
You never see guns in NYC unless you’re a cop or a gangster. They don’t even allow people to carry pocketknives there if any part of the knife is visible, including the clip.
Yes, the vast majority of people who don’t own guns will go their entire life without seeing a gun, except maybe on a cop’s hip, or at a sporting goods store. Despite what the media would have you think, shootings are a rarity. There are 346 million people here, spread out over 3,796,742 square miles (9,833,520 square kilometers).