Ever Felt Threatened Enough That A Pistol Was Needed?

[rrrkkk]

Yes I have. I am a pharmacist and part of my everyday wardrobe is a gun. I have only had to show the gun one time during a robbery. I would have used it sooner during the situation, but before you draw you must survey the situation at hand. A mother and son came in just before the jerk and I had no choice due to their proximity to him to reconceal my gun. Remember that concealment is very important in this day and age. He could have kept the gun on someone if he knew I carried. I also don't want to scare customers that might be sensitive to guns.

When he went to the door he stopped to look for cops. Not wanting to become a hostage or worse I drew and supprised the guy. Funny part was that he didn't seem to like me pointing a gun at him and ran.

Cops that day told me that I should carry a taser also. If I had one I could have downed him at the door without the legal worries of shooting him as he left. That is an option if you need protection but are not sure of the responsibilities of concealed carry.

Hope that you never need one, but I would rather have one and not need it than the other way around.

Protecting yourself is one thing protecting someone else is very different, in the above senario, most shots are misses even as close a 6'. You point your gun at the robber now he points it at you your first shot better be the final one. If you miss you may hit a bystander, if he misses he may hit a bystander. Now you may have 2 innocent bystanders dead because you pulled you firearm. I realize that you dont want to let a law breaker escape, especially if he does more than just rob you. BUT BE VERY AWARE of the situation, in this case you just caused 2 people to die that didn;t have to. FBI stastics show over 90 % of shooting occure within 6' and the average hit or miss for New York cops is 10%. CCW is a very big responsibility!!!!! Don't get me wrong I live in IL so I have a FL and Utah CCW I can carry almost anywhere except here. When we teach CCW classes we always have a small % of people that decide this may not be the best thing for them, and we also have a change of attitude in the cowboys who come to the class thinking it like the old west. Reguardless everyone should go thru a class, especiall your wife.

 

[beersngars]

Ever Felt Threatened Enough That A Pistol Was Needed?

Sure have. I owned and operated an auto repair facility in Cleveland on the near east side. Was there for 16 years and several times had a conflict that I was darn glad to have my Sig P220 at arms reach.

One time a drunken or high hood rat waited till all the mechanics had left for home then came in to pick up his car. Long story short, he said he did not authorize any repairs and was not going to pay the $300 he owed. He then whipped out a big butterfly type knife and was twirling it around. Thought better of it when he saw the big end of my .45 and got on the floor as I ordered. My office girl had already called the police. He laid on the floor crying not to call the cops and promising to pay me. The cops got there in just a few minutes and as soon as they opened the door this guy jumps up and starts telling the cops I had threatened to shoot him as he tried to pay. They didn't pay much attention and found he had a few warrants outstanding so off to jail he went. As they taking him out he again threatens me, in front of about 5 officers, that he would "come like the night" and cut me up. The sargent told me to "just shoot him if I had to".

That is just one of many times when my gun stopped what could have ended in a much different outcome.

 

[foggy1111]

For many years I traveled over 60,000 road miles each year as a sales rep. I have had three instances (over forty years) where I could have wished for a gun during those times.....and two of those times were road-rage events.

Once I had a gun...but never did draw it. Still is was good to have nearby as things were deteriorating very quickly with a carload of thugs.....whom brandished a pistol at me as I passed them on the highway (they were going about 30 mph on the highway - and the rear window came down and the pistol came out as I went by :confused2: too quickly for the guy to shoot?). Luckily I had a faster car.....as I was chased for 5 miles...by thugs unknown to me.

Another time I had a bullet hit the side window on my car on the highway....and I kept going. Kids? Dunno, but the sheriff confirmed it to be a bullet hole in my side window. Bullet must have ricocheted away. (The sheriff responded by coming to look at my car 15 hours later......good grief!)

Another guy that I worked with wore lots of gold (cufflinks, tie clasp, bracelet etc) and he always dressed in high-dollar suits. He went into a toilet stall in a public rest area in Texas. A guy shot him four times through the stall door....then kicked the door in and robbed him of his wallet and gold jewelry and left him for dead. He lived.....but did not "flash" so much gold in future years.

My belief is that these days....with so many citizens carrying.....that the bad guys are beginning to know that more than a few of us are armed and can (and will) fight back. And....therein lies improved safety for all of us.

I feel that law enforcement cannot provide protection for us.....and those of us that carry can add protection for our families, and other citizens.

I likely will never draw one of my guns on someone.....but stand ready to do so if need be.

 

[redlevel]

Another time I had a bullet hit the side window on my car on the highway....and I kept going. Kids? Dunno, but the sheriff confirmed it to be a bullet hole in my side window. Bullet must have ricocheted away. (The sheriff responded by coming to look at my car 15 hours later......good grief!)

This happened to the principal of one of our schools two years ago (almost to the day) during Christmas. For those from the area, she had been Christmas/Grocery shopping in Warner Robins, GA. She was in a rural area returning to Butler, near where GA 96 crosses over I-75. She heard a thump and thought a car she had met had thrown a bottle and hit her car. When she got home, she found a .45ACP slug in a container of sour cream that was in a grocery bag in the back seat. She was very lucky. She was armed, but she didn't stop, of course, until she got home.

 

[om21braz]

Also, there are those folks who are not among the living now, that if they had it to do again, would have been armed. Would it have changed the outcome? We just don't know. But I do know it is a dangerous world we live in and it is not getting better - contrary to what some may tell us.

 

[dmccarty]

Yes.

Regarding shootings of cars. The wifey's car was shot with a high powered pellet gun years ago when we lived in the city. She had just picked up our oldest from day care and was within a mile or so of home when she heard a noise. I am sure it was some kids who fired the pellet which hit the read driver side door. Right next to our kid.

If the pellet had been up a foot or so it would have shattered the glass window. If it had been back a few inches it would have hit our kid in the head.

We called 911 and an officer arrived. She told me that the city had HUNDREDS of calls regarding windows, cars, etc being shot by pellets/bb guns. Now this particular city is a perfect paradise. Or so they would have you think. The media outlets do NOT report crimes for this city if they can get away with it. For instance a nearby city was having similar problems with car windows being shot out and it WAS reported.

We called up the local TV stations who interviewed the wife and show the car. The PD chief gave a BS interview.

Over the last year or so there have been shootings at cars. A High School principal was shot with a shot gun and seriously wounded. I cannot believe that one was random but nobody has been caught.

Recently on I95 down near Fayetteville there were at least two shootings at cars. In the first case, the victim just kept going. In the second case the car pulled over. The twit that shot the car drove up to rob the victims. Which was good since the victims TOOK the handgun away from the thug and proceeded to give him a very large dose of whip a....s.:thumbsup: Even after the thug was cleaned up he still looked BAD. :laughing::laughing::laughing::laughing:

Later,
Dan

 

[foggy1111]

The thing that sours me is.....that if a patrol car got hit with a bullet the cops wudda had 100 department members scouring the area in short order. In my case....they sent someone out the NEXT DAY!! :confused2: Nobody was hurt.....just cost me a window......and I'm pretty sure it was either kids or a badly timed shot by another with a 22? (it was near a wooded ravine).

I knew our window was hit by a bullet within a few seconds (my wife's head was inches from the impact area - good thing it was not a high-caliber round) and started to stop after being hit. Upon realizing it was a bullet hit.....I got the **** out of there....and called law enforcement. Big whoop calling them.

 

[Deere Dude]

As older teenagers my friend and I were headed up north driving through the main drag in a small town known for trouble makers. A car full of teenagers were on our bumper, then along side of us and back and forth hollering at us wanting us to stop. I sped up to about 40 or so trying to get away and they wheeled up beside us again, then all of a sudden they slammed on their brakes. My buddy sitting in the passenger seat had his pistol in front of me pointing out the window at them.

Maybe they wouldn't have done anything but I was plenty worried.

 

[300UGUY]

Nope. I worked nights in Detroit for much of my career. Most folks that get shot in Detroit ( not all ) are trying to be "players".

 

[dmccarty]

The thing that sours me is.....that if a patrol car got hit with a bullet the cops wudda had 100 department members scouring the area in short order. In my case....they sent someone out the NEXT DAY!! :confused2: Nobody was hurt.....just cost me a window......and I'm pretty sure it was either kids or a badly timed shot by another with a 22? (it was near a wooded ravine).
...

The almost certain reality was that the shooter was long gone within seconds. The person that shot our car was almost certainly the passenger is another vehicle. By the time the wifey had gotten home the shooter was on the other side of town. No way to find them. Even if wifey had immediately realized the car had been shot and dialed 911 and even if the patrol car was RIGHT there they would not have caught the people who did this. Only a witness could have helped but it was dark out and nobody saw a thing.

If the patrol car got hit the way my wifey did, I doubt they would have caught them. The officer would have had to have noticed the oncoming car and have been able to make a U Turn. Where the shooting happened they could not have done a quick U Turn.

It can be very difficult to catch this sort of thing. Remember the two shooting people in the Washington area years ago?

Later,
Dan