A pump shotgun by the door usually sends a clear message when racked. The jh weren't too fond. The best was my wife's response to them. "I'm a poisoned catholic so don't wast your time but, see that big bald headed angry man down there cutting trees? He needs some religion".
Wifey had close call !!
- Thread starter scesnick
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dmccarty
Super Star Member
Did someone say she made the wrong decision?
The question is could she have made a better decision?
Usually after such a situation one can sit back and think they could have done things better. Which I think is one of the points of this discussion.
Since the OP's wifey was successful she made the right decision. However, she did increase her risk. What would she have done if the man had attacked and the weapon malfunctioned? Has she done weapon clearing drills? Can she do it under pressure? Would she have time?
If she was in the house and the stranger was attacking the door she has much more time to deal with a weapons problem. Out in the yard she ain't got much.
What if the man had simply walked at her? What would she do? If she shoots him she now has a very big legal problem since she shot an unarmed man. The questions from the DA and/or the opposing lawyer in the civil suit are not going to be fun to answer.
Even pointing a weapon at the stranger could be a problem. Check the earlier posts for an example.
Next time what if a stranger approached her in a calm way with a piece of paper pretending to ask for directions? Is she gonna shoot him? Nope but it would allow him to get real close. Too close. If she is in the yard she has more risk. In the house risk from the stranger is reduced greatly.
Just because one is in the house does not mean one has to STAY in the house. The house buys time, cover and possible concealment. Time allows one to see what the stranger(s) is doing. How many there are. Weapons? ALL of which are to YOUR advantage. Not the other guy. Why give up the advantage?
If one has to get in a fight, set up the circumstances to be in your favor, not the opponents. That includes the fight itself and the aftermath.
Later,
Dan
dmccarty
Super Star Member
At least she did not call you that big, fat, bald headed angry man. :laughing::laughing::laughing:Later,
Dan
greasemonkeyok
Veteran Member
Your clairvoyance is amazing dmccarty. If she had stayed in the house, it is amazing that you know the van occupants would not have been embolden by the absence her presence outside, and that they would not have simultaneously gone to the front and back doors, made entry simultaneously....
Face the fact that you are basing your opinion of a "better decision" on a hypothetical set of circumstances you control. She was taking action in real time, real life circumstances, and sent the early message "look maggot, I know you are up to no good so it is best you leave." That message got results, and not revealing that message may have caused the circumstances to be prolonged and escalate.
Face the fact that you are basing your opinion of a "better decision" on a hypothetical set of circumstances you control. She was taking action in real time, real life circumstances, and sent the early message "look maggot, I know you are up to no good so it is best you leave." That message got results, and not revealing that message may have caused the circumstances to be prolonged and escalate.
SPIKER
Elite Member
You need to post a sign out front,
"I have a Back Hoe, cutting torches and lots of ammo. Trespassers found on property will never be found again!"
Really bad stuff though, people are doing dumb stuff breaking in day light is real popular anymore as they figure school is in, parents at work and neighbors also at work getting caught is last thing they are thinking about a score of goods to swap for drugs or sell for scrap...
Mark
"I have a Back Hoe, cutting torches and lots of ammo. Trespassers found on property will never be found again!"
Really bad stuff though, people are doing dumb stuff breaking in day light is real popular anymore as they figure school is in, parents at work and neighbors also at work getting caught is last thing they are thinking about a score of goods to swap for drugs or sell for scrap...
Mark
greasemonkeyok
Veteran Member
Actually TripleR, I think we are saying the same thing, and by no means was I suggesting the scenario I used was a likely possibility.
My use of hypothetical circumstances was to highlight the fact that trying to judge what is a better course of action is all but impossible if you don not know all the relevant facts. If you are using hypothetical facts, one can make a case for all sorts of good, better, and best course of actions. But none of those will apply to the real world incident because of the assumptions.
Not every female can be Mattie Ross, but not all of them are June Cleaver either. The confidence of the individual is a factor that is very difficult to measure.
My use of hypothetical circumstances was to highlight the fact that trying to judge what is a better course of action is all but impossible if you don not know all the relevant facts. If you are using hypothetical facts, one can make a case for all sorts of good, better, and best course of actions. But none of those will apply to the real world incident because of the assumptions.
Not every female can be Mattie Ross, but not all of them are June Cleaver either. The confidence of the individual is a factor that is very difficult to measure.
brin
Super Member
Exactly right...I was an MP in the Army and a civilian Police Officer and from my experience I can say studying what to do and planning for events are one thing but when faced with a sudden aggressor in a situation you do fall back on training but each situation is different and you have to adjust...there may be a time to hunker down inside and let the perp come to you but circumstances that present themselves to you, such as this case, with kids inside, the van just pulling up...I can see the wisdom in taking the potential confrontation outside directly to the perp. This lady was armed and knew how to use her weapon and made the call that in her mind fit the circumstances and everyone walked away...so I say it was a win.:thumbsup:
dmccarty
Super Star Member
What clairvoyance?
We are talking what if's which is a valid learning exercise. Yes someone else COULD have been in the van. IF there had been more people in the van she would have been in a much worse situation. MUCH worse. Your scenario of multiple opponents in the van highlights the higher risk of having the confrontation outside of the house.
I assume the OP's house has windows and that the wife could OBSERVE the van. Seeing multiple people exit the van and move around the house would be pretty obvious. Being in the house would give her more time to react. Out in the driveway with multiple opponents she has much less time to react.
It would be MUCH better to have a defensive position IN the house where they have to FIND her and the kids. She would have all of the advantages legally and tactically. She would have far fewer advantages in the driveway both tactically and legally. If she had taken a position in the house the number advantage of multiple attackers is minimized. Why? Go look up the "fatal funnel" for a modern term or read about Horatius at the bridge.
The wifey could have delivered the message from within the house as well as from outside.
Later,
Dan
CompactTractorFan
Super Member
JDgreen227;2789018Not trying to hijack the thread myself but back in 2004 I was working on a concrete slab near my deck in mid-afternoon and some moron pulled in trying to sell me meat from the back of his truck and kept giving me his sales pitch while I was troweling wet concrete. MORON !!