The question is pretty straightforward: putting aside all the debates about gun control and given the large number of people who actually own guns (whether they be for sport or self-defense) how many have actually used one in self-defense? Please share any firsthand experiences you have may have had, and all are greatly appreciated.
Please forgive any grammatical and/or spelling errors.
We get Black Bears nosing around our place. We can usually scare them off by yelling at them. This happens about once a year.
I don’t like going out when I see a bear with out a gun. Either my .357, or 30/30 (the 30/30 has been replaced by a .356, but that’s another story).
Anyway, I do my best to keep close enough to the house or a vehicle that I would hope to not have to use the gun. And I have never had to shoot a bear, but I have fired towards them when yelling doesn’t work.
Sometimes the bear will just wander off 100 feet or so, sit down and watch. In that case, I’ll shoot a tree in the general direction of the bear. That has always sent them running.
IMHO, any time, regardless of whether I shoot the gun or not, I’m using it for self defense.
:snerk:No we don’t arm bears around here.
Make that “I don’t like going out un-armed when there is a bear in the ‘yard’.”
That wasn’t exactly what I was thinking of, but I guess it makes sense that an intruder of any sort could be construed as a threat. Now that I think of it, what I wanted to ask was if anyone has used a gun in self-defense against another human, but this case most certainly qualifies as self-defense. I’ll keep the thread open to any and all accounts of self-defense, be they against humans or animals.
I thought that was guaranteed in the Bill of Rights, “The right to arm bears”!
Does war count? If so, I have. Of course it was their country (Viet Nam) so I guess I could be considered the intruder but I did use the gun for self preservation.
I’m with TV time, so if Vietnam counts; yeah, dozens of times.
I guess that it is pretty obvious that I have used a gun for self-defense, and in the defense of others. Only on-duty, though, and I’ve never had to pull the trigger. I’ve only gotten really close to firing once, and I’m very glad that I didn’t.
Yes, it does count. I’m curious as to how you felt about the experience, and how it affected you (if at all) later on in life as I don’t personally know anyone whose used a gun in self-defense.
If non-firsthand accounts are okay, I know three people who have, all in wars.
My dad killed people in Vietnam. He said it was either him or them, so he fired. My dad was apparently a decent kid before he went off to war; Vietnam ruined him. (I suspect the drugs ruined him more than the trauma of combat, actually. He saw his fair share of fighting but he also had a pretty good time with hookers and booze.) As far as I know, he’s not haunted by his decisions and doesn’t have flashbacks. When I met him he was pretty open about Vietnam and didn’t have any problems talking about it.
A family friend is a WW2 vet (he was at Normandy, actually); killed a lot of Germans. He has no regrets and, AFAICT, no trauma. When his wife was still alive she would encourage him to go apologize to the families of the soldiers he killed, but he never felt a need to. He says he’s not sorry because he knew the men he killed would have taken him out first if they’d had the chance. He too said it was either him or them, so he did what he had to do.
My (now deceased) great uncle also killed people in WW2. He was so fucked up when he came back that he slept on the floor of his parent’s bedroom for over a year, despite being a grown man. Horrible nightmares. I can’t imagine what he must have seen over there 
Not a hunter, the only critter I’ve dispatched with a handgun was a stray dog that was growling, baring teeth and charging at children. Rural Tennessee, several days were given for the dog to move on, and it didn’t.
Other than that, I shoot paper cutouts and hope I never am placed in the position of drawing down on another human being.
Do Paintball and Laser Tag count? If so then, yes. 