For all the people here who routinely carry a firearm, could you talk about any experiences where you had to draw and/or fire your weapon.
I don’t carry a weapon but for some odd reason there’s an old gun in my office at work (not mine though). When my store was robbed at gun point while I was in the office I grabbed and loaded it.
Now, I had no intention of running out into the store to play hero, I was on the phone with 911, but if the robber wanted to round up hostages he would have been met with a bullet before he even knew there was someone in the office.
They always say that you shouldn’t carry a gun unless you know that you can shoot someone. At that very second I went from being on the fence about that statement to knowing that I’d have no problem shooting someone if they pointed a gun at me. And I’ve learned there are some techniques to help make sure they don’t point the gun at you.
A friend gave me a gun after that incident, once I get more comfortable with handling it (and something a bit smaller), I’ll probably start CCing it. I work at a store that moves a lot of cash, and in winter we’re open a few hours after it gets dark.
We’re lucky that in 33 years of being here we’ve only been robbed once (burglarized several times). Also, I have several employees that leave after dark with me that I feel responsible for and I like to make sure they get to their cars safely. I’m aware of my surroundings, I make sure to glance around before I pull the locked door shut behind me, but you never know. Also, I often have cash with me that’s going to the bank when I walk out the door.
When I was about 16, a man kicked in the front door while the whole family was at dinner, Long story short, I put him under a shotgun backed to slowly leave suggestion.
Neighbor came on my friends property waving a shot gun & we moved to where he was in a 90 degree cross fire. He really calmed down after that.
Military does not count. Nor does anything that the statute of limitations has not run out on .
While surveying, I kept a rather large knife out at the ready until the dog owner got the dog under control. Owner was carrying a Henry lever action. He wanted me to back down before he would call off the dog, I declined. I was approached by land owners carrying weapons where I determined in the advancing demeanor that it was not necessary for me to respond in kind. The little old woman with the model 94 or 94 looking lever action 30-30, well, I just got out of there. There was not going to be any discussion, I could tell. It was either run or a for sure a gun fight & she already had a bead on me, I opted for flight.
Stuck a weapon under the chin of a the one of three guys who were trying to car jack me and I girl I was dating.
Many times in my rougher days as a biker. ( retired )
Showed a weapon as an indicator of how serious I was on several occasions of trespass in reticent years.
Many times on various animal control issues, dog pack chasing cattle, etc.
Like carrying a multi-tool, a pocket knife, & a gun type weapon, all useful tools. Keep them to hand all the time.
Other times & stories but this is long nuff already. ( not all of them put me in the best light )
I’ve carried a gun daily for about 30 years. Not counting 5 years as a cop, I have had to point a gun at someone to stop them from harming me or someone else 5 times that I can think of off the top of my head.
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Asshole playing a trumpet while driving almost hit me & another car. I flipped him off. Clearly this was a capital crime, because he followed me to a red light, got out and tried to pull me from my car while holding a metal pipe with which to beat me. Eventually, cops arrested him.
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Man beating woman in parking lot. Drove over to help her and he turned on me & my wife. He was extremely large, and very angry. We rescued the woman and drove away. Cops came and arrested him.
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Van full of [del]illegal immigrants[/del] undocumented workers creamed my Mustang at a red light. When I asked the driver for his insurance card, he pulled a large knife on me and said “No police. Leave now.” I didn’t. He was arrested, all the others fled.
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Some chemically-altered or mentally impaired gentleman fixated on me in traffic last year and followed me up my driveway. He got out of his van with a knife, shouting unintelligible things, and threatened to kill me if my mother (dead 15 years) ever did that(?) again. He was arrested the next day.
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Honked at someone who illegally cut in front of me in a turn lane. Both psychopaths jumped from their car to scream, threaten, and kick my truck. They stopped trying to open my door when faced with a .45. They left. Gave APD a copy of the tape, but nothing has ever happened with the case.
Almost shot the German Shepherd attacking my daughter in our yard, but he backed off.
It’s not often that one needs to defend themselves, but on that rare occasion when evil intent crosses your path, it’s good to have options, rather than be a victim.
Out of roughly 10,500 days, I’ve needed a gun 4 of them, and only for a minute each time. Hard part is knowing which day you’ll need one…
I’ve had to point my gun at someone numerous times in my career. Never had to pull the trigger. Never in my personal life.