A personal Gun story you won't see on the news!!

Amazing story with a truly positive ending. I believe that this proves that guns are not evil it is only the person using them who may have good or bad intentions with the weapon.

Well played. I don't know if I could remain that calm with a .380, to be honest. I would have been more confident with a .45, which is what I carry.

Since we're sharing, I have also had a couple instances where my friends Heckler & Koch were at the ready to back me up. Once was at a red light when I was at lunch with a good friend of mine. The car next to us had three gangbangers in it, and the one in the back seat was sitting there mad dogging me. I didn't even give him so much as a dirty look other than glance over to maintain my situational awareness. Anyway, I went to get my .45 out of my center console, and my buddy (who is a liberal) slammed his elbow down on the lid, preventing me from getting to it. I guess he was under the assumption that I was going to take it out and start shooting willy nilly. I chewed his ass out and explained to him that it is a defensive tool, and if that crackhead would have jumped out of his car I would have had maybe a second or two to react and defend myself and him. I intended to lay it in my lap in case anything went down. Luckily nothing did.

The second instance was a little more real. Again a truck with two Mexican guys who appeared to be less than sober. They pulled up next to me at a red light and started aggressively taunting me for no apparent reason. I didn't cut them off in traffic - I have no idea why they were doing that. This time I did give them a "WTF" look, as I was getting my .45 out of its hiding place. The driver put it in park, got out of his truck and proceeded to go around the front toward me. He got as far as his fender on my side and I shouted "Do not approach me, do not approach my vehicle" with a look that clearly told him that he was making a very big mistake. I could not egress the situation as I was boxed in by traffic and it took him seconds to get within 6 feet of my window. I never showed him the gun but he knew full well it was there. He stopped, got back in his truck and drove off when the light turned green.

In New Mexico, your vehicle is considered an extension of your home, so the 'castle doctrine' applies. You can carry a loaded weapon in your vehicle in most instances. I sincerely hope I never have to use it, but needing to get it ready not once but twice leads me to believe that maybe I should move and this might not be the best place to raise a family.

I think if you were being mugged , you should try and run away as fast as possible , it might not be easy if you're surrounded but my brother and I had an encounter with a ne'er do well . We were waiting outside a minimart this guy comes up and asks for change we had none , he kept pestering us , my brother told him to get lost , he threatened to stab us . Maybe he hada knife maybe not , we weren't gonna find out , then we took off , we ran to the nearest police station and we reported the incident . We gave a pretty good description of the guy and his girlfriend , she was left behind at the mini mart, this guy was obviously a junkie , in the city I live you can spot them quite easily. I'm pretty sure that he was known by the cops . But maybe people who get mugged become so scared that they can't think straight specially if they have a weapon pointed at them.

reply to post by getreadyalready


I have only read your opening post...
Thank-you so much for sharing this
with us.The Lord was looking after you
two that day.

My god, you should write a book. Not about the story, (very tense by the way) but in general, you have amazing writing and descriptive skills. I'm glad you and your wife are okay.

reply to post by getreadyalready


Nice tale. I just wonder why your first reaction was to reach for your gun. Since those guys didn't see you maybe they thought your wife was lost or something. You yourself said it was the first vehicle you seen in two hours. If I saw a woman in the middle of the woods I would probably ask if she's alright. I just dont' get the deliverance thing. So what if they looked liked they were out of deliverance? Is that against the law or automatically makes them bad people?

Seems odd your first reaction is to think they were up to no good.

reply to post by getreadyalready

Good drills and an excellent example of the benefits of target hardening. For every fight there are many near-fights in which one party eventually decides against it, thus the pre-fight 'soft skills' warrant just as much attention as the in-fight 'hard skills' as the only fight you’re guaranteed to win is the one that you aren’t in!

Personally I hope that they get slotted next time around. Absolute cowards.

Originally posted by getreadyalready
reply to post by Spacedeck

 

My advice is to get some experience fighting. Join an MMA club, or take boxing lessons, or just buy some gear and fight your buddies in the backyard.

I would recommend the latter with good direction, as too many of the former instill a 'sparring mentality' that is useless outside of sporting competition. A friend of mine puts this very well in one of his Youtube vids. In a seminar given to a mixture of Krav Maga instructors and students, he says something along the lines of:

"The guys who I like to fight are the 'martial arts guys'. When I see my man stancing up like this (fists up), I do this (hands together, looks up, mouths "thankyou") because I know that I have loads of time. I can just play with this guy and figure something out. The guys I hate are the ones who jump on me mid-sentence, like a professional swimmer with fists instead of flippers."

I'd recommend the so-called 'live drill' which is essentially two guys with helmets/neck brace (no gloves) colliding and repeatedly smacking each other in the head full-force until the "ref" decides that one is dominant and another two guys physically separate them. Rinse and repeat!

Thanks for sharing your story. It made me "feel" the situation.

I was listening to coast to coast am last week because I saw it was about gun control. The guest, John Lott was incredibly knowledgeable. Seems the perfect place to post these.






well worth listening to. The man makes very compelling arguments that you can utilize in your next gun control conversation.

reply to post by LosLobos

I just dont' get the deliverance thing. So what if they looked liked they were out of deliverance? Is that against the law or automatically makes them bad people?

Seems odd your first reaction is to think they were up to no good.

I think the whole "spidey sense" thing is why I immediately reached for the gun. I didn't pull it out, I only reminded myself where it was, flipped the safety off, and verified that I could quickly access it.

The "deliverance" part is significant. Right or wrong, two guys in suits and a nice car just don't look as scary as two toothless stinky guys in worn out clothing and a nasty old truck.

Also, body language, shiftiness, the look in someone's eyes, whether or not they speak up, those things all pointed to trouble. If it was just two guys offering some help, they would probably have spoken up quickly to try and put her mind at ease. When they saw me approach, they would have smiled and said something about their intentions to help, rather than freezing and backing away.

Like I said, I don't know for sure what their intentions were, maybe they are just socially awkward and I misinterpreted the situation. Either way, better to be overly prepared and cautious in my opinion.

I have stopped to help people on the side of the road before, and I made every effort to not creep them out. Actually I stopped just a few weeks ago, when two young girls had a flat near my house. I noticed immediately that they were scared when I stopped, so I made sure not to walk towards them, and I spoke up quickly asking if they needed help. They said someone was coming to help them, and one of them held up her cell phone. I asked if they would like for me to stick around until their help showed up, and they said no, so I left. I didn't approach them and make them even more uncomfortable.

reply to post by Soshh

"The guys who I like to fight are the 'martial arts guys'. When I see my man stancing up like this (fists up), I do this (hands together, looks up, mouths "thankyou") because I know that I have loads of time. I can just play with this guy and figure something out. The guys I hate are the ones who jump on me mid-sentence, like a professional swimmer with fists instead of flippers."

I totally agree!

In all of the fights I have been in over the years, it has become clear that some guys are there just to "fight" or "spar," while other guys are there to hurt you! The "mid-sentence" part is right on point! That is how I learned to protect myself when I was a little guy. While some idiot is talking and posturing, I was jumping on him and ending the fight before it ever really got started.

The skills you can learn in martial arts and mma or boxing rings are still very useful, but one has to be careful that they don't just learn to spar, but also to fight. There is no substitute for the real thing.

reply to post by getreadyalready


i'm glad that you and your wife are ok. personally i think carrying a gun is pretty dangerous. i understand people want to protect themselves but for one, you flipped the safety off before you had even assessed the situation.. seems like overkill. i mean you're ready to shoot/stab someone before you even know what's going on. i'm not saying they didn't have some very bad intentions but.. i'd like to offer another scenario, what if they were just hillbillies wantin to do some fishing..? you said yourself your wife attracts a lot of attention.. maybe they were going to hit on her since they didn't see you, then you show up, the one looks away because he's intimidate/scared, and the old lady's looking for a weapon (or maybe about to get some chairs or the cooler out) because you are a big dude with a motorcycle and she thinks you are about to beat up her kids/grandkids (not saying your wrong or anything just offering another view). think about cops, who head into a reported crime scene, unclip their guns, and then they hear some scuffling turn to see someone raise their hand, and then they shoot a kid. if you go around with your pistol in your pocket flippin the safety off whenever there is trouble then you will shoot someone eventually. even if you had fought those guys, it's pretty dangerous to be wrestling around with your gun off safety (i'm assuming you already had a bullet in the chamber) and your knife ready to spring open, that's a good way to shoot and/or stab yourself. and don't take it personally, i'm not trying to make enemies with a mod, but it seems to me like you are promoting this tough guy image of yourself, you shouldn't be encouraging people on this forum to carry guns.. because even if you are tough enough, safe enough, licensed enough whatever to carry a gun, that doesn't mean other people are (people are killed everyday over simple misunderstandings because somebody pulls out some weapon or equalizer). guns serve a purpose, i own a gun as well, but i don't keep it on my person.

just sayin

As if you needed any more flags and stars, but you got another from me. There are statistics on how many crimes are prevented because the intended victim is carrying a gun, but encounters like this add at least half again as many to that number because they aren't reported. Excellent job, sir.

/TOA

Did you take down their license plate or something? Just in case.

Not to be paranoid but I hope they aren't out there kidnapping and raping women (murder?) or something.

reply to post by emptyOmind

if you go around with your pistol in your pocket flippin the safety off whenever there is trouble then you will shoot someone eventually. even if you had fought those guys, it's pretty dangerous to be wrestling around with your gun off safety (i'm assuming you already had a bullet in the chamber) and your knife ready to spring open, that's a good way to shoot and/or stab yourself. and don't take it personally, i'm not trying to make enemies with a mod, but it seems to me like you are promoting this tough guy image of yourself, you shouldn't be encouraging people on this forum to carry guns.. because even if you are tough enough, safe enough, licensed enough whatever to carry a gun, that doesn't mean other people are (people are killed everyday over simple misunderstandings because somebody pulls out some weapon or equalizer). guns serve a purpose, i own a gun as well, but i don't keep it on my person

No offense taken, and please don't ever worry about making an enemy of a Mod. We have opinions, and they are not always well-founded, and we take criticism pretty well, as long as it is within the terms and conditions.

To reply though, I had assessed the situation. I knew how isolated we were, I knew the truck had suddenly slowed and stopped, it didn't appear this was their intended destination. I knew I was outnumbered and isolated, and the only equalizing factors were the fact that they hadn't seen me yet, and I had a gun.

I flipped the safety off my gun, because they were close enough that when they saw me, their reaction could have been to charge instantly and I wouldn't have had time to respond. I don't always flip the safety off. I reached for my knife for the same reason, because I didn't want to be wrestling some younger guy and trying to get my gun out at the same time. If they had charged, I probably would have pulled the knife first.

The logic that I will eventually shoot someone is false. I have been carrying for 15 years, been in several struggles, and countless other tense situations like this one, and I have never once even pulled the gun out of its holster. That was kind of the whole point of this thread, LOL! If I ever do shoot anyone, you can rest assured that they deserved it and there was no other alternative.

As for encouraging other people to carry. That was the secondary point to the thread. I am encouraging people to carry a gun, but they should know that it is also a grave responsibility, it requires ample training, and patience, and restraint, and practice. I believe all people should have the right to carry a gun, and in my opinion all people should get at least a cursory training with one, even if they don't intend to own or carry it.

The last thing I wanted to do is portray a tough guy image of myself. I was afraid that would happen, and I was afraid the real point of the thread would be lost in that. I don't need to portray myself in any particular way. People who know me, already know me. People who don't know me aren't concerned with my image. I was scared that day. Truly, truly scared. I did not expect anything like that to happen, I didn't want it to happen, and it is sad that it will now rattle around in my head the next time I think about taking my wife off to some remote location.

If I am to portray myself in any particular way, please let it be that I was a very scared husband, that happened to have a gun on him, happened to control my emotions long enough to get out of the situation, had God's good graces that day, and I am lucky to be here and share the story. That is closer to the truth than any tough guy image.

Originally posted by emptyOmind
reply to post by getreadyalready

 

i'm glad that you and your wife are ok. personally i think carrying a gun is pretty dangerous. i understand people want to protect themselves but for one, you flipped the safety off before you had even assessed the situation.. seems like overkill. i mean you're ready to shoot/stab someone before you even know what's going on. i'm not saying they didn't have some very bad intentions but.. i'd like to offer another scenario, what if they were just hillbillies wantin to do some fishing..? you said yourself your wife attracts a lot of attention.. maybe they were going to hit on her since they didn't see you, then you show up, the one looks away because he's intimidate/scared, and the old lady's looking for a weapon (or maybe about to get some chairs or the cooler out) because you are a big dude with a motorcycle and she thinks you are about to beat up her kids/grandkids (not saying your wrong or anything just offering another view). think about cops, who head into a reported crime scene, unclip their guns, and then they hear some scuffling turn to see someone raise their hand, and then they shoot a kid. if you go around with your pistol in your pocket flippin the safety off whenever there is trouble then you will shoot someone eventually. even if you had fought those guys, it's pretty dangerous to be wrestling around with your gun off safety (i'm assuming you already had a bullet in the chamber) and your knife ready to spring open, that's a good way to shoot and/or stab yourself. and don't take it personally, i'm not trying to make enemies with a mod, but it seems to me like you are promoting this tough guy image of yourself, you shouldn't be encouraging people on this forum to carry guns.. because even if you are tough enough, safe enough, licensed enough whatever to carry a gun, that doesn't mean other people are (people are killed everyday over simple misunderstandings because somebody pulls out some weapon or equalizer). guns serve a purpose, i own a gun as well, but i don't keep it on my person.

just sayin

Anyone else think the OP is painting himself to be a "tough guy"? I didn't read that into his post whatsoever.

Guns are only dangerous when you don't know how to use them, chief. Kinda like getting on a rice rocket with no riding experience. Down you go. Snapping off the safety is smart, ESPECIALLY since he "didn't know what was going on". What if those rednecks were armed? What if they drew on him? Shootings last seconds, in most cases there is no time to think, just react. Taking the safety off could mean the difference between life and death. What if he left the safety engaged and cletus took a step forward and roundhoused him with a toad sticker into his neck while he was fumbling to get the safety off? Would want any overkill, right? Better the bad guy lives and the good guy dies. That's the outcome the anti-gun crowd likes.

I also don't see how he is promoting gun ownership. Where do you get that? Were you compelled to start carrying? Why would other people be?

Since we're making assumptions, I am assuming that you are applying all the negative gun stereotypes you hear from the MSM and apply them to hypothetical situations to support your opinion. There is nothing hypothetical about the OP's story. Why the hell do you even own a gun?

reply to post by getreadyalready


Learning a martial art I feel is a good way to defend yourself. As I said in a previous post I have taken jujitsu. Here a while back I used it to defend myself. I didn't use posture and I didn't hesitate. I was at a get together at a friends house and it was getting late. I said my goodbyes and went to leave. A large fellow that I didn't know, for some reason decided he had a problem with me leaving. He stepped into my path and shoved be backward. I immediately stepped forward and delivered a palm strike to his sternum knocking him back into the corner. His buddy, who I didn't know was behind me brought his arm around my neck and tried to put me in a head lock. I leaned forward, grabbed his arm and threw him over my hip. I kept a grip on his arm as he went giving it a good twist, enough to hurt, but not break. I then put him in a choke hold until he passed out. By this time the big one recoved and was getting up from the corner. I put him in a choke hold as he got up and choked him into unconsciousness as well. If you take a martial art class, you just have to remember, its real life, not sparring.

Originally posted by LosLobos
reply to post by getreadyalready
Seems odd your first reaction is to think they were up to no good.

I know this sounds harsh, and I'm not coming down on you or anyone else that has this outlook on life or other people, but your statement (and thus that kind of outlook) is naive and helps in creating victims.

I trust my wife, my son, my family and my closest friends. If you're not one of them, or at the very least my acquaintance, you are to be considered with suspicion. It may take only 5 seconds for me to know that you aren't any kind of threat, but it may take 6 for you to become one. He was with a person that he obviously cares deeply for. The only attitude he could take in assessing the situation is that they are a threat to her. Until they prove that they are not, he must stand at the ready.

/TOA

Good story.

The guys were looking to make some money off your bike...there's a recession right?

I'm all for freedom to bare arms. In florida you can ride around with a "Bin Laden" in your backseat legally. A bin laden is any assault style rifle.

The police hate me because I'm a young black male, ex-dealer, have done my share of.....wrong, but I don't have any felonies on my record. So...I'm allowed to have my guns also . Everytime I get pulled over and they ask me do I have any weapons, and I tell them yes I have my pistol, they grin because they think they've earned themselves an arrest. Until they run my ID and find out I don't have any felonies. I had one incident where there were two officers, one obviously younger and in training and he asked the vet if there was something they could do...it didn't seem right that I could have a pistol. The Sergeant told him no, it was legal for me to have the pistol.

The system think it's slick. Police are trying to put felonies on as many people as possible because it revokes their right to carry a weapon. I think that law needs to be changed. What's the use of restricting someone from protecting themselves because they have a felony theft, or possession or whatever else. If it isn't armed violence what's the reasoning?

It's the reason they arrest so many young black males and florida has a tactic where they have you jump on a plea deal in order to avoid sitting in jail before trial. I know many people who have fallen for this trap. It was attempted with me but I simply sat in jail and eventually the charges were dropped due to lack of evidence and a faulty warrant.

Oh, one other thing, most of the experiences I've read, the criminals were fools and inexperienced. Take it from someone who knows....if them wolves want something you got you won't even see them coming. I treated everyone as if they were armed...

Well played, sounds like they wanted to kidnap her or steal your bike? Well thank god she was not alone. That is disturbing, perhaps they have kidnapped people before or eventually will? Did you get a licence plate number? Well what if you had waited for them to make a move and stayed out of sight then shown up with gun drawn? I imagine a Clint Eastwood style scene and things would have got interesting. Well you did the right thing anyway

reply to post by DZAG Wright

Oh, one other thing, most of the experiences I've read, the criminals were fools and inexperienced. Take it from someone who knows....if them wolves want something you got you won't even see them coming. I treated everyone as if they were armed...

I think I responded to someone in a PM that way.

You are exactly right, if "them wolves" really want something, it happens in a flash. I'll be the first to tell you that I'm lucky these guys weren't fully committed to their crime. In reality, if they were hardened criminals with nothing to lose, they could have had their guns pulled and ready to use before ever getting out of the truck. They could have used the truck as a weapon and rushed in. They could have rushed me, and even if I got one, they might have overpowered me.

The sad truth is that we are always vulnerable to an unprovoked attack, and if the attackers are fully committed and seasoned at their crimes, defense is almost impossible.

All the more reason to be cautious and armed.