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Forced into car

4K views 61 replies 35 participants last post by  Tala 
#1 · (Edited)
I did a search and didn't see any scenarios like this so let's see what you think.

I thought of this today while me and my wife were at the gas station. I was pumping gas while she went inside to grab some drinks. I started coming up with different scenarios in my head and thinking about how I would react, and this came to mind.
I'm pumping gas and I notice two guys go into the station while my wife is inside. They come out with weapons in hand and dragging my wife with them. They force her into the car and try to get away. She is not armed but you are; what do you do?
The first thoughts that came to mind were: shoot the tires, shoot the engine, shoot the driver.
Shoot the tires, you risk a nasty crash with your wife in the vehicle.
Shoot the engine, your edc may not be enough to do enough damage to effectively stop the vehicle (I carry .40 caliber hollow points).
Shoot the driver, again you risk a crash with your wife inside.
I realize the ideal situation would be to not let them get in the car or get a hold of your wife, or have your wife carrying also; but with the given circumstances how would you react?
Two armed guys, your wife is unarmed and in their car, they are trying to drive away; GO. :comeandgetsome:

ETA: If you don't have a SO pretend its your friend, sister, brother, etc.... Also when I was thinking about this I have to take into account that my wife is pregnant so her ability to fight back isn't nearly as good as normal. Just something to add to the equation.
 
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#2 ·
I doubt a .40 caliber round can take out a car tire especially in motion. The only thing I have seen effective in taking out a car tire is a shotgun.

Unless you are a perfect shot you risk shooting an oil tank and causing an explosion.

You risk shooting your loved one in the confusion.

I suggest following your loved one in the BGs car and calling 911.
 
#3 ·
Difficult to say really.
Definately be a good witness, get as much information as possible including make/model/plates. Maybe try to block them in with your car, but that may take too long. Opening fire on them might be a bad idea as you need to know what lies beyond your target, which may be the gas station (or your loved one).
 
#4 ·
If I failed to confront them before they got to the car I would not open fire on them. You may hit your loved one or they may decide to harm/kill your loved one based on your actions.
How about avoiding the situation all together by leaving him/her in the car and you can get the drinks after you pump the gas :slap:
 
#5 ·
As soon as I saw said situation, I would walk quickly toward the perps, try to get within 10ft or less draw my weapon and shoot the one holding my wife.Hopefully I could shoot his partner to. It seems to me that this would be way bettor than having two guys kidnap my wife. For me this is not the type of situation to mess around. You have to get control back. You can't let them get your wife in the car.
 
#6 ·
Given the OP scenario, Get in my vehicle and ram the BG vehicle, preferably at the wheels to disable it before they leave the parking lot.

Your wife has better odds of survival/reduced injuries from a low speed crash than bullets flying.

If you are able to hit the drivers side you will likely have his bell rung and be combat ineffective for a few seconds, whereas you are prepped for the hit. Double bonus if the second BG is in the back seat on the drivers side as well.

Now you play the cards that are dealt.
 
#8 ·
Remember also, as they come out of the door, if you are at the pumps.. your line of fire if you miss, would certainly send rounds into the store.

Sticks had a reasonable idea, "if" location of vehicles makes it possible to get that kind of impact.

Chances would probably be better for the wife if you called 911 and followed the vehicle out of the gas station. They would probably put her out down the street.

Be a good witness first, and then if necessary take action. When they are coming out of the store, they are scanning for cops probably, not too concerned about the schmuck pumping gas.
 
#9 ·
I'm with sticks, ram the dang car and go from their. I do know one thing, there is no way they leaving that station with my wife. I'm glad I was raised in a different time, thank God.
 
#10 ·
I'm not willingly going to let that car get away. Tires and radiator for sure. At least limit how far it can go before meltdown. Ram it? Possibly. That puts you up close with armed BGs and may cause injury to you. Big risk of injuring the wife also. Bigger than popping rounds at the front end tires and cooler.
 
#12 ·
This is no different that the"surendering your weapon " thread same response

I gave this some thought, I came up W/ a response and some rationales to back it up but I suspect that I'm still going to catch some flak for posting this but here's how I think I'd react

1. I don't believe for a second that he has any intention of letting my wife live so I have nothing to lose by trying.

2. The last thing I want is for him to have that gun pointed at her the easiest way I can think of to accomplish that is to give him another target, me.

3. I've been shot before. I know exactly what it feels like and I believe I can cover 12 yards before I bleed out.

4. Action always beats reaction, I bet I can get at least 3 steps (3 yards?) while he's screaming "stop or I'll shoot."

I'm going to close the gap as far as I can, then I'm going to start shooting and I'm not going to stop shooting until I'm dead or he's dead.
 
#14 ·
I agree with your answer.
No kids, no family anymore, I am 70, my wife of 37 years is all I got !
In such situation my adrenaline surge would skyrocket.
I don't think the BGs would be concerned by an old, skinny guy moving on a diagonal (to get a clear line of fire) not even looking at them; then my wife would pretend to faint and that's when hell breaks loose.
We have discussed that situation many times and she knows what to do, even if she "forgot" her .357 in the truck.

Again these are my thoughts, in my situation; yours can be completely different.
 
#13 ·
INCOMING!

Can't disagree with you. That's what you'd do, not everyone else, isn't it. Everyone has different thoughts, and it's all speculation at this point, seeing as we don't have the layout of the scene, distance to BGs' car, what weapons they're carrying, etc.

My first thought was, who'd want to wreck their perfectly good car? But I could probably sacrifice my 12-yr-old, 200,000+ miles cars for the cause. I mean, it can't cook, so what's more important?
 
#15 ·
No one is forcing any of my family into a car...at least not while I behind the wheel of a 3000 pound bullet.

Now, if my mother-in-law were being forced into a car, I'd make a 180 degree turn, wait at the far end of the parking lot...they'd eventually bring her back. I might even require them to pay a reverse ransom for me to take her off of their hands.:rofl::rofl:
 
#16 ·
I drive a solid steel Ford 4x4 pick-up with oversized all-terrain tires that was made in 1994, and has 190k on it and has a junkyard front end on it (been wrecked in the front.) Short of them being in a larger pickup/suv/vehicle than mine, when I ram them, I will win. Even if their larger than me, I'm going for the pit manuever. Only problem is, my old clunky Ford aint the fastest thing on the block , LOL
 
#17 ·
Yell, "That's my wife and she has koodies, your problem now":hand5:

Seriously, think I'd close the gap as close as I could get, hopefully behind cover and throw some lead. No way would I let em' leave.
 
#20 ·
I'm going to do my very best to kill both of the BG's as soon as possible.:hand10:
 
#22 ·
What about talking to your significant other and asking what he or she would be comfortable/acceptable with?

Being in a relationship is about trust and mutual respect. I'm not saying it would absolve a partner from liability, guilt or exercising their own judgment of the situation but knowing what your significant other would prefer in these kinds of situations is akin (in my mind) to knowing whether they would want to be kept alive on a respirator or not. Kind of a living will type of situation.

Unique situations dictate unique actions, of course, but it's a start.

My husband and I have talked about this extensively.

I asked him once if he was ever being held at gun point if I had his permission to shoot (if I reasonably thought I could make the shot) given the chance that he might be hit in the process.

He said I had his permission.

This helps takes pressure off of what I think he might be okay with or not if that time would ever come.

We are adults capable of thinking through these kinds of scenarios and having an opinion as to how we think a situation could be handled.

Since I have never heard of a spontaneous grab of an adult male and no one in their right mind would ever try to wrestle my husband to the car, more than likely I'm going to be the one to be found behind the muzzle of a pistol, being escorted to a vehicle.

#1 I'm never getting into a car alive because nine times out of ten I won't live to tell about it all anyway.

#2 In the event that I cannot fight myself (unconscious, etc) my husband has my permission and encouragement to open fire. I know his skills, training and ability and I'm confident in his abilities.

If I get hit in the process I can take a little comfort in the knowledge that if the wound is not lethal help will be arriving quickly.

I'd rather die on the scene than have some dog walker find my body in a gutter three days later, raped, beaten, tortured, whatever.

My husband has permission to open fire. In the process I will try to be as small of a target as possible.

Of course he will use his best judgment and try to keep me safe and not shoot me.

Now, if I saw my child being abducted? I'm doing all I can including opening fire.

He's too young to reasonably fight back. He's also too young to express an educated opinion as to whether he would want me to open fire or not. He's my responsibility and I'd rather see him die at the scene than go the rest of my life wondering what may have happened to him or for someone to discover him dead somewhere else having suffered abuse.

But, given the situation there are options including following in your own vehicle and communicating with authorities. Trying to block them in. Shooting tires. Anything to preserve life before the bullets start flying. But as a last option I would certainly try it before watching helpless as someone took my baby away.
 
#24 ·
Thanks for the replies everyone. I know that like any scenario the best situation would be to never have been in it in the first place.
I thought about it some more and if I absolutely could not stop them before they got her in the car (which is the scenario, I would be doing everything I could to not let it get that far), I would try to ram/block their vehicle and then go at them fast and hard with my gun drawn. They won't be expecting someone in the parking lot to act with that kind of force. Definitely call 911 at the first opportunity but if there's anything I can do to not let them leave then that comes first.
Hopefully none of us ever have to experience this.
 
#25 ·
Been away for a couple days so I missed out on this one.
I agree with the preponderance of posters who say that they are not leaving.
As always circumstances will dictate actions. I think there may be a window of opportunity. There is a good probability that one perp will force the wife in the car, either the front or back seat, while the other enters as the driver. During that separation, take out the driver and the vehicle isn't going anywhere. From there it will be a "play it by ear" situation. I am not at all above lying to the prep in whatever means necessary to achieve a desired ending.
 
#27 ·
I with the "they're not leaving" group.

Recently the local SO was experimenting to find a patrol rifle that would immediately stop an engine. They put a running car on the range and shot it with a .50 Beauwolf. It failed - engine kept humming along. Stick with the radiator shots. As for shooting tires, I'd aim at the bottom - it's already flat there and if you're a little low the bullet could skip into the rubber. Or get directly behind a tire.
 
#28 ·
I'm gonna vote not to send the unarmed/weaker person into the store alone in the first place, probably safer to leave them IN the car.

Just about every gas station/convenience store I have ever seen has had a glass front, or at least a lot of big windows -- if you must send them in you might think about training them to LOOK at the situation BEFORE they open the door so they don't walk into something if it can be avoided.

If theoretically something did happen (lets say I took my sister to the gas station, she's 15) I'd also be in the they're not leaving without going through me first camp.

I think if they did get away with it and you didn't TRY to stop them, you'd feel REALLY responsible. If you shot at them and your loved one died anyway, at least I could live with the fact that I tried my darndest.

I would also like to throw out there that I drive a 1992 beater Ford Ranger, and I drove it around for 2 days with a busted water pump (I put water in everytime I stopped, but it was pouring back out on the pavement anyway) The faster you go, the fan runs more and it actually overheats less, so I'm not counting on a radiator shot to stop them.
 
#32 ·
I'm gonna vote not to send the unarmed/weaker person into the store alone in the first place, probably safer to leave them IN the car.

.
we've run into this response before...there are more carjacking scenarios than hostages taken in convenience stores so i would say she is safer going in to buy snacks than staying outside where she would be gone by the time you got outside...there are also more robberies at the pumps...shes a big girl and it could happen to anyone...including someone who pays attention to their surroundings...
 
#29 ·
I'm a mechanic. Shooting the radiator/engine is only gong to cause eventual engine damage. Your best hope is to hit the oil pan real low and hope they don't use Slick 50. Then engine will probably seize up in 4 or 5 minutes. Maybe get lucky and hit the fuel lines going into the intake. Flat tire, car will still drive. 2 flats, car will still drive, just not real well and you are putting others on the roads at risk.


Following them...they are not exactly going to be putting along at the speed limit. Are you trained in high speed vehicle pursuit? You know they are really going to push it once they figure out you are following. Not to mention they have a hostage and one person that can be shooting at you without concentrating on the road.
 
#30 ·
Sticks, considering the adrenelin rush involved with a wife being abducted, it would be hard enough to hit tires and radiator, much less a lucky shot to a 1/4" fuel line or that tiny portion of oil pan that extends down.
 
#41 ·
OldVet...That was kind of the point of my post. You are not gong to be able to shoot a car and effectively disable it on the spot.

Draw and stop the threat, or get in your vehicle (if you are not already in it) and ram them in theirs before they get movin'.
 
#31 ·
i'm with treo on this one..once shes in the car shes dead as far as i'm concerned...911 brings the police and a hostage situation that i dont see turning out well unless this is a bad movie...

my first though was charging and firing as soon as i draw a bead...the encounter is close and i know i can lay several in the kill zone on the move...shock and awe isnt what they expect and its the only thing that will catch them off guard...the only way they are both going to be able to return fire is to release her and one of em is going down immediately...

my wife already knows where i stand on this and i'm usre she'll be having second thoughts when lead starts flying but nobody is stuffing her into a car...

for the disable the vehicle folks...i'm not ******* these guys off once they have her in the car....its not a good scenario to shoot into the car once shes in it...too much chance of her being struck or them using her as a shield...that just makes a bad situation worse...and you couldnt hit an oil pan on your best day...anything that could disable the vehicle would have to be a luck shot at best...ever watch a chase of a car that has taken multiple rounds?...they dont stop...

nothing i gonna blow up at the gas station...thats where it has to end in my opinion...otherwise the likelyhood of it ending well gets worse with time....
 
#35 ·
IF I shoot the driver befor he gets in the vehicle, it is disabled unless the other perp lets go of the wife to take control of the vehicle. I doubt he is just going to sit in the vehicle with the wife, waiting for the PD to arrive.
 
#37 ·
You will do what your training has taught you. In that situation, things will happen fast. You will NOT have time to think out your course of action. That is guaranteed. At this point, I would do what others have said, I would draw, weapon at my side ready making the best line toward the offenders. Leveling the pistol and shouting commands to drop their pistol and release the lady. This will happen extremely fast. I do train for these situations. In my thought, there is no way the loved one can be allowed in the car. Trying to trail the car and dialing 911 could most likely lead to a worse case situation involving a hostage with desperate criminals etc... The situation that you paint needs to be dealt with immediately with surprise and gaining and keeping the initiative. IMHO only.
 
#38 ·
No way they are leaving if I can do anything about it, and no way they are getting out of my sight if they do. She'll just have to stay low and try not to get shot.
 
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