Scenario: Gas Station Robbery

[Bumper]

I would kneel down on the tips of my feet or else stand in a crouching position. I wouldnt give him a verbal warning, I would throw two his way, this would take him off guard, his first instinct would be to cower. This suprise wouldnt give him the time to consider using the clerk for anything. If he didnt cower then hopefully the next 2 would force him down.

Please, replace the word "cower" with "drop to the ground mortally wounded". Do not fire at anything else but him, and shoot to neutralize the threat. Anything less and you're just asking for trouble....

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Waldo0506]

Please, replace the word "cower" with "drop to the ground mortally wounded". Do not fire at anything else but him, and shoot to neutralize the threat. Anything less and you're just asking for trouble....

His first instinct when shot at would not be to "drop to the ground mortally wounded". I never assume that in any situation my first shots will do the trick, I will always be ready to follow up.

If I yell, like some have said his first instinct would be to get the employee, If I shoot at him his first instinct is to cower, I cant promise anyone 2 shots will do it, if I could I wouldnt need to carry 16.

"Do not fire at anything else but him, and shoot to neutralize the threat."
Is this a joke? What else do you think I would shoot at, the floor?

[tex45acp]

I spend about 30 minutes, weekday mornings, prior to leaving for work at the local stop & rob shooting the s__t with my buddies. This same scenario was casually discussed among us. 3 of the 5 there that morning were Texas CHL holders and the general concensus was to shoot only when there was a gun pointed at the clerk with verbal threats of life ending actions. The clerk was there and of course stated that he would never expect any of us to come to his aid, but then said he would be eternally grateful for the assistance. Unfortunately his employer considers carrying a gun while working to be a job terminatable situation. I suggested looking for a more liberal boss. This guy works the graveyard shift, alone, with the local nutcases streaming in and out like a colony of ants in a sugar factory. He too has a Texas CHL but leaves it in his auto, locked in the trunk, when at work.

[P95Carry]

This guy works the graveyard shift, alone, with the local nutcases streaming in and out like a colony of ants in a sugar factory. He too has a Texas CHL but leaves it in his auto, locked in the trunk, when at work.

He's got some cojones to manage that!!

Doncha love these ''safety minded'' employers? Guess they could care less about the safety of their employee's lives. That is downright shoddy!

[ebd10]

Sorry guys, the first indication that the robber will have of my presence is when, after taking time to set up the shot, I shoot him someplace in the upper torso, and repeat as necessary. It seems to me that giving him a warning, shouting at him, or trying to convince him to leave is an invitation to a gun fight. I'm not a gunfighter. My idea of a fair fight is, "In the dark, from behind, and at a distance."

[Rob72]

My idea of a fair fight is, "In the dark, from behind, and at a distance."

+1! Although I would probably "warn", about the same time I was pulling the trigger. Looks better(for you) on the video, and serves the same purpose as LE shouting, "Don't fight! You'll hurt yourself!", as they squat on someone's head in a parking lot. Family will be somewhat less likely to try to go to court, pleading Junior's misguidedness(and your maliciousness), if he's clearly challenged.

[Tangle]

Intervention is a dangerous, dangerous thing; it's almost a damned if you do, damned if you don't. Just some things to think about:

- If you don't shoot, you may have to live with watching an innocent person die because you did nothing.

- If you do shoot, your shot could cause the BG to reflexively shoot the clerk, then you have to live with that and you accomplished nothing.

- Then, where's the BG's back up? Is there one? One hidden in the store? Two waiting in the car? Do you know?

- Are you really, really willing to risk your life to save a stranger's life? If you are and you are killed or crippled, who takes care of your family? As a matter of fact, if you're crippled, who takes care of you for the rest of your life?

- I believe you would be absolutely amazed at how fast and far a person can move before you can shoot and I'm talking your gun drawn and pointed at the BG. I was in a FOF scenario where I had my gun drawn and pointed at a known BG and he moved so quickly that he was gone before I could even fire and I have pretty fast reaction times. Then I had to go looking for him.

The point being if you give him a warning, he can dodge behind cover/concealment before you can pull the trigger. I know that's hard to believe, but it's true. Consider the mess you're in if he does that! He knows you're there, but now you don't know where he is. Then imagine his previously undisclosed back-up(s) joining the action.

You know what I would do? I honestly don't know. I guess I'd just have to be there, but I'm leaning more and more to the E & E (evade and escape) rather than becoming involved in a shootout on someone else's behalf. It's just never as simple as we think it is.

I suppose the question I need to answer for myself is do I carry to protect me and my loved ones or everybody that's in danger? Cause the answer to that really determines how we should respond.

[P95Carry]

Tangle - tho we ''play'' with scenarios - and they do provoke some useful thought I think - in the final analysis it will always be - ''circumstances alter events''. We do what (at the time) we feel we have to do!

[Tangle]

Tangle - tho we ''play'' with scenarios - and they do provoke some useful thought I think - in the final analysis it will always be - ''circumstances alter events''. We do what (at the time) we feel we have to do!

I agree.

Well, after some more thought, I still agree, and I think scenario play is a great way to prepare ourselves for that "moment of truth". But it is important that we "play them" as realistically as we can - that's a form of training. This is the place to do the what ifs and think about things that can and will go wrong.

The more we realize how many things should be considered before we take an action, the more likely we are to make a good choice and our chances of survival will likely be improved.

The only thing I was addressing in my earlier post is the tendency to narrow the scope of a scenario to essentially make it a shoot-no shoot issue rather than looking at the various "what if's" that can occur in response to our action or inaction.

Still, P95Carry makes and excellent point: what we think we would do and what we would really do may be two different things.