Whew!!

[CombatEffective]

.. I just had one of those eye-opening experiences that reminds me to always be aware of my surroundings.

I have a 6 foot privacy fence around my back yard. Due the geographic nature (unevern ground) there are a few places in the back yard where if standing I can see over the fence into the surrounding yards.

I went outside to play with the dawg, and I took him into the backyard. As we started playing with his soccer ball, the wife and baby came outside through the back door. I turned to say something to the wife when I hear an unmistakable popping sound coming at a rapid rate from just over my fence, and I hear the sounds of fast moving objects impacting a hard object.

My right hand immediately went to my 642 that was in my right front pocket and on pure instinct moved to a cover postion for the wife and baby. I really thought it was showtime for a second there. As I did so, I heard the door shutting and I new the wife and baby had gone back inside.

As all of this was happening I turned toward the fence and saw a white male with a biker bandana on his head walking in my general direction in a "duckwalk" with an item in his hands and two other similarly dressed white males behind him.

Only then did I realize the item was a paintball gun and the individual was shooting a target on his storage building on the other side of my fence.

Lesson:

Even when in a seemingly "safe" location under "safe" circumstances we can suddenly find ourselfs in one of "those" situations. A quick scan of the other yards would have revealed the individuals and their activity making the walk in the backyard uneventful. It was the sudden nature of the whole thing that got me.

If anybody needs me, I'll be trying to put to use some unexpected adrenaline that recently came into my possession.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[P95Carry]

It was the sudden nature of the whole thing that got me.

That is exactly what I am always trying to stay aware of - and the prime reason why we have to be aware best we can - just so we might gain that solitary second or two to react - and react correctly too!

Keep the spare adrenaline in a bottle - bound to come in useful

[CombatEffective]

I'm usually very keyed into my surroundings, but I was simply out of it this time.

[Prospector]

It's easy to become complacent in your own backyard....after all it is sanctuary, comfortable, and familiar! Not like venturing "out" where the environment is constantly changing and you know to be more alert.

[Bumper]

It's easy to become complacent in your own backyard....after all it is sanctuary, comfortable, and familiar! Not like venturing "out" where the environment is constantly changing and you know to be more alert.

That's why I like my 7'6" block wall and lots of stickery, ratty weeds on the alley side....

[rocky]

Good reminder to all of us. It is tough to be aware all the time. At least you have the proper reaction.

[tex45acp]

CombatEffective,

It's great that it turned out to be paintball and not hardball!! I had something similar happen to me last year. I was having a party in my backyard with some hunting buddies of mine and the wives. We were all joking around about one of the guys having his STI 1911 literally come apart during his CHL renewal when we heard raised voices in texmex coming down from a couple of houses away. This house had a privacy fence and mine has a chain link fence. The ladies really noticed all the hollering when all of a sudden it sounded like gunshots from a semi-auto mode weapon. Everyone hit the deck and the ladies all bellycrawled into the house and dialed 911 to report the shots. The guys, all CHL holders, drew our weapons and we took up strategic positions behind trees, a pile of firewood, and my heavy pipe bar-b-que pit and waited for the police to arrive. The shots and yelling continued for a couple of minutes and then all was quiet. I saw one guy heading out the backyards gate to the front of the house just in time to be drawn on by the police. Well it was not what we thought. The guys were brothers and the older brother was building a doghouse. He was applying asphalt roofing shingles with a nail gun and they were argueing about how many shingles were needed to complete the job. Since the younger brother had obviously bought the shingles he miscalculated how many were going to be needed.....after it was all said an done we all laughed about the situation. The neighbor did not find it a bit funny but eventually understood the situation!!!!

What he did not know was that there were four .45acp handguns, and some very proficient shooters ready to defend my turf from all agressors!!!

[AirForceShooter]

Did you tell the idiot he almost got shot for REAL???

AFS

[CombatEffective]

Did you tell the idiot he almost got shot for REAL???

AFS

Nope. I have never spoken a word to those folks.

[Sheldon J]

My youngest use to play with this stuff, so i know what it sounds like, His has a fire selector for burst and full auto. The Plat Plat Plat if you never have experienced it before could be quite nerve rattleing. Then again if you ever have been hit withone of these things that some one has jacked up the speed on, OUCH! 500FPS from I believe a .69 cal really smarts.

[KrispyPata]

Good reaction. Those things are still deadly, especially around little ones. There was an incident in my neck of the woods when some paintballers hiding in the bushes shot a man rollerblading. He fell, broke his neck and died. I don't know if they were ever caught.