Useful Tactics

[J Bowen]

My girlfriend and I stopped in a store to get
a drink. On the way out a guy in a parked van
whistled at her. The guy in the van didnt see
that I was with her as I was several yards behind.
I was having a very rough day so I walked up to the
van and saw it was not just one guy but three guys.
I told the group "I didnt appreciate them whistling
and hollering at my girl even if it was three of them."
Two of the men jumped out of the van very quickly.
So I put some distance between myself and them(several yards)
One of the men that got out put his hand in his back pocket.
Immediatly I put my right hand in my front pocket around the grip of
my Kel Tec .32 and at the same time with my left hand pointed at the guy with his hand still in his back pocket and shouted "get your hand out of your back pocket now!" They got into the van and drove away. I am assuming he was thinking of pulling a knife on me.
Hindsight I probably shouldnt have approached the van but I did and it was paying attention to detail under stress and speaking with confidence that defused a potentially dangerous situation.
If you find yourself in a high stress situation tactics and training will
take over if not trained tunnel vision will set in and probably get you hurt or worse.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[buckeye .45]

Your girlfriend getting whistled at isn't worth your life, or her life, ignore it. Don't approach the van to begin with, distance is your friend. Because you are carrying a gun, you should try even harder to avoid confrontations than before you carried a gun.

Think of how this scenario would have looked to a third party observer, whether or not they heard the whistle. You walk up to the van, start confronting them, they get out, and you go for your pocket. Not the sort of actions that make for a clear cut self-defense case.

[J Bowen]

I hear what you are saying buckeye but I stated in
my post that looking back on the situation
I should have not approached the van. I did not approach
just because I had a gun. If he pulled a knife and advanced
toward me I would have told him to back off and then if I pulled my gun and
shot him it would have been self defense.
And there were cameras everywhere that would have showed him
pull a knife first and advance.

[Rugergirl]

You're new to carrying, aren't you?
Those of us that take our self defense seriously would have walked on and kept quiet. My husband would have said nothing and left it up to me, on how I would handle things, if I were the one being whistled at. I would have kept on walking and said or done nothing. After all they were whistling at her not you(I hope), stop being so possessive, she may be your girlfriend, but she is not a piece of meat, the confrontation isn't worth it.
If she is your girlfriend and she's faithful, think of it as a compliment to her and you, but don't acknowledge it.

[J Bowen]

RugerGirl first off I am not new to carrying.
I take self defense probably more seriously than most
since I have actually fired a gun in self defense before.
I have been carrying, shooting, hunting, and teaching firearm
tactics for many years. I also do not think my girlfriend is a piece of
meat. If a band of men who dont know how to respect women are going to yell out obscenities at the woman I love then it is my duty as a MAN to ask them to stop. Sorry your husband wouldnt do the same for you.

[Bark'n]

Hey, things happen just that fast in real life!

It's nice in "hind sight" that you realize you probably shouldn't have approached the van in the first place. But you did approach the van!

And you approached it, Because Someone "Whistled" at Your Girlfriend?

For crying out loud, what were you thinking? You claim you didn't do it because you had a gun...

Okay... So you were trying to defend your girlfriends virtue by insulting and calling out three total strangers.

I guarantee that from their point of view, you were telling them that you were better than them. That you have better manners than them. Those are "fighting words" in a lot of circles in case you didn't know that.

What would you have done if one or two of them had stepped out of the van holding a Tec-9 or a sawed off shotgun? I bet you would have felt mighty puny standing there with your hand in your pocket holding your .32 cal Kel Tec or whatever else you might have had in your hand.

Ignorance of how not to behave while carrying a gun can get someone into a situation they can't get out of in the blink of an eye. Maybe even get you or your girlfriend killed or crippled for life, just as fast.

I'm glad it turned out okay... but I wouldn't want too many more experiences like one that if I were you.

JMHO YMMV

[J Bowen]

I posted this story to help people see
that in stressful situations it is easy to
miss things like the guy putting his hand in
his back pocket or maybe you see something
like that and you don't think much about it.
Or maybe you see it and dont know how to
properly act and respond. During this encounter
I never said I had a weapon. I never pulled out my gun.
I never made threats. I asked them to stop. I told them
not to treat women the way they were doing.
In my opinion too many people just let people say, do and act
any way they want to avoid any kind of problem whatsoever.
Thats part of the problem in the world today everyone wants
to be safe and things to go right but too many dont want to stand up for it.

[Spirit51]

You actually thought you were going to "teach" them a lesson in manners???
You should have walked up next to your girlfriend and put your arm around her...walking away.
You really didn't "defend" her honor...you were showing ownership. " You don't show attention to MY woman!" Would you have done the same if the woman were a complete stranger to you?? I really doubt it.
You started a incident that could have been very hard for you to defend in court had it escalated into a shooting incident.
Those men didn't know you had a weapon in your pocket...but YOU did.
YOU decided to go over and start a conflict...knowing that you had this weapon. YOU escalated it. Actually, YOU started it.
My husband WOULD do anything to defend my life, but this silly "defend her honor" stuff is just silly and DANGEROUS.
I really hope you learned from this and don't make this mistake again. I am sure your girlfriend would rather have you walking with her...than visiting you in prison or worse yet...your grave. By the way...had these men gotten the BEST of you...who would have been there to defend your girlfriend's life and safety??? Think about it.

[Rugergirl]

RugerGirl first off I am not new to carrying.
I take self defense probably more seriously than most
since I have actually fired a gun in self defense before.
I have been carrying, shooting, hunting, and teaching firearm
tactics for many years. I also do not think my girlfriend is a piece of
meat. If a band of men who dont know how to respect women are going to yell out obscenities at the woman I love then it is my duty as a MAN to ask them to stop. Sorry your husband wouldnt do the same for you.

Nothing to be sorry about, my friend. My husband knows that I know how to handle myself, and that even though I am armed where ever I legally can be, he also knows that I am smart enough to walk away and not escalate things.
I'm glad to hear that you have been carrying for many years and have actually had the opportunity to fire a gun in self defense. From the tone of your posts, you may end up needing to do so again, I just hope things continue to go well for you, especially if you are armed with a toy and the next guy might have a real gun.
I've been shooting since I was 12, doing some quick math, that means I have been handling real firearms safely for 37 years now. I don't carry a toy, I carry a real gun, hoping that I never have to use it, and I do that by being mature and avoiding confrontations and practicing good self awareness, I hope you'll learn to do the same.

[J Bowen]

Most so far that have commented to my post have
these nice little quotes about freedom and this and
that with their profile but what would you all stand up for?
Where would you all draw the line.
Powerful quotes and people would mean nothing without
action and putting yourself on the line for what is right.
Ask the Marines and Susan B Anthony. Maybe more people
should stand up instead of quoting things they think sound good

[J Bowen]

RugerGirl guns should not be considered
a toy. A .32 in the head has the same effect
as any other larger caliber in the head.

[Bark'n]

I laugh at your absurdity for you know not what you speak! You certainly do not know anything about me.

Have a nice day!

[kellyII]

J Bowen,,,,

Glad all turned out well, im sure you wanted no part in drawing down on them,,,

Just let this be a learning experience and drive on!!!! You said it was a stressful day, would you have said anything if you were not having a stressful day??

[Spirit51]

Like barkn said.....you know NOTHING about me, but you have shown much about yourself and I am far from being impressed. Enough said.

[Rugergirl]

RugerGirl guns should not be considered
a toy. A .32 in the head has the same effect
as any other larger caliber in the head.

Really???
An airsoft gun is a gun, until you compare it to a real gun, sorry you are too imature to understand that point.
Your "Slam Fire" thread tells me all I need to know about your years of experience, safe weapons handling and God Forbid your teaching. I send prayers in advance to all of your students.
Concealed or otherwise, guns should only be carried by those who understand when and how to use them, and by folks who are adult enough to handle that responsibility. Part of that responsibility is learning how to avoid confrontations, not trying to start them.