Folks, it finally happened.....I pulled my gun this afternoon in self-defense!!!

[yoyomeng]

uhh seems like this was unnecessary..

Nothing wrong with questions.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Orange Boy]

Hi Bruce,
I still remember early in this thread (post #68) you talked to your father who is 82 and in a nursing home. Hope he's doing OK still. I asked you before, but I think it got missed if you ever discussed this incident with him again? I'm always interested in what the old WWII vets have to say about these things. Some of my best conversations about defense have been with these old guys.

Glad you are doing well.

[bruce21b]

Is this the new Bud's range on Industry Rd. you're referring to, or is the another range opening in Lexington?

Yes, cannot wait.....

you can shoot anything from .22 short zip-gun to .50 BMG

[bruce21b]

Hi Bruce,
I still remember early in this thread (post #68) you talked to your father who is 82 and in a nursing home. Hope he's doing OK still. I asked you before, but I think it got missed if you ever discussed this incident with him again? I'm always interested in what the old WWII vets have to say about these things. Some of my best conversations about defense have been with these old guys.

Glad you are doing well.

Hi OrangeBoy,

my dad is dong pretty darn well.......thank you......

he told me how much times have changed as far as people go during his long life......he said back in the 40's and 50's people were just "different".....your neighbors were your friends, the people you would see walking down the street you never had to worry about them shooting, stabbing or raping you.....of course there was crime going on but nothing like it is now.....

a lot of men carried a little .38 in their pocket, but not for protection as much as a "accessory" like their pocket watch and top-hat...LOL.....dad carried a little .22 a lot and says "i did not need a god damn permit, either"........

He lived in Lexington and Nicholasville Ky after the War and says today he would not trust a stranger farther than you could spit...LOL.....

as far as what happened to me, dad says that he was glad i did not have to shoot, both for my safety and all the legal BS i would have had to go through afterwards.........

he did say "had that happened back in the 40's you could have shot em', and when the cops showed up they would have beat on em just to break in their night-sticks, and then go over to the cafe with ya' afterwards for a slab of rhubarb pie".....LOL.....

Ol Dad......never at a loss for words, and never backs down.....he reminds me of Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino: GET OFF MY LAWN!!!!!!!.....a WWII Vet, a God-Fearing True American if there ever was one :))))))))))))))))))

[Orange Boy]

Excellent anecdote...thank you Bruce! Hats off you and your Dad

[1899]

WOW. Glad you came out of it ok.

Now I do have a quick question thou. I too live in Kentucky and I'm waiting to get my CCW and was just wondering if your situation was just a little different. Say the guy got out and did everything you said he did and said everything that he said and the 2 other guys got out, BUT there was no click, meaning there was no knife. But the three guys are still approaching u would you still have been justified in pulling your weapon.

Again very glad your ok and this is one of those threads that when asked why i carry i'll tell them about this thread.

I think its ok to pull your weapon since there were more of them than you in a situation like this. Also as soon as I heard the words the OP heard, I would have drawn to my side and started backing up. you have NO idea what they may have in their pocket. Fortunately for the OP it was a knife, not a gun. Better safe with a brandishing charge than sorry after they are too close. Just my opinion, glad no one got hurt.

[Jesters Dead]

Pleased to hear your confrontation with the scumbag BGs turned out for the best Bruce. Sounds like your spidey senses were telling you something was off when that truck pulled in behind you the way it did. I'm thankful you listened to the little voice when it told you to carry your Glock. Thank God you were armed!

Do you carry a BUG? Do you carry extra mags?

Just curious.

[fredgarv]

Hello, I read your post and found it right up my alley of what I have been wondering. I know there is probably no real answer that is perfect to this but your situation is what I was thinking about. of course you were threatened and reacted properly in my opinion. and maybe this has already been covered but since I dont' wish to read all 328 posts I will ask it again in need be. what if they all had guns too? now as in the old west, "you got the drop on them" so they might have just ran off anyway not wishing to risk getting shot. but say they are a bunch of gang members or something that are young and stupid and have not as much fear of death as normal people. I mean better to get robbed or loose your truck if you just cooperate with them is better than getting shot by one of them, or better to draw on them? I mean in certain circumstances of course it's better to defend yourself. just today in seattle a woman was walking alone, and two mexican guys came up to her and asked her some innocent question, then robbed her and even stabbed her in the back just for the heck of it after they robbed her. thank god she was not really hurt much. but I could'n't help thinking if she had had a gun, she would have been ok. but what if they also have guns? you draw on them, your really scared, and not really wanting to kill another human being, they draw their guns and now your outnumbered. what to do here? this is a very difficult question

[romansten9]

Hi all,

thanks again for all the kind words......

another thing i have thought of now is the importance of a high-capacity firearm....

I was carrying 16 rounds in the gun and a spare 15 round mag on my side....

I have heard the saying "have a gun, any gun"....but i believe if i would have had a 5-shot .38 and was forced to engage the creeps, i could have been in serious dire straits.........the goon with the knife was BIG, and would have probably emptied a .38 into him..........then his two buddies would probably have jumped me with whatever weapon they had.........and i would be stuck with an empty gun.......

I know people that carry .38 specials with no spare ammo......and don't want to discount what they carry.......but i am a true advocate now for carrying a high-capacity firearm.......

you just never know what you are going to run into!!!!

I agree with what you are saying. I carry an XD9 (16+1). I also own a 38 S&W +P with 5 shots. Although my XD has never jammed, such a scenario has crossed my mind. Usually jams can be cleared, but sometimes there is no time. I know my 38 is likely to fire EVERY time, but yet I carry my XD. I could carry the 38 as a BUG also, but I don't. Just something to think about, we all know this is the greatest downfall of the semi-auto. Even the "perfect" gun could have an issue someday. Its rare, but defective ammo happens too.

[romansten9]

I had taken the gun to the range the previous day and I had no intentions of using it as a carry gun but it was the only decent and reliable handgun I could afford at the time. I had apparently shoved it in my coat pocket as I was leaving the range, got home and forgot that I had a gun in my pocket.

I read your whole story and the most frightening thing about it was that you forgot you had a gun in your pocket! I'm not condemning you for this. You have most likely (I hope) learned from the experience. When I read that it brought to mind my biggest fear, which is that I will ever leave a gun in a place that is accessible to someone else, whether it be a BG or a child. So far, in 30 years of handling guns, I have not forgotten to secure my guns when arriving home. Just because I never made that mistake doesn't mean it couldn't happen. Your post reminded me of that. Thanks for that reminder.

[bruce21b]

Hello, I read your post and found it right up my alley of what I have been wondering. I know there is probably no real answer that is perfect to this but your situation is what I was thinking about. of course you were threatened and reacted properly in my opinion. and maybe this has already been covered but since I dont' wish to read all 328 posts I will ask it again in need be. what if they all had guns too? now as in the old west, "you got the drop on them" so they might have just ran off anyway not wishing to risk getting shot. but say they are a bunch of gang members or something that are young and stupid and have not as much fear of death as normal people. I mean better to get robbed or loose your truck if you just cooperate with them is better than getting shot by one of them, or better to draw on them? I mean in certain circumstances of course it's better to defend yourself. just today in seattle a woman was walking alone, and two mexican guys came up to her and asked her some innocent question, then robbed her and even stabbed her in the back just for the heck of it after they robbed her. thank god she was not really hurt much. but I could'n't help thinking if she had had a gun, she would have been ok. but what if they also have guns? you draw on them, your really scared, and not really wanting to kill another human being, they draw their guns and now your outnumbered. what to do here? this is a very difficult question

Hi,

good point......I decided a long time ago that if i am ever chosen as a "victim", i am not going to depend on the mercy and generosity of a felon, thug and scum-bag criminal for my continued existence......

i have seen and heard of way too many innocent victims who "complied" with the criminal, only to be executed before the creep makes his getaway......

if they had guns also???? well thats when i hope that my range practice would have paid off.....

after this incident, i am even MORE determined to not be a victim of some jerk who wants to deprive me of my life, health and property......

[TVille]

Hi,

good point......I decided a long time ago that if i am ever chosen as a "victim", i am not going to depend on the mercy and generosity of a felon, thug and scum-bag criminal for my continued existence......

i have seen and heard of way too many innocent victims who "complied" with the criminal, only to be executed before the creep makes his getaway......

if they had guns also???? well thats when i hope that my range practice would have paid off.....

after this incident, i am even MORE determined to not be a victim of some jerk who wants to deprive me of my life, health and property......

[ink]

Nothing wrong with questions.

its an open invitation for the officer to disarm you, if that sounds like a good thing to you then by all means go right ahead and offer them the opportunity to "check it out"

[mprp]

Man, a lot of posts here and I haven't read them all but I probably will. I've been out lately and I'm kind of late on this one but anyways... I think this situation is what all of us "hope" for if we ever had to defend ourselves given a similar situation. Everyone went home and most importantly, you did. I think out of all that you wrote in the first post, the thing that you can be most comforted by is the fact that you remember seeing the "white dot" on target! EXCELLENT!! And while you had to go home, scared to death about what had happened, he and his buddies had to go to Wally World, buy some new shorts and sit and talk about how THEY were targets that day. Good work my friend!