Gideon

I don't know all the laws involved but the practice of carrying a loaded gun on the way to hunt or target shoot is a gross safety violation.

Either we're carrying concealed a ccw weapon which means it's on or it's a hunting gun and shouldn't be loaded until we're in the field. Even if you're legally carrying concealed you'd never want to leave your loaded gun in the car while your out of it.

As far as presenting to the guy to scare him off, you told him what to do and he advanced and you presented a loaded weapon. I suppose you may have wanted to call the police to report the incident.

Again, I think you need to really think about the carrying the gun "loaded as you always do" on the way to the hunt. Thats a very very risky behaviour.

I am glade it worked out as it did for you.

futinshool

I can't speak for the other guy, but when I am hunting, and driving from place to place, I have the rifle loaded, but none in the chamber.

My procedure is to empty the chamber, close the bolt while releasing the firing pin. Then I load the bullets into the magazine well. It can't go off, but can be ready in an instant. When I reach my hunting area, I throw the bolt and put the safety on. When I am ready to get back into the truck, I open the action, push the round down into the magazine, then close the action making sure a round doesn't get chambered.

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Eagleks

yes.,..... I would never have a loaded shotgun in the passenger seat of the truck.

ItsMyRight2

Looking at it from both sides(yours&law).

I would have to say bad call. And I say that because ....... you had a loaded shotgun sitting on your passenger seat, which is probably illegal in your state. And I also believe you had many other options before you pointed a loaded firearm at the man. You should only draw on someone if its your LAST choice. And you said you self you pointed it at him through the window....meaning you were in the vehicle. so you did have other choices.

If anyone had seen that you could have been arrested for reckless display at the least.

Arko

I believe he moved from standing next to the bed of the truck to standing next to the cab/door, and reached in, while standing for the shot gun. It appears to me he feared that the subject might gain control of the gun, or vehicle, and further he could argue he was already in fear of his safety at the time.
Sounds reasonable to me, minus having left the gun un attended.

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ItsMyRight2

The law isn't as understanding as you and I. It would of all come back to "Why was the shotgun on the front seat?" If you give them any tiny thing they will turn it all around on you. It sucks but the law only looks at the black and white.

And I also live in a place with tons of beggars..and yes they can get REALLY AGGRESSIVE. But you just cant shoot em or draw on em.

Arko

Again, if he feared for his safety it was justifiable. He did not paint it to sound like he was just an annoyance he wanted to scare off.

And location means alot. Where he is in his rural SC area, the shotgun on the seat may not actually be a big deal in court, whereas, say in Central Nashville, it certainly would.

I don't condone the SG on the seat, bit I feel you may viewing this through a pretty narrow lens.

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BikerRN

I will have to agree.

In short, what actions by the "aggressive panhandler" constituted a threat to your safety and possible imminent demise?

Just because someone may do something, in this case grab the shotgun your carelessly left there without properly securing, does not justify lethal force. I'm not trying to beat you up over this matter, but rather trying to show you how the other side may portray it. Having been mirandized before, as well as having been under investigation does tend to color one's judgement.

Biker

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2ndAmend

Hey thanks for the feed back. As I posted before I don’t make it a habit of setting my shotgun in the passenger seat until I arrive at my hunting club (we run dogs so we have our shotguns at hand), it stays behind my seat until I am ready to hunt. As for fearing for my life, at the time I was frightened due to the aggressiveness of the individual.

On a side note: I found out yesterday afternoon from a local LEO that I was talking to about the situation that the man I pointed my shotgun at is a convicted felon. He was convicted of car jacking, kidnapping and rape. Had I known this prior I would have been a little more frightened.

BDKnow

There's no other way to deal with a situation like that. Chasing would have the worst thing possible. I say bravo and always make sure doors are locked, one slip and he would have been able to get to your gun.