2ndAmend

Last week on my way to my hunting club I stopped at a gas station to get some ice and drinks for the day.

After purchasing my goods I returned to my truck and opened the driver side door (both doors were locked). After putting the stuff on the driver side seat I went to the back of my truck to put the ice in the cooler.

A few seconds after I opened the cooler a man approached on the passenger side of the truck and started asking me for money. I nicely told the man (he looked as though he was high on something and a little waked out) no I didn’t have any cash on me. He again asked if I had any money and began trying to open the passenger door. I again told him I had no cash and told him to go away. The scariest part was I had my shotgun on the passenger seat loaded as I always do on the way to hunt. He began to get agitated and trying harder to open the door. I told him again in a loud tone to go away and stop pulling on the door. When he did not comply I garbed the shotgun and pointed it at him through the window.

Needless to say he looked at me and then the shotgun and very quickly walked away.

It seemed like the best thing to do at the time but now thinking about it I believe I could have handled it differently. Can I get some feed back on what if anything I could have done different?

bryman

i think you did the right thing. you gave him 2 chances to go away...........third time is a charm!! your vehicle is your property..you felt that you and your property were being threatened. i think you handled it in a manner that even a police officer would have agreed. now grabbing the gun right off and chasing him or something is a different story. it seems you kept your cool, and i think keeping your cool, is the way to always coming out on top of the situation.

__________________

Arko

Seems largely appropriate and defensible to me based on your post. My only question would be:
Did you leave the loaded shotgun in plain sight in the cab while in the store? That scares me a little, but has nothing to do with your response to the man.

__________________
"Don't Tread on Me"

2ndAmend

I normally keep it behind my seat until I arrive at the club. On that day I hurriedly set it on the passenger seat. When I arrived at the store I realized what I had done. Instead of pulling it out and sticking it behind the seat (didnt want anyone to see it) I covered it with a large green sweat shirt. To any passer bys it would have just looked like a shirt sitting on the seat. I know I should not have had it in the front but everyone makes mistakes, I have learned and take better precaution now.

Arko

Not beating you up 2nd, I was just curious about that point, and wondered if you had given it thought. Apparently, you have!

__________________
"Don't Tread on Me"

gdm320

I had a similar question. I keep my hunting/sport shooting weapons secured in my hard-sided locking storage cases in the back of my 4Runner under the cargo cover so if I stop for food, gas, or whatever I won't have them unsecured.

It sounds like you handled the situation very well though. Ultimately, he was trying to get into your vehicle and at you and apparently was very agitated. You gave him a chance and he didn't take it.

__________________
"Politicians are like diapers: they should be changed often... and for the same reason." -- Robin Williams, Man of the Year

nedrgr21

Just slowly drive away?

Don't know about SC, but in MO it's illegal to have a loaded long gun in the passenger compartment - even with a CC permit, which only applies to concealable weapons. A game warden could also get you for road hunting, whether they saw you actually do something or not.

10thmtn

Yo no hablo 'english'

Drive away...

__________________
The People ARE the Militia, and have a DUTY (not just a right) to be both armed and proficient in the use of said arms.
Ex-Army officer; Hurricane Andrew Relief, FL, 1992; Operation Restore Hope, Somalia, 1993
NRA Life Member; Range Safety Officer
Glock 26, CT Laserguard, Smartcarry

F350

Wrong there; I have a letter from the Attorney General's office saved on my home computer stating that because the CCW language says just plain old "firearm" loaded long guns ARE covered. The non-CCW car carry language specifically says "concealable firearm" so without a CCW illegal.

The state game laws are where you could run into trouble, not sure and would have to look it up.

2ndAmend

I wasn’t in my truck at the time. I was standing next to the bed trying to put ice in my cooler. This all happened in just about a minute, didn’t have much time to react.

I hunt in the sticks and with a couple of local LEOs, its not very uncommon for the hunters to travel with their rifles/shotguns loaded in the truck. Not to worried about the game warden either spoken to him on many occasions and he has seen the shotgun in the truck loaded no problem there.

Here in SC 12" barrels or longer are not considered cancelable.