When did you use your gun defensively?

Discussion in 'Gun Control' started by edna kawabata, Jan 20, 2022.

  1. edna kawabata

    edna kawabata Well-Known Member

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    It is estimated (by some) that guns are used defensively nearly 3 million times a year. I thought it would be interesting to hear anecdotal evidence of defensive gun use from all the gun packers on here. Surely there is some harrowing stories.
    I have a family member who has a handgun and he waved it angrily at a trucker who cut him off. I don't think that counts. For me, I've never needed or wanted a gun in 7 decades. I live in a dense urban area and the neighborhood is 58% African American.
     
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  2. Capt Nice

    Capt Nice Well-Known Member

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    For seven years I pretty much carried 24/7 as a cop and since then I've probably carried most of the 50 some years following being a cop and I've never drawn my gun. That doesn't mean there haven't been a couple of times I felt comfortable knowing I had it with me.
     
  3. dharbert

    dharbert Well-Known Member

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    Haven't had to use mine defensively yet, and hopefully I never have to. Better to have and not need, than to need and not have...
     
  4. Seth Bullock

    Seth Bullock Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    I was a cop for 32 years, so I’m not going to count any of those.

    But I’ve had some bad luck on fishing trips of all things.

    We were driving out of a one lane road from a secluded boat launch area one time when a car with 3 men in it coming the other way blocked us. One got out, came up to the drivers window and tried to rob us. He didn’t display a weapon, but he said, “and we have guns”. I didn’t tell him I had a Glock 9mm on me. We decided we were not going to give him our money, so he said, “Okay, we’re going to rock and roll,” and went back to tell his friends. But they pulled the car down the road a little leaving room for us to floor it and get out of there. Months later, I got a call from the District Attorney’s office of that County. The judge was going sentence the guy soon, and they wanted to know if I wanted to make a victim’s statement. I said, “Yes I do. I want the guy to know that I was armed. And I want him to know that by escaping the situation, I saved his life.” This was probably the closest I ever came to shooting anyone while I was off duty.

    Another time I was fishing with my son when he was just maybe 8 or 9 years old. We were along a secluded river bank. Two young adult men approached us. They looked like a couple of dirtbags. I noticed jail tattoos on the arms of one of them. They made a little small talk. I was polite but then I just subtly let them know the conversation was over by telling them to have a good day. And that’s when this frickin guy silently but unmistakably sized me up and we locked eyes. With two of them against me, and knowing I had to protect my son, if he made the wrong move, I was going to use the 38 snubby that was in my waistband under my shirt. For whatever reason he decided against whatever he was thinking, and he and his jailbird friend walked off. Didn’t have to threaten, didn’t have to show it, didn’t have to use it, but damn glad I had it.

    Another time I was at a fish cleaning station, again in a remote area, where my friend and I were cleaning our catch. There was a group of 4 or 5 other men there besides us. My friend completely innocently tried to make some friendly small talk with them about the fishing. And out of the blue, one of the men in their party stops working on his fish and turned towards us with that filet knife still in his hand and, without going into all the exact words, started trying to pick a fight. I remember I looked at him and said, “We didn’t mean anything by it”. He backed off, and we all finished our work in silence, and you could have cut the tension in the air with a knife. Again, didn’t have to do anything, but glad I had the 38 under my shirt.

    There have been a couple other times I was glad I had it but these were the ones that came closest to actually using it while off duty.

    Seth

    P.S. I still go fishing, lol. A while back someone asked me why I carry a gun when I go fishing in my boat. I told him, “Pirates.”
     
  5. Joe knows

    Joe knows Well-Known Member

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    I used mine defensively twice from a mountain lion and once from a bear. Didn’t kill any of them but I scared them off with the noise. One of the cats I was trying to stop from killing a dog. He dropped the dog then just sat there and stared at me. One ballsy cat, that’s for sure but he took off soon after a short stare down. The other two they took off right away.
     
    Last edited: Jan 20, 2022
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  6. Seth Bullock

    Seth Bullock Well-Known Member Past Donor

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  7. Joe knows

    Joe knows Well-Known Member

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    I have ran into the shadiest people I have ever met in the mountains. I think if you pack anywhere you should there. No cameras to catch illegal activity and there are definitely nuts up there. I have stories I would rather not tell.
     
  8. Seth Bullock

    Seth Bullock Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Totally agree.

    Those two jailbirds who approached my boy and I had no boat, no fishing gear, no picnic food, and they weren’t going swimming. The guy doing the talking was the leader, and he made a good decision not to do whatever it was he was thinking about.
     
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  9. Seth Bullock

    Seth Bullock Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Tell!
     
  10. Doofenshmirtz

    Doofenshmirtz Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    I was around 9 or 10 and my mother and I heard gunshots outside. There was shouting, the sounds of fighting and they came onto the property and were right outside our window. Rival gangs had a battle right in front of our home. We sat in the dark calling the police hoping they didn't come inside. The police never answered and after what seemed to be an eternity, the fight eventually subsided and the crowd dispersed. Still no answer. I did not need to use the gun I was holding in case any gang members needed hostages for when the police came.

    Another time, I pissed off a gang members little brother and they came to my house, saying "come out and play" The started to pry open the window when they saw me inside holding my rifle. They immediately dispersed.
     
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  11. Joe knows

    Joe knows Well-Known Member

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    Young dumb stories. I won’t tell sorry bud
     
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  12. CKW

    CKW Well-Known Member

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    You need to find some new fishing spots!
     
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  13. Seth Bullock

    Seth Bullock Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Hahahaha! I’m 66, and I’ve been fishing for a long time now. Only those 3 incidents while fishing. Crap happens, ya know? Just unlucky those 3 times. But as far as having a gun ... better to have and not ever need than to need just one time and not have.
     
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  14. Seth Bullock

    Seth Bullock Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Yeah, road rage doesn’t count.

    I hope you never need a gun. Just sayin’ ...
     
  15. Bastiats libertarians

    Bastiats libertarians Well-Known Member

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    Drew down on a dude breaking into my apartment about 6 months after I got of the corps. Moved out of that area 3 months after that. Outside of Iraq and Afghanistan I have not used my gun defensively. But Ive been around 2-3 altercations where it could have been warranted.
     
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  16. Well Bonded

    Well Bonded Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    That's easy, I walked into a convince store in Ft Lauderdale FL located on NW 19 street, between Powerline Road and NW 9th Ave.

    Walking into the store I noticed a young man at a payphone, he was doing more looking around than talking, first red flag, as I came out of the store he was still there but as I walked to my car I noticed in the reflection off my windshield he had walked away from the pay phone and walking towards me.

    I shifted the Pepsi I had bought from my right hand to my left hand where I was already holding my keys, unlocked the door of the car and fully opened it, tossed the drink into the car and at this point he was real close to me.

    I cleared my shirt and placed my hand on the stock of the handgun I was carrying , at first he didn't see that, he pulled a knife out of his pocket and fumbled with it a bit, grabbed the door of my car and demanded I hand over all of my money or he is going ti cut me up real good.

    I went to draw my firearm and he noticed it, then took off running away.

    End of story, na.

    I got into my car and drove away and was stopped by the FLPD, I was ordered to drive back to the store, what I didn't know was the FLPD robbery squad had it under surveillance and they had already captured the guy who tried to rob me.

    Back at the store one of the detectives recognized me and chewed me out for leaving, he understood I knew better than to do that.

    They wanted me to sit on the back of a patrol where the perp could not see mm so I could do a street ID, I explained that's not happening, bring the guy by and I will ID him in person, which I did.

    Your family member is a ******, he had no justification to pull a gun in that case.
     
    Last edited: Jan 21, 2022
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  17. 557

    557 Well-Known Member

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    I go to Palisade, Colorado once in a while to buy fresh fruit (peaches, pears, apricots, cherries). One year I drove out (about an 8.5 hour drive), spent a few hours purchasing fruit, and started back home well after dark. About Gypsum or Eagle, I can’t remember for sure, I was so tired I couldn’t safely drive anymore so I stopped to sleep in a parking lot for a couple hours. I noticed a van with the side door open when I pulled in. There were a bunch of teens inside, looked like partying pretty hard. I really didn’t like the looks of it but was so tired I wasn’t going to try driving more.

    So I locked my doors and set my 1911 on the transmission doghouse of the pickup by my knee and attempted to stay awake for a while to see what happened. Within a minute or two there was a kid approaching my driver’s side window. He stooped down to look inside, saw the situation, turned around and went to the van which left immediately. I never touched the firearm and didn’t make eye contact, but any potential confrontation was averted just by the presence of a numbers equalizer.

    I don’t know how many defenses of my property/animals against predatory animals I’ve been engaged in with a firearm. More than I can count.
     
  18. Reality

    Reality Well-Known Member

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    A man was snooping around my bedroom windows in the back yard early one morning. I came outside with my AK shouldered, pointed it at him and told him to **** off. He did.
     
  19. TOG 6

    TOG 6 Well-Known Member

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    If there's no threat sufficient to justify the possession of a firearm for self-defense, why do we need more gun control laws?
     
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  20. SiNNiK

    SiNNiK Well-Known Member

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    In a drive thru line at a burger joint. Successfully.
     
  21. JET3534

    JET3534 Well-Known Member

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    The term "gun packer" suggests to me your post may have an ulterior motive other than your academic interest in the subject and I would suggest people not respond with any personal stories concerning their defensive use of a firearm which is perhaps a subject to only discuss with one's attorney or law enforcement. If you want anecdotal stories go to the link below. The NRA has been publishing these stories for decades.

    https://www.nraila.org/gun-laws/armed-citizen.aspx
     
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  22. modernpaladin

    modernpaladin Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    I pulled mine once cuz my ex said she heard a bear making bear noises over the next hill. Never saw it tho. I have had some creepy run-ins with night lurkers in and around Seattle and Portland when I have to work at night sometimes. See a figure hanging out mostly around the corner of a building or a dumpster or something, then when I turn around and seem to not be paying attention (although of course I am), they start walking towards me, so I pick up a large heavy tool like a manhole hook or a pipe wrench (not allowed to carry a gun at work, Boss is a Canadian and hates guns, so I usually don't), and even though I'm still pretending to be focussed on my work, they stop, turn around and dissapear. This is still how I would react even if I did have a gun, but I'd certainly rather have a pipe wrench and a gun for the day when the pipe wrench isn't scary enough...
     
    Last edited: Jan 26, 2022
  23. Well Bonded

    Well Bonded Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    For those who don't know what a man hole hook is, try to imagine a 4' long 3/4" bar with a handle on one end and a 3" hook on the other, to get hit with one could crush a persons skull or getting slapped with one could rip a persons face off.
     
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  24. Polydectes

    Polydectes Well-Known Member

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    Every time I leave my house. Passively carrying it is using it defensively.

    If you mean to say when did you fire your gun, point your gun at somebody or kill somebody in self defense you need to ask that question.

    Simply having it is defensive.
     
  25. JET3534

    JET3534 Well-Known Member

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    I was not going to post to this thread but I decided to make an exception. As I humanitarian act, I once drew a holstered 9mm to dispatch a very large groundhog that had been mauled by a dog.
     
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