Almost had to draw for the first time tonight

I've had two close calls in only 6 months of owning my pistol and 4 months of carrying it with my permit. They have both happened at my church believe it or not haha, but it was after church hours. It is a scary moment when you realize you might actually have to take someone's life.

 

Glad everything turned out alright for you.

 

I second that motion. Glad it turned out okay.

 

You never know how you'll react until you are in a situation like that. It sounded like you had it handled pretty well!

 

I had to pull my handgun once on a guy. I was in my store (I owned a C-store for 4 years) and a guy came in and said " this is a holdup, give me all of your money " before he could grab his gun out of the waist band of his pants I got a quick draw on him with my Wilson Combat 45. He was arrested 2 weeks later for a bank robbery.

 

Thank god you didn't have to draw your weapon. At least for him he didn't have a bad night with like you said five to the chest. I'm glad to hear that you was prepared to defend your property. I'm a firm believer that a life isn't worth a truck but hey if someone is going to attack you then you have to defend yourself by any means necessary and if you have to dump your magazine in somebody then so be it.

 

Gets the blood going dont it, i almost had to draw 3 different times, wait correction, 2 times and once i actually drew.

 

I personally think you "almost" over reacted. The guy was obviously a jerk, but by sitting in his own vehicle with no signs of physical hostility, there was no threat to you or any other person.

If you would have pulled your gun, you could have run the very high risk of getting arrested.

Those guys were just giving you a hard time but in no way threatened you, and had you pulled, they could have rightfully called the police and filed a report and you would have been guilty and would lose your license, or just SOL and out a few thousand $$ in defense attorney fees.

You "almost" lost your head and your emotional balance: things you really need in case you do have to draw. You sound like you were just pissed off.

Good thing you didn't.

Stay safe, and out of jail.

 

Hey deadlift, thanks for sharing your story. In my opinion you handled it well. Assuming you would not have drawn your weapon until they got out and came towards you. They had you outnumbered and you would have been in a very precarious situation. You did not escalate the encounter so I see nothing wrong. Usually not good to let them know you are armed and give up the element of surprise but in this case it probably diffused the situation. Thanks for sharing so it gives me the opportunity to think about what I would have done, before I'm in that situation.

 

Hindsight is 20/20. Maybe you should have given no indication that you had a weapon, but the situation was diffused with no one being harmed, so what does it matter? Learn and move on. This guy is like the armchair quarterback or the backseat driver. It is really easy to know exactly what to do when sitting at home behind your keyboard.

 

C'mon now Jimmy, Petty officer and runman are right. Yes they are playing armchair QB but the point of this forum is to learn from others. Personally I probably would have reacted the same way, but like was said earlier, giving up the element of surprise by touching your weapon through your shirt and saying "I'd put 5 in his chest" to the guy probably wasn't the smartest thing to do, but it did seem to get his message across to the guys.
Live and learn, we all do.

 

He said he placed his hand on his pistol... Having his hands in a ready state and being prepared is completely different than having his hand on his pistol which is extremely aggressive (offensive gesture), as well as speaking of putting "5 rounds in their chest" is also threatening speech (abusive or vulgar?) and pending on his state or jurisdiction could be charged with Disorderly Conduct.

This is my entire point. I'm glad he didn't draw.

I'm highly educated on my local gun laws, not an armchair quarterback.

Example: Texas Handgun Laws 2011-2012 (pg 39 of 72)
http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/internetforms/forms/chl-16.pdf

PC §42.01. DISORDERLY CONDUCT.
(a) A person commits an offense if he intentionally or knowingly:
(1) uses abusive, indecent, profane, or vulgar language in a public place, and the language by its very utterance tends to incite an immediate breach of the peace;
(2) makes an offensive gesture or display in a public place, and the gesture or display tends to incite an immediate breach of the peace;
(3) (not relevant)
(4) abuses or threatens a person in a public place in an obviously offensive manner;
(5) (not relevant)
(6) fights with another in a public place;
(7) (not relevant)
(8 ) displays a firearm or other deadly weapon in a public place in a manner calculated to alarm;

 

I agree. Live and learn.

 

Deadlift, you didn't do a damned thing wrong, and I think you handled the situation just fine, preparing for the possibility of having to draw the moment that d-bag in the Ranger threatened your property and arguably threatened you bodily when he asked what you could do about it if someone wanted to steal your truck. You responded in equal measure to the threat, and appropriately so!

 

I will readily admit that I am playing armchair quarterback, I don't know how I would have reacted to the situation. That's what's great about those who share their story though, it gives us all an opportunity to think through what happened and figure the best course of action. Maybe if you are in a similar scenario it might just help you make a better decision.

As I stated previously, I think deadlift handled it well but there are other things to think about. As stated, live and learn, but much better to learn in this discussion than the hard way. I'm glad it didn't escalate but I am also glad our fellow forum member was prepared and is not letting himself become a victim.

 

Glad everything turned out ok and you're safe!