Close Call.....

Good show Dad!

Trusting your instincts works great in real life. There is no substitute for that "gut" feeling giving you advice.

I honestly believe this is one of the "unsung" advantages of CC. Adverting crime by superior firepower. If the criminal sees or "feels" that his intended victim is well armed - they are more likely to move on. :p

There will never be any hollywood movies about these incidents, they will never show up in any FBI statistics reports, nor will the press ever talk about them, but I think as gunowners - we feel much better in these critical stressful situations - knowing we are well armed for them, and we have a plan. :D

Thanks for the stories guys, keep them coming.
 
Dadx4
Obviously, poor guy just wanted some change. He saw you getting your gun from the console and just hoped it was something you wanted to give him, That's why he skipped other cars and went straight to yours. He was trying to see if you were holding some change in your hand or food or whatever. He was probably drunk or possibly on drugs but that does not mean he is a bad guy with intensions to hurt you. Take it easy man.

Several years ago when I just moved to the US and worked as a pizza driver, my car broke down on the freeway right before the exit.It was already dark. The closest plaza was a couple miles away and my cell's battery was dead. I went outside and saw one car taking the exit. When it slowed down before the light I walked next to it and tried to ask for help. I wanted to use their cell phone to call the pizza office or home. The elder couple did not even roll down their window to hear me. They just stared at me like at some freak and drove away on green. Hey, and I am not an evil looking person. I walked to the office and called my dad who came and picked me up. I hope that couple sleept well that night.

And honestly,the chances of hurting somebody innocent while expecting something bad happen to you 24/7 are greater than you actually will catch the BG in his attempt to kill you.
 
2fast2curious

Believe me, I understand where you are coming from. Had I simply read the response as you did, I would honestly have felt as you feel. In this case, however, I have to plead "you had to have been there". I drive all over metro Atlanta every day and have dealt with literally thousands of panhandlers (ok, I ain't no spring chicken - I have been around a while) and this guy just did not fit. This location was the area I have lived in for nearly thirty years - this is not an intersection that anyone looking for a handout would use. This guy was just too intense. As you mentioned, panhandlers do usually have a "look" whether it be intoxicated, ragged, dirty or whatever you wish to call it. He did not "look" the part. He locked in on me and my wife before I reached for the console lid. If looking for a handout, why skip the two cars ahead of me, and why just quit and walk away - there were several more vehicles behind us? If you are wanting a handout, why are both of your hands stuffed into your pockets? Panhandlers know that is a threatening position and - in my experience - always have their hands in the open so that they don't pose a threat to the person they are approaching.

All these things add up to maybe nothing - until you add in what Dux called "gut feelings". Whether you call it situational awareness, discernment, gut feelings or whatever you wish, it has served me well for almost six decades and I intend to follow it whenever possible. All my instincts told me this guy was not a panhandler, and I have thought through the episode several times since it occurred. Each time I come to the same conclusion - something was wrong about this whole thing. You may think me paranoid, and that is ok. I have considered others to be paranoid at times, but they have to go with their feelings as I went with mine. To be perfectly candid, I probably would not have pulled the Bersa out if I had been alone in my truck. But with my family with me, I carry a much higher responsibility.

As I mentioned, I drive a great amount of the time. I see people with broken down cars all the time. Thirty years ago, I stopped to see if I could help them. I very seldom do that any more. Just three weeks ago, I stopped to see if I could help a lady whose car just quit at a red light. While other drivers were blowing horns and flipping me off, I pushed her car to the side. She was terrified of me and would not roll down her window. I don't blame her. I asked - through the window - if she wanted me to push her to the side and she shook her head "yes" so I did. The bottom line is this - I have taught my kids that you do not stop to help, you call the police on your cell phone for the people and go on your way. The reason is that they are probably afraid of you and you may need to fear them. I try to keep some change in my truck to give to panhandlers who look as if they are needy. But I tell my kids not to do that. Why??? Because - sadly - our society is devolving into a state where there are professional predators who disguise themselves as other things in order to victimize those who would help them. I had a good friend that - several years ago - opened his front door to a fellow claiming to need a phone. My friend and his family died that night, victims of a predator.

If the man really wanted just a hand-out, then I reacted wrong. But if he attempted it again the same way, I would do the same thing. I appreciate your position on this, so don't feel that I am flaming you on this. Just adding a bit of explanation.

Thanks for your input,
Dadx4
 
About 2 years ago, I was with my brother who at the time had his CCW for about a year.

We were drivng home (through the "bad part" of town). pulled over to get some gas, I went with my brother inside the gas station, and as he paid for gas I grabbed some chips and soda, these guys followed us out of the store and asked my brother for some money, my brother declined and one of them started walking up to my brother in a fast pace, he didnt say anything to my brother, My brother told the guy "I dont have money, leave me alone" and the man that was walking up to him did not stop walking to him, the man was about 20 feet away from my brother and my brother once again told the man "I DO NOT HAVE MONEY, LEAVE ME ALONE" he was yelling, my brother then told me to get my cellphone ready to dial 911, and he made the "STOP" hand gesture and told the guy not to come closer, the guy stopped about 10 feet from my brother and my brother began to walk backwards towards the car with his hand in his pocket gripping his weapon (beretta tomcat) he never drew the weapon but he used loud warnings and hand gestures, the man just stood there with this cracked out face... he was homeless, and after we drove off i felt bad for the guy, but you never know what he was thinking or what drug he was on.
 
All these things add up to maybe nothing - until you add in what Dux called "gut feelings". Whether you call it situational awareness, discernment, gut feelings or whatever you wish, it has served me well for almost six decades and I intend to follow it whenever possible.
Click to expand...
Man is the only creature on the earth that rationalizes away his intuition. Intuition is one's first line of self defense. Can you imagine a dog saying to himself "Gosh, I really don't think that stifflegged dog crossing the street in my direction is going to attack me. I think he has a case of degenerative joint disease and he really wants to swap fleas." Trust your intuition, you will live longer. Many people are harmed or killed because they rationalized away their first line of defense.
 
DADx4, I hear ya

DadX4....I was not there,but from your first post the situation looked to me that it was not a real threat. However, you said he did not look like a normal homeless and that changes things. And I am sorry to hear about your friend and his family. :(
PS. That's sad that people can't completly trust each other like that lady who you helped to push her car. There is a reason for that , nevertheless it's sad.
Take care man!
 
I inadvertently scared a woman about two weeks ago. I noticed she had left a set of keys on her trunk as I pulled up behind her at a traffic light. I knew the light was long, so I retreived her keys from the trunk and lightly tapped on her window. I kept the keys in view so she'd recognize them right away. She rolled her window down and I said, "Miss, sorry to bother you. But, I found these on your trunk." She thanked me, but I could tell right away that it rattled her to have a stranger walk up to her car.

I even thought "I'm going to get shot for this" as I got out of my car. That's just my luck anyway. It's sad that people are extremely on edge these days. The disgusting part is that they have every reason to be.

Here's my story:

I went to a department store to pick up my last paycheck. I worked in the optical department in a sorry part of Atlanta while between jobs. I noticed three guys were walking between cars and combing the parking lot. They were peering into the cars as they passed by them. I kept tabs on their positions as I walked briskly up to my car and got in.

I took my eyes off them for a fraction of a second to retreive my weapon from the glove box and tuck it half under my right thigh. I saw one of them in my rear view mirror, another coming up behind me on the driver's side through my side mirror, and the last was coming from in front of me, passenger side. My car was cranked, in reverse, and doors were locked. I could only back up, because I had cars on three sides of me, parked. The guy on my side rapped on my window loudly and put his hands on my door frame. I cracked my window as he leaned his head close enough that I could smell his halitosis.

I said, "If you don't take your hands off my car and step away, I'm going to shoot you as I run your friend over" in the most calm and stern manner possible. I saw his eyes shift to my right hand, where I was gripping my Kimber while still tucked under my leg. He gave me the finger, waved his hands around a bit like something from an MTV music video, said a few choice words that really showed intelligence, and motioned his buddies to back off. I too, gave a description of the incident to the police at a nearby gas station. I don't know what became of the report. The officer didn't seem to care that I had a weapon either.
 
Well, OK, but just remember that first bullet you fire is, 'golden'. It might very well end up costing you several thousand dollars! I believe the general rule is that you should always stop your car while you are still able to see the tires of the vehicle in front of you; and the pistol should always be on your person - not inside the glove compartment. (Refer: 1986 FBI Miami Shootout details)

As for me? I'd always choose to run first, and fight second; but, sometimes, you can't run. This event doesn't sound like one of those times. ;)
 
"this happened to me"

Ok. Since we're telling "this happened to me" stories, the only two times I've ever even remotely thought I might have needed a weapon both happened while I was driving.

The first time, a fellow shot around me in traffic, slammed on brakes in front of me, and blocked the road. He got out of his car, and came toward me. Being a lot younger, and even stupider than I am now, I got out of my car, with my nightstick in my hand and smacked it against the palm of my hand. (I was a security guard at the time.) He took one look, got back in his car and left. I had never seen him before, and to this day I have no idea what he wanted.

The last time I got off the interstate and truned onto the access road, about 0030 hrs, and a rather "wild" looking guy comes running out in front of my car waving his arms and screaming something. I slowed down enough to keep from hitting him, and he rather wisely I thought got the heck out from in front of my car. I didn't stop to see who he was, or what he wanted, but called 911. About the time I got the dispatcher on the phone, a county deputy shot by. No lights but in a hurry. I always assumed this guy was running from the deputy for some reason, and he hoped I'd stop and either pick him up, or that he would have taken my car. (With or without me) I didn't have a carry permit at the time, but did have my Taurus 85 in the glove box, where it would have done me no good. It wasn't until later I thought "what if?"

Was I in any real danger either time? I don't know. I really think the first time the guy thought I was someone else. The second time? I don't know. Maybe he was prowling around the houses there and they had called the police. Maybe he was sick or injured? Maybe he had been abducted by space aliens. :) Glad I didn't have to find out.
 
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