Who Carries A Gun & An Alternate Weapon With Which You Have Been Trained?

Don't claim to be an expert knife fighter, but have had some real instruction on how to employ one, and always carry a Benchmade folder that is big enough and sturdy enough to function as a weapon.

On the street, also carried the usual assortment of intermediate weapons, but I don't carry pepper spray and a baton when I go out on my own time.
 
TineToHunt, there was a time that I could ‘get away’. Now, due to horribly disfigured legs, I can no longer run or even walk fast. I own a real estate company and I routinely sell properties that are vacant. Many of these properties will have squatters or druggies stealing copper for a fix. They sometimes get a little ‘uppity’ if you know what I mean. Also, I sell a lot of multi-family homes where drug dealers work and live with their pitbulls and where ‘working girls’ walk the streets. The incidence of gunfire in these areas is fairly high but most – but not all – shots occur at night.

Funny thing about folks strung out on drugs and those that sell those drugs, their goal is normally not to run to get away. So I must be ready for anything. I am not the Rambo type but I must be ready in case the human feces hits the oscillating blades. Thus far I have been able to talk my way out of situations, but sooner or later, my luck will run out. So, for the wellbeing of my clients and myself, I must be prepared. However, I will never start trouble and I will always try to talk my way out of challenging situations.

I carry a S&W 38 or a S&W 40 M&P. I sometimes also carry a knife but view it more as a tool. Lastly when viewing vacant homes, I have a flashlight with a very strong beam (200 lumens or more). The beam can be confusing as it is extremely bright. And lastly, I have a cell phone which can dial 911 quickly… always a great step when given time!
 
Thank you SauerJackson.

retiredcoasty, you make a great point about the flashlight, it can be a potent tool. Few tings are more annoying and shocking than a bright light to the eyes. I never bought into flashlights until I bought one for my home defense pistol. Now I understand how useful they can be.
 
TimeToHunt, there is wisdom in your words. But our personal safety comes down to the individual being the first line of defense. The individual is responsible for their own safety. Even if we call 911, the police will not be on-scene for four minutes minimum. A lot can happen in four minutes. That said, I feel the using any weapon is a last-ditch action. The best way to avoid a conflict is to avoid it. So, if we can back out, we will. If we can talk our way out of trouble, we will.

I have four police officers in my office and nearly a quarter of my clients are cops. We have discussed this issue a lot because I have ten female agents. Their safety is a paramount issue. As the business owner, I am obligated to minimize dangerous situations for my agents. And for all of us, dialing 911 is the first thing done. Leaving the area follows closely behind 911. And thus far, those two tactics have worked.

TJ
 
timetohunt, I have to disagree with you strongly. If I have the option to use a weapon other than a gun to defend myself, it's better than not having one. Why do cops carry batons, mace, taser etc...? They are there for less lethal responses.

What makes the gun less likely to be taken from someone than another weapon like a baton or knife? If they snatched your baton and are trying to beat you with it, use your gun. The secondary weapon allows you a chance to end a situation without lethal force and may save you some legal headaches.

What about a 100LBS woman who is cornered and being assaulted by a 200+LBS rapist who reaches into her pocket and grabs her knife to stab her attacker and escape? Would you say to her that her knife is too likely to get taken from her and she shouldn't have carried it? What hypocrisy it is when we advocate the use of a gun for self defense, but not a knife or baton.

I carry a gun because I don't know what situation I will be confronted with today or tomorrow, or ever. I carry for the unknown and I refuse to play the odds with my life or the lives of my family. Crazy people don't make appointments to attack you, and if I could stop them without killing them, I would prefer that and a weapon other than a gun helps to facilitate that. I didn't spend my time training to protect myself because it was fun being choked, taken down, thrown, punched, kicked or kneed. I did it to be better prepared for all situations.
 
I ususally only carry one weapon on my person. But in the car I usually have a backup pistol in glove box, extra rounds for both, 2 small cans of pepper spray, Knife/box cutter, about a 2ft piece of galvanized pipe, & a 2 million candle spotlight!

I bought two pepper sprays so I could spray one to see how it works & still have a fresh one to use.

Other than that, no real formal training...But I have been shooting stuff, beating stuff, & cutting stuff for the better part of my life :D
 
If you have ASP baton or knife out, then obviously you are doing something wrong. You should be hiding out somewhere with your cell phone calling in the highly paid law enforcement officers to do their job.
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Nothing wrong with defending yourself by any means and I don't know of any law enforcement officers who are highly paid.
 
It is good to see the number of folks who aren't "defenseless" simply because they don't have a gun. I don't have formal training in secondary weapons, but I too am far from defenseless without a gun, though I sometimes carry a bug.

but I suggest you Google it and find out for yourself. Most officers earn more then the average citizen, are usually some of the top municipal earners and make well into six digits with full benefits paid and the opportunity to retire at age 50.
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Cops may make more than the average population, but not really anymore than folks with jobs of comparable civic duties. Few make 6 figures.

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos160.htm

Firemen make slightly less, but still above the "averge" worker.

In response to Glenn Bartley, I do not believe there is a police chief out there that would encourage their officers to go beyond being a good witness. The fact is the officer could easily be mistaken for the bad guy. There have been times when off-duty officers were shot by the on-duty officers. Then usually off-duty officers who use their weapons usually wind up in some type of trouble. Im not saying off-duty officers should not defend themselves when threatened directly with deadly force, I am just saying its probably better if they use their cellphones to call the on-duty officers to handle the situation and retreat to safer ground. For example, chasing a burglary suspect while off-duty or something like that. Its probably best to let the on-duty guys get the job done.
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This is wrong. Here, I would suggest you take your own advice and Google the subject. Several departments of which I know require their officers to respond to the best of their abilities and situation if witnessing a felony activity. That may be in being a good witness given the activity or activily working to resolve the situation.

If the concern for being mistaken for a bad guy was that big, there would be no plain clothes police officers.

Required to respond while off duty examples...

http://www.aacounty.org/Police/RulesRegs/Sections11-16/1502PPVProgram.pdf

http://www.flhsmv.gov/fhp/Manuals/0508.pdf

Also, why would you assume that all off duty officers were out of uniform?
 
Well, south of the Mason Dixon Line, I do know there are some departments which allow their officers to take home their vehicles. I'm not certain as to the logic behind it, but I suspect its a creative way to get more work out of the officers and to make it appear there are more officers patrolling the street.
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It's actually a creative way to get officers to take premium care of their duty vehicle. When several officers have to share a vehicle between shifts, the poor cars tend to get bumped, mistreated, and ran dry. And when damage is noticed, you have to deal with all of the "That was already there..." statements before you assign blame and responsibility to one person. When an officer gets a take-home-car, they take care of it as if it was their own, and the department actually ends up paying less money in the long run for maintenance.

but I suggest you Google it and find out for yourself. Most officers earn more then the average citizen, are usually some of the top municipal earners and make well into six digits with full benefits paid and the opportunity to retire at age 50.
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Holy cow! If this is true, then why isn't EVERYONE a police officer?!
... ... ... ...:rolleyes:. Being a cop comes pretty cheap when you consider what it SHOULD cost to salary someone at government wages for hazard pay every minute they are on the job. Find some other job that starts you at 30-40k a year. How likely are you to get shot or killed at that job? I find statements like this above offensive. We don't do enough for our officers, and many of them work daily in the face of criticism and disdain.

Thank you for your service.

***Back on topic***

Options are always good. Always. You don't have to use your other options; or even consider them. But they are good to have. Carrying other defense devices gives you more options. If you witness a male acquaintance assaulting a female friend, depending on your state, you can shoot him to stop him. But that is a big roll of the dice. There are so many unknowns: How will YOU deal with it? How will his family deal with it? How will the DA see it? Will you face a civil suit? Will you go to jail for murder because of a mistaken witness? Will you lose your gun rights forever?

If you decide to carry a taser, and you employ it effectively to stop the assault, even if the DA had it out for you, there was a mistaken witness, he and his family wanted to file a civil suit; the stakes are much lower. You face mistaken assault charges instead of mistaken murder charges. Why? Because you didn't have to kill him to stop him.


Now this is just one example... but if you picture a self-defense scenario like your run of the mill maintenance problem; would you rather go in there with a tool bag or an adjustable wrench?

~LT
 
Salary and pay is an off-topic discussion, but I suggest you Google it and find out for yourself.
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No I don't need google I found out the harder way, I work in law enforcement, left a job that paid almost 3 times as much too. But your right about one thing we are off topic.

Everyone who carries should have a means of non lethal defense. If you are skilled with tooth and claw thats fine, carry spray, taser, baton whatever thats good too. Those who aren't should seriously look into more training and/or something alternate to their firearm.

Why would you use anything other than a gun? if you beat a guy with a steel object you are assaulting another, if it is that bad then shoot him. Beat him you may be sued or arrested IMHO.
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Its not neccissarily about the tool but the justification. I think you would be in a lot more trouble afterwards if you shot someone who was unarmed while defending yourself, than just clubbing or striking that person with an intermediate weapon even if you killed em. Most places that allow you to stand your ground allow a person defending themselves a level of force up from their assailant. I think you would have a lot less trouble conveing self defense if you whack a guy 3 or 5 times that obviously didn't get away from you after the first over just shooting him.

If there isn't means, ability or jeopardy. You need another option. Give yourself one.IMO
 
Always have a knife to back up the gun. It's a tactical folder that can be passed off as a tool.

Eight years of professional trainning in Kenpo with a focus on the blade. Will I get cut in a knife fight if it turns out that way, yes. Am I afraid. No
 
Well if I have my pants on I have a knife. I do kali so I would say my skills have improved with the blade too, but if 29 rounds of 9mm hollow point aren't doing the trick I am probably will be locked up in the fetal position crying because the bad guy has me seriously outgunned.
 
Pepper spray -- everywhere except where prohibited.

The Sheriff's Department trained me on it years ago. It's not a guarantee but I've seen it work more often than not.
 
Use of deadly force: non lethal weapon systems...

I started to carry a Mark III size can of chemical agent on my armed security details about 6 years ago. I've been state licensed & trained with firearms for many years but after a handful of incidents, I started to carry chemical agent on duty too.
The use of deadly force is the LAST line or level you must use in a real critical incident. To have a EDW/Taser or impact weapon(along with the formal skill training) you'll have a advantage.

ClydeFrog
 
Yea I would say that an importnt part of this discussion is WHY you carry. If you are LEO or security of some type that is one thing. If you are a civi that is another.
 
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