Defensive gun use today

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tbrew85
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Defensive gun use today

Post by tbrew85 »

I believe some defensive gun uses happen without the gun actually being drawn. I had such an incident today.
I pulled in to a gas station today about 5PM. All the pumps were full. I waited for one particular pump that had a truck that was about to leave. When the truck pulled away, I headed towards the pump. About this time, a guy pulls in from the road and heads toward the same pump, from the opposite direction. I got there just before he did. As he drove by me, he gave me a nasty glare. I got out and walked to the side of my car to begin pumping my gas. I watch him go across the lot and turn around. He came back and pulled up behind a car on the opposite side of the pump I was using. He rolls his window down and says:
“Have you always been and A**hole”?
I said “Buddy, I was already in this lot waiting on the truck that was here to pull out”.
Him: “BS, I didn’t see a truck”
Me: Then you are blind because there was a truck here.
Lady at pump next to me: Yeah, there was a truck there.
Him: You think you’re special because you are in a Cadillac? You are just an a**hole. You saw me coming.
Me: Are you serious? You need to grow up and just stop.
Him: Several more expletives
Me: Seriously, grow up, this is ridiculous
At this point, his eyes get this crazy look in them and he throws open his door and starts to get out. He is about 20 feet from me. I grab my LCP that is in my right rear pocket but I don’t pull it out. He takes notice though.
He shouts “Go ahead, pull it out!”
Me: Stay in your truck sir, just stop
Him: I have one too, we’ll just have a gun fight right here!
Me: Stay in your truck sir!
More expletives from angry guy
Me: DON’T GET OUT OF YOUR TRUCK!
I could hear his wife yelling at him but I couldn’t make out what she was saying. He closed his door, backed up and drove away.
I looked over at the lady at the pump next to me. She was saying “Oh my God, what is wrong with that guy”? I said “I don’t know, but I’m glad he didn’t get out of his truck. It would have been a bad day for all of us.” She shook her head and said “God bless you, I hope the rest of your day goes better than this”

This was a well-dressed white man in his mid-50’s driving what looked like a brand new Denali. His vehicle is worth a lot more than my 11 year old CTS so Im not sure where that comment came from, or his rage to begin with, over a gas pump. I did learn something though. I think most sane people that choose to carry a gun for self-defense have to wonder at some point “If I’m ever in that situation will I actually be able to shoot another person”. I believe I was very close to that situation, and I was absolutely ready to use it if I had to.

BTW, at the time I didn’t even think about getting the plate number of his vehicle, or get the witness info. I wish I had at least done that.
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Re: Defensive gun use today

Post by CroManGun »

tbrew85 wrote:BTW, at the time I didn’t even think about getting the plate number of his vehicle, or get the witness info. I wish I had at least done that.
I've had a few run-ins with morons like this. I usually just whip out my phone to record, while my other hand is ready to draw, if it would become necessary.
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Re: Defensive gun use today

Post by carmen fovozzo »

OP.You to are a big mouth...you said way to much..I won't say anymore that you excalated the whole thing..you need to shut up when things like this happen. ..
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sd790
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Re: Defensive gun use today

Post by sd790 »

It sounds like you could have retreated before using your gun. Had you actually drawn your gun and used it, your actions may have been very difficult to justify in a courtroom.
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Re: Defensive gun use today

Post by Brian D. »

carmen fovozzo wrote:OP.You to are a big mouth...you said way to much..I won't say anymore that you excalated the whole thing..you need to shut up when things like this happen. ..
I more or less agree with Carmen here. Sometimes less conversation can de-escalate a situation very well. Some folks, especially when upset, rightly or wrongly, can get really bent when they don't get in the last word. Enough to get physical.
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deanimator
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Re: Defensive gun use today

Post by deanimator »

I don't talk to "people" like that. It just makes them madder. :mrgreen:
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Re: Defensive gun use today

Post by BobK »

I think it would have been fun to say, "Go ahead, make my day." :lol:

All kidding aside, glad it turned out alright. I see you are getting a lot a grief from people, and it is not my intention to give you any additional grief. Instead, your scenario made me think about my favorite subject ("Me!") and ask myself some interesting questions.

I was reading on the Texas forum yesterday one comment from a CHL instructor who said, "A person can choose to carry an ego or a firearm, but a person shouldn't carry both." It caught my eye, not because it is perfectly true, but there is a nugget of truth there.

My natural inclination is like yours. I'd want to argue back with someone being a jerk. That isn't my necessarily my best side. So I took a little mental journey visualizing two alternative scenarios:
  1. A guy is being a total jerk. I argue with him, escalating and enraging him to the point that he attacks me and I am forced to defend myself by shooting him. I have to deal with the police, the courts, an attorney, negative press, and my conscience. (Assume I am eventually found not guilty or the charges are eventually dropped.)
  2. A guy pulls up and asks, “Have you always been an A**hole?” I respond with, "Oh my goodness sir. I had no idea the world revolved around you. Let me move my car and please accept my abject apologies." I move my car and I never have to deal with any of the consequences of alternative A.
I have been sitting here and visualizing the two scenarios and it is pretty clear which alternative is a better choice for me.
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SMR
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Re: Defensive gun use today

Post by SMR »

I'm glad everything turned out well for you.

You did not escalate this, you were not the aggressor, you were the only one at the scene so you are the only one who knows what you could have done right or wrong in this confrontation. As far as retreating I am not aware of if you could have or not, these things develop way to fast and you did fine.

Good luck, and carry on.
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Re: Defensive gun use today

Post by westsidebestside »

SMR wrote:I'm glad everything turned out well for you.

You did not escalate this, you were not the aggressor,
"You are blind" and "Grow up" at best are not terms that are intended to deescalate a situation. He did not "do fine". The right thing to have said to the lunkhead was nothing.
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Re: Defensive gun use today

Post by TSiWRX »

"I'm sorry, I'll move my car as soon as I'm done. My apologies."
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Re: Defensive gun use today

Post by carmen fovozzo »

Alan..I know for a fact that is what you would do..only thing to do..
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Re: Defensive gun use today

Post by TSiWRX »

^ Just you wait until you're stuck in the elevator with two Chinese guys, insisting that the other get out, first! :lol: Being that polite can sometimes be problematic..... :lol:
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tbrew85
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Re: Defensive gun use today

Post by tbrew85 »

I am aware that hindsight is 20/20. In EVERY incident, one can point out a change that could have been made to change the outcome. I could have totally ignored him. Maybe it would have angered him even more. Some people are like that. I could have apologized for being what he perceived as an a**hole even though I hadn't done anything wrong at that point (It works with my wife). I could have ran at the instant that he opened his mouth. Maybe I would have tripped over the gas hose that was in my car.

I'm convinced that the fact that he believed I had a gun, and would pull it out if he charged me, changed his mind about doing so.

When one posts on here, there are those personalities that you expect to hear positive and negative feedback from, no matter what the incident is and no matter how right or wrong your actions were. Some is constructive, some is not. I expect both.

I am also convinced that many of the people that post here are quick to point out errors, real or perceived, that would do the same in real life, despite their reasoned statements from the comfort of a keyboard. Most of those that will comment on this, positive or negative are not passive individuals.
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Re: Defensive gun use today

Post by carmen fovozzo »

There was nothing positive about this story. You complain about our posts for giving you good advice...I for one am not a poet, so excuse my lack of kind words.

Had he had a gun and pulled it on you, you would both be going to jail.
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tbrew85
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Re: Defensive gun use today

Post by tbrew85 »

carmen fovozzo wrote:There was nothing positive about this story. You complain about our posts for giving you good advice...I for one am not a poet, so excuse my lack of kind words.

Had he had a gun and pulled it on you, you would both be going to jail.
Im sorry you took that as a complaint. More of an observation.
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"An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life." - Robert Heinlein
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