Have you ever NEEDED your handgun?

[Rlee]

I have never had to draw my CCW but I have cleared my house with the shotgun.

I'm 22 soon to be 23 (Feb 12th is my b-day) and got my first place Nov. 26th (buying the house). Of course everyone gets the new place jitters but this wasn't like that I wasn't sitting there in a quiet room listening for noises.

I was actually on the phone and had the TV on ( To get the point across I have a 1000w Home theater system,not bragging ) and my fiance was sitting next to me on the couch. In the middle of me talking I hear a thud followed up by a breaking sound, sounded as if someone had kicked in a door and it hit the wall and broke the glass. Now you can imagine the force it would take to create this so needless to say it was loud and vivid. I immediately get to my shotgun all while staying on the phone to not alert any intruder that he/she has been discovered and once I get to it I then tell the caller I'll call them back. I open the bedroom door upstairs knowing/logically thinking where an intruder would be or would try to get to, making sure the door completely opens before I step in. This is the only room that is closed off and is the only room that a logical criminnal would break into. As we have a full basement with several windows that are large enough for a mid-size to large man get through this is the next area I cover. This is where I really expected the intruder to be, I tried to keep my back to the wall and sweep the areas from the outside so that I gave myself more time to respond. I checked the remainder of the basement and checked the vehicles and the garage for forced entry but nothing was visible. I feel that I had control of myself and didn't put myself in harms way. The whole time the fiance had 911 dialed in her phone just waiting to hit send.

I feel that a handgun doesn't feel "right" when clearing a house and that a shotgun gives you some leverage and even a striking object.

No matter what though, If I ever have a conferntation with another individual I will most certainly call the cops if I draw my gun !

 

[fireman1328]

I’ve never had to draw, but have had a shotgun leveled at me. When I was in my early 20’s I had a date over to my house in the city. After dinner we went into the back yard to sit in the swing, when all of a sudden I heard the unmistakable sound of a shotgun being racked. When I turned around I saw the neighbor pointing the shotgun right at me. There was a huge pine tree between me and him, so I tried to keep it between us, all the while telling my date to get in the house and call 911. After what seemed like an hour but was probably less than 5 minutes the neighbor starts laughing and heads back in to his house. I darted into my house and waited till the law got there and filled them in on what happened. The police waited for back up and then stormed the neighbor’s house and brought him out, ask me if this was the guy and took him away. I learned a valuable lesson that day, and won’t be caught without a sidearm to this day. If I had been carrying that day there is no doubt what would have happened.
Funny thing is I saw my neighbor a few days later and his whole face was black and blue, and he avoided me whenever I was out and about. I guess it helps to have friends in the police dept.

Fire

 

[agentl074]

I have never had to draw my CCW but I have cleared my house with the shotgun.

I'm 22 soon to be 23 (Feb 12th is my b-day) and got my first place Nov. 26th (buying the house). Of course everyone gets the new place jitters but this wasn't like that I wasn't sitting there in a quiet room listening for noises.

I was actually on the phone and had the TV on ( To get the point across I have a 1000w Home theater system,not bragging ) and my fiance was sitting next to me on the couch. In the middle of me talking I hear a thud followed up by a breaking sound, sounded as if someone had kicked in a door and it hit the wall and broke the glass. Now you can imagine the force it would take to create this so needless to say it was loud and vivid. I immediately get to my shotgun all while staying on the phone to not alert any intruder that he/she has been discovered and once I get to it I then tell the caller I'll call them back. I open the bedroom door upstairs knowing/logically thinking where an intruder would be or would try to get to, making sure the door completely opens before I step in. This is the only room that is closed off and is the only room that a logical criminnal would break into. As we have a full basement with several windows that are large enough for a mid-size to large man get through this is the next area I cover. This is where I really expected the intruder to be, I tried to keep my back to the wall and sweep the areas from the outside so that I gave myself more time to respond. I checked the remainder of the basement and checked the vehicles and the garage for forced entry but nothing was visible. I feel that I had control of myself and didn't put myself in harms way. The whole time the fiance had 911 dialed in her phone just waiting to hit send.

I feel that a handgun doesn't feel "right" when clearing a house and that a shotgun gives you some leverage and even a striking object.

No matter what though, If I ever have a conferntation with another individual I will most certainly call the cops if I draw my gun !

Not to threadjack but I had the same idea... I figure that since I live out in the boonies - where over penetration is not a concern - I would be better off using my AR10 Carbine; since I have been trained in using an M4 to clear buildings... I believe that its probably best to use what is most like what you have trained with

 

[SavageEagle]

I would think it be dangerous to clear a house with a shotgun. It wouldn't take much for an intruder to sit just inside the door of a dark room and when you begin to enter, the BG grab it and either take it, or force you to shoot yourself in the foot. With a handgun, at least you have much more control over it and less of a chance to be holding it far enough from your body to have it swiped from you.

Just trying to think logically about this. I do agree with Agent though. If it's what you feel most comfortable and are most trained with....

 

[baglorious]

"Have you ever NEEDED your handgun?"

Absolutely. All twelve of them. And, I need handguns I haven't even acquired yet. And my wife will not convince me otherwise.

Oh... this is a serious thread?

Fortunately, no... I haven't needed to pull it in any situation. May my good fortune continue.

p.s. If someone already made a similar joke... sorry. I'll confess, I didn't read all 11 pgs of responses.

 

[jsgolfman]

I've never had to pull it but had one pulled on me when I was 19.
Drunk guy at a bar thought me and my friends were ogling his hag of a girlfriend, so when we left he followed us out and tried to start a fight. We just laughed and proceeded to our vehicle. He followed and continued to hurl challenges, then flashed a pistol as a way of emphasizing his point. We quickly exited as we were not drunk and saw no good coming of this encounter. We thought about calling the cops, but seeing as none of us were legal drinking age, thought better of it.

 

[PwrCruz]

When I lived in Ca. working nights, woke up to a loud bang thinking it was just someone moving in to the apartment complex walked out of the bedroom to go to the bathroom and stopped when I saw some sh!t bag grabbing my TV and stereo. Ran back in to the bedroom and grabbed my shotgun go back out and cycle my shotgun to say good morning. The guy just goes limp and starts crying for me not to shoot him. Kept him there till LEO shows up.
Funny part of the story was when the 911 operator wanted to know what I was wearing so the officer would'nt get us confused I told her Tell him I'm the one wearing the boxer's and the 12gauge.

 

[hippykiller]

Im from Johnson Co. I RARELY go anywhere north of Greenwood. I cannot stand Indy or any large city for that matter. I was invited to a poker game from a co-worker and went. It was on 38th street in Indy. I was on a payphone asking a friend for directions because I was trying to find my way back to I-65.

I did not report anything, I just wanted to get back home where I felt comfortable.

Once in a great while I will have to go to Indy with my wife. She gets so mad at me because every time I see a woman walking down the street or sidewalk I ask "Is that a hooker?.........Is that a hooker?"

Im just a hillbilly, I cant help it.

I lived in indy for 4years and still work here... And to this day every time I see a female walking down the street I say "hooker"... Although my wife finds it hilarious... That or she is just humoring me...

 

[drbarnes]

I should have my cc within the next 2 or 3 weeks and am interested in some training. I try to shoot at least twice a month but am wanting to get some training in case a situation like one of these happens to me.

 

[esrice]

I should have my cc within the next 2 or 3 weeks and am interested in some training. I try to shoot at least twice a month but am wanting to get some training in case a situation like one of these happens to me.

You've made a wise choice my friend.


Go here: Tactics and Training - INGunOwners

 

[DEC]

I've been carrying on and off since 1993. More off than on, however events of the last year have prompted me to never be too far from a firearm. An ex-employee, rise in thefts, economic conditions, politics, etc.

In all of my time as a handgun owner and holder of a carry permit, I've never (knock on wood) been in a situation where I felt I needed my hand gun or other firearm. I've purposely avoided most situations, though there have been a handful of times while traveling on business that I would have felt much more secure with a hand gun present.

Like another poster, I did "clear the house" with a rifle one night back in 1993. I was a first time home owner and heard something one night. I was all nervous, going from room to room in my best SWAT interpretation. I then went outside and yelled as loud as I could "I'll shoot to kill!" As I came around the house, I saw two raccoons on my dog's dog house pawing at the bedroom window. I'd found my bandits. I just ran them off.

However ... I've been shot at once and had 8 AR's leveled on me at one time. Neither was a fun situation and was more disturbing later as I recalled the events than at the time.

I got shot at while attending Purdue University. I think it was back in 1990. I was walking on campus one night to go to an evening exam. I heard tires squealing on the road behind me and I turned around. There was a silver colored early 80's style camaro sliding around the corner to a stop. The window came down and I saw a rifle barrel coming out of the window. There was a large tree right next to me and I lunged to get behind it, when I heard a shot ring out and then tires squealing again as the car took off. I swear I heard the bullet in a "zinging" type of sound. I remember thinking "oh chit!" and then realizing I had to get to the test. I actually went and took my exam that night and when I got home, my room mate made me call the cops to report it. I was like 21 at the time and just kind of blew it off, but he made me call the cops. The cops came over and took me back to the spot on campus. Sure enough, there were black marks on the road from the car, though they could never find a bullet or casing. They did chew my azz out for not blowing off the exam and reporting it immediately. To my knowledge, they never found the guys. I don't think I was a particular target for anyone, just some punks out to do wrong to someone that particular night. Looking back on it as 40 is coming around the corner, I realize how lucky I was that night.

Back in 95 or 96, I was working in Reynosa, Mexico, a border town. We had to make a trip into Monterey, a couple hours drive southwest. Well several miles into Mexico, they had (I assume they still have) these check stations, where you have to present passports and such. I'd been through the process before without incident. This time though, something came up when they ran one of the passports in our group. It ended up being nothing and we were all fine, but for about 10 minutes our Suburban was surrounded by 8 Mexican's with AR's shouldered and leveled on us. It was a very uncomfortable feeling. I think we all needed a change of underwear after we were finally allowed to pass.

I pray to God that I will never need to use a firearm on another human being. For a long time, I pretended that there was no need to arm myself in my sheltered world. But the reality is that this world is a scary place and I'm willing to defend myself or loved ones if need be.

 

[esrice]

I just got this in a USCCA email. Thought it was pertinent to this thread.
*************************

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Aftergetting out of the military in the mid seventies I took a sales jobwith a company that sold steel products to the construction industry.In the course of about 3 weeks in 1978 I was forced to draw a firearmto protect myself on two different occasions.

I covered 13 states by car and normally spent several nights a week inhotels. It was lonely work and nights were normally spent in my hotelroom. I was raised in a military family and grew up shooting a .45 ACP 1911. It was my weapon of choice and I purchased a new Colt Commander when I got my first traveling job.

I used to take it with me on the road for protection and forentertainment. I would look for indoor pistol ranges in the variouscities that I traveled to and would normally shoot at least once aweek. In 1978 my company hired another salesman and he traveled with mefor a two week training period.

One night in Monroe, Louisianawe returned to the hotel from dinner and as we were getting out of thecar the trainee asked to borrow the car to go to the drug store forsome cold medicine. I was in a dilemma. My pistol was loaded and underthe driver's seat and I was not willing to let him take the car withthe pistol.

I told him O.K. but quickly took the pistol and slid it into my pantsin the small of my back underneath my sports coat. He left and Istarted walking to my room. I stopped in the lobby to get a cup ofcoffee and then headed across the lawn to my room on the innercourtyard. This was long before any teaching on awareness level but Iwould have classified myself that night as condition 'white'.

As I walked I was slightly surprised by a man who came up on my rightand started up a conversation. We said a few words and then I continuedto my room, opened the door and went in to put my coffee down. As I putit down it dawned on me that the door had not shut. I turned to push itclosed and found the man I had talked with standing in my room with alook that spoke 'trouble'.

Instinctively, I reached back, drew my pistol and pointed it right athis chest. The click of the safety coming off sounded loud in the room.Before I could say a word, his demeanor changed and he blurted out, "Ithink I'm in the wrong room". He turned, grabbed the door handle andwas gone.

I was stunned and it took me several minutes to calm down.

Three weeks later, in a Memphis, Tennessee hotel room, I was awakenedaround midnight by someone knocking loudly on the door. As I lookedthrough the peephole I saw a woman dressed in an open blouse and skintight shorts. In very seductive language she implied that I had askedher up for a good time.

This time my awareness jumped immediately to orange. I retrieved mypistol from the bedside table. On a hunch I went to the other side ofthe room and peered out of the window from around the curtain. A hugeman stood in front of the window with a baseball bat in his hand,waiting for me to open the door.

I pulled the curtain back enough for the man to see me hold up thepistol and again snap off the safety. His eyes got very big, but heshowed no fear. He walked up to the woman grabbed her arm and theysimply walked off. In both cases I reported the incident to the hotel management.

Both apologized and said that sort of thing just never happens in theirhotel. I wasn't convinced and went home and asked my boss for a largerdaily hotel allowance.

I'm considerably older now but as I look back on those experiences Ican see that was the time that I got serious about protecting myselfand my family.

By the way, my late father-in-law was robbed in that same Memphis hotel a month later.

-John M. L., Cypress, TX[/FONT]

 

[Rlee]

Wow, "ESrice".... I can't imagine getting hit in the face full swing with a bat.

But knowing that the mans life could have ended that night or it could have really changed puts things in perspective.

 

[cosermann]

First time: Out in the woods with a .22 auto as my woods gun. Came upon an obviously sick racoon (or maybe he came upon me). Anyway, did what I had to do. Called the DNR. Everything worked out fine. Rabies or distemper I imagine. Lesson - one should always have a gun handy when "in the field."

Second time: Out for a walk and on my way home. Misjudged the time, and it was a little longer past dusk than I would have liked. I was 300 yards or so from the nearest house, when I noticed "something" wasn't quite right by the treeline about 25 yards away. I didn't recall that "fence post" ever being there. "It" starts coming at me from out of the woods. Definitely not a fence post. Couldn't quite make it out. The puny LED flashlight I was carrying was NOT adequate to make an ID at that distance. Stopped, observed for a second or two, then engaged verbally. No response. Continued verbal engagement. About this time I could tell it was a man carrying something. I don't know if the guy was hard of hearing or what, but he didn't respond and kept coming. I had my hand on the grip in my holster when he finally responded. Turned out to be a bow hunter. Nice guy. We had a good conversation walking down the lane where he hopped in his truck that was parked at one of the houses. It was dark enough he had no idea I ever had my hand on anything. Lesson - I'm never out without an adequate flashlight anymore.

 

[JByer323]

Once, last winter.

My girlfriend and I were shopping at Circle Centre around Christmas (I feel I should get boyfriend of the year award for this) time, and after a full day of doing my best impression of a pack mule, we decided it was time to eat (Alcatraz Brewing Company), but wanted to ditch the loot before we did. As we went back to the parking garage (one of the attached ones) we swapped bags around so that I had my right hand free.

I'm paying attention as we walk to my car, it's a parking garage, it's like 6 PM and dark outside, and around Christmas, but don't see anything out of the ordinary. Just as we're done loading the bags into the car and have shut the back, I turn around to see a... shady looking black guy who is stumbling towards us, probably 30 feet away. He says something to the effect of, "Hey man, mumble mumble gargle mumble murgle durgle?", to which I respond by unzipping my jacket and pulling out my Surefire Exec with the bashing attachment.

He murgle durgles around a bit more, and I tell him something along of lines of, "Hey bud, I'm not sure what you're selling, but we don't want any, and would appreciate it if you left us alone." He takes another step towards me (still across the row and probably 20 feet away), and I expose my 1911, put my hand on it (I make it obvious to him what I'm doing), and then shine the Surefire in his eyes, while telling him once more, firmly, "You need to get the F*ck outta here, mate."

He saw the gun, and didn't really visibly react to it, but the light in his eyes, wow, he just froze, then turned around and shuffled off, durgling the whole time. I watched him (he was walking up to the next level of the parking garage), and he slipped behind a row of cars, and promptly squatted to take a dump. I'm not making this up.

So... I consider calling 911, decide that since the Simon Security (mall cops!) are close, I'll just go and see them. I get to the desk like two minutes later, and the guy is like yeah, we saw, we've already called the police. I gave him my cell phone number because by that point I really needed a beer, and he called me while we were at the restaurant, saying the police had found him, and he had a baggie of crack and a half empty bottle of Listerine on him.

I still feel I was right in not drawing. It was pretty obvious this guy wasn't doing too well, he had a muscle tee and a pair of ripped up windpants on, and it was well below freezing. I don't think he was truly deadly threat, as much as some fool cracked out and frostbitten, but I'm WELL aware that the situation could have deteriorated very quickly, which is why I prepared for a clear draw, and blasted him with the Surefire.

I got flamed to hell and back on GT for this when I posted it last year, with most of the posters saying I should have plugged him. I'm hoping you guys are a touch more understanding. For what it was worth, I had my girlfriend drive home that night, because sometime during dinner the shakes set in, and I realized how scared I had been.

 

[Annie Oakley]

Sounds to me like you did things right.

 

[techres]

I got flamed to hell and back on GT for this when I posted it last year, with most of the posters saying I should have plugged him. I'm hoping you guys are a touch more understanding. For what it was worth, I had my girlfriend drive home that night, because sometime during dinner the shakes set in, and I realized how scared I had been.

You did fine! The shakes are really impressive, no? Adrenaline is impressive stuff. What you did de-escalated the situation well and left you room to go up the chain as needed.

I am curious how your girlfriend responded to the situation and how aware she was at the moment you faced off with the threat?

 

[JByer323]

A little background info on us is probably in order. She was born in Chicago, her parents are very liberal, and aren't huge fans of guns. We've been dating for four years, and in that time she's gone from being totally uncomfortable around guns to being really interested in going to an Appleseed shoot, which is huge.

Having said all that, she understood what was going on, and before I could really do anything had taken half a step or so behind me, staying on my left side the whole time. I was pretty impressed. We've had talked about it a little, but the fact that she recognized what was up was awesome (she's going to med school, but there are times her blond hair shows through).

She told her mom what happened, and it later led to me taking her dad to the range with me, which was actually a lot of fun.

 

[jfed85]

I have needed my firearm one time. When I was 19 (about 4 yrs. ago) I carried a bersa thunder .380 as i worked few hrs at a part time job and could not afford the more expensive better quality weapons. Of course since I was 19 this was a gift from my parents and I did have a valid LTCH. So I was driving to class and I was somewhere on the near east side of Indianapolis in the summer months. Since it was summer my windows were down and I was enjoying the weather. I stop at a red light when I notice a man walking towards my truck (cracked out looking fellow who looked up to no good). I immediately locked the doors and continued sitting there. The man approached my truck and asked for me to give him a ride to the nearbu bus stop to which I refused. He stated that he needed to get there because he had missed the bus at the closer stop and had just got a job that he could not lose and he needed to catch a ride to work (the man was in no way dressed to go to work....I don't care what his "job" was). I tell him no many times and he reaches inside the window of my truck and unlocks the door and opens it. As he starts to slide his grimy a$$ across my seat he became very aware of the fact that he was staring down the barrel. I said something to the affect of "I've told you no numerous times and you ignored me, get the F*CK out of my truck. He changed his mind and went along his way....back behind the liquor store where he had originally came from....at a very high rate of speed.

I too, as stated many times by many other members, pray that I never have to use a gun on another human. To me at the time it seemed like a valid reason to pull the gun. However, looking back on this situation I should have rolled up the windows but I failed in that aspect.

This seems like a very long story for just being at a red light but in all reality the altercation was only a few seconds long.

There was a middle aged woman in the car next to me who witnessed the whole situation. She honked at me as he ran away and threw me a thubmbs up. I didnt go to school that day....was too pumped up on adrenaline.

 

[Wabatuckian]

Twice.

First time three shots resolved the situation.

Second time no shots fired.

I ran a security company in Vincennes for a bit, years back, and I did draw a couple times then, as a precaution, while waiting for police to arrive.