I was ALMOST robbed today!

[G_Stines]

You can play devils advocate all you want. This man was well within his rights. I think most of us would have done the same thing.

Devil's advocate was not my intention, nor did I ever say he wasn't within his rights or that I or anyone should or would have done anything different. Just trying acquire all the details to see how I personally believe I would have reacted had I been in the same situation. I believe personal reflection is key to making well informed decisions. I believe in learning from the choices of myself as well as others, so putting myself in their position is one way in which I try to achieve that. I thought that's part of what INGO was about, the sharing of information and experiences to the benefit of all, good and bad while still having a community that has fun.. <Sarcasm> My sincerest apologies to try and gain an understanding and glean some insight both into the situation and myself. Didn't realize I was stepping on everyone's toes on my way way </Sarcasm>


To quote myself: Post 46, section 3.

It (my original post), and this one, are in no way meant to be aggressive in any manner. I'm really not trying to undermine or degrade your decision, just trying to comprehend the circumstances that surrounded it.

 

[ckcollins2003]

That was my logical reasoning, it can't be that much different finger on or off as far as time needed to pull the trigger. But i am inexperienced and new. Which is why i ask questions.

Actually during high adrenaline situations your body can do weird things. You may actually find yourself more hesitant to pull the trigger if your finger is not already on it. And in a life threatening situation it only takes 1 second for things to go from bad to worse.

Regardless of the "4 safety rules", this was not a range drill. Those rules don't apply in combat situations. If you draw your weapon then you obviously feel your life is in danger and you should be ready to defend your life if you are going to draw your weapon. Therefore you should be ready to take the shot if need be.

 

[Sylvain]

Have you actually tried drawing your gun in a car????? OMG it is extremely hard and cannot be done very fast!

The choices i made were justified and i did nothing wrong. People who carry a gun and aren't prepared to draw on someone trying to rob them should never be allowed to carry a gun because it is pointless.. I was not about to be one of those horror stories were someone was robbed then killed. It is much better to draw when unneeded then not to draw and then need it when it's to late.

Not true.It all depends where your gun is and in what type of holster you have.
Some people even have a holster mounted on the dashboard for a easy and fast draw.

 

[jbrooks19]

I will be honest, i have never had any training. But i practice a lot! I do think training would be a good idea for me, but i still think i handled this situation in a appropriate manner.

 

[traderdan]

IMO -The actions of our friend were justified.In todays world many men grow up without experience in physical confrontation,truly many do not realize how quickly damage can be done by an extremely aggressive individual.You are armed,in a fraction of a second he COULD be.....The only thing I might have changed about the original post is the headline-Maybe to something like"I almost saved us taxpayers thousands of dollars today"!

 

[jbrooks19]

In a normal carry holster, which is most of the time located on your right side, it is extremley difficult to draw. You have the belt buckle in the way and the center console, i drive a small car so there is not much room to move. My holster is a Fobus paddle which yes it is one of the easiest to draw but not from the angle your are at when seated in a car

Not true.It all depends where your gun is and in what type of holster you have.
Some people even have a holster mounted on the dashboard for a easy and fast draw.

 

[WC Deer Hunter]

Op first off I think you handled it well. You were taken by surprise but were still able to react in the manner you have trained to do so. Glad you didn't have to fire but it's too bad this guy is still free and roaming for his next victim. Hopefully he saw the light shining from your barrel and changes the error of his ways.

 

[jbrooks19]

Haha

IMO "I almost saved us taxpayers thousands of dollars today"!

 

[fullmetaljesus]

Actually during high adrenaline situations your body can do weird things. You may actually find yourself more hesitant to pull the trigger if your finger is not already on it. And in a life threatening situation it only takes 1 second for things to go from bad to worse.

Regardless of the "4 safety rules", this was not a range drill. Those rules don't apply in combat situations. If you draw your weapon then you obviously feel your life is in danger and you should be ready to defend your life if you are going to draw your weapon. Therefore you should be ready to take the shot if need be.

Very good point. Do you mind if I ask what the 4 safety rules are? I've never been to a range. I have redneck friends I have only shot on private land.

what am i mising

Finger on trigger only when ready to shoot,
gun always pointed in a safe direction
assume every gun is loaded
when not in use, remove clip/mag and lock slide?

 

[Sylvain]

Actually during high adrenaline situations your body can do weird things. You may actually find yourself more hesitant to pull the trigger if your finger is not already on it. And in a life threatening situation it only takes 1 second for things to go from bad to worse.

Regardless of the "4 safety rules", this was not a range drill. Those rules don't apply in combat situations. If you draw your weapon then you obviously feel your life is in danger and you should be ready to defend your life if you are going to draw your weapon. Therefore you should be ready to take the shot if need be.

Im sorry but those rules do apply, keeping your finger off the trigger anyway.
That is what the police are trained to do, even in life threatening situations you will see SWAT units with their finger off the trigger, unless they need to take the shot.
You can be ready without having your finger off the trigger.It's all about training.
You dont want to shoot someone by accident, you dont want to fall and pull the trigger by accident.

 

[jbrooks19]

Thank you very much for your support of my decisions. and yes it is sad that he is out there still, but the look on his face told me that he may change his ways.. I could tell by looking at him that he wasnt robbing me for drug money but most likely for food money (Not saying it is an excuse) but it did make me have some pitty on him. I mean when someone gets so desperate that they are willing to rob for food that is sad.

Op first off I think you handled it well. You were taken by surprise but were still able to react in the manner you have trained to do so. Glad you didn't have to fire but it's too bad this guy is still free and roaming for his next victim. Hopefully he saw the light shining from your barrel and changes the error of his ways.

 

[Sylvain]

Very good point. Do you mind if I ask what the 4 safety rules are? I've never been to a range. I have redneck friends I have only shot on private land.

what am i mising

Finger on trigger only when ready to shoot,
gun always pointed in a safe direction
assume every gun is loaded
when not in use, remove clip/mag and lock slide?

 

[fullmetaljesus]

thank you very much.

 

[jbrooks19]

True in most situations...

 

[Jenel]

Im sorry but those rules do apply, keeping your finger off the trigger anyway.
That is what the police are trained to do, even in life threatening situations you will see SWAT units with their finger off the trigger, unless they need to take the shot.
You can be ready without having your finger off the trigger.It's all about training.
You dont want to shoot someone by accident, you dont want to fall and pull the trigger by accident.

Most people don't have police training. It does take a lot of practice to transition from finger along the slide to the trigger smoothly in high stress situations. "Well you need to train." I agree, but that's not how the state sees it...

 

[ckcollins2003]

Very good point. Do you mind if I ask what the 4 safety rules are? I've never been to a range. I have redneck friends I have only shot on private land.

what am i mising

Finger on trigger only when ready to shoot,
gun always pointed in a safe direction
assume every gun is loaded
when not in use, remove clip/mag and lock slide?

Treat all guns as if they are loaded.
Never let the muzzle of a gun point at anything you do not want to destroy or kill.
Keep your finger straight and off the trigger.
Be absolutely sure of your target, and what is behind it.

Im sorry but those rules do apply, keeping your finger off the trigger anyway.
That is what the police are trained to do, even in life threatening situations you will see SWAT units with their finger off the trigger, unless they need to take the shot.
You can be ready without having your finger off the trigger.It's all about training.
You dont want to shoot someone by accident, you dont want to fall and pull the trigger by accident.

Well that's fine and dandy for those SWAT teams. I've also seen them shoot a guy with a golf club. They must be super-trained!

In all honesty, in a way you're right, the 4th rule still applies because you are responsible for where your bullet goes. However, those SWAT teams aren't taken by surprise and always have numbers on their side. As a civilian we don't have those advantages. More times than not we will be the ones caught off guard when our life depends on it. And they will also most likely have the numbers on us.

Situations change. So do the rules. Your fine motor skills are lost in high adrenaline situations, therefore, you go ahead and keep your finger off the trigger with a robber and possible murderer advancing on you. I'm going to have mine on it so when he closes within 3 steps I can save my life and maybe someone else's.

 

[Sylvain]

True in most situations...

It MOST situation?
It's true in ANY situation, even a self defense situation.
In that case you can point a gun at someone because that's your target.
You also still need to know what is your target (your attacker and not the wrong person) and what is behind (innocent people or do you have a clear shot?).

 

[Sylvain]

Most people don't have police training. It does take a lot of practice to transition from finger along the slide to the trigger smoothly in high stress situations. "Well you need to train." I agree, but that's not how the state sees it...

What the state has to do with that?

Practice a lot, dont wait for the state to tell you to do so.
You are responsable for every shot fired (by accident or not), not the state.
So you should get the best training possible.

 

[Jenel]

Treat all guns as if they are loaded.
Never let the muzzle of a gun point at anything you do not want to destroy or kill.
Keep your finger straight and off the trigger.
Be absolutely sure of your target, and what is behind it.



Well that's fine and dandy for those SWAT teams. I've also seen them shoot a guy with a golf club. They must be super-trained!

In all honesty, in a way you're right, the 4th rule still applies because you are responsible for where your bullet goes. However, those SWAT teams aren't taken by surprise and always have numbers on their side. As a civilian we don't have those advantages. More times than not we will be the ones caught off guard when our life depends on it. And they will also most likely have the numbers on us.

Situations change. So do the rules. Your fine motor skills are lost in high adrenalyn situations, therefore, you go ahead and keep your finger off the trigger with a robber and possible murderer advancing on you. I'm going to have mine on it so when he closes within 3 steps I can save my life and maybe someone else's.

^ What he said.

 

[jbrooks19]

Its all true except "Never point the gun at something you dont want to destroy"

I think it should be "Only point the gun at something if you are defending yourself or shooting targets"