A CCW non-incident....

[woad_yurt]

Something I posted on another forum that may be of interest here, too. An ex-girlfriend told me about this today:

She had to pick up her vehicle from a radiator shop which was maybe 3/4 mile from her home. Since it was a beautiful day, she walked. While walking, some guy pulls up in his car and starts asking her if she'd like "to earn some extra money." She told him to buzz off, which he did. Then, he came back again and started pacing her with the car, still soliciting. She told me that she had her little .32S&W H&R topbreak hammerless with her and that it was in hand in her pocket.* She said that the idiot finally left for good but that she felt safe with a gun in hand. She knows the gun's limitations and said that, if it got really bad, she'd have waited until he was very much "in range." I know her; she would've used it if she had to.

Anyway, she called and told me about it because it was I who prodded her into getting a carry permit. She had never even shot a gun until she met me. I know the story may be a bit anticlimactic as nothing happened but it does show how stuff can happen anytime and anywhere. It was around 11 AM on a sunny day in a nice, quiet neighborhood, right on the sidewalk in front of someone's house.

* I know it's no cannon and I know that there are better alternatives but it's small, simple, reliable and, most importantly, she's comfortable and confident with it. Please folks, no "useless popgun" comments, ok?

 

[Brian Pfleuger]

Something that didn't happen shows that something could happen anywhere at any time?

That's interesting logic.


I had an order for a pizza last night that I thought might have been a prank call. Turned out not to be. Just goes to show you that a prank call can happen at any time.

 

[Scout]

I worry about my wife whenever she's out and about without me. The man who was stalking your girl could easily have been (and may have been) a violent criminal. I'm glad it worked out.

 

[ClayInTx]

Good to hear about those “non-incidents”. Good for her and good for you. Likely, her attitude, being armed, let him know she had a better gun.

I wouldn’t like getting shot with a .32, or even a .22.

Question: If she packs, why is she an “ex”?

 

[Hook686]

What is that, "something", that, "didn't happened", that you are talking about peetza ?

It seems to me that anything can happen anytime, anywhere. I suspect the girl felt much more comfortable having her hand on the little revolver, than had she not had it. I can understand that. I'm glad she did not feel the need to pull it.

 

[woad_yurt]

Something that didn't happen shows that something could happen anywhere at any time?

That's interesting logic.

Peetzakiller:
It's not logic at all. When one infers an unknown from something that is known, it's called extrapolation.

 

[CWPinSC]

Please folks, no "useless popgun" comments, ok?

Nothing that goes BANG is useless. People have been getting killed by much less than that for years.

Let's get into the "situational awareness" aspect of it. She did good to recognize a possible threat and be ready to react to it. She would have done better (while she had her hand on her gun) to stop in her tracks, back away from the car with her empty hand raised in the universal "stop" gesture, and begin screaming at the top of her lungs, "911! Stalker! Rape! Stop following me!" and other "catchwords" that make people look.

All's well that ends well. The best gunfight is one that never happens.

 

[The Storm]

My sister lives by herself in the city and I have a little .32 top break that I am trying to encourage her to carry, maybe I'll forward the story on to her as a little extra incentive.

 

[Brian Pfleuger]

What is that, "something", that, "didn't happened", that you are talking about peetza ?

It seems to me that anything can happen anytime, anywhere. I suspect the girl felt much more comfortable having her hand on the little revolver, than had she not had it. I can understand that. I'm glad she did not feel the need to pull it.

Of course anything can happen at any time. The point is that something NOT happening is certainly not a demonstration of that concept.

It's like saying that because an asteroid didn't strike earth yesterday, it proves that an asteroid could strike anywhere at any time.

Peetzakiller:
It's not logic at all. When one infers an unknown from something that is known, it's called extrapolation.

Ok, it's an interesting (and illogical) extrapolation.

A car passed me today, it just goes to show that accidents can happen anywhere, any time.

I had heart burn this morning, it just goes to show that I could have a heart attack anywhere at anytime.



I'm glad nothing happened. I'm glad the girl carries a gun, because something could happen anywhere at anytime.... but something didn't happen, and something not happening is not "proof", and does not "show" that something could happen.

 

[Onward Allusion]

Glad it worked out for her. Those old .32S&W top-breaks are nice for CC even though they're not quite as potent. The ones that are especially good for that purpose are the concealed/internal hammer ones.

woad_yurt
A CCW non-incident...

 

[Jim March]

There's a fair chance the gun's presence DID help. It helped her mindset - she didn't act like prey, that got picked up on, she got left alone.

To a gun-grabber of the Sarah Brady persuasion this sort of thing doesn't happen.

Except...it does. Quite a bit in fact.

 

[woad_yurt]

A car passed me today, it just goes to show that accidents can happen anywhere, any time.

Unreal. :barf:

 

[markj]

Maybe this is it, the actual bad guy count is like 1/2 of 1% of the total population. Chances of actually meeting up with a person that will do you harm no matter if you comply or not is very slim. This is what I live by, I dont expect every man, woman, or child to want my death. I treat everyone like a friend I havent seen in a long time. I am saying here that there seems to be a lot of fear in a lot of these posts. The imagination of a supposed threat is higher if that is all you think about. Not everyone is out to get ya.

I understand peetza logic there. life is fun, should be lived not in a fearful way shunning everyone you may meet on the streets.

 

[kodiakbeer]

Of course anything can happen at any time. The point is that something NOT happening is certainly not a demonstration of that concept.

It's like saying that because an asteroid didn't strike earth yesterday, it proves that an asteroid could strike anywhere at any time.

The point is that she had a gun and was relatively safe (and felt relatively safe) because of that. She didn't have to feel like a terrified and helpless victim when this guy came back. She didn't have to run screaming for help, or rely on 911 in hopes that a cop may or may not show up in time if this incident continued to escalate.

We don't know what the intent was - he may have been trolling for hookers, or he may have been a rapist trolling for victims. If the latter, her demeanor (because she knew she had a defense) may very well have affected the guys decision to leave this woman alone.

 

[Rattlehead]

well stated, markj.

And woad_yurt... hate to burst some kind of bubble you've got going on, but cars pass me every day.

 

[DogoDon]

Oh boy, this is getting off onto a tangent, but I just can't resist:

Ok, it's an interesting (and illogical) extrapolation.

A car passed me today, it just goes to show that accidents can happen anywhere, any time.

If you're going to draw on analogies, you shouldn't use that strawman. One more true to the actual event would be:

"A car came really close to hitting me today, but swerved at the last second. Just goes to show that accidents can happen anywhere, any time."

In the actual event, a guy didn't just drive by the lady. He followed her and asked her if she wanted to make a little extra money. How much closer to an actual abduction (and, God forbid, whatever would have ensued after that) would the event have had to be for you to recognize that she came close to being involved in something very bad?

Just my take on it.

But I understand your point that people shouldn't go around all paranoid all the time. I agree. This event wasn't paranoia, it was a close call.

DD

 

[Brian Pfleuger]

If you're going to draw on analogies, you shouldn't use that strawman. One more true to the actual event would be:

"A car came really close to hitting me today, but swerved at the last second. Just goes to show that accidents can happen anywhere, any time."

No, because in your analogy SOMETHING definitively dangerous actually HAPPENED.

In the real situation, NOTHING dangerous happened. The guy could have been anything from a pervert who gets his jollies talking to women he doesn't know to a kidnapper and serial killer to simply mentally deficient and overly friendly.

Wierd? Yes. Dangerous? No one can know.

Just like my analogy of a car driving by being an example of how an accident could happen at any time. Nothing happened.

How much closer to an actual abduction (and, God forbid, whatever would have ensued after that) would the event have had to be for you to recognize that she came close to being involved in something very bad?

How much closer? Close enough to say that SOMETHING demonstrably threatening or dangerous was actually present. This situation was odd, uncomfortable, weird, annoying, strange, scary, unpredictable.... lots of things.

What it was NOT is some sort of demonstration that "something can happen anytime", unless two cars passing each other on the highway is a demonstration that accidents can happen any time.

The only thing that this incident is a demonstration of is that weird people who you don't know may try to talk to you about weird things when you're in public places. Was anyone ever really in doubt of that?

 

[qcpunk]

As far as the "Non-incidents" go, I personally believe it is useful to examine such situations.

The way I see it, in the situation as explained by the OP, there was a foul plot afoot and the "defender" was unsettled by the interactions with the guy in the car. That prompted her to be on high alert, and to pay attention to everything going on around her - situational awareness. It sounds as if she were prepared to defend herself if necessary, without jumping the gun.

I think these types of situation certainly require ponderance. As CWPinSC states, the best gun fight is the one that doesn't happen. I may be wrong, but I believe that none of us here want to find ourselves in a situation where the guns actually go bang. It just isn't conducive to living a long life. Whereas recognizing that a situation is heading in the wrong direction, and defusing the situation or removing yourself from the situation leads to a longer life expectancy. These situations do help shed light on what can happen, how they begin, and how to deal with the situation.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

There's a fair chance the gun's presence DID help. It helped her mindset - she didn't act like prey, that got picked up on, she got left alone.

True, but then again that mind set was exactly what was going to let the stranger get overly close to her as a threat.

She told me that she had her little .32S&W H&R topbreak hammerless with her and that it was in hand in her pocket.* She said that the idiot finally left for good but that she felt safe with a gun in hand. She knows the gun's limitations and said that, if it got really bad, she'd have waited until he was very much "in range."

"In range" has to be well beyond 25 yards for the gun, right and the guy trying to chat her up was likely no more than 5-10 yards away in order to be having the conversation.

So while she had confidence, that confidence was going to let a potential threat get very close to her. And there we see the error of being overly confident. She isn't the only one to exhibit this trait. There are lots of threads here that allude to it.

 

[Glenn Dee]

She seriously needs to gun-up...