Remember that time you were glad you carried?

[Onslaught]

I was reading Drjones post regarding his incident, and it reminded me of my favorite, and I noticed a few other folks starting to post their experiences. I figured, rather than tag onto Dr's, I'd start a specific thread for all those stories. Yeah, I know it's been done, but there's always new stories to share... I haven't told this one here yet (I don't think)... Feel free to share yours too.

A buddy (Bubba) and I were taking a few of our favorite toys to a range waay out in the boonies. We were in his girlfriend's little tiny car with T-tops, and the windows were down. There was an AR, shotgun, 2 USP45's, and a couple other pistols in that car with us, all unloaded and in their cases. All but a S&W 9mm that belonged to Bubba's girlfriend, that she kept loaded in her nightstand. Bubba had grabbed it at the last minute as we were walking out the door. I cleared the chamber and looked it over, then put both pistol and mag in the floorboard.

We're now on a 2 lane road in the middle of nowhere with nothing but trees, and a car in front of us. The car turned off onto an even more desolate road, as did we. As soon as we turned, I see a car on the side of the road, with 5 "youngsters" all standing around it. They were wearing "urban" attire, with undies poking out of their baggies, etc... Two were standing in the middle of the road, waving all of us to the side of the road, while a third was behind the first two, with one hand in the front of his pants. The first car pulled over. The two remaining boys standing at their own car approached the first car.

Not thinking, Bubba slowed down, and one of the two leads began to approach on my side (remember, windows down, tops out) still waving with both arms for us to pull over, while the one in the back with his hand in the front of his pants began to walk toward us too. This looked BAD. I picked the empty S&W and full mag up off the floorboard, kept it all below the dash so they couldn't see it, slapped in the mag and chambered a round... Well, I guess it was obvious from my shoulders what I was doing, because the confident look changed to open mouthed surprise, and the "waver"s arms quickly changed directions... waving us around while the other two moved off the road to let us pass... As we passed them, the first car that had pulled over punched it and followed us out.

NO idea what they wanted... maybe they had a flat... maybe they wanted to sell us boy-in-da-hood-scout cookies... I don't care. If we hadn't brought Bubba's woman's pistol, we'd have been a couple of dummies with a CARLOAD of EMPTY guns...

 

[Dave R]

Carrying made me a kinder person...

I came out of the grocery store late one night. After midnight. Parking lot was fairly empty. As I got to my car, I was approached by a small guy wearing "urban" clothes, looked a little "seedy". Started to get into defensive mode when he asked if I had jumper cables.

I could see there was no one else near him, and no hiding spaces nearby. Asked where his car was. He pointed. It was near the back of the lot. There were two other card parked nearby, a few spaces away. Good hiding places...but I could check them out as I drove around his car...and if it was an ambush, I felt I had time to put my carry gun into action...so I said "Yes, I'll give you a jump".

He prolly thought I was weird for doing a lap around the group of cars, watching for shadows or feet, as I positioned my car to reach cables.

Nobody there. So I got him started and on his way.

Had I not been carrying, I would have said I couldn't help him.

I hope I wasn't letting my carry gun make me complacent, but I think it just gave me the comfort (and motivation) to scope the situation and determine it was acceptable, rather than just say no.

 

[blades67]

Carrying a gun made me get new clothes. Well, being asked by two uniformed officers if I was a cop, because of the way I was dressed, made me get some new clothes. I had my SIG Sauer P226 in a #3S IWB, wearing a striped Oxford with sleaves rolled to the mid-forearm, Navy blue Wrangler slacks and my Wilderness "Instructor" belt. The officers said they thought I could be a detective or a probation officer. I was actually just going to a clients apartment for a training session. I got some new clothes the next day.

 

[Betty]

I haven't been in a situation where I've drawn a gun, but I've always been glad I've had one on or around me.

When I worked at dad's hardware store, occasionally a customer would have the nerve to call up in the middle of a Sunday to have dad open up the store just for them, because they needed some hardware right away. Dad, being the kind person he is, would do so. Either my brother or I would go with him as armed backup. The previous owner was murdered in the basement of the store - the unknown murderer(s) still on the loose.

***

I was glad to have my K40 by my side the night my psycho-ex called from a payphone to tell me in a threatening tone that he was "going to finish things". It took 20 minutes for the police to show up.

***

There was also the suspicious vehicle slowly rolling past in the dark with only his parking lights on. This was on front of my parents' home in the country. Suspicious, I stopped my truck when I passed the strange truck.

I did not recognize the vehicle as belonging to a neighbor, and the behavior was not normal. The other truck also stopped. Not being all that "tactically smart" at the time (this was several years ago), I put my truck in reverse and slowly started to back up towards the truck, enough for my bright brake lights to light up more the road and the other vehicle. As I did this, the other truck rolled further away and stopped.

And then it hit me. What the heck was I trying to do? It was deer season and these guys were probably spotlighting and cut their lights off when they saw me coming down the road. For all I knew, one of the weirdos just might have had his rifle trained on me, and there I was lit up like a Xmas tree and I couldn't see them.

I put my truck in drive and hit the gas. Funny thing - so did they. All I had on me at the time was an 8 shot .22 Rossi revolver under the seat.

***

There's also been the occasional weirdo I've walked by, etc., who made me glad I was armed, just in case...

 

[Jim V]

You mean like the night I was out riding my bicycle at 1 or 2 in the AM. And two idiots decided to have fun with the fat guy on a bike. I put a telephone pole between me and them and opened the stuff box and started to remove the 2 1/2" M-66. They miust have decided that something was not going their way since they drove off quickly. (What you ask, Jim V. with a revolver and not a 1911? Sure, stubby 66s are neat.)

 

[sm]

Yep, numerous times.

 

[hsg2001]

Missouri does not issue CCW. Sometimes I would load a pistol or two into a carrying case, locked, to obey the law and throw it in my car. This way I can take one out at a friends house and carry while I visit. Why? We have had a string of home invasion robberies. One happened to my friend at his apartment:


They seem to work as a 3 man team. They busted the door down with a kick, OC sprayed all of my buddies, made off with money and home theater/video game equipment worth quite a bit.

These particular friends of mine are somewhat antigun, I now have another argument to use against them

"hey, that wouldn't have happened if......"

Anyway, in the spirit of this post - I can't legally carry, so there have been times I can remember that I am glad I DIDNT go to a given place, such as my friends apartment on the above mentioned night.

 

[David Scott]

About 11 PM one night, on a business trip, I returned to a motel in a small Florida town. My room was toward the back. As I got out of the truck, a scruffy-loooking guy, filthy clothes, greasy hair and beard, popped out from around the corner of teh building and called, "Hey, man, gimme a dollar." I told him no, and he started cussing me and put his hand in the pocket of his jacket. I was carrying a Kel-Tec P32. I drew and shouted "back off!" He fled.

Yes, I was glad I carried that night.

 

[RWK]

Long ago . . .

In the early '70s, I am naval officer recently assigned in the Philadelphia area. I really did not know the city at all, since I had only been there a few weeks. I have a lucky break and get a great ticket for a Sixers night game. I decide to take the subway system, departing from the "Bridge and Pratt" station in the greater northeast for the Spectrum in south Philly.

The game goes very late and I don't begin to return until about 2300. By then, subway trains are "few and far between". I have to change lines at the stop below City Hall and wait there for at least twenty minutes. No cops, not many passengers, no TV surveillance system, very dark with few lights, no alarms -- overall a very dangerous location with many lengthy tunnels connecting platforms and lines.

A guy approaches me -- I strongly suspect an addict -- who draws a pathetically small knife and demands my money. I draw my old (pre-WWII) MilSpec 1911A1. He looks like I have just produced a fifty-foot rattlesnake, turns, and runs away. No CCW, but under Mayor Rizzo's leadership, Philadelphia cops and active duty military officers were allies.