When have you come the closest to shooting someone?

[Elhuero]

never been close.

the closest I've gotten was a few years back, some urban utes pulled up in front of the house and fired 7 rounds from a car. Thinking they were shooting at the house I grabbed the glock and went out the front door, expecting to come under fire and ready to return. They took off immediately after shooting. I stood in the street and watched them as they sped off up the street and turned at the end of the block. They had been shooting at the drug dealers that lived down the street.

The fun was when a CSPD cruiser rolled up and stopped right in front of me. Lit me with the spotlight, standing there in the street with a gun in my hand. I didn't move a muscle. The car sat for a second, then drove around me and sped off. I went back inside.

[bjl913]

Was he armed?

It sounds like you have pulled the trigger before on other times. I won't ask you to share those stories.

Hmmm. Might have been a good thing for me to include! He was armed but that was not a threat. He had a knife in his pocket. My actions were based off his words, motions, and fact he was keeping his hands hidden. ALWAYS watch the hands. Hands are the usually the thing that will kill you!!!

I have had a few other shoot/no-shoot situations outside the military that ended up as no-shoot, but this is the one that sticks out the most since it was my first. Never had to pull the trigger on another American.

[Irving]

Some good stories here guys, keep it up.

[Graves]

Well, I guess If yourself counts,, Chalk my body count at 1...

Ha! I took a good one to my left hand, split it wide open but didnt bleed much at all. From that I got a nice mark on my TRP from being dropped (and partially hit), and a nasty scar on my hand. I may have took it to the throat had my pistol not been pointed in the right direction.

I took my wife to see Spamalot back in May, show let out around 10:30-11:00 (cant remember exactly). We parked in a complex a few blocks east of the Buell, and on our way back we walked by a pool hall. We cross over to the opposite side of the street from the hall as I didn't feel like running into anybody stumbling out of that place and the other side of the street seemed to be clear. On the other side of the street is a large office building and from around the corner I see the silhouette of a hooded individual stick his head out and look our way (I think the heels my wife had on got his attention) with the situation being somewhat cliche I immediately I go to condition orange and grab my wife's hand and we cross back over to the pool hall side of the street, about half way across he shouts to us "HEY!! WHACHYA'LL SCURD OF?" While trying to glance around at my surroundings and keep this guy in my sight I notice that there are three other guys with him and they walk out towards us to the curb, that's when I slowly reach under my jacket to verify - "Yep its the J Frame" and then...."SHIT!! Its the J Frame" (with the 5 rds I loaded it with - that's it). At that point one of them got a phone call and they all decided to up and head back in the direction from which we came. By the time my wife and I made it passed the Walgreens they were out of sight and we made our way to the complex where we parked. As we approached I noticed a squad car sitting at the entrance and the Officer was having a chat with the guy in the booth there, I then started to calm down and we quickly made our way to the car and got the hell outta dodge. That seemed to be the longest four blocks I ever walked and I never thought Id ever feel under gunned with my 340 but I sure did that night. Even though I didnt have to pull my weapon, this situation put a lot of things into perspective and I hope to God that I never find myself in a position where I have to point a loaded gun at somebody.

[gnihcraes]

...didn't have to pull a gun, but made me change my ways... last monday (10/5/09) night... passed a fellow with my car walking fairly fast in the rain with a backpack on about a block from the house, didn't think much of it. Got home, pulled into the driveway and headed across the street to get the mail. Just happened to meet this guy nearly dead center of the street. He stops and points - "You live there?", No. He points at another house, "You live there?" No, what can I help you with. Keeping my distance, I'm unarmed, but planning things with my "limited" martial arts skills... "I need some food and just got off the highway from hitch hiking..." Go stand under the tree and I'll see if I can find something for you. He's wet, cold, really shakey, just nutty really, doesn't seem all "there". I get the mail and make my way back to my car, grab a pack of tuna I had in the car for possible lunch and ask him if he likes tuna, "just kinda mumbles and indicates with a nod he might..." So while standing at my car, I reach in and put my LCR in my waistband (damn I should have done this on the way home...) I go around the car and give him the tuna, he starts working on eating it like he hasn't had food in weeks. I tell him to wait a minute and I'll see if I can get him some other items... I go in the house and dig through the hunting crap and dig out some pre-packaged items he can have. Give them to him, he sets them on the ground while still eating the tuna. "I need a thrift store..." Why? Where are you headed... "going West... and I need a blanket..." I just happened to have an old blanket outside that wasn't wet and I offered it to him, and he set it down with the food on the ground. "you act weird..." why? "you a cop?" Nope. But you can't stay here, you need to move on. I go back inside the house and he wanders off to the school across the street, digs through their re-cycle dumpster, puts some cardboard over his head and heads down the street... a few minutes later I look and see that he never did take the food or blanket with him... strange... Called the wife and told her to call me when she's approaching the house, as I'm not really sure this guy went very far and I want to escort her in the house...

lesson learned, since I can't carry at work or even take anything in the building, be sure and put on whatever firearm I have with me when leaving for home, I just might need it when I step out... I might have had the executive letter opener in my pocket, but don't remember... (plastic cold steel knife)

I've got one other story, didn't involve shooting, but is another "doh" moment... ya just never know when you need something.

kc.

[Jer]

This is also why I carry even when on longer roadtrips. I'm always worried that I'll have a blowout or there's a road side emergency of some sort and I'll hop out to take care of it and be w/o my gun and something goes down. It's funny because I joke that I have CPR certification as well as a CCW so I can handle most any emergency. 'Hello, I'm here to help! Do you need someone saved or shot?!?'

[MichiganMilitia]

'Hello, I'm here to help! Do you need someone saved or shot?!?'

It never hurts to be prepared!

Who else has experiences that the rest of us can learn from?

[Irving]

I once got into a big fight with my girlfriend, and left the house during a blizzard at like 2:45 am. We were both pretty upset and I didn't want to have a gun on me if I encountered any law enforcement and try and have to explain why I'm driving around in the middle of the night, in the middle of a blizzard, all pissed off, and with a gun. So I left it at home in the safe.

As I'm driving down the road, I see this car parked on the side of the street with flashers on and three people standing outside waving a gas can around. I was driving down Federal, so I figured there had to be a near by gas station. I pull over and it is a girl and two guys. The girl is arguing with them because they just want to walk and she wants a ride to the gas station. I told her that is fine, but since I had a car full of stuff, I only had room for one. They continue to argue and then I see her throw her hands up in the air, and start storming back toward my car. She opens the door, throws her gas can in and says, "Those dumb assholes don't want to come, can you please just take me?" I said, no problem, we'll be back in a jiffy. She closes the door, I do a U-turn, and one of the guys runs in front of my car, arms waving. I stop, he comes to her side, opens the door, tells her to get the fuck out of the car and that he'll go. So he hops in, looks around and says, "How many people you got in here? Oh...just you? I thought you had a car full of dudes or something and were going to drive off with my girlfriend." I told him I'm just trying to help some people who look like they are freezing their asses off in the snow. He says, "Alright, thanks man."

So I'm driving back the other way on Federal, and he's talking to me and I just get more and more uncomfortable by the second. He opens the conversation with, "You smoke man?" (He means weed). I told him no. He goes on and the conversation is pretty one sided with a bunch of stuff that went pretty much like this:

"Man, I love getting high. Tonight we were drinking. I love getting drunk and fighting and shit man."

ME: Oh yeah, where were you drinking at?

"The greenbelt. We're homeless. We just hit the liquor stores and then drink outside by the creek man."

"Hey man, that was my girlfriend and my friend back there. I didn't want you to take off with her you know man? I wasn't gonna let you take off with her. I would have thrown my knife at your car...or something man." short pause "She knows how to handle herself though man. I got her this knife....I got my own knife man (pats his jacket) but I got her, her own knife and I taught her how to use it you know? I mean she will put up a fight if anyone tries to mess with her you know? But I love her and didn't want her going with you."

ME: Yeah, I understand what you mean buddy.

Then just various other stuff about how much he loved his girl, getting high, getting drunk, and how they were homeless and living out of their car (Dodge Stratus). I made some comments about how I used to work with a couple that was homeless and had some pets in the car with them, etc etc.

So after an eternity (about a mile) I finally find a gas station that was open and pull in. He seems wary about getting out. Originally the girl said she only wanted a ride one way, and would walk back, but I told him that I was going back that way anyway, and there was no reason for him to freeze. He tried to give me like five bucks, but I told him that I was pretty sure that he needed it more than I did. So after awhile, when he seemed sure enough that I wasn't going to take his gas can and leave him there, he finally got out to get the gas. I drove him back to their car and dropped him off.

I didn't have anything with me except for an extra magazine (full) that I was holding in my hand in case I needed to use it as a fist pack. I haven't ever really had to defend myself, and am generally not real comfortable in the face of a potential physical encounter, so this trip was pretty nerve wracking for me. I already wasn't having the best night, since just an hour before I got locked out of my place during the fight without a jacket.

Like Graves said, it was about the longest driven mile in my life; and like gnihcraes said, never again do I want to be caught unprepared like that.

Also, don't pick up hitch hikers, even when it's snowing.

[gnihcraes]

I always take something with me when traveling before I had my ccw permit, just for those reasons stated above about having to fix a flat tire or something in the middle of nowhere land.

Ok... I got a few minutes... here is another one... (you'll like this)

Fine summer day, in the garage, cleaning the guns... all of the guns. Hear a loud screeech and a quick acceleration then screeech again as this old Jeep Grand Cherokee goes sliding by my driveway. I hear loud yelling... so I wander out of the garage and to the street. As I step to into the street this big thug of a guy gets out of the jeep (which is sideways in the street) "mind your own f*cking business!" uh? so I keep my distance as I try to figure out what is going on? He yells some more at me and gets back in his truck and drives off like a mad man... I finally figure out that there is a girl at the neighbors door beating on it asking for help. I go over and talk to the old couple and her, asking the old couple to go get me the phone and I call 911. The girl is pretty beat up and apparently he's been chasing her through the neighborhood with his truck. She's been doing pretty well keeping him at bay. Police show up and we go through the normal reporting routines. The officers were laughing at me because all my guns were at my disposal, but in pieces. I never had to go to court, he pled guilty to domestic abuse or something and got locked up for a bit.

Note: Always keep one gun assembled and functioning at all times. Doh!

Not sure that I would have done anything with a gun, other than keep myself safe, which is hard to do when they are not together...

I've got one more "wish I had a gun" story I'll post in a little bit...

kc.

[Irving]

Crazy that you posted that! Whenever I clean my guns, I like to always keep at least ONE fully operational and ready to be loaded. Lately I've been feeling stupid doing that though, since nothing ever happens. Great story!