Have you ever used your sidearm in self defense?

[Prophet]

Hope no one minds a bump. I read the whole thread and enjoyed it. These are the stories that people need to hear, not the bullcrap that the media is feeding them.

 

[jad0110]

About two months ago, my wife and I were sound asleep. We live in a quiet neighborhood, but I keep a S&W 686+ loaded with 38+P Remington 158 grain LSWCHPs in a GunVault beside my bed. I've got a 2 year old, so I keep it secured, but I can access it very quickly.

I was awoken by a rather disturbing thumping noise . I reached down beside the bed and had my 686 in hand in little more than a second. I lay still for a few moments and listened, asking my wife what she thought about it. She wasn't concerned .

The thumping continued. It sounded like the doors to our entertainment center in the living room being jostled about . I got up and exchanged my 686 for my Mossberg 590, the magazine already loaded with Federal Tacticle 2 3/4" 00 buck. I took a careful peak around the corner of our bedroom out into the living room, shotgun at low ready pointed away from the living room, figuring that perhaps my little boy had figured out how to break out of his room and was rummaging about the living room.

I saw nothing.

I backed up out of my room and crouced down low to the floor and just looked around. It was silent for a moment, than I heard the "thump". My eyes immediately went up to the ceiling where ... my kid's helium baloon had come untethered and was being frapped about by the ceiling fan, which was left on hi.



Whew. That was a relief. And man, was I exhausted after the adrenaline left me. Though it may have been a false alarm, I am pleased that I was able to cope well with the fear I was feeling. No tunnel vision, shaking or anything like that. I play scenarios through my mind on a daily basis, thinking how I would respond. Maybe that has helped.

Hopefully I'll never have to find out for real.

Though I knew it in my mind, I truly learned how much more comforting it is to have 12 gauges of whoop___ in your hands, vice a puny handgun, when your are not sure whether or not things are about to get ugly.

 

[onebigelf]

Yes. Fired warning shots first, then one to the chest.

I'm assuming you are not referring to military service although I swear, every one of those was self defense, too. (mostly)

John

 

[jonmerritt]

It is a highly personal experience.

that says it all for me

 

[NonConformist]

Thrice, counting out duty use and Ill share one

Once a guy who damn near hit me while jumping into traffic. I honked as he was about to T-Bone me and he stopped.

As soon as I pulled into my neighborhood he whips around me and blocks me in at the entrance, i couldnt back out as it would be into traffic blind and couldnt move forward as he blocked me, had my sons in the truck from school

He comes out w/ a tire iron and starts threatening me and advancing toward me so i kicked my door open as I drew my HK and aimed at him between the door and A Pillar and commanded him to stop doing what he was doing or Id shoot

He decided to leave, called the So and filed a report

 

[ShunZu]

In IL, you must transport firearms in a locked container that is not accessable to the driver. Anywhere in the cab is considered a nogo. You are also not allowed to carry ammo in the same compartment. You can carry your firearm in the trunk, and ammo in the glove box, but trust me, LEO's get very anxious if they find the ammo and no gun.

OH MY God, what rumor mill have you been reading? Or what city in Russia do you live?

Illinois statute requires a firearm be 1) in a case designed to carry a firearm, and 2) unloaded. You ARE allowed to have it in the compartment of the automobile as long as it's in a case and unloaded. You ARE allowed have a loaded magazine provided it's OUT OF THE firearm... meaning, you can have a magazine loaded and legal as long as it's not inserted in the firearm.

It does NOT have to be "stored in the trunk" unless you are passing through East St. Louis or any other town with statutes that supercede Illinois state laws. Technically, you're not allowed to go hunting if you live in ESTL because ANY firearm transported in ANY condition other than completely broken down in pieces and unable to fire is against their city statutes.

Simply do a search here on THR and look for ISP -- who is an Illinois State Trooper who will confirm what I'm telling you. There's been MANY discussions on this topic here, and I'm stunned every time I read another uninformed poster that postulates rumor and myth as being fact anything close to resembling laws as written.

Obviously, scythefwd decided to post before doing any research on the subject, OR simply reading any of the other numerous threads on THR dealing with the legalities of transporting firearms within Illinois. Do your homework, dude... this isn't Russia YET. But it's not far from it. This is Obama land... and millions of Americans are waiting in line to vote for the guy so they can suffer the same inane laws Blago, Daley and he have instilled on us Illinois residents. Get registered and vote for common sense.

 

[Gibbles]

Never, but I have been in situations where I wish I had one.
I decided after that, to not be helpless again.

 

[Zedo]

Yeah, had some hippies fire bomb the job site I was hired to watch. 12 gauge, #2 goose loads. He'd just dropped some LSD.

Try to imagine being shot with a 12 gauge when you're high on acid.

 

[sailortoo]

Only once did I actually fire my weapon, and that was into the ground, on purpose. Walking barb wire fence on a steep hillside, covered in dense oaks (Santa Barbara, Ca - back, way back, in the good old days!). Some folks across on the next hillside, a residence, were firing a (.22 ?) rifle into the area I was checking fence - I heard two slugs ripping through the trees near me! I fired my junker (I actually made a replacement firing pin for it out of the sharp end of a can opener blade, brazed into the hammer) 5-shot .22 into the ground just to let them know there was another person near their "shooting gallery". Too distant to shout to them. Strictly an incident of carelessness, not a deliberate threat, and the firing stopped. Second "problem" was not a draw or brandish situation, but the fact my wife and I both were carrying gave us a "bit more backbone" so to speak - raised our confidence level. A road rage type thing, where a strapping young man and his lady, on a motorcycle, were playing games with each other - at highway speeds! - and all I wanted was to get as far away as possible. They took offence that I passed them, followed us to the store we were headed for, and proceeded to read us the riot act - intimidating to us old folks, but threatening? - hard to call. All ended OK, that's the main thing. It's the unexpected that we all need to guard against - and hope to never meet up with. An excellent thread - we all have so much to learn from the experiences of others that have had to face up to those unexpected threats.
sailortoo

 

[toivo]

Carying a firearm with just blanks to be "safer" is actually pretty dangerous if you ask me.

MUCH more dangerous. There is no "Plan B" in that scenario. Displaying the weapon immediately brings your assailant to the fight-or-flight point. If he chooses "fight," you're screwed.

 

[neviander]

and being substantially larger than the average grown man by the time I was 15-16 years old that has kept me away from the "tough guys" begging for someone to look at them cross-eyed.

I have the same situation. I was 6'6 when I was a junior in high school, but I've always been a pussy cat...unless someone crosses that line. I'm now 28 6'8 and 260 pounds; I've adopted the term 'happy warrior'

Speaking of weird midnight encounters...actually it was early morning, but the weirdness happened during sleep.

I was 23, my high school buddy and I were roommates in a house in MI. He keeps a loaded Remington marine magnum at his bedside, however, he comes into my room one Saturday morning saying 'dude come out here', just kind of stirring awake, I wondered what he wanted so early on a Saturday.

I follow him down the hall to our living room where there is a strange man sitting on our couch. "Do you know this guy?" Befuddled by the question and still kind of groggy, I look at the guy for a good 20 seconds and realize I don't..."no" I say.

The guy is just sitting there, normal looking guy, dressed like he had been out at a bar the night before. Well, my friend, obviously, was the first one up and he told me he had a clenched fist ready for the guy when he saw him in the house; my friend, at the time, was huge, benched like 400 pounds in college...so on, so forth.

Well, long story shorter, it turns out someone, unbenownst to the stranger, had dropped him off at our house and it just so happened that somebody left the back door unlocked. They dropped him off, drunk as all get out, and just left him; the guy was so wasted he didn't know where he was and just curled up on the couch.

Me, my roommate and this guy spent a good hour at our dining room/kitchen table talking to him, him on the cell phone, asking questions, trying to figure out *** had happened, to no avail.

Turns out, the guy was a nice guy, just got lost. The situation really wouldn't have been all that different had my roommate pulled his 12 ga., but there's nothing wrong with just showing your weapon...brandishing or no.

 

[.380awsome]

well i havent ,yet atleast

but when my father was in his 20's he was setting on this large rock which was a hangout place for his friends in a place you couldnt even call a "town" anyway it was beside the road and this old man pulls up for no reason and pulls a shotgun ,well my dad was setting on a colt woodsman with a big target barrel ,and says he would've emptied it in him right there,but he seen that the gun the man had wasnt cocked and he eventually left

 

[wagoneer1019]

speeking of relitive's gun useage some time after the civil war my great great grand father Porter was having trouble with a local hudlum named jesse he tried to take ( borrow) my grandfather's horse and g'pa Porter wouldn't let him. so jesse kept running his mouth about how he was going to kill him next time he saw my g'Pa Porter. well my grand father was a war vet and known to be great shot. on day he was out hunting in the hills of western Mo. and he happends to run into Jesse. jesse took one look at the navy colt on his hip and rife acrosses his sattle and tipped his hat saing 'good day mr porter.' G'pa porter tipped his hat replied ' good day mr james' (excuese typos posting from my phone)

 

[Loosedhorse]

Nope. Had a couple that could have gone there. Solved both by walking away.

Here's hoping the good luck holds.

 

[LaVere]

While this may be nit picking I don't like the use of brandish, brandished, or brandishing. To refer to drawing or presenting the weapon.
Two dictionaries define it this way.
1 : to shake or wave (as a weapon) menacingly
2 : to exhibit in an ostentatious or aggressive manner

While Number two isn't so bad is still shows a wild shaking and waving.

I'm sure no one here meant it that way. In Michigan and I suppose other states brandishing is breaking the law.
While you and I know what you meant. Others readers can only vision one waving, jumping up and down and yelling.

Words have vision and meaning choose carefully.

 

[scrat]

Never had to. Thank god however if i needed to I WILL

 

[The Annoyed Man]

Im pretty surprised to see these responses. I have always been told "if you're gonna pull, you better shoot" for legal purposes, but that's not what I've read here.

It would appear people are choosing to illegally brandish vs. legally shoot?

Does instant cessation mean we let them walk away?

BTW, my only story was someone dumb enough to walk towards his trunk threatening to shoot me and my friends 20 feet from 4 police officers.

"Brandishing" is a false concept. Here in Texas, it is not illegal to draw your weapon if you have reason to believe you might need to use it. Think about it. You're not just indiscriminately waving your weapon around. You are responding to a threat. You have to draw your weapon as part of that response. If the threat suddenly realizes that urgent health requirements demand his presence elsewhere, thereby relieving you of the need to aerate him, isn't that a preferable outcome? That's not "brandishing." That's common sense - both on the part of the "brandisher" and the threat.

BTW, praise God that I've never had to draw my weapon yet since I got my CHL, although I have investigated nighttime noises in my back yard with a pistol in hand. In retrospect, it was a foolish thing to have done.

 

[bikerdoc]

none of your business

 

[skidooman]

none of your business

Thanks for your completely useless post. You rock.

my kid's helium baloon had come untethered and was being frapped about by the ceiling fan, which was left on hi.

Haha, baloons and ceiling fans. The only time I have been really ready to shoot, it was late one evening and i was getting ready for bed. I was in my bathroom taking my contacts out/brushing teeth etc. and just as I turned out the light and opened the door I heard what sounded like a light shuffling across the wood floor. I froze for a few seconds, not able to see anything, just turned the light out to a completely dark house and no contacts. I am trying to make out a figure, or a position or something, but couldnt. I bolted into my room handed my girlfriend my S&W airweight and said if ANYONE comes through that door that isnt me, shoot until it stops shooting. I grabbed my 1911 and my streamlight and went back into the living room. I could still hear the shuffling and hit the light. Helium baloons... my roomate had just had surgery the week before and had his balloons sitting on the kitchen table and the ceiling fan was left on and they were shuflling against eachother and the flowers. Freaked my girlfriend out more than it freaked me out. Other than that nothing, thank goodness I havent had to pull it on someone.

 

[bluemalibu]

I was in Oakland, CA to be inducted into the service as 'Nam was winding down. Being that it was the last night of my freedom, I made the mistake of thinking that it might be nice to take a stroll around the city. ( 9pm in the evening ) I had just about completed a multiple-block circle leading back to my hotel, when I tried to walk past about 10 'guys-of-color' standing on the sidewalk in front of a business.

One of the guys kicked me in the shin in an attempt to trip me. Instead, it spun me around.

My right hand was in the pocket of my jacket, clenching a .22 auto.

I kept the gun inside the jacket, jerking the whole assembly up level with his head, and continued walking. (Walking backwards now, still facing them)

A couple of the guys made a half-step towards me, then stopped. On every face you could see the uncertainty... "does he have it, or is he bluffing???"

I got back safely to my room... and asked myself: "What the 'hey' were you thinking?!!!"

I

 

[22-rimfire]

I have never shot a firearm in a self defense situation. Hope I never do. There have been a couple of situations that I have been involved in that the firearm gave me a bit more self confidence and allowed me to move away from the developing situation without provoking it to a higher level. I don't want to fight.

 

[Ignition Override]

A guy in my company rides big motorcycles on his days off.

Back in the late 80s he and another rider stopped at a small diner in Bolivar, TN (east of Memphis).
Because this guy had not shaved in a few days, wored leather and was built solidly, the Deputy who was seated began to reach for his pistol when they walked in, not realizing how many white-collar types dress down a bit on their days off, or go slumming in cities. The Deputy quickly relaxed.

You guys have some alarming stories.

 

[Lookn4Brass]

Wow. Truth is alot more informative than fiction. Thanks everyone for sharing. Here's my experiences.

Circa 1991: Went to Taco Bell with two friends - wintertime. Observed one older male "visitor", apparently intoxicated, arguing with a teenage employee on duty, over the counter. Appeared to be over a girl. GREEAAATT. Situation escalates, "visitor" jumps over the counter, runs after the employee and starts pounding him back in the kitchen area. I couldn't get ANYONE to dial 911 or help the guy. One of my friends says to me " Are you packin'?". I promptly tell him to shut up, and tell them all we're leaving - NOW. I was carrying a Glock 17 and an extra mag in my overcoat, but chose not to pull it. While we were on the way to the car, the drunk abuser got in his car and drove off, all the while staring at me. I think he knew. Once we were in our car, I chewed out my friends for asking me about a gun in front of other people. Everyone left there alive, I didn't have to pull my gun, and a bunch of stupid employees probably lost some sleep that night. Glad it didn't get worse.

Circa 1995: Mobile, Alabama, late afternoon, early summertime. Took my sister to lunch on a rest break from driving to Florida. Stupidly chose to give a couple poor guys a $20 bill for some gas money, being kind. One of them says he wants to give me a hug, thanks, etc. Well, that's NOT HAPPENIN'. He insists. I back away, hand up, say no thanks, please "back up". He insists. He is told "I SAID, BACK... UP !!!". I put my other hand on the grip of my S&W 640 hammerless, under my shirt in a holster. He gets the message -he and the "friend" head back around a building from the direction they came. I escort my sister to a local LEO vehicle and give a brief report of the incident to Mobile, Al sheriff deputy. I am thanked and they head off to check on the whereabouts of the two drifters.

Well, not much drama. But that's more than I want. As time goes on, we may not be so fortunate. The world's not exactly getting "nicer". Stay safe, everyone.

 

[wbond]

Only once. I hit a 180 lb dog that jumped up to bite me. I could have legally shot him, but instead I cracked him one hit on the noggin with my Ruger SP101. That gave him a sufficient attitude adjustment.

There were a few occasions BEFORE I owned a handgun that I sure would have liked one. Like the time I had a home invader who claimed to have a concealed handgun, but never showed it. Also, the time I was carjacked.

No incidents have occured AFTER owning a gun, except the dog thing.

I bought some pepper spray after that. That way I don't have to hit or shoot, except as a last resort. Pepper spray is least injurious to an attacker. I don't want to cause permanent injury if a less permanent solution is available.

 

[peetee32]

About two months ago, my wife and I were sound asleep. We live in a quiet neighborhood, but I keep a S&W 686+ loaded with 38+P Remington 158 grain LSWCHPs in a GunVault beside my bed. I've got a 2 year old, so I keep it secured, but I can access it very quickly.

I was awoken by a rather disturbing thumping noise . I reached down beside the bed and had my 686 in hand in little more than a second. I lay still for a few moments and listened, asking my wife what she thought about it. She wasn't concerned .

The thumping continued. It sounded like the doors to our entertainment center in the living room being jostled about . I got up and exchanged my 686 for my Mossberg 590, the magazine already loaded with Federal Tacticle 2 3/4" 00 buck. I took a careful peak around the corner of our bedroom out into the living room, shotgun at low ready pointed away from the living room, figuring that perhaps my little boy had figured out how to break out of his room and was rummaging about the living room.

I saw nothing.

I backed up out of my room and crouced down low to the floor and just looked around. It was silent for a moment, than I heard the "thump". My eyes immediately went up to the ceiling where ... my kid's helium baloon had come untethered and was being frapped about by the ceiling fan, which was left on hi.



Whew. That was a relief. And man, was I exhausted after the adrenaline left me. Though it may have been a false alarm, I am pleased that I was able to cope well with the fear I was feeling. No tunnel vision, shaking or anything like that. I play scenarios through my mind on a daily basis, thinking how I would respond. Maybe that has helped.

Hopefully I'll never have to find out for real.

Though I knew it in my mind, I truly learned how much more comforting it is to have 12 gauges of whoop___ in your hands, vice a puny handgun, when your are not sure whether or not things are about to get ugly.

neviander, just curious how you secure your 590. trigger lock? safe?