Has there been a situation where your EDC weapon has saved you?

[D.Rose]

I have been putting a lot of thought in to my carry gun and knife lately and it has got me thinking... Has your carry weapon of choice, whether that be a knife or gun ever saved you from a situation? And did you make any gear adjustments after the fact?

 

[FLATHEAD]

Few years ago, wife and I doing our neighborhood walk.
We're on a sidewalk in the median of a two lane road going through the neighborhood.
Pit Bull comes out of nowhere, focused on my wife.
I immediately get between the dog and her as I draw my LCP
out of my pocket. This makes the dog pause for a second, and
then starts to circle, all the time barking aggressively.
Dog is maybe 6ft., away at this point.
I'm talking in a strong voice "go home - go home",,,,while
pointing the gun at him.
Car comes by, must be the owner. I hear "please dont shoot
my dog". I never took my eyes off the dog.
Right after he hears her (the owner) he makes a lunge at me.
I fire one in the dirt in front of him. It's loud and kicks up some
dirt on him. He stops, still barking, still thinking about having another go. I'm still saying "go home, go home", and thinking
I'm gonna have to shoot this dog.
He finally decided to leave, sloooowwwly.
Never saw the dog again. Course my wife would never walk through there again.
Thats the only time I've ever fired my gun in self defense.
Thank God I had it.
Kind of like that old credit card commercial - Never leave home without it.

 

[Rich M]

I had a situation years ago when i was a young man w my GF and cousin in a walking cast. 5 guys came up from a large group in the valley. I was carrying open.

There have been a few other “situations” and threats over the years. But none as serious. Watching the lead guy signal his buddies to stand down when he saw the gun really clarified the gravity of that situation.

Know your laws.
It is illegal to fire warning shots around here. You can go to jail.

The US concealed carry folks have some videos everyone should watch - great examples and why doing nothing or avoidance is best.

 

[07yzryder]

My boss setup a poker game at his house every couple weeks. We all get there and he forgot to get cash so he tells us make ourselves at home, fridge beer liquor whatever and takes off

Comes back 30 mina later AMPed and we're like wtf happened. Bear in mind he is 5 foot 5 skinny white guy. He goes dude stopped at the ATM at the bank, it was outside. As I'm doing my thing I hear someone walk up whatever. Turn around and a tall dude tries to rob me grabs me and I put my gun to his head and he stopped and backed off.

He learned 2 things that day, 1 is be more aware, 2 is NEVER carry on an empty chamber... He said he was scared the dude would call his bluff and he wasn't sure he would be able to rack a round before getting knocked out...

 

[Desk Jockey]

Half ass attempted car jacking Late at night driving home from work. I was at a stop light With the window down. Guy crossing the street looks somewhat intoxicated. He turns as he passes my car walks up and lifts his shirt with both hands to show me the lorcin 380 in his waistband and told me to step ”out of the mother f#ing car“. I showed him the glock in my hand pointed at his chest. He said “it’s cool man”. I said ”I know it is, now f#k off”. He ran away and I drove home.


get some training. Do some reading. Get some more training. There is more to it than just buying the gun And holster. Get something you will actually carry like small 9mm - sig 365 is my go to - and train with it - a couple of courses and a few range sessions a year. The more realistic the better. If you want to step it up, do a few idpa matches to sharpen skills.

 

[Rob960]

Lived in a center city for quite a while. During the summer I would take my Rottie out for walks when the sun went down. We were approached by two miscreants. Lifted my shirt to grab my gun. My Rottie picked up on my actions and went for the one bangers throat, never barked just lunged. So the gun and dog prevailed.

 

[2ski]

I've been thinking about this as well having had my dog get charged by a pit bull while walking the other night. It jumped the fence while owner and her son were trying to grab it. Luckily it didn't want me so when I put myself between the two dogs it just started circling after getting one kick. My uncle in law enforcement told me carry bear spray.

As people have said, training. Alot of people think they're just a bad ass for carrying and not thinking about when they can use it. Serious bodily injury or worse. Pulling it out has consequences and ramifications. I'm not saying don't carry. But do get lots of training in.

 

[Yarak]

Had two guys to walk in my shop and immediately separate when they get inside.....RED FLAG and
one stays watching the door and the other comes to the long counter but stays back near the wall
He starts questioning me about a firearm repair he supposedly needs
All the while he's looking around and constantly glancing at his buddy
I answer his questions and he keeps repeating "you just dont understand"
I'm sitting in my chair behind the counter and at a angle that neither can see the handgun on my hip
After about the 5th time of him saying I didnt understand I spun to stand and face him directly putting my hand on my handgun with a at the ready posture
He was building himself up to make his move to rob me while his buddy was his lookout
My sudden action surprised him and caught him before he could act. He knew I had him cold
They both hit the door quicker than they came in
A friend was at the far end of the counter and said you were about to get jacked until you acted before they got the drop on you

Takes a crazy individual to try to rob a gun shop when everyone inside is armed

 

[Wrench]

I took my wife to town for her company Christmas party. I park and walk around the truck and open the door for her, as soon as the door is open I am swarmed by 4 shitbags, one grabbing my left shoulder. I had my 1911 on it's way by then. The guy grabbing me saw my quick response and started saying some hood talk that I didn't understand...by now I'm clear of clothes and leather, leveled off on the first guy's chest. All of those guys vanished into thin air.

That was early in our dating days and she had no idea that I had a gun on me.

Years later we were heading out to pick mushrooms in the spring. I decided to bring a 1911 in 10mm as I had seen a big bear in the area. I was rifling through my holster drawer for the correct holster. My wife told me to quit being so particular and grab one. I explained that I want a specific one for our situation.

A few hours later, I shot a big bear in the face at smell his breath range. She never questioned my gun nor holster choices again.

 

[txtransplant]

I’ve almost drawn down twice.

First time in the car. Headed into a right turn only lane that had curbs on both sides, already committed. Broad daylight, no other traffic. Dude in front comes to a full stop and puts it in reverse. Obviously he took a wrong turn. I motioned “forward” with my hand, which he took as an affront to his manhood. It would have taken him 4 seconds to complete the right turn and then pop a U-turn, but instead he gets out of his car and starts charging at me. I was carrying concealed. Put it in reverse and backed up a few feet. He stopped, got back in, and peeled out. If he hadn’t stopped, I’m not sure what I would have done. I suppose I would have tried to continue driving in reverse until I could U-turn and get away myself, but at some point it becomes unsafe driving in reverse the wrong way down a road.

Second time I was at a single female coworkers house with one other coworker having dinner. I was open carrying. Knock at door, she says “ignore it.” Weird. More banging on the door, “ignore it.” Then the dude appears in her backyard. She goes out and starts yelling at him to leave. In the commotion, he backs up enough that they’re around the corner, on the side of the house. I’m posted up at the back of the house, just around the corner listening, maybe 10 feet away. He doesn’t know that me or our other coworker are there - he thinks she’s alone. Keep in mind, this is obviously not a stranger. She knows him, but is telling him to leave.

After she told him to go away half a dozen times, I step out and tell him he’s committing felony trespass by not leaving. He immediately looks at her and yells “are you F**KING him?!” She keeps yelling to leave. He says “at least let me get my shit.”

Ok now I’m filling in the clues of what’s going on - this was her fucboi that we didn’t know about, and he’s got some clothes and crap in her bathroom, but he was expecting to come over for the night. She says she’ll go get his stuff, we go inside and lock the doors while he’s in the yard. He starts prying the sliding door open enough to squeeze through. Now it’s a home invasion. I tell him I’m calling the cops while I pull out my phone. He charged me while my hand is firmly on my Glock grip, still holstered. I didn’t flinch, but he stopped an inch short. Now we hear “911, what’s your location?” As I start talking to the emergency operator, he bolts back through the yard, jumps the back neighbors fence, and disappears.

After, she tells us he is on probation for other minor crap - probably DUIs and the like - so he would have gone to prison if the cops showed.

I was amped on adrenalin for hours. I would have been totally justified in shooting the guy, and frankly I questioned my decision NOT to draw for weeks. I basically won a game of chicken, but if he didn’t stop short, we would have been on the ground while I tried to draw my Glock from a level 2 holster. 50/50 shot at best that I come out on top in that scenario. I’m glad I didn’t draw, but I’m not sure I would make the same decision today. The charge was maybe 5 - 10 minutes after his arrival, so he was amped up and had been yelling for quite some time beforehand. I do think my open carrying influenced his actions, though. If I didn’t visibly have a weapon, I think he would have attacked me much sooner.

 

[browning2480]

I’ve almost drawn down twice.

First time in the car. Headed into a right turn only lane that had curbs on both sides, already committed. Broad daylight, no other traffic. Dude in front comes to a full stop and puts it in reverse. Obviously he took a wrong turn. I motioned “forward” with my hand, which he took as an affront to his manhood. It would have taken him 4 seconds to complete the right turn and then pop a U-turn, but instead he gets out of his car and starts charging at me. I was carrying concealed. Put it in reverse and backed up a few feet. He stopped, got back in, and peeled out. If he hadn’t stopped, I’m not sure what I would have done. I suppose I would have tried to continue driving in reverse until I could U-turn and get away myself, but at some point it becomes unsafe driving in reverse the wrong way down a road.

Second time I was at a single female coworkers house with one other coworker having dinner. I was open carrying. Knock at door, she says “ignore it.” Weird. More banging on the door, “ignore it.” Then the dude appears in her backyard. She goes out and starts yelling at him to leave. In the commotion, he backs up enough that they’re around the corner, on the side of the house. I’m posted up at the back of the house, just around the corner listening, maybe 10 feet away. He doesn’t know that me or our other coworker are there - he thinks she’s alone. Keep in mind, this is obviously not a stranger. She knows him, but is telling him to leave.

After she told him to go away half a dozen times, I step out and tell him he’s committing felony trespass by not leaving. He immediately looks at her and yells “are you F**KING him?!” She keeps yelling to leave. He says “at least let me get my shit.”

Ok now I’m filling in the clues of what’s going on - this was her fucboi that we didn’t know about, and he’s got some clothes and crap in her bathroom, but he was expecting to come over for the night. She says she’ll go get his stuff, we go inside and lock the doors while he’s in the yard. He starts prying the sliding door open enough to squeeze through. Now it’s a home invasion. I tell him I’m calling the cops while I pull out my phone. He charged me while my hand is firmly on my Glock grip, still holstered. I didn’t flinch, but he stopped an inch short. Now we hear “911, what’s your location?” As I start talking to the emergency operator, he bolts back through the yard, jumps the back neighbors fence, and disappears.

After, she tells us he is on probation for other minor crap - probably DUIs and the like - so he would have gone to prison if the cops showed.

I was amped on adrenalin for hours. I would have been totally justified in shooting the guy, and frankly I questioned my decision NOT to draw for weeks. I basically won a game of chicken, but if he didn’t stop short, we would have been on the ground while I tried to draw my Glock from a level 2 holster. 50/50 shot at best that I come out on top in that scenario. I’m glad I didn’t draw, but I’m not sure I would make the same decision today. The charge was maybe 5 - 10 minutes after his arrival, so he was amped up and had been yelling for quite some time beforehand. I do think my open carrying influenced his actions, though. If I didn’t visibly have a weapon, I think he would have attacked me much sooner.

This one could be a tough one. Especially if he has belongings in the house. Would probably be up to her if she stood behind your actions or not. Tricky situation for sure and you probably handled it correctly. Shooting in this situation would have had a dicey outcome

 

[txtransplant]

This one could be a tough one. Especially if he has belongings in the house. Would probably be up to her if she stood behind your actions or not. Tricky situation for sure and you probably handled it correctly. Shooting in this situation would have had a dicey outcome

During the commotion, I confirmed with the female coworker that homeboy wasn’t on the lease. Having your clothes and a toothbrush at someone’s house doesn’t give a person the right to occupy the property when they are clearly and repeatedly told to leave.

Like I said, I’m glad I didn’t draw. I’d much prefer my current memory than a significantly more traumatic event where someone got shot. But that doesn’t make it the best decision. The dude had maybe 30 - 40 lbs on me and charged while I had my hand firmly on my Glock. That would clearly pass for threat of life and limb with any reasonable person, and if he hadn’t stopped short, I might have ended up shot with my own gun or stabbed with a concealed knife. No way to know if he had weapons or not, but he KNEW I had my hand on my gun and decided to charge anyways.

 

[Finch]

I had my little LCP in my back pocket one night while picking up pizza for myself and some coworkers (on the clock but we could freely leave to pick up dinner and what not). Anyway I'm in the Pizza Hut and this guy that was also waiting for his food starts throwing a fit. They had to go drinks on the counter and he smacked them against the wall and soda went everywhere. I was almost in the line of fire of getting a soda bath.

I made a comment and he started in on me as the workers were calling 911. He starts backing out the door lifting up the front of his shirt (I thought he was showing me a gun) but I guess he wanted to show me his belly. One of those macho moves some people do.

The whole time I was cognizant of my pistol in my back pocket but didn't want to pull it as I knew that would definitely escalate the situation. Closest I've been to wanting to pull one though. I realize when you pull your weapon that you better be ready to use it!

I can't imagine being in some of the situations I've already read here.

 

[Miboy86]

i had to pull my pistol one time when a guy grabbed a bat and was gonna tee off on my cousin who was currently ground and pounding the guy's buddy who instageted the fight, told him if he was to raise it i would dump the mag into his chest no hesitation. only time ive had to pull my gun in the states before.

 

[540-Virginian]

Few years ago, wife and I doing our neighborhood walk.
We're on a sidewalk in the median of a two lane road going through the neighborhood.
Pit Bull comes out of nowhere, focused on my wife.
I immediately get between the dog and her as I draw my LCP
out of my pocket. This makes the dog pause for a second, and
then starts to circle, all the time barking aggressively.
Dog is maybe 6ft., away at this point.
I'm talking in a strong voice "go home - go home",,,,while
pointing the gun at him.
Car comes by, must be the owner. I hear "please dont shoot
my dog". I never took my eyes off the dog.
Right after he hears her (the owner) he makes a lunge at me.
I fire one in the dirt in front of him. It's loud and kicks up some
dirt on him. He stops, still barking, still thinking about having another go. I'm still saying "go home, go home", and thinking
I'm gonna have to shoot this dog.
He finally decided to leave, sloooowwwly.
Never saw the dog again. Course my wife would never walk through there again.
Thats the only time I've ever fired my gun in self defense.
Thank God I had it.
Kind of like that old credit card commercial - Never leave home without it.

Ive used pepper spray three times for situations like this. One time the dog was on the owners leash. I was walking my dog with my two small kids and crossing paths on sidewalk of my neighbor with his dog. It is a giant pit ‘rescue’ but i always was cautious around that dog causw it freaked my dog out. my dog we think came between my two small kids and made a body language to the pit saying dont mess with them and my neighbors dog lunged and pinned her to ground so fast my neighbor lost the leash. I soaked his dog with a full little bottle of spray. It stopped the attack and his dog was shaking his head sneezing hacking bad. My dog also got hit and was freaking out too, but not as bad.

I carry pepper spray more than my pistol. could never imagine shooting a dog in my area without first trying pepper spray. Id be in jail in a heartbeat.

I am a member of the ccw safe insurance and they send a lot of good content by email that educates you on the legal risks you put yourself in with a gun. For my situation, the legal risk is more than the safety risk of not carrying. There are only a few scebarios I’ll carry, but i also have young kids and wouldn't ever want to have one in chamber around them. And id never carry without one in chamber.


The dude actually apologized and said he may carry spray just for his dog now lol.

were with me.

 

[fmyth]

During the commotion, I confirmed with the female coworker that homeboy wasn’t on the lease. Having your clothes and a toothbrush at someone’s house doesn’t give a person the right to occupy the property when they are clearly and repeatedly told to leave.

I wouldn't bet my life and freedom on that. I have ordered and supervised hundreds of evictions. You'd be shocked to learn how little it takes to be considered a "resident". Any evidence including personal property, mail delivered to that address etc could be enough for law enforcement to consider someone a resident and require a court ordered eviction. I once had a homeless person move into a vacant home the same day as the new buyers closed escrow. They were surprised when they showed up with their moving truck and found the locks were changed, real estate sign gone and someone living in their new home. I tried to have him removed by the local PD but was unsuccessful and had to go through the months long eviction process. Just because someone is not on the lease or deed does not mean they have not established "residence".

 

[grfox92]

I haven't, but if I was able to carry when I grew up for 32 years in NY, there are accountless incidents where I wish that I had a gun on me.

A pitbull charging me and my pregnant wife while we were walking around our neighborhood.

A gang of street bikes surrounding me on the highway and forcing me to pull over into the shoulder while I was driving my 2003 Mach 1. Only by the grace of God there was a cop behind all those people and he pulled up with his lights on behind me and all the street bikes took off. No question they were trying to rob me and steal my car.

Getting confronted by an enraged homeless man digging though a dumpster behind my place of employment. He later went on to strike a police officer in the same spot.

Running into some questionable characters out in the woods. There are countless examples but those are the ones coming to top of my head.

People who live in Wyoming where I live now have made comments about how I ALWAYS have a pistol on me. I have to explain to them that when you live somewhere that doesn't give you the right to protect yourself and your family , and then you do, it's a whole different mindset. I NEVER want to feel vulnerable like I did in those situations ever again.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

 

[crossfox21]

There was a time where I WISH I was carrying. Its a long story...basically ran into a methy while cutting firewood. He was ready to attack and would have if I didn't keep my cool and slowly leave the scene. From that day forward, I now carry

 

[*zap*]

yes there has been a situation where my edc has saved my azz. Always carry unless you need to pass thru a metal detector/security checkpoint and it is illegal to be armed at that place....

 

[RADunfee]

I stopped a possible home invasion with a bright flashlight in his face and my Glock 22 at my side. Never had to point it at him. He ran away with his hands in the air in the surrender pose.
A bright light in the face basically blinds the person and gives you complete clarity (in darker environments). Always have your weapon locked and loaded and have a bright flashlight or weapon mounted light.