[Okiecruffler]

I was driving to a local indoor range to pick up my new pistol yesterday when the guy driving next to me tried to pull into my lane. Since I was in the far right lane, I had no where to go except into the concrete divider, so I gave a little tap on my horn to get his attention. I'm one of those few people who truely isn't botherd by people making little mistakes while driving, hey I've made a few in the past 17 years. As long as you don't hit me, no harm/ no foul. So I didn't scream and yell, or give the old solo salute. But the guy speeds up and pulls in front of me, AND SLAMS ON HIS BREAKS!!!:what:
So now he's in front of me on I-40 going 40 mph in his little VW Fox. I opted for the bigger engine in my truck for a reason, so I passed him and allowed myself to break a few traffic laws in order to put as far behind me as possible.
So 5 minutes later I pull into the parking lot of this big building with the words, "GUN RANGE" printed all over it. I'm on my way to an outdoor range out of town, so I have my tactical SKS in plain veiw in my gun rack. And this Yahoo suddenly appears behind me, honking his horn and screaming out the window. He parks about 2 inches off my bumper and jumps out, yelling about how he's going to introduce his foot to my hindquarters, or something to that effect.
I don't say anything, I'm just sizing the guy up. I've got 150 lbs and at least 10 years experience on him. I can't help but notice the brass knuckles on his left hand (southpaw I guess), but I've danced that one before and came out the better. And yes, I even gave thought to the fact that I had 5 rds of .357 on my hip that trumps brass knuckles even on a bad day.
There was a time in my misspent youth that I would not have allowed such an insult, but I wasn't as zen then ( I was Baptist, not Buddhist.:p ). Before I even said anything his lady friend was pulling on him from the car, telling him to get back in. So he leaves after informing me that the next time I see him coming I had better get out of his way.
So my question is this, "What kind of loony physically threatens an obviously armed man in the parking lot of a gun range?" Has the drug problem really gotten this out of hand? Oh well, other than that it was a pretty good day, but peoples sure is strange.:rolleyes:

[Riphalman]

that you handled yourself quite well. There are an awful lot of unreasonable angry people out there who don't seem to be able to fully understand the potential consequences of their actions. You went out of your way to avoid a situation which could have caused pain and grief for many more folks than the ones present at the time. Good for you. God help us if we ever pull the trigger on someone who's too stupid to back down. But of course we should always be ready to protect ourselves and our families from someone who is deranged or just plain evil.

[Delmar]

Isn't it a calming influence to know you have the firepower to defend yourself when you run into these nut cases?
I had an incident years ago where a driver, obviously thinking he had the road for himself, cut me off 4 times in a couple of minutes. I honked the horn at him on his last attempt and he motioned for me to pull over. As I was in a U-haul truck taking a test drive-I was a mechanic at the time, and was taking the days bank to drop off, I just kept driving. He got in front of me and slammed on his brakes so I had no choice at that point, but I had a government model in an X-15 holster completely exposed. I got out just before he did and saw that he had a Raven in his lap. He said, "maybe I got a little too excited and we should go on about our business". I am so thankful I was armed. I have no doubt that I was prepared to draw and fire, but the look on his face when he saw what I had helped a whole lot to diffuse the situation before it ever got out of hand.

[Feanaro]

"I know, I will go out of my way today to make someone with at least two firearms mad at me."

[standingbear]

i would have yelled"hey mister..you know they can treat anxiety disorders such as yours."but then again.....he sounds like a real piece of work.kinda like the little runt dog bawling out a rot for coming in his yard.:neener:

[Pendragon]

Its called "Narcissistic Personality Disorder" or there abouts.

Maybe you did not get the memo, but you were on his road, in his way and your less important life was infringing on his more important life.

These kinds of people kill. When they are caught, nothing is their fault.

Glad it did not get any worse.

[lazhuward]

Whoever came up with the saying "An armed society is a polite society" probably failed to take road rage into account. :(

[FPrice]

"Isn't it a calming influence to know you have the firepower to defend yourself when you run into these nut cases?"

I think Delmar has an excellent point. You were in the right, you were capable of defending yourself, so you remained calm in the face of a potential threat. You did not have to escalate the situation which may have contributed to their decision to back off.

I cannot think of many things as unsettling as trying to intimidate someone who is not impressed with your bravado.

[wun_8_seven]

okie, you should have got his tag # and called ocpd we would like to have a talk with these people who make the road dangerous for good citizens, 187

[ACP]

I hate to be pithy and offensive, but... they're called a**holes, and they are everywhere. Good job handling the situation. I wonder if he (the other driver) would have acted differently without the female present....

[Wilhelm]

All I can say is WOW. You handled that incredibly well.


Wilhelm

[Carnitas]

Whoever came up with the saying "An armed society is a polite society" probably failed to take road rage into account.

You're failing to take into account the gene pool cleansing effect that would make idiots like this rare birds.

[Matt G]

FPrice said: I cannot think of many things as unsettling as trying to intimidate someone who is not impressed with you bravado.
Precisely. When you are sure of yourself, you do not need to display braggadocio when confronted with same. This diffuses things nicely, and clearly defines the characters in your ongoing opera. :)

[swingcatt]

Well, waxing philosophical here...It's called a total lack of maturity created by the thought that the world revolves around that person. The PC crowd is trying to mask it as "road rage", but I truly believe it is a product of the "mine, mine, mine" mentality that the world pushes. The worst thing/best thing for him was that he had a lady friend with him, therefore had to show off how tough he was, but in the end she did convince him to get back in the car. He might have had a touch of "testosterone poisoning" going on, too. :D

I hope you report this to the police to have it on record, that way if something ever happens in the future you will have the threats on record.

You handled yourself very well. I would give you an A+ for restraint.

Expanding on what Delmar said, having the tools to take care of a violent situation should be calming, but so should the knowledge that you have trained and have the mindset to take care of the situation, no matter what it brings.

SC

[Litlman]

ACP said it right , they are called "A-Holes " and they are everywhere!!! You did well. Awareness and avoidance......

[Coronach]

1. You handled it well.

2. What probably happened was this. Mr. Jerk was so hell-bent on screaming at you and punking you out that he completely failed to take note of some key factors in his surroundings. His female companion, who was not so obsessed with proving that your genitals are small, probably noted the disturbing presence of a rifle in your truck cab, the words 'GUN RANGE' on the sign, and- as she was not using a large part of her intellectual processing capacity finding new and exciting ways to string profanity together at high volume- was able to put 2 and 2 together and decided that her Alpha Male needed to leave the area quickly.

Mike

[El Tejon]

I deal with these hotheads daily. Governmental schooling and single parent families take a horrific toll.

Whatever happened to old fashioned manners? I guess Narcisstic Personality Disorder took over.:(

[rick_reno]

This is someone who got up and found he couldn't read and comprehend the instructions on his new "How to Play Russian Roulette and Win" game he'd bought on Ebay. In frustration, he sought you out. No doubt the SKS in the gun rack attracted him to your vehicle. In the fugure I'd put the SKS behind the seat, you're less likely to attract sucidal maniacs.

[Cosmoline]

Ten points for that one.

That's what I like most about firearms. They allow you to keep a cool head, knowing that you have control of the situation.

[P95Carry]

Kudos. :)

[SunBear]

I am continually amazed by these people out there who will accost complete strangers, not knowing if that other person is an off-duty cop or a serial killer. And he never considered that he was endangering his girlfriends life as well. If it's any consolation to you, he will soon lock horns with someone as moronic as he and we will be relieved of two punks. Col. Cooper calls it the "good riddance" factor. Happy trails.

[CWL]

You handled the idiot correctly.

Shooting him would only ruin your day.

Next time, you should call the cops since they might be interested in the brass knuckles he is in possession of.

[Norton]

Heck, after reading this story, I feel like my story from my encounter at Staples is pretty tame by comparison.

It certainly is true that we have to take the upper hand in these situations and be the rational one.

While my Staples incident was certainly not this confrontational, I do know that I would have felt much less anxiety if I had been able to have a firearm tucked under my shirt.

[Waitone]

Mr. Idiot was out of control, not rational, and headed down a dark road. Cudos to you for letting the problem go away. Road rage is dangerous and a killer. Thankfully his lady friend was of assistance.

Picking a fight in the parking lot of a shooting range is not considered a rational action.

[czhead]

Sometimes it's tough to bite your tounge.

[12-34hom]

This guy wins the B.E.M. award of the month.

Others are forthcoming..;)

12-34hom.

[firestar]

This is a great topic because it shows the mentality of most law abiding gun owners. I know for a fact that I have avoided many more problems since I started carrying a gun because I realized that it just wasn't worth it to get mixed up in a fight with some loser.

I will take more insults and still stay calm because I have options. I could do something about it but often, these jokers are not a serious threat, they are blow hards that quickly sense when you are not afraid of them and they have always backed off.

Most of the time they are bullies or wife/child beaters who know when someone is not going to back down and they tend to back down but they often have to show you that they are not scared of you so they will leave you with a cuss word or obsence gesture and they are gone. If you can hold your temper, that will be the end of it. Sometimes they go too far and decide to get physical, that is why we carry. These people are stupid and if they can not control themselves, they will be controlled by someone, eventually. Walking monkeys and talking apes.:rolleyes:

[Monkeyleg]

You did it just right. Let someone call you all the names he wants. Shooting someone over his own stupid driving behavior definitely isn't worth it.

Maybe he's "compensating" for having to drive a VW. ;)

[Standing Wolf]

I think you handled yourself well.

Real men don't act like teen-aged boys.

[Mannlicher]

we had a real road rage incident here in Miami a few days back. Two young African-American (did I spell that right?) 'yutes' got into it heading South on I-95 out of the GoldenGlades. One driving a stolen black Lexus the other a stolen white Maxima. When the fender bender part happened, they started shooting at each other. One then sped through a service break in the lane divider, and headed the wrong way in the other lane, causing two more accidents.

Both the perps got away, by abandoning the stolen cars, and just fading into the 'hood.

[lee n. field]

Whoever came up with the saying "An armed society is a polite society" probably failed to take road rage into account.

That was Robert Heinlein, in his novel _Beyond this Horizon_. The novel takes place in a society a century or three from now that's undergone a considerable ammount of Darwinian filtering. Something this guy was ripe for.

[Lord Grey Boots]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/eastsidenews/134895155_rage04n.html


Or, why slamming on the brakes is a bad idea.

Both men in fatal I-405 crash driving with suspended licenses

By Peyton Whitely
Times Snohomish County bureau

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BOTHELL — Two drivers involved in an apparent road-rage accident Monday on Interstate 405 each had suspended driver's licenses and been cited numerous times for traffic violations.

David Burelison, 40, of Mill Creek was pronounced dead at the scene, after the sport-utility vehicle he was driving rolled over about five times. The other driver, Robert M. Inouye, 22, of Woodinville was treated Monday night at Evergreen Hospital Medical Center in Kirkland and released.

The state Department of Licensing said the licenses of both drivers had been suspended.

Inouye was to appear in Kirkland Municipal Court next week to respond to charges brought in May that he was driving without a driver's license or insurance.

Neither Inouye nor his family nor the family of Burelison could be reached for comment yesterday.

According to the State Patrol, the 1999 Chevrolet Blazer that Burelison was driving was headed south on I-405 north of the Bothell-Everett Highway. Inouye, driving a 1999 Saturn, also was headed south.

Witnesses reported the Blazer had been speeding and weaving through southbound traffic, State Patrol Trooper Lance Ramsay said. The Blazer pulled up behind the Saturn, which slowed, witnesses told police. The Blazer then swung around the Saturn, and Burelison slammed on the brakes. The Saturn hit the Blazer and sent it out of control, Ramsay said.

He said the accident appeared to be the result of road rage.

Burelison's record includes 14 traffic offenses since 1989, the most recent a charge of driving with a suspended license in Lynnwood in 1997. He was found guilty and paid a $500 fine.



Inouye was involved in 11 traffic offenses between 2000 and 2003, with citations issued in Bothell, Issaquah, Kirkland, Lynnwood, Woodinville and Seattle, according to court records.

He was cited by the Kirkland Police Department on May 22 for driving with a suspended license and not having liability insurance, according to court records. He had been free on a $250 bail and was to appear in court next Tuesday morning.

Information from The Associated Press is included in this report.

Peyton Whitely: 206-464-2259 or pwhitely@seattletimes.com

[cool45auto]

Good job Okie!:cool:

[lazarus]

lazhuward ~~~You are referring to the great author, Robert A. Heinlein

[Okiecruffler]

I really saw him as more of an amusement than a threat. Very animated fellow. Maybe he was just having a bad day, maybe his girlfriend's dog had just eaten his cat or something. Who knows. Never seriously considered opening fire on the little bugger, just kinda fleetingly wondered if I could make him soil himself. Looking back on it, I probably should have regarded him a little more seriously, but I had been up for a long time and tend to be pretty mellow when tired. Just goes to show that if you live long enough you'll see just about everything.

[Safety First]

Never take Brass Knuckles to a gun fight:D

[JohnKSa]

Many people have never learned self-control.

He may have been so far out of control that he never noticed the SKS or the location of the parking lot.

He also may very well have soiled himself when his girlfriend told him why she pulled him back into the car...

[lazhuward]

Quote: "Whoever came up with the saying "An armed society is a polite society" probably failed to take road rage into account."

That was Robert Heinlein, in his novel _Beyond this Horizon_. The novel takes place in a society a century or three from now that's undergone a considerable ammount of Darwinian filtering.

LOL! Ok, I do see his point. That's a great idea. I guess I sort of had something like pre Civil War southern culture in mind when I thought of "An armed society is a polite society", if that makes any sense.

It's interesting that in my state, you can carry a concealed gun in your car without any sort of permit (although the law is a little weird and I'm not sure how many people actually take advantage of it). Yet I see instances of rude driving daily, and a case of road rage maybe once every few months.

Give it a few generations though and hopefully all the rude people's genes will be removed from our population. :)

[WonderNine]

Whoever came up with the saying "An armed society is a polite society" probably failed to take road rage into account.

When the guy with the Raven noticed the 1911 Delmar had, he sure got polite awful quick.

I have no patience for people like this gunrange parking lot stroke. Make them take a swing at you first and then you can kick their @$$ with impunity.

[Dionysusigma]

Let's see... in that situation, considering the three main choices of brass, I think Okie made the right pick:

1) Brass knuckes :scrutiny:

2) The unspent brass at his side :uhoh:

3) Pure brass :D

Power is nothing without wisdom.

[gunsmith]

without the 5150 jerk.but don't sweat it,he will take a swing at a
armed women some day and eat a .38 + p hi shok...

[Sylvilagus Aquaticus]

Glad it turned out ok, Buddha Cruff....it sure sounds like it was a fun experience, nonetheless. I'd have some suspicions that it was done in large part for show for the benefit of the female in the car to compensate for the VW Fox (what, did they quit making that in '84?) and other 'shortcomings' of a more physiological nature (notice the yellow stains on his shoes?) . These guys are the ones you hear about later in life who have had the hair transplants and buy the Vette after the second divorce.

I'm pleased with your discretion, Grasshopper. Smiling at the little barking dog is fun, isn't it?

Regards,
Rabbit.

[CZ-75]

These guys are the ones you hear about later in life who have had the hair transplants and buy the Vette after the second divorce.

I don't think this guy will ever get a Corvette, unless he sells his mobile home and all his possessions.

[Sylvilagus Aquaticus]

good point, CZ...in most parts of OK and NTX tornadoes and divorces are both the most common causes of losing trailer houses and cars.

Of course, who ends up with the pit bull, 4WD, and satellite dish are always up in the air.


Once again, good work on your part, cruffler.

Regards,
Rabbit.

[Pilgrim]

I like happy endings. :)

Pilgrim

[HankB]

"Isn't it a calming influence to know you have the firepower to defend yourself when you run into these nut cases?" What a profound sentiment! KNOWING that you have the means to defend your safety means you have less need to bolster your ego. You know you can calmly deal with the situation, so . . . you don't escalate it. Quite often, when a situation spirals out of control, it's because both parties escalated.

Good outcome.

[CB900F]

Okie;

I think Coronach nailed it.

900F

[Flashpoint]

I was heading down a ramp that lead to HWY 63 bypass when a car made a u-turn off the road and started driving the wrong way up the ramp. I refused to scoot over and forced the guy off the road onto the shoulder. As he pulled up nest to me a hollered "you are going the wrong way". The old fart that was driving was probably about in his seventies rolled down his window and said "what did you say to me?". So I repeated myself and he responded with "don't :cuss: tell me how to drive". Then I told him he was going to get somebody killed. So he pulls a tire knocker out from under his seat and tell me how he was going to beat my blankety blank head in. It kind of took me by surprise but after the initial shock I dared him to do it. At that the old fart jumps out of his car to get me and his car starts to roll away. His car rolling away gave a reason to mock him which really made him mad. When he finally got his car stopped and put in park he jumped back out and headed my way. I waited until he got to the edge of my back door, said "by idiot" and drove off leaving him standing in the middle of the road with a what just happened look on his face. I drove off hoping he got to where he was going with out hurting anyone. I later told this story in my CCW class to the instructor. He said that I did the right thing and name some laws that were in the elderly favor when it comes to getting into fight with young men. He said if I had tried to do anything there would have been a good chance of getting into trouble, or at least a bad civil suit that I would have probably lost.
I can't wait untill I get old so I can be a sphincter and be protected by law.:barf: I would have liked to beat some common courtesy into him but looking back it probably would not have done any good. He'll cross the wrong guy on a real bad trip one of these days and may not live to regret it.

[ENC]

I've seen some weird things in life and used to get bent out of shape about everything. In the last few years mainly from what I have learned on here and stories like these I think I am much more cool-headed about things. My blood pressure might still triple but I try to remain cool on the outside. Taking some of my crime scene classes really really emphasizes how unhinged some people can be. This forces the reasonable man to go out of his way to accomodate the other party. Earlier in life I probably couldn't have done this due to pride but now I can swallow it down do my best to cool the situation.


So I am just using this thread to say Thank You to everybody who has posted similar stories and the way they have handled them.

Evan

[CZ-75]

He said that I did the right thing and name some laws that were in the elderly favor when it comes to getting into fight with young men.

All bets are off when you grab a tire iron.
Laws also favor women in the same regard as the elderly. Too bad this guy contributed to the gene pool.

[winstonsmith]

I think you handled yourself well.

Real men don't act like teen-aged boys.


Hey man, don't give us teen aged boys a bad name. Some of us are real cool-headed too.

I have a question. Did is vehicle have special suspension to support the weight of his testicles? Or maybe you noticed it sinking low to the ground from the weight?

[ElToro]

"When the guy with the Raven noticed the 1911 Delmar had, he sure got polite awful quick."

thats cuz he quickly saw that Delmar had a bigger one than him...
ha ha

[keithernTN]

Well done.

Most sheeple don't realize how many people can and do legally carry firearms. He probly still does'nt know how close he came to meeting one if he would have escalated his actions further.

[H Romberg]

I've diffused a number of road rage incidents (I'm still trying to lighten the old right foot) by saying "Sorry 'bout that", even when there's nothing to be sorry for. It may be bad for the ego, but not nearly as bad as being arrested after a shooting would be.

Sorry goes a long way in the conflict de-escalation process.

[Okiecruffler]

Even if he would have pushed the issue, I doubt if he would have gotten shot. Brass knuckles are a great weapon if used with surprise, I've got a rather nice scar in the back of my head to remind me of that, but if I know you've got them it just makes it easier for me to break your fingers. Like I said, I was on the way to the range with a new gun. Last thing I needed was to be held up by the local LEO after I shot someone. That would have cut into my range time.

[TallPine]

You know, the road is nearly always in just as good a shape after someone else is done with it.

[Russ]

He's just a friggin nut who belongs on a mental institution chain gang cleaning up the freeways in your fine State.

I went shooting with a good friend of mine once and he asked if we could bring a guy he knew that I didn't. I thought fine. I figured if he was a friend of my friend then how bad could he be?

He was insane. He had an AK-47 and a Springfield .45. Several times he pointed the fully loaded, round in the chamber AK up in the air with the barrel in his mouth muttering some stuff like he should just blast himself.

My friend and I were pretty freaked and we made a deal that if this clown pointed his gun anywhere near either one of us, the other would plug him. I had a .357 Smith and a BHP. My friend had 2 Colt .45's. I never let go of my Smith which I kept in a ready postition. My friend was ready too.

We called it an early day since we were freaked out. Luckinly, I never saw the fruitcake again.

I figure he was just crazy or had a deathwish. Who knows what make a guy like that tick. I just stay away if possible. You can't figure them out.

[Devonai]

Ignorance is bliss.

When I worked as an armed courier, I often walked through the Downtown Crossing section of Boston with anywhere up to $40,000 in a shoulder bag. Since I was in plainclothes my weapon was always concealed.

I may have been just another cracker to most of the fellas down there, but occasionally somebody would try and get my attention ("what you got in that bag," etc), or take issue with my place on the sidewalk.

I would always ignore them the best I could and think, "if you only knew."

[geekWithA.45]

I like to see as many of these stories get recorded here as possible.

In fact, you never see anything but examples of self restraint in these forums. You just never see juvenile-criminal behaviour along the lines of "He disrespected me, till I waved my pistol in his face" type of BS.

The more widespread these real life tales are, the less credible are the charges of "macho/testosterone driven gun culture" and "trigger happy vigilantism" brought by the hoplophobes, who are pretty much praying for a leg to stand on these days. (Except in NJ)

[Penforhire]

I think you should have done one more thing -- call the police and report the incident.

The primary reason is if that nut had called first and said you threatened him with a weapon (even though you did not) you would be in for a serious hassle. His girlfriend might back him up and then how do you convince the responding officers?