Gas Station Protocol

When I fueled up last, after a late night booking, it was on 79th St in Miami at around 2Am...
At least these days it's not $100 (combined truck and boat) the way it was a year or two ago.


That was a bad area when I first came to Miami in 1971 and it hasn't gotten better over the years at all.... so you do what you must. Never a dull moment down here in paradise - and when you're towing a small boat your ability to pick and choose your spots is a bit limited. I carefully have my customers meet me at another location on Miami Beach after I'm on the water. I don't want them anywhere near 79th ST....

I'm glad you guys started this thread.

Most of what everybody posted (go during the day, keep the car locked, etc) I already do, but from now on I'll only take the front position at the line of pumps, I had never thought of that.

I go to the station, and purchase gas with cash at the counter, then I pump it and leave.

Praxidike said:

I don't live my life like I'm living in a warzone thus I need to surgically plan my every move as if Im going to be attacked at any second. I go to what ever pump is open or closest to me, get my gas, and go on with my day.

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That was what Darren Goforth had planned, too.

I hope I never have to use a firearm while next to a gas pump. Ever seen gas fumes ignite? I have, and it's happened to many others with something as simple as a match or even cellphone.

Obviously if I had to defend myself, I would. But gas fumes igniting is a real thing that is often ignored. I hope I'm never in such a scenario, regardless of the gasoline kaboom threat.

If I survive an encounter that prompts me to discharge my weapon at a gas station, I'm pretty sure I'll be able to escape any ensuing fireballs..

Some among us apparently have a SOP-AKA-Standard Operating Procedure for every thing they do. There is one rule set that uses "Stupid" repetitively, which applies.

I use Sam's Club exclusively for fueling, not always the best price but at least I know everyone else had to pay to be there. Even met a "Survivor" star there once, she was pretty cool, and she liked my dog, we talked guns for a while.

Hammer059 said:

I hope I never have to use a firearm while next to a gas pump.

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Not every problem is a nail.. and every answer is a hammer.

If pumping gas.. give them gas. Lots of it.

Deaf

Deaf Smith said:

Not every problem is a nail.. and every answer is a hammer.

If pumping gas.. give them gas. Lots of it.

Deaf

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Deaf, Best. Answer, Ever.

Id expect nothing less from a Texas revolution hero.

We only have one car so my wife and I make a point of fueling when we're together. One pumps, one watches

I work for an energy company. We own a modest refinery and nearly 200 gas stations. You probably would be amazed at what goes on with security issues. We have a full time staff devoted to this. Few incidents involve firearms but my point is that stuff happens. It happens often and someone is usually on the losing end.

I gas-up during the day when possible. I always wear sunglasses. Doors locked and I walk around the car slowly pretending to inspect tires or whatever. Right hand in pocket with S&W442 in hand. Never let the tank get below 1/2 and avoid larger cities when traveling (to gas-up).

I had an incident happen to me last year at about 4:45AM on a Sunday where I was followed into a gas station parking lot. The station was closed and it was my car at the pump and the other vehicle pulled up parallel to the building facing me. After 3 seconds of staring at each other I did the log reach for my glove box to get my Glock 19. They immediately departed. They most likely concluded that I was not reaching for a map. When the US Supreme Court ruled that, "... flight is prima facie evidence of guilt.", they were correct.

Survival

I go to the station in the early part of the day ,IF at all possible.

I have had to gas up [ on trips etc ] during early evening or even late if on the road.

I practice the same op-sec that I did as LEO, do NOT try to approach me.

Might sound funny,but if you know the law of the streets [and the thugs do ] you KNOW that you do not walk up to anyone if they tell you otherwise.

I do not fear for my life,that is because I am armed and ready to take action.

I do not make that a secret and I DO look at any who would approach and tell them to stop.

Funny,NEVER had anyone ask why !!!.

They know as do I what that approach means.

If I have to go into a lengthly explanation as to how and where I stand and how and where I park = you don't understand and I am not about to try and teach it here.

I can only hope you do not try to learn op-sec when its REALLY needed.

After reading a prior comment referring to James Mattis, I had to do some googling. It would seem that most of his quotes wouldn't apply to self-defense here in the U.S. - at least not in today's current environment.

I attended Ayoob's MAG20 class a couple years ago. In his training he mentioned that in general, the prosecution needs to establish two points:
The guilty act (actus reus) and the guilty mind (mens reus). The only way to combat against a prosecutor establishing the "guilty mind" is through proper mindset and training from a reputable instructor where it can be established that the defendant's actions aligned with best-practice for the given defensive situation. In other words, when the defendant is asked about specific actions and alternatives taken or not taken, the defendant needs to be able to point to their training in order to give credence to why they did what the did. While the defendant is not required to testify, a jury would generally expect it when self-defense is claimed.

I remember when you could pull into a gas station and buy maps and get directions in English...?

All of these are good tips, but it can be very difficult to defend against somebody who just wants to walk-up and kill you- no posturing, no comments, no gestures, just pull out gun and open fire.

Praxidike said:

I don't live my life like I'm living in a warzone thus I need to surgically plan my every move as if Im going to be attacked at any second. I go to what ever pump is open or closest to me, get my gas, and go on with my day.

Click to expand...

There's a middle ground between the extremes of not paying attention to what's going on around you and living as if you're in a war zone, where you take a few easy steps to ensure your safety and others who may be with you. That's what's being recommended here.

Two thoughts - the first is that the shooting of an officer in Harris county, TX was a sad commentary on the current state of our modern world. Can't remember anything like that years ago when I was a young man (before I got into police work and thought that most folks were good guys - these days that may still be the case, but only a fool would expect that out on the streets....).

Lastly for xxxplosive... the last tourist killing down here in paradise was a German lady tourist sitting in their car waiting for her husband to get directions at a gas station ... on 79th St here in Miami.... You don't want to know what it looked like a day later as local authorities cracked down on the area in an attempt to generate leads on the shooter (it was just a simple purse snatch - but when she held on to her purse the POS shot her and fled on foot...). No I don't expect that you'd find much in the way of English speakers in that neighborhood even back then (around 10-11 years ago if memory serves....). Long before that occurred I'd made it a routine to pick up any of my foreign customers at their hotels, even while towing my boat... You get some odd looks but I don't want any of my out of country visitors out wandering around in bad neighborhoods looking for me at some boat ramp... Welcome to paradise...

I go during the daytime usually early AM, head on a swivel, hand on my gun ready to go. Run off panhandlers before they get within 20 feet. Life in the city.

I'm really completely safe. I've printed out the assault statutes and will assertively read them to the attacker. If they come at me with a gun I have a $50 gift certificate to trade them for it. As a last resort I have a high resolution picture of a bullet spraying AK-47 death machine with the thing that goes up to brandish.

Actually, since I live in no-self-serve Oregon I'm pretty much a sitting (literally) duck.