Have you ever used your gun for SD and how many bullets did you use?

"I wonder how many of the situations in this thread would have been completely avoided with open carry?"

In one of the aforementioned incidents, I was in full uniform, handgun prominently displayed in a hip holster, and that was not much of a deterrent. The miscreant decided since I was between him and the exit, he'd just run me over with his 4X4. When my sidearm was quickly pointed at his nose as he put it in gear and revved the engine, THEN it became a deterrent. He changed his mind, and his direction, and I no longer felt it necessary to provide him with a third nostril. But it was abundantly clear I was ABOUT TO when he stopped.

In the other incident the handgun was hidden until he pulled a knife, then it was aimed at the junction of his eyebrows from less than spitting distance. He also altered his course, and saved his own life. Another two pounds or so of pressure on the trigger, and he'd have been breathing out the back of his head. Extracting oneself from a situation is ALWAYS better than having to shoot.

And no, I didn't buy guns so I could shoot bad guys. I bought guns in case I had NO OTHER CHOICE. There's quite a difference there.

PJ

3 times as a cop.
1st, saw a pistol under car seat,
2nd, shotgun wielding man walking down hallway port arms,
3rd, guy reaching inside coat (for brass knuckles).

No shots fired. #2 had real possibility of getting shot if he twitched. Scared hell out of me that I would have to shoot him in front of his kids, and that I had only loaded my .357 with .38 Sp. Figured he would still blow a hole in me after I gave him all six.

Civilian life, 1 time, but he was too drunk to see it and did not come further than the end of my driveway.

The Doc is out now.

Only one face to face confrontation. No shots fired. Didn't even almost have to draw but the 1911 on my hip helped make an impression on two high school vandals. Had no trouble since.

It took waiting on my porch till 3 AM but catching them was priceless.

In my opinion is a valid question to ask as long as we stay away from anecdotes and monday morning quarterbacking. Although for most of us its gonna be a "no shots fired" answer.

Twice against two legged creatures, no shots

Once my brother and I came back from a xmas ski trip to find a methhead in his house. I drew, but didn't fire because Oregon doesn't like it when you shoot people in the ass climbing out a window.

Second (and only 3 weeks later) another methhead tried to rob me at an ATM. The perp surrendered.

I have used my gun against 4 legged creatures though. I was out hiking last summer in BLM land on the outskirts of a small ex-logging town. A dog charged me (not barking) and I put it down with 3 shots. Only two hit, torso and neck. I'm guessing I was intruding on someone's pot farm and this was the guard. 9mm 124gr JHP

Intriguing Topic

I too have wondered about this because there is a lot of chatter around the internet about making sure you have extra magazines on you and even some people carrying backup guns. It made me wonder if these people worked in Somalia or some other combat zone.

I am really curious if there has ever been a protracted handgun fight in a self defense incident. (outside of law enforcement/gang incidents)

once
one .38spl round fired

No shots fired.

All that was needed was to pull my jacket back and place my hand on the pommel. The BG made a 90 degree turn and headed away.

Yes.

Lots with no shots.

Once with two shots. Three pitbulls.

(I started to answer in more detail but must decline.)

Four times total. No shots in three incidents. Three shots in the one incident.

I can't imagine many scenarios where I am out in public and end up in a stuation that requires more than a six gun or a standard mag full of ammo. Hopefully I will not stumble into a war zone or a hollywood movie set.

I had one incident where I fired on a large dog that was coming after my then 2 year old daughter. 1 shot stop from my Glock 27. Pure luck IMO. As soon as I saw brown fur around the front sight I fired. It did the job though.

Twice in last 30 or so years. 1st 25 auto no shots fired
2nd 45 auto 1 shot fired BG lived to do 10 years in state hotel.

Not that easy in MI

According to 2 DAs and the few cops I know, drawing and not firing is brandishing in MI. It is essentially at police/DA discretion at that point, which is absurd. For example, in Oakland or Wayne county where I grew up, I am sure I would be given an unreasonably long look and probably get stuck with something. In Houghton County (Good ol' Yoopers), they would ask if I was alright and haul the BGs away. I don't like that one bit, and therefore will not be drawing as a deterrent unless I believe I will need to shoot.

-Polish

Yes, once 25 years ago

2 rounds fired

One less scumbag on the earth

My 10 year old daughter safe and sound (now 35 years old)

I'm not proud of it. I had no other choice. I was not charged with anything.

Molon Labe,
Joe

sensible chances

"Big Block:"

You can surmise from the replies that most have fired from zero to two or three. An "average of say 2.35."

I hope from this that you have not made a conclusion that you will never; under most circumstances, need a reload!

Averages, such as the one I gave, are abstract.
You may be more accurate to determine what was a modal number of rounds fired, or even the standard deviation from an average.
What I am getting at is; just because a preponderance of replies seems to indicate that you will need a few rounds or even no rounds at all- do not base your carry on what is statistically likely.

Are you a gambler? Do you like to play the odds?

What you have on the table is your life, or the lives of your loved ones.
-Sure, the odds are small against anything beyond normal happening, however, because those odds -an abstract, are small, does not mean at all that the very next situation that happens to you will fit into the conception of likely. It will just be added to the data and smoothed out mathematically.

If you are going to bother to carry the weight of a handgun, then you should carry the weight of some spare ammo also.

2 rounds fired

One less scumbag on the earth

My 10 year old daughter safe and sound (now 35 years old)

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G-d bless America. It's terrible to have to kill someone, but in any other country, you might have been telling the story of how you couldn't save your little girl.

gfouts15 wrote

I too have wondered about this because there is a lot of chatter around the internet about making sure you have extra magazines on you and even some people carrying backup guns. It made me wonder if these people worked in Somalia or some other combat zone.

I am really curious if there has ever been a protracted handgun fight in a self defense incident. (outside of law enforcement/gang incidents)

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Unfortunately Murphy raises his ugly mug all too often. I've had a revolver develop a timing issue and a Glock mag failure, fortunately both at the range. Thankfully neither of these happend when I actually needed the gun. With no backup (gun or mag) you are essentially holding a club, and a rather poor one at that.

Tim

I can't imagine many scenarios where I am out in public and end up in a stuation that requires more than a six gun or a standard mag full of ammo. Hopefully I will not stumble into a war zone or a hollywood movie set.

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I can think of three right off the top of my head: Rodney King Riots, Hurricane Andrew aftermath, Hurricane Katrina. If you're unfortunate enough to be stuck in a similar scenario you'll wish you had some extra hi-cap mags with you (and you'll wish you had a rifle with you instead of that puny handgun.)

I've never drawn or fired, but many times I've been glad for the weight of a gun in my hand or on my belt. I like to think that my voice is my primary defense - I've talked my way out of a lot of fights and bad situations.

As for the idea that if you draw you have to shoot... that's absurd. It comes from hollywoodized films where swordsmen declare that they can never resheath their sword unless they have drawn blood. I suppose at one point it was useful as a deterrent... guys heckling them knew that they were going to get a fight if they asked for one; on the other hand, it also ensured that troops don't draw rashly if they are required to cut somethign (including themselves) before resheathing.

I can think of three right off the top of my head: Rodney King Riots, Hurricane Andrew aftermath, Hurricane Katrina. If you're unfortunate enough to be stuck in a similar scenario you'll wish you had some extra hi-cap mags with you (and you'll wish you had a rifle with you instead of that puny handgun.)

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I too can think of catastrophic events where you might need more than a CCW Pistol too but even in those events, show me documented cases where there was protracted shootouts. Show me where someone's first gun broke and needed the backup? I have never read or heard about this happening even in these post hurricane events. I am not saying it hasn't or didn't happen since I wasn't there. I am curious if anyone has first or second hand knowledge of these events other than range time or what-if scenarios.

I hear people talk about these events a lot but never have seen someone talk about their experience either good (I had extra mags) or bad (I ran out of ammo or gun broke with no backup).

This would make a great research project if I was in school.

Drawn once. Placed hand on holstered weapon once. Never a shot fired.

Never had ocassion, but being young, lucky & stupid will only last me so long.

LOL, I commented to a friend yesterday when we were talking about our kids that I was lucky to make it out of my teenage years and early twenties with no gunshot wounds and only being stabbed once.

When I was young and stupid, I was young and stupid..........

I can think of three right off the top of my head: Rodney King Riots, Hurricane Andrew aftermath, Hurricane Katrina. If you're unfortunate enough to be stuck in a similar scenario you'll wish you had some extra hi-cap mags with you (and you'll wish you had a rifle with you instead of that puny handgun.)

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with all of those you had ample time to go home an re-arm.

Posted by Mavracer
with all of those you had ample time to go home an re-arm.

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During Hurricane Katrina, there were parts of the city that were under twenty FEET of water. Homes with six to ten feet of water were commonplace. So you honestly think people could have just swam home in rushing flood waters to "re-arm"?!

During the Los Angeles and Miami riots, roaming gangs of thugs were attacking vehicles, pulling their occupants out and killing them on the spot. You honestly think the perps would give you time to run home and "re-arm"?!