Have you ever needed your carry gun?

It would seem, as we have discussed this before with friends and here I am sure, that we probably stop more crimes than are ever reported in the dailys. If the real number of "almost" shot someone", ever was calculated, it would indeed be eye opening. Men with guns stop a great deal of incidents from going catastrophic, just because they carry the means to stop them before they happen.
Thousands of toe tags are saved each year because a good guy with a gun intervened.
Too bad the anti's can't all have an experience where a stranger saved their bacon, by displaying a handgun at the appropriate time.
Having had guns shoved in my face, it should be a life altering motivation for bad guys to change their line of work, but sometimes it still isn't enough

I considered using it as a hammer once.
Luckily, never had to so much as think about it.

Yes, twice. Once when I was 12 at home and once about 3 months ago at a closed gas station. No shots fired in either case.

While serving in the military, yes. But that's not really what the OP was asking.

It's difficult to say if I "needed" it. I've never drawn it, or flashed it. But, on two occasions having it provided the confidence to address a situation in a strong and confident manner.

Most crooks aren't looking for hard targets. If they suspect you are they will move along quite rapidly. That's what happened both times.

Could I have faired just as well unarmed? I'll never know. On the other hand I will also never know how far it would have gone if I weren't armed.

Comes down to the old saying "It's better to have in and not need it than need it and not have it".

I've never had to point a gun at someone but I have come mighty close and there were other times I sure wished I had one. But I would NOT list those incidents in an open forum. It may come back to haunt you some day friends. If you ever do need to shoot someone your judgement will certainly be questioned and that might well include internet postings. I would NEVER point a gun at anyone unless I thought my life was on the line or the life or well being of someone else. But I certainly don't take that responsibility lightly. I absolutely do not want to ever shoot anyone or even point a gun at them.

Lucky Derby said:

Yes. I will leave it at that.

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I will go a little further and say I have cleared leather three times, but never fired.

And I'll leave it at that.

Indirect....

It wasn't really a use of force event & it took place on duty(armed, uniformed security post), but another "encounter" took place when I work as night security guard in a low end urban area; spring of 2007.
While on patrol, I observed 2 young girls(early 20s) pull their SUV into a side lot in the front area of the hotel.
The pair seemed to have vehicle trouble & were calling for roadside help/friends.
I didn't bother them but to be safe, stayed discreetly nearby.
About 10min later, 2 shady looking gents in a beat up old sedan rolled by & saw the pretty girls. The duo then circled back about 2 more times, each time lingering longer at the girls.
On the 3rd pass, I slowly went up into the lot so the "dynamic duo" could clearly see my gun(a Ruger GPNY stainless steel .38spl) & badge.
The hapless guys glanced over then quickly pulled out of hotel lot, never returning. I asked the girls if they knew those guys in the vehicle & they said no. Both were relieved that I had kept the guys under surveillance while they were with the SUV.

The lesson for the girls was to stay alert & if at night, you need help, get to a safe, well lit area if you can. Keeping your vehicle in good repair & fueled is smart too.

Only three times, but never had to discharge it. This was when I was working for a bank in Watts (South Los Angeles) in 1966/1967, right after the Watts riots in 1965.

One time just pulling my coat open to expose my model 36 was all that was necessary.

The second time was when I chased a robber, but only to get a license plate id. When he turned back toward me I drew and he got in the car and sped away. LAPD got them the next day from the plate number.

After getting sick and tired of almost monthly robberies, I held one guy at gun point for the police. Stupid, maybe, but the word apparently got around because I didn’t have any more robberies during the next 8 months until I finally had enough and resigned.

I'm surprised there are so many stories that people will share. Notice there aren't really many where they comment on firing. I'm not surprised no one from that situation wants to talk.

In my case, I've drawn once--on a racoon--but never on a person. I've wished I had it once.
I was working the night shift at work, got lunch when it was dark and just before the local places closed, so I went to grab chinese food. The places are next to a movie theater, which gets busy, so there's always a police cruiser parked in front of it but not in the dark areas on the adjacent lot, where I work.
A guy approached from the parking lot. I had my hands in my pockets and didn't stop walking. "Hey, man. Can you break a ten for me?"
"Sorry, I don't have cash."
"I just need it changed."
"I don't have anything on me."
"Just change, man." By this point, he's walking pointedly toward me.
"Sorry, I don't have anything."
"Look, you don't understand."
He takes a couple longer steps, more aggressive, and I pull on the clip on my pen and let go, to make a good solid 'click' from my pocket. He stops, we stare each other down for a second, and then he mumbles 'sorry' and walks off.
I went and got my chinese, without any real appetite, and talk went to talk to the cop while I waited for it.

Only time I ever felt the need for it, and if he had pressed anything things could have gone badly. The only thing I actually did have was a vaguely sharp pen (according to my thigh) and a Kershaw in a different pocket.

Yes

It's called.....

Peace thru superior firepower.

Carry gun? Once, Did not have to fire.

Other firearms? Three times.

Yes. A meth dealer, who had moved nextdoor. He was mad because I installed video security because of he & his customers harrassment.He walked in my backdoor behind one of the kids & threatening my family! At that point I drew my 1911A1 & escorted him out of my home. Things went down hill from there & the meth dealer was in jail 3 days later. He is still in federal prison & will never leave .

Happy endings!....

I love stories with happy endings!


Good job.

In 2011 I worked security at a low end extended stay hotel in a metro area. Drugs, hookers & human traffickers were the norm.
I did a lot to remove some of the crooks & drug dealers.
Once, while in the front on the hotel, I saw a group of drug dealers across the street. I heard one of them say: "That security guard over there is costing me a lot of money!"

You can't hang that on a wall.

When people ask this question I always answer, "Yes, I need my gun everyday." And that's not intended to be flipid or arrogant but empirically honest. I need my gun/s just as much as I need my home/auto/health insurance.

That said, thankfully I have not had to use my CCW (or remove it from it's holster) as of yet (10yrs of carry-time). Conversely, I have had to patrol my property "at the ready" a time or two over those years....

The problem now is that, in the event of a disputed incident in the future, that posting could be used as an indication of state of mind. Not good.

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I guess I should have read the whole thread before I posted. The net is a prime source of information about the thought processes of people these days. And anyone that hangs around gun sites is going to automatically be suspect in some places. The first place the DA would look would be our posts on a site like this.

I don't think any of us want to shoot anyone. I guess I have met some that were like that. Not many and the ones I knew were nut cases. Taking a life is a terrible thing for most people. There's no getting over it. The only think I can think of that would be worse would be having to sit back and watch someone I love get killed. So I carry a gun to protect them. If they shoot me I'm gone and it won't matter to me anymore. That doesn't mean I won't fight back. It's our nature to want to live. And believe me there are people who are ready, willing and anxious to take your life. I had a guy chase me down the road and threaten to kill me because I actually talked to his brother's gf. I was 14, she was 17 and the nut was probably 25. A week or two later he threw a state cop out in front of a car going about 60 in almost the exact same spot he threatened me. He crippled the cop for life. It was a miracle he didn't die. There are thugs in this world. I wasn't old enough to carry a gun back then. It was illegal too. Now I'm plenty old enough and it isn't illegal. So I carry a gun. I've been threatened by thugs so many times it ain't even funny. I suppose I'm not the only one.

Never have and probably never will. If an unarmed person tries to steal something from me, someone is mad because they think I cut them off, someone is cursing me out, or someone ask me for a ride, I most likely will keep my firearm holstered until I actually believe my life is in danger.

In the above instances that I mentioned and in some of the instances others have mentioned in this thread where they saw fit to brandish their firearm, I would have probably pulled out a can of pepper spray before I pulled my gun.

I did need one once where I was robbed on a subway in New York by a guy who stuck a razor blade to my face. The sad part is in NY, I could not carry a gun let alone a knife to defend myself either, so either way my only option would have been to be a victim.

Negative.

I've been carrying all day every day...everywhere legal of course (including work)...since 2005. I haven't even thought about possibly reaching for the grip.

Exactly Zero times...

This was a long time ago. I've since learned to skip giving people the finger even when they have it coming.

On a stretch of I-80 near Chicago, a roofing tar truck (maybe an F450) forced me off the road at a spot where the two lanes narrowed to one owing to construction. I was driving a Chevette--not a very substantial car. It was probably an oversight on the drivers part, and maybe I was in a blind spot, but I honked and cussed loudly and flipped them (there were two of them) off.

So now we've passed the construction. We seem to be the only two vehicles on the road. And they start to play. They get behind me, pass by and then get in front of me. And this pattern repeats. They are having a grand time messing with me.

Maybe it was because the sun was going down, but I got the sense that the game might not end well. As they got behind me again I reached behind my seat and pulled my brand-new SA 1911a1 from its case, inserted the mag, cocked and locked it---and placed it on the dashboard.

The next time they pulled alongside I looked at them and pointed at the pistol they could see on the dashboard through the windshield. They hit the gas and that was the last I saw of them.

The moral of the story from a vantage point 22 years later is that *I* set myself up for the problem with the two mouth breathing ding-dongs. That's the take-away.

I worked in law enforcement for a state agency in NYC. Aside from arrests, I had two incidents.

One was a traffic dispute at Park and 57th. Truck driver comes out of his truck with a knife in his hand. That was a mistake.

Other time was riding the D train, which goes through the Bronx to Manhattan, pretty empty in the middle of the day. Just south of the 125th St Harlem stop two guys come through the doors from another car. One is wearing ski goggles, the other a full ski mask. They look at the passengers, myself and a couple of women, and head towards me.

I look directly at them, pull my suit jacket back to expose my gun handle, and have my hand hover over the handle. They decide they liked the other car better after all, turn around, and go back where they came from.

Who knew you could take a subway in the Bronx to go skiing? lol

Not exactly concealed carry, and no shots fired, but criminals apprehended. American Rifleman the armed citizen September, 1984 of incident in May of that year One of the scariest events of my life that I fervently hope never to repeat. It was close.

The closest I got as a civilian was one night at the Liquor Store I work at. A man came in with a face painted red and a white shirt painted red... both with spray paint he told me. But his movements were jerky and seemed like he was tweaking. We have a long counter and while he was there, I kept myself at the very end of it. When he went to the aisle that is in line with the open end of the counter, I put my feet in the shooting stance and clicked off the safety through my shirt, just so I was ready. Nothing came from it, but he threw up every red flag while he was in here. (I guess he had painted himself into one).

Taking a life is a terrible thing for most people.

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Even when totally justified, it is not something you're proud of.

CEE ZEE " ... It's our nature to want to live. And believe me there are people who are ready, willing and anxious to take your life.

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You're 100% correct.

L.W.