Almost Drew My Gun Today

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MidWestDisappearance

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Loess Hills Iowa
This morning, about 6:30 AM I went out to look at the rising river with my wife and daughter. We went to a large city park and I pulled into a parking lot with an entrance and an exit. My wife got out and began taking pictures while I rolled down my daughters window, got out, and played with her as we were not going to be long.

I notice a truck pull into the driveway and didn't think much of it until he stopped his vehicle behind mine, blocking one of the two routes of escape.

I became alert. There was a single male, late 50s with a rottweiler in the truck. It was warm this morning but he had a black leather jacket on. The cheap kind that is made of multiple scraps of leather. he got out and walked toward me. He stopped about 10 yards away and began talking about the coming flood.

I was still alert. I made cordial conversation and the whole time kept track of his hands as something didn't seem quite right. Mid sentence he began to approach me. He took a few more steps and I plainly asked him to not come any closer. He kept coming and made a move like he was going to dig into his pocket. I then told him firmly to stop and reached and grasped my Springfield 1911 Mil-Spec at 4 o'clock but did not draw it. .(i normally carry a kel tec p3at but it was a weekend and i didn't have to be on my feet all day and the 1911 doesn't really bother me in the car, even at 4 o'clock.)

His hand didn't go into his pocket and he stopped. My wife noticed what was going on and got into the car, got it started and rolled up all the windows.

He saw my hand and I told him he had better back up. I was ready to draw if his hand moved any closer to his pocket or if he kept coming forward. I could smell the booze rolling off him, even at 15 feet. His dog was barking like mad from inside the truck. The guy seemed kind of shocked and after grumbling a little he began moving away. The guy tripped on something and almost fell. I quickly got into the car and tore out of the area.

This is the first time that anything like this has happened to me so I don't know if I did the right things or not. My wife wrote down his plates and we told the incident to a friend of ours that is a sheriffs deputy. He took the info and said that i did just fine.

I guess i learned that the crazies that are out at night, are occasionally still out the next morning. Either way, nothing bad happened, but I am glad that i had my gun, and not my keltec in an ankle holster.

If you guys have any insights on this please let me know.

Thanks,

MWD
 
Sounds like good situational awareness and a reasonable response. Also, kudos for contacting law-enforcement.
 
I know it sounds dramatic, but "almost drawing" really is a non-event. Your whole story comes down to you acting like a tourist during an exciting event, not maintaining awareness until some guy parked too close, being approaching by a drunk, fearing everything had gone to hell, verbally delaying the situation supplemented by gestures, then aided by your wife for a nice egress.

You did fine after realizing you might have a problem, but almost having to draw is no big deal. You didn't draw and so the issue of drawing is a non-event.

I guess i learned that the crazies that are out at night, are occasionally still out the next morning.
Click to expand...

One way you can stop being surprised by such developments right now is by putting out of your mind the likelihood of "crazies" being out. Being a criminal isn't 9-5 and if you are truly crazy, the hours on the clock don't matter. If you are stoned or drunk, the hours on the clock don't matter. Bad guys and crazy people can be curious about exciting events like the rest of us. Many attend out churches, go to little league baseball games, shop in our local stores, and some may even live down the road from us. The smart criminals will take advantage of exciting or unique events for profit.

In short, people will take advantage of you in a normal day-to-day setting when you are complacent. People will take advantage of you in a unique or exciting situation when you are distracted. Pretty much people will take advanage of you any time they can.
 
The incident shows why concealed carry is a good thing, and why situational awareness is important.

About twenty five years ago, we took a drive into the country to sight see and to photograph some landscapes. We ended up in a small state park at a bend in a small river, and I started shooting wild flowers and their reflection in the water.

A car in bad working order drove to a spot some fifty or so yards from us, and a man got out and started taking aluminum cans from some trash barrels and putting them into his car. I kept my eye on him and moved closer to the car. When he noticed our presence, he drew a folding knife, opened and closed it, and started walking toward us. We quickly returned to our car, and I was just able to get by before he blocked the only exit with his car.

Things were a little tense for a moment. We did not have cell phones, and his plates were smeared with mud.

If this were to happen today, I would certainly call the police. And, of course, I would not be unarmed.
 
Thanks for the comments so far.

I love my keltec, i just carry it on my ankle. It is light and easy to conceal in pretty much every situation. I realize now, however, that the ankle is kind of a useless place to have a gun, at least for a main piece, if you need it.

But to reply to the statement, the big gun was much more comforting. I practice a lot, and i know i am going to connect if i shoot, i just like that insurance in case i need it.

Intoxicated individual+huge rotweiler+.380ACP=(possibly) not quite enough gun

-MWD

PS- I love my .380 and i will still carry it. as many say here- the small gun on you is better than the .45 at home
 
sounds to me like you did very well. as far as i can tell, you did everything exactly as you shoulld have, from recognising the threat, to informing the LEOs afterward.
those large guns sure are a lot more comforting when situations like these arise. i had a "near draw" experience a year or so ago while i was carrying a glock 22 with a reload. since it would have been two on one if the situation would have gone south, i am glad that i had more than just my lcp stuffed in my jeans pocket! ever since then i just cant bring myself to carry the lcp without something larger close by.
 
Sounds like another of those many instances where the mere presence of a firearm served as a deterrent to crime.

Good job by both you and the wife.
 
Stories like this show that most CCWs can and do correctly assess problem situations and respond accordingly - usually by not using their gun. Remember that congress woman shot in Arizona? One of the first on the scene was a CCW holder who had his weapon with him. Put yourself in his shoes - you just heard a shooting take place, you see a guy holding a gun, and see a scuffle going on right next to him. He correctly concluded that the shooter was the guy on the ground, not the guy holding the gun. Excellent!
 
Mid, you did fine man.

You were enjoying your life and still maintained enough awareness to spot the threat. Sounds like a nice balanced approach. I would think about a pocket holster for that P-3AT though.
 
Verbal assertiveness goes a long way to taking control of a situation like this. Your clear command to him to not approach any further is a crucial first step. Talk like a cop. Saying things like "What is your intention?" (but without the voice rise at the end) and ordering him/them to keep their distance goes a long way, frequently to even ending the situation.
As someone who has worked part-time in pizza delivery on and off for many years, I have used the verbal assertiveness that law enforcement work empowered me with countless times to effectively handle people that have tried to mess with me (hey, it helped in LE, too!)
 
No shots fired, no blood spilled, everyone went home OK.

Best outcome possible. :cool:
 
+1 for situational awarness (fairly shure i spelled that wrong)

that can be your biggest wheapon in life. just knowing whats going on around you and save you life!

you did just fine, no sence in replaying the image in your head at night, or loosing any sleep over it.

you get a A+ in my book
 
Bikerdoc nailed it. The guy was likely considering bad things and the OP's initial response caused him to reconsider.

Really, I don't think there's much that you could have done better. A strong verbal rebuke and the act of placing your hand on the unseen pistol is what kept things from escalating. I'd note that exercising restraint and not pulling your gun was a wise move. There is always a point at which the balance can tip from effective deterrence to provocation, and the OP apparently walked that line exactly as he should have.
 
I think you did the right thing in being highly suspicious but NOT drawing. I suspect he was probably just drunk, but you never know. And a Rottweiller counts as a potentially deadly weapon (maybe not legally, but practically.)
 
so to further this discussion...

What would be the "right" thing to do if say the BG kept walking toward you or easing toward your car? Lets say he kept his hands out of his pockets and you do not see a deadly weapon.

He just kinda easily kept approaching. Then what?
 
Several things you could do.

1) Retreat. Keep your distance. Put something between you and him (like the car). Make it perfectly (LOUD and) clear that you feel threatened and want to be left alone.

2) If possible, get in the car, lock the door and drive away.

3) POSSIBLY, and depending on a number of factors, you may choose to declare your weapon, or even show it. This is a big deal decision as it can be assault under your state law -- so you need clear and explainable justification -- and it puts your cards right on the table. If he calls your bluff, have a plan for what you'll do NEXT.

The likelihood that a bad guy is going to slowly, deliberately, and persistently confront you in this manner is probably remote. Most criminals don't want to face a nervous, scared, and aware citizen holding a gun. You may know that you cannot -- will not -- shoot him without further provocation, but HE doesn't know that, and there are plenty of 'good' folks who would be just scared enough to fire anyway.

Truth is, there are ways someone of bad intent could really hamstring a good guy who knows and assiduously follows the law, by some tactic like this. But there are far easier and less risky ways to accomplish their goals, most of the time.
 
Double Naught Spy said:
I know it sounds dramatic, but "almost drawing" really is a non-event. Your whole story comes down to you acting like a tourist during an exciting event, not maintaining awareness until some guy parked too close, being approaching by a drunk, fearing everything had gone to hell, verbally delaying the situation supplemented by gestures, then aided by your wife for a nice egress.

You did fine after realizing you might have a problem, but almost having to draw is no big deal. You didn't draw and so the issue of drawing is a non-event.



One way you can stop being surprised by such developments right now is by putting out of your mind the likelihood of "crazies" being out. Being a criminal isn't 9-5 and if you are truly crazy, the hours on the clock don't matter. If you are stoned or drunk, the hours on the clock don't matter. Bad guys and crazy people can be curious about exciting events like the rest of us. Many attend out churches, go to little league baseball games, shop in our local stores, and some may even live down the road from us. The smart criminals will take advantage of exciting or unique events for profit.

In short, people will take advantage of you in a normal day-to-day setting when you are complacent. People will take advantage of you in a unique or exciting situation when you are distracted. Pretty much people will take advanage of you any time they can.
Click to expand...
He did fine. You can only have so much awareness before you become hyper-alert, which is a negative outside of a combat zone.

And it was a big deal. Any time you feel your life is in danger and you expose your weapon, that is a big deal. He was less than a second from presentaion, and maybe a second or less from firing. Yeah, that is a big deal.

I had to present on someone to stop a similar situation. Very similar. Good job.
 
Posted by Double Naught Spy: I know it sounds dramatic, but "almost drawing" really is a non-event. .... almost having to draw is no big deal. You didn't draw and so the issue of drawing is a non-event.
Click to expand...
That is true.

That does not mean either that the OP did not have real reason to be concerned, or that the OP had exhibited less than sufficient situational awareness--there is a limit. Nor does it mean that the presence of a concealed firearm that could have been drawn and used was not a very good thing at the time.

Based on what we have read here, I would not fault the OP in any way, and I think Sam's recommendations are on point.

Things worked out OK, but it is possible that drawing might have proved necessary, and it is also possible that, had things gotten worse and had safe retreat and egress not been possible, deadly force might have ultimately been required.

Perhaps a better subject line might have been "A Tense Situation Today"; that's really what this is about.
 
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