Crazie in the Gun Range Parking lot

[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!!!
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. ). 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.

 

[Riphalman]

It seems to me....

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.

 

[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.

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]

Crazie iin the gun range parking lot

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]

Yes, mucho bueno!!!!

Sometimes it's tough to bite your tounge.