Examples of guns used in self-defense?

[crashresidue]

Cheers Hellbore,

I had a similar problem - but mine was with a sister-in-law.

Even though "Southern born" she had a hatred of guns - ANY guns!

She was visiting at my home one day, and informed myself and my wife - that before she brought her children over to visit, we HAD to remove ALL guns from the house and lock up the ammunition.

My wife said "OK" and I said NO way! This started a fight that almost ended the marriage.

My wife said "I live here too!", then I walked over to the desk, picked up the "house-hold" bills, handed them to her and said "OK, if that's so, then pay YOUR half or leave with your sister!"

Tears and silence.

We had the kids over later that week, I showed them what "guns" looked like and where they might find them - and then told them to come find an adult if they saw one. DO NOT TOUCH!

"Sister-in law" is now a "crack whore", has abandoned her family, and hasn't spoken to her kids for years.

I've taught both of them to shoot - and they both love guns. I spend most of my "off time" reloading so they can come over and shoot.

Don't give up on the kids - even if the parents are anti-gun!

Yea, I got "hot tounge and cold shoulder" for a while after this.

Wife said: "You're just paranioid from Viet Nam" - I responded "You've NEVER been over-run!"

It's NEVER come up again!

I just bought an SKS with a 3-9x scope - she said "don't YOU have enough guns?" I said:"This one is YOURS!" She won't even let me clean it!

Go figure?

Gentle winds,
Russ

 

[Commissar Gribb]

Ronald Reagan stopped a mugger once I believe

I dont remember the details, but the story's out there somewhere. Think I read it in American Rifleman

 

[Hellbore]

LOL... I'm afraid the Ronald Reagan story, if it is true, is of no help in this case. You see, my brother-in-law thinks that only "special people" should carry guns. He thinks that no "normal person" should have a concealed weapon, only police officers or "important people". I bet it is this kind of idiocy that made California's CCW laws so strict... In California you can't carry concealed "just because", you have to write them an essay and try to justify why you are a more "at-risk" person than the average citizen, and why you think you deserve a special exception to the rule. That kind of law makes me so angry I can't even find the words. Shame on California and its unjust and stupid laws.

 

[Peet]

Grid forgive me for what I am about to say:

If in-laws were outlawed, only outlaws would have in-laws.

Hellbore:

I'm trying to be fair and think of things these two have done for me

Dear Abby (of all people) said words to the effect that people can only use you with your permission.

It took me over half a century to learn that in a gut sense. It took a family member crapping on me in my own home repeatedly to realize that I was giving permission for her to do so.

Among other things, I withdrew that permission. I suggest you determine your boundaries and what permission you're giving in-laws to cross them.

Dropping all the psychobabble, kick his butt outta your life - the sucker just takes, never gives. $#@& him.

/Peet

 

[Hellbore]

To give you an idea of the kind of crap I go through to help family members, here is my most recent experience fixing his car:

My brother-in-law comes over and asks me to look at his 1996 S10 Blazer. He says "It is squeaking when I drive and I think the A/C compressor is bad" (this is an A/C compressor I recently installed for him). He also says "I think I have a leak somewhere". I tell him I think it's the water pump leaking but he says "I just had that replaced last year by a shop!"

I take a look, and here is what I find: The back of the water pump is leaking at the back plate gasket and at the front, and his radiator is almost empty! Also, his A/C compressor works fine but his BLOWER motor for the A/C apparently died, no fan in heater mode or A/C mode. The squealing turns out to be the brake pads, they were simply worn down to the squealers.

First of all I replace the A/C blower fan. Now the system blows cold A/C. Then I start on replacing his water pump.

I get the pump off and there is this huge nut that holds the fan clutch onto the water pump. This nut is SIEZED onto the water pump shaft. You have to remove this nut before you can remove the fan blades or the water pump pulley.

After much work, the nut still won't budge. I even tear the back off the water pump, grind wrench flats into the pump shaft, grab it in a vise, then try to remove the nut using a 2' long pipe wrench. No dice... What does happen is I try so hard it breaks the jaws of my bench vise! That sucker is SIEZED on there!

Now my brother-in-law chooses to remember an important detail... He says "Oh I remember now, the mechanic who fixed this before said he wasn't able to remove the old water pump so he had to just rebuild it and put it back on the car". It turns out this is the original water pump that CAME on the vehicle! No wonder it is rusty and trashed.

Finally what I do is cut the shaft of the fan clutch with a hacksaw so I can at least salvage the fan and the water pump pulley, then I have him buy a new water pump and a new fan clutch. I have to remove the radiator just to get the old water pump off with the old fan clutch still attached. In the process, I have to push 2 AC hoses out of the way. I barely am able to snake it out of there.

I put all the new water pump and everything back together, then I notice that the pushing on the A/C lines has caused one of the hoses to spring a leak where it is crimped! NOO! So, I have to remove the hose, take it to a local A/C shop and have them crimp on a new hose section. There goes another $50.

So, I end up having to discharge the A/C system and evacuate it, then refill it. I finish that, I finish putting the radiator back on and connecting the oil cooler and auto tranny cooler lines. Everything finally back together, after 3 days working on this car... Now nothing leaks, A/C blows cold air again, everything seems fine. I go ahead and change his break pads and it seems now I am finished with this car. I go inside to finally enjoy a rest at about 10 PM after having worked all afternoon and evening on this car again.

But no... Murphy's Law is not done with me yet. At 10:30 PM my brother in law calls me to tell me he is stuck in front of his driveway and his car won't move forward any more, and there is red fluid all over his driveway. I go check it out... It turns out one of the automatic transmission fluid lines that goes into the radiator has popped off of the radiator just as he was pulling into his driveway! I can only hope he didn't damage the transmission by trying to rev the engine when the car wasn't moving.

So, I call the dealership today and ask about buying a new tranny fluid line. Well, it turns out I may be in luck... The line is held onto the nut that screws into the radiator by a small C-clip type thing. The guy says "Yeah those break all the time". So, for $6, a new clip might fix this problem.

Tonight I get to try and install a new clip and re-fill the transmission. Hopefully it isn't ruined from the brief period of running without fluid. So far my brother in law has spent around $200 in parts but I shudder to think how much he would have spent at a mechanic, considering all the crap that has gone wrong. I must be crazy to help him so much for free!

I'll be re-attaching the line tonight. Stay tuned, don't be surprised if something else blows up in my face...

 

[jlwatts3]

This guy doesn't have to agree with you, and you don't have to get rid of him. But for all the trouble you've put yourself though in order to help him he damn sure better show you some respect in your own house!!

By god man...don't let this pompous @$$hole walk all over you. :banghead: :banghead:

 

[jke456]

Don't do any of these jobs very well and eventually they will stop asking for your useless help

jon

 

[Glocker]

can you trade him off for another in-law

 

[Moondoggie]

What would be the point of converting him from his anti-gun attitude?

He can't afford to buy any guns of his own (from your description) and he'd probably just want to use yours...which he'd never bother to clean/care for properly. He most likely would expect you to provide the ammo gratis, and if you ever loaned him a firearm you'd most likely play heck getting it back.

All of those repairs you did for free would have run him at least $1,500 in a shop.

I think I'd be asking myself "If this clown weren't married to my sister, is there any chance we'd be friends?"

If it were me, I'd find a way to give him a sub-zero shoulder.

 

[XLMiguel]

I think Moondoggie nailed it.

But if you must, point him at www.gunfacts.com - it gives the real story on firearms use (and abuse) in the US, citing the sources of the facts. The other one that might be useful is the CDC website in their research section. There's a link to a paper they did about 18 months ago examining the efficacy of 51 'gun control' laws - bottom line - none had any effect on crime rates.

You must love your sister alot to put up with this foolishness. God bless & good luck -

 

[Chuck Dye]

Not sure how much help this is, but I am one of (three of?) Gary Kleck’s hidden data points. I have three times used a handgun to defend myself. All three situations were resolved by mere possession and display, all three are undocumented. Twice I have driven off burglars, once a would-be armed robber. In each incident I might have been as successful with a baseball bat, tennis racquet, or, as a trucker, my winch bar or tire thumper, but I am happy to have been armed and decisively had the advantage.

 

[Hellbore]

I think I'd be asking myself "If this clown weren't married to my sister, is there any chance we'd be friends?"

Interesting point... I have 4 married sisters, and only 1 of them is a guy I would be friends with even if my sister wasn't married to him.

 

[gunsmith]

hang in there hbore

I used to be the brother in law from heck.
then I quit drinking!
now I am one of the favorite uncles.
If I were you though I would tack on $$ for parts for the blazer and get the cash from him first.
If you dont feel like working on his truck you can always say your guns need cleaning and you dont have the time right now...
oh yeah on the whole gun owners are far better educated then non gun owners. the article I read that in said we have sex more often too-when I read that article I went out and bought my first gun

 

[sm]

Well - I have done "the right thing" for so called family and so called friends - been burned, burned bad. I was true to myself - so I can hold head up and look folks in the eye.

I do have a responsiblilty to myself. One sometimes has to be selfish in one's own responsiblity to self. If not, they cannot be there for others.

In my case family / friends- had to let some hit their own bottom. Sometimes when one's butt does not bounce - Reality sets in. For some they are still in denial - One cannot change people, places and things - it can be frustrating, but you have to let go.

I have also been on the Jury, and it took a death, rape, assault, serious injury - for "Reality" to sink in. Oh guns...seen the single shot shotgun, .22 rifle, Pink grip Loricin, or rusty old revolver with LRN ammo stop an immediate threat.

I have suggested folks go and sit in and watch a trial. Some anti's, fence sitters and such spouting such Bravdo and whatever figures about 911 - get a dose of Reality. TV court shows, Springer, and such...well they have to have what is called "entertainment value".

When these do-gooders actually are allowed to stay in the courtoom and view the rape victim, the pics from the ER, and hear how "effective" the restraining order and 911 did NOT save them...

Ladies take into consideration that learning to shoot is a good idea. Husbands take into considerstion their wife and teenage daughters.

I was a bit cold about it perhaps - I did offer a napkin when the do-gooder tossed her cookies outside and shaking like a leaf. Cold Bastard - perhaps. I got her think for herself, and not parrot mis-information anymore though.

My classmate met me outside, she had my "day-planner" which I needed during lunch, I returned my "day-planner" before I went back in the courthouse. The do-gooder never knew - still does not know what all was in that thing .

Concealed is concealed, very few folks know if I do or do not. IMO, the less the better.

"Loose lips sink ships".

 

[ckyllo]

hbore
I need some mechanical work done, I will pay with ammo

how are you with clutches

here a word to use the next time that he says he needs help.. NO! and it stays there untill he shows respect for you and your home. and start charging for services such as that will cost you a steak dinner. granted after the work you did should be a whole cow. make him have to do some thing in return.