Scenario: Followed home

[Doug.38PR]

Suppose you pull into your driveway one night and up to or into your garage and stop. You turn your car off and suddenly, down the driveway you see a car pulling with it's lights off. What is your next move? Grab your gun, roll out of the car and take cover in the garage? Dash for the house to unlock the door to call the police? Whip out your cellphone and call the police?

You have only seconds.

At night it seems obvious the man or men in the car are up to no good as they are entering the driveway steathfully and quickly at night. Should you openfire on an unknown or turn the domelights on to let them see you have a gun (exposing yourself)?
But then it could be a couple of highschool/college jerks playing a joke on someone.
Of course this is one of those things that you just have to meet it when you come to it.

Thoughts, comments?

 

[psychophipps]

I would take stock of the situation and see what my gut was telling me.
If I felt threatened by them (aggressive driving, violently opening doors, etc.) then I would draw my pistol and charge the car before they have a chance to set up on me. You'd be amazed how few people know how to effectively utilize a firearm from within an enclosed space like a motor vehicle, let alone while trying to climb out of one. In fact, I've learned some rather nasty things to do to people to get them from inside cars.
If they just sort of pulled in like normal I would step around the front of my Jimmy and act like I was looking down at something on it's front end. After stooping down I'd creep to the passenger side and draw my firearm from cover and concealment. If they get out of the vehicle I would challenge them from my new position and ask them what they want. If the response I get jives with my gut then I'll tell them I can help them, to turn their headlights on (I have security lights so I won't be blinded), to stay put, that I'll be right back after I grab a phone for them. If not, I'll sternly warn them away and tell them that I'm calling the police.

I'll let your imagination fill the gaps for non-compliance or threatening behavior,
Mark(psycho)Phipps( HAHAHA! )

 

[Manedwolf]

Okay. A REALISTIC answer.

If you're still in the car, don't get out. You're in control of over two tons of steel, and that can be used quite effectively as a weapon. Back out at them, if you run over them, too bad for them, if their car is in the way, hit it. Lean on the horn the whole time.

 

[psychophipps]

That's a really good point, actually. I've heard that cars are really insane bullet magnets unlike what you see in the movies so what do the real pros say on this subject? Is it better to stay in, or return to, the vehicle or to be more mobile? I realise that it's situational so we'll automatically discount the Capt. Obvious situations.

Mark(psycho)Phipps( HAHAHA! )

 

[george29]

http://www.thehighroad.org./showthread.php?p=2717252#post2717252

 

[Roadwild17]

Take cover from inside the garage and challenge them with gun drawn. Its late at night and you have me in condition red, you had better get a really good excuse out of your mouth in a few seconds or else your going to the on the wrong end of a long night. I'm not saying shoot up the car. Just yell very loudly, "I have a gun, what do you want" the way I see it, unless they run right there or give me the "dear in the headlights" look while trying to stumble to say something, they are up to no good.

 

[psychophipps]

The problem that I have with staying in the car is the risk of damaging it in such a manner that I can't get out of it. I drive a V6 Jimmy and it has some power but what if my maneuvering gets me stuck inside somehow by getting wedged, damaging the doors, etc. I'm asking this from previous experience where an acquaintance was in a similar situation: stayed in his car, used it back out in to the other vehicle where he deflected to get wedged against the concrete walls of his driveway and was then shot because he was trapped inside. He was in the drug trade but that really made me think about the wisdom of potentially getting trapped inside your car after using it defensively.

Mark(psycho)Phipps( HAHAHA! )

 

[Manedwolf]

Why the hell would you get out of the car, again? This isn't a movie.

LEAN on the horn and hold it down the instant you see them in the driveway. If they don't flee, slam the car into reverse and roll at them, hit their car if you have to, push it out of the way. Back over them.

 

[ARperson]

Actually had this happen several years ago...

Pulled into the driveway and a car pulled up blocking the exit. Two drunk guys get out talking about how they are going to kick my husband's butt for some percieved traffic wrong he did. As he was getting out of the vehicle, I mentioned quite loudly that his gun was still in the pocket of the seat and that I though he might need it. He reached back into the truck to get it, and both of those guys turned right around and left.

 

[Shipwreck]

Put your car between U and them (go around your car) - have your weapon in your hand (they can't see it - U are in front of your car), and point and yell for them to leave. Then see what happens.

 

[Powderman]

In your car, in your driveway, and they're behind you?

Bad situation, and bad position.

If you roll at them, you give them a fat target to shoot at. If you back up at them, even worse. You're strained, looking over your shoulder and they're flat footed and possibly aiming.

First, get out of the car, NOW. Turn off your dome light, and exit quickly.

If you can get into your house, do so. Lock your doors securely, get to a position of control (stairway or other choke point). Hopefully, you will have your long gun by then. Lock and load.

If you are by yourself, use the cell phone to call the police at that point. If you are not, tell the S/O to stay put and call the police. (If your S/O is also gun savvy, have him/her arm themselves, too!)

Now would be an excellent time for some of those Peltor Presidential electronic ear muffs. They actually magnify small noises--you can even hear whispers. But they will protect your ears from gunfire--which can be pretty disorienting in confined spaces.

If you can't get to your house, get behind your engine block, with your feet behind a tire. Give a warning--if they do not heed your warning, engage appropriately.

 

[the naked prophet]

Let's look at the options.

Stay in the car - as we've seen in plenty of other threads, cars do not provide any but the flimsiest of cover. While pistol calibers do not reliably penetrate cars, they are not usually stopped. The windshield and rear windshield are good for slowing down one shot of .38 or lower. While you're in the car, you are a stationary target (assuming there's not enough room for driving around). You also cannot get in a good position to return fire.

Use the car as a weapon - as has been pointed out, you could damage the car such that you can't get out, and then you're a sitting duck. Even without that consideration, you can't get up much speed in reverse, especially if they're close behind you. Besides, what if it's your stupid friends playing a prank on you? Do you really want to ram them in that case?

Get out of the car - depending on where you go, this looks to be the better option. Once you're out of the car, do you:

Open fire - what if it's those stupid friends trying to scare you? Someone whose headlights died and need directions? These are unlikely, but it sure would suck if it happened to you and you blew them away.

Run inside your house - How long does it take you to unlock your deadbolt and then doorknob? When you're nervous? While your back is turned to a car full of ??? Not an option.

What can you do? Well, if they are criminals, they have chosen a situation to put you at the maximum disadvantage. Have your gun handy, grab a flashlight, and step out of the car. Go off to the side so that if someone on the drivers side decides to shoot, the pillar/doorpost will be in the way, and if someone on the passengers side decides to shoot, they'll be shooting in the drivers face. Use the flashlight to identify who is in the car, but with your gun drawn. I keep a 30 round Glock mag in the map pocket of my door, loaded with Israeli 9mm+P+ FMJ, in the event that I may have to shoot through a car. I would put that in my pocket before I get out.

There really is no good option. That's the best I can think of.

 

[wdlsguy]

Suppose you pull into your driveway one night and up to or into your garage and stop. You turn your car off and suddenly, down the driveway you see a car pulling with it's lights off.

This is one reason why it's a really good idea to watch your rearview mirrors, especially when you are nearing your destination (home or otherwise).

If you think someone might be following you, go around the block to confirm your suspicions, but don't go home with someone following you.

 

[psychophipps]

Great call, wdlsguy. A lot of people drop their guard as they near home because it's their 'safe area'.

The one thing that I've learned from my various instructors and friends I've trained with is that hesitation can get you very dead. If you see a bad situation unfolding like a car swerving violently into your driveway with the headlights off and the doors bursting open then you've got yourself a situation there were being hestitant to engage or advance can get you in a lot of trouble. I say "charge the car" because they A) won't expect it and that will make them hesitate and B) you'll be in a position of dominance while they're trying to stumblebum out of the vehicle if it's really as bad as you think. If I don't see any weapons then I'm not firing but I'll definitely be screaming at them to show their hands and to stay in the vehicle.
I used to work with a former SAS guy when I lived in Madison, WI and he gave me a few pointers in this regard based on real-life situations. The main thing he told me though is that being hesitant to engage gets more people hurt and killed than being direct and taking care of business. I've seen this myself as I've done the "nice guy" thing and gotten decked for it when I should have just jumped the guy and gotten it done with. If you try too hard to not be the jerk then you might be too late to do anything when it goes down anyway.

I'd rather have to apologize and maybe get a stern talking to by the police than be dead or seriously hurt,
Mark(psycho)Phipps( HAHAHA! )

 

[Nio]

Happened to me a few months ago...

I pulled into my (long) driveway, and 5 seconds later an SUV pulled into my drive and stopped at the street. I knew it was a big SUV, but that was all I knew because the headlights were on and it was dark. I waited about 5 seconds to see what was going to happen, then I put my SUV into reverse, punched it and spun it around backwards into the yard so that I could put my high beams on the other vehicle and see what was going on. (I have a large open front yard.) I knew I could easily punch through the fence on one side of the yard and 'escape' through the neighbor's yard if I needed to.

Turns out it was a neighbor.

He never did that again, and I have since taken up the practice of backing in.

Nio

 

[R.Edd]

Posted my experience with this same situation in another thread.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=2723362#post2723362

 

[bouis]

I think that drawing in this situation would be a mistake. My first instinct would be to stick my pistol in my pocket and head for a side or rear door out of the other car's LOS. If they pursue, you have home field advantage and ought to be able to catch them coming around a corner or in another vulnerable spot you'd know by virtue of it being your house.

Worst case scenario though is that you end up shooting an undercover cop who followed your "suspicious" move to the side or rear...

So if you're worried about that, I'd say just head straight for the door and get inside ASAP.

 

[TallPine]

Well, since my driveway is about 500 feet long, I'm guessing that I would just go into the house as quickly as possible - maybe going around to the door on the other side. And there I would arm myself with a long gun before greeting my "guest"

Of course, I should have long before that noticed a vehicle driving behind me, as I live on a county road where you often don't see any other cars. (and we don't get very many unexpected visitors, either)

 

[Bob F.]

If I'm in the garage, I'm going to hit the closer on the sunvisor. If they try to come under the door, they're hostiles and will be challenged at gunpoint, unless gut says fire first. An F-150 makes a helleva shield. If they don't come under they have to go around the garage to the side 32" door and put the truck and another car between me and them, plus the locked door which wouldn't slow them much. If they go around and gut's alarming, I go under the truck. I always have my cell phone and firearm!

Stay safe.
Bob