Self defense stories with no shots fired.

[ol' scratch]

Hello everybody,

Ok, I was just curious about this; particularly after watching an episode of Penn and Tellers’ BS (I didn’t want to get flagged. The name is actually the written out form). They had a great piece on the 2nd amendment. One anti-gunner stat I hear a lot is that 40-50 percent of people who have a firearm in their home for personal defense accidentally shoot a loved one. The percentage of people fluctuates. Most recently, I heard a police chief rattle off 47 percent.
The episode of BS gave a different spin on the stat. It says even if the stat is creditable, there are many instances where people have used firearms to deter a would be attacker and never fired a shot.
I have a deep rooted hatred of statistics. When I was working on my Bachelor’s while attending school in Michigan, a professor told me to read a book titled, Damn Lies and Statistics- Untangling Numbers from the Media, Politicians, and Activists, by Joe Best. This book helped me realize that stats can and are used to mislead. I question all stats, even the stats that help prove a point I agree with.
I would like to know how many people have used a firearm to defend themselves without ever firing a shot. I will start with my story.


I had been working in my garage on a now forgotten project. My neighbors at the time were in their 70s and very sweet people. I was surprised when I heard speed metal blaring from a car that pulled into their driveway. I heard the engine cut off and a car door slam. A man in his 50s got out of the car with a sledge hammer. He instantly started smashing my neighbors’ garage with the sledge. I yelled, “What the **** are you doing?” He yelled back, “(neighbor’s name) has my ****ing train! I want it back!” I replied, “I don’t know anything about that, but you aren’t going to smash up his garage!”
At that point, the man with the hammer walked very quickly across the two yards proclaiming that I wasn’t going to tell him what to do. When he crossed the property line I said, “That’s it! I am going to get my ****ing gun!” I ran in the house with him in hot pursuit. I locked the door, ran up stairs, and grabbed (at the time) my SKS which was at the ready. It could be argued that an SKS is not the best choice for home defense, but it was what I had at the time. I did have the presence of mind to pick up safety rounds.
While I walked out into the yard with my cell phone to call the police, my wife covered me from a window. The goof ball with the hammer no longer had his weapon, but he was forcefully trying to remove my neighbor from his home. The police came a few minutes after that. Their response time was amazing.
While everything was going on, the man with the hammer had apparently taken my threat very seriously. He had thrown the hammer in my yard. My neighbor didn’t even know his garage had been damaged until I told him. He then realized the gravity of the situation.
The man with the hammer was a meth addict who was coming down. He remembered that my neighbor had a Lionel train he had lay claim to when he was a kid. Things had changed and he was a convicted felon who couldn’t purchase a firearm. He was coming to get the train presumably to buy more drugs. To this day, I think he would have pulled my neighbor out of his house and bludgeoned him to death if I hadn’t threatened him. Even though the police came in no time flat, I still think he would have killed my neighbor before they would have reached him.

I know there are people who have used firearms in self-defense and had to fire shots. I am curious about the people who have never had to fire a shot. I think a lot of crime is thwarted with just the threat that someone has a gun.

 

[Carl]

I've heard that most situations end once a gun is drawn. Which is why I think some brandishing laws are unnecessary, although the lawmakers assume that people would abuse that and brandish their gun every time someone exchanges a few bad words or expressions.

 

[DAVIDSDIVAD]

I think the absolute best thing a gun does for anyone is empower them.


Honestly, a few months back I was working on my truck outside of my apartment when this really rough looking character appeared at the corner about 50' or 60' away from me. His eyes were locked on me, and he was walking right towards me.
He didn't do the usual, " 'scuse me, could you spare sum change?" routine that most of the bums do around here.
He just kept walking at an even pace right at me.

Well, things changed when he was about 30' away and started playing with the back of his waistband (still looking at me.)
At this point I was locked eyes with him, and I smoothly reached into my man-bag (man-purse ) and got a good grip on my machine.
I'm pretty sure he got the point as he took his hand out of his waist band and veered off to the other side of the street.

Don't get me wrong, I was scared, BIG TIME, but I think if I hadn't been armed I wouldn't have felt confident.
And I think a bad guy can tell the difference between an individual who is scared like a cat backed into a corner, and who is scared like a hamster getting picked out of a field by an eagle.


I think simply knowing I had the ability to defend myself prevented a tragedy on all sides, and resulted in a win-win.

 

[Ridgerunner665]

This happened 10-30-07 (I'm a truck driver...truckstops are a must)

I pulled into a TA truckstop to get fuel and food at about 10:30 am. after fueling I went inside to Burger King and got a meal to go, then went back to the truck to eat. I was sitting in the sleeper...about 3 bites into my Whopper when my truck door came open and a black male about my age climbed in and sat down for about 1 second, then turned toward the sleeper...it was about this time that he decided he had gotten in the wrong truck. What he saw was me chewing up a bite of Whopper with a 45 pointed at his head...about 2 feet away.
He quickly said he had accidently gotten in the wrong truck...I calmly replied "You're damn right you did !"...then he carefully backed out of my truck and left.


Maybe he was telling the truth...after all, I have stuck my key in the wrong truck door...a couple of times.

Maybe he just didnt expect the 45...I'll never know.


I ALWAYS lock my doors when I'm in the truck...why I didnt that time is beyond me.

BTW I was in Georgia...I75...I cant remember the exit #... 236 maybe. And the pistol was my Baer stainless Stinger.


No shots fired...no legal ramifications, I didn't call the police because he just might have been telling the truth, but I don't think he was and I wasn't taking any chances.

 

[mercedesrules]

Twice, I, gun in one hand, have had to speak to a determined intruder through the door. The first time, years ago, when I said, "DON'T COME IN!", there was a clatter of footsteps and when I finally opened the door, a big screwdriver still on the porch with which to jimmy the lock.


The second time, a truck came up the long drive of the ranch and someone knocked at the door. Knowing that they had broken the gate lock I was surprised and somewhat fooled by a black T-shirt that read, "POLICE" and large flashlight. We exchanged words ("Your gate was unlocked; we came in to see if you're all right"/"Thank you.") I didn't open the door and his accomplice turned around in the yard and off they fled. Luckily, because even though we had quickly called 911, it took the police 2 hours, five minutes to get here (they thought they had caught them; it wasn't them)!
The following day a retired policeman was victimized but helped catch them.

"Empower" is a good word for what the gun did; it was just me and the missus in the house.

 

[rhartwell]

I lived in NC. I was waiting to pick up a co-worker. I had my gun on the front seat next to me. A kid (20-25) came up and asked what I was doing. I told him. The co-worker got in the car and told me he had planned on robbing me until he saw the gun.

 

[Badlander]

I stopped to use the restroom at A secluded park. I saw A man sitting on A picinic table, no cars around. I went in to do my bussiness. I had to remove my 1911 . So I'm sitting there when this guy came in straight to the stall I was sitting in, jerked the door hard enough to break the little hook lock,And saw me sitting there gun in hand. He stammered an apoligy then ran out.
He did not use another stall, he was gone when I came out.

I'll bet he needed A stall then!!

 

[PAPACHUCK]

I live in a neighborhood that has become, well, the hood. There was a group of young persons living next door that had loud parties late into the night on a regular basis. So much so that I had to have the Sheriff's visit them a few times. I guess they were able to tell who call the law, for I'm one the last homeowners that isn't renting to HUD. Over a period of a month or so, some of them have climbed my 8ft. privacy fence to have a peek at what they may want out of my yard or carport, and have broken a few fence boards in the process. One particular Sunday as the wife and were cleaning the kitchen after breakfast, I noticed out of the window one of them in my yard snooping around. I went out the back door and greeted him with my 642, and demanded to know what the f*&k he was doing in my yard. He stated he was looking for his basketball that had gone over the fence. Their basketball goal is at least 40ft away, and I am sure they threw it over just to have a reason to scope out my stuff. Funny thing is, after meeting Mr. S&W, he, nor any of his pals have been back.

 

[Magichelmt]

2 times I have pointed a gun at a man

One month after hurricane Andrew we were living in out home in Cutler Ridge which is right between Homestead and Miami. No power for miles. Martial law, curfew at dark.... Some how our under ground phone lines still worked. I am a 16 year old kid sitting in the house alone, mom's at work and I am reading by flashlight. I heard a noise in the garage and decide I need to look into it. I grab a flashlight and the snub nose .38 S&W my grandfather had loaned us for this reason. I opened the kitchen door to the garage and find a 20 something black guy half through the window and trying to wiggle the rest of the way in. I walked up to him and smacked the barrel on his head. As he is crying "don't kill me I!" I am scared shi@less. I the stupid kid forgot the phone. I told him if I ever saw him again I would not be so nice. I then ran into the house, locked the door and called 911. Five minutes later the National Guard and Metro police roll up with guns drawn and he is gone. A real nice police officer talked to me for a while and told me I did real good.........but next time kill him and drag the body in the house. We will not prosecute you for shooting looters. We never had another incident while I lived there. To this day that is the most scared I can ever remember being.


The second time was in Miami as well. I was living in little Havana at the time and Ellian (sp?) Gonzales had just been grabbed by the feds the night before in a late night raid on his relatives Little Havana home. The entire community was polarized by the event. My friend and I had planned and gone to an indoor range we frequented after work. I blew out the high pressure power steering line on my car pulling out of the range. My buddy decided he would follow me to my mechanics place and give me a lift home. So on our way to my house the two of us are loaded down with weapons in his F-150 when we reach an intersection that has become a protest site. As things happened quickly we became boxed in in traffic and there was nowhere to go. Someone has moved a trash can into one of the oncoming lanes and started a fire in it. Some guy with a broom handle with a Cuban flag draped on it is running around and starts banging on the hood. My buddy and I are not hispanic looking at all. We are really out of place and don't have a way out, so we are sitting tight with the doors locked and windows up. A few minutes go by and flag boy decides he is going to jump in the bed of the truck and wave his cuban flag. After asking, demanding, and then yelling at him he will not get out of the truck. We see 2 cops standing against a pole and ask them to get this guy off our truck. To which they respond by waving their hand as to say, so what. Really mad now my friend pops the clutch to jerk the truck forward knocking the guy over in the bed. Our windows are still down and flag boy jumps down and starts to drag my buddy out of the truck window. Left handed I grabbed my mini cougar .45 and reached across to place the barrel against flag boys head. My right hand has a Sig Pro 2340 pointed towards the passenger window where some other random dude came from god knows where to start in on the beat down. Both stopped pretty abruptly when confronted with weapons. My friend was released slowly and flag boy ran as soon as he was out of the window. We proceeded to drive up on the side walk and knocked over 2 mail boxes and a trash can. Mind you the cops did not even move. It was a case of mob mentality. Those two cops wanted nothing to do with anything that was going on. They did approach us as we got close and ask us why were were driving on the sidewalk as we pushed past protesters. Then they told me to pick up the trash can. I told him to shove it as my buddy laid on the horn and pushed his way to a side street we could escape on. Still to this day I am bothered by protesters. What I did learn from protesters that week was that if you pretend to believe in their cause you will get allot further. Later in the week I go stuck in a protest and was able to talk my way through by chanting WITH them. I am so glad I got the hell out of that town.

 

[mesinge2]

I was at a Hardware store I frequent in my home town. This store has existed for many years (a family owned establishment), but just recently started selling guns and ammo. I was picking up some 9mm for my Beretta 92 when a portly man walked in and stepped up to the gun counter.

He said nothing even when the owner asked if he needed help. He just stared at him. It was simply "odd." That's what caught my attention. Then he just pulled out a black snubbie, finger on trigger, and began to raise it toward the owner behind the counter. It was surreal. I simply yelled "Oh, (expletive deleted)" and pulled my 92 from a strong side holster with a cant.

He could not have been more than 3 feet from me. He then went to turn to me and saw a gun muzzle at little too close, he dropped his gun on the counter. The owner unloaded it and called the police. I made him sit on the floor with his hands on his head until the police arrived, never pointing anywhere but at his face. When I saw the police cars through the glass doors I laid my gun on the counter.

I provided my CCW and DL. I was questioned extensively. One question I vivdly remember is where he drew his gun from. I remember this question because it was amazing that I honestly did not know. I spoke with the deputies for a while they handed my weapon back to me with the mag removed and the slide locked open. They apparently kept the one from the tube. I got in my car and just looked at the front of the store for what seems like forever thinking nothing and eventually drove home.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=438745

When I posted this above alot of members thought that the round from the tube probably fell on the floor or the officer put it in his pocket when the weapon was cleared.

 

[Rockwell1]

. A real nice police officer talked to me for a while and told me I did real good.........but next time kill him and drag the body in the house.

My BS-o-meter just went off the scale

 

[Dismantler]

I was walking down a street at night before I became familiar with situational awareness. It was dark and I was too close to tall hedges in a shaky neighborhood. Two large fellows came out of the bushes, one in front of me and one behind me. I whipped around so that I faced both of them, one to my left, one to my right. I had my hand on a Hi Standard derringer in an IWB holster. They could see that I had my hand on a gun, and that I was ready to draw. They assured me that they wanted no trouble with me, and that they had mistaken me for another fellow that had been coming around and causing them trouble.

Another time the police chased armed robbers across my property at 11:00 at night. They had fired at the officer. I was not aware of where they were, but it felt really good to have a six shooter in hand that night. They all went to prison, where one died of a drug OD.

 

[Magichelmt]

Rockwell1: that is your opinion, but I will never forget that man telling me that as long as I live. I could not believe a cop told me that. But that same night my grandfather told me to do the same thing.

 

[DAVIDSDIVAD]

I live in a neighborhood that has become, well, the hood. There was a group of young persons living next door that had loud parties late into the night on a regular basis. So much so that I had to have the Sheriff's visit them a few times. I guess they were able to tell who call the law, for I'm one the last homeowners that isn't renting to HUD. Over a period of a month or so, some of them have climbed my 8ft. privacy fence to have a peek at what they may want out of my yard or carport, and have broken a few fence boards in the process. One particular Sunday as the wife and were cleaning the kitchen after breakfast, I noticed out of the window one of them in my yard snooping around. I went out the back door and greeted him with my 642, and demanded to know what the f*&k he was doing in my yard. He stated he was looking for his basketball that had gone over the fence. Their basketball goal is at least 40ft away, and I am sure they threw it over just to have a reason to scope out my stuff. Funny thing is, after meeting Mr. S&W, he, nor any of his pals have been back.

Sorry to nit pick, but I would not have done that. You just told them, "break in and steal my guns when I'm not home !"

 

[KBT1911]

I was staying at a fine hotel establishment in Waco, Texas called the Delta Inn. As I walked from my car to my room I was approached by a crack head begging for money. "Hey you got a dollar?"

"No." I said. We looked at each other for a second and then he backed away and I went into my room and shut the door.

Not one second after I shut the door, the guy returned and started pounding on the door really hard. I knew it was him because he was yelling "HEY! HEY!" at the top of his lungs as he beat on my door.

This time, I pulled my 1911 out of my pants, swung the door open and stuck the barrel in his eyeball.

"WHAT?" I yelled.

"I'm sorry!" he yelled back and hauled ass the other direction.

"Don't f@#$in come back or I'll shoot you!" I yelled after him.

I found out later, that the Delta Inn was one of the most dangerous places I could have booked a room. A guy I worked with had another freak tearing up his door with a big knife one night when he stayed there for a party.

On some afternoons there is a parade of pimps and prostitutes along the walkways. very festive.

heres a link to some other peoples' opinions of the place.

 

[armedandsafe]

This was many years ago in a suburb North of San Diego. I had been out shooting all afternon, so after dinner I showered and plopped on the bed with FirstInLine to watch some TV. I heard a loud THUD and the house shook. I got up, slipped on my robe and wrapped my holster belt around my waist and dropped the Dan Wesson .357 in the holster.

When I got to the living room, my idiot son #3 had let a couple of latino men in, one of whom was staggering drunk and who spoke no english. They had missed the deadend and had come across my yard and hit my house. with their car. I had them sit down, on on one side of the room and one on the other, where I could watch them both and told son to call 911.

Number 1 grabbed my son by the arm and pulled him down on the couch, rather gently, but firmly. Number two who was sitting with his right shoulder facing me began to yell "NO! NO! NO 911!' at me. I again told son to call and Number two lunged up out of the couch and started to charge me. By the time he was half erect he raised his head and was looking into the one-eyed beast, which had come out my holster so fast I don't remember drawing.

Number one let go of my son, Number two sat down and began to plead in rather good english (and very soberly, too, I might add.) Son went in and called the cops.

I overheard idiot son #3 talking about it later and he said, "Pops' arm suddenly grew about a foot longer and there was a big hole in the end of the finger he was pointing at that guy."

I've been shot at and hit and I've been shot at and missed, but I do'nt recommend either for casual entertainment. I'll take an occassion where gentle persuasion solves the problem every time.

Pops

 

[xstuntman]

Over at the Snubnose Files the stats are 92% of the time displaying is enough. I don't know how accurate that number is or where it came from but I'm thinking it sounds correct. I had to display once and that was all I needed to make the BG go away.
I was stationed in San Bernardino, California during the Rodney King riots and openly carried from the apartment to the car regardless of who liked it. My buddy and his wife got dragged from the car, beaten and car stolen 200 yards from the gate at Norton Air Force base that first night. He bought his first gun one day later. X

 

[chris in va]

Here's hours of reading for you. many didn't have to fire a shot.

http://www.claytoncramer.com/gundefenseblog/blogger.html

 

[justanothersoul]

This is a difficult question to answer: how do we know how many times merely being armed and confident has stopped problems before they start? How many times has merely being head up and alert stopped a problem? How many times has exercising the judgment to avoid a possible problem averted it?

I agree with those who say criminals are like dogs in that they can sense fear and sense when a target is not afraid. My goal is to project confidence and alertness and by so doing, never have to lay a hand on, let alone draw or fire the compact Glock .45 at my belt.

 

[sfrank711]

"By the time he was half erect he raised his head and was looking into the one-eyed beast, which had come out my holster so fast I don't remember drawing. "

Seriously dude, how did you type this and not laugh?

 

[Hungry Seagull]

Ah man, Where to start.

Usually my encounters over the years have a opening. Usually with me in condition fat dumb and happy with the world.

The opening consists of.. hey bud, you have a dollar? Have a light? Have the time? Have...Insert your own conclusions....

While I process this HUH? Mentally I fail to recognize the danger from time to time, particularly when this fella has a partner coming up behind me.

Here I be with coil being chained down with a large pipe breaker bar. This fella comes up asking for a cig. Pretty persistant too. I tell him to hit the road, no cigs and Im working.

This fella had a partner come up thinking that my bent over trying to clink a binder with much force places me into a oppertune target. I simply swap ends and let the pipe go. The pipe hit the partner assailent with a audible "Plop" as a wet rotted melon makes when dropped and disappeared into the sky end over end, a 6 foot long rod of hurt a few hundred yards away.

The chain that was being tighened wrapped around number one's cig ma's foot and took him down when the binder it was attached to tried to take off and fly like the breaker bar did.

I didnt do much of anything, just simply get go of something that had amassed alot of energy and let it do the work and wiped out two people.

One out cold like light and the other too... concussed and seeing birdies and hearing bells to function so he staggered about.

I finished the coil and headed out.

I think the out cold was very badly hurt and the other would be in need of care for a few months if he didnt lose something important somewhere in the body or mind first.

Who knows? Not a gun in sight that day. Not that I saw....

Upon further thought, each passing year turns my state of mind from fat dumb happy towards senile, imbecilic and grumpy....

But it was one of the easiest fights that ever happened to me. Just let go of something and it's over.

 

[jpwilly]

A real nice police officer talked to me for a while and told me I did real good.........but next time kill him and drag the body in the house.

I've heard this same thing from a family friend - a cop. We also lived in a rural area in OHIO...this was 15-20years ago. Most of the criminals detured in our neck of the woods, back then, got warning shots - pretty effective!

 

[justanothersoul]

Reading the link to gun defensive stories provided above makes one thing very clear: things are seldom clear cut, black and white, good guy bad guy in real life. They're messy, gray, confusing and just kind of sad. It's tragic when an 18 year old girl gets shot in the face with a .45 because she tried to rob a pizza man with a bb gun. And as men and women of compassion we can't celebrate her demise---not even to champion our basic right of self-defense. We may carry a gun and be ready to use it if need be, but as decent men we must exercise the greatest level of restraint. We must be calmer, smarter and fairer than the average unarmed man. Because you and I, my friend, being decent honorable men, will need to live with ourselves after, and knowing we used our gun only when forced to, to save lives, will make our nights a lot easer to sleep through.

 

[theotherwaldo]

Here's one.

A local 14-year-old meth dealer decided that I had turned his buddy over to the cops.

Anyway, grieving buddy stole his dad's deer rifle, hunkered down by my grandmother's chicken house, and started shooting at her home.

I was able to ease up on him through the willows and get right behind him with a shotgun. He panicked, dropped the rifle, and ran into the woods.

Meanwhile, Grandma had called the Police, and they arrived not long after. They took the rifle, then hunted down and caught the little drug dealer.

The kid killed himself while in detention. He ate Drano. I'm not too proud of that.

His buddy, by the way, had just escaped from juvenile detention after he'd attacked his mother with a knife and burned down their mobile home. And it was his buddy's girl friend that turned him in.

And the whole thing started because I took a pick-up load of local kids to the local swimming hole, including those mentioned above.

Just normal kids, as far as I knew at the time.

 

[Deanimator]

Some time in spring of '84, I was a captain stationed at Fort Knox. A friend from college and I drove down to Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis to help out a friend who ran a Military Explorer post supported by the MOARNG. We had guns for firing blanks and were wearing home made OPFOR uniforms. When we got there, some internal politics and bullying by one of the parents caused us to cancel our visit and head back to Fort Knox.

On the way back, we were passed on the interstate by a pickup and a small car going in excess of 80mph. Moments later we saw the pickup by the side of the road with a bunch of pissed off people standing around. Moments after that, we saw the little Datsun rolling along on the shoulder. He sped up and paced us briefly as if he wanted to race. He then took off at high speed. This caused us a great deal of concern. I reached in the back of my friend's Dodge Charger and got his HK93A3 out of its bag, put in a 40 round magazine and chambered a round.

I didn't see anything for a while, so I dropped the magazine and ejected the round from the chamber. A few minutes later, we came upon the Datsun again. This time he pulled up even with us, then cut us off and started slowing down, weaving from side to side so that we couldn't pass him. He was obviously trying to force us to stop. I got the H&K again, chambered a round and told my friend, "Wait until he gets right on your front bumper, then turn on the dome light."

When the guy got close enough, my friend hit the dome light so that the guy trying to run us off the road could see a guy in a "foreign" uniform pointing an "assault rifle" at him through the windshield. Like the Millenium Falcon, the Datsun instantly exceeded the speed of light. The guy turned his lights off in a futile attempt to disappear.

We just kept heading back to Kentucky. After a while, we saw tail lights in the distance, sure enough, it was the Datsun. We neither sped up nor slowed down, keeping an even pace. As soon as he saw us, he floored it taking off in excess of 80mph again. He did that at least twice.

At about the time this happened, child molestor, carjacker and serial killer Alton Coleman was doing his midwest tour. There's a non-zero chance that we'd encountered Coleman. If so, he and his girlfriend had doubts about taking on the 4-5 people in the pickup, but thought they could take us.

I wish it had been Coleman and Debra Brown, and that they continued their attempt to carjack us. If they had, at least one person in Ohio whom they later carjacked and murdered would still be alive.