Here is another useful trick you can do with your eyes when dealing with a perp.
I would fight if danger is imminent or if I have the opportunity right away. One thing that might work very well to distract his attention is to stare at some imaginary thing behind him, with your eyes goggling wide as if in horror or shock. The perp will see your eyes, and his natural instinct is to look behind himself at whatever you might be staring at. Once he looks away, pounce on him. Grab his gun arm, kick him hard several times in the testicles. Make sure you are out of the line of the gun though, because once you grab his gun arm, he will fire.
If you can, seize the gun away from him. Don't shoot him or anything, but hold it by the barrel, and beat the perp in the head with it until he lies still. That way, you can avoid firing shots, but kick him as well as beat him, because in the process of beating him, he might still try to get his gun back.
Sometimes, beating with a blunt object have a more lasting impression than a bullet. A bullet in the right place is of course, a perfect stopper, but what if you hit him in the arm or leg. I watched a show on Primetime, I think, about a female gangbanger who was shot by rivals in the arm. Not only she lived to tell about it, she also proudly showed it off to the TV cameras, entry and exit wound. If you did that to the punk who is threatening you, they might still function enough to seriously hurt you and later brag about the bullet wound to their buddies. No matter how calm you think you are, it will be quite difficult to function properly in such adrenaline.
Beat him viciously in the head with his own gun, however, is something else. He will have a shattered jaw, horribly disfigured face, and brain damage IF he survives the encounter. Especially if he is also threatening to kill or hurt your family member or friend, or a child.
Many times, I chose my LeMat as my principle weapon, because it is a double edged sword. The weapon is absolutely heavy and rugged. I can shoot the perp if he has a gun aimed at me. If he just robs me and leave, I will likely not harm him, but report him to the police afterward. However, if I have the slightest instinct that this might be an abduction or something, I can either pull it out and shoot him, or swing it like a medieval mace and crush his head to a pulp with the buttstock of the gun. My 1911 is relatively lightweight, and I love heavy things.
If a perp says "come with me", I will simply go berserk and smash his head as hard as I can smash it. Most abductions don't conclude with a happy ending, and I wouldn't want to be the next number.
Anyway, why are there "gangsta inclined" posts on THR? These things never work and they are rediculous. "Gangsta-ism" claims more lives every day than any number that gun control nuts can make up.
I am not paranoid but once two years ago, I was walking home on a dark and rainy night when suddenly a white Chevy van pulled up right beside me so quick and sudden, my hand flew to my belt-tucked M-1911 right away. However, it seemed like the driver of the van was in a rush, the space I just walked by was a large parking space that caught his eyes, and he simply wanted to run into the grocery store that was about to close. And the 1911 wasn't even close to coming out of my belt. I just laid my hands on it, with no intention to pull it out unless the driver is really coming after me.
I wouldn't act with lethal force around a robber unless I am sure he will kill me after I gave him what he asked for, because they are just petty losers who are not my business. An abductor or assailant, they might have some balls with me or someone I love, and once my gut feels that something is taking a turn for the worse, a piece of heavy black cold steel is coming out of it's holster, whether in firing or clubbing mode.
There was a lady who tried to rob me once on the subway. Yes, a lady who followed me off the train at about 12:40 midnight and when I got to the empty tunnel that connects stations for passengers to transfer trains she took out a small pocketknife and asked me to give her my wallet. She was a slight person, with much better things to do than robbing people, and I simply grabbed her by the wrists and held them tight. She sank to the ground after I held her for like 5 seconds and started crying, saying she was poor and had a baby son and everything, and begged me not to hurt her. I assured her I wasn't going to, and asked her if drugs are the motive for this odd incident. She shook her head, and I took the knife away from her and put it in my pocket. When she realized I wasn't going to hurt her or anything and quieted down, I hugged her tight and asked her what her son would feel if he grew up knowing his mom was a criminal. I also told her there are many other things to do than robbery and that this would only get her killed or in serious trouble with the law if she kept it up. Since this wasn't about drugs, and since I can see it in her face that she was not a drug user, I gave her $20.00 out of my own wallet, told her thats all I can help her with, and told her to try and get a job. Afterward, I gave her her knife back, hugged her again, and left.
I hoped I changed someone's life after this. I never heard of her again, and I wish she is doing all right and well. Reason why I included this in my post: there are many types of "dangerous" people out there, and this one may have a knife but I can just tell by the tone of her voice and how she looked at me , that she is hardly a danger. She was afraid and naive, and some other passenger who also packs a gun at night might have shot her if they were the one who encountered her that night, and that thought still makes me cringe.
