spiff completes pucker factor 101, -or- the closest i came to drawing my gun

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spacemanspiff

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so i'm at a church meeting last night, commemorating the last supper. theres a lot more people than usual at this service, as we commemorate it once a year, instead of weekly as some other churches do.

i had started out by trying to figure out an easy way to carry while wearing a tucked in button down and no real cover garment other than a columbia jacket. i opted to carry the holstered pistol in a coat pocket, i dont want to upset anyone by having a IWB bulging underneath my tucked in shirt. (my Steyr has limited options of holsters).

a few minutes before the service started, i heard over the noise of 200+ people talking someone yell the "eff" word. i figured it must have been my imagination, until a couple seconds later i hear someone yelling over the crowd, swearing up a storm. i stand up and turn around and see this guy who is about my age that i met at least ten years ago, but havent seen him around church for a long time. he is stomping around, through the crowd, not pushing his way through really, but he is upset at something. he makes his way all the way around the entire room, yelling about "You threaten MY life, you haters!" with all kinds of obscenities mixed in as well. he isn't really saying it to anyone in particular though. his gaze goes over people, but he is looking right through them. i'm guessing he is tweaking on some sort of drugs and as he makes his way up to the front where my family and i are sitting, i unzip my jacket pocket and put my hand on my weapon. i know no one else is armed, and by this time the room has gone silent and all you hear (beside the heart pounding in your chest) is his stomping feet and his yelling.
i've now moved (instinctively) between him and my family and he walks up and stops in front of me. like i said, hes looking right through people, and in that split second my mind is racing.
***no weapon is visible, is he a threat?***
***whats under his sweatshirt?***
***if he is on drugs what will it take to stop him?***
***i cant afford to miss at this range in this size of a crowd***

he walks a few feet past me and three other men have taken positions around him. his mother has caught up to him and wraps her arms around him and starts pushing him towards the door.

i then realize my jaw is clenched tight and is beginning to cramp. my mouth is bone dry. my lower back is aching, as it always does when i'm in a high stress situation. i look behind me and my neices are really shaken up.
i lean over and tell one of them "this is why i carry a gun. you never know when someone is going to flip out like that and endanger the safety of others."

30 minutes later i was still fighting off the pucker factor. i almost didnt carry last night, but now i know better. and i am shopping for a new holster that is tuckable.
 
Whew! Scary story. Sounds like you performed well, though. Congrats on staying cool.

I'll have to remember this next time someone starts a "should you carry is Church" thread.
 
Spiff, that is some scary stuff.

Take a look at a good quality bellyband like a Be Secure. You can wear them around you waist and tuck them in, plus because they are elastic they will hold multiple sizes of guns. Cinch you belt up tight and you are good to go.
 
I've had to draw my handgun once and almost had to on another occasion. There's nothing more frightening.

Isn't it strange that the one with the gun is often the one who is most fearful?
 
Spiff,

well done.

As for IWB holsters, I just got one for my G22, a Texas Heritage from Tucker. I can carry a full-sized auto under just a shirt. Friends who know I carry are surprised when I stand up and say, "OK, where's the gun?"

After a week of wearing it, my wife asked what that black clip on my belt was. If it can fool her, it should work on the ususpecting blissninnies.

Only drawback I can think of is that you need to get that shirttail out of the way quickly, but I think a little practice will fix that. I can put my hands in my pockets, squat down, reach overhead, sit in a chair with no problem while wearing the holster. I'll bet it's even easier with a compact auto.
 
Good job Spiff, you kept your family from harm, and stood up to the threat.

Good thing you weren't in one of those "victim disarmament (gun free) zones".

Keep up the good work!
 
Well done. I figure if you're not scared, you don't have proper respect for the situation. You handled it admirably - we can all take a lesson.
 
Good job on keeping a cool head.

Trust me, the pucker factor goes away... but never 100%; once you've been in that situation there's always a little pucker left.

Again, good job.
 
Khornet- I'll give you a STRONG second on the Tucker motion

I have an "Answer" and it tucks nicely.

Spiff- Glad you got out of it unscathed bud, I'll bet Tonerguy could get you a nice Tucker rig for that Steyr.
 
i've had several debates with my family on whether or not carrying while at church is a good idea. they've given me all kinds of research material that is supposed to "prove" that 'god wants us to respond to violence with non-violence', but it must be open to interpretation, cause when i read it, and it said "first try to talk your way out of being a victim, then run if possible, if that fails *do what is necessary to protect yourself*."

i interpret that last part the same way the rest of you here do: last resort is deadly force when lives are at stake. but to keep my family satiated, i wont admit to carrying in church. sure, i'm lying to them, but i cant change their minds on this, or at least i havent been able to yet.
the question i posed to my mother last night was "If everyone is disarmed, defenseless, what are we supposed to do when attacked? Become a victim? fight them with bare hands? even if they have a weapon and an advantage because of having such?"
she wouldnt give me an answer so i told her to think about it. I have no qualms about dying for a good cause, or laying my life down because of my beliefs. but its not my intention to die because someone is tweaking out on drugs or is off their medications that are supposed to keep them mentally stable.

i wont be a martyr for a stupid reason, nor will i let others be harmed because they CHOOSE to be unprepared.

as soon as i run a couple hundred rounds without flaws or malfunctions through my new Kimber TLE, that will replace the Steyr for everyday carry. I'll have many more options to carry a 1911 than the steyr.
 
So the Great Flood wasn't violent? Or Sodom and Gomorrah? As the Bible shows, there comes a breaking point where there is no other option other than violence, even with God.
 
i can swallow the fact that many people are comfortable being disarmed, and would never respond to violent acts done to them or others with violence. thats up to them, their conscience.

and aside from the "scriptual" evidence many use to advocate being armed (which i agree with, but we need some newer arguments), i've taken a slightly different angle.

now i wasnt intending this to turn into a biblethumping pistolpacking fire and brimstone thread, i just wanted to add some weight to the notion that no where is 100% safe.

whether or not a person reads/believes the bible, it does give an account where God chose those who were tactically sound in mind to engage in battle. Gideon was surrounded by the Midianites, Amalekites, and children of the east, an exact number isnt given for all of them, but it mentions that one of those groups numbered 135,000 soldiers. its a safe assumption that Gideon was facing well over 200,000 enemy combatants.

his ranks numbered 32,000, but God wanted to prove his superiorty, so he gave Gideon an even greater disadvantage: he sent home all who were afraid to go into battle, 10,000 went home.
still wasnt enough. God had Gideon direct his men to drink from the river. Those who bent down and drank directly from the river were sent home. those who cupped the water in their hand and drew it up to their mouths stayed, those who were vigilant enough to keep an eye on their surroundings and be aware of their situation stayed to fight.
 
I think the reason an armed person may be most scared is that they have already mentally "gone down the road" and have an understanding of how bad something can get.

When you are unarmed in a sitch like that, you really do not want to think it is that bad - or how bad it can be.

The armed man does not have the luxury of self delusion.

Well played spiff.
 
ehenz said:Sounds like mental problems. Even at church, the place you should feel most safe. What a shame.
Click to expand...

Why do you think that? Look at history. Being around people with intense religious beliefs is a good way to end up dead.

I would say being armed in church is a good idea.
 
Only problem I see is if the wacko attacked you or somebody else, and he did not have a weapon, and you shot him, you might get into some serious trouble for excessive use of force.

Good thing you did not brandish the firearm, but were ready. Those types of situations can be legally murky.
 
Gandhi's thoughts on responding to violence tend to sink in pretty well with us Christians too. Have you tried that?

Good luck discussing it and a big hand for not losing your head. It must have been a quick situation.
 
Cool-didnt have to draw the smorgaslazergun and turn him into a burgzz!!! good for ya. id be praying hard first..now you be back to Calvin!!

Hobbes
 
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