That was weird

Status
Not open for further replies.
J

jeepmor

Member
Joined
Nov 6, 2005
Messages
2,826
Location
Stumptown
I'm coming out of Bi-Mart yesterday with my wife. We purchased a few sundries and were trucking our cart back to the jeep. Well, there's a ford explorer next to us that was still there from when we went in. Two 20 something fellows, they look a little rough, but nothing out of the norm for the PNW. They are parked right next to us on the drivers side and were there before we went in.

As I walk by with the cart upon returning from shopping, I hear a pistol action cycle and I see this guy, in the passenger seat of the explorer, with a gun in his hand. First off, I did not panic or even let on I noticed. He did not make any moves like he was going to jack my jeep or something, but it did cross my mind. He did this as I passed his door between our vehicles.

My first instinct was, if this guy jumps out of his car to jack us, he's getting a broken leg with his car door for I had that position at that moment and I had the better position to engage had he been right handed. I pretended not to notice but kept my body facing him and loaded the items from the back of the jeep so I had some concealment/cover should I need it. My wife was on the opposite side of the rig, thankfully.

We hopped in, drove away and then I mentioned it to my wife. Toying with a pistol in a parking lot is bad juju in my book. He did have it down at lap level and I happened to see it briefly, but the noise of the action is what keyed me in, it sounded like he was loading a round when he was most likely checking out his friend's pistol while they sat there.

That was the closest I had ever come to an engagement and I was quite thankful I had my CCW on my belt. But again, nothing happened.

What did I learn, playing with a pistol in your car in public can make people nervous, please don't do that.
 
I'm sorry, but if you don't care if strangers see you handling your pistol in a public area, you deserve a lecture from the local cops. I would have called it in.

Even if open carry is legal, it's still bad form.
 
Glad you got home safe.
It's always a hard call 'cause you want to maintain that fine balance on how to react to this stuff but that sounds well into the suspicious activity realm of things.

My own (leftover cop habit) is to get to a safe location and observe for a while and then make my decision as to if something really needs a call or not. Ususally a few extra seconds of observation makes the whole situation much more clear.
 
Last edited:
Sure, but how do you determine the legality of the transaction?

I once traded a Remington 870 for a Sig 239 in the parking lot of a Wal-Mart. The other gentleman and I were smart enough to park as far away from the entrance as possible. We were nowhere near either the normal patrons or the new-car folks who don't want their paint jobs dinged up. We had our trunks facing toward a large berm for privacy.

If somebody had called the munies on us, it wouldn't have surprised me. Since the transaction was legal, I was prepared to provide documentation (pistol permit, bill of sale, et cetera).
 
Sure, but how do you determine the legality of the transaction?
Click to expand...

If there was evidence of nefarious activity (i.e. trading packages of a plant or handing over a bag that contains something screaming for its mommy), I'd let the police determine if it was a chef looking for large quantities or oregano or a couple performing a rebirthing ceremony. Beyond that, I don't think it's up to the police (or me) to determine the legality of a transaction. If a person is being relatively open about something and the aforementioned evidence is lacking, I tend to not think they are trying to commit a crime.
 
Toying with a pistol in a parking lot is bad juju in my book.
Click to expand...


I commend your awareness, and also for not overreacting. Suddenly pulling your CCW or dialing 911 would definitely not have been the best move.

In all honestly, I have examined pistols in cars or trucks before with a friend. For example, my friend just got a new pistol and wanted to show it to me while we were at a church function. So we retreated to the parking lot to his jeep, sat there (much like these two guys) and examined his new Kimber in privacy.

* However, I would not advocate people do it so close to other cars where people might see or hear you though. Good awareness.
 
I'm not sure this really required any action on your part. Bad juju aside, they were probably waiting patiently for wives, girlfriends or whatever who were busy shopping. Weird, yes, but not threatening, at least from the info given.
 
I would guess "tend your own business"

And being in the PNW, I would have probably reacted about the same. Would I have called it in? Maybe. Not being there, I can't say yes or no. Just depends on the "vibe" of the whole situation. Would I have exited "post haste, stage right?" Most likely.. :)
 
No one with any good intention would have racked a slide with you right next to them.
I wouldn't. Would you?
 
Perhaps I am the "lone dissenter" here, but there are a few things to consider before one starts calling 911, pulling CCW pieces, etc.

Laws are different in different states. Cultures are different as well. I recognize both these facts when I post here. I can't really speak for your area-- only my own.


Frankly, getting bent out of shape over someone doing something to a firearm in their own car in a parking lot-- or wherever-- would be over-reactional here. Likely, one could come up with a few valid reasons for doing something involving their firearm while sitting in a car.

I've done it. Just today, I was left in the car while my wife ran into a hobby story. Bored, I decided to pull out her handgun and check it for function, cleanliness, etc. That kind of thing falls to me in our household.

When considering the legal aspects, there is no law broken doing so in this state. I fail to see how I'd deserve a "stern lecture" for not breaking the law, and being legal in my parked vehicle.

I'd say that if that person DID SOMETHING to threaten you or others, THEN you do something. It seems we are getting real good at jumping at shadows these days.

Here's a scenerio:

Someone sees your CCW piece sticking out of your coat in a Home Depot and decides that you MUST be a villian-- so he picks up a shovel and clocks you across the back of the head as you walk by. He assumed something that was incorrect and did something based on that incorrect assumption to a legal citizen who had done no action to warrant it. We aren't far from that these days, people.

How about calling the police because they see you load a case in your car looking like a rifle case? They decide you must be another D.C. Sniper. You spend the next who-knows-how-long dealing with a LEO when you were on your way to the range.

I've seen examples similar to each of these examples even here on THR where we have dog-piled the person doing such to a lawful and legal firearms owner.


-- John
 
I would have been pissed off if the barrel was pointed at me. You are just as shot from an ND.
 
Agree, if not against the law, but..

...

Doing that in a car, as others walk by, may get you killed, being dead-right.

Not a best case decision, IMO, based on the hope, that, one would have already cleaned and inspected one's gun, prior to leaving the house with it, to know that it is rdy for action, if need be, as opposed to, wonder if?, while bored, sitting in a car, "is my gun clean, working properly?, etc.

my 2 cents worth of thought..


LS
 
IMO, based on the hope, that, one would have already cleaned and inspected one's gun, prior to leaving the house with it, to know that it is rdy for action, if need be, as opposed to, wonder if?, while bored, sitting in a car, "is my gun clean, working properly?, etc.
Click to expand...

That seemed to address what I wrote based upon using my words. I want to point out that yesterday I was checking MY WIFE'S handgun-- and then only from a routine perspective.

I have NEVER carried a firearm that was not maintained properly.


Doing that in a car, as others walk by, may get you killed, being dead-right.
Click to expand...


While I don't discount the reality that anything CAN happen, and the necessity of using common sense, I will contend that I can make the same statement of carrying a CCW. Likely, the same person that will kill you for doing something legal in your own car is the same person that is not going to bother finding out if you have a permit if/when you "get made" as I have seen on a few of these threads.


-- John
 
Here in MD a CHL is close to impossible to get for peasants, so the majority of guns seen are LEO's and security folk that wear them open, or the occasional print on random folks hanging around areas where respectable folks fear to tread (off the beaten path in Baltimore & D.C.), I just take a sighting into account as part of a plan of action if needed, you never want anyone to see your CCW, and should try to keep that from happening. I wouldn't call 911, unless it was fairly clear bad things were going to happen, or people are fairly suspicious looking, in either of the two areas there is plenty of crime, and very few honest people concealing. On the other hand, while visiting my aunt in the land of freedom and BBQ (small town between Tyler and Mesquite Texas) There are a whole lot more guns, and a whole lot less crime, so I probably would just keep an awareness of what was going on and keep to myself.
 
Alot of parking lot fondling goes on around here , sometimes even the local cops are involved (considering my favorite new toy store is owned by a local LEO ). Most people don't even bat an eye and if they do its usually some Cali transplant that does .
 
Must have read it wrong

Quote:
I've done it. Just today, I was left in the car while my wife ran into a hobby story. Bored, I decided to pull out her handgun and check it for function, cleanliness, etc. *That kind of thing falls to me in our household.
----------------------

*Reading that last line, left me to the thought, that "possibly", you had not.


I'm sure, that you also did it discreetly, making sure no one was walking by, with kids in tow, etc., with your window down, so they could hear, and see, the gun as it went CLICK!!

That, I'm sure of in your case.

But not with the others mentioned.. bad style, no SA, in their case IMO.



LS ;)
 
From the OP
They are parked right next to us on the drivers side and were there before we went in.
Click to expand...
Most lilely so were several other cars. I often see people waiting for someone to "run in for just one thing". Something to be aware of but not a threat in itself.

As I walk by with the cart upon returning from shopping, I hear a pistol action cycle and I see this guy, in the passenger seat of the explorer, with a gun in his hand.
Click to expand...
Someone was doing something with a gun in their vehicle as you entered the scene. Were they even aware of you? Who knows? Go to condition orange? You bet. However, since they didn't ever do anything threatening, there is no reason to call the police. He might even have been a licensed concealed carrier who suddenly remembered that he had not chambered a round after cleaning his weapon last night. Been there, done that :uhoh: .

If your "Spidey Sense" is tingling, you might want to jot down their license plate and description, just in case something does happen later on, but their is no reason to alert the authorities.

One thing this thread did was get my wife and I to think about how we would handle a sitution like that. We have decided that if we are walking up to our car and I walk on by, she will continue with me and not point out where our car is. I may have sensed that there was something not right and did not want to go to our car or wanted to get to a more advantagous location.

LoveMyCounty
 
Lonestar,

No worries my friend. Basically, if I waited for my wife to clean HER firearm, I would expect to pull it out and find lichen, fungus, and small mammals living in it.


While I brought up another perspective on this thread, the point of it isn't lost on me. The key to ANYTHING we as gunowners do must be discretion and common sense.

You are correct in the assumption that I'd not do anything to call attention to myself-- mainly because I am paranoid that others MAY feel threatened. People are jumpy these days. There's no way I'd bring it above window level or do anything that is very audible.

-- John
 
Well until today (just graduated), I would leave my pistol in my car as I would make the 1 mile walk from the parking lots to class. The parking lots at the university are almost always full even if I do park in the back end. So every day walking back to my car, I would unlock my gun from its case and reholster. Anyone who would happen to walk by my car at that time would obviously see the gun. Of course I would always check around to see if people were nearby so I wouldn't freak out the liberal kids, but if you just happened to walk by at that moment, would you draw on me?

It's a pretty iffy situation all around and I think you did good. You were aware of your surroundings and was prepared to make your move if you needed to defend yourself.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

H
  • Locked
Draw your weapon?
Replies
11
Views
710
QuarterBoreGunner
QuarterBoreGunner
K
An Actual Use of Force incident for Discussion
Replies
13
Views
877
Kleanbore
K
R
  • Locked
I almost had to fire yesterday
2
Replies
35
Views
2K
meef
M
W
  • Locked
Proud of Wife
Replies
5
Views
722
Preacherman
P
H
  • Locked
Situational Awareness-thanks to the forum!
Replies
12
Views
890
ravencon
R
Back
Top