1911 guy
Member
Actually happened last Saturday, over a week ago, but the lesson in awareness is still vivid.
My wife, son and I were just walking into the barber shop on Saturday, I was last in the door. My wife was first, our three year old son in the middle. As I was crossing the threshold, an extremely loud "bang" went off. I shoved my son into my wife, pushing them both past the windows, as the noise came from outside. I ducked into the shop, hand going to my pistol, but not drawing, as I couldn't see the source, thus no target.
The shop employees immediately poked their heads up into the windows, exposing themselves to any potential threat, the opposite of what my wife was doing. Partially because I'd pushed her and Ben, partially because she was scared stiff, she said later, because she saw me going for my gun.
Now for the dramatic ending. A transformer had blown up just across the street.
Observations and lessons.
Observations:
Everyone I saw, except my family, was rubbernecking. Nobody knew what was going on, but were willing to stand around and wait for something bad to potentially happen. Even pedestrians on the street were just looking around, nobody looking for possible cover. A few folks I saw in the parking lot never even broke stride going into stores. Barber shop employees soon began discussing all the "well, it could have been..." scenarios, all the while taking no precautions against anything they mentioned. We figured out what it was when I noticed the gas station lights were all out, the a few other darkened store signs down the road. Nobody but my wife ever noticed my pistol.
Lessons:
Sometimes, I can get away with pushing my wife around.
We later discussed that although she did a great job of keeping our son down, she needs to move farther away from any possible danger, if she can. She stayed hunkered down right where she grabbed Ben. While being in the doorway gave me a great view of what was going on, I would have been easy meat for someone, door being glass and all. You can't count on the people around you as a "barometer" of what's going on. Everybody but you will be clueless, 99.99% of the time. Very different from being around vigilant people. If something starts to unfold, don't let being "outed" stop you from taking care of business. I had a full grip on a 1911, completely exposed, and nobody noticed.
A piece of opinion and training I feel is now validated, don't draw from concealment (in most circumstances) until you've identified the threat. The old saw about if you've got a hammer in your hand, the whole world looks like a nail.
Haircuts for a boy and his dad aren't cheap, by the way. I dropped $30 and almost a load in my drawers.
My wife, son and I were just walking into the barber shop on Saturday, I was last in the door. My wife was first, our three year old son in the middle. As I was crossing the threshold, an extremely loud "bang" went off. I shoved my son into my wife, pushing them both past the windows, as the noise came from outside. I ducked into the shop, hand going to my pistol, but not drawing, as I couldn't see the source, thus no target.
The shop employees immediately poked their heads up into the windows, exposing themselves to any potential threat, the opposite of what my wife was doing. Partially because I'd pushed her and Ben, partially because she was scared stiff, she said later, because she saw me going for my gun.
Now for the dramatic ending. A transformer had blown up just across the street.
Observations and lessons.
Observations:
Everyone I saw, except my family, was rubbernecking. Nobody knew what was going on, but were willing to stand around and wait for something bad to potentially happen. Even pedestrians on the street were just looking around, nobody looking for possible cover. A few folks I saw in the parking lot never even broke stride going into stores. Barber shop employees soon began discussing all the "well, it could have been..." scenarios, all the while taking no precautions against anything they mentioned. We figured out what it was when I noticed the gas station lights were all out, the a few other darkened store signs down the road. Nobody but my wife ever noticed my pistol.
Lessons:
Sometimes, I can get away with pushing my wife around.
We later discussed that although she did a great job of keeping our son down, she needs to move farther away from any possible danger, if she can. She stayed hunkered down right where she grabbed Ben. While being in the doorway gave me a great view of what was going on, I would have been easy meat for someone, door being glass and all. You can't count on the people around you as a "barometer" of what's going on. Everybody but you will be clueless, 99.99% of the time. Very different from being around vigilant people. If something starts to unfold, don't let being "outed" stop you from taking care of business. I had a full grip on a 1911, completely exposed, and nobody noticed.A piece of opinion and training I feel is now validated, don't draw from concealment (in most circumstances) until you've identified the threat. The old saw about if you've got a hammer in your hand, the whole world looks like a nail.
Haircuts for a boy and his dad aren't cheap, by the way. I dropped $30 and almost a load in my drawers.
