Why I carry: One gun in my face was enough.

[infidel]

 

[shibumiseeker]

Glad you all made it out of that situation alive! Well written description of a frightening experience. I have to say that I actually felt fear while reading and placing myself in that situation. Now I don't think that I will ever feel safe while carrying just my P3at anymore. I would hate to have to worry about not having enough gun while trying to decide on which course of action to take in a situation like this.

I carry my P3AT primarily in case something happens to my bigger gun. I may not win a gunfight, but if I lose I hope the magazine is empty when I go.

 

[96firephoenix]

hey infidel - I can't say I"m irate at having this thread bumped...

good story, OP. glad it worked out how it did.

 

[mk2ja]

hey infidel - I can't say I"m irate at having this thread bumped...

good story, OP. glad it worked out how it did.

I'm glad this was bumped.


And I'm also glad that it ended with the innocent uninjured. Would've been nice if the guilty hadn't also been uninjured, but we'll take it.

 

[johnsmith]

If you've seen the video of the New Black Panther ranting about killing "Crackers" and "Cracker Babies", you now know why I carry. There is real evil in our society and some of it is going to try something, soon. I want to be ready.

 

[hoosierfishing]

Brother, Ive been there. The masked man stuck the gun in my face and ordered me to the ground. I thought i was for sure dead. Definiate eye opener.

So, I've been an LTCH holder for about six years now. I obtained my first LTCH after feeling threatened by my employer when I submitted my resignation (a story for another day).

At that time I was a bachelor, working my first real job and fresh out of my small town liberal arts education. Living in Broadripple, I felt on top of the world and probably still had a little of my youthful invincibility. Anyhow, I purchased a solid piece of crap for too much money from Don's guns. After working through about 50 rounds, my sweet Jennings Nine it promptly broke. I purchased my Glock 19 shortly thereafter.

I had never had any firearms training in my childhood. We had a couple of guns in the house (shotguns), but I was never introduced to them. I just wanted something in the house in case my previous boss actually went over the deep end. Shooting at the range was fun. I developed into an "OK" shot, at least while standing still with no pressure. Having read (and re-read) the Indiana firearms laws, I understood that I should get an LTCH, so this was completed.

Fast forward about two years. I am eating dinner with my (then) girlfriend. She knows that I have a gun, and she doesn't like it. I take it with me when I go to stay at her place, but I leave it in my bag so she doesn't know. Never does the thought cross my mind to carry this hand cannon on my person when going about my daily business (let alone carrying with one in the chamber). So anyway, we are eating dinner at Fazoli's one evening around 8:30 here in Indianapolis on Keystone Ave. About half way through the meal, things take a turn for the worse.

Two younger men come walking in the door. I notice panty hose on their heads. Not my style, but who am I to judge. Just about the time I realize that these guys aren't there for the unlimited breadsticks, I notice the table of middle school aged kids jumping over tables on their way out the door on the other side of the restaurant. I remember wondering about the older couple that was eating at the same time. They must have left moments earlier because they certainly were there anymore.

So one of these panty hose guys heads for the cashier. The other is walking straight for my table. The one going for the cashier has a gun in his hand, the other has his hands in his sweatshirt pockets. He ordered my girlfriend and me up and to the front. We capitulated. While he was directing us to the kitchen, I was sizing up my options. The guy walking behind me was about my size, perhaps a little bigger... He had panty hose on his head, so one up on me there. I had a gun at home, so probably had him one up (but not much good was gong to come of that). I could see his buddy in the back, he was distracted, but had a clear line of site to shoot me if he just turned around.

On our way across the front of the store, I noticed the third man (also with a gun) already in the kitchen. When we entered the kitchen, we were ordered to the floor. There were four of us with our heads down and one of them with a gun pointed at us. The other two were working on the safe with the store's manager (I assume). Just a few minutes (seconds, hours, hard to tell really) and they were running for the exit. Nobody hurt. My money was still in my pocket. My food was getting cold on the table.

We stayed in our positions in the kitchen until the police arrived. To the best of my knowledge, they never got these guys (for this robbery). I had nothing to tell the cops... I knew how tall the first two guys were, but doubted I could pick them out from a lineup. I remember the gun was shinny and probably a larger caliber (.45 would be my guess), but who knows. While the cops were going about their interviews, I finished my dinner. My girlfriend didn't eat anything for at least another day.

The biggest thing I took away was that I could have stopped this. I had time. I saw them coming. I could have stood up, drawn my weapon and quickly taken the first guy (and perhaps the second). I could have taken cover in the back or tried to fight my way out the front door.

Over the next few weeks I started second guessing myself. Could I have drawn in time? What would have happened if I had started shooting? What about the guy in the back of the store? What about the get-away driver (who, if he existed, would have been looking in the windows from the outside, watching me shoot his friend). After spending hours, days, weeks, months, and years running this in my head over and over, I have decided that I don't care about all of those what if's. If I am being attacked, and see it coming, I WILL draw. I WILL shoot. I will be able to do this because I WILL have my gun on my person. It WILL be loaded. The possibility exists that that evening would have had a much worse end if I'd have taken action, and I'd have to live with that. The possibility also exists that that evening would have had a much worse end even though I didn't take action. I can not live with that.

This is my story. This is why I carry. Hopefully somebody else will read this and realize that this can happen anywhere, anytime.

 

[88E30M50]

Good story and well written. I don't know how I missed this when it was first written. Thanks for sharing. The thing that jumps out at me is that this story makes me question my choice of handgun that I carry. Normally, I have a compact 1911 with one spare mag but sometimes it's the Sig P238 with a pair of spare mags. I wonder how effective the Sig would have been in that situation. Or, how quickly I'd have had to reload the 1911.

Most gunfights consume just a couple of rounds but this situation could have consumed more. Let's say I'm in that situation and realize what's going down and draw on and shoot three rounds into the guy coming at you with my 1911, making solid contact with all 3. He goes down. If I'm able to engage the second one with 3 or 4 rounds and get extremely lucky and he goes down. Now, comes the third from the kitchen and I have only 1 or 2 rounds in the gun, and very little time to reload before having to engage him.

If I'm carrying the Sig P238 that day, I think I'm screwed as the pocket gun is not a good choice when engaging 3 gunmen. My 1911 would have me in the midst of a reload between the 2nd and 3rd gunmen but if I were carrying my high capacity 9mm, I'd still have 11 rounds in the gun as the third guy came out of the kitchen plus another 17 in the spare mag.

This situation does make me want to think about what I carry a bit. I love my 1911s but do question whether I could grab the spare mag quick enough to get through that scenario.

 

[dave29]

Good story and well written. I don't know how I missed this when it was first written. Thanks for sharing. The thing that jumps out at me is that this story makes me question my choice of handgun that I carry. Normally, I have a compact 1911 with one spare mag but sometimes it's the Sig P238 with a pair of spare mags. I wonder how effective the Sig would have been in that situation. Or, how quickly I'd have had to reload the 1911.

Most gunfights consume just a couple of rounds but this situation could have consumed more. Let's say I'm in that situation and realize what's going down and draw on and shoot three rounds into the guy coming at you with my 1911, making solid contact with all 3. He goes down. If I'm able to engage the second one with 3 or 4 rounds and get extremely lucky and he goes down. Now, comes the third from the kitchen and I have only 1 or 2 rounds in the gun, and very little time to reload before having to engage him.

If I'm carrying the Sig P238 that day, I think I'm screwed as the pocket gun is not a good choice when engaging 3 gunmen. My 1911 would have me in the midst of a reload between the 2nd and 3rd gunmen but if I were carrying my high capacity 9mm, I'd still have 11 rounds in the gun as the third guy came out of the kitchen plus another 17 in the spare mag.

This situation does make me want to think about what I carry a bit. I love my 1911s but do question whether I could grab the spare mag quick enough to get through that scenario.

Funny that you wrote this, I was thinking the same exact thing while reading the OP.

Combat Commander, LCP, or Sig P250? I like carrying my 1911 the best.

 

[Shay]

I've never understood having a "carry" gun that is too heavy or large to carry.

 

[Sgt Rock]

Scary situation but even if you are armed, sometimes discreation is better than valor. Do you REALLY want to have a shootout with 3 or 4 BG's over someone else's money and risk innocents in the process? Revert to your training. IF you haven't had it, GET IT! No gun thinks for itself. Just 1 man's opinion.

 

[match14]

Wow that's really scary luckily no innocents were hurt. I'm glad I no longer live near Indy or do business up there. No offense to those who do though. I recently bought a small lighter caliber pistol to carry during the summer time, so that I hopefully won't end up in a situation like that where I'm unarmed because my pistol is at home.

 

[88E30M50]

Scary situation but even if you are armed, sometimes discreation is better than valor. Do you REALLY want to have a shootout with 3 or 4 BG's over someone else's money and risk innocents in the process? Revert to your training. IF you haven't had it, GET IT! No gun thinks for itself. Just 1 man's opinion.

I hear what you're saying, but I'd be damned if I'd go to the kitchen if I could avoid it. There's too many cases of the folks being herded into the kitchen, then shot. It's a situation I pray never to be in because you are either going to start shooting and most likely lose but have the chance of winning or you trust your life and your family/girlfriends life to the thieves. Now, if your girlfriend is also carrying, you might just have a chance.

 

[WhoDaThunk?RN]

what a story, yeah it's an old post but I'm a newbie what can I say. I'm glad things worked out well, it definetly makes me think about the gun that I bought to carry. I haven't been in the habbit of carrying a reloader either...maybe that's something I should think about/practice with.

 

[WhoDaThunk?RN]

I did attend an NRA Basic Pistol class... is that the type of class you are referring to? (I had originally signed up for the NRA Personal Protection in the Home class for the next day, but the instruction at the first class was so injected with religious and political banter that I decided my time would be better spent doing just about anything else.)


This pretty much descibes the class I took also. I was hoping for more for the money I shelled out.

 

[esrice]

yeah it's an old post but I'm a newbie what can I say.

Necropost X 2!

 

[jsharmon7]

what a story, yeah it's an old post but I'm a newbie what can I say. I'm glad things worked out well, it definetly makes me think about the gun that I bought to carry. I haven't been in the habbit of carrying a reloader either...maybe that's something I should think about/practice with.

I think the creator of this thread intended it to help others, so necroposting is okay in my book.

 

[SirRealism]

I did attend an NRA Basic Pistol class... is that the type of class you are referring to? (I had originally signed up for the NRA Personal Protection in the Home class for the next day, but the instruction at the first class was so injected with religious and political banter that I decided my time would be better spent doing just about anything else.)


This pretty much descibes the class I took also. I was hoping for more for the money I shelled out.

I know whose class you attended. ha ha.

 

[syl]

If you are armed, one good thing about going along with being herded into the kitchen is: Now you're in there with probably ONE bad guy, not three. You take him out, and head out the back door. The goal, as a private citizen, is to get out of there alive, not to kill all the BG's , right?

 

[bassplayrguy]

Chances are if you shoot one bg, the others will **** themselves and bug out. I am glad you were not harmed. The only good thing is that most bg's robbing somewhere are not ready to pull the trigger. Their mind is already spinning just robbing a place with a weapon, most would not shoot but there is no way to know if that is the bg you have at the time.