Open Carry bad experience thoughts?

[ICEN]

Okay I carry my handgun alot, half the time I Open Carry it. I have had nothing but good outcomes or just a regular day when I usually open carry but I had 1 horrible experience that changed my mind about Open Carry a tad bit. This just happened to me about 4 days ago, for those of you who open carry like me you might want to think about this story.

So, I decided that I wanted to go bike riding at night time because there was nothing else to do so I felt like riding my bike. I have rode my bike at night time before previously and never had anything happen until this story. My brother and my brothers friend decided they wanted to ride bikes with me around town so I allowed them to come thinking nothing will go wrong since I have road my bike around at night and have a gun if anything was to happen.

I was open carrying my gun on my bike on this day. Sometimes I open carry it other times I do not but today I choose to because it was more comfortable.

Now imagine I am riding a bike while two kids who are about 14 years old each. We were riding on a road that was close to a bad part of town but typically nothing ever happens so I thought nothing of it as I have road on that road before. Lets just say that was a bad mistake.

It was probably around 11pm when this took place.
A SUV with 4 males inside started to scream something at one of us. It was unclear what one of them was saying or who was saying what but it was clear the voice sounded mad and was looking for trouble. One of the guys was still screaming something at my little brothers friend. I rode my bike around the back of the SUV because my brother and his friend was pass the SUV forcing me to have to pass the SUV which is why I choose the back.

The driver was white and I think the rest of the males were black.
I noticed that out of all the people in the SUV it was this one black male that seemed to be wanting to start a problem, his head was sticking out the window implying he was the one screaming stuff out the window. As I rode around the SUV the one black guy must have seen my pistol that I was open carrying which was my Ruger Sr9c.

I quote his exact words "I ain't scared of your little piece". From there he started screaming out the window that he would crush me and beat me up, basically he was looking for a fight and seeing my gun made him get upset for some reason, probably because he was with 3 other males and wanted to act gangster.

Now I started to get nervous because I am not expecting someone to not be afraid of a gun. You expect that if someone sees a gun they will just go away but instead this person got really pissed. He kept going on about how he would crush me even though I know if he was alone and I didn't have a gun I would be able to whoop him with ease, although I kept that to myself because I was with two teens and did not want to further the problem so I keep quite.

I told my brother and his friend lets get out of here. So we started to ride off but the one black guy in the SUV was hell bent on making trouble so he must have asked the driver to keep following us. This is when I started getting nervous because not only did they know I have a gun and continue to follow me but the black guy was getting more and more crazy as if he wanted me to shoot him or fight him. I was also trying to keep track of my brother and his friend making sure both of them get home safe.

I was riding through allies to try to escape when I noticed the SUV went off some where. About 10 seconds later the SUV came back but and the same black guy was screaming something out the window, (a bunch of curse words)
This is when I got really nervous because I was not sure if they went and got a gun themselves or if they were just deciding wither or not to do something.

The story is almost over. Me, my brother and his friend was on the main road and the SUV stopped about 30 feet away on a side road that intersects to the main road. The one black guy who wanted trouble was the first one to get out the SUV, then all of his friends got out with him. Keep in mind they got out about 30 feet away so they were not super close. To me it seemed as if the one black guy wanted to cause problems because they others in his group never said anything.

The one black guy kept saying "Come On Mother Fer" wanting me to fight him. I am thinking to myself that I have a gun so obviously I am not going to fight him, and I have to get two teens home safely. The only thing I said to him from a distance was "I am not going to fight you, you have 4 grown men and I am with two kids". Then I said something about him wanting to start trouble and I am not doing anything to cause trouble.

He continued to keep cursing his brains out wanting me to come to him, from there I took myself, my brother and his friend home safe because they either stopped following us or was looking somewhere else.

*This is my problem I have with this situation I was in*
- I was getting the feeling of I might have to use my firearm to kill someone, I am not saying I wanted to but rather I was getting the feeling that this guy would go to the point of trying to harm us in some way to where I would have to use my firearm.

He clearly had no respect for life because he even was cursing saying he would be up my little brother and his friend even though they are only like 14 and he was probably around 19-22 years old with 3 other men around the same age.

I was starting to get nervous thinking about, when is enough enough, and how far are these people going to keep going to chase us. The one guy kept saying how he did not care that I have a gun which is my main problem, its a shock to see someone who is acting as if they do not care if you shoot them because they just want to harm you. I think most people expect that a gun will make bad guys go away but its quite a shock to find a crazy person who does not care and is still willing to chase you around and want to cause trouble.

Second Thought : After I calmed down a few hours later thinking about what just happened. I came to the conclusion that it could be likely the one guy was just bluffing about not being scared that I have a gun. On one end he surely did not care that I had the gun enough to make him stop using threats and telling the driver to follow us around, but he surely had to be smart enough to not get too close to me because I noticed that they got out of the SUV about 30 feet away, I am assuming they got out that far away because the fact that I had a gun. Although I was not taking any chances so I tried everything to get away smartly cutting through places where vehicles cannot go.

What do you guys think about this? What would you have done? What should you do in a situation like this where someone keeps threatening you after they see your gun, they continue to act as if they want to do you harm and follow you around?

Most importantly when would it be okay to use lethal force, I know its all about when your life is in danger but at the same time I was thinking, what happens if one of them pulls out a gun and I have to shoot back with 3 others in the SUV??? I obviously would not use lethal force if I did not think I could be killed but it was honestly getting to the point to where I think they might have tried something like that.

* This is my only bad experience while open carrying and its a pretty bad one

The reason it is a horrible situation is because you are put in a situation where the subject does not care that you have a gun or so they say, and you also are like a sitting duck not being allowed to draw your firearm unless they do something first. The idea of having to wait for them to try to kill you before you can make a move is a bad experience I must say, it felt as though they were just allowed to chase us around as long as they please as long as they don't do anything to harm us physically. Of course I never touched my gun, I was only going to draw it if any of them pulled a gun out or would have started attacking one of us with intent to do serious harm.

Like I said, this happened about 4-6 days ago but I got over it, its a lesson learned.
#1 Don't ride a bike at night time when crazy people are out
#2 Don't ever say a word back
#3 Carry your bigger magazine!!! Yea I had my freaking 10+1 round magazine on me at that time, ever since then I will always carry my 17+1 Magazine. I guess its like they say, once you are in a gun fight you don't want less ammo. Being that I almost felt that situation could have possibly lead up to that point, I would have to deal with 1 guy for sure and possibly his 3 buddies. Needless to say, big magazine will be with me at all times now.

[twency]

Did you ever scrape together the $20 for that License to Carry Firearms you previously insisted you didn't need and couldn't afford or were you illegally carrying a firearm on your bike?

[PennStateCarry]

Did you ever scrape together the $20 for that License to Carry Firearms you previously insisted you didn't need and couldn't afford or were you illegally carrying a firearm on your bike?

Okay I carry my handgun alot, half the time I Open Carry it.

Or half the time you are carrying?

[ICEN]

Did you ever scrape together the $20 for that License to Carry Firearms you previously insisted you didn't need and couldn't afford or were you illegally carrying a firearm on your bike?

Yes because I am rich in the summer. I mean it would be kind of dumb if I am waiting on my gun I ordered which cost a few hundred and not pay $20.

Like I said, when its not winter I am rich, when its winter I am broke

Anyways, I don't think cops really care about open carrying on a bike because none have ever said anything to me, in fact the same day this story happened a cop was at a stop sign talking to me. The only thing he said was, are you aware of the curfew (He was talking to my brother and his friend). I spoke up and said they are with an adult, then I told him we were going home anyways. He just waved bye and that was it.

I went passed him with my gun in plain sight he didn't flinch or say a word about it, actually the if I had to count the amount of times a cop has passed me on a bike or on foot while I was open carrying I would have to count more numbers than I ever learned in school. (Which is alot!)

So yes I have it.... my point was that the cops around where I live are cool so they would probably not even ask because I am pretty sure most cops don't really care just as most cops do not stop you for not wearing a seat belt. I am sure a cop would ask if they seen a gun in your car but I doubt any cop is going to get on your bum about a bicycle.

Its a bike...

Sir let me make sure that bike is registered in your name!!!
Sir is that bike illegal???
Sir!!! Show me your bike licsense plate!!!

In all seriousness, I doubt any cop would care if you are on a bike in the real world. If they cared wouldn't they have asked me by now? I am pretty sure most cops know that their cop car will catch up to a bike in less than 2 seconds. Even lance armstrong would have a hard time running from a cop on a bike.

What are you going to conceal your firearm in? Under your brake pads? LOL?
Maybe under the handle bars???

Or maybe the cops already know me so they figure why not ask a question they already know the answer too.

Why, do you expect cops to chase me down when I am on a bike with a handgun in the open? My answer is, they chase you down just as hard as when your not wearing your seat belt and a cop passes you.

[ICEN]

Or half the time you are carrying?

I ment I only open carry it half the time... I always carry it unless I am on my front porch.
Oh my, if you guys only knew the other things I have seen.

Ya, one time I was on a bike trail and two guys where on it. I passed them on the side like 5 feet away from them.
The one guy says as I am passing him "Scared me.... you almost got shot!" (I did not open carry a gun that time)

I am thinking to myself "How lovely" I wonder if this guy has a legal gun or not because if he got one legally how did that happen.

[donotknowme]

You need a LTCF to carry a gun while on a bike. So the cops might ask for it.

[Remington788]

Welcome back, glad to see your ban lifted.
Why don't you answer the simple question?
Did you get your LTCF?

[twency]

Welcome back, glad to see your ban lifted.
Why don't you answer the simple question?
Did you get your LTCF?

I read him as answering "Yes" to that in his response to me.

He's got 99 problems but a License ain't one.

[ICEN]

Until it expires then I won't be able to afford it for another 4 years.

[twency]

Until it expires then I won't be able to afford it for another 4 years.

You only can spare $20 every 9 years?

Does this have something to do with the 17-year cicada cycle?