I almost just pulled my gun...

[marinville]

One of my regrets is that I did not use my flashlight when the encounter began. When I first heard his voice, it was my first thought. I hesitated because I thought perhaps he was a neighbor or other well meaning individual and if so, it would be rude to blind him with the light. Once he began advancing, I grew less concerned with rudeness, but by then it seemed unwise to reach for the light. As a result, I still never got a good look at him, nor can I say with certainty what his hands were doing during the encounter.

[Bang]

All you have is a guy who saw the car running, figured someone was in it or about to get in it, and came to ask for a ride. The guy made the request, and left.

Hand on out of view gun, in case, is no problem at all.

Nothing wrong with leaving the car running, either, if you can lock it and have a second way of getting back into it, like I have done.

I'd give you a 100 but can't if the car could have been snatched.

[marinville]

All you have is a guy who saw the car running, figured someone was in it or about to get in it, and came to ask for a ride. The guy made the request, and left.

Hand on out of view gun, in case, is no problem at all.

Nothing wrong with leaving the car running, either, if you can lock it and have a second way of getting back into it, like I have done.

I'd give you a 100 but can't if the car could have been snatched.

The car was unlocked. I won't lie and say otherwise. It was a careless act.

[Emptymag]

I hate the fact that I can't lock our Santa Fe with it running to warm it up. (doors automatically unlock when you lock them, so you can't lock your keys inside)
If I can't be there near it doing other things like shoveling, I will pull my truck up at an angle, parking in front of it, preventing anyone from driving off with the running SUV.

(I can lock my truck manually with it running, then use the spare key fob to unlock it)

[marinville]

I hate the fact that I can't lock our Santa Fe with it running to warm it up. (doors automatically unlock when you lock them, so you can't lock your keys inside)
If I can't be there near it doing other things like shoveling, I will pull my truck up at an angle, parking in front of it, preventing anyone from driving off with the running SUV.

(I can lock my truck manually with it running, then use the spare key fob to unlock it)

My vehicle is the same way as your Santa Fe. I also don't care for the feature.

[ray h]

The car was unlocked. I won't lie and say otherwise. It was a careless act.

I think you are being a bit hard on yourself and every one else is being a lot hard on you. So you go in the house for a few minutes to let the dog out and left your car running, big deal. So someone walked out of the dark and surprised you, shit happens. I leave my vehicle run in the driveway fairly often, hell I've even run back in the house and left my motorcycle running in the driveway. Right now my pickup is unlocked sitting in the driveway (not running, but unlocked). I try to be aware of the criminal situation in my area and act accordingly, but mostly I'm not putting my life on "lock down".
Maybe I'm the only one but you won't get criticism from me except to say this is (thankfully) a non story with the only result being next time you may be more prepared to deal with surprise visitors.

[DukeConnor]

OC or CC ?
Weapons mounted light or hand held ?
.45 or 9mm ?
Hollow points, FMJ or a mix ?
Were you wearing a MAGA hat?

[bogey1]

Get a remote starter installed, this way you can leave your car running.
I warm my trucks up all the time, you cant drive them without the keys.

[Sgt.K]

OC or CC ?
Weapons mounted light or hand held ?
.45 or 9mm ?
Hollow points, FMJ or a mix ?
Were you wearing a MAGA hat?

And the entertainment begins...

[Berncly]

-
In today's world you need to assume the worst with a stranger advancing towards you on your property in the middle of the night.
Maybe he was crazy, maybe on drugs, or maybe he was looking for an easy target for a mugging.
Normal people do not wander around at night asking strangers for a ride.

Muggers will often ask a benign question when approaching a potential victim.
Asking for the time, or directions, or a ride, is just a way for them to size up their target.
How you respond will often dictate if they will decide to attack you or not.

Putting your hand on your holstered gun and giving the stop command is a perfectly acceptable reaction.
It lets the mugger know that you are not a Liberal Democrat with a rape whistle asking to be mugged.
More often than not, muggers will back away from a forceful response and go look for an easier victim.

If the guy was crazy or on drugs, your response is again acceptable.
Even if they are not muggers, crazy and drugged people still pose a risk of unpredictable violence.
Your stop command often works well with them also, hopefully startling them through their mental haze and causing them to move on.

As for contacting the police, there was no crime committed so there is really nothing they can do.
You could report the incident and have them check the neighborhood for a suspicious person, but best to leave the gun out of the conversation.
Reporting it still exposes you to potential lies by the suspect describing you as the aggressor, and this may result in your also being treated as a suspect by the police.
So without a crime being committed, it is probably best to leave the police out of it.

This is just another example of the 2.5 million incidents per year in the United States, when a gun is used to stop a crime without firing a shot.
Guns often stop crimes before they are committed, and their use as a deterrent against crime far exceeds their being used to actually shoot someone.

It probably would be a good idea to go to the range and practice your draw and fire drills.
The commonly reported lack of clarity you describe in your response is what gets people killed in defensive situations.
You should train to carry and draw in the one way that works best for you, and practice that method exclusively until it becomes a crisp deliberate action.

All things considered, I think you did very well.
Bern-
-