How far have you gone...

[Pro2A]

... While carrying. Have you ever had to use your carry piece? If so, how far did it go? See above poll.

[ScaredOnce]

It's pretty likely that no one "should" answer this poll.

[Pro2A]

It's pretty likely that no one "should" answer this poll.

Why not. I've had instances before that I have shared where people are overly aggressive with me and I'll back up, hand over my gun hoping they get the hint not to push it further.

It ends there usually.

[Curmudgeon]

Fortunately, never.

Additionally, I can't think of a single time when I did not have a weapon with me, but could have used one.

Like I said... fortunately.

[uniballin]

Put my hand on the grip, didn't draw.

I Was walking home one night when I lived in Philly.

Guy started following my roommate and I. He mentioned something along the lines that if we don't give him money, he's going to kill us. He started running at us, but a LEO drove by the intersecting street when he was about 25 yards from us. He turned around and nonchalantly walked away.

[PennsyPlinker]

I have drawn twice, both in the early 90s. Once was on a dog that was attacking me and my dog. It was being egged on by some people across the street. It was late at night. I was yelling at the dog to go home. Someone in a group on a dark porch was yelling, "Git 'em boy, git em!" while others were laughing. I resolved to shoot the dog if it got any closer. As soon as I drew, the porch grew very quiet. After a few seconds of stillness, I heard a very quiet voice from the same person:

"Come on home boy. Don't bother that man. Come on."



The second time was in a dark alley. People have always told me they would never want to meet me in a dark alley. Apparently someone did. I kept changing sides to avoid the man, but he kept changing too. I finally pulled my wee little Beretta, charged it, and replaced it in its place. The guy took off running never to be seen again.



That most recent incident was in '94 or '95, I forget which. I don't mind sharing these. What is someone going to do, arrest me for preparing to shoot at a dog? Or a dog?

[P7hk9]

I had to draw on a guy back in the early '90s.

I was young, dumb, and had no SA, walking down an alley in Pittsburgh with a friend of mine. Some bum pulled out a knife and said he's kill us if we didn't give him money. As my friend and I were backing up, I drew my 1911. Knife-guy ran away.

Scared the shit out of me. As I drew and started acquiring the sights, all I could think was "Please don't make me shoot you." Thank God he ran away.

I stay out of alleys now.

[wa3ra]

If my gun come out when I'm carrying, it is coming out as a last resort, and firing is the final step. Each time that it has come out, I was in fear of serious harm or death. If that isn't the situation, it won't come out, and it shouldn't.

Many times, my wife wonders how I remain so calm in the face of a threat; I tell her that I have to...and I can usually defuse a threatening situation with the appropriate look and a few quiet words; the chance of a life being in jeopardy is extraordinarily slim, and should that situation arise, I have a lethal tool to remove that threat at my disposal.

Arguing, getting hot or pissed off, losing control, being the aggressor...if you can't avoid doing any of those things under any 'normal' circumstance, you should not be carrying a weapon.

Ayoob called it: 'In the gravest extreme'. 'nuf said.

And after the last incident, I was physically ill. As powerful a feeling as it is, realizing that you are less than a tenth of a second from potentially taking the life of another human being is a terrifying, life-altering event. If you are SERIOUSLY carrying for self defense, PLEASE consider the possible consequences BEFORE you have to draw. Granted, in almost every case, simply drawing will end the situation...but if it doesn't, you must be prepared to act, instinctively, without conscious thought; draw and get sites on target in one motion, be aware of what is around the target, and see nothing but that piece of paper with the circles on it. If those circles don't move away from you, or if you can't back up away from them, then you must fire without hesitation.

If there is ANY other way to defuse the situation, the gun should never have left your holster.

Sorry if I seem to be pontificating, but when that handgun comes up, there is a world of shit in front of those sites, you can't bring a bullet back, and you have to live with the consequences for the rest of your life.

[Metz]

Voted #6. It was a dog 15 or so years ago. I kept the gun pointing at it, slowly backing up down the stairs, until the dog got out of sight. I went outside the building and called the police for unattended agressive rotweiler.

p.s. use of the service sidearm while on duty doesn't count

[USAF385]

Only drew once.. because of a bear. I didn't aim at it though. It made a triangle with my and my basement door after I got out of the truck one night. He watched me for a while and I watched him.

We parted on good terms.