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Will You Use Your CCW If You Are Attacked?

If I don't intend to use it, why in the world would I carry a concealed weapon?
Naw, I'll just lay down and whimper.

I'll instantly cower and offer the attacker my wallet, my gun and my wife and hope for the best.

I'll never be attacked because I'll never go outside again. It's a win-win.
 
My wife, from South Africa, has had the dubious honor of having to draw her weapon twice in self defense and being caught in the middle of a terrorist attack (with automatic weapons) of a shopping center. Yesterday, she had her annual medical checkup and was very distraught walking about without her weapon. We in the US don't know what real danger is.
 
TL/DR: As law abiding citizens we have inhibitions to overcome and legal considerations that criminals don't have.

I worked as a security guard for 15 years. I would say that probably half of that time I was working downtown and interacting with petty criminals all night long.

I've said this before here but almost every single time that I interacted with one the first words out of their mouth when they realized I was armed were

"What are you going to do, shoot me?"

A couple of them dared me to and I want to clarify that this was just walking up to them with the gun in my holster.

With the exception of clearing buildings I don't think I actually drew my handgun at work more than five times.

I remember two incidents that illustrate the point that I want to make.

The first one was the night that two guys attempted to rob me outside of my home. They did not realize that I was armed until I stepped out from behind my car door and they saw my gun belt. I put my hand on my gun and told them to GTF out of Dodge.

The important part of this is it the whole time this was going on my mind was racing. Am I justified? Can I convince the police that I'm justified? Am I going to go to jail for defending myself? What do I do if these guys don't back down?

I was more afraid of the repercussions if I was wrong then I was of getting robbed except if I had been robbed they would have taken the gun and I would have got fired for that too.

The second incident I was at a substation late one night doing a check. The substation and its parking lot were private property and they were posted "No Trespassing".

As I was getting in my car to leave a tweaker wearing war paint and a bird mask came through the parking lot on his bicycle.

At the far end of the parking lot was a 20 ft drop. So he wasn't passing through. My car was lit from the street lights and he wasn't 3 ft away from it he could not possibly have not known I was there.

I got out of the car and shined my flashlight at him. I want to clarify that it was a handheld flashlight not a WML.

He went absolutely ballistic. He threw down the bike he started screaming at me and he pulled up his shirt and he reached into his waistband and started screaming something about "Do you want to see mine? Do you want to see mine?"

Any reasonable person would have thought he was reaching for a weapon. I had my hand on my gun. I think I actually drew it. And the whole time I'm thinking that if he doesn't come out of that waistband with a gun in his hand I'm screwed. If he does come out of his waistband with a gun in his hand and I shoot him I'm still screwed.

So the main point that I'm trying to make Is both of those times I was constrained by legal considerations that the other guy didn't have.

If I shoot a bad guy in self-defense even if I am 100% justified, life as I know it is over. If the bad guy shoots me, it's just another in a long list of charges If he's even caught.

That is something that I believe most of us are going to have to overcome before we ever have to defend ourselves with a firearm.

Last story, I caught a guy trespassing on utilities private property one morning.

I'm not going to go through the whole story but he threatened to kill me with an ax. While he was looking through his shopping cart to find his ax I got on the radio and I called for police assistance and backup.

I also pulled out my OC spray with my other hand and when he turned around from his shopping cart with his ax I was standing there shaking up my OC spray and telling him to bring it.

He dropped the ax like it was on fire. it was the best result I've ever gotten drawing a "weapon" at work.

Criminals, with some justification, don't believe that you'll shoot them.

They absolutely believe that you'll spray them.
 
I’m a Marine Veteran. What I’ve learned while Serving my Country is that you have to be Violent. Not just “A Little Bit Violent”!
What I’m Saying is This.
When someone Attacks you, you need to Return Violence at a 10!
Right Away!
Violence can be Measured from 1-10.
Once I’ve decided to become Violent…I go STRAIGHT TO TEN. Anything less and you have a Good Chance of being Taken Out of The Fight.
 
Boogieman8541 said:
I’m a Marine Veteran. What I’ve learned while Serving my Country is that you have to be Violent. Not just “A Little Bit Violent”!
What I’m Saying is This.
When someone Attacks you, you need to Return Violence at a 10!
Right Away!
Violence can be Measured from 1-10.
Once I’ve decided to become Violent…I go STRAIGHT TO TEN. Anything less and you have a Good Chance of being Taken Out of The Fight.
Click to expand...
This is the most true statement I’ve ever heard.
 
The wife pulled a gun on a carload of miscreants that cut her off from her store late at night. They emptied the car and advanced until she pulled it. They then piled back in the car and left. She didn't call the cops because she couldn't legally carry and her employer didn't allow weapons on the property. The laws have changed since and she's still here thank God.
 
az4783054 said:
I was taught in the academy that if attacked, there are no rules in a street fight. Fight like your life depends on it, because it does.
Click to expand...
Fight like you're the third monkey

1708021721920.png
 
If I or my wife and I or friend and I are ever attacked, my military training will kick in, my “switch will be flipped” and things will get VERY ugly, VERY messy, VERY quickly. Until then, I’m the nicest guy you will ever meet. I have had friends tell me that even though I’m a nice guy, there is “something” about me that makes them glad I’m their friend. I guess it is just a “willing” vibe I give off.
 
Dunno if I agree. I live in Chicago and was attacked. I shot him twice with very little thought and no hesitation. He did survive and served 3 out of 6 years but the VINE system recently notified me that he's in an Illinois prison again (no details on his new charges).

Articles like this would be nice to have perspective from people that have actually shot someone so that they are more well rounded in their opinion m
 
Good article...Thanks!

I try to avoid trouble at the first sign of the person being a nut or a criminal. I always say people are trouble and try to stay away from them as much as I can. But I may not always be able to do it. I think a big issue with deadly force is the question of whether you got a Soros D.A. or not in your town. Even if justified, the Soros D.A. will work overtime to protect the criminal.

soros amazing.jpg


When you are in war, you have to know the battle lines. When you are behind enemy lines, such as D.C., Portland, NYC, L.A., Seattle or Frisco you go by the rules of the enemy if captured or taken out. Very basic stuff, so don't be shocked when crazy legal **** happens to you.

There was some guy, maybe ex-military, caught up in a peaceful protest around 2020. He was threatened with a gun while trying to drive though the protest. He shot the person with the gun and he was found guilty and went to prison. That was the last heard anyway.

Beside gun/s, I carry non-lethal, like giant pepper spray, a folding Benchmade knife and sometimes a hi-powered, tactical flashlight at night. So, I have some other options beside guns. Nowadays I don't go out at night much, but when I do, the venues I go to don't allow guns any longer. They wand you or have metal detectors. I do have some titanium diver's knives that are 100% nonmagnetic, they should in theory be able to go through metal detectors, but I have not tried them.

I guess the bottom line is I try to avoid using the gun unless it is a last resort. On the other hand, being old, if attacked, I'm not going to jiujitsu the criminal. So, if pepper or a flashlight won't dissuade them, and being too old to run very fast, the gun will have to come into use faster than I may have liked if I was younger / more skilled. But it just depends on the circumstances and if deadly force is justified.

joke 1.12.gif
 
You know I have often thought of this as I am a CCW holder. My wife is so against guns and there is no way I can convince her otherwise, though I do try, to no avail. So as such I don't carry as often as I should. And if there is anything that would cause me to have regret is being in a situation where I should have been carrying and didn't. I would certainly be bitter. Having thought of this, my main concern would be carrying in condition 1, that is cocked and locked. I am well versed with guns having been in the military and reserve police and going to range when I can. So, I have decided when I carry, I will carry in condition 3. A round not chambered and not cocked. This will certainly give the advantage to someone who wants to do me or my family harm. However, this way I can make sure of the situation before a threat takes place. And not pull my weapon needlessly with the possibility of firing a round dangerously. I know what many will be thinking, but even police have killed when they thought someone was about to do them harm.
 
Boogieman8541 said:
I’m a Marine Veteran. What I’ve learned while Serving my Country is that you have to be Violent. Not just “A Little Bit Violent”!
What I’m Saying is This.
When someone Attacks you, you need to Return Violence at a 10!
Right Away!
Violence can be Measured from 1-10.
Once I’ve decided to become Violent…I go STRAIGHT TO TEN. Anything less and you have a Good Chance of being Taken Out of The Fight.
Click to expand...
I agree totally. In the Army Infantry we were taught something similar called “violence of action.” When facing a threat and the enemy fight to win. Anything less is…well a total loss.
 
Very Good article. I have been involved with firearms both as a civilian and as a Peace officer. I teach firearm safety and the thing I find most often is many people are not prepared mentally to defend themselves with a firearm. As stated in this article they think that somehow just the fact that that they have a firearm is going to enough to protect themselves and their loved ones. I teach that unless you are ready to shoot to kill if necessary, you should not have a firearm in your hand or even with you! It takes a mindset to successfully use a firearm in self defense. Without it carrying a firearm is just as dangerous to you as the criminal! This is why I always suggest training not only in safety but in the instant use of it when the situation calls for it! Your life will be changed forever if you use a gun. This decision must be made before you ever put a holster on! A good instructor will put you under stress during training. That way you begin to learn to use your head under stress! It is important to be able to think clearly and quickly under very high stress. The only way I know to develop that ability is to train. I have had many people leave the class when they start learning this phase of the training. They decide they don't want to deal with the aftermath of self defense use of a firearm. I also highly recommend that you get a good insurance with companies like USCCA or others because the legal ramifications can get expensive and I know I don't have 50 thousand and up to defend myself in court!
 
soonie0351 said:
You know I have often thought of this as I am a CCW holder. My wife is so against guns and there is no way I can convince her otherwise, though I do try, to no avail. So as such I don't carry as often as I should. And if there is anything that would cause me to have regret is being in a situation where I should have been carrying and didn't. I would certainly be bitter. Having thought of this, my main concern would be carrying in condition 1, that is cocked and locked. I am well versed with guns having been in the military and reserve police and going to range when I can. So, I have decided when I carry, I will carry in condition 3. A round not chambered and not cocked. This will certainly give the advantage to someone who wants to do me or my family harm. However, this way I can make sure of the situation before a threat takes place. And not pull my weapon needlessly with the possibility of firing a round dangerously. I know what many will be thinking, but even police have killed when they thought someone was about to do them harm.
Click to expand...
I use #2 when using the 1911. Lately I have reverted to a Sig P239 DA/SA.
 
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