Ever Felt Threatened Enough That A Pistol Was Needed?

[Oleozz]

I've read the entire thread on pocket pistols listed below, how many folks have actually felt that they were in a situation where a pistol was essential to making it out of a tough spot?
I am 64 yrs old, travel a good bit with my work, and up to this point in my life have never been in a predicament where a gun was needed. Hopefully that will never change but one never knows!
Thanks..........

 

[Fixemall]

I've read the entire thread on pocket pistols listed below, how many folks have actually felt that they were in a situation where a pistol was essential to making it out of a tough spot?
I am 64 yrs old, travel a good bit with my work, and up to this point in my life have never been in a predicament where a gun was needed. Hopefully that will never change but one never knows!
Thanks..........

You are a lucky fellow, your travels have been pleasant and I hope that continues for you and everyone else here but, I know folks who have driven hundreds of thousands of miles without a flat tire as well. For me, a gun is a tool that is necessary to have and not ever have to use if one is lucky.

 

[TripleR]

I too am 64 and the answer is yes.

My dad always disliked handguns and refused to own one. In his late 60's he bought a Colt Detective Special and asked me if it was a good gun. He never said what happened to change his mind, he drove a truck and traveled a lot.

 

[RoyJackson]

One time...in about 20 years.

Not going into all the details (it's been better then 10 years ago), but basically my wife and I were threatened by a couple drunks over a parking spot in a resturant parking lot.
The .38 was out of the holster, but held low (out of sight of the drunks).

Well, I'm not going to shoot someone over a parking spot, so we ended up going to another resturant...but you never know about drunks.

There's a lot of times I have my hand on the pistol but that's the only time I've actually felt threatened enough to draw it.
This was well over 10 years ago...long before we had cell phones...

 

[pharmerdan]

Yes I have. I am a pharmacist and part of my everyday wardrobe is a gun. I have only had to show the gun one time during a robbery. I would have used it sooner during the situation, but before you draw you must survey the situation at hand. A mother and son came in just before the jerk and I had no choice due to their proximity to him to reconceal my gun. Remember that concealment is very important in this day and age. He could have kept the gun on someone if he knew I carried. I also don't want to scare customers that might be sensitive to guns.

When he went to the door he stopped to look for cops. Not wanting to become a hostage or worse I drew and supprised the guy. Funny part was that he didn't seem to like me pointing a gun at him and ran.

Cops that day told me that I should carry a taser also. If I had one I could have downed him at the door without the legal worries of shooting him as he left. That is an option if you need protection but are not sure of the responsibilities of concealed carry.

Hope that you never need one, but I would rather have one and not need it than the other way around.

 

[slowzuki]

Nope never have felt like I needed one. Guy I met in NY was held up at his HVAC shop while working late though by some guys with bats, they had laughed at him when he said he'd call the cops, he told me he had a semi and a revolver on his at all times when working alone after that. I try not to get into confrontations where a gun is needed. Things can happen fast when its a gun deciding the outcome.

 

[redlevel]

I will be 63 in a day or two. I bought the Model 36 S&W pictured in 1973. I carried it almost every day for 30 years, usually in my pocket, nearly always in my vehicle. It is semi-retired now, and I have several other j-frame S&Ws I rotate. I am carrying a stainless Model 60 this week, either in my pocket or in a very concealable belt holster.

Since 1973, there has been one occasion when I actually drew the pistol. That was just a few years after I bought it. Didn't have to fire it, and the incident became one of those tens of thousands of non-reported occasions when having a firearm saved someone's bacon. At the time, I had about $2500 of my own money in my pocket that I absolutely couldn't afford to lose, and was followed to my truck by two miscreants. When they saw the gun, they turned around and went the other way. I have shot numerous rattlesnakes, one in the city limits of Columbus, Georgia in a residential neighborhood, and a bunch of armadillos with the little revolver. Probably a feral cat or two, also. It looks like it does because it has fallen in the creek with me a bunch of times when I was trying to clean out the intake pipe on an irrigation pump, or some other chore. About twice a year I pop the side plate off, clean all the grunge out, and give it a 24 hour diesel fuel soak. The innards of the gun still look pristine.

I hope I never need a gun again, other than for hunting or target shooting, but I intend to have one available at all times. Just in case.

Model 60 in a holster made for me by LoboGunLeather.com

 

[Tim Stuart]

I am 43 and had the displeasure of having use a tool on 2 occasions in my life. The first time was when I was 21 and I was in a situation I should have know better. I was at a bar in the parking lot with a friend I had known all my life at the time. We were leaving and a guy followed us out into the parking lot and pulled a knife out because he did not like the way my buddy was looking at his Girlfriend. The guy was drunk and brought a knife to a gun fight. We had made it to the truck and unlocked the doors when he exposed his intentions to my buddy. I pulled my 30/30 from behind the seat through a bead on him from across the hood of my truck to stop him. Once he seen the rifle he backed away slowly.

The second time was about 10 years ago, I was out of town on a job sleeping in a motel and about 2-3am a guy tried to beat my door in while we were sleeping looking for a guy named Roger and would not understand there was nobody named Roger in the room without us opening the door . I was sharing the room with my BIL so my BIL swung the door open and I explained to the guy that there was no one named Rodger in the room. With a 9mm at the bridge nose. He was more than Happy leave so we could get some sleep. He explained that Rodger owed him money on a deal that had went bad. My BIL and I both think it was a drug deal that went bad.

I too hope I never need a gun again but was dam glad on both occasions I had one on me. I promised myself from that day on there would only be one side of the story told to the judge.

 

[TripleR]

About twice a year I pop the side plate off, clean all the grunge out, and give it a 24 hour diesel fuel soak. The innards of the gun still look pristine.

Have you ever tried Gun Scrubber? We had to clean our weapons on site every time we went to the range and have them inspected by our trainers before allowed to go back on duty; worked great and was quick.

 

[Dan Hunter]

I was with my wife and daughter at Dash Point State Park. We wanted a quiet place to eat lunch and went to the back of the lot to a bench and were isolated and largely alone until a car with four young men rolled by slowly giving us a hard look. They continued to slowly roll around the lot with their eyes on us and then stopped about 100 yards pointed right at us. I interpreted them as a threat.

I went over to the truck when they started to roll slowly toward us. I pulled my stainless Ruger Super Blackhawk making no effort to hide it as a returned to the bench. Just the sight of the gun resulted in the driver turning away and rapidly departing the lot not to return.