RRC Archives

I'll leave it to those who read this thread to decide who's the jackass.

If someone is approaching you with deadly intent, and you pull a gun in self defense, and they freeze in their tracks, in most jurisdictions you'd damned well better not shoot.

Ps. I trust that you don't advocate murder, however, you weren't very careful in what you said in the first half of your first post. In referring to the home invasion incident, it sure sounds like you said you regretted the fact that you hadn't shot someone who clearly didn't "need shootin'." Based on the information you provided, I'd say the decision you made in your younger days was a wise one. All the stuff you said about never pulling a gun unless you are prepared to use it is absolutely right on.

Larry, that is different from flashing your gun from under your jacket. Doing that is never necessary, and it can lead to trouble for you in a variety of ways, for example escalating a situation that never needed to go that way. If you need the gun, it better be in your hand, and yeah, if it's in your hand, it better be because you need to shoot someone (IOW deadly force must be legally justified). If someone is approaching you with deadly intent, you shoot them. You don't pull out your gun if you aren't prepared to shoot someone. You don't pull out a gun and hope that simply seeing it stops someone. If it does and you don't shoot them, well that is great, but it is not advice that should suggested like it was by you and someone else earlier. That's a fool's game.

It wasn't me that mentioned flashing a gun. I agree that that's not wise. But you begin active resistance as soon as you draw your weapon, and if the perp decides to break off his attack by the time you have him in your sights and your finger on the trigger, hold your fire, please.

Well said. I didn't mean to sound like I was there to 'show 'em around for no reason, I related a true situation where having the deterrent came in use; not by drawing or aiming but just showing that a use of force was possible. Same achieved I guess, if I just wore it out visibly on a holster but that doesn't fit well with a backpack on.