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stephen426 · July 2, 2005, 08:15 PM

I know this will get a little personal, but I hope that we use this thread to learn from each other. Please describe a close call when you almost had to use your gun against someone. Analyze whether or not this was avoidable and what you could have done differently to avoid it.

I'll start with mine... WHICH OCCURED QUITE A LONG TIME AGO IN A GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY!!!

I was at a traffic light that had just turned red for me. I made a quick stop and then punched it before the cars started moving. (It was a wide intersection with 3 lanes in each direction plus a left turn lane) This idiot who was at a dead stop comes flying past and squeezes past me as the lanes merge into one. He then slows it down to a crawl (20 mph). I get pissed off and flick him off. He slams on his brakes a few times in front of me to piss me off even more. At this point I draw my gun and have it in the low ready position since I am not sure what kind f idiot I am dealing with. I don't present it though. The divider ends and I punch it to blow past him. I pass him and do the same to him. He folows me onto my college campus. I pull into a parking lot and then he comes over from the other side. (this lot has a single road with cars on both sides of it and an entrance on each side) He then proceeds to pull his car up to mine so we are nose to nose. He reaches in his glove box and lays something on his seat. I am in low ready the whole time and would have come up blasting if he moved his hands in an upwards manner. After what seems like an eternity, he backs up and drives past me laughing the whole way. I keep my gun trained on him as he passes but just below the window. My wife, who was my girlfriend at the time was with me.

I have highlighted the questionable actions in yellow and the stupid actions in red. I have thought of a bunch of other actions in retrospect including:
- driving to the campus police and honking my horn.
- telling my girlfriend to duck in case lead starts flying.
- doing the above plus getting out of the car and using the crook of my door as cover, and actually presenting my gun at this point.
- doing the above and then running up to the guys car with the gun leveled at him. (Clearly the most idiotic option) I wasn't really going to do this one but the thought did occur!

Road rage is a problem in many big cities. I have a few more stories to share but the moral is it takes 2 to tango. Cooler heads almost ALWAYS prevail. I could have just play along with his stupid game an let him be. I could have turned down some other street and ended his little game. I thank God nothing happened as there would have been NO positive outcome of this situation at all. In my opinion, a person's ego is often what gets them in trouble.

One final note is to please be constructive in your criticism. We are often quick to judge others but slow to judge ourselves. Try to place yourself in the other person's shoes.

July 2, 2005, 08:15 PM	#1
stephen426 Senior Member Join Date: March 11, 2005 Posts: 3,840	Close Calls... I know this will get a little personal, but I hope that we use this thread to learn from each other. Please describe a close call when you almost had to use your gun against someone. Analyze whether or not this was avoidable and what you could have done differently to avoid it. I'll start with mine... WHICH OCCURED QUITE A LONG TIME AGO IN A GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY!!! I was at a traffic light that had just turned red for me. I made a quick stop and then punched it before the cars started moving. (It was a wide intersection with 3 lanes in each direction plus a left turn lane) This idiot who was at a dead stop comes flying past and squeezes past me as the lanes merge into one. He then slows it down to a crawl (20 mph). I get pissed off and flick him off. He slams on his brakes a few times in front of me to piss me off even more. At this point I draw my gun and have it in the low ready position since I am not sure what kind f idiot I am dealing with. I don't present it though. The divider ends and I punch it to blow past him. I pass him and do the same to him. He folows me onto my college campus. I pull into a parking lot and then he comes over from the other side. (this lot has a single road with cars on both sides of it and an entrance on each side) He then proceeds to pull his car up to mine so we are nose to nose. He reaches in his glove box and lays something on his seat. I am in low ready the whole time and would have come up blasting if he moved his hands in an upwards manner. After what seems like an eternity, he backs up and drives past me laughing the whole way. I keep my gun trained on him as he passes but just below the window. My wife, who was my girlfriend at the time was with me. I have highlighted the questionable actions in yellow and the stupid actions in red. I have thought of a bunch of other actions in retrospect including: - driving to the campus police and honking my horn. - telling my girlfriend to duck in case lead starts flying. - doing the above plus getting out of the car and using the crook of my door as cover, and actually presenting my gun at this point. - doing the above and then running up to the guys car with the gun leveled at him. (Clearly the most idiotic option) I wasn't really going to do this one but the thought did occur! Road rage is a problem in many big cities. I have a few more stories to share but the moral is it takes 2 to tango. Cooler heads almost ALWAYS prevail. I could have just play along with his stupid game an let him be. I could have turned down some other street and ended his little game. I thank God nothing happened as there would have been NO positive outcome of this situation at all. In my opinion, a person's ego is often what gets them in trouble. One final note is to please be constructive in your criticism. We are often quick to judge others but slow to judge ourselves. Try to place yourself in the other person's shoes. __________________ The ATF should be a convenience store instead of a government agency! Last edited by stephen426; July 2, 2005 at 11:19 PM.