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Old November 11, 2014, 01:52 PM   #46
briandg
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 4, 2010
Posts: 5,468
shoot no. What you did was a textbook perfect operation. The kid gained access to you safely, got his work done, and left without perceiving you as a threat, and you were left unmolested.

I wasn't there, I don't know you, don't know anything, and don't even know how much of your story is based on fact, as it is all seen from your own perspective, the perspective of an imperfect mind.

let me reiterate. You live in a world that includes constant risk. Risk comes in the form of people occasionally knocking on doors and killing the people who answer. In fact, that happened only a few years ago in this very town, a man rang a doorbell and shot his ex girlfriend to death right in front of her two children the second the door was opened. He also murdered two individuals in a gang execution less than a block away from my home, in fact. he was an evil man, and God knows, it may have been him at your door. Do not dismiss this possibility.

So, the doorbell rang, and you discretely armed yourself, had your wife take up a defensive posture, you examined the situation outside the door, and when you were convinced that the risk was minimal to non-existent, you opened the door and transacted the business. As you present it, that is an A+

Do you HONESTLY believe, even a little bit, that you did something wrong? Honestly, please ask yourself what you may have done wrong, and then assess those items fairly. Unless you can find a part that is obviously, grossly wrong, and makes absolutely no sense in retrospect, why would you question the decision? My belief is that you are merely second guessing yourself, trying to reframe this into a more "logical" (read this "what somebody else might think is more logical) event. Maybe your father wouldn't have answered the door like this, the guys on seinfeld wouldn't have, the people who complain about gun owners wouldn't have. Now you are questioning yourself, because lots of people are already questioning your decisions, and telling you that you're a bloody idiot just for owning one in the first place.

I'd like to point something out. When you talk about self defense, there is one common thing you encounter time after time. People telling you what not to do, or you will rot in prison. Don't use handloads, don't use this or another ammo or gun, drag the body into the house, warn, don't warn, point, don't point, wait until a weapon is shown, wait until the weapon is in your face, wait until the goon racks his slide, until he threatens to kill you, so on.

People want to look smart. They will impart "wisdom" all day long. Sometimes, that wisdom is absolute horse leavings. but you, you are left with nagging doubts. There are people who have told you that you must wait until you are in the very gravest of danger before you even think about deadly force, at risk of lethal injection for killing a retarded ten year old who pointed a cap gun at you. There are others who say "damn the conseuences, blow that goon away!" Is it any wonder that a person is left with second thoughts?

You have learned what needs to be done. You have learned what rules to follow. Continue to learn, continue to think, and when you are presented with a situation use your best judgement. one of the smartest people I know said this.
Quote:
If you make a mistake, it is because you used the best information that you had at the time, and interpreted to the best of your ability. You shouldn't think of it as a mistake. It was a failure of information and how you used it.
Two months ago, I had a situation. I was approached by gang members who apparently intended to physically attack me, seriously injure me. I drew a gun and stopped the attack by presenting the weapon. There were so many things that I did that were not optimal for the situation, but everything I did was "right" for the situation as it unfolded. Only in hindsight can I sit and analyze, and criticize my decisions based on the information. I've learned from a lot of it.

don't allow yourself to be forced into bad choices by people who will second guess your every decision. Don't make choices based in improbable scenarios and warnings that will cause you to make mistakes in judgement, keeping yourself from doing what you must do when the need comes.

i drew my pistol and put it on his chest. Ironically, the 20+ year old goon who stood at least 3 feet taller than me, outweighed me by easily 30 pounds, looked me squarely in the eye, sneered, and asked me if I was ready to spend the rest of my life in prison for killing a 17 year old unarmed boy. Oh, brother. Should I have listened to his warning, and put away my handgun, giving him the opportunity to kill me?

The unarmed 17 year old boy, as he was leaving, shouted that he was going to be back again, with a gun of his own, because "nobody points a gun at me!" Again, ridiculous irony, he only left because one of his friends convinced him to do so. His friend reminded him that "it's not worth going back to prison!" In fact, prison was the least of his worries, wouldn't you say?
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