[5whiskey]

So yeah, happy 4th of July. I had one of the greatest training excercises that *could've* gotten ugly tonight. Everything turned out well, thank God, but I did get a chance to see how my carry method works in real life stress.

Anyway, I'm walking through the subdivision with the GF, her kids, her brother, and her mother. I was carrying (obviously) when 2 dogs ran up the driveway of a neighbors house un-restrained. Not a trot, or a playful run... mind you I know the difference. This was a "seek, close with, and destroy who's coming near my turf" run. We were fairly spread out as a group, which I didn't like because I didn't know where everyone was. As soon as I saw the dogs, I began to draw and I yelled forcefully. This MAY have been our saving grace because this did disrupt the dogs and made them pause. Had they not paused, and if they would have been intent on doing damage, then they would have reached someone in the group before I could draw and fire.

Anyway. The dogs paused for a brief second but were *way* too close for comfort. They were probably 20' or less away and appeared to be trying to decide their next course of action. I paused for a second, but decided they were too close for comfort, so I fired three warning shots into the ditch bank and then began to aim at the dogs. I didn't have time to really aim because they decided to split pretty quickly. So, I've critiqued myself, and am open to further critique.

- I was carrying my off piece that I VERY rarely carry anymore. The only reason I had it is I didn't have the means to properly secure it off my person at the time, so I had it in my carry pocket and my normal carry piece in the other pocket. The manual of arms is different, so I fumbled with the safety for a second. It was brief, but it could've been long enough for someone to really get hurt. The DA/SA pistol will now ride safety off because of the location of the safety, the long trigger pull, and the fact that the safety is in a different location and throws in a different direction than on my normal carry piece.

- I'm a dog person. I'm not typically afraid of dogs. When they paused, I hesitated for a second trying to figure out whether they were still a threat. The whole ordeal occured in about 4 seconds, so this happened VERY fast. I still hesitated and that could've hurt.

- I am pretty decent at pocket carry. It is my preferred method.

- Forceful and assertive verbal commands work to your advantage. I think that *perhaps* this simple act did the trick. Verbal commands on dogs or humans are FTW.

- When traveling in groups, it's a good idea to keep the group tight together. One person walks 20' ahead, the other 2 15' behind... another reason I hesitated was trying to figure out who was closest to the danger so I could protect them. I was trying to make alot of decisions in a small amount of time. Travel in tight groups unless in combat and you expect grenades.

- Some will probably criticize me for it, but I stand behind my logic of firing the warning shots. I didn't want to shoot the dogs because they paused, but they were still WAY too close for comfort. I only wish I would've fired the warning shots earlier instead of taking the time to assess whether they were still a threat.

- No one was hurt, and I got to judge my response in a real life stress situation. I will politely talk with the neighbor about his dogs tomorrow. They were out of town this weekend.

Critique me, I want to hear it.