what do you do?

[headbangerJD]

What I am asking is should a person be in a ready-to-draw position (hand touching/gripping the gun) if they feel they are in a harmful situation. Come on, you know the feeling, all of a sudden your body just senses something and automatically goes on alert.

[J.Netto]

When you park in front of your apt, this same car pulls beside you w/ a group of people that seem to follow you as you go inside. Do you hold your gun then?

I don't think I would drive home, if I thought I was being followed. Instead I would probably drive to the Police department, or find a public place as crowded as I could. Then I would call the police. I think In any situation like that, getting out of your car, or driving home, would automatically give the bad guys the upper hand.

How about if your walking to your car across a dark parking lot and notice someone eerily watching you?

I always look around at all the other vehicles, or people in a parking lot, whether it is dark or not. But, more thoroughly if it's dark. I even look under, and around other cars that are parked close to mine. If the parking lot is pretty empty, but there is a vehicle parked right next to me, or pretty close, when I'm about 30 or 40 feet away, I'll go down like I dropped something, or like I am tying my shoe, and I'll look underneath the other cars.

If I noticed someone watching me, I would definitely be watching them. If when I left, they left too - I would probably handle it as I described in my first paragraph.

If I feel like my life is in danger, and I can't put any distance between me and the threat(s), then I draw my gun.

[Rescue2]

When you park in front of your apt, this same car pulls beside you w/ a group of people that seem to follow you as you go inside. Do you hold your gun then?

In a situation like that, you should have never gotten out of your vehicle.
Prudence dictates that you drive away from the parking lot, and if this same group follows your car away from the parking lot, head for the nearest police station, fire station, or well lit and populated area you can find. And for extra measure, I'd be calling the magic three numbers...
(hmmm, seems that j. netto was a little quicker than me...)

[Lee Lapin]

you are driving home in the middle of the night and see the same car behind you for an extended time. When you park in front of your apt, this same car pulls beside you

Number one thing, you DON'T GO HOME- why would you want to show them where you live if they are following you around? Make a couple of non-normal turns to confirm you really are being followed, then let them follow you to the closest cop shop or fire station. But DON'T GO HOME if you're being followed. There's more to this than just guns...

Even putting your hand on a CCW in a lot of places can still be called "brandishing." No need to put a hand on it till it's time to draw, and nothing you've described meets those criteria IMHO so far. That said, the main reason I pocket carry is that I CAN have a hand on the gun if things look bad for the home team- and still, no one can see it.

Train - practice - practice. Get training so you know what to practice, then practice till you can't get it wrong.

hth,

lpl

[headbangerJD]

I am not asking for a solution for the examples that I gave. What I am asking is should a person be in a ready-to-draw position (hand touching/gripping the gun) if they feel they are in a harmful situation. Come on, you know the feeling, all of a sudden your body just senses something and automatically goes on alert.

[JohnKSa]

It's impossible to answer a question that general. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. It depends on your carry method (hard to put your hand on a gun in a belly band), on the specific circumstances of the perceived threat and on your location relative to the concealed threat.

If you want to start a new thread with a more specific question you're welcome to.

In the future, please do not significantly edit the original post of a thread once it has been replied to several times.