Gas Station Self Defense - Page 3

zincwarrior · September 7, 2016, 06:59 AM

Quote:

Yes it gets folks using there gun. Unfortunately some think its actual real life training. One of the things I don't like is not loading magazines to max capacity. Who in there right mind downloads a mag before leaving the house??

Thats to meet a standard round count across the US. Not sure what that has to do with defensive training.

TimSr · September 7, 2016, 07:27 AM

Quote:

Sorry my town does not have issues everyone else here must have. Look up Bellevue, Iowa.

I live in a town like yours. I have no qualms about fueling up after midnight. Our last homicide was in the 1980's. I still remain reasonably vigilant, but not the same heightened awareness when I'm fueling off the freeway exit, or in neighboring cities like Akron or Canton.

**OldMarksman** · September 7, 2016, 09:26 AM

Many of us have refueled after midnight, but that does not mean that it resembles a good idea anywhere.

What better place could there be for someone looking for money and a car?

K_Mac · September 7, 2016, 09:45 AM

OldMarksman you are correct. I like your Serengeti metaphor!

While peggysue may live in 1950s Mayberry, the rest of us don't. Even there, Barney and Andy encountered the occasional armed thug as I recall. Of course it was always over quickly with good prevailing over evil. I also live in a rural Midwest community where violent crime is very rare. I still carry, whether I am walking my attack chihuahua or going to gas station, and pay attention to what is going on around me. I don't live in fear, but evil exists and there is no hiding from it.

BarryLee · September 7, 2016, 10:31 AM

I suspect when we talk about crime most people imagine the stereotypical street thug and yes statistics probably support this. However, crime comes in a lot of shapes and sizes and often quite unexpected. Like the teen that kidnaps his ex-girlfriend, the Mom who torches her home and runs off with the kids, the mother-in-law who murders her daughter in-law during a divorce, etc. While many of these folks may have never committed a crime or exhibited any criminal tendency something snapped and they made a bad decision. So, what better place for these folks to find provisions while they’re on the run than a gas station. Bottom line things can happen anywhere even in low crime communities.

Lohman446 · September 7, 2016, 11:28 AM

BarryLee are we discussing violent crime or a property crime at this point though? The person who steals your car or truck is a far different threat then one that we are discussing dousing with gasoline.

kenny53 · September 7, 2016, 12:58 PM

Nomad636: "Think that soaking them in gasoline would be a decent strategy for the first offensive move?"
Any move would have to be a defensive move. As many have suggested keep your gun on your person. This would be the best DEFENSIVE move you could make.
I leave the house get into my car not thinking you are going to have a flat tire, but carry a jack and a spare all the time. I leave the house never thinking I am going to in a bad situation but have a gun with me all the time. If your gun is in your car it is not with you.

Lohman446 · September 7, 2016, 01:03 PM

I think this thread illustrates the popularity of small firearms. Define small however you want but my P938 or NAA mni-revolver are more likely than not to be in my pocket should I need one of them outside of my house. My larger firearms tend simply to not be carried because they are inconvenient. Are 5 shots of .22 Magnum or 6 shots of 9MM (I don't reload the magazine after chambering a round) ideal should I need a pistol? Nope. Are they better than 0 shots of nothing - yep.

**OldMarksman** · September 7, 2016, 03:00 PM

Quote:

OldMarksman you are correct. I like your Serengeti metaphor!

Tom Givens.

peggysue · September 8, 2016, 08:51 AM

So glad i live in Mayberry NC... if you read it was in Belleview Iowa Look it up maybe you need to move here. Low cost of living. Wonderful place.

http://www.bellevueia.com/

Dusty Rivers · September 8, 2016, 10:08 AM

It seems that almost every city in the country has drug usage. If that is the case, then your safe city has the potential for sudden crime. I live where no one locked their homes or cars. Last month there was a crime wave of someone entering unlocked homes. Now the radio stations are advising everyone to start locking their doors.

Don't stick your head in the sand. If you look like a potential victim you are a potential victim. Don't be afraid, just aware and prepared.

m&p45acp10+1 · September 9, 2016, 07:28 AM

As a teen I used the nozzle, and a Zippo lighter to make a group of would be attackers change their minds about attacking me. I would much rather have a gun these days. I quit smoking over a year ago, and the very same lighter now sits with the candles, in kitchen drawer.

TimSr · September 14, 2016, 07:10 PM

Quote:

Don't stick your head in the sand. If you look like a potential victim you are a potential victim. Don't be afraid, just aware and prepared.

Part of not sticking your head in the sand is a realistic evaluation of potential risk, and knowing that it is far safer for me to fuel up at midnight in my hometown than to do it near my workplace at 7:30am.

agtman · September 14, 2016, 07:56 PM

Quote:

Don't stick your head in the sand. If you look like a potential victim you are a potential victim. Don't be afraid, just aware and prepared.

Quote:

Part of not sticking your head in the sand is a realistic evaluation of potential risk, and knowing that it is far safer for me to fuel up at midnight in my hometown than to do it near my workplace at 7:30am.

Well, "potential risk" only means you're playing the probabilities, i.e., gambling.

Moreover, the bad guy has a say in how and when he'll strike, and it will never be part of your calculus of the risk.

Midnight at a gas station at one location might, in the bad guy's view, be as good as 7:30a.m. at another.

chicharrones · September 15, 2016, 09:04 PM

I pass through some weird areas at weird times when I travel the state for work. I have had plenty of people approach me for money or possible trouble. Years ago before I got my CHL, I did chase off a person harassing me at a gas pump by pulling the gas nozzle out of my car and aiming it in his direction. He was enraged, but he did leave the gas station after that.

Nowadays, my usual gas up procedure is to get out of the car with my keys, phone, and concealed gun. I lock the car and while the pump is going, I walk around my car looking at the tires, lights, etc. While doing that , I'm scanning anything around me. It seems that walking around my car doing an inspection, while watching others, tends to keep others in their place. Maybe because I keep moving? Not sure.

Since gas pump skimmers were mentioned, I had that happen to me to in a couple small towns I was passing through. The first time it happened, the criminals did in fact purchase things on my card as I didn't catch on immediately. The second time I suspected it of happening (felt like the first time) I took photos of the pump and station and cancelled that card that day.

September 7, 2016, 09:45 AM	#54
K_Mac Senior Member Join Date: September 15, 2010 Posts: 1,850	OldMarksman you are correct. I like your Serengeti metaphor! While peggysue may live in 1950s Mayberry, the rest of us don't. Even there, Barney and Andy encountered the occasional armed thug as I recall. Of course it was always over quickly with good prevailing over evil. I also live in a rural Midwest community where violent crime is very rare. I still carry, whether I am walking my attack chihuahua or going to gas station, and pay attention to what is going on around me. I don't live in fear, but evil exists and there is no hiding from it. __________________ "Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do." Benjamin Franklin

September 7, 2016, 10:31 AM	#55
BarryLee Senior Member Join Date: July 29, 2010 Location: The ATL (OTP) Posts: 3,946	I suspect when we talk about crime most people imagine the stereotypical street thug and yes statistics probably support this. However, crime comes in a lot of shapes and sizes and often quite unexpected. Like the teen that kidnaps his ex-girlfriend, the Mom who torches her home and runs off with the kids, the mother-in-law who murders her daughter in-law during a divorce, etc. While many of these folks may have never committed a crime or exhibited any criminal tendency something snapped and they made a bad decision. So, what better place for these folks to find provisions while they’re on the run than a gas station. Bottom line things can happen anywhere even in low crime communities. __________________ A major source of objection to a free economy is precisely that it ... gives people what they want instead of what a particular group thinks they ought to want. Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. - Milton Friedman

September 8, 2016, 10:08 AM	#61
Dusty Rivers Senior Member Join Date: February 27, 2008 Posts: 235	if your city has drugs, you got crime potential It seems that almost every city in the country has drug usage. If that is the case, then your safe city has the potential for sudden crime. I live where no one locked their homes or cars. Last month there was a crime wave of someone entering unlocked homes. Now the radio stations are advising everyone to start locking their doors. Don't stick your head in the sand. If you look like a potential victim you are a potential victim. Don't be afraid, just aware and prepared. __________________ Dusty: I'm kind of a big deal! Rob Pincus follower PDN NRA Lifetime Member, our only voice!

September 9, 2016, 07:28 AM	#62
m&p45acp10+1 Senior Member Join Date: May 3, 2009 Location: Central Texas Posts: 3,930	As a teen I used the nozzle, and a Zippo lighter to make a group of would be attackers change their minds about attacking me. I would much rather have a gun these days. I quit smoking over a year ago, and the very same lighter now sits with the candles, in kitchen drawer. __________________ No matter how many times you do it and nothing happens it only takes something going wrong one time to kill you.

September 7, 2016, 09:26 AM	#53
OldMarksman Staff Join Date: June 8, 2008 Posts: 4,022	Many of us have refueled after midnight, but that does not mean that it resembles a good idea anywhere. What better place could there be for someone looking for money and a car?

September 7, 2016, 11:28 AM	#56
Lohman446 Senior Member Join Date: April 22, 2016 Posts: 2,192	BarryLee are we discussing violent crime or a property crime at this point though? The person who steals your car or truck is a far different threat then one that we are discussing dousing with gasoline.

September 7, 2016, 12:58 PM	#57
kenny53 Senior Member Join Date: December 30, 2015 Location: My back yard Posts: 971	Nomad636: "Think that soaking them in gasoline would be a decent strategy for the first offensive move?" Any move would have to be a defensive move. As many have suggested keep your gun on your person. This would be the best DEFENSIVE move you could make. I leave the house get into my car not thinking you are going to have a flat tire, but carry a jack and a spare all the time. I leave the house never thinking I am going to in a bad situation but have a gun with me all the time. If your gun is in your car it is not with you.

September 7, 2016, 01:03 PM	#58
Lohman446 Senior Member Join Date: April 22, 2016 Posts: 2,192	I think this thread illustrates the popularity of small firearms. Define small however you want but my P938 or NAA mni-revolver are more likely than not to be in my pocket should I need one of them outside of my house. My larger firearms tend simply to not be carried because they are inconvenient. Are 5 shots of .22 Magnum or 6 shots of 9MM (I don't reload the magazine after chambering a round) ideal should I need a pistol? Nope. Are they better than 0 shots of nothing - yep.

September 8, 2016, 08:51 AM	#60
peggysue Junior member Join Date: May 20, 2014 Posts: 1,835	So glad i live in Mayberry NC... if you read it was in Belleview Iowa Look it up maybe you need to move here. Low cost of living. Wonderful place. http://www.bellevueia.com/

September 15, 2016, 09:04 PM	#65
chicharrones Member Join Date: August 7, 2015 Location: Galveston Bay is an Hour Away Posts: 30	I pass through some weird areas at weird times when I travel the state for work. I have had plenty of people approach me for money or possible trouble. Years ago before I got my CHL, I did chase off a person harassing me at a gas pump by pulling the gas nozzle out of my car and aiming it in his direction. He was enraged, but he did leave the gas station after that. Nowadays, my usual gas up procedure is to get out of the car with my keys, phone, and concealed gun. I lock the car and while the pump is going, I walk around my car looking at the tires, lights, etc. While doing that , I'm scanning anything around me. It seems that walking around my car doing an inspection, while watching others, tends to keep others in their place. Maybe because I keep moving? Not sure. Since gas pump skimmers were mentioned, I had that happen to me to in a couple small towns I was passing through. The first time it happened, the criminals did in fact purchase things on my card as I didn't catch on immediately. The second time I suspected it of happening (felt like the first time) I took photos of the pump and station and cancelled that card that day.