Stay Alert!

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thatguyoverthere
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Stay Alert!

#1

Post by thatguyoverthere »

(Sorry this is so long, but it might be thought provoking, so take a look if you have time.)

Today I had a little non-incident that could have quickly escalated into something major. Fortunately, it was a non-incident because the guy turned out to be simply a blow hard.

But, even though nothing happened, I personally like to play "what-if." I do that because I believe in the old saying: "your body can't go where your mind hasn't already been." So I like to always try to "go there" in my mind so if something ever DOES happen, I can have some idea of how to handle it, even if that idea is only sub-conscious.

So with that, let me give you the situation and those who want to play along can join in.

Since today was a beautiful day here in North Texas, the wife and I decided to take a motorcycle ride. Eventually we had to stop for gas (by this time we were in Paris, mid-afternoon). I pulled the bike up to a pump with the pump on my left-hand side, with the bike pointing south. To my right at the next pump island, there was a pickup, pointing north. So my bike and the pickup were next to each other, on each other's right-hand side at adjacent pump islands with each of our gas pump's on each of our left hand sides, with our vehicles pointing opposite directions. As I pull up to the pump, I see that there are two guys in the truck, one in the passenger seat, appears to be 20-30 years old, the other guy standing between the pump and the truck pumping gas, appears to be 40-50 years old.

So as I park next to our pump, the wife gets off the back of the bike, and is standing nearby, while I get off and start pumping gas into the bike.

I should say here that while I'm on the bike, I open carry. Otherwise, when I'm NOT on the bike, I don't open carry too much (do some), but I've decided that while I'm on the bike, concealed carry puts me at a tactical disadvantage, so I open carry. Right or wrong, just my personal preference.

Anyway, after a minute or two of me pumping gas, I start to notice some loud talking between these two guys in the truck. The guy in the passenger seat (nearest to me) has his door closed and window rolled up, but the driver has his door open while he's pumping his gas. I can't make out what they're saying to each other, but I do note that it seems to be quite a bit louder than a typical conversation would need to be for them in that situation.

I'm still pumping gas, looking down at the tank so it doesn't splash out. Even though I'm looking down, I'm also glancing out the corner of my eye at the two yahoos doing their loud talking, still not able to make out exactly what they're saying to each other.

Just about this time, out the corner of my eye, I see the passenger looking in my direction and now I do clearly hear him say: "Hey, look at me. I'm Billy Bad Dude 'cuz I have a GUN!"

He's obviously talking about ME, because he's looking in my direction and there's nobody else around. And more importantly, because I'm open carrying, and from our positions and angles, I'm sure it's clearly visible to them. (Fortunately, my wife did not hear the comment.)

So I'm still looking down - well, still have my head down, anyway - but I have stopped pumping gas and am looking at the two yahoos out the corner of my eye. The one doing the mouthing is still in the truck, his door is still closed, and the window still rolled up. The other one is still in his position, appears to still be pumping gas, but is also looking my direction.

Anyway, I immediately decide it's time to leave, so I hang up the gas nozzle, tell the wife to hop on, and we leave - all in a "normal" fashion. I decided to leave simply to take away the opportunity for the hillbilly to have time to muster up the courage to actually get out of his truck and start approaching me. It was far too pretty a day for us on the bike to have to spend the rest of it having to explain to the cops why I ended up having to shoot Jethro. :nono:

So anyway, after we're safely down the road a ways, the "what-if's" start coming up. What if he HAD gotten out of the truck? What if he DID approach me, looking for trouble?

So, I decided that IF it had come to that, my reaction would have been to immediately tell my wife to go inside the store NOW, while I simultaneously held out my left hand in a "stop" fashion, while putting my right hand on my pistol (not pull it yet) while loudly yelling "Stop. Back up. Don't come any closer." Then at that point (assuming he did actually stop) I myself would begin to walk backwards toward the store, still with my left hand out and my right hand still on my holstered pistol. That way, if something did happen, the video would clearly show that I was attempting to avoid a confrontation.

Like I said, fortunately, none of that happened (other than the loud mouth comment directed at me from inside the closed pickup). But I like to always be mindful of my options, so usually play the what-if game later.

What do you all say? How do you think you would have handled a similar situation IF it had actually come to pass for you?

cirus
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Re: Stay Alert!

#2

Post by cirus »

That's one reason why I don't oc. It may scare one person off but the other may see it as a challenge. Not judging! To each his own.
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Beiruty
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Re: Stay Alert!

#3

Post by Beiruty »

Unless the yahoo is armed with a deadly weapon. I will de-escalate and use the vocal and assertive orders to STOP him in his track.
Calling 911 is a good idea to to handle the situation.
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suthdj
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Re: Stay Alert!

#4

Post by suthdj »

Spray him with gas an see how be responds.
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Jeff B.
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Re: Stay Alert!

#5

Post by Jeff B. »

If you tried to make a decision tree out of what happened and what the potential outcomes were for any of this morons responses, you'd have wasted a great deal of your precious time.

IMO, you did the right thing, which was to ignore dumbass. I also think your quickly thought through follow up actions were reasonable.

Agree with OC/CC or not, it's legal. The dimwit you encountered only serves to lessen your opinion of the locality and highlight his rather low iQ.

Jeff B.
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The Annoyed Man
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Re: Stay Alert!

#6

Post by The Annoyed Man »

You could pull a Raylan, and when the guy gets close enough, raise your nozzle and hose him down with gasoline - with your lighter in your other hand - and calmly say, “there is no outcome that does not end with you going up like a human torch if you come one step closer”.

:lol:

I’d be real surprised if you end up having to shoot him. :mrgreen:

Edited to add: I see that someone beat me to it.
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Grundy1133
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Re: Stay Alert!

#7

Post by Grundy1133 »

wow.... what a... well, im not sure if i'd get in trouble for saying this on this forum, but it rhymes with "swoosh hag"... lol. some people are just so stupid... He probbably knew that if he approached you that he might have been shot. he's just full of hot gas... thats reason number 1 why i wont open carry unless im at my house or a friends house... too many swoosh lags in the world...
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anygunanywhere
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Re: Stay Alert!

#8

Post by anygunanywhere »

You should have called 911 and reported the looney tunes.
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Pawpaw
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Re: Stay Alert!

#9

Post by Pawpaw »

The Annoyed Man wrote:You could pull a Raylan, and when the guy gets close enough, raise your nozzle and hose him down with gasoline - with your lighter in your other hand - and calmly say, “there is no outcome that does not end with you going up like a human torch if you come one step closer”.

:lol:

I’d be real surprised if you end up having to shoot him. :mrgreen:

Edited to add: I see that someone beat me to it.
I had the same idea you and suthdj did, but I had a different ending. If he started to advance after being hosed down, draw the pistol and ask him if he thought the muzzle flash would light the gasoline. :evil2:
Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence. - John Adams

Abraham
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Re: Stay Alert!

#10

Post by Abraham »

I read on another fun forum of the very same type response while a man was OCing.

The mocking/name calling escalating jerk is probably a jealous felon...
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SewTexas
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Re: Stay Alert!

#11

Post by SewTexas »

Abraham wrote:I read on another fun forum of the very same type response while a man was OCing.

The mocking/name calling escalating jerk is probably a jealous felon...
:lol: that could be. Could be that their wives "won't let them" have a gun.
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Re: Stay Alert!

#12

Post by Acronym Esq »

thatguyoverthere wrote:Just about this time, out the corner of my eye, I see the passenger looking in my direction and now I do clearly hear him say: "Hey, look at me. I'm Billy Bad Dude 'cuz I have a GUN!"
...
So anyway, after we're safely down the road a ways, the "what-if's" start coming up. What if he HAD gotten out of the truck? What if he DID approach me, looking for trouble?
I think leaving was a fine idea.

I also like the idea of making a funny, benign comment like, "Yea, when I cover it up it digs in my Billy Bad Back. Just easier to open carry." He accused you of being a bad guy with a gun. It's pretty simple to make a run at disproving the "bad guy" part with words. All the other defensive options are still available (except leave early).

I sure like your approach to think it through. I'm not even good at funny, benign comments on a forum behind a keyboard.

acronym 3/14/2018 9:17 AM

Chris127
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Re: Stay Alert!

#13

Post by Chris127 »

I really don’t know where to ask this question so I made this account to ask. I live with my stepfather. My stepfather is a felon. There are no guns in the house at all. The only gun I keep anywhere near the property is my 1911 in my glove box of my car. Within the next week I plan on getting my LTC. Well I live with a felon and I know that the gun would never go on the property or in the house or anywhere near him. But after completing the course and getting the license mailed to my house/his house. Would this pop up any red flags and would it get him in trouble. I am very troubled
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Flightmare
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Re: Stay Alert!

#14

Post by Flightmare »

Chris127 wrote:I really don’t know where to ask this question so I made this account to ask. I live with my stepfather. My stepfather is a felon. There are no guns in the house at all. The only gun I keep anywhere near the property is my 1911 in my glove box of my car. Within the next week I plan on getting my LTC. Well I live with a felon and I know that the gun would never go on the property or in the house or anywhere near him. But after completing the course and getting the license mailed to my house/his house. Would this pop up any red flags and would it get him in trouble. I am very troubled
I think the obvious thing to do is to keep the guns in a safe when not in use (on your person), and ensure that he does not have access to the firearms. That should alleviate some of your concerns.
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MP(Ret)95B
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Re: Stay Alert!

#15

Post by MP(Ret)95B »

Chris127 wrote:I really don’t know where to ask this question so I made this account to ask. I live with my stepfather. My stepfather is a felon. There are no guns in the house at all. The only gun I keep anywhere near the property is my 1911 in my glove box of my car. Within the next week I plan on getting my LTC. Well I live with a felon and I know that the gun would never go on the property or in the house or anywhere near him. But after completing the course and getting the license mailed to my house/his house. Would this pop up any red flags and would it get him in trouble. I am very troubled
We had a similar situation when I was a police officer in Missouri.
An agent from the ATF told the individual who lived in the same house as a convicted felon that as long as the gun was stored in a locked safe and he was the only one with the key, then it met federal law.
Not sure about if your license comes to the same address.
As always, you might want to check with ATF, as YMMV.
:patriot: <MP(Ret)95B> :txflag:
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