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I was stopped in the middle of the night at a four way stop near down town last night with my window down listening to some jazz. I see a crack head walk out of the shadows behind my car. I didn't think much, just thought he was jaywalking but then he abruptly turns at the rear of my car with his hand under his shirt near the waist band holding something and comes towards the driver's window. As he passed the rear quarter panel of my car I saw his look and we made eye contact in the side mirror. My 6th sense kicked in and I knew this was not good. He obviously saw me scrambling taking off my seat belt and reaching for something. I was thinking to myself as this unfolded that "this is NOT going to happen." Before I even cleared the fanny pack he turned and ran back where he came from holding whatever he was holding in his waist band.

I found the fanny pack troubling in this scenario. Normally I can undo a seat belt with one hand and clear the holster with the other. This is a practiced technique after a drive bye I endured on duty 10 plus years ago. With the fanny pack I undid the seat belt with my left hand, but I needed both hands to engage the fanny pack . That cost me time I really didn't have. Had he not run off he had me in the car. In my work we call the car the coffin. I sure wasn't going to give chase after he ran as that would be foolish. I am going back to the OWB holster that I normally use to and from work.

In retrospect after the fact I should have tried to floor the car and take off. However with the fight or flight mode and my training kicked in and I choose to fight. Fortunately it never came to that.

He just wanted to clean your windshield.

Anygunanywhere

anygunanywhere wrote:He just wanted to clean your windshield.

Anygunanywhere

LOL I knew I was over reacting

I am confused. Were there cars in front of you? Why didn't you just continue through the stop sign after you came to a stop?

Glad it worked out for you. Sounds like it was "thrilling." (I have visions of you not just throwing away, but burning the fannypack in the backyard.)

texanjoker wrote: ... In my work we call the car the coffin. ...

When I was overseas with the military in a certain area, we were officially told we could choose to wear our seatbelts or not, due to (one of)the threat(s) of having some clown walk up and put a satchel charge on top of my car while in traffic. Years ago that was a popular way to assassinate. Undoing the seatbelt would be one less thing to have to do trying to egress in a hurry.

Stateside, I usually undo my seatbelt when I am in low-speed area (e.g. parking lot) or at a drivethru or some such place where flooring it is not an option, not so much for the satchel charge threat as for what Texanjoker experienced. I haven't thought of doing it at an actual red light, I do try to leave room to boogie if I have to, even if it is up on the sidewalk. I think my default flight or fight response would be "flight." Probably.

AlaskanInTexas wrote:I am confused. Were there cars in front of you? Why didn't you just continue through the stop sign after you came to a stop?

As he said, he found out his default 'fight or flight' response was 'fight!'.

That will teach you to take your MRAP instead of your personal vehicle to and fro.

Glad it ended well.

ELB wrote:

AlaskanInTexas wrote:I am confused. Were there cars in front of you? Why didn't you just continue through the stop sign after you came to a stop?

As he said, he found out his default 'fight or flight' response was 'fight!'.

Thanks. I swear that line wasn't there before, but my eyes are dimming with age.

Thanks for posting your story. It sure gives me pause relative to my fanny pack. I only use the fanny pack when I'm driving the RV because having the IWB on for many hours of driving at a time is just not comfortable yet I don't want to get out at rest stops unarmed. I keep mine right beside the driver's chair but it would take both of my hands to deal with it, just like yours. That said, my RV environment is a lot less likely to draw the crack head that you saw. I sit eyeball to eyeball with semi-truck drivers.

My TBar has access to the gun through the right zipper. I may just start opening that zipper half way. Pushing it the rest of the way and then grabbing the pistol is probably something that I can do with one hand. I'll practice that and see.

T

Scary! I'm so glad it worked out and BG recognized the "I'm about to you look".

Please keep your window UP downtown at night. "Health and safety."

Another reason to be grateful for small town living: in the rare event that you are out after dark and someone walks up to your vehicle, odds are that they know of you, you know of them and/or their relatives. Absent the familiarities, the possible evil doer knows that he/she will be shot dead if he/she don't do right 'cause you are probably armed and do know the authorities and where they live and worship.

wear a shoulder holster under your shirt. sew the shirt buttons outside the shirt and use velcro to attach the left and right side of the shirt. You can draw through the velcro out of the shoulder holster with one hand with no need to undo the seat belt. practice this with a bb gun so you don't accidentally shoot yourself fatally in the brachial artery (arm artery) when the chips are down. keep your finger off the bang switch until your gun is pointed at the target after clearing your arm. a revolver is great for this because an auto pistol may jam if you limp wrist it with one hand. 38 special is enough. do not use 357 magnum as that will cause permanent deafness if you fire it inside a confined car. if you shoot through the front windshield, it will hit lower than expected. aim for the head to hit COM. no need to compensate if shooting out the side windshields.

Be careful out there.

Glad you are alright.

Another car carry option that is easy to draw one-handed is a weak side cross-draw at about 10:30-11:00 o'clock for right handed people (opposite side for LH).

Keeping an opposite side paddle holster in the car where you re-holster (muzzle-safe direction) and then slide the holstered gun into your belt is one handling option.

I'm sure glad it wasn't me walking up to your car (while reaching for my map) to ask you for directions to the local Health Care Exchange.

Wodathunkit wrote:I'm sure glad it wasn't me walking up to your car (while reaching for my map) to ask you for directions to the local Health Care Exchange.

Quick death from a well placed bullet or a slow death at the hands of Obamacare. Fire away.