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mr1337 wrote:

Charlies.Contingency wrote:In my opinion, you are a CHL carrier, and I expect you to be the better person.

Absolutely agree. I feel that as CHL holders, we need to hold ourselves to a higher standard. We're not cops (well, most of us aren't) and we hold in our possession a tool that can take lives. None of us should take that lightly.

Check your ego at the door when you put your gun on. De-escalate as much as possible. I'd rather walk home with my tail between my legs than have to take another human life. If it's something I could have prevented by refusing to escalate the situation, I would have a heavy conscience. I would rather do everything I could to prevent it. If the other person keeps escalating it to the point where I need to defend myself, it should be 100% their fault and 0% my fault. Drawing and potentially using your firearm should be the absolute last resort after all possible de-escalation opportunities have failed and you feel that your life is in danger.

You don't know the state of mind of the other person. If you say, "I have a gun!" - not only are other people going to hear that and call 911 thinking you're the bad guy, but the other person may not be in a stable frame of mind. They could freak out at you and say "Oh, you have a gun? Why don't you go ahead and just shoot me then!" while advancing towards you with arms up in the air. Now you've escalated the situation and have to make a choice.

Some great points! Any situation you get into with anybody, regardless of how petty it is, there is a gun involved. Everywhere you go, there is a gun involved, and because YOU have the gun, you can either make every argument into a possible life or death situation, or you can walk away.

The hands up thing is a great example btw! We've all seen what's going on in ferguson, I've drawn on people before, just to have them put up their hands in a sign of compliance, just to take a lunge at me or my partner when they or we/I have gotten close enough. Don't assume they are giving in if you threaten to draw, or do draw on them. I the don't run. My best say would be to have them "make like an airplane!" and keep distance. If they have their hands up and advance, I would like to say you should try to fall back unless/until they charge you. None of us wants to hear another Michael brown story, with he said she said.

Be safe all, I'll do my best! Cocked, locked and ready to rock!

In my opinion, you are a CHL carrier, and I expect you to be the better person. Deescalate to the best of your abilites, and avoid confrontation. If it starts going south, get some distance, return to your vehicle. If the subject persists and tries to follow you, you will know that things aren't going well. Do what you need to do, but when you fear for you life, you pull. If you made attempts to deescelate the situation, avoided causing hostilities, and you remove yoursel from the situation, yet the other indivdual follows you, that shows you did everything you could do, and it is the other persons advancing that made you fear for your life.

If you end up shooting somebody at their vehicle for them rear ending you, you look guilty as sin. I hope somebody see's my point. End case, be the better person, and you'll only have to act if they truly are nuts.


As for warning them you have a gun, that to me is the same as drawing. If I reached that point, and I didn't want to make a draw, because I was in a parking lot and somebody asked me for money, the followed me to my vehicle. I would take my stance, and grab my weapon, unsnap, and give him a nice "You best turn around and leave", or one of my more colorful variants, making it obvious to him, and being ready to shoot in a heartbeat. I don't intend to let some granny and a bunch of kids see me draw and point a gun at somebody next to their minivan.

That varies with circumstances of course. If I've got somebody following me and they have their hands in their pockets, or a hand in a bag, as if to conceal a gun or knife, I would draw in a situation similar to above. I've never had somebody try such a scenario without their hands in plains view. Just telling somebody you have a gun could cause their buddy hiding on the other side of your truck to pull theirs, eliminating your advantage. Only he needs to see, nobody else needs to know what is going on.