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TX Rancher wrote:Now I have to state here that I wasn’t thinking about any legal ramifications such as law suits, so that had nothing to due with staying my hand. The truth of the matter is I just never felt the guy needed to be shot, and that’s the only reason I didn’t pull the trigger.

And when I say needed to be shot, I mean “needed�…it’s got nothing to do with the legal definition of right to use deadly force, or did I have a right to send a moral message about my belongings, or a belief that life is sacred…he just never represented a threat that I felt needed me to pull the trigger.

In the end, THAT is what matters. Just because you have the right to do something doesn't mean it is the right thing to do.

If you never felt that he presented enough of a threat to warrant pulling the trigger, then you did the exact right thing.

Even though I said that I would have shot when he started advancing toward me, it's hard to be sure without actually being in the moment and seeing how it actually unfolds, rather than the mental image you conjure up by reading an account of it.

I think you are to be commended for holding your fire. You decided he wasn't a deadly threat and the following events proved that you were right. I think the situation ended well.

I was in agreement with all of your actions for as long as you told us what you did.

As for the cliffhanger ending... This is how I see it going down if I was in your position.

When he picked up the screwdriver, his actions told me that he was willing to attack me with a deadly weapon - the only problem (in his eyes) was that he was not close enough to me to stab me with it yet.

He dropped the weapon when he saw my gun... but he did not heed my warnings to stop - he advanced toward me. This tells me that he thinks he can disarm me. I consider a man advancing on me when he knows I am armed, against my instructions, to be attempting a gun grab.

I shoot until he stops or I have to change magazines. If I have to change magazines and he is still advancing, I continue to shoot until he stops.

What I would prefer to do would be to let him escape - but I can't take the chance. If he had another means of escape that didn't involve advancing toward me, then I would cover him until he was gone... but by advancing toward me, he has forced me to defend myself.

Very unfortunate... because if he had not immediately started advancing, I would have probably backed away enough to give him an avenue of escape that did not threaten me.