carrying in convenience store. . .close call?

[jmra]

An LCP is only a bad choice if it stays in your pocket at the range.

My wife has a LCP (I know what the C stands for). I hate that thing. When I reach in the safe for a carry weapon I typically grab something with a G in front of it.

[apostate]

G3?

[TomsTXCHL]

An LCP is only a bad choice if it stays in your pocket at the range.

My wife has a LCP (I know what the C stands for). I hate that thing. When I reach in the safe for a carry weapon I typically grab something with a G in front of it.

I agree with Embalmo. My wife has an LCP also; it suits her i.e. she loves it and it is way better than not carrying.

[Dragonfighter]

Thanks for posting, this is an excellent discussion topic.

<SNIP>
Shooting an IDPA match under somewhat realistic conditions drove home the fact that pocket pistols are designed to be firmly screwed into someone's ear before pulling the trigger.
<SNIP>

Chas.

My wife carries a Kel-Tec on her person. She sometimes carries her Model 36 to and from the van and while in it (we have critters here). We have worked hard on being ready and not firing until close in for the very reasons you mentioned. Given the opportunity to try out a wide variety of weapons, my daughter settled on the M&P Shield, she is very accurate at 3 yards and still deadly at 10 yards. I feel a lot better knowing that is the weapon she carries, I do worry about the wife sometimes.

[goose]

Just a thank you for sharing. A great mind exerciser. Plenty to think about.

I can't say I'd stay, but I also agree that I would feel plenty bad if mom and/or pop got hurt. I think that you did well.

[LAYGO]

That much barrel inside my pants at about 5o'clock was the only minor downside.

That's what she said . . .

[Jason K]

You lived to learn something from the situation.....sounds like a successful resolution to me.

[Charles L. Cotton]

You lived to learn something from the situation.....sounds like a successful resolution to me.

Absolutely correct. These are priceless learning experiences.

Chas.

[The Dude]

I probably would have called 911 anyways after the safe retreat to the car just to have them be one step closer if anything had happened, but does calling 911 in a situation like this when nothing has transpired yet an okay thing to do? obviously this isn't some frivilous call but would law enforcement frown or appreciate this?

Based on Mom and Pop's visible concern I say It's a better use of public safety resources than the people who call 911 to report someone's AR-15 slung over a shoulder.

[gigag04]

You lived to learn something from the situation.....sounds like a successful resolution to me.

Absolutely correct. These are priceless learning experiences.

Chas.

Agreed.

But I did laugh a good bit at the part where the OP is staring down one of the guys with a hard look while wearing a fanny pack. Wish I could've seen it.

But seriously - props on situational awareness.

[The Annoyed Man]

An LCP is only a bad choice if it stays in your pocket at the range.

My wife has a LCP (I know what the C stands for). I hate that thing. When I reach in the safe for a carry weapon I typically grab something with a G in front of it.

Little Cootie Popper?

dwsintxs, your story reminds me of one I've told here before but from a different angle. I used to work in an ER years ago in a trauma center in the greater Los Angeles area. We received 2 gunshot patients one night from the following situation. . . .

Two guys walk into Gerlach's Liquor Store at the corner of Fair Oaks and Glenarm in Pasadena, right down the street from my ER. One of them is waving a .38 snubbie around and demanding all the cash. The clerk behind the counter pops the register drawer open, and while their attention is drawn to that, he reaches a little further down and comes up with a double stack 9mm full of hardball. Advantage: the clerk.

The robbers hesitate, the clerk does not. He starts firing immediately, and they never get a shot off. One of them gets hit twice, one bullet breaking his right humerus bone, and the other going through and through his chest, right through the right ventricle of his heart. . . .which, miraculously for him, does not kill him.

The other bad guy puts his crossed forearms up in front of his face to ward off the evil bullets, and one bullet smashes through his forearms, breaking both of them, and hits his left pectoral muscle, destroying his nipple and stopping up against his rib.

There follows a general wailing and gnashing of teeth and "poor me's" as the clerk most thoughtfully calls PPD to assist the gentlemen who are now gracing the floor of his establishment with a growing puddle of their own blood. There is a great deal of righteous amusement on the part of PPD when they arrive, and a lot of hail fellow well-met backslapping of the clerk, before the two aggrieved would-be robbers are scooped up and whisked to our ER for treatment.

I worked on both patients, helping to remove the bullet from the one's pectoral muscle which was entered into evidence, after having prepped the other one for surgery to repair a cardiac tamponade. . . .which had ironically saved his life long enough to get him to the ER, but would have ultimately killed him without surgery.

I remember one of the PPD officers who was a friend of mine wanting to get a "death bed statement" from the one guy as we were prepping him for surgery. The ER doc told him "no, you can't do that; if you tell him he's dying, he just might." My friend shrugged and said, "and that's a problem exactly why?" But no dying statement was taken, and the perp did survive. One of the finest cardiac surgeons in the world repaired his heart, while one of our ortho residents repaired his broken humerus. Cost to the taxpayers was considerably more than sum total of all the good these two losers had done in their lives up to this point.

The guy with the broken forearms and missing nipple was transported to the jail ward of L.A. County General Hospital that night, and the guy with the broken heart was transported there a few days later. A few months later, I asked my cop friend. . . .the one who wanted to get a dying statement from the perp. . . .what had ever happened to those two robbers. He told me that they had been both released from jail without charges about a week or two after the incident. Perhaps the powers that be at L.A. County Jail or the prosecutor's office figured that these two had learned a lesson they would not soon forget. My friend and I agreed that the lesson learned wasn't what the prosecutor thought it would be; that perhaps what they had learned was to bring more firepower the next time and to shoot first.

Perhaps the moral of the story should be "never rob a liquor store that has been robbed so many times that they're mad has hades and they're not going to take it any more". I can't criticize the clerk's actions. He was obviously prepared, both mentally and materially, to thwart the robbers, and it obviously worked out well for him. He became a sort of local hero among local cops, Gerlach's Liquor Store being one of the places they bought their after-shift beer from. On the other hand, his is an isolated case. I don't think most people would be either as well trained as he was or as mentally prepared. He did not hesitate, and he went straight for center of mass on both perps. It was over in seconds. He obviously was an accurate shooter, and he had already made up his mind not to hesitate, long before these two jaybirds ever entered his store. I honestly don't know if he was a part owner, or just a loyal employee, and I don't know if he was combat veteran, or just a civilian student of the gun, or just extraordinarily lucky.

The main thing I remember, other than the details of what is a pretty good story, is that in the end, the wheels of justice did not turn. These two guys should have gone to prison, and instead, they did not. Justice was not formally served. So I take some satisfaction from knowing up close and personal how much pain and suffering they endured. Maybe they got off legally, but LIFE can be a harsh mistress, and she certainly extracted her pound of flesh from those two losers on that night.

[LoneStarTx]

The Annoyed Man-
Good story. Although I usually give someone the benefit of doubt I can likely believe the two didn't learn a thing from being shot and resumed their 'career' shortly. And like as not will meet with their fate. As hard as we try to help these 'underprivileged' youths few take advantage it.

[Excaliber]

Nobody got hurt, you did good. My 2 cents:
In the future, if you perceive there is high likelihood of a life-threatening situation, consider doing your best to get out of harms way and making yourself a good witness. If you are really concerned, call 911 and let them know what you see. Kudos for checking back with mom & pop.

Of course, every situation is unique to itself, so had something happened differently, you have to do what you have to do in the moment. Personal safety must always be a high priority, especially if others are dependent on you. Always have a plan, but don't 2nd guess yourself in the heat of the moment.

In a situation like the one cited here where a robbery setup is dead obvious, the best course of action is to leave the premises, call 911 immediately and stay on the line to provide continuous updates while moving to a safe position off of the property in question.

If you call soon enough, police may be able to arrive to keep the crime from going down. If you wait until the guns come out, the police will still come, but the outcome will be determined long before they arrive and there may well be casualties that didn't have to happen.