What do you do if you draw your weapon w/o having to shoot?

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The Texan Ninja
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What do you do if you draw your weapon w/o having to shoot?

#1

Post by The Texan Ninja »

I’m new to CHL (my card should be in my mailbox either Saturday or Monday :anamatedbanana )

I was wondering what your supposed to do if, after drawing your weapon, the BG takes off without a shot fired?

Do you call the cops to your location? If so, do you tell them everything that happened, or is it best to contact a lawyer and shut up?

Please note: I am not talking about drawing my gun on any random person that pisses me off. I’m talking about a situation where say:

You are walking to your car at night and some thug walks up with a knife and demands money. You draw your weapon and the BG drops the knife and takes off running.

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Re: What do you do if you draw your weapon w/o having to sho

#2

Post by dac1842 »

Well IMHO, if there was something happening that caused you to feel your life was in danger and you drew your weapon, then there was probably something happening that the police need to be aware of. you might save someone else from getting hurt or worse.
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C-dub
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Re: What do you do if you draw your weapon w/o having to sho

#3

Post by C-dub »

Call 911 ASAP and tell them what happened. It is probable that the BG will do the same, but claim you pulled a gun on him and tried to rob him. Be the first caller!

Don't reholster until you are absolutely confident the BG is gone or do whatever the LEO says when they get to you.
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Re: What do you do if you draw your weapon w/o having to sho

#4

Post by AEA »

Are you telling us that this WAS NOT covered in your CHL Class?
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RSJ
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Re: What do you do if you draw your weapon w/o having to sho

#5

Post by RSJ »

The Texan Ninja wrote::

You are walking to your car at night and some thug walks up with a knife and demands money. You draw your weapon and the BG drops the knife and takes off running.

First I'm calling 911, because I'm going to assume (even though not likely) he called saying the story went the opposite way; I drew down on him, he pulled a knife trying to defend, and managed to get free and away.

I'm going to keep my gun out until I'm sure the danger is over, and before the police arrive it will be on the seat of my car, or somewhere semi-away and not on my person. When they arrive, my hands will be visible, and I will calmly say, Officer, I was just robbed (or attempted) by a man that just ran away. I have a CHL and my weapon is in _____ location. I will have my DL and CHL on my person (as we all should :txflag: )
I am going to give my side of the story to police, and include descriptions and last known location of the bad guy.

*edited to add, I will NOT touch the knife under any circumstance ... hopefully it has his prints, and would only get in my car and move if danger was still present, but not CHL actionable.
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Re: What do you do if you draw your weapon w/o having to sho

#6

Post by Ruark »

Bad guys LOVE to run off and call the cops and "get even" with the intended victim who has a gun. They'll tell some wild story about a guy running around waving a pistol, threatening them with it, maybe trying to rob them, whatever. The police will have no choice but to throw you in the slammer. Always, ALWAYS call 911 immediately after a firearms self defense situation, whether shots are fired or not. When you reholster your gun, in that same physical arm movement, grab your cell phone and call 911.
-Ruark

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Re: What do you do if you draw your weapon w/o having to sho

#7

Post by The Texan Ninja »

AEA wrote:Are you telling us that this WAS NOT covered in your CHL Class?
What to do after drawing a gun and not shooting? No

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Re: What do you do if you draw your weapon w/o having to sho

#8

Post by The Texan Ninja »

OK, so call the cops and tell them what happened.

Alright, last question, in a situation such as the one i described, is there any chance of being charged with something like brandishing?
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C-dub
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Re: What do you do if you draw your weapon w/o having to sho

#9

Post by C-dub »

The Texan Ninja wrote:OK, so call the cops and tell them what happened.

Alright, last question, in a situation such as the one i described, is there any chance of being charged with something like brandishing?
Don't have that here in Texas, but the chances of being charged with anything similar are really slim as long as you're the first caller and are more believable than the BG.
I am not and have never been a LEO. My avatar is in honor of my friend, Dallas Police Sargent Michael Smith, who was murdered along with four other officers in Dallas on 7.7.2016.
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The Texan Ninja
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Re: What do you do if you draw your weapon w/o having to sho

#10

Post by The Texan Ninja »

C-dub wrote:
The Texan Ninja wrote:OK, so call the cops and tell them what happened.

Alright, last question, in a situation such as the one i described, is there any chance of being charged with something like brandishing?
Don't have that here in Texas, but the chances of being charged with anything similar are really slim as long as you're the first caller and are more believable than the BG.
Gotcha

Thanks for the quick answers guys!

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Re: What do you do if you draw your weapon w/o having to sho

#11

Post by JustMe »

AEA wrote:Are you telling us that this WAS NOT covered in your CHL Class?

HAHAHAHA!!! I could give you a long list of what wasn't covered!!!
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Re: What do you do if you draw your weapon w/o having to sho

#12

Post by tommyg »

In 1970 I had a flat tire in a bad part of town. Two thugs pulled a gun on me and took
money from me. I reported the incident to the police they ??? me
and then tried to say that I was making the story up. They
threatened to put me in jail. They did not persue any action against me
the bad guys were never caught. Just because you are a victim and
did nothing wrong does not mean you are in the clear with the law. :shock:


Sad to say but criminals get away with their crimes most of the time lots of luck you will need it
if you are a victim of a crime. Innocent victims are often stuck between the BG and the law. :banghead:
Last edited by tommyg on Fri Feb 24, 2012 8:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: What do you do if you draw your weapon w/o having to sho

#13

Post by Heartland Patriot »

Ruark wrote:Bad guys LOVE to run off and call the cops and "get even" with the intended victim who has a gun. They'll tell some wild story about a guy running around waving a pistol, threatening them with it, maybe trying to rob them, whatever. The police will have no choice but to throw you in the slammer. Always, ALWAYS call 911 immediately after a firearms self defense situation, whether shots are fired or not. When you reholster your gun, in that same physical arm movement, grab your cell phone and call 911.
I've heard this before, but are there a actually a lot of instances of this happening? I read an account (it was linked to in another thread some days ago) purported to be by an LEO who said the opposite: that MOST (though not all) bad guys WON'T call law enforcement because they don't even want to be around police officers...maybe said bad guys have a list of warrants, or they're just paranoid. Can someone link me to some accounts where the bad guy DID get the upper hand on the CHLer by contacting law enforcement FIRST? (I've only ever read one story like this, in a book by Massad Ayoob, and it took place in Denver, IIRC.) I don't mean some regular John Q. Public that had one too many beers, either. Like the OP stated, I mean REAL bad guys, the ones who'll cut your throat for a nickel and not even blink. THAT kind of "career" bad guy...I promise I'm not calling anyone out, and I'm not saying it doesn't or hasn't happened...I simply want to take this as a learning experience. I also welcome personal anecdotes on the topic from the former LEO's on this forum, your stories might be valuable in this regard. Thanks.

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Re: What do you do if you draw your weapon w/o having to sho

#14

Post by sumyungai »

The Texan Ninja wrote:You are walking to your car at night and some thug walks up with a knife and demands money. You draw your weapon and the BG drops the knife and takes off running.
Shooting him in the back might be tempting but it's usually not a good idea.
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