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I do not know what might have prompted this. I was actually on the ramp from 20 westbound onto 459 south, and there was little to no traffic at that junction and time of night. Once i was already out on the roadway, that's when the car approached from behind at a high speed. I don't have any other insight beyond that.
I'm so sorry you had to go through this! I think they were trying to cause an accident by slamming their brakes on in front of you so you'd then hit them from behind, and police could then write it up as "following too closely" or these thugs could claim you were chasing THEM. I think they wanted money.
In a high-adrenaline situation when folks panic, they often miss the target completely since they are all shaken up and knees are shaking, they just pull the trigger and spray bullets. I would advise against a gun. Carry a baseball bat or a metal bar instead.
If you have the means to get a gun and training, I'd go for the gun. It sucks when you bring a knife or baseball bat to what could end up being a gun fight.
Assuming one has a gun with him, would it be wiser to stop the car down but sit inside waiting for attackers to break into it and then start fire? Or would one stop the car and take cover behind car's engine and be prepared to shoot if attacker approaches?
I read some experts suggesting the first approach, but me thinks the second one makes much more sense since attacker could also have a gun and there's no need to be a sitting duck.
If you did not grow up around guns, you will need a lot of practice and I don't mean only target practice. Otherwise you are liable to shoot yourself or someone around you, not to mention that many people with a gun around the house are much more likely to get shot by the very same gun.
In a high-adrenaline situation when folks panic, they often miss the target completely since they are all shaken up and knees are shaking, they just pull the trigger and spray bullets. I would advise against a gun. Carry a baseball bat or a metal bar instead.
thanks for your input. I'll respectfully take a pass on the baseball bat. I've got those. I don't wish to be that close to some of these animals.
If you did not grow up around guns, you will need a lot of practice and I don't mean only target practice. Otherwise you are liable to shoot yourself or someone around you, not to mention that many people with a gun around the house are much more likely to get shot by the very same gun.
In a high-adrenaline situation when folks panic, they often miss the target completely since they are all shaken up and knees are shaking, they just pull the trigger and spray bullets. I would advise against a gun. Carry a baseball bat or a metal bar instead.
I grew up in a household with a Vietnam vet, my dad, who was a park police officer as well as an avid shooter. No one was ever shot on the job or at home. We didn't have a gun safe...who did back in the 70s? He didn't collect $$$ guns, he was a cop with a gravy beat.
How many folks do you know of who were in high-adrenaline situations holding a gun all shaken up, knees knocking and spraying bullets all over? I would suggest a revolver to such a person so they are aware of how many shots they have. Spraying bullets is non productive and is what most punk thugs do. A practiced shooter knows to aim and make the shot count. One round from a .357 will deafen a lot of people and if hit will put one down quickly. I would run if I heard a .357 fired at me. My mom carried a snub nosed .38 after my dad trained her to use it. Lots of people would do well with one as they are simple and effective.
Concerning a bat or metal rod...rebar?? I would rather have Captain America's shield. Remember the fact you need be within arm's reach for either to be effective. A firearm reaches from yards away.
I grew up in a household with a Vietnam vet, my dad, who was a park police officer as well as an avid shooter. No one was ever shot on the job or at home. We didn't have a gun safe...who did back in the 70s? He didn't collect $$$ guns, he was a cop with a gravy beat.
How many folks do you know of who were in high-adrenaline situations holding a gun all shaken up, knees knocking and spraying bullets all over? I would suggest a revolver to such a person so they are aware of how many shots they have. Spraying bullets is non productive and is what most punk thugs do. A practiced shooter knows to aim and make the shot count. One round from a .357 will deafen a lot of people and if hit will put one down quickly. I would run if I heard a .357 fired at me. My mom carried a snub nosed .38 after my dad trained her to use it. Lots of people would do well with one as they are simple and effective.
Concerning a bat or metal rod...rebar?? I would rather have Captain America's shield. Remember the fact you need be within arm's reach for either to be effective. A firearm reaches from yards away.
Well put.
A gun is like a spare tire. Better to have one and not need it than to need one and not have it.
The 'knife to a gunfight' is very true... I can place a round from a good distance and drop the 'receiver' of my rounds like a rock. And, if I've drawn my weapon (.380) If I fire it, I'm shooting to kill... I'm defending myself or my family from what I've gauged as a life threatening event.
OP: I'm glad you got out of that without being harmed. I'm sorry you had that happen, as it will never leave your mind... I'm very thankful we read about it here, instead of hearing about it in the first five minutes of a news cast... They do the 'if it bleeds it leads' in tv news.
I'm not in love with guns and do not find them pleasurable or use them for sport. To me, they are a tool, and since very dangerous, need to be handled and treated very carefully.
But as a woman, I carry a gun in my car when I travel. Just like I carry a cell phone. I'm in TX, where it's legal to carry a gun in your car. When I cross the state line, I don't know if it's legal in the other state, but I'll take that chance.
For a woman, a gun is an equalizer. It's one of the few things that can protect someone from someone else at a distance. I wouldn't want to get into woman-man hand to hand combat.
As for whether you should have stopped, I would not have stopped. No way. But I can't go 130mph, so I don't know what would've happened.
As for why...my guess is it was road rage for something you didn't notice. That's what it sounds like. OR it could've been just hate for what they took to be a rich guy in a fancy schmancy car, so they were gonna show him whose car was superior. Wow, how scary.
Brandishing a weapon can also get you arrested. Better to keep the fact you have a weapon under your hat until you need to defend yourself. Pulling a gun out and displaying it to another driver is not a good idea.
Brandishing a gun can also get you killed. Right about the time that the bad guy laughs in your face, while you brandish your gun, attempting to keep your shaking hands under control.
This is not a game. If your gut tells you that you are facing a mortal threat, pick up your gun like you mean to use it and follow through smoothly and without hesitation. Display the gun once you have made the decision to shoot. When you shoot, shoot to kill. If you are in fear for your life, you will not get a do-over.
You've got to practice the emergency use of your gun over many sessions at the range, over a long time. You've got to rehearse the scenario many times. If a life-threatening event ever happens, your adrenaline may overwhelm your fine motor skills. At that time, you will be glad you trained sufficiently to have the correct sequence of movements locked into muscle memory. You must also have the mental aspect on auto-dial: forming the intention and following through without hesitation.
Brandishing a gun can also get you killed. Right about the time that the bad guy laughs in your face, while you brandish your gun, attempting to keep your shaking hands under control.
This is not a game. If your gut tells you that you are facing a mortal threat, pick up your gun like you mean to use it and follow through smoothly and without hesitation. Display the gun once you have made the decision to shoot. When you shoot, shoot to kill. If you are in fear for your life, you will not get a do-over.
You've got to practice the emergency use of your gun over many sessions at the range, over a long time. You've got to rehearse the scenario many times. If a life-threatening event ever happens, your adrenaline may overwhelm your fine motor skills. At that time, you will be glad you trained sufficiently to have the correct sequence of movements locked into muscle memory. You must also have the mental aspect on auto-dial: forming the intention and following through without hesitation.
Thank you, this is what I meant to say. Judging by his own description of his own state of mind, I doubt that having a gun would have changed anything besides possibly the OP shooting himself in the adrenaline infused shaking and fear for his life. There are quite a few scenarios where having the gun would have been detrimental to him or those around him. Someone said "rather be judged by 12 than carried by 6". Sure - until you are sitting in the seat and watching your life get ruined. Also note that the person giving the advice basically grew up around guns, served in the military and lives in a state/town where stuff like OP described doesn't actually happen.
The OP made it out alive and did just fine for himself without a gun as it is. He already had a baseball bat in his car if things got physical.
Clearly, nobody wants to be a victim but let me ask the OP this: had you had a gun - what would you have done differently in this situation?
For example: after you stopped they came out of the car and you moved on with your car. Would you have stayed and shot them? They well may have been unarmed and you clearly had an escape route. How would that look in court? Like murder....
See, part of carrying a gun around is the huge responsibility to know when to use it. Too quick, too scared, too irritated and you kill someone when you could have defused or avoided. Then there is the thing about having the gun around the house with your kids etc. Someone said they grew up around them and they were fine. Sure. But statistics say otherwise....
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