Why I gave up my guns

[Steadfast]

Why I gave up my guns

skip to 3rd Paragraph down:

I worked the action furiously, once, twice, and again, realizing dimly as I did that in doing so I was actually ejecting the shell, unspent, and basically unloading the weapon. But the unmistakable sound of the pump carried to the backyard, and, in a flash, the prowler was gone — a blur of raggedy jeans and tattered flannel sliding across the hood of my car and vaulting over the picket fence into the night.

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[Steadfast]

This dude never should have owned weapons. He couldn't handle it & so rightfully so gave up his weapons. 1st time he needed to possibly use it, he panicked.
He goes on to say more but he knows he fucked up & everything else he says after that is prolly a lie to coverup his lack of ability to focus & use a weapon when in a stressful situation. He can't handle it.

[Flesh Thorn]

I have noticed that in reading the comments to these anti-gun articles and news stories that the overwhelming majority are pro-gun. What few anti-gun comments are posted usually have the facts turned around.

[Jim]

Why I would not give up my guns:

I was traveling alone in a rental 4-door SUV in an area unfamiliar with me. As I sat at a bottle-necked intersection waiting for traffic to uncluster itself, four individuals rushed up to my vehicle from opposite sides, tugging each of the doors in an effort to get inside. Although the doors were locked, I was at their mercy and waiting for their next move since I was blocked in by the surrounding traffic. Well, I would have been had I not been armed. Because I was trained, I did not panic, and I calmly and confidently drew my pistol. Keeping my weak-side hand on the steering wheel should I have the opportunity to escape, I extended my opposite arm and took aim at the face just outside the front passanger's door, holding the gun mere inches from the shitty smile looking in at me. We locked eyes, and it was very clear the moment he recognized that I was armed and he was about to die...his eyes opened widely, and the color drained from his face...he shouted to the others, and they ran off into the crowd with great haste. Was a I bundle of nerves? Not in the moment, but yes, several minutes afterward I certainly was. I did not know their intention or what would have happend next if I hadn't been armed, but I do know that had I not been armed, I would have been a victim.

When guns are outlawed -- only outlaws will have guns. Look at what has happened in Australia.

[AntonA2W]

I came out of a coma in Nov '94. 4 NJ State Police came to my house in 2005, I think, to take away my 1911, which I had sold the year before. I got the handgun permit around 1998, THEN, when the VA release came out, they said I was COMMITTED to a mental institution!! I "woke" up inj a VA hosp and had memory, speech, physical & neuropsych therapies. Because they didn't have a record of it, I got to spend the night in jail while they searched my house for it. After I gave these Carteret, NJ cops my combo, and they looked in my safe and found only my papers & used ex's used underwear (labeled &kept for posterity) did they release me, saying, "Wow, I guess you REALLY DID sell it, huh?? Smartass Cherries trying to make a name for themselves!

[goon175]

Proper Prior Preperation Prevents Piss Poor Performance.

He should have had it loaded already, so all he had to do was move the safety off.

Pumping the shotgun multiple times? He's probably the same type of guy who would freak out and freeze up if he had to respond to a car accident and stop the bleeding. Or maybe in case of a house fire, he wouldn't be able to work a fire extinguisher. Or any number of other high stress situations.

His article is not about guns, it's about his inability to handle high stress situations.

[Lefty]

Once upon a time, shortly after leaving AD, I was working for an oil co. in New Orleans late one night at a 24 hr. gas station and faced with six angry dudes rushing me. Cornered in a tiny closet of an office, I pulled out a loaded Luger I kept in the desk. Just as the leader of the pack burst thru the door I was able to bring the gun up and point it at his face. I was a nanosecond from emptying the clip when he and his pals turned tail to run. Called by the other employees, the cops arrived several minutes later. Realizing how close I had come to an irreversible act, I asked the police what the legal outcome would have been. To a man they said I was on solid legal ground of self defense. Still shaken, I went to the DA's office the next day, where an ass't. DA told me the same thing, stating I could have shot all six and walked. It should be noted the six assailants were all minorities. The ass't. DA was also a minority, but was firm on his opinion.
A big however, this was in 1972. Times have changed.

For me, it was one thing being in VN where everyone was trying to kill everyone else. Back in the US, faced by a US citizen, regardless of race, it was much more difficult to handle.

In the article quoted, this guy was a major no-go despite his claimed familiarity with firearms. It only proves the old maxim, nobody knows how they will perform, despite their training, until they are actually under the gun.

[RangerX]

I shoot a lot of shotgun/multi-gun matches these days, and I can say unequivocally that most people who think they know how to run a shotgun, don't.

[KW Driver]

Just another example that shooting paper is much easier than shooting a dude, with no real mental training/prep on the headspace of the act.

Lefty's story gives me pause. I have joked that its so much easier to shoot someone on the clock. Do the deed, go home, debrief, some paperwork, turn in the tape, go eat/sleep, wash, rinse, repeat.

I've always thought I wouldn't have a problem off the clock, if needs be, but who knows, as Lefty points out. My biggest concern is if I start "servicing targets until the threat is eliminated, I'll be using engrained, mil ROE in a civilian world.

"Why did you put two on his torso in front, two in his back and two in his head once he was down Mr. KW?"

"Well, see, he exhibited HA/HI so he met the ROE, and I serviced the target, as trained" may not fly too well.

[Sleepy Doc]

I have me a scattergun, but not for home defense. My primary carry/defense sidearm now is a glock 36 (w/mag extension to increase capacity to 7) . I like to think that being 6'5" and pushing 300 lbs has kept me out of trouble by sheer intimidation (so far..)

However, the closest I have ever come to using it was two years ago. My sister was going through a nasty divorce, but could not afford to move herself or her two daughters out during the process, so still lived in the house with her ex. They got into an argument one night over money he felt she owed him. He wasn't paying the bils and she was going to take that out of his share of their tax return. She calls me crying hysterically saying that in a drunken rage he threatened to.. and I quote, "bash her skull in and burn the house down with her in it" if she didn't give him the money. (this was confirmed later by my 7 year old niece, whom he said it in front of..) Thankfully, her ex didn't have a weapon in the house, or I'm 100% certain he would have used it on her. So anyway, she asked me what she should do. "What should you do? You and the girls need to get out right fucking NOW!" I asked her where she was in the house. She was upstairs in her bedroom with the two girls in her bed and her ex was down in the living room. Luckily, she had already packed small bags for her daughters. I told her to lock the door and pack a small bag for herself for 24 hours. Her ex kept a baseball bat in the room for defense, and I told her that if he tried to get into the room and she had a choice between calling 911 and defending herself, she needed to defend herself and the girls. (my nieces were old enough they could call 911 if needed..) Incidentally, if she had to use the bat, I have no doubts she would have fought him off like a mother kodiak bear defending her cubs. I then told her that I would be over to pick them up in 20 minutes and that I would call her 5 minutes out so she could quietly get out without getting her ex more riled up. I brought with me my Glock, and tried to think of all the situations that I would be forced to use it defending her and the girls. I tried to mentally prepare myself for the worst just in case, and tried to recall all of the shooting drills we used to do. Thankfully, she was able to slip away un noticed.
Once we were at the safety of my parents house, it came out in the conversation that I was armed the whole time. My father (who is 100% anti-gun) lost is mind "What in the HELL did you intend to do with THAT??" I calmly told him that had her ex tried to harm her or the girls in any way, I would have put two in his chest. My father thought I was completely over reacting, until I reminded him of a situation that happened some months before. A woman was attacked by her estranged boyfreind in her own house and had her throat slashed while she was on the phone with the 911 operator.
Could I have actually pulled the trigger if needed? I like to think so. As has been said, one never knows how one will react until faced with the actual situation. I like to think that through my training while in Batt, as a firefighter and paramedic I have learned to react to stressful situations in a rational manner. It helps that I never really liked the guy because he was a mean twat when drunk, but I'm glad I never had to find out that night.

[Sleepy Doc]

The article also proves out that training is key. When I say training, I mean "train as you fight". The guy may have been familiar with the use of a shotgun at the range, but had clearly not been under "stress fire" conditions.