It never fails. Every time I leave the house to run an errand and forget to take a pistol I always wind up getting some whiskey-for-breakfast-brushed-his-teeth-with-a-hammer homeless wretch approaching me and asking/demanding something. Every time.
This message brought to you by the sinking feeling when you casually move your hand to your hip and realize your holster is empty because you were ‘only going to be gone five minutes’.
Stupid, stupid.
The rule here at The Estate is: Unrestricted access to the exterior requires possession of a Projectile Expeller. DEFCON 1.
Open a door, gun on hip or in hand; fully open window somewhere, same rule. Venture outside, for any reason, same rule. Go anyplace where people may be found in quantity – store, park, roadway, etc. – the rules specify DEFCON 2: As close to full-size duty gun as possible with 2 spare mags, and preferably, also a Backup Projectile Expeller.
It gets difficult sometimes – The Estate often becomes Clothing Optional during the summer months – but bathrobes or shower wraps with built-in velco belts usually come with pockets large enough for at least a snubby and a speedloader.
Seems ridiculous, right? 18 years ago I ventured into my well-fenced backyard on a quiet, sunny Saturday morning in my jammies, armed only with 12 ounces of decaf and discovered my neighbor’s German Shepherd had dug under the fence separating our yards and decided my yard was also his and I was an intruder. In the 6 steps it took me to return inside he sunk his teeth into the back of my right thigh. Had it been one of our small children, or if it had been the front of the thigh where the femoral artery is, it would have been a very great deal more serious.
The new Estate is considerably larger than that suburban lot, but that Saturday morning I decided Never F***king Again.
Never turn and try to run, always back away with defensive posture-execute break contact maneuver.
as a back up plan for when not carrying I (usually) always have a can of pepper spray in each vehicle in the cup holder closest to me. Not as good as a gun but better than nothing I suppose.
Commander:
How often during such an incident are you tempted to make them eligible for a Darwin award?
There are many people who won’t improve this land until they are buried in it…
Ceejay
Glad to say I have not had that feeling. But, truthfully it’s not for lack of trying.
Wait, why was the holster empty to begin with? Home Invasion is still a Thang, ya know.
A good strong pepper spray is your friend for when you cant quite yet shoot the deserving ones.
I’ve heard that most car accidents happen within 3 miles of home. I wonder where most self defense situations occur?
Does this mean that you don’t normally carry at home?
This year I just got to the point where I put on my sidearm after I get up when I am dressing for the day… first thing on and last thing off even if I’m not going anywhere. Karl Malden comes to mind… don’t leave home without it!
whus rong wif whisk….*hic*. whisk…*hic*…..likker 4 bresfust?
Never ever go past you door unarmed , I don’t check my mailbox without a gun , I pump gas it’s in my pocket and most likely with my hand on it .
Sometimes, those little ‘flyweight .380s’ that are so tiny you almost forget you have them on-board make sense don’t they. The one time I was challenged by some illegal aliens (southern Texas border country) was the time I had an Erma RX-22 rimfire pocket pistol in my belt holster. I didn’t have to draw it – the pair discovered they had a previous commitment and skeedadled like right now. The pump shotgun was inside the cabin on a bunk, doing absolutely no good.
A big believer in handguns, carried on person.
Just when you think you won’t, you will
I’ve done it too, bad bad feeling. Kind of gives credit to “pocket guns” doesn’t it. They may not exactly be a primary but they sure beat fingernails.
I hate when that happens.
As far as homeless asking me for money…I tell em to get a damn job. There’s plenty out there.
I am a firm believer that the greatest weapon a person has is between the ears, not in a holster. Don’t misunderstand me, having a CCW permit and a holstered firearm is nice but not having one isn’t the end of the world.
Where I live, CCW is totally out of the question. So, my EDC has two very important self-defence items, an embassy pen for pressure point control and a folding knife.
That’s it.
In all my years of visiting the big city on various trips, I’ve had encounters with beggars and only once did it turn ugly. A homeless wretch wouldn’t take no for an answer until he heard the click of the folding ZT350 I had pulled, in conjunction with my saying “go away,”
So, CZ, I hope that you had the sense to have a good assisted opening knife in your pocket.
my new philosophy is to carry the big 3. Knife, pepper spray and hand gun, rifle when the occasion warrants. Between a harsh word and a gun/knife is pepper spray. Stabbing or shooting someone may involve paper work when as a spray and go may be better.
That’s why I always have my S&W 642 loaded and in my car. So if I don’t strap on my G19 or Sig P220 or whatever other handgun I have for out of house wear I at least have that. Nowadays my rule is go armed at all times when leaving the hacienda. And I think most people reading this blog feel the same way. Better to have and not need than to need and not have.
That is why small handguns were invented. A .25 Browning that is easy to carry is worth more in a clinch than a bigger handgun.
Armed, or within 2-3 steps, constantly. It isn’t going to help if you don’t have it.
Not judging, Commander, but as a used ta be medic in Da City, well, I’ve seen what happens in a home invasion when only one party brought weapons to “the party”.
Pants on =gun on
Never leave home without it…..never.
Stay Safe All
Dairy
Didn’t think Biden’s Bum Brigade was in that part of the country. The only places we see them around here are in 1) Detoilet. A place I stay away from.
2) Any city or township that hasn’t passed laws or ordnaces banning or outlawing panhandling.
The local Wallies usually has a fake veteran standing in the median of the driveway..
I usually stop. Ask them what service branch. Then what MOS they carried. Then what theater of operations they were in. If they pass I usually truck over to the local Fallen Arches and get them a combo. I never give money. Ever. They’ll just use it for booze and drugs. Or in some cases buy themselves a new Mercedes. Don’t laugh. It happens.
Admittedly I always try to help a vet. It’s the least I can do. It helps to have information for the local VA or a drug intervention center. Which we also have here.
I think it very commendable you shared this. Those idiot writers acting macho don’t teach us anything useful, except how to be a martyr. These kinds of reminders get us out of our bubble and have us stop questioning our paranoia. Well done, and thank you.
Thank you. I am the product of veterans going back to the revolutionary war. In my family when the country called we lined up. This country has given us a great deal. I try to help those who fought the fight and in many ways paid a price. I have known many I’ve worked with and others who served in Peace time and in war. Wether military or police. When you put that uniform on you do it for us. I never pass up a chance to tell a vet ” thank you for your service” and to the men who fought in Vietnam I say ” welcome home”. It seems a small thing but the reaction I get is thanks enough.
Not going to say that it hasn’t happened to me. We all try to be better today than we were yesterday, and more prepared tomorrow than we are today.
Although I have better tools available the last time I had an aggressive person annoy me I used my driver side mounted fire extinguisher on them.
The Laughter from the Police and EMS when I called them in to rescue the pair of wannabe thugs from respiratory arrest was priceless.
My second option was using that now empty fire extinguisher would be to beat some sense into them with it.
BTW I also have a second fire extinguisher in my trunk for the parking lot agressives. Used it a few years ago when a Burly “Man” was verbally and physically assaulting a lady. BE AWARE that situation CHANGED as the “Lady” started to attack me for hurting “HER MAN”. So I sprayed her also.
Having cleaned up more than my share of “dry chem” I think it may be very effective. Wasp/hornet spray can be more effective than pepper spray but can be a “dangerous weapon’
We live in rural TN. I put on a holster when I get dressed every morning. For zero or 4 legged varmints when I’m home, and 2 legged varmints when I’m running into town. Even church.
Thanks for the reminder, this has definitely happened to me and I am one of those “pants on, gun on guys”. However, every now and then as you are about to grab your gat something happens like the baby starts screaming bloody murder from the next room and your routine gets broken and the next thing you know you are stopping at a gas station on the way back from daycare drop off and as you said getting approached by every aggressive mentally ill vagrant in the county. You never know what day is going to be “the day”, a good reminder to actually check the chamber every day and wipe off the lint from the sights (I’m discovering this goes double now that I run a red dot on my EDC) and re-oil, re-oil, re-oil. If you haven’t oiled your gun in the past few days your gun is not oiled and as anyone that has bothered to train knows not even the mighty Glock likes to be run dry. Sure, it might work for you that day but why increase your chances of a malfunction? Because you’re lazy? Maintain your equipment and yes, have it on you.
I got in the habit of cleaning my duty weapons on Monday regardless of when it was last cleaned. This include dumping the magazines and wiping down all the rounds, grab different mags to give the previous weeks a rest and reload. Put in an old gun related comfort movie like dirty dozen or a western and get to work.