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Gunner4640 wrote:Holy crap I did not asked to be chastised in the post. My last post of this type>>>> Lesson learned.

Sorry you took it that way. I believe my questions and statements were legitimate and pertinent to the conversation. Hopefully others will learn from your experience.

Gunner4640 wrote:Once in the car my wife who had her gun in hand said he was approaching people in the parking lot for about 20 minutes she said most people went the other way when he did

This is where I'm really confused. Do you both have cell phones? If your wife felt it necessary to have her gun in her hand why didn't she call you or the police? Seems to me if this had been ongoing for 20 minutes a call to you by your wife would have not only alerted you to the situation but also would have given you an opportunity to alert store staff that there was an issue on their property they needed to address.
IMHO, better communication between you and your wife (both during and prior to this situation) would have prevented your encounter altogether. In this particular situation my wife would have simply picked me up at the front door as I exited the building. My wife and I routinely discuss how each of us will/should respond to different situations should they occur. There is no doubt in my mind, because of those conversations, that my wife would have been proactive in this same situation. I couldn't begin to count the number of times my wife and I have been in different parts of a store and one of us called the other about someone acting oddly so that we both could be on alert and either steer clear or inform store staff.
Simply put, the gun is just one of the many tools you should have at your disposal to ensure your security and the security of your family. It should be the tool of last resort. I do realize that hind sight is 20/20 but, IMHO, many of tools at your (or I should say your wife's) disposal which could have been used prior to the gun were completely ignored.
Just one more thing I curious about, if parking lots are "not what they used to be" why would you leave your wife in the car for such an extended period of time? I assume that if she observed the man for 20 minutes, your store visit was considerably longer than that.
I hope my statements don't seem harsh. That is not my intent. I assume by posting your experience you are asking for others input which I have provided.
Thank you for posting as your experience gives my wife and I (and others) another scenario to discuss and prepare for.

Jumping Frog wrote:Before you reached the point of reaching for the grip, I have held my hand out, palm forward, in a "Stop" gesture and said loudly and firmly, "Stop right there, do NOT come any closer."

Then, if they continue approaching I am better able to articulate a threat as I next grip my handgun.

This would also be my approach.