Late night drive thru encounter....and no gun.

[Oldgringo]

The important thing is she carries. Well... not exactly... the important thing is she is aware and accepting enough of the realities of life that she carries. My wife has a .38 Model 60, she can certainly shoot it, but she feels the odds of her needing it with her are small enough that she does not carry it. The old "it isn't the odds, it is the stakes" doesn't sway the outcome.

Yepper, Mrs. Oldgringo keeps her loaded S&W 638 in her car but I can't remember the last time she actually carried it. When I ask, she says something like, "I haven't needed it for 68 years, why would I need it now...you've got yours, don't you"?

Hopefully, she continues to guess right.

[PUCKER]

No matter whether you're right or wrong, it seems the wife is always right, doesn't it?

I say this after only being married for 7 years....I figured it out!

BTW - I hope she continues to guess right!

The important thing is she carries. Well... not exactly... the important thing is she is aware and accepting enough of the realities of life that she carries. My wife has a .38 Model 60, she can certainly shoot it, but she feels the odds of her needing it with her are small enough that she does not carry it. The old "it isn't the odds, it is the stakes" doesn't sway the outcome.

Yepper, Mrs. Oldgringo keeps her loaded S&W 638 in her car but I can't remember the last time she actually carried it. When I ask, she says something like, "I haven't needed it for 68 years, why would I need it now...you've got yours, don't you"?

Hopefully, she continues to guess right.

[Hoi Polloi]

Another thought: you would only be boxed in at the drive-through if you put yourself in that position. How close you are to the car in front of you is almost entirely up to you.

You're assuming a wide-open drive through. Taco Bell here, in particular, has a lane barely wide enough for one vehicle, with high curbs that my Blazer would barely clear; most passenger cars wouldn't have a chance of getting out if cars were in front and behind. To make matters worse, it's grass for at least several car lengths if you do clear the curb, so in wet weather you might still be stuck.

You're right. My husband pointed out the same.

[The Annoyed Man]

agreed... but the .38 is not to be despised either. For quite a few years the S&W Model 10 .38 Special was a standard police sidearm. Not arguing it is optimal, just that it is still formidable.

The important thing is she carries. Well... not exactly... the important thing is she is aware and accepting enough of the realities of life that she carries. My wife has a .38 Model 60, she can certainly shoot it, but she feels the odds of her needing it with her are small enough that she does not carry it. The old "it isn't the odds, it is the stakes" doesn't sway the outcome.

Yeah, you're right about the .38. When I carried mine, I never felt inadequately armed as to caliber. For me it was more about round count. My wife's G19 has 15+1 rounds to her 642's 5. And although she doesn't really practice tactical reloads with the Glock, she can swap magazines with acceptable dexterity and speed. But she never really practices reloading her revolver with her speedloader because she doesn't really like to shoot it much. She only carries it as a primary choice because it fits into her clothing/carry paradigm more easily that does her Glock. But she actually enjoys shooting her Glock.

Truth be told, I don't practice reloads with my M&P 340 either. Reloading a 5 shot revolver is too slow to be of much practical value. I do carry at least one speedloader when I carry the 340, but that is really more of a convenient way to carry extra cartridges than it is a practical means of reloading. I can reload by individual cartridge about as fast as I can with the speedloader. All of this is why I elected to buy a lightweight revolver in .357 rather than .38 Special. I figure that the increase in power somewhat offsets the lack of additional cartridges on tap, and to be honest, I'm kind of banking on not having to ever shoot more than 2 or 3 rounds anyway. That might be unrealistic, but I don't think it is.

[maximus2161]

First off thank you all for the thought and encouraging replies.

At drive thru's I do have the habit of leaving room to pull away if I need to. Most that I use usually have open access off to the right where I can just pull away. Of course there are some that dont but even with a curb my truck or even a car should be able to clear it with no issues, But Im not perfect and from time to time next thing I know Im someplace and boxed in. But its easy to leave room infront of you than behind you because as we all know too many people will just pull up right on your tail in a drive thru or at a stop light. I always play the "What if" game in my mind. I think of scenarios from being in my house to being out running errands, etc.

As for the incident my only concern was removing ourselves for the situation as fast as possible and the safety of my son. I really dont see what else I would have done different. But it made me think what if I had been in a position where I could not just drive off as easily or was stuck. Simple fact is I got complacent and left my gun at home. Would I have used it had I had it? No. Naturally the situation at that point didnt warrant it. It was more about if I hadnt been able to get away, etc. I would just have felt a little better knowing I had it instead of thinking about it being a paperweight at home.

And while I want to move back up to a larger caliber my XDm and P30 in 9mm are no slouches I guess. 20 rounds of 9mm JHP is better than zero rounds of .44 mag, .45 ACP, .357, etc.

[karder]

And while I want to move back up to a larger caliber my XDm and P30 in 9mm are no slouches I guess. 20 rounds of 9mm JHP is better than zero rounds of .44 mag, .45 ACP, .357, etc.

The addition of new guns to the stable is always a great idea! Still, your 9mm will send that fellow back into the bushes (or more literally under the bushes) with no trouble and with 20 rounds, you got plenty of "do-overs" in case your shaky.

You handled it great. More important than anything else is that you were paying enough attention to actually notice someone coming out of the bushes, which is the key to survival regardless of what tools you do or don't have. Having your kid with you changes the dynamic of any encounter, and increases the likelihood of being distracted so I think you get an "A". I hope the cops get that guy before he comes across someone who is not paying as much attention as you were.

[MojoTexas]

Just buy yourself a used Rossi or Taurus .357 Magnum revolver as a "truck gun" and leave it in your vehicle. If it gets stolen, it wasn't that expensive to begin with, and you always know you have some sort of backup gun for the times when you're not packing. Plus a .357 Magnum will definitely "Get-R-Done" in a short-range self-defense situation.

That being said, I'm happy everything turned out okay!

MojoTexas

[InfoTechCHL2007]

Spooky. Glad you got out of there. Even if you had been armed, that was perhaps the wisest move.

[KD5NRH]

Just buy yourself a used Rossi or Taurus .357 Magnum revolver as a "truck gun" and leave it in your vehicle.

I still want a mare's leg in .357 for a car gun, especially since I carry a .357 revolver and always have a box or two of .357 and .38+P Gold Dots in the car. Just haven't seen one available when I had the cash available.

IMO, it might look a bit more convincing than a revolver when you swing it up and crank one into the chamber as the guy gets too close, plus it should still be a decent coyote gun out to the ranges I'm normally dealing with at our land.

[mgood]

The point is what if I had not been lucky and had cars boxing me in so I could not pull away?

Driving out of trouble should always be the first choice, IMO. I always leave room between me and the vehicle in front of me that would normally allow me to go around. But I'm a drive-through junkie and I'm well aware that many of them are too narrow to get around another vehicle. Sometimes you have a wall or something on one side and the building on the other. I drive a pickup, so normal curbs don't concern me too much, but many drive throughs have obstacles which would make it difficult, if not impossible, to drive out. These make me run through scary "what if" scenarios in my head all the time.

[El_Tortuga]

You did good. Situational awareness and decisive action took you out of the danger zone. An excellent outcome for sure.

[maxlib]

You handled it perfectly. You saw him - someone else might not have. Your awareness allowed you to take action to prevent a confrontation. Your decisiveness in simply leaving eliminated the need for conflict. Your son is alright, you are alright, he saw you assess, take decisive action, and save the day - to him you are a hero.

Having your pistol with you would not have changed anything except your adrenalin level - it might have been reassuring to have, but it would have been inappropriate to pull in the situation as-stated. Had you been boxed in, it might have been very, very useful.

Congratulations on seeing the situation develop and short-circuiting it.

And... my opinion only: a double-stack magazine of 9mm ought to be comforting. A .45, or shorty AR with a .50 Beowulf upper might have been more comforting, but your little 9x19 will do.

by Hoi Polloi » Thu Aug 05, 2010 5:29 pm

Another thought: you would only be boxed in at the drive-through if you put yourself in that position. How close you are to the car in front of you is almost entirely up to you. Leaving yourself room to respond to unexpected moves by others doesn't apply only on the road--take it into consideration when stopping or standing as well.

Kudos on getting out of there, staying safe, and on calling the police and the store! Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you. -Saint Augustine

+ 1 on ya'll. Hoi Polloi, you probably ride a motorcycle!

[Vecco]

Even if your CHL is expired you can still have a firearm in you car, UN concealed and ready to use if needed. You are protected under both the castle doctrine and the Texas traveler’s law which was amended in 2009 (?), to support that right. Someone chime in if I am wrong.

[Keith B]

Even if your CHL is expired you can still have a firearm in you car, UN concealed and ready to use if needed. You are protected under both the castle doctrine and the Texas traveler’s law which was amended in 2009 (?), to support that right. Someone chime in if I am wrong.

That is incorrect. You must keep your handgun concealed in the vehicle. You cannot exit the vehicle with it unless you are going directly from your home or business to/from the vehicle.

[Purplehood]

Even if your CHL is expired you can still have a firearm in you car, UN concealed and ready to use if needed. You are protected under both the castle doctrine and the Texas traveler’s law which was amended in 2009 (?), to support that right. Someone chime in if I am wrong.

Where did you get the unconcealed part? I was under the distinct impression that under the MPA it still had to be concealed.
Or did you mean United Nations concealed?