Now this is the reason why I carry

[rotor]

You did that perfectly and as everyone has said, I agree. Lucky you did not have to use your weapon but you would have been justified. Could have been 3 dead crooks. Making me rethink the size gun I am carrying. Need bigger than a .380 with three bad guys.

[Tex1961]

You did that perfectly and as everyone has said, I agree. Lucky you did not have to use your weapon but you would have been justified. Could have been 3 dead crooks. Making me rethink the size gun I am carrying. Need bigger than a .380 with three bad guys.

You see a lot of these low life bullies traveling in packs...

[GreenMan0352]

"One of the men says what your gonna shoot us all."

This is the perfect time to say a Clint Eastwood line like: You'll be first!

Or if he drew he could have yelled, "merry Christmas Charlie Brown!"

They probably would have thought he was crazy and ran

That reminds me of a Jim Cirillo story except he didn't say Charlie Brown.

I would probably gone with Wyatt Earp " your friends might get me in a rush but not before I turn your head into a canoe"

My hand would have definitely been on my gun, depending on distance and presentation, I might have had it at low ready.
I see in this disparity of force (3 to 1) they are armed with a deadly weapon, threatening violence, armed robbery, attempted assault with a deadly weapon, what else do you need?

Same here. I'm glad it worked out and the only thing I also would have done different was drawn and been in the ready. I watched a video on Myth Busters once where they showed the reaction time of being charged by someone with a knife if you have a gun. I don't remember the exact distance but I want to say 15 yards was the distance the attacker was able to get to the gunaman before he could even get a shot off. I know I know. Everyone here is the son or daughter of Bob Munden or Jerry Miculek. All the same 3 attackers and watching how fast a human can close the distance. If you add in adrenaline on both sides and skill with the task at hand. Well like I said I would have been aiming and the second they turned to book it lower my aim. But hand still on gun. If they decided to charge. I would pray all my training paid off.

[jason812]

This is why if I stop for gas after work, I put my pistol on before I get out of the car even though it only takes 3 minutes or so to pump gas.

Good job lildave

[thatguyoverthere]

Excellent job on your part, sir, all the way around. I know we all probably want to not HAVE to get involved, but sometimes our hand may be forced. Thugs can be such downers. Thank the Lord that it worked out well.

I can’t think of anything I’d have done different, except (because I’m old and slow), when the pipe came out, so would my gun. I’m not going to wait for a rush forward to begin.

All of that would have been intended to distract attention from the slowly spreading pee stain in my pants.

And again,

[SewTexas]

Excellent job on your part, sir, all the way around. I know we all probably want to not HAVE to get involved, but sometimes our hand may be forced. Thugs can be such downers. Thank the Lord that it worked out well.

I can’t think of anything I’d have done different, except (because I’m old and slow), when the pipe came out, so would my gun. I’m not going to wait for a rush forward to begin.

All of that would have been intended to distract attention from the slowly spreading pee stain in my pants.

And again,

yeh, same.....although I'm a bit younger than you, but I don't think by much...I would be afraid that they would see another woman and would try something. But no way would I leave a young mom to deal with them by herself.

[thaidragon]

Very well done sir. I applaud you for your bravery. It's a very scary situation. Good thing it didn't escalate to something worse.

[Richbirdhunter]

Gas stations are a transitional space, I always lock the doors on my truck while getting fuel and I’m always moving, I walk around my truck checking tires, clean the windows etc... I want to see who’s coming with as much warning as possible. The OP did a great job.

[TreyHouston]

Great job! When getting gas I always open carry. Usually stops people from asking for money as well.

[Neurobit]

Well done Sir.
Glad you were able to protect that lady and not have to use deadly force.

Neurobit

[MechAg94]

If someone pulls out a weapon within a reasonable distance, do any of you think it would be good to go ahead and draw your own? Even if you just hold it at your side, having it out and ready would seem prudent and shorten reaction time if something more happens.

This is my not professional but personal opinion and I can be wrong. If I am drawing my weapon it is only to use it not to intimidate.

As others have stated, the purpose of drawing was not to intimidate, but to be prepared to defend myself if they try to attack. From the description, they were already very close, too close to have hands occupied with drawing a gun as someone with a club is swinging at you. Yes, they might be intimidated and run off at the sight of a gun, but that is not the reason for drawing my gun.

[MechAg94]

To the OP, thank you for relating this experience. I love the opportunity to put myself in a situation and think about what I might do.


Other questions might be where I would be standing when I challenged the people harassing the woman? Am I backed up against my vehicle or the gas hose so I can't move if they attack me? Should I go ahead and stop fueling and put the gas hose up to get it out of the way as soon as something suspicious like that starts up? Have I glanced around to be sure there isn't someone behind me? Should I pull my phone out and take a picture of the other vehicle's license plate? (do I have time for that?)
Stuff I hope I would think about if I were put in that situation.

[SewTexas]

To the OP, thank you for relating this experience. I love the opportunity to put myself in a situation and think about what I might do.


Other questions might be where I would be standing when I challenged the people harassing the woman? Am I backed up against my vehicle or the gas hose so I can't move if they attack me? Should I go ahead and stop fueling and put the gas hose up to get it out of the way as soon as something suspicious like that starts up? Have I glanced around to be sure there isn't someone behind me? Should I pull my phone out and take a picture of the other vehicle's license plate? (do I have time for that?)
Stuff I hope I would think about if I were put in that situation.

interesting thoughts.....hmmm...

[Pariah3j]

lildave40 - sounds like you were thinking on your feet and handled the situation beautifully.

I would like to point out something, not as an attack on what you did, but more as food for thought. You have the right to meet force with force. They threatened bodily harm and had a weapon that could back that threat up. Now it sounds like they weren't within striking distance yet, so drawing your weapon and using it might not have been appropriate yet, but displaying your firearm I believe would have been within the bounds of the law - ie drawing it and leveling it at them while giving verbal commands or keeping it a low ready would have been justified IMO because you are meeting their force (3v1 plus possible deadly weapon and threat of violence). IANAL, this isn't legal advise just my understanding of the law. If I'm wrong, I hope someone can correct me.

[OneGun]

lildave40 - sounds like you were thinking on your feet and handled the situation beautifully.

I would like to point out something, not as an attack on what you did, but more as food for thought. You have the right to meet force with force. They threatened bodily harm and had a weapon that could back that threat up. Now it sounds like they weren't within striking distance yet, so drawing your weapon and using it might not have been appropriate yet, but displaying your firearm I believe would have been within the bounds of the law - ie drawing it and leveling it at them while giving verbal commands or keeping it a low ready would have been justified IMO because you are meeting their force (3v1 plus possible deadly weapon and threat of violence). IANAL, this isn't legal advise just my understanding of the law. If I'm wrong, I hope someone can correct me.

I'm not picking you on personally, but I'm raising the question on this notion of distance. What distance is "striking distance" with a knife or a club? There are a number of videos showing that in an attack with a knife or club, etc. that inside of 15 to 20 feet, a person, even a police officer does not have enough time to draw from holster and fire before the attacker strikes. In my earlier post, I linked a video of police officers going through a knife attack drill and even trained police officers that attempted to draw their gun were unsuccessful inside of 15 to 20 feet. Another video, this time from Mythbusters: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyDpIi5QNpw

Back to my original question: What is striking distance for a knife or club? Or how much distance to I need to draw my gun, even if I was a skilled gun fighter?