Almost had to draw last night

[Excaliber]

LOL, I may look weak and feeble and signal easy pickings, but then they're looking down the barrel of my 357 MAGNUM, they'll see nothing but true inner strength. And six out of seven 135 grain Gold Dot hollow points.

What is the 7th round?

[Excaliber]

I would be a bit hesitant to walk around with a cane....unless I had to. It makes you look like a "cull buck" in the eyes of a predator....meaning....easy target.

Limping does that far more effectively than using a cane will. Also, it's quite possible to walk confidently with a cane and a limp. Just maintain a constant air of "I'm well acquainted with pain. Don't make me introduce you."

KD5NRH, you have an admirable way with words.

[03Lightningrocks]

With all these Ninja warriors on this thread I am amazed any of you fellers need a gun. Let's be clear fellers...I didn't say you were feeble...I stated you look feeble limping around with a cane. Some of you forgot how you thought when you were 20 and you saw an "Old Guy" limping around with a cane. Predators prey on who they perceive to be weak in society.

[Keith B]

With all these Ninja warriors on this thread I am amazed any of you fellers need a gun. Let's be clear fellers...I didn't say you were feeble...I stated you look feeble limping around with a cane. Some of you forgot how you thought when you were 20 and you saw an "Old Guy" limping around with a cane. Predators prey on who they perceive to be weak in society.

This is an interesting thing. I have a good friend who was severely injured in an automobile accident many years ago. He has walked stooped over and slowly for a long time due to the injuries. He also walked with a cane and moved slowly until a recent surgery with new procedures and hardware helped correct some issues.

Over the years he has had a couple of incidents where people targeted him and has actually had to draw his weapon to stop the threat of robbery. He is really about 6' 7" and a very big guy, but does not look as large when stooped over. No one would have ever even thought to approach him had he not been hampered by his disabilities and perceived to be an easy target.

[casingpoint]

What is the 7th round?

The last thing he'll ever know.

All kidding aside, it's just another of the same.

[Kythas]

Thanks for sharing your experience.

Question: Could you tell if the aggresor was high? Was his speech slurred and incoherent, or was he articulate and calculated? Did me move in an odd way or did he seem to be in control? If he was doped up, then there isn't much communication that will work. He might not be able to process your commands or even understand that you were taking defensive measures. THAT's what scares me. If he's on drugs and oblivious to your repeated shouts and his brain is fixated on the idea of following you, it could be very difficult to stop him without using some sort of force.

How about running away as an option in similar situations? I know you have an injury slowing you and you were with women, so this is more of a general question. I think that if I'm in an open area and I don't see any BG accomplices, running would be one of my first instincts. I'm not very well-versed in self defense tactics, so I don't know if that's a bad choice or not. I don't like the idea of turning my back to potentially dangerous people, but I'm pretty young and more mobile than most. I wouldn't necessarily run in a straight line away if that was my only option, but in an urban environment, I like the idea of darting around corners, through parking lots, etc, rather than letting a confrontation continue. Obviously a LOT depends on the exact circumstances, but are there any general rules about sprinting away?

He seemed coherent enough. I should probably point out one thing and it's not something that's very easy to get across in an internet forum - his manner of speaking was not aggressive, only his actions and the fact that he persisted in following us after repeatedly being told to leave us alone were what I considered aggressive. His manner of speaking was akin to someone humbly asking you for change. He did not seem incoherent or under the influence of any drug that I could tell, but then I've been away from the LE scene for quite some time (wow, has it really been 13 years since I was a cop?) and don't have experience with any of the drugs that have come out since the early '90s. He was clean and well dressed, though he did have what I would consider a type of mohawk - imagine a buzz cut with the sides of your head shaved. He had one of those thin beards that runs along the jawline and a goatee.

These are reasons why, when I was initially on the bench waiting for the girls to come back out, I didn't consider him a threat. My threat indicator didn't ping until we had all sat down on the circular bench to eat the funnel cake and I saw he had followed us.

[casingpoint]

You were a cop? Well, that certainly explains the way you handled it. The Average Joe isn't going to know to do what you did. You must have been a pretty good cop.

[KD5NRH]

I am now on a Walker and to be honest I do feel a little vulnerable now.

Well, then, you got the wrong kind. Neither of these should leave you feeling vulnerable:

[KD5NRH]

Limping does that far more effectively than using a cane will. Also, it's quite possible to walk confidently with a cane and a limp. Just maintain a constant air of "I'm well acquainted with pain. Don't make me introduce you."

KD5NRH, you have an admirable way with words.

One thing about a knee dislocation: you know afterwards, beyond a shadow of a doubt, what a great target a knee is in a fight. It's not exactly a stretch to notice how easy it is to hit with a cane, or how tough it is to defend.

Besides, when your pain baseline is adjusted to the level of hobbling around on a recent dislocation, it would take a lot more pain to really distract you in a fight.

[PUCKER]

Regarding a cane/injury: New Year's day this year I injured my knee to the point that I used a cane for a few days as support, along with a brace and then a brace for around a month, my knee is still not up to it's pre-injury condition, but I tell you what, I felt REALLY vulnerable for the first few days and then even for the next month or so. I'm a fairly large guy so most folks don't mess with me unless they are just of that pre-disposition, but I do know that if I were to get into a scuffle my not-back-to-perfect knee will come into play, at least in my mind. Meaning that I know if I get into a physical altercation, I don't have the edge that I used to have physically, but fortunately I do carry friends that equalize things (Kimber, Glock, etc.). Of course, avoidance of altercation is best.

[casingpoint]

Cane, shmane. Guess what these hands did back in the day.

[03Lightningrocks]

Cane, shmane. Guess what these hands did back in the day.

I don't think I can answer that question on this forum.

[Purplehood]

Does it have anything to do with auto-erotic-asphyxiation?

[Keith B]

Keep it on topic and per the guidelines folks.

[Photoman]

What a tough situation to deal with. A few things come to mind...

1. There is no such thing as a "safe" part of town.

2. I need to remind my wife and son to never grab my arms during a threat.

3. I've reminded myself to never leave a populated area and proceed to an isolated, multi-level parking lot during a threat.

4. I think Abraham makes an excellent point. The minute he "interviewed" you with his question and then touched you, you should have proceeded to the nearest police officer with a complete description of the person. A person that has no respect for your personal space IS a dangerous person and should be dealt with by the police ASAP.

5. It was a good outcome. No matter how experienced or trained we are, we WILL make mistakes. Learn from them and go on from there.