Story - Had to reach for my piece on a guy - first time

[PocketSurprise380]

I walk in the morning 4 miles and I am always concealed. Last week, I was walking by a local park at 0530 and no one was out, the sun was still down and it was just me and a few cars driving past every so often. Out of no where, a guy runs right up behind me and yells. Turns out to be a guy jogging who waited until he was right behind me to let me know "on your right" as he was passing. It scared me so bad I spun around and grabbed my piece but never pulled it from the holster but did definitely have the hand on it ready to release and pull. It was just instinct cause I am in the Memphis area and something could have been going down right then you never know. The catch is he waited till he was immediately behind me and not only that be he yelled it. Turns out it was someone I knew from 20 years ago and he didn't know it was me. I asked why he didn't do it at a distance instead of right behind my ears and he just said he wasn't trying to scare me. I said okay but why did you yell it? He said he didn't know if I had ear pods in or not. All was good and we talked for a min before separating but he almost got his butt blown off that day (exaggerating). Thankfully I was able to realize it was a fellow jogger but I guess that doesn't mean much either really since anyone can do anything at any time. I did notice though that I was not prepared. I wear a tight wife-beater and it was pulled over the gun which I wear in a owb holster and I grabbed the gun with wife-beater over it so was really grabbing my shirt with gun under it. This shows me I either need to train for muscle memory on lifting my shirt first, or just carrying open carry. I have been carrying open carry since then. This situation scarred the dog mess out of me the way he yelled out of no where. I carry an lcp max and had 10+1 at the time. It is important to be prepared in that split second and if there is anything you can do to be prepared, you need to do it. Imaging if this was a split second situation and I was fumbling with my wife-beater trying to pull it off the pistol. Learn from me.

 

[Busterswoodshop]

And ?

 

[PocketSurprise380]

And ?

sorry accidentally posted before finishing. updated now*

 

[Busterswoodshop]

Shoulda tripped him.

 

[Mobuck]

Well, considering that half the folks here have no idea what a 'wifebeater shirt' is and the ones who might know can't/won't run to/from/for anything, I've been expecting some scathing comments.
I guess it was a 'learning moment' when you came out with a handful of shirt plus the peashooter, huh? One of the first things to learn is how to 'clear the cover'. NO harm/no foul.

 

[Mike J]

Well, considering that half the folks here have no idea what a 'wifebeater shirt' is and the ones who might know can't/won't run to/from/for anything, I've been expecting some scathing comments.
I guess it was a 'learning moment' when you came out with a handful of shirt plus the peashooter, huh? One of the first things to learn is how to 'clear the cover'. NO harm/no foul.

Wifebeater = Undervest. Like a tank top only tighter. It fitting snug might actually make it harder to clear. I usually wear untucked shirts. I practice hooking my shirt with my thumb, pushing out of the way as I reach for my pistol.

 

[kmoore]

Practice, practice, practice. Training can be done in the home. Practice carrying the gun in the holster, sit, walk, jog, jump. Do the same with clothing your going to wear. Being surprised anywhere at any moment is part of life. I suppose this encounter was a good time to think about plan B, what if your attacked and don't have time to draw, what's your other options?

 

[GasGuzzler]

Well, considering that half the folks here have no idea what a 'wifebeater shirt' is and the ones who might know can't/won't run to/from/for anything, I've been expecting some scathing comments.
I guess it was a 'learning moment' when you came out with a handful of shirt plus the peashooter, huh? One of the first things to learn is how to 'clear the cover'. NO harm/no foul.

I know what it is and I would think more than half of the others do too. Not sure if this is scathing but I would like a refund for the 47 seconds this topic took to read.

 

[Bear Paw Jack]

I'd be inclined to include another option. Not every incident like that is a life and death scenario. If it was fairly uncommon to run into something like that I'd consider running with a Pepper Spray in my hand, something like a POM spray. You can get those into action (especially if it's already in your hand) pretty quickly and once sprayed in the face, you have time to drop it and go for your gun, should the situation, become exacerbated.

Not everyone feels comfortable carrying a gun. Just imagine if the young lady who was kidnapped 3 days ago had, had a pepper spray, would she have had more of a chance to get away. We can't know, at this point, but she had nothing and we do know the outcome of that.

 

[Pat-inCO]

Not everyone feels comfortable carrying a gun.

I agree, but I DO carry. I also carry a bright flashlight. - - - Keep in mind that my
definition of bright, starts at 650 lumen.

I had two incidents where there were two individuals (in each incident, and in CO)
that thought I was a likely target. In both incidents, once they found out I had
a miniature version on the sun, in the palm of my hand, they decided their
presence was required elsewhere.
I . . . WAS . . . HAPPY! - - - No one was hurt, I was not inconvenienced. Happiness is.

My current carry flashlight is 1800 lumen, with a throw of seven HUNDRED yards.
But I still carry a gun.

 

[ole442]

Pat-inCO:

Just curious..... approx what area of Colorado?

My son lives in the greater Denver area and he and his wife like to go up in the mountains to camp! He brings bear spray and that will take care of bears, cougars, coyotes as well as two legged varmits(if you see them first)! Some parts of Colorado are not gun friendly! I sure wouldn't go camping without one or two!

 

[Goldstar225]

I walk in the morning 4 miles and I am always concealed. Last week, I was walking by a local park at 0530 and no one was out, the sun was still down and it was just me and a few cars driving past every so often. Out of no where, a guy runs right up behind me and yells. Turns out to be a guy jogging who waited until he was right behind me to let me know "on your right" as he was passing. It scared me so bad I spun around and grabbed my piece but never pulled it from the holster but did definitely have the hand on it ready to release and pull. It was just instinct cause I am in the Memphis area and something could have been going down right then you never know. The catch is he waited till he was immediately behind me and not only that be he yelled it. Turns out it was someone I knew from 20 years ago and he didn't know it was me. I asked why he didn't do it at a distance instead of right behind my ears and he just said he wasn't trying to scare me. I said okay but why did you yell it? He said he didn't know if I had ear pods in or not. All was good and we talked for a min before separating but he almost got his butt blown off that day (exaggerating). Thankfully I was able to realize it was a fellow jogger but I guess that doesn't mean much either really since anyone can do anything at any time. I did notice though that I was not prepared. I wear a tight wife-beater and it was pulled over the gun which I wear in a owb holster and I grabbed the gun with wife-beater over it so was really grabbing my shirt with gun under it. This shows me I either need to train for muscle memory on lifting my shirt first, or just carrying open carry. I have been carrying open carry since then. This situation scarred the dog mess out of me the way he yelled out of no where. I carry an lcp max and had 10+1 at the time. It is important to be prepared in that split second and if there is anything you can do to be prepared, you need to do it. Imaging if this was a split second situation and I was fumbling with my wife-beater trying to pull it off the pistol. Learn from me.

You weren't aware of someone running up behind you until he yelled out to you? Good thing it wasn't someone with evil intent, they don't tend to give warnings. You need to increase your situational awareness

 

[PocketSurprise380]

You weren't aware of someone running up behind you until he yelled out to you? Good thing it wasn't someone with evil intent, they don't tend to give warnings. You need to increase your situational awareness

Most of the time I am always aware but sometimes it's hard not to daydream on a 4 mile walk. Especially early AM. Most of the time that doesn't happen but I guess I got caught in a thought.

 

[bowserb]

Get a treadmill with a TV in front. Catch up on the news and weather while you walk in safety. Only walk outdoors where there are a lot of people. When out, I have a gun and OTF knife ready to deploy, and I do practice. In Houston weather, though, indoors just works better for me.

 

[blume357]

yes, that would be safer I suppose but some of us like to go out in the world... we don't look for or expect trouble but feel a need to be prepared if it can't be avoided...

 

[Yankee_Papa]

Someone who intended harm will not shout. He will hit you on the head with something or stab you.

 

[the_leper_colony]

Someone who intended harm will not shout. He will hit you on the head with something or stab you.

There are always the ones who are insane, or 'on some other planet' via drugs, or both. (For example, I remember some news video of a 'street person' swinging a pipe at people in downtown Denver, years ago when I lived in Calirado! ;>). Some of them do more shouting than clubbing or stabbing, but eventually get around to all three...

 

[kmoore]

You got that right. We have always had nut jobs on the streets, most will never harm others, but some do. We have many more now nut jobs on the streets then in the past. Most other attacks have been for a gain, normally money, but many others reason also.
What's kind of new is the thrill attacks. Attacking someone just because it's fun, thrilling, showing off to others. I say kind of new because people have been doing it for years, but it was somewhat rare. In the last decade in has really ramped up. In the end it doesn't matter the why your were attacked you can be just as hurt or dead for any attack reason.

 

[SLG]

I appreciate that this scared you, but you did not have to "reach for your piece", as the title suggests. You inappropriately went for your gun because you were daydreaming and in white. As you noted, daydreaming while walking can happen so I would submit that the solution is not open carry. If the next guy wants your now visible gun, there is nothing you will be able to do to prevent him from taking it when you are not paying attention. Carrying concealed entails paying attention and learning how to draw from concealment. The nice thing is that even if you are not carrying, you can still pay attention and avoid almost everything bad.
This is part of what I do for a living, so I'm not bashing on you, just hoping to get you to a better decision and skill set.

 

[peachhead]

Someone who intended harm will not shout. He will hit you on the head with something or stab you.

maybe, maybe not. That's a pretty broad generalization. You never know what someone else will do.