A Comment to comment On

A quick note: this is not my story. It appeared in my comments, and I thought it deserved a more prominent place on the blog. It was obviously written shortly after the occurrence, when the adrenaline was still coursing through the writer's veins. I have reproduced it here as it was in my comments. Follow the links to the gentleman's blog for more.

Xavier -- First time I had to draw my gun in self defense tonight. just posted at Infidel Bloggers Alliance:

TERRIFYING
I've never had to draw my gun in potential self defense.

Until tonight.

11:30 p.m. EST I'm in the family room watching 300. Daughter #3 (11 yr old) fell asleep on living room floor watching a DVD. Her mom dozing off on the couch. Daughter # 2 (21 yr old) in her bedroom getting ready for bed.

Front door is mostly closed but open enough to let cool night air in until my own bedtime.

Daughter #1's Good Infidel Dog (feisty little fox/rat terrier) is visiting for a couple weeks while said daughter is taking late night classes in Philly.

Suddenly that dog goes absolutely apeshit.

Groggy wife thinks he needs to go out and do his thing. Leashes him up, opens the door. . .

and is face to face with someone getting ready to come in. As she describes him a light skinned male wearing a hoodie with hood up. Best look she can get in the dark.

She let's out an "Oh Jesus Christ!" and slams the door. Daughter # 2, who came to the living room when she heard the dog, screams at the top of her lungs. Daughter # 3 keeps sleeping.

People, this is where training with your weapon, rehearsing in your mind over and over again what you would do if this then that comes into play.

I'm out of my lazy boy, drawing my gun from my hip (ok, for those of you who want the details, tonight it was a Smith & Wesson 642 Airweight loaded with Cor-Bon 38 SPec. +P hollowpoints coming from a Don Hume J.I.T. Slide Holster). Up the steps my arm clearing the stairs wall gun eye level pointed at the front door.

There's my wife and daughter, screaming and staring at the closed door.

For anyone who has heard that in such a situation you get extreme tunnel vision let me assure you it is true. My focus is on that door, wife & daughter just to the side.

Training training training.

No apparent threat gun still drawn right to the bedroom flip on the light. Dammit missed the switch knocked the cover off the thermostat (more training needed) grab the shotgun (again -- for those of you detail minded - Remington 870 Wingmaster 20 gauge pump action 22 inch barrel loaded with Remington #3 buckshot). Back to the living room.

All in under 10 seconds.

My wife calls 911, since we don't know exactly where the foiled intruder has gone nor whether he had any friends lurking nearby. The police are here within 5 minutes, take the information, don't question the gun on my belt, and tell us there had been a breakin across the highway a little earlier this evening. They will be patrolling the area.

So. Lessons learned/reinforced:

Know your weapons, Know where they are and how to get to them. Go over it again and again in your head. If this then that. Practice drawing them until it becomes reflexive.

Despite their quick response a gun in the hand is STILL worth more than a cop on the phone.

Be prepared to pull that trigger. Strangely I felt no fear during the incident and knew I was ready, had I seen someone within my home, to counter that threat. Of course the adreneline rush I'm experiencing right now is like no high you can get from any drug. Might be awhile before I can get to sleep.

Little dogs making big noise are worth a million bucks.

Can't stress the training enough. I remember when I first handled a sidearm, shaking as I tried to load it. Now it's second nature. But had I just bought a gun and never practiced with it I would have been far less useful in this instance.

Gun control statistics are bullshit. This is one drawn gun incident that will never be reported as such because no shots were fired. How many more like this for every time a shot is fired in self defense?

In truth, my wife was the one who scared off the perp, though we didn't know it at the time. She did exactly the right thing by slamming the door, screaming and getting my attention. But it could have played out far differently with a more determined intruder. Might not have had time to get to the shotgun.

In the house, that sidearm on your belt is your first defense but also primarily intended to buy you time to get to something far more substantial if possible.

In an event like this, pandemonium and chaos will ensue.

The rest here.