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Sword vs Handgun---- real life mess

19K views 37 replies 16 participants last post by  brasscannon 
#1 ·
Hi Rich and Gang;
Rich thought this might make an interesting thread, as he knows me very well. We've been friends for a long time, and he knows the whole story, as well as some things I'll take to the grave. Anyway, the story,
I own a one man pawn and jewelry store in Crystal River, Florida. On September 26th, 2000, a South Korean came into my store to pick up a revolver he'd paid for the preceeding week. Due to my county's three day wait period, he had to wait until Tuesday to pick up the gun. He was waiting on the step when I arrived to open at eleven. ( yeah, I know banker's hours)
When I called the gun in, FDLE said it was a 'conditional refusal', and that allowed them three more days to make up their mind. Well, the customer wasn't too pleased about it, and said he wanted the gun NOW. "Nope, can't have it until FDLE clears you." That wasn't what he wanted to hear, so he sulked out the door. I got his phone number before he left, and assured him I'd call when the information was relayed to me. After the verbal exchange we had, I decided that there was NO WAY I was going to transfer a firearm to this guy , period !
A little while later, a good friend of mine came into the store to BS awhile, and said there was a guy "stalking around" in the bushes of the building next door. I went out the back of my store, and there was the customer "stalking around" in the bushes of my next door neighbor's resturant. huh? I asked him what he was doing, and he replied he'd lost something. Ok, I can somewhat understand that, as I've done the same thing. However, not in my neighbors bushes.
My friend left the store at approximately, 1:15pm, and before he drove away, he came in to tell me the guy was still on the other side of the building just looking around. At this, I decided to call the local police, and dialed their non emergency number.
Within a few seconds of my friend's car leaving the parking lot, in comes the guy, walking real fast down the main aisle of the store. I'm still waiting on the phone to ring, when he suddenly produces a 3 ft Ninja Sword from behind his back and states " This is a Ninja Sword", and sticks it into my right shoulder very deeply.
At the instant I 'sorta' realized what was happening, I pushed hard against my desk, as I was sitting down in a roller equipped chair. That propelled me backwards at a rapid rate, until the wheels reached the edge of the protective plastic cover over the carpet. When the wheels reached the carpet, the chair stopped, and my fat ass was launched backwards onto the floor. Instantly, I was upside down on my back, bleeding like a stuck pig, and wondering what in the hell was going on with this?
My Glock 19, that I carried religously, was lying on top of my file cabinet under my desk. I passed it by rather quickly when I was propelled backwards by arms and fear. I wasn't able to grab it, and never got back to it again.
Anyway, the jerk with the sword had run around my desk, and I was finding myself fending off repeated stabs to me by using my hands and arms as parrying instruments. Not recommended behavior. I'm starting to get a headache while writing this. It is not pleasant to recall.
When I had finally struggled to my feet, I'd been stabbed another couple of times, but nothing as serious as the first one. I was bleeding profusely by now from all of the minor and major cuts. The only thing I could think of at the time, was to distance myself from the blade, as my arms just weren't long enough to combat this threat.
I cutoff the battle, and made a dash to my office door, which was about five steps away. He was right there with me as I opened the door. I fought my way inside the door, and slammed it as hard as I could on him. The sword came all the way through the steel cased door, so I guess it was fairly sharp :)
Next, I ran to my desk, as I knew there was a loaded 38 Chief's Special in the desk drawer. As I got to the desk, I tripped on some of my usual junk in the floor, and sprawled out on top of the desk, destroying my computer and everything on top of the desk. At that moment, I realized that the 38 was in the drawer, but hell, not only was it not loaded, it wasn't even in one piece. I'd taken it apart the other day or so to clean it, and it was still in pieces. haha, jokes on me :)
Got up from the desk, and turned to face my attacker. Then, the jerk gave me the worst of it, as he stabbed me in my left abdomen, right above the belt line. It went all the way in , within a half inch of piercing my other side. Hurt like hell. But, I was pissed, so I kept on fighting anyway. By this time, I was starting to fade, as I'd lost a lot of blood, and my hits on him didn't seem to be having much of an effect. In actuality, I was going fast, and was pretty demoralized, as I realized that this was probably it for me, and this jerk was going to get the best of the situation.
We waltzed around my office for a minute or so, while I was trying to pull out the sword with my left hand, and he was using both of his hands to try to push it in deeper. I had bruised marks on my left joints of my fingers for a couple of months, where I had a death grip on the damn thing.
At the moment when we danced to the front of the office, I realized I had a way out. I finally remembered my little Beretta 950SB in my right pants pocket. Yep, a lowly 25ACP, with rounds in it, that I hadn't even bothered to purchase. A friend of mine gave me a box of 25 ammo ( cheap Winchester hardball stuff), and that is what was in it. NO ONE will EVER realize the way I felt when I realized that I was not going to go alone. People talk about an epiphany, but that doesn't even begin to describe the feeling when someone gives you the ability to fight back. I pulled it out very deliberately, and thumbed the hammer back. All the while, my attacker was still trying to stuff the sword in deeper, and I was doing my best to keep him from succeeding.
I knew using a sub caliber firearm center mass would be a joke, so I pulled it up in front of my right eye, while thumbing back the hammer. When he realized what was about to happen, his eyes became REAL large. That was what I aimed for, his left eye. I only thought I'd fired about two or three times, but in reality I fired five rounds. That was a surprise to me when they told me that.
I hit him four times in the left eye, and the other round was taken into one of his hands, and went through my front office door fifteen feet behind him. The door is a steel cased door, and the bullet penetrated all the way through, out into the parking lot.
Two of the four bullets that went into his head penetrated all the way through, and fell spent, on the ground ten feet behind him. The last two bounced around in his head, one lodging in the upper cervical region of his spine, and the other in his grey matter. He dropped like a brick, and made a lot of back and forth motions on the floor, like someone having a seizure. Yeah, I guess it 'was' a seizure.
I stumbled out to the show room, and bent over the desk holding my guts in while dialing 911. I stayed on the phone until some kids came into the store before the black and whites showed up. I told them they really ought to go, as this was not a good time to shop :) The B&Ws grabbed them as they were getting ready to drive out of the parking lot, so I had to stumble out front to tell them the kids had nothing to do with this, and not to shoot them.
I was glad to see they did not get shot in the process. Sometimes kids will do strange, unexpected things, and I was concerned with all of the adrenalin flowing in the cops, they might get anxious with the kids. No sweat, as it worked out ok.
The meat wagon showed up in a few minutes, and I was finally allowed to lie down on the gurney. That alone, was worth the wait. It had been a long fifteen minutes since my friend had left.
They plugged the holes a little bit, and gave me oxygen. The local airport is about a half mile down the road, so I was taken there to be "slicked" away to St. Joseph's in Tampa Trauma Unit.
I stayed there for a total of ten days, with the first three in intensive care. For the first eight hours or so, they didn't know if I'd make it or not. Obviously, I did.
The perpetrator's plug was pulled the next morning, as he was brain dead. I talked to the para's a while later, and they stated he was only breathing about four times a minute when they pulled him from the floor. I still have a huge stain in the carpet to remind me.
Lessons learned:
1. ALWAYS have your choice of firearm on your person. An arms length away can be too far. Mine was.
2., ALWAYS have your firearm ready to go-- chamber loaded, safety on or off-- your choice. I kept my Beretta chamber loaded, and hammer down as it is a single action gun. All that was needed was to thumb the hammer back. My Glock is even better, as all that is needed is to pull the trigger. Nothing is faster to bring to bear to fire. NOTHING.
3. ALWAYS think of a way out, no matter where you are. My success in this incident was due to a lot of different things that came into play for me.
a. I was of a stronger will than my opponent. I had more reason to live , so I was motivated and pissed as well.
b. I was well versed in pistolcraft, and practice frequently with what I carry--- including my backup. I know full well the limitations of my backup, as well as my primary piece.
c. I was extremely lucky, as luck would have it. If the jerk had been a true 'messenger of death', then I'd have been stabbed in my left chest, and died at the desk. He wasn't, and I wasn't. Therefore, that opened up an opportunity for my self defense.
I fought fiercely and relentlessly. I offered no quarter and gave none. This was for my life, and I was not going to go peacefully.
I did not.

Aftermath and Current Status:
Well, things haven't gone all that well since , but I'm still walking upright, so I have no desire, or reason to complain. My digestive system is in shambles. I'm wearing out my butt , as I have to run to the bathroom a LOT of times during the day. That's ok, as I find I suffer from PTSD, and try to do something about it. Thanks to a couple of people I've met on the 'net', I've been diagnosed with acute PTSD, and my friends are trying to find a good counselor for me close to home. I've talked to a few people, and they have been alright, but I still haven't found that 'one' person that can help me the way I need. There are seventeen symptoms to PTSD, and I've been told I have all of them. After seeing the way the mind goes sometimes, I believe it. haha
My business has been closed within the past week, as I can no longer deal with the public. Again, PTSD kicking in, as I've been told. My beautiful wife, Jane , was diagnosed with breast cancer this year, so we've had to deal with that as well. Everything about my life has been really hard to deal with the past three years, but my wife has stuck by me all the time and I feel loved. I have great friends, that understand I'm 'not quite right', and are very supportive. This PTSD thing is new and strange to me, so I'm still not sure how to handle it all, but I keep on plugging away.
But, I do know, that if I were not a fighter, that I'd be pushing up flowers somewhere right now, and I'd have NO chance to get better from all of this. Becoming better, is something that I 'can' do. It is rather hard to get better from the grave.
Whatever you carry, carry every day as if your life meant it. One day it might. When it comes, it will come fast, ruthlessly, and from a determined opponent that wants something you have--- be it your life, your possessions, or your soul. NEVER give up. NEVER give in. Make them pay for everything they get. It really isn't all that important to win, though losing is not a good option. But the important thing is to give it everything you have to 'try' to win. That is all that is required, is to try. If one trys to the best of their ability, then it will be a memorable fight, even if one is lost.

If this helps someone, or gives us something to talk about , great. If not, sorry to take up so much band width. Thanks to Rich and Connie for helping me in the past three years. I don't think I could have made it without you two.
 
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#2 ·
Damn, Dave.

I can still remember when that happened. I believe it was the night before, on rec.guns, you had posted something concerning your being fed up with people wanting freebie transfers from you. Well, I was one that you were doing transfers for and I though "Damn! Is he talking about me?" So I replied in the thread and gave my point of few of things as well as apologizing if I was one of those people you were talking about. Well, no reply was forthcoming, and I thought, "Aw hell. He's REALLY pissed at me now!"

Then later the following day someone posted someting on rec.guns about a pawn shop owner in Crystal River being attacked and stabbed. One person was dead, but they weren't sure if it was the owner or the perpetrator. So I dailed your phone number, thinking I would get you on the phone. Hell, it couldn't be YOU! I think I even left a message on your answering machine joking about that. I think I may have even been doing a show out of town that following weekend, so things were really up in the air all way round.

I was COMPLETELY shocked when I discovered that it was, in fact, you that had been attacked. Jeesus! I may have even discovered that it was you while Connie and I were out of town. I can't remember. But I know Connie and I were both aghast learning that you were in the hospital in intensive care.

I guess there are a lot of lessons to be learned from your ordeal, and maybe we'll touch on them here and there. The most interesting thing that hit me was that you had a gun in your pocket and with someone slashing at you trying to take your life, you had that to focus on and forgot that you had the gun in your pocket. And you have had a lot of training and experience with firearms.

How can someone train well enough to be able to react effectively to the unexpected? How can someone prepare to save their own life by practicing when their life is really in no danger during practice?

Apparently you had nothing more on your mind than that blade and getting the hell away from it.

More later....... dinner is on the table and Connie is calling... :smash:
 
#3 ·
Thanks for sharing your experience. I know it can't be easy to retell it, especially in a public forum.

I truly hope that I am never in that kind of a situation.

I do have a few questions though...

1) Did the cops confiscate your weapon? If so, how long did it take to get it back?

2) I know FL is pretty gun-friendly overall, but was there any talk of charging you for anything (Disturbing thought, but it does happen in self-defense cases in some areas)?

3) Have any members of the perps family threatened to sue you?
 
#4 ·
You know, I am strongly considering setting up a forum especially for this sort of talk. I think it is well worth the space on the site to have actual real life discussions about the right of self defense and the actual exercising of that right.

Any thoughts?
 
#5 ·
Mike;
Yep, they confiscated my Beretta for about two months. Only reason it took that long, is that the DA couldn't make up his mind whether he was going to charge me, or not. Bad part of it, is that my blood was all over it, and during the time it was in their custody, the damn thing slightly rusted. No biggie, as a little 0000steel wool and gun oil, had it in fine shape.
And yes, the damn DA 'did' think about charging me with something. Liberal bastard. Anyway, about four months after the fact, while I was sitting on pins and needles wondering whether I should hire counsel, I finally received the 'big' letter in the mail. Found out later, that the DA simply could not make up his mind about what to do with me. The perp was 'was' going to be charged with aggravated assault. No "with deadly weapon", just aggravated assault. No charges were filed for obvious reasons. Then I got to see "my" paper. The idiot had considered a 1st degree murder charge for me, but found I acted in a proper manner. What a guy! I'd still like to know what was going through the idiot's mind even considering a charge of pre meditated murder, when the jerk brought HIS sword into MY store. Oh well, I'm trying to use logic and the criminal justice system in one thought.
As an aside, this bright , outstanding pillar of legal virtue, was recently appointed a judgship by Jeb Bush down in Lake County. I REALLY hope our paths never cross again. His name is Willard Pope. Used to be a deputy for Marion County Sheriff's Office, and lost one of his eyes during a SWAT action of some type. Used the money from a settlement to go to law school, and became a liberal in the process. I had him years ago for an instructor in Radar Certification, and found out then , what an egotistical, self aggrandizing jerk he was.
Rich, I think it would be a good idea for real life situations. Fortunately, it will not be a forum that is used all that much :)

--------- whaadaya call an attorney with half a brain???
Your Honor
 

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#6 ·
Jeesus!

The guy comes into YOUR store stabs you multiple times with a sword, then while he is trying to give you the coup de grace and are about to go down for the count, you pull out a gun and stop him in his tracks.

What the hell do you need to do in order to prove self defense to that guy? Come back from the dead and THEN stop the guy?

Rich, I think it would be a good idea for real life situations. Fortunately, it will not be a forum that is used all that much :)
I wonder. You probaby wouldn't have posted this without my prompting, would you? Perhaps no one really talks about it without a prod. I've had one or two situations right here at the house where I had my gun in plain view in my pocket when someone pulled up the driveway with no good reason for doing so. Perhaps a passive case of the Second Amendment doing it's job?
 
#7 ·
Sometimes our "justice" system makes me sick.

I have heard people stress that you need two copies of your carry gun because you will probably be without one for a while if you are involved in a self-defense shooting while they investigate.
 
#8 ·
J. David,

Congratulations on changing yourself from a victim to a survivor - a victorious one at that. I have been in a couple of life threatening situations where I was pretty scared and pretty beat up, and I have been stomped on until my sternum was fractured, have been beaten with my own nightstick by a four punks, was assaulted by a crazy in my own front yard and he broke one of my fingers so it is permanently twisted, was held up by two guys one who had what I thought and he pretended was gun _ I rang his bells one shot made five holes in him (a-hole had a pipe he held like a gun but his cousin had a real gun), and I have been chewed on while at the same time the guy chewing on me tried to take away my service revolver and shoot me with it. Man it has been an interesting life, and that is not even most of it. Yet none of those compare to your ordeal except that I too made it through each time because I did pretty much what you did, I chose to fight; and that I too suffered from PTSD after some of them (probably after all of them but did not realize it then).

Now you have to choose to let yourself get better. It ain't easy, the nightmares persist, sometimes for years. The putting yourself in bad situations goes on longer, and the standing off from folks can last pretty long too. But you can definitely overcome the psychological stuff. You were strong enough to fight then, and you sound strong enough to do what needs to be done to heal yourself now - and make no mistake no matter what help you get - you heal yourself. Friends, family all help greatly. Getting it out is one of the best things you can do at the right time. Therapy is a good way to go with a one to one therapist patient relationship, but getting together with other survivors of traumatic ordeals also is usually a big help. Your therapist can probably (or at least should be able to) point you in the right direction for that.

My wife had Hepatitis C for 8 years, and I often thought the worst would happen, but she pulled through after torturous drug therapy (much like chemo) and is now apparently cured - one of the very lucky ones. We have not always had a good relationship, but I stuck by her then, and she puts up with me still. Stay strong, and help that beautiful lady of yours through her own ordeal, she needs your strength beside her now. That loving bond, that you have with your wife, is probably one of the things that will help you both more than anything. Hopefully she will be well and the two of you will lead a loving life together for many more years to come.

Best wishes to you,
Glenn B

ps: by the way a This Happened to Me Self Defense Forum would possibly get more attention than you may think.... People find those stories interesting and inspiring. Think of it like this, when someone tells a story that has everyone all ears for a half hour or more, is it one about a cute little fuzzy rabbit - or is it a war story? An interesting life is often not the most pleasant of lives, and a pleasant life is usually not the most interesting...
 
#9 ·
Dave,
I live rediculously close to you to the south. I admire your determination and hope that I never find myself where you were that day.
I want you to know that as a late "observer" to your situation, you may well save someone else's life with your testamony and advise. It will never take away the night sweats, but it may help you in knowing that by coming forward with your account, you may have taken the blows for someone else. We all stand to learn from your ordeal. Knowing that, you are among comrades.

My wife, Susan, does bussiness with Rich regularly, that is how I come by this thread.
I would hope that in the same situation as you were in, that all of us could want to live as you did. I would expect that I would also want others to know.
Dave, have you ever asked yourself why he wanted the gun so badly? You may have been the only impassible hurdle for him. Who might be out there now, walking and takling because you refused to go down? I would go on a limb here and say that you probably saved more than your own life that night.
There is probably someone out there who is oblivious to what may have happened. I thank you in their stead.
 
#10 ·
Dave has told me this entire ordeal. And yes there is more to it. From what I have heard from Dave, someone else is likely still alive now because he hung in there, fought, and decided not to die that day. Probably many more people than just one, in an incident that never happened because Dave changed the course of events.

And they certainly will never know about it.
 
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#11 ·
so much for the "religousl carried" belt

gun, eh? What's the matter, the Glock is supposedly SO lightwt and handy. So why lay it aside, ever, eh? A pocket gun is often all that is handy enough, but it's a lot better to have a PM9 Kahr in a pocket holster, so that you dont have to try to brain the attacker, and if you do brain him, one such hit suffices
 
#12 ·
Unregistered,

Tell me what do you do with your gun when you are in the shower or when you take a dump, or when you go for a swim?

Yes there are times when even the most macho among us will lay a gun aside. I am not saying that is a good thing but it happens. And there are times that even having a gun would not help us avoid serious bodily injury or death when attacked by an assailant with an edged weapon. If the person in this story, who yielded the sword, had been of sound mind (which I think he was not), had been intent on killing his intended victim, and had he been trained in the effective use of his weapon, this story would not likely have been told by the person who told it. I am ecstatic that Dave was victorious - please don't misconstrue what I am saying. I would rather have heard this story from Dave than anyone else who could have told it; because that meant Dave won.

What I am saying is that in such an attack, you could have your firearm in your hand, and when surprised by someone effectively yielding a sword of this nature, you would in the GREAT majority of cases loose the fight and wind up dead. The guy holding the sword was apparently off his rocker, he also did not know how to effectively use the sword to cause at least incapacitating damage before attempting to deliver what he probably thought would be a death stab. A few quick slashes, heck sometimes one, can often incapacitate a man's arms - and are more likely to incapacitate the victim to allow for the attacker to then finish his business with stabbing wounds. On the other hand, an initial strike utilizing a stab even to the heart, may not wind up in a rapid kill or incapacitation and may not kill at all. Note that this attacker repeatedly stabbed, not slashed, his intended victim. Because of that he lost the effectiveness of slashing wounds over stab wounds regarding the incapacitation of his intended victim's hand and arms.

Even had he slashed at Dave, Dave may yet have been able to fight back effectively,; however the odds would have been much more in the favor of the whacko with the sword had he slashed. Dave can thank goodness for idiots, but he has no one but himself to thank for his willingness to fight for his life and to fight at effectively. Note that one of the most important things that Dave did was not in any way related to a weapon that he had in his possession, but was rather that he pushed himself away from the assailant. Had he had a firearm on his person (or had he remembered sooner that he actually did have one), even once he had gotten that bit of distance between them, he probably would not have been able to effectively draw and fire it before again being struck by the sword but I will admit it may have shortened the length of the attack somewhat. As it was his use of his arms and hands to fend off the blows was probably what he would have had to resort to even if he had a firearm on his person. Sure it would have been better to grab something to fend off the blows, but maybe there was little or no opportunity to do so. As I pointed out in another post on this same subject, the advantage goes to the person attacking with the edged weapon.

Dave's next move was one of those that saved his life - he ran away - at least to create some distance between him and the attacker; he also made effective use of cover and concealment by slamming the door on his attacker. Not only did his attacker then have to pull the sword out of the door in order to attack again, he had to get through the door to Dave and close the distance to within striking range. This gave Dave what he needed - time, and it prevented the attacker from keeping up the assault at least momentarily. In that time, if nothing else, Dave probably got some wind. This would also have been the opportunity for Dave to bring a firearm into play - and it is too bad he did not have one available (or at least remember that he did have one) - so at this point I would agree it would be good to have a firearm whenever you can carry one - but this is the first time he could possibly have effectively drawn and fired it without his being stabbed or slashed while he did so. The thing is though that Dave did have a firearm available to him during the whole fight, but he had not thought of it until after he was again stabbed, this time the worst of all, and he remembered when all else seemed lost as the attacker tried to push the blade even deeper. Dave without even realizing it, had done something else that had bought him time - and this time most assuredly he did the one thing that bought him his life. He grabbed hold of the blade as the attacker tried to push it in deeper and he basically got into a tug of war holding onto the blade of a sword. He tried to pull it out while the attacker tried to push it in. Dave used one hand the attacker used two. In the moments that this was happening - the attacker was unable to withdraw the sword - or was distracted from even thinking about pulling it out - to stab again - because Dave by grabbing it had refocused the assailants thoughts and energies. Now the assailant was only concerned about being able to push it in deeper. Not that I would ever recommend letting someone stab you to distract them, but Dave was already stabbed, and he fought back even while the sword was stuck deep inside of him. He kept up the fight, distracted the assailant so much so that instead of repeatedly stabbing he just trying pushing harder, and paid attention to one thing and one thing alone. He paid attention to Dave holding onto that blade - as if that was the only thing that he, the assailant, had to worry about. He forgot to watch Dave's hands, at least his other hand. That was a fatal mistake for the attacker, and one excellent move by Dave.

During this whole thing, Dave apparently forgot about that Beretta until he had a bit of time (and I do mean just a moment). That moment came about when he actually had his second opportunity to draw a firearm - the first being missed when he slammed the door on the attacker. When Dave finally remembered something that mattered - he remembered he had that Beretta in his pocket. He also had a free right hand. The truth of the matter is that under these circumstances, Dave had been reacting and not doing much higher cognitive functioning. He was likely in shock, had certainly been surprised, had to react instantaneously, and was repeatedly stabbed. So, he reacted as best he probably could in the situation. He apparently did not even have time to pick up anything to fend off the attack or use as a weapon such as a chair, a book, a paper weight, a pencil - hell anything. He used his hands because that was all he had at the moment. I use moment to mean the briefest possible amount of time, because even taking a few moments to reach into his pocket, draw the firearms, cock it, point it, and fire it would have been long enough for this assailant to have delivered several more stabs or if he had the mind several incapacitating slashes.

Dave may think he did not do the right thing, and maybe he did not react the all out best way every moment, but to draw a firearm early on in this mess would likely have gotten him stabbed or slashed even more seriously. He did do the right though because he fought back. When he finally used the firearm, he did so when he had the opportunity to do so - and when he had had the opportunity to think about it. Dave got that opportunity when he had a moment of time to think in a higher mode of cognitive functioning and that moment was all it took. That moment remember, was given to Dave, by Dave engaging in a tug of war with his assailant over the sword thereby distracting him and also thereby giving Dave a moment to think of his options instead of reacting to new repeated stabs. Dave then drew the psitol and used it in desperation. He killed the guy and that was great. The thing is he never really had much of a chance before that to use the firearm from how I see it except when he slammed the door on the bad guy, and I can understand how he did not even think of that gun at that moment. This was not the movies, not a fantasy, this was real.

Sure it would have maybe been better for Dave to remember that pistol earlier. It would have been better to have it in a holster. It sure would have been better to strap it on once his friend told him this guy was in the bushes. It would even have been better if he had called 911 instead of the non-emergency police number. It would have been better to have a .45 on his hip. It would have been better to have two trained attack dogs in the shop at all times. It would have been betetr to be wearing a suit of armor. It would have been better to have stayed home in bed that day. The thing is: hindsight is better than 20/20 but it doesn't mean squat to what happened to Dave. Foresight is what matters now to help protect Dave and others in the future, and I sort of think that may be one of the reasons why Dave shared his story with us. The point of your post, however, seemed to be at least to me, that of a wise guy who is the know it all firearms and defensive tactics guru and who wants to shove hindsight into Dave's face. So Dave did not have his Glock on his hip or "worn religiously", nor did he even remember the pistol that he had; at least until almost too late. Even this would probably not have mattered much in Dave's favor and it may even had made things worse at the earliest point of the confrontation had he tried to draw and fire then! Dave may have made some mistakes, but he is sharing that with us so we don't do likewise. Then again, lots of people make mistakes, but I am getting the idea that you do not believe yourself capable of being one of them. The replies you make in these forums make me think you believe you know it all. Let me assure you that you cannot know it all until after it happens or at least while it is happening. Each confrontation can be quite different. Remember the question I opened up with - heck I bet your answers would be: you don't go swimming, you have a wall mounted SS pistol in your shower stall, and that when you take a dump you hold your pistol at the ready in your non-wiping hand. More power to you, but if someone ever gets the drop on you with a sword and knows what he is doing, those things may not help as much as distance and good defensive tactics that don't necessarily include the use of a firearm even if a firearm is what ultimately decides it in your favor.

Best regards,
Glenn B;)
 
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#13 ·
He was not taking a dump, swimming

etc. He was aware of a high risk situation, in a typically high risk job in the first place. In his spot, I'd be wearing armor on a constant basis, for instance;. I've always just held the pistol in my hand while taking a dump. In the shower, its under the towel, laying within easy reach, and a natural thing to reach for when exiting the shower (if under threat), too. I havent been swimming in 20 years, but if I didn't have either a locker, a car or someone I trusted to secure the gun, or if I considered myself at risk (I've taught karate for 30 years now) I'd put it in a sealed plastic baggie and in a groin rig, hidden by my swimtrunks. That way, I could just tear apart the baggie and start firing.
 
#14 ·
Flimflam!!!

Glad to hear from you again! I remember your posts on Rec.Guns Newsgroup and vividly recall your posts after the nutcase with the Ninja sword skewerd you, and you were posting your experiences during your recovery, glad you made it and sorry to learn of your PTSD and your wife's CA. :(
Late to post thanks, but your experience and your survival, was the clencher in my getting my CCW. :) And 2 of my 3 CCWs are Pocket guns, (the other is a .45ACP).:cool:
Glad you survived, hope your misfortunes are not prayer-proof!
You got mine...........

See you around here I hope:)
 
G
#15 ·
The guy COULD easily have been

SWINGING that sword, and the lucky hit to the head with a .25 could easily have failed to reach the brain. In fact, while evading such chops, you'd be lucky to hit the chest once, with several shots being tried, so it would be a good idea to have a really hot load in that pocket gun, now wouldn't it? Like 55 grs at 2200 fps in a Kahr PM9, for instance.
 
G
#16 ·
You sound like a salesman for Kahr.

By the way, you seem to be trying to blame the victim for what happened in this event. This tragic event was not his fault in any way shape or form. That would be akin to saying that the victims in the upper floors of the WTC were at fault for not having parachutes before they jumped to their deaths to avoid the flames - becaus ethey were not prepared for such an attack after the first one in the early 1990s.

Yet as I said, some mistakes may have been made by Dave - but isn't hindsight a wonderful thing. I said I was sure you would never make a mistake. Oh excuse me did you say you would prefer a Kahr pistol - whoops looks like I was wrong about you never making a mistake (LOL - just my opinion of Kahr products). You may have missed my whole point, no matter what gun he had, or where it was, he would likely not have been able to draw it and effectively fire at his assailant until the time he got distance between them such as in his office or until he got control of the other guy and that sword in real close (and ouch that is just what he did). It would have been nice to draw and fire as that sword was in the door, and before being stabbed yet again but it did not happen. Maybe shock, surprise and stress had something to do with his forgetting he had that Beretta; or that did not get him to think of picking up a chair or something to fend off stabs or with which to brain the guy. Not everyone reacts with al the right decisions in a fight; and no person reacts the same from one fight to another. A Kahr PM9, his Glock, or a bazooka for that matter would not have mattered much more than did the Beretta in the same situation.

You seem to fault the survivor of this encounter. He really was not at fault for this attack. He did nothing that anyone could really say was wrong. The only person who did a wrong was the bad guy, the guy who did the stabbing. The victim wound up the survivor, he did things ok as I see it under the circumstances. Sure things may have been better IF, but IF ain't gonna happen in this one because it is over. It seems to me that Dave knows that already. Dave is trying to help us all by sahring his experience, why give him flack over it, don't you think he already realizes what mistakes he may have made. If he did not realize them, why would he share this story with us the way he did. So, why rub salt into old wounds.

Best regards,
Glenn B
 
#17 ·
Thanks for saying it Glenn. I could not agree more. I do not know Dave, but I think he did great.
It is a known fact that under the stress of battle, detailed thought as well as fine motor coordination go out the window.
What do we do? We fall back on our training.
Tell me.... How many of you are trained in unarmed sword defense??? I can only hope that any of us will do as well if we are ever in a similar situation. The trick is to go on living and not to let the terror marry you to fear.
He did great and I hope he reads this. I also hope he finds his peace within very soon.
 
G
#18 ·
BEFORE the attack started, he KNEW

he had a PO'd, wanna be "customer" lurking around, for no good reason. Yet he didn't do a THING in the way of even realistic precautions (like having a REAL pistol at hand, calling the cops, running the guy off, etc. ) That's called having your world "look brown". I do NOT favor any sort of DA pistol. The Kahr is just the only really pocketable pistol with a reasonable amount of power and controlability, that's all. I greatly prefer a custom chopped SA auto.
 
G
#19 ·
It's all probably a lie in the first place,

ESPECIALLY the part about 4 .25's all going into one eye socket. :) With a good 9mm load, he could have done ok with a few hits to the chest, instead of having to brain the guy. Achieving that sort of accuracy, while evading blows, is pure luck. Trusting to luck, in a fight, is pure insanity.
 
#20 ·
Bear in mind that Dave was practically nose to nose with the guy, both with hands on the sword sticking into Dave's body. When Dave discovered the .25 in his pocket and pulled it out, how far from the eyesocket would the gun have been when Dave extended his arm?

In all likelihood, he probably had the barrel of the gun practically sticking into the bad guy's eye socket. It doesn't take much in accuracy skills in a circumstance like that. The only way you COULDN'T put all the bullets in a 2 inch circle at approximately 1 foot away, was if the gun just flat out misfired.

And I have a Beretta .25 myself. You can empty the magazine VERY quickly if you have a mind to. So firing 3 or 4 shots in rapid succession is no big feat.

If it had been me, I WOULD have emptied the magazine, then forcefully shoved the emptied gun barrel into the other eye socket for good measure.
 
G
#24 ·
would you like to BET on your "ability"

to put 4 rds into a 1" circle, while I just slapped your back with a rolled up newspaper, all in the .5 it would take anyone to MOVE their head? Total bs, start to finish. A shot to the eyesocket would drop him like a rock. For the remaining 3 rds to ALL strike the eye socket, you'd have to be able to drop a ping pong ball, and hit it 3X as it fell. Aint happening, so I bet BIG bucks it DIDN'T happen on this claimed occasion, either. :)
 
G
#26 ·
I"ll tell you what. Get an electronic shooting timer, $130 from PACT, and LEARN what really fast firing is, instead of running your mouth about that which you are quite ignorant. .18 second splits, 4 in a row, is EXTREMELY fast firing. So the 4th hit would have been over .50 second after the first one. take a .25 in the eye socket, frontally, and .5 second later, your head will be about knee height, and it will be falling for the 2nd and 3 shots, too.
 
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