Don’t “stage” your firearm between your legs. Leave it holstered in its usual location. Read up on the infamous FBI Miami shootout for some reasons why
Don’t stop your vehicle. You narrated a point in a story where you have “staged” a handgun because you think you might need to use it imminently…don’t stop and be a sitting duck the street is wide open
Use your vehicle to get out of there before he is out of the car and walking towards you. Why sit there waiting, you can see his car stop, put in in park, the door open, him get out…you’re already leaving as that happens. I’d be going to the right side, putting his vehicle between us while I am a moving and rapidly accelerating target (as is my family a moving target)
Absolutely, you don’t want that firearm bouncing around while you are going over the curb. It should be in your hand. You are driving in the direction of someone that wants to kill you.
Waiting until someone gets out is what most people will do. If they see a gun they would start to panic. Then they would do one of the three things we have talked about so far. Or they would do what the driver did and freeze.
The “rager” has a low sitting parked car. The driver has a high sitting sitting Humvee/Truck trying to drive with one hand over street curbs with a gun in the other hand and the rager to his left. This, I think would be a bad place to be. The guy has a low car and can easily put his hands on top of his own car to get a stable platform to shoot you even easier. Nope, I’m not going toward him until he is the one running or down.
I agree with one small change. I wouldn’t let him get near my window. He has too much freedom of movement and a very close shot. Take at least one of those away from him.
Probably doesn’t have to go over any curbs to get around that car, anyway. Also can probably do a curb with one hand no problem with modern power steering.
In my case from having many guns pointed in my direction over my careers, I have a different take on when I am in danger and those around me, I still have to look the jury in the eyes and convince them that I felt that my life was in lethal danger. That feeling of oncoming death has to be in my mind and no one else’s. I have seen rounds do some really directional things in the realm of “ballistic physics”.
Take a look at the video. He only has half a lane to get around the car on either side. He has to go over the curb. That takes shooting out of the equation once he hits the curb. Too unstable.
Not knowing specifics.
Speed of the average full size truck/SUV, 0-60 miles per hour=7 seconds?
Speed of the average 9mm round, chamber to muzzle=1000-1100 feet per second?
All that means jack when a man with a gun is coming for you and your family. Such thoughts will never in a million billion years enter your head in that moment.
Here’s what matters then: your training.
You will do what you trained yourself to do. And nothing else.
And if you haven’t trained…
Well, good luck with that.
When it’s on, you got five seconds to save your life.
That may be a viable option if you have nowhere else to drive or feel you can’t drive in another direction safely without being fired at.
But know your vehicle. Some modern vehicles won’t let you drive through people or other objects even when you really need to do so to save your life or the life of others. You don’t want to aim your vehicle at an armed threat only to find it hits the breaks for you and stops you right in front of the attacker.
Though I suspect most attackers will be mostly focused on jumping out of the way when they see a vehicle coming straight at them.
You have the benefit of complete detachment and can sit there safely in front of your computer screen and make these assumptions, considerations and calculations.
Seeing that man get out of his car with a pistol in his hand and walk toward your wife is a completely different story.
Train–or die.
The choice is yours.
I have done my training and made my choice: I’m taking him out.
I prefer to think about these things in the comfort of my home so I don’t have to waste time running through unconsidered options in the middle of a real world event.
I have been involved in two clear cut car jacking attempts and some other situations that could have gone badly as well if I didn’t recognize and avoid the potential threats. In one of those situations I was about a half second from driving into one of the threats. But in that case and all the rest I was able to drive or walk away without getting LEOs, Doctors or lawyers involved.
I’ll use lethal force if I have reason to believe I have no other choice to protect myself or my family. But I won’t jump to lethal force just because the situation says I legally can. Especially when other options have a higher percentage chance of success.
In this case it looks to me like the driver of the truck had a lot of other options before he allowed things to get to the point of asking if he should shoot or not.
All I was pointing out in my response to your post is that if people want to consider using their vehicles as a self defense weapon (as I have), they need to make sure their vehicles will let them do what they want them to do. In my case I have one vehicle that will let me do that and one that will likely try to stop me from doing that.
I don’t think he was thinking about stand your ground. The guy was asking his wife if he should shoot. He didn’t know what to do. I introduced stand your ground and it wasn’t an excuse. I see no other way to get him before he has a better chance to get the driver of the truck and it is lawful to use in this situation. Driving past him or backing up only serves to focus your attention away from the BG. If he wants to shoot you, he will, so if you don’t shoot him first you’re doing yourself and your wife a possible deadly disservice.
Those bullets the BG could fire can go through most things in that cab. If he turns around the BG can shoot through the back window. If you go forward he can shoot through the front window. If he goes around him he can shoot through the door or window. Chances of getting hit depends on his abilities. I don’t want to bet anyone’s life on the guess that he can’t dump a lot of shots through glass or sheet metal. I still say take him out before he takes you out. That is what stand your ground allows you to do in order to stay safe.
Math demonstrates which has quicker acceleration. Now which one is easier to get out from in front of? My 0.018 lbs arrives before my right foot even makes it to the floor.