Situational Awareness. I am certain I was almost robbed.

Normally, this would be posted to the Hampton Roads OC thread, but since we're talking about Situational Awareness, I thought it should go here.

I was in the Denbigh Lowe's store about an hour ago OCing), and saw another unicorn, OCing a BAR (Big Assed Revolver) on his right hip. He was inside, walking toward me from the tool section headed towards lawn & garden, across the front of the store, looking around. I decided that I needed a cart, so walked towards the exit (checkout lanes) past him and outside. We passed within 10 feet of each other. He never saw me. The store wasn't crowded.

skidmark said:

You do realize that it is getting harder and harder to find Bic-style lighters that are not childproofed - meaning you have to keep your thumb on the valve switch or it goes out.

Tossing an unlit lighter may buy you a second or two as the BG laughs.

stay safe.

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1. Since I stopped smoking years ago I have plenty of old Bic lighters that still light. Some even have the flame adjustment dials. The only problems is that the flint eventually deteriorates over time. I have been able to replace the flints by carefully taking the top apart. I just have to be careful to not loose the flint spring that pops out when removing the striker wheel.

2. I didn't say anything about throwing the lighter. If he is close enough to spray with the gas nozzle he is close enough to reach out to touch with the lit lighter.

3. If he is not quite close enough to touch with the flame after dousing him there is always the gas pump nozzle flame thrower.

4. If he is doused with gas, he may just ignite himself if he tries to fire any weapon he may have.

Either way it ain't good for the guy who is dripping in gasoline.

I haven't been feeling well lately so I'm sleeping less that normal. I started thinking about this thread and around 2:30 went into the city just to see if the night crowd avoided me. Stayed an hour and a half, drank 3 cups of coffee while leaning on my car and......indeed, the children of the night kept their distance.:uhoh:

Interesting place in the early morning!

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mobeewan -

I surely do not want to get into a debate or a description of what happens to someone who has been doused with gasoline. For the record, I have seen that elephant - more than once. All I want to say is that you do not want to be close enough to set them alight with the lighter in your hand, and you do not want to use the gas pump as a "flamethrower". It's dangerous. Which is why I advocate throwing the lit object if at all possible.

I think we both agree that being situationally aware and considering the range of options available is better than having tunnel vision and believing you only have one tool available. Improvide. Adapt. Overcome. Prevail. Especially that last part.

stay safe.

I think you did fine DJEEPER. As far as forgetting your gun, you "can" keep a lockbox in your jeep cabled to something solid. I have done this and kept a "cheaper" gun in there in case I wasn't OC-ing due to whatever law or policy. In the case where you forgot you could use the car-gun as a backup. Also I always carry a blade so you should keep one on you or in your car at the least. The blades are cheaper than guns and if you had one stolen it wouldn't be such a big deal. There is also pepper spray etc as a option for the times you can't OC. Now with that said I am glad that the offender didn't whip out his own firearm during your encounter. I think your command to back off showed the potential perp that he wasn't picking on someone that would just roll over and decided to go to greener pastures.

For those of you that don't know DJEEPER personally, he has really good situational awareness. I believe EVERY time that we have met he has seen me first, including tonight at the mall. He even crept up behind me and placed a finger in my back once.

45acpForMe said:

[snip]
For those of you that don't know DJEEPER personally, he has really good situational awareness. I believe EVERY time that we have met he has seen me first, including tonight at the mall. He even crept up behind me and placed a finger in my back once.

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Not something I'd recommend. I was walking in New Orleans during Mardi Gras one night when a friend walked up behind me and stuck a finger in my back and said something like, "Gimme your wallet." Muscle memory took over and within a heartbeat he was on the ground with his arm locked into a painful position. That might not have been my smartest move, but it was an automatic reaction. Friends shouldn't play friends like that. It's more difficult to keep a personal space during events such as Mardi Gras, but situational awareness should still prevail.

JamesCanby said:

Not something I'd recommend. I was walking in New Orleans during Mardi Gras one night when a friend walked up behind me and stuck a finger in my back and said something like, "Gimme your wallet." Muscle memory took over and within a heartbeat he was on the ground with his arm locked into a painful position. That might not have been my smartest move, but it was an automatic reaction. Friends shouldn't play friends like that. It's more difficult to keep a personal space during events such as Mardi Gras, but situational awareness should still prevail.

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I was in a sporting goods store waiting for my daughter to try some shorts on.... how long does it take to try shorts on??? He works at the store, saw me, thought about it and stuck his finger in my back. I casually looked over my shoulder thinking some other shopper had bumped into me. If I was at mardis gras I might have had a different reaction.

45acpForMe said:

I was in a sporting goods store waiting for my daughter to try some shorts on.... how long does it take to try shorts on??? He works at the store, saw me, thought about it and stuck his finger in my back. I casually looked over my shoulder thinking some other shopper had bumped into me. If I was at mardis gras I might have had a different reaction.

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Treading lightly here... although I have no personal experience with such an endeavor, if your daughter is like most other women, she's probably trying to decide if there are any environmental conditions, or angles of view from which those particular shorts might possibly make her look fat!

ETA: Then there's the whole color matching wardrobe thing... as opposed to guys: Tight enough to not fall down? Loose enough to breathe and eat? Good. Done.

TFred

45acpForMe said:

I was in a sporting goods store waiting for my daughter to try some shorts on.... how long does it take to try shorts on??? He works at the store, saw me, thought about it and stuck his finger in my back. I casually looked over my shoulder thinking some other shopper had bumped into me. If I was at mardis gras I might have had a different reaction.

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TFred said:

Treading lightly here... although I have no personal experience with such an endeavor, if your daughter is like most other women, she's probably trying to decide if there are any environmental conditions, or angles of view from which those particular shorts might possibly make her look fat!

ETA: Then there's the whole color matching wardrobe thing... as opposed to guys: Tight enough to not fall down? Loose enough to breathe and eat? Good. Done.

TFred

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And of course, there's that worst possible of all decisions: "I can't make up my mind. I'll just have to buy them all!" And you thought you were being reasonable by letting her make her own choices.:banghead:

HAHA, I remember that time.

I was fully prepared for a whip around fist at face level and I was ready to take responsibility for my broken nose.


Now, I would never try that on a street!

peter nap said:

Me either...been doing it since 67 or 68 and no problems so far. Different places I guess.

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I'd be interesting in hearing more about how you keep them secure. I'd love to carry my AK in my Jeep on the weekends, though I wouldn't leave it unattended at work.

My Jeep was ransacked a couple of weeks ago in downtown Charlottesville - inside the second floor of a parking garage.

Lyndsy Simon said:

I'd be interesting in hearing more about how you keep them secure. I'd love to carry my AK in my Jeep on the weekends, though I wouldn't leave it unattended at work.

My Jeep was ransacked a couple of weeks ago in downtown Charlottesville - inside the second floor of a parking garage.

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Lindsy, I'm not a shining example to follow on that subject. I and other people on this board do keep a number of guns in our vehicles especiallyduring hunting season.

To answer your question, I don't secure them.

There is a big difference between Djeeper and myself though.

1. I spend at least 60% of my time a long way from people. When I am in the burbs, its unusual to be where I can't see it except when it's in the drive at the burb house where I have alarms that notify me when someone comes on the property....plus a loud 175 pound Great Dane.

2. That's what insurance is for and I have replacement cost on all my guns.

So if you want to really secure yours....get a mobile safe.

I have a lock box built specifically for pistols that I chain (really wire) to a solid part of my Ford Explorer. Since I don't have a trunk I needed some way to unholster, unload, store my firearm before going to my daughters schools. Also while working at customer sites (other than military bases) I could keep a gun in the lock box and not need to carry one. (Need is a bad word since you could get mugged between your house/apt and car but you know what I mean) It still could be stolen if a thief broke into my car with the right tools but will stop the average smash and grab thief. Because of that I keep a Taurus PT145 in it usually such that if it gets stolen I won't mind as much as one of my more expensive guns being taken.

Now I would like to find a lock box big enough to hold my AK pistol and several 30-round magazines. I haven't gotten brave enough to OC the AK pistol even though I know DJEEPER has OC-ed his AR pistol several times. I don't want to give businesses a reason to start banning OC and I fear that the AK pistol would be an in-your-face type statement. I mainly keep it for the SHTF scenarios. I think 30+ rounds of a rifle round coming out of a short barrel will be a good crowd control gun. If they don't run from the sound they will drop where they are at. Pistol rounds are so weak comparatively and I am a fan of Big Guns save lives too.

45acpForMe said:

and I am a fan of Big Guns save lives too.

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:dude::dude::dude:

Police officer: "Do you have any weapons in the car, sir?"

Peter Nap: "Is there any particular caliber or type of weapon you're interested in, officer?"

:shocker:

So in simple terms.......

peter nap said:

:dude::dude::dude:

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Obviously, your whole vehicle IS your lock box LOL

peter nap said:

:dude::dude::dude:

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Travelling light again, huh?

And please tell me that's a plastic bag right behind the tripod pan handle. Go ahead, look at it and figure out what I thought it might have been. I guess it all depends on your perspective.

stay safe.

45acpForMe said:

....

Now I would like to find a lock box big enough to hold my AK pistol and several 30-round magazines. ....

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Military surplus is your friend. Various sizes of metal boxes, some already foam lined. Many already have a hasp attached. Use your cable lock through the handles to secure it to a frame member or one of the seat mounts. This guy http://deviating.net/firearms/packing/ picks locks for fun, as well as getting paid to teach physical and computer security. Pretty much anything he said still holds true.

stay safe.

skidmark said:

Military surplus is your friend. Various sizes of metal boxes, some already foam lined. Many already have a hasp attached. Use your cable lock through the handles to secure it to a frame member or one of the seat mounts. This guy http://deviating.net/firearms/packing/ picks locks for fun, as well as getting paid to teach physical and computer security. Pretty much anything he said still holds true.

stay safe.

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Yes I have watched that EXCELLENT video before when I took my Sig P220 with me on a trip to Colorado.... before they went stupid. (everyone should watch it)

I will have to keep my eye out for some military surplus stuff. There is a GI Joe's about two miles from me but I hate going there since every time I do I spend money on "stuff". They have a cool ghille suit right inside the door.... Anyway the Explorer has limited space behind the third seat that I keep my lock box in. So whatever I get would have to fit there.

They just don't have any for the ladies. :



:lol:

skidmark said:

SNIP I guess it all depends on your perspective.

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I saw what you did there.