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open carry (of a long gun) saved me during Hurricane Ike; too bad handgun OC was illegal

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FreedomJoyAdventure

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tico wrote:
Thanks guys for the words of support.

fm2, I'm not sure that I follow your last comment. Who is "SouthNarc" and how does he "manage unknown contacts" ?
Click to expand...

Freakin' classic, BTW.

Me: "I'll be back in a little bit, Hon, I gotta go manage some unknown contacts!"

Hon: "Allright Sweetie, but hurry back, dinner will be ready soon..."

:D
 
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zperrego91

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Wow, thats interesting. You did a really good job. It is a great read too, kind of like a novel! What was the rifle that you used?
 
T

tico

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Heheh - yeah, that was certainly "interesting," though I'd prefer something a little more quiet and non-confrontational than a swordfight ...

As to your question about my rifle, you guys will laugh, but at the time the only rifle I had in my apartment was a .22 caliber Savage pea-shooter with a 10+1 magazine that I use for plinking.

I now carry a Glock 19 with Cor-bon 9mm safety-slugs.
 
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tico

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tico wrote:
It's now night, and it's extremely dark for miles around due to a complete lack of any working lights. "

"I'm reading a book by candlelight for a couple of hours, and have managed to develop a skull-splitting headache but I manage to ignore it until I'm feeling sick and happen to look up and realize that my apartment is full of smoke. "
Click to expand...

The air in my apartment was grayish because of the candles that I was burning for light.
They had large wicks and an oily flame, so over the course of a few hours my room filled with sooty grayish air but I didn't realize it because the light produced by the candles wasn't all that bright.


Also, apparently there's a chance of lead poisoning from certain candles:
http://www.lead.org.au/lanv7n4/L74-7.html

Anyhow, the symptoms I experienced were the exact same as when I was flying a Cessna 172 and got carbon monoxide poisoning from a heater manifold that failed. I never get headaches or nausea otherwise -- not even when I get the flu.
 
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Nozoki

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Ahh. I missed that part about the candles. Good story though. You never know what kind of wacko you'll meet when the lights go out. Glad you didn't have to use the weapon on this one.
 
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twisted

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I enjoyed this post alot. The running steps would = an alarm bell armed or not, but thats just me. I've also gotten alot of experience from a misspendt youth. Maybe a little more judgeing from the time you spent homeless. All I can say is, YA DONE GOOD. In that disaster and your life, meaning career etc. It ain't easy to jump out of that particular hole.
 
R

RKBA_aussie

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tico wrote:
(mostly because I'm *living* in condition red, and there's no room for humor)
Click to expand...
Assuming you are referring to Jeff Cooper's color code then you are mistaken about being in condition red. Condition red is when you have made the decision to shoot and all that is left is to aim and fire. You had identified who you might need to shoot but did not make the decision to shoot. Therefore you were in condition orange.

My apologies if you were referring to another color code system. However I think it is important to understand the color code system correctly as it is designed to get you through that type of situation. Glad you made it.
 
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Theseus

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This is a very important story and well handled.

Some of my own friends ask me "why I need guns". When I point out that here in California we have any number of disasters that can render mass looting or chaos they still act like that is "too rare a chance to need a gun".

I then remind them that when that day comes that they can also benefit from my being armed they take comfort. . . Better me than them in there eyes I guess.

And as my dad points out all the time in response to my (As required by CA law) Unloaded OC, it will likely take you at least 2 seconds to recognize an attack . . . IN which time the attacker could cross vast distances. .

In California you take the fact that after those 2 seconds it would take me an additional 4~5 seconds to draw, load a magazine, cock, aim, acquire and fire first round...I don't have much time to play.

My hope is that the act of OC is enough deterrent and that if I need to draw that the BG will have no idea I am not loaded and back off...

tico wrote:
SQLtables wrote:
BTW, great restraint with the guy with the sword. I'm not sure if I could let somebody wielding a sword get that close to me....



Good work.
Click to expand...

Thanks!
Just to make one thing clear-- I certainly didn't *intend* to let him get that close to me! In the time that it took me to
A) recognize that he had a sword
B) realize that he wasn't stopping and was moving in *very* quickly
C) turn to the side, put both hands on my weapon and even *begin* to raise it
he had not only *already* gotten that close, but had also seen that I was armed and had stopped advancing. I have to admit that even as nervous and high-strung as I had been that weekend, the pace of my reaction had nothing to do with me keeping my cool -- it just happened that fast.

Now I *will* take credit for keeping my cool and not blowing him away when I did finally have both hands on the rifle and was starting to raise it and he had stopped (albeit five feet away), but in this situation I *couldn't* have chosen to shoot him from ten or twenty feet away because the threat developed so quickly I wouldn't have been able to assess it and react any faster than I did (especially including visibility conditions and the fact that he was already at a running speed before I could *begin* to see him, much less see that he was armed).

Certainly I can work on my reaction time, but I'm fairly sure that in this situation if I'd had to remove a concealed handgun *OR* had to unsnap an open-carried gun out of its' retention holster that he would have been even closer before this situation would have diffused itself, which is a scary thought.
Click to expand...
 
O

Overtaxed

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nking wrote:
DUDE!!!!!!!!!! Thats crazy. I almost never leave home without my 40 even if im just sitting in the back yard at night relaxing most times im packin, i've often said you just never know when some sicko is gonna come up in your yard just passin through you know.
Click to expand...

I always have a digital camera in my pocket - I like the idea of being able to take a quick pic of anything that strikes me as interesting (my particular Blackberry does not have a built in camera)

A few nights ago, I reorganized my pockets and left the camera on a table. I decided to go about half a block down the street and grab a slice of pizza.

About halfway there, I see a guy sticking halfway out of a sunroof, clinging hard to a huge pink box, even as the driver of the car pulls out of a gas station. Apparently, whoever the gift-giver was, they probably purchased a lovely present, and skillfully wrapped it in bright pink paper. But they didn't think too much about whether their vehicle had the interior room to hold the box while in transit to the recipient.

Their ad-hoc solution would have made great camera fodder, just an amusing little snapshot... but as soon as I put my hand into my pocket, I recalled my thought process as I left my apartment: "It's just down the street, why should I bring my camera?"

Although I don't own or carry any handguns (my state is very restrictive), I thought about that, too. If I were "licensed" to CC or lived in a state that permitted OC, perhaps I would have left my heat at home, thinking "it's just a half a block away."
 
Flintlock

Flintlock

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Tico, this is the first I have seen your story posted hereand I must say that it was a fascinating read. I wonder if it would have made any difference ifeither of the two miscreants were armed with a firearm as opposed to a bladed weapon...

If the guy with the sword had been running towards you with an AK variant instead, would you have had a different response?

Well handled sir, you did a fine job. Nobody really knows how they will handle a real-life defense situation until they are involved in one, so I think you deserve some credit here.
 
hammer6

hammer6

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"I then catch a breeze and notice that this guy is either hammered-drunk or he just likes to bathe in licquor."



HAHHAHAHHA that's great. but great job- you seemed to be in control of both situations. even with just the knife, you made a bad situation turn into a good one.

props
 
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pazsion

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it's hard for me to digest calling the second guy with the sword an enemy. Or going as far as secluding myself in darkness when there are other people out there, sane and insane. that need help, or someone to talk to as well, or defenses..And i dont think the cops and military would be very kind about people walking around with guns, with organization...

Although if the people you approach were like you... you would probably get your head chopped off or shot off. before you say hi.. because you took the mentality that anything out there is dangerous. And from what you say you were very close to just going to shoot on site if anything else were to happen to you, that you decided was a emminent threat...

You handled the guy with a shank well tho. People that are intoxicated are a risk, but you need to evaluate them a little more before bailing on them. maybe he was good, just freakin drunk.. keeping an eye on him and having an extra man around incase of other instances could be helpful.. if he can keep his cool and not swing away at the first person that comes their way.. both of you showed good control. And wit about them. i probably would not have bailed on him lol.
 
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ShadowLands

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Tico.......

Wasn't that hurricane fun?!?!?!?!?!? I live right in the eye path along the San Jacinto River so we got hit pretty damn hard. I had one firearm stashed in each room of the house along with two in the garage. Out here it gets VERY dark and we regularly had random vehicles cruising through the area along with two ding-dongs riding horses through people's yards. Once they figured out there was someone home they would go back to the street. These two rode into my yard around 10pm one night until they heard the Mossberg slide loading a slug into the chamber. "Yo...just checkin' on you, man." Yeah....sure you were, Slick.

Harris County Sheriff's department was of absolutely no help except for one Sargeant who told the whole neighborhood that if you were in doubt as to your personal safety then fire away. We didn't care about the open carry deal either. We had a neighborhood patrol set up and I regularly had my drop leg holster and shoulder holster on when my turn came up for patrol along with my AR-15.

I figured out a long time ago that in event of natural disaster or social unrest I was going to be well prepared. SI VIS PACEM PARA BELLUM...........If you want peace....prepare for war.
 
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pazsion

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nothing of the scale of a hurricane or an entire neighborhood even. Nothing where people were randomly brandishing weapons. again not in that scale. mostly face to face. Or from the back with individuals or no more then 10. But that is not the whole damn city..

So yea you can't really think person by person. until you know for sure.. even if you know them. Or a person of authority.

I'm studying various things about being a first responder.
Dont have the money for college or want a loan. But i know i'm drawn to it.

What would ics and nims make diffrent? since enacted in 2003? katrina was 2004 right?

this question may be stupid but i dont know fire arms and ammunition well.. why would a 9mm shell have "NIMS" printed on it? if nims is supposedly nothing more then a idea or procedure..
 
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Mini14

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Pardon me, but whatrifle were you carrying? Would you adopt a different model/type of rifle in the aftermath of this event?
 
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