Road rage kept from escalating

So I am driving through my small town the other day in my work truck. I have been out in the hot sun all day working on remodeling my house, and I don't normally carry when I am out sweating (really don't want to rust my gun). But I often keep one in the truck, for when I am away from home, and will often stick it in my pocket or OC when I get out of the truck. I have gotten more lax in the last 6 months about carrying, especially when I will be working outside (mowing, weed eating, running the chainsaw, etc). I don't want to CC to sweat all over my gun, and I don't want to OC to mar up one of my nice holsters or the grip to one of my guns.

But today, was one of those days where I went upstairs to get something before I left and decided to stick my little 327 federal magnum revolver in my back pocket before running out the door to the hardware store for a few items. I laid the pistol in the center console of my truck before I climbed in, and off I went.

In my travel I am driving down a narrow stretch in the turning lane. A guy was hanging over into my lane in his truck, but I had room to make it by him. As I am going by him, he pulls forward (the car in front of him had made a right) causing hime to come further into my lane. This caused my mirror to bump his.

He proceeds to roll down his window and release a tirade of obsenities. I apologized for bumping his mirror, as I don't want to cause a confrontation. He then opens his door and says "I ought to come over there and beat the hell out of you, I'll jerk your stupid ass out of that truck and whoop your ass". At this point, I place my hand on my trusty revolver and say "if you open my door it will be the last thing you ever do".

I said so very calmly, but firmly, without rasing my voice.

He gets very quiet and says "what is that supposed to mean?"

I said "if you open my door, you will find out."

His curiosity did not get the best of him, and he obviously got the idea that it was a bad idea to come over there. He closed his door and moved along.

This incident occurred three weeks ago, and I have carried a pistol with me every time I have left the house. If I am out working, I at least keep one nearby.

What do you guys do to keep a pistol on you when you are out working? How do you keep from sweating all over the gun, marring the holster/grip, etc?

I said the first thing that came to my mind that day, and it diffused the situation......that is all I cared about. I just want to make sure that it is not luck that allows me to be prepared next time, and will take any suggestions I can get.

Happy fourth.

I think they offer some nice belly band holsters that have a plastic type lining to keep sweat from getting through. I'm sure there arw some IWB that are similar. Maybe some folks here know the makes and models. Good to hear that your situation did not escalate further.

I carry 24/7 every day just for instances such as this. You absolutely never know, I normally carry concealed, but if I'm going in a govt. Building or such and they ban ccarry, then I just uncover. A holster I have recently grown fond of is the galco king tuk. It has a leather sweat guard to protect your slide, and is the most concealable holster I've ever used, and I have tried many. The gun basically blends into your side, and your gun is protected. However if you carry a stainless, or a newer semi-auto (glock,s&w,etc.) you really do not have to worry about rust. Ive carried many glocks iwb and in beltslides against bare skin and never a hint of rust, even when working on the roads for 8 hrs. Plus. Glad you had your gun, hopefully it will make you a little more willing to carry on person.

I had rust on my Glock

KYGlockster said:

I carry 24/7 every day just for instances such as this. You absolutely never know, I normally carry concealed, but if I'm going in a govt. Building or such and they ban ccarry, then I just uncover. A holster I have recently grown fond of is the galco king tuk. It has a leather sweat guard to protect your slide, and is the most concealable holster I've ever used, and I have tried many. The gun basically blends into your side, and your gun is protected. However if you carry a stainless, or a newer semi-auto (glock,s&w,etc.) you really do not have to worry about rust. Ive carried many glocks iwb and in beltslides against bare skin and never a hint of rust, even when working on the roads for 8 hrs. Plus. Glad you had your gun, hopefully it will make you a little more willing to carry on person.

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I had problems with rust on my Glock, mostly on the disassembly latches and the slide stop. If you abuse the Glock enough, you can get some rust. I try to spend a little more time on maintenance now. It really doesn't take much. One or two minutes a day with some Break Free CLP and a rag does wonders. Most stainless pistols and revolvers well also corrode if you work at it a bit. I have a good friend who is a metallurgist who wrote up an article on it after laboratory testing. Salt is the ingredient that does a number on stainless steel, and sweat has plenty of salt in it.

Most of my guns are working guns. I carry them to do a job, and I expect them to show honest wear. For this reason, I like to buy used guns. If they show some wear, fine. It lowers the price, and I would have given it to them anyway. If guns are too pretty, I am tempted not to use them as much as I would otherwise.

I work outside at home alot, we live on a farm. If I'm not doing anything to hot its on my hip. I will bring it to the barn and lay it up somewhere close. Same if I'm in the yard. I'm never more then 50' from it. In the spring I will bring out my 1022 rifle or shotgun everytime I'm outside. Its for protection but I alway are shooting birds. Someone pulls in I stop and get it before appraching the car.

The best thing that I've personally used to stop corrosion was EEZOX. I had some bare metal firearms stored for three years in an outdoor shed and none of them developed any rust even though no maintenance was done in the interim. Dries to a nice slick film, too.

Open carry for hot outdoor work is the only way to go. Carry a firearm that you don't have to wear white gloves to handle, and clean it when required. Get an owb retention holster you’re not worried about marring. A tool will show wear marks, and a collector piece will not. To not carry a firearm based on the op's objections is not wise, but most of has done it at one time or another. Stay alert, and armed because today may be the day.

Edited to add: Sometimes I can sound like such a jerk, sorry for the high and mighty tone. I would suggest a fanny pack for carring during outdoor work, if concerned about maring your holster.

I've been giving thought to holsters for round-the-house OC carry when working outside or even for when inside but working in my woodshop and such.
My .45 is poly frame/stainless slide, so Im less concerned with sweat. What happens more often than anything is dirt/dust/sawdust getting all in and over everything..

So, since I've begun making knife sheaths, and will soon begin work on holsters, I'm considering making myself a flap-holster for Honey-do-list activities and round the ranch tasks. Wont be anything fancy, will likely be rough-side out/heavy (9-10oz) leather,so it wont matter if it gets all scratched-up and banged around. Ill make the flap so that it covers as much of the pistol as possible and so forth..

I'll post pics of it once I begin prototyping it.Hopefully in the next few weeks..

If it's a carry gun, who cares if it's marred up... it's a TOOL. No one cares if their hammer gets marks... get a glock (they're 'ugly' anyways) and goto town...

I carry in an OWB safariland ALS and it covers the gun well except the polymer handle and the rear of the slide... I just have to worry about banging the sights...

Anyways, does anyone think he should have called the police to report this incident? What would have happened if "jerk you outta the truck" Bubba would have called the cops and said a guy pulled a gun on him?


Glad you didn't have to plug "bubba"....

My $1000 FN 5.7 was purchased to be a carry weapon. I carry it EVERYWHERE except the Peoples Republik of Kalifornia when visiting family there and college. Carried OC in a Serpa level II, it is on my side almost 24/7....whether I am using a chain saw, chopping wood, mowing the (3 acres or so) yard and weeds. In the heat of summer, the snows of winter, and the rains of spring, it is in that holster.

The only exposed metal is the rear sight elevation/windage screws and the portion of the barrel exposed for the ejection port in the slide. Cleaning is a matter of blowing any dust off of the exposed part of the barrel and an occasional breakdown to search for any dust and crude that may have found its way inside.

A carry weapon is a TOOL, just like that shiny new truck that you're so afraid to put a scratch in the bed of.....then somewhere down the road you just throw things in the back. Best to just set your mind that it is a tool and not something to be kept free from a scratch or smudge....just clean and operable.

KYGlockster said:

if you carry a stainless, or a newer semi-auto (glock,s&w,etc.) you really do not have to worry about rust.
Ive carried many glocks iwb and in beltslides against bare skin and never a hint of rust

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I read recently that the Tenifer treatment (on Glocks) is at least as, if not more, salt-resistant than stainless.
At the end of the day, wipe it off w/ a damp towel, then a dry one. Oil if you feel like it.

HKcarrier said:

If it's a carry gun, who cares if it's marred up... it's a TOOL.
No one cares if their hammer gets marks...

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Amen.

get a glock (they're 'ugly' anyways)

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Hey, now...
They're not made to be the gun equivalent of garage queen motorcycles, they're made to be tools.

does anyone think he should have called the police to report this incident? What would have happened if "jerk you outta the truck" Bubba would have called the cops and said a guy pulled a gun on him?

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Maybe the threat would be worth reporting (at the time), but since the op never said anything about a gun, & Bubba never saw a gun, his imagination would have to be pretty good to come up with "he pointed a gun at me".
Maybe he thought the OP was a MMA cham-peen or something. :lol:

I've planned for the possibility of meeting up with someone who calls in a false report by having very visible & unusual markings on my pistol (which get changed from time to time) that aren't visible unless it's out of the holster.
It could be as simple as a square of painter's tape (blue or green) over the muzzle & a stripe along the sides of the slide. Or fluorescent dots from the office store.

I'll ask the Nice Officers to get a description from her of what's unusual about my pistol, & when she can't, & I show them (very slowly & carefully, unless they're satisfied w/ only what can be seen by looking up the holster), it'll be VERY clear she's lying.

i carry every day all day 24-7 heck even when i take a shower i throw my Kahr CW-40 in a gallon ziplock and it comes with *extreme? maybe but you never know, dont wanna get caught with my pants down*

i work as a groundskeeper. i CC at work. carry my glock 23 at 5 o clock in a leather IWB. wear a simple tanktop under my t-shirt. keeps the sweat away from the gun *although it s a GLOCK and wouldnt really matter*

if i carry my Kahr it does the same.

in car i have a glock in .357 sig. and other than that i ALWAYS have a pistol on me. my gf laughs at me becuase she says my gun spends more time with me than she does. wich is true. because you never know. the day im unarmed is the day im dead. but thats unlikely seeing as i plan to be buried with my guns anyway ;-) :lol:

MKEgal said:

IHey, now...
They're not made to be the gun equivalent of garage queen motorcycles, they're made to be tools.

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That's why I said 'ugly'... besides I carry my glock now more than my HK... I like the angle of the glock handle better

I've planned for the possibility of meeting up with someone who calls in a false report by having very visible & unusual markings on my pistol (which get changed from time to time) that aren't visible unless it's out of the holster.
It could be as simple as a square of painter's tape (blue or green) over the muzzle & a stripe along the sides of the slide. Or fluorescent dots from the office store.

I'll ask the Nice Officers to get a description from her of what's unusual about my pistol, & when she can't, & I show them (very slowly & carefully, unless they're satisfied w/ only what can be seen by looking up the holster), it'll be VERY clear she's lying.

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Hmm... interesting idea.... I have wondered about something simliar to this before.. when OCing it would be fairly easy for someone to make a false report of you getting out your gun... it would be nice to have the part out of the holster black and everything covered by the holster NICKEL PLATED... hehe... "he pulled an ALL BLACK gun out and pointed it at my face.... they would feel pretty stupid when it was all shiny and chromy...

You will find that many anti's describe a gun as "Big and scary".

Color? I don't know I was too scared but it was really big and scary!

I remember how big an undercover NIS agents 38 special looked when he pulled it (wrongly, reprimands and appologies issued) on some friends and I one night on NAS (long time ago) Miramar. I would have sworn that thing was BIG and SCARY....hell I probably could have climbed in the barrel it looked so freaking huge from that side of it.

ocgso: Many years ago I had a similar thing happen to me. I pulled over to let a person that was crowding me go by, but instead of driving by, this guy jammed his jeep into the back of my car, jumped out yelling about how I had "cut him off" (when I have no idea? 2 lane county road? How do you "cut" someone off on a 2 lane road?).

...this guy was also itching for a fight, grabbed my door and did open it. As someone earlier said: even a .Colt 38 Special is "big and scary" when you are looking at the wrong end. The hothead decided he didn't want to jerk me out of that car after all and promply got back in his truck and left..

That's a tough call to make. On the one hand, you have a clear intent to assault. On the other hand, you can hold Mr. Hothead at gunpoint until the police come. He may have priors. Of course, if the police come, there will be a story told.

Probably best just to pull the trigger.

(The above comment is made in jest, as indicated by the smilie following it.)

You did fine. From a psychological perspective, the fact that you weren't escalating your energy to match his rage and said your piece as calmly as possible told him that you weren't afraid and you were prepared. And as you can see, he was prepared for a fight -- he wasn't prepared to die.

get a parkerized gun

keltec p11 has a large capacity of 9mm and is incredibly concealable. and it is all parkerized and polymer. no worries!

Simlar - Pistol Defuses Road Rage

I had a very similar experience many years ago. As a very angry man (and a very bad driver) approached my driver's side door, I drew my pistol and held it in my lap so he would see it as he came closer. I didn't even have to point it at him or open my window to speak to him. He completely changed his attitude. Put his hands up in surrender, said what looked like "okay, no problem here," and got back in his truck and left me alone. If you remain calm but firm, most hotheads will realize it's time to rethink this attack.

My concern was two fold.....I don't want to carry a nice gun and develop any rust or deep dings, and I really was concerned about the crud that built up in my 9mm that I used to carry when I was out working (it is poly and stainless, so I felt pretty good about not getting any rust). The crud was my biggest concern because I was afraid that it may not cycle properly.

I am out in the summer running chainsaws, weed eaters, leaf blowers, working on cars, painting, roofing, etc. You name it, and I do it in the summer.

I have finally settled on a 357 mag snub revolver in a nylon holster. I bought this gun several years ago to drop in the glove box of my truck and leave there, because it was cheap I didn't really care if it got some damage in there. I will use this gun to carry when I am getting really dirty. This also really helps me with my concern over function, because I have never had a revolver not go bang. It limits me to 6 shots, but I cannot imagine finding myself in a situation where I would need more.

I have not left the house without a gun since this incident, and I don't intend to again. I guess I had gotten lazy about it and made some excuses. This has gotten me back into the habit the hard way.

But you do have to admit that if you are working in 95 degree heat, a gun is very heavy and if you use IWB holster, it really can stick to you. If you are in a tight quarter (like the attic I spent last week in) it can snag on things and be a hinderance. My two cents, but maybe I sweat more than others )