I have, twice. Luckily didn't need to use it. First time I was taking my dog out to pee at around midnight several years ago, he saw a rabbit or something and was gone like a shot.
Wife gets in the car to go look for him, a car full of yutes parked at the entrance to our neighborhood up to no good sees a white woman alone and follows her out of the neighborhood and up and down the street for almost 2 miles. She didn't want to pull into our driveway but was scared shitless. So she calls me freaked out and I tell her come home, I'm waiting out in the driveway with my ar pistol, and I was ready to use it if they got stupid. They followed her up the street and she pulled into the driveway, they stopped on the street at the end of the driveway and just wait. After a few seconds of that I step out from behind my truck with my ar leveled at them, they got a good look at it and hauled ass. Just as they were leaving the cops entered the neighborhood (she had called them before me) and light the car up, all the occupants bail on foot. Dunno if they were ever caught, but there were cops driving around with spotlights all night.
Cops later said they were probably looking for people to to rob/carjack waiting like that in the middle of the night.

Second time was another car of yutes in another neighborhood after I'd moved, about a year ago. They were casing cars I guess. Anyway they decide to park between my and my neighbors house in the middle of the night, music blasting, neighbor goes out to ask them wtf they're doing, gets a pistol pointed at his chest for it. He backs off and goes inside, and calls me to warn me, (since they're outside my house) I had noticed the car but didn't see the gun. After his call I went outside around the back of my house, this time with my scorpion pistol and waited and watched them from the rear corner of my house where they couldn't see me. I had no idea if they were casing cars or preparing for home invasion robberies. I don't know wtf they were doing but they would have been in for a nasty surprise if they'd have started some shit. Cops were called and they bailed. Next night neighbors car was vandalized and then rammed about a week later in his driveway.

That's all I got. Kinda lame but scary as shit at the time in both cases. Both neighborhoods were pretty nice, quiet places, not in the ghetto.
What you guys got?

Sounds like you live in a dump.

I've answered the door on more than one occasion with a pistol in my hand, if that counts

Any other time I've had what I needed on my belt.

Your story would have been a lot more interesting with a MP5

Atleast it wasn't a AR9

I have a 3 legged dog

Its not really a handicap to them

Only for bears, fortunately never had to shoot.

Once when I was walking to the MAX train after work some shitheads tried playing the knockout game with me. I saw them coming. Fuckhole missed with his swing and got a facefull of oc. Him and his pussy friends ran when the 1911 came out.

Yeah

Outside the home? Only a few times, all at the same place I used to work. Had a few questionable sorts walk in eyeing up the place, and one time a guy was so drunk he nearly drove his car through our front window and I thought he was trying to crash and rob us (as was the preferred method at the time).

I have had countless times where I had a pocket pistol in hand, but still in my pocket. That's one of the things I love about pocket pistols.

Unknown people at my door get treated like unknown phone calls...ignored.

Door bell rings I immediately check the security cams to see who’s there.  Figured all arfcommers do that by now.

Only time I drew was out jogging and had a Rottweiler come tearing after me.  It stopped when I turned around and faced him.  Managed to slowly back away and he wisely didn’t continue his pursuit.

This

Unknown people at my door get treated like unknown phone calls...ignored.

Door bell rings I immediately check the security cams to see who’s there.  Figured all arfcommers do that by now.

Only time I drew was out jogging and had a Rottweiler come tearing after me.  It stopped when I turned around and faced him.  Managed to slowly back away and he wisely didn’t continue his pursuit.

Yes several times.

That's usually my approach, and I made sure it's the wife's as well.
There was one time a group of three middle aged black women rang my bell every 30 seconds for about 3 minutes, driving my dog and the rest of us crazy
They turned out to be very motivated 7th Day Adventists.

When you hear a bump in the night...

Yes I have.

what caliber for WALL OF TEXT

OP stated both were pretty nice neighborhoods.
Many criminals go to nice neighborhoods since that’s where the money is.

Isnt arming ourself for a conflict what we do everyday when we carry?

I pulled up on a car parked in the middle of our dirt road, in front of my house.  They were trying to steal some rolled up fence wire that was in the edge of the woods.  I have a short conversation with the guy, I told him to hang tight that I would be calling the police.  While on the phone with the dispatcher, the guy walks back to his car and leans over into the car.  I just knew he was coming up with a gun.  However I had the drop on him and could have done him in before he ever cleared his car.  It wasn’t a gun but a cigarette.  Law came, took him in, uneventful.  I know I shouldn’t have been pulled up behind his car like I was, because there was no get away for me.  Shows how you always think you will have a plan for a bad situation, but bad situations usually leave little time for planning.  Always have to be prepared, a step ahead, and have an out.

Once a guy came to our house when I was little, beating in the door and ringing the doorbell.  Dad opened the door to a guy that had been shot through the cheek/jaw from what we believe a drug deal gone bad on our dirt rd.  Guys hysterical saying he needs to come in and use the phone.  Dad says he’ll call ambulance/police and begins to shut the door.  Guy makes a move to come in the house but never crossed threshold.  Just kinda make a forward movement with his body.  Dad convinced shot guy to back down by placing a .357 to his forehead and saying “the man that shot you didn’t kill you but I’m about to”

Dude calmed down, turned and walked away, blood trail and all.  Called police and I think they picked up both parties involved.  I believe he was either not intending on getting help from the law/emt (but wanted to call a friend or whatever) or wanted to rob us for a firearm after he got into the house.

Last year a hobo followed me down into the basement of a derelict apartment building in STL where I was doing some plumbing work. He produced a shitty little pocketknife. I had a .38 in my pocket but a 32oz ball peen hammer in my hand. He was about 20 feet away, so I chucked that hammer at him to buy some time to draw. What happened next was pure luck; that very large hammer hit him square in the nose. His face exploded in blood and he turned right back around and went out. I didn’t even pull my gun.

Yes.
At a small store at night.
Two guys.
The guy that tried to open my truck door almost did a back flip after I pulled my little LCP.

When I was 12, or so, the UAW went on strike against GM. One of the salaried guys (who had to cross the picket line and wasn't part of the UAW) left work early, was followed home and assaulted by union goons. He called back to warn the other engineers.

So my dad calls home, tells my brother and me to load up the shotguns and to standby to repel thugs and miscreants. I was super stoked, then super disappointed when nothing happened.  Few things are as bloodthirsty as a preteen boy.

A few times, yeah.

I drew on three mountain lions I encountered in the dark.  Didn't phase them at all.
I backed away and went home.  No shots fired.

almost 40 years ago I asked two biker types with Walking Tall sticks not to beat & kill the ebony fellow they were standing over and threatening. they said they intended to kill him. they did not know I was nearby until I spoke. I had a Ruger Blackhawk in my right hand, easily seen cause it was stainless. I was waaaay back outta stick range, but they were within shot range.  after some discussion, they decided not to kill him after all.   no guns pointed, no shots fired, no sticks swung.