As for me, No close calls (knock on wood)

I got quite a few but I'll give one now:

About 10 years ago I was selling my house to buy a bigger one. I came home from the field (USMC) and went right to sleep, a bit later I remember the doorbell ring and heard my wife talking to a couple that wanted to see the house and my wife let them in (mistake). I stayed in bed and decided to let the wife deal with it. My wife showed them around but skipped the master bedroom telling them that her husband was asleep and they could see it at a later date if they were interested. They go to the living room to talk, then I hear a man's voice ask to use the restroom, no big deal. I am fully awake at this point though and see the guy through a crack in the doorway, walk past the bathroom and head to our sun room. I know somethings fishy at this point so I get my 1911 and slide on some shorts and silently stalk the scumbag (swift, silent , and deadly, RECON!). I find the scumbag with his hand in my wife's purse (which she had apparantly left in the sun room). I crept up on him and placed the barrel of my 1911 against the back of his skull and told him to remain quiet and to go to his knees (I knew there was someone else with my wife in the living room and I didn't want the scumbag to give any warning). Then I hog-tied and gagged him using a robe belt and a handful of kleenex and searched him, finding a small automatic pistol. I remember telling him to keep quite or I would come back and put a bullet in his brain. Satisfied that he was no longer a threat I proceeded to the living room where the scumbag's partner or girlfriend was having ice-tea with my wife like nothing was wrong. I had the 1911 tucked in the back of my shorts. I act like I'm going to the kitchen and just casually say "Hi ya doing", make a quick turn and now I got my 1911 leveled at her head. I tell my wife to go get my cuffs while I put the woman on her face on the floor and searched her. I did find a small revolver in her purse. I take her to the sun room so I can watch both scumbags and wait for the garbage collectors, er police I mean. Turns out this couple had robbed many families in the city, usually people trying to sell their homes and them impersonating perspective home buyers. Looks like I did the cops a favor. Lesson learned, only allow "perspective home buyers" to come with your real estate agent and don't allow "walk-ins".

Three brief accounts:

An attempted strong-arm robbery of myself and a friend on the Pacific Coast Highway ten years ago was stopped when "one" of us pulled a Beretta M21.

Another time came when I had just gotten back from the gunstore with my newest addition.  I had just sat down on the couch as was loading it (it was going to be my "between-the-mattress" gun)when some dirtbag (a former tenant?) shoved a key into the front door.  The door opened just as I was putting the last round in.  The would-be burglar beat feet down the stairs and hauled butt along with his lookout.  The lookout would have done well to make sure that nobody was home!

I was hiking in the Angeles National Forest last summer when my partner pointed out that we were in the midst of a marijuana field.  I immediately went into code red, due mainly to the fact that the reason behind the undue attention we were receiving from a pickup truck full of Mexicans became crystal clear.  They decided to leave well enough alone, which probably had something to do with the fact that we were both packing heat openly.  FYI, I never reported the incident to anybody, so if anybody wants some free whacky tobaccky, look about 100 yards west of the sheriff's helo pad at Barley Flats.  There is a lot of petrified wood around there, also.

Years ago, while driving home for leave from the military, I met up with a real nut on the road. Some guy, driving a pickup truck with his wife in there with him and his 2 kids in the back, passed me and slowed down to about 20 MPH in front of me. Every time I tried to pass, he accelerated faster than I could and violently swerved to cut me off. He and his wife both were giving me the finger and shouting obscenities at me. I was a little afraid, being out on a lonesome stretch of road by myself and not having the slightest idea what had set this guy off. But I illegally had an automatic pistol hidden under a pile of junk on the seat next to me, and that put things into perspective for me. I realized that this jerk had no idea what he was doing and who was really in control of the situation. Knowing that, and not being in any immediate danger, I made the decision not to escalate things by brandishing the pistol. I left it where it was, smiled and waved, and after about 10 miles the guy finally turned off with his hide and family still intact. But what a way to teach your kids.

Bobby Vincent,

That'll teach em to f**k with the USMC.  Great story.  Tell us some of your other ones!

SB

Halloween 1996 - I worked for MCI as an engineer. Several of the crew were on vacation that week and I had agreed to take over on call-outs. This one was a fiber cable locate on Greenmount Avenue in Baltimore City. It was about 1:00AM and knowing the area I was armed with a Para1445 and an SP101. I had located where the cable was and was marking the ground when I noticed a guy (if you have to know, he was black) looking in the window of my truck. I yelled at him to get away from the truck and he came at me yelling all kinds of trash about "who do you think you are?" and "you're in my world" and all the while pulling out a pretty big looking knife. I dropped my marking eqpt. and when he got to me I bashed him over the head with my 3 D cell mag light! I hit him as hard as I could (pretty f*cking hard) right over the eyes on his forehead. He dropped like a bag of rocks! He didn't even wiggle! By then I was shaking uncontrollably and had my first experience with tunnel vision as I grabbed my gear and got back into the truck and hauled ass.
I never reported it since I didn't want the guns to be discovered. I bet he had a hell of a head ache when he woke up. I almost laughed because it left a very clear impression of the knurling on the flashlight across his brow.

Thanks God I don't have to do that crap anymore!

This happened a couple years ago.

Middle of the day.  I had just cut in front of a car so I could get to the off ramp on I-66 in Virginia. After taking the off ramp I noticed the car I had cut in front of was right on my bumper honking horn, flashing lights. Two guys in this this car pull up next to me giving me the finger so I make a face at them. When we stopped  at the next light these 2 guys jump out of their car heading for mine.

I hit the door lock button then reached for my glove box. About the time the first one reached my driver side door  he sees me holding a shiny stainless 45, cocked, muzzle pointing straight up.

I have never seen somebody with a faster reverse gear! I never had to even point it in his direction!

Since then though I have tried to be more careful about not cutting people off.

You know, I just don't understand the anti-CCW retoric.  This is a simple predator-prey relationship.  The strong victimize the weak until they find out that the weak ain't so weak.  I mean, do you think for one second that every fall I'd go into the woods to hunt deer if they ever shot back??  I guess that's why Britain has such an astronomical crime rate.  They've disarmed their population, making a whole "heard" of sheep-like victims, just waiting for criminal to victimize them.  I suspect that there are hundred of thousands of incidents like this occurring in this country every week.  Saw a bumper sticker the other day that said "every 13 seconds someone uses a firearm to prevent a crime".  Food for thought.

Not a real close call but:
Left the indoor firing range late one evening, got cut off by several sub-species individuals screaming obsenities (never figured out what I did wrong)

Kept a silly smile in my face until they got tired and left me alone.  Jeff Cooper calls it "situation dominance" The perp. is in more danger than the victim.

As a somewhat related comment, I enjoy taking long bike rides, my preferred parking spot is at the local firing range.  My logic is: -Would you steal a car from this location?
Regards

ACK

Who knows about your car, but how about your gun? Being a law abiding citizen when you go to the range in CA you have your gun unloaded in a locked case. What a better "Shopping Target" for some scum to just roll up to you and relieve you of your range bag?

I haven't heard of this happening, yet. I wonder if it's because the scums don't know your guns are unloaded or if they are afraid you might be a cop and legally packing.