What is the most threatening self-defense situation you've ever been faced with?

[Scharfschuetzer]

This brought back a few memories. While not going into detail, I saw the elephant a few times in my army career and also in my police career.

Of course, I was armed and responded accordingly.

 

[Drm50]

One miserable cold and wet March night when I was a young teenager my old man had me crawl under a porch that was only about 16" high to shoot a possum. The kicker was he give me a 6 shooter with one short in the wheel. Didn't want me to accidentally shoot myself crawling in tight space with gun and flash lite. Well got back in corner and come up against the biggest boar possum I ever seen. His eyes were glowing red and he was hissing at me. I poured it to him which only irritated him. I come out of there so fast I burnt the knees and elbows out of my garments, in reverse.
I refused to go back under without 5 LRs in the wheel. After a couple big snorts of Dr.Pepper to calm my nerves, I crawled back under. I gave him all five. You can't take no chances with boar possum, they can charge when wounded.

 

[brucev]

Re: Coons. Agree. Up close and personal, they don't have a back up gear. Sincerely. bruce.

 

[biku324]

Made the mistake of shooting a chicken-killing possum in our chicken coop many years ago - I used the only firearm I had ammo for, a 30'06. No eggs for a week, and I'm not sure my ears have ever recovered.

 

[Mr. October]

I had one weird incident while bowhunting (and carrying) with an over-curious bear but never felt really threatened in that situation.

But when I was in high school, my parents weren't afraid to take a trip and leave me home. I was probably a Senior by then. My elderly grandmother lived with us in a downstairs room.

One evening, I came home about 8:00 or so from a friends house. We lived way out in the country. Oddly, there was a van of some kind parked just of the road in our front yard. This was very odd. I didn't even think about grabbing a gun, but had to let the dog out (who wouldn't hurt a fly) and walked out, somewhat naively, to find out if something was wrong. About halfway across the yard, the door on the van closed, and they drove off. I didn't think more of it and went to bed.

About 2:00 a.m. I woke to the sound of someone pounding on the front door. Confused, I got up and meant to turn the light on at the bottom of the steps at the front door, but turned the light on at the top of the steps. As soon as the light went on, the porch door opened and seconds later I heard a van start and race off.

Clearly, someone had cased the house earlier and come back in the wee small hours. I was a little surprised because they had seen me come home. Needless to say I didn't sleep a wink the rest of the night and had a shotgun close at hand. For some reason, I never thought to call the police and at least report it. And I NEVER told my parents what happened for fear they'd never go away again.

It would have been really bad if they were in the house and my grandmother got up to use the bathroom. She was blind as a bat at night without her glasses.

 

[sousana]

Interesting topic here, I'd have to say:

Service in the IDF

Pit bull charging me outside of my home, when I drew my weapon it seems the dog understood the dangers because he/she turned tail and ran home.

Parking lot of the local Roses Dept store. I was on my way home from the local flea market one saturday morning I had a car behind me tailgating so close I felt sexually molested. Is turned on my headlights and they thought I'd hit the brakes and they skidded out, jumped the curb and ended up across the street in the Roses parking lot. I turned in to hit the dollar store and as I got out of my car that guy that skidded out pulled up and out jumped 5 guys armed with pipes and bats and a crowbar. I took cover behind my door, drew my weapon keeping it concealed but it seems they "sensed danger" jumped back into the car and split.

 

[Fishinfool]

Only concentrating on 4 legged assailants, only one animal ever actually attacked me, and drew blood. It was a Maine red squirrel.

Somewhere in the early 1980's, I was sitting in a blind when a red squirrel spotted me, and started carrying on. Deer pay attention to these antics, and avoid the area. You guys who deer hunt in the northern forests know what I am talking about.

This one quieted down, and came over to me, eventually sitting on my knee. Seemed like a friendly fellow. After a short time, he climbed down to my Sorel leather pac boots, and started chewing the laces.

I went to lightly flick him away with my finger, and faster than I would have believed, he sunk those rat teeth in my finger. About to the bone. Sucker got away too. I was going to blast his little rat butt, but did not want to get blood on my nice, shiny BLR. I still got the scar...

Larry

 

[Hair Trigger]

I made my mother-in-law mad once......

 

[Baltimoreed11754]

I was rebuilding my shooting backstop and rolled some railroad ties off the pile. I was concerned about black widows and so I was looking hard. When the next to bottom came off I saw a mess of 5 or 6 moccasins in the rotted out one on the ground. I emptied my edc into them, got most. Scared my mule good. I don't play around with poisonous snakes. I would never hurt a non poisonous one.

 

[OLDSTER]

Downtown Minn. on the way to a Twins game. In a traffic jamb close to Target field. "Homeless" guy pounds on my window and made threatening gestures. I waved my .32 near the side window. He ran off.

 

[Smoke]

My stupid, drunk roommate's stupid, drunk girlfriend got mad because he was passed out drunk on the kitchen floor. So she pulled a .38 out of her purse and murdered our refrigerator. then she put one through the window which hit our neighbor's house. then she put one through the living room wall right over my seat.

My other roommate yelled down the hall to keep the noise down and I ran out the front door and called the cops. I know she was arrested but I moved out before the case went to trial. never saw any of them again.


This doesn't qualify as self-defense but it is without question the scariest thing that has ever happened to me.

Before I tell the story a word of explanation is required. Artillery ammunition is classified as separate loading. The fuse, the round, the powder charge and the primer are all separate components.

The fuse is placed on the round and set, then the round is loaded into the cannon. The powder charge is placed into the breech behind the round. The breech is closed and the primer is inserted into the firing lock. The powder charge is Nitro cellulose and on the back end of the powder charge there's a bag of black powder that is used to ignite the nitrocellulose.

So, during an FTX in Germany we get a fire mission the round is loaded and the loader inserts the powder charge into the breach BACKWARDS. The breech is closed and the primer is inserted into the firing lock. The command fire is given and the loader gets a misfire. He has no idea what to do. So the sergeant in charge tells me to take over for the loader.

So if the gun doesn't fire the procedure is to attempt to fire it two additional times. If it still doesn't fire you wait 5 minutes to ensure it's not a Hang Fire and then you drop the tube open the breach pull out the powder and find out what's wrong.

By this time the platoon Sergeant has come down to our gun to find out why we're not firing and things are getting tense. So they tell me to open the breach and when I did it started to smoke.

The Platoon Sergeant told me to close the breach (Ya Think?) But I couldn't because when the primer went off it blew a hole in the powder bag and the powder had fouled the breach.

Then the platoon Sergeant told me that I had to open the breach grab the powder bag and throw it into the water bucket where we kept the swab we used to clean out the breach between rounds. He told me I had to open the breach, grab the powder and get it into that bucket before it ignited or we were all going to die.

I was absolutely convinced that as soon as I opened that breach fully the powder (50 pounds worth) was going to ignite. I slammed over the breech, grabbed the powder and threw it into the bucket and we were done.

It turned out later that with the powder charge inserted backwards into the breach all the primer are done was blown a hole in the bag. The smoke was from the primer. There was no place for it to go so it was trapped in the breach. The primer on an 8-inch howitzer is about the size of a 45-70 shell casing.

That was without a doubt the scariest thing that has ever happened to me in my life

 

[Mr. October]

Thirty years ago our two kids were in college so just my wife and I alone at home.
Two thirty one morning my wife woke me up saying someone was in the house down stairs.
I listened and yep, could hear noise in the kitchen.
Got up, grabbed my Model 29 6 1/2". Didn't turn on the light and when I tried to find my bathrobe all I could find was my wife's pink bathrobe.
I'm 6' and 260 lbs. My wife is 5'4" and weighs 140. Getting the picture here?
Put on the wife's bathrobe, sleeves only going partway up my arms and no where near covering my large center.
Tiptoed down the stairs, .44 at the ready.
As The .44 and I peaked around the half wall on our stairs, a young lady was standing in our dining room staring back at me, eyes growing to the size of grapefruits. She hollered "Mike" our sons name and my son came in from the kitchen.
He and the young lady he was dating had driven home from college for the weekend to "surprise" us. Don't know who was more surprised- the young lady or me.
He introduced us and I went back to bed. Afterwards, being a city girl, she asked if that was a real gun and does your dad always wear a pink bathrobe that's way too small.
They parted the ways not long after. Always wondered if my attire and choice of "accessory" had anything to do with it.

This has to be one of the best stories on here. LOL!

 

[Capt. F.]

I once had guy tailgate me on a country road of a 4-5 miles. He then passed me an and cut me off. He proceeded to come at me with a pick handle. He was screaming bobby I'm going to kill you for taking my women. First my names not Bobby,second my 1911 shoved in his face convinced him of his mistake. He apologized and left the pick handle which still resides over my loading bench.

As to my potential most deadly situation happened working around horses. I entered a stall to pickup an empty water bucket. When stood up the horse started kicking the block wall behind me. Hoofs were landing on either side of my head for what seemed like forever. All I thought was is going to be one hell of way to die getting your head kicked in against the wall. I found a break in the action and vaulted the stall wall. My handed me a beer and said man I thought you were a goner. Back to work we had a barn to finish cleaning. Horses are the most dangerous animals I've ever work with.

The best part of my wife's owning a horse, an Appaloosa mare, was watching her hind end going down the road in the horse trailer the folks that bought her owned!
My opinion - good horses are the ones in cylindrical cans on the dog food shelf at the grain store.

 

[gfors]

When i was in my early 20's, I worked as a bar manager. One day, while tending bar, a guy bwith a bloody chef's knife (think 10" blade!) came behind the bar. We always kept a Model 36 handy, between the cash registers, in a cigar box. I was able to get to the gun, just in time. Holding the revolver, pointed right between his eyes, at 6 feet away, I told him clamly and sternly, "Take one more step, and you're a dead man". He stopped. "Put down the knife"; he dropped it. I thank God every day that the hot-headed young man I was could somehow stay calm and not shoot the miscreant or, accidentally, any of the patrons in the bar.
It turns out that he had tried to rob 2 guys outside, using the knife. They turned it on him, and it was his own blood on the knife. He was probably drunk and high. Once again, thank you, Lord, for keeping me from killing him.

 

[Narragansett]

I was 12. I took a short cut behind the new little league field where all the brush was piled. I was attacked and chased by a woodchuck. I picked up a stick, and we did hand to hand. He lost.

True story

 

[WR Moore]

Hearing, but not seeing a rattlesnake. A high speed retrograde movement solved the problem.

Since someone mentioned horses.........

I was weaning a colt, so you hold a small bucket with a bit of feed in it so they can eat out of it without mom hogging in. I'd just entered the stall and turned around and found the little guy on his hind legs. One fore foot flashed right past my face, the other knocked the bucket out of my hand. I chased the little so and so around the stall with the bucket for the next few minutes. He tried hiding behind mom, who kept moving out of the way so I'd have a clear shot at him. Sometime later, (~400-600 lb stage) he charged me in the pasture. I whacked him hard on the nose with a lead rope, which caused him to turn sideways (submission) and shake his head (OOOH that hurt). Never did either again.

 

[Robspeire]

Got stabbed on a construction site when a worker went berserk .
He stabbed 4 co-workers. Pulled him off the last one & he stabbed me in left shoulder. (didn't know he had a knife) till he stabbed me. Ended the attack with a few 12" concrete blocks (2 to the body & 1 to the head).. He had a history of stabbing people according to the LE. Who took my statement. If I can find it I will post newspaper clipping.
BTW LE's & Prosecutor thanked me .
Was coached on how to answer question's by the DA & Leo's for court as I was the surprise witness & victim

 

[squidsix]

Probably the time I was shot in the chest.
Smack in the middle of my SAPI plate.
The M9 saved the day, and the armor did its job. I still thank God that I came home from that one.

 

[tajada]

Yes. Back in the 90s I lived in South Carolina. One Saturday night I was home around 0100 in the morning. There was a knock at my door. I opened the door and a drunk biker was on my porch. He ordered me "I need a ******* ride home. Get your ******* keys and get the **** out here!". I slammed the door in his face and locked it. He started kicking my front door yelling "Get the **** out here or I'll ******* kill you!" He was really trying to kick down my front door, threatening me the whole time. I retrieved my shotgun from under the couch, opened the door and pointed it at his face. I asked him if he had one more word he wanted to say to me. He backed away with a stunned look on his face and just said "No" then turned and ran away. I called the police. As I was giving the description to the police, one of the Officers seemed to know who I was talking about. He was asking me if he had a long white beard and long graying hair, which he did. The Officer then told me they knew who he is, and that they were looking for him in connection with a stabbing at a bar a few nights earlier. Most of the time, a gun used in self defense doesn't have to be fired, just displayed to prevent a crime. If I did have to open fire, the shotgun with buckshot at a range of less than five feet would have been quite effective.

 

[Echo40]

Jeepers Creepers, I gotta say that after reading some of the more terrifying stories in this thread, I thank God that I've never been in any situations like those... Not only because they're terrifying, but also because I fear that under similar circumstances, I would not have the same kind of restraint as others have described and would have ended up pulling the trigger.

Fortunately, I've yet to be in a situation in which I had to draw my pistol, much less point a gun directly at another person who was threatening me, because just reading about such situations makes me afraid that the combination of fear, anger, and pure adrenaline would get the better of me.

Honestly, I pray that should I ever find myself in such a situation that I'll be as cool under pressure as you folks, but if it's all the same then I'd much rather be able to go through my life without ever being tested.